Born In Ashes: The Enigma

As Azrael turned around, he saw a beautiful woman with long black hair and brown eyes, wearing a flowing red dress walking toward him and Alex with a faint smile at the corner of her lips.

She wasn't alone as she was dragging the bloodied figure of a blonde-haired woman who was clearly seriously injured.

'So she is the real Tower Master of the Juri Tower…' Azrael narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rose, piecing together all the information he had to form a clearer picture of what was happening.

From what he had heard from the people of New Moon City, Rose used to be a noble and had lived in another major city of the Red Rock Country.

However, she had fallen in love with Harris during one of their meetings and eventually married him. Since Harris was a commoner, she had even abandoned her noble status to stay with him.

'It seems she didn't marry him out of love or anything like that… She must have already been a Vessel of Corruption before their marriage and the reason she married Harris was likely to come to this remote place and quietly gather power for herself.'

If Azrael's guess was correct, Rose must have put forth a condition that Harris would make her the Tower Master. If he agreed, she would marry him. And it seemed Harris truly wanted to marry a beautiful noblewoman, so he accepted her request.

In the eyes of the public, Harris was the Tower Master. But in reality, Rose had become the true master of the Juri Tower after their marriage.

'As far as I know, to become a Tower Master, one needs the approval of the main branch of the tower, and the current Tower Master must also willingly resign from their position.'

Given her former noble status, it wouldn't have been difficult for Rose to gain the main branch's approval to become a tower master of this remote place... And since Harris had already agreed to step down, she officially became the true Tower Master of the Juri Tower.

'So, the reason Rose was with Claudia wasn't because she was deceived by that ambitious woman—but because she wanted to control or kill Claudia, allowing her to take full control of the Magic Tower and later the New Moon City in the process.'

Of course, all of this was Azrael's deduction based on the limited information he had gathered. But he felt confident that the truth wouldn't be far from what he had just theorized.

The only thing that confused him was—

'How did Harris become a Vessel of Corruption as well? He shouldn't have been one before their marriage, if I'm right.'

All of these thoughts flashed through Azrael's mind in an instant, and a deep frown appeared on his face.

In his current condition—having just used up most of his power and barely able to fight—he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Rose, who was a Vessel of Corruption.

When he had seen her last, Rose was a Level 10 Apprentice Warrior. However, she had now already reached Level 11 and become a Class Warrior.

Even though she had just stepped into the Class Warrior level, in his weakened state, Azrael had no confidence in defeating her.

What's more…

"Claudia…" Alex shouted in a shocked voice upon seeing Rose dragging Claudia's bloodied figure.

"Tower Master Alex, you are truly cruel," Rose said in a sorrowful voice, stopping about twenty meters away from Azrael and Alex. "You made me a widow at such a young age."

Suddenly, her expression turned playful as she dragged the bloodied Claudia in front of her.

"Since you made me a widow, it's only fair I take some compensation by playing with your dear lover, right?"

"You bitch, how dar—"

Alex was mid-sentence when a sharp slicing sound pierced the air and before he could react, a black sword beheaded him.

His eyes widened in shock and as his head flew through the air, he saw Azrael standing right beside him, gazing at his headless body with a cold, expressionless face.

'Why?' The question emerged in Alex's mind as he couldn't comprehend why the same person who had helped him kill Harris had suddenly turned on him.

Thud!

With a dull thud, the headless body of Knight Tower Master Alex collapsed to the ground.

"Oh my, you are quite the deceptive one," Rose said, visibly stunned for a moment before chuckling. "You killed him so suddenly."

"Rather than letting you control him and use him against me, it's better to eliminate him before he could even react," Azrael replied indifferently, his gaze shifting toward Claudia, who now wore a blank expression after witnessing Alex's death.

"You're quite smart…" Rose said, tossing Claudia aside like a discarded object. "I was indeed planning to tell Alex that if he wanted to save his lover, he'd have to kill you."

Rose shook her head and sighed.

"What a pity. It seems I'll have to deal with you myself."

As she spoke, an intrigued gleam flickered in her eyes.

"Before I kill you, why don't you tell me who you really are and where you came from? That way, I might let you live a few minutes longer."

She smiled as her eyes traced over him.

"I've been planning to deal with Alex and Claudia for a while now. I thought it would take a few more months before I could make my move… but today, for some reason, Harris and Alex started fighting each other, creating the perfect opportunity for me. While they were distracted, I went to take care of Claudia. After I was done with her, I came straight here to finish off the other two as well—only to find a new face like you standing here."

Azrael was silent for a moment before he asked,

"Before I answer your question, can you tell me—was Harris a Vessel of Corruption from the beginning, or were you the one who turned him into one?"

Rose raised an eyebrow at the question but answered calmly.

"He wasn't one at the beginning. I was the one who slowly turned him into one after our marriage…"

She smiled at that point and added playfully,

"In fact, that fool didn't even realize he was becoming a Vessel of Corruption. I corroded him slowly and subtly, without him ever knowing."

Azrael raised an eyebrow at her response and, after a moment of silence, finally spoke.

"So, if you could turn him into a Vessel of Corruption… does that mean you can turn me into one as well?"