The manor fell into an eerie silence, a chaotic mess everywhere.
"Annelina Tazzera, hereditary baroness, a second-class wanted target of the Bureau of Control, suspected of being connected to several missing person cases in Resa City."
Shaya yawned, reciting the required announcement from the mission regulation handbook in a routine manner.
"According to the fifth amendment jointly issued by the Military and the Bureau of Control, as the executor of this wanted mission, I have the right to exercise law enforcement authority within certain limits after securing evidence."
Although his rambling seemed to continue, Annelina no longer had the leisure to listen.
She had recognized the badge pinned to the man named Shaya's chest.
It was the emblem of Saint Roland Academy, the top Beast Tamer institution in the Imperial Capital, a world apart from the lower-tier academies here in Resa.
And he wasn't exaggerating. Some of the upper-year students at Saint Roland Academy did indeed possess abilities comparable to mid-rank Beast Tamers, qualifying them to be hired by the military, the Bureau of Control, or even the Holy Church.
Annelina's eyes shifted slightly, her gaze lingering for a moment on Shaya's unremarkable, even plain, attire.
If not for his clothes, he wouldn't have been mistaken for one of those country folk and lured into this manor.
"Although you're from Saint Roland Academy, judging by your clothes, you must be just a commoner or from a minor noble family."
"Possessing outstanding Beast Tamer talent, yet limited by the lack of evolution resources and enhancement materials, you have no choice but to subordinate yourself to a major power just to earn a meager reward."
"The children of those great figures would never risk taking on these dirty wanted missions."
Annelina turned her body slightly, her well-fitted evening gown outlining her full curves. She spoke in a raspy voice, different from her previous tone.
"My pet beast is special. Its growth doesn't require those precious transcendent materials. As a noble, I have also accumulated a great deal of wealth over the years."
"In exchange, I won't make things difficult for you. Give me two hours, and after that, you can report to the Bureau of Control that the mission has failed."
"Trust me, the entire fortune of a hereditary noble is definitely higher than the bounty offered by the Bureau of Control."
Shaya raised his eyebrows in some surprise. Her level of cooperation was somewhat beyond his expectations.
He shook his head. "You can't give me what I want."
"How do you know if you don't even say what it is?" Annelina waved her dagger, tearing the clothes on her shoulder to reveal her snow-white skin and a hint of a deep, alluring cleavage. "Perhaps the price I can pay is more than you imagine?"
"Regrettably, although you have a large chest, the yandere type isn't on my menu."
"It's fine to look at in a 2D world, but if one appears in reality, I think it's more appropriate to dispose of it harmlessly."
Shaya took a tissue from his pocket. "Of course, if you can give me the stone statue you found in your father's warehouse on the day you were nineteen years and three months old, I wouldn't mind considering your offer to buy your way out."
Annelina fell silent for a moment.
On one hand, she was astonished that he knew every detail of an unintentional act she had committed years ago, making him no different from a perverted stalker. Heaven knew how much information he had on her.
On the other hand, this stalker, who by all logic should be utterly infatuated with her, showed not a single trace of wavering in his dark eyes when he heard her seductive offer, which was combined with her pet's psychic skill, even as he spoke of regret.
Moreover, she definitely could not give up that stone statue.
If she hadn't accidentally obtained that miraculous stone statue from the heirlooms passed down by her ancestors, she, with her mediocre soul aptitude and utter lack of talent, would never have become a Beast Tamer at all.
Much less could she have evolved a Flower Dance Butterfly, a species with a mere Awakening-tier racial rank, into the current sinister and powerful Nightmare Butterfly that could devour souls.
Once one has tasted the flavor of power, it is impossible to let go of its source.
"So, I told you, you can't give me what I want. To save everyone's time, let's just get on with our respective procedures and get this over with."
Shaya wiped his mouth with the tissue and glanced at the silent, black butterfly-shaped figure hovering in mid-air behind Annelina. "Speaking of which, after dragging this on for so long, it should be about done."
Almost as soon as Shaya's last word fell.
Wisps of black mist suddenly and silently began to spread from the butterfly-shaped figure.
Then, in an instant, it covered the walls and dining tables in the grand hall.
Until, finally, Shaya's figure was completely submerged within it.
"It's finally done."
Watching the black mist engulf him, Annelina let out a long breath, fighting back the feeling of weakness deep in her soul caused by her pet beast's use of a high-level skill.
She knew that anyone qualified to take on a secret mission from the Bureau of Control must be one of the best from Saint Roland Academy. Although he looked young, his Beast Tamer rank was likely not low, and it wasn't impossible that he was even stronger than her.
If she had really let him summon his pet beast for a fair fight, she, who was not skilled in direct combat, would not have been very confident.
"But, in the end, he's just a student from a Beast Tamer academy. Although he's strong, his practical combat experience is lacking."
A real Beast Tamer battle was not like the arena matches in the academy, where you had to politely wait for both sides to summon their pets and set up their formations, with rules even forbidding pets from directly attacking the Beast Tamer.
And her pet, the Nightmare Butterfly, happened to have a high-level skill, "Remnant Dream," which could be activated silently, dragging the Beast Tamer himself into a mental illusion without any warning.
Although Annelina and her Nightmare Butterfly would also be immobilized after its activation, the mental illusion created by "Remnant Dream" would continuously generate phantoms of the victim's greatest fears, both real and unreal, until their soul was worn down and devoured alive.
It could be said that once "Remnant Dream" was successfully activated, unless the opponent had reached the level of a Fourth-Ring Master Beast Tamer and could forcibly break free from the illusion with the strength of their spirit, there was no escape.
Otherwise, even a high-rank Third-Ring Beast Tamer, once trapped in the Remnant Dream illusion, had only the sole possibility of their soul withering away.
And Master-rank Beast Tamers were few and far between even in a large city like Resa. It was absolutely impossible for someone his age to have reached that level.
In other words, she was already in an invincible position.
Annelina suppressed her mental exhaustion and projected her consciousness into the Remnant Dream illusion.
This black-haired youth named Shaya had given her a great sense of pressure. She had to personally watch his soul be devoured completely to feel at ease.
And then.
She stared blankly at a massive, silver-white, streamlined metal object that appeared in the center of the illusion, existing in a way she could not comprehend.
Then, it exploded before her very eyes.
In the rushing torrent of light and heat, a mushroom cloud slowly rose.
Shaya, with his hands in his pockets, glanced at the Tsar Bomba that had suddenly detonated in the distance, shaking the entire "Remnant Dream" illusion to its core. He then looked at the distorted, illusory phantoms of light that seemed to still be brewing something, and couldn't help but let out a whistle.
"Let's just say—"
"Competing with a transmigrator when it comes to imagination... it's an unfair fight isn't it?"