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Chapter 62 - CHAPTER 62: SECRETS BENEATH THE EMPIRE

Imperial secretly follows a suspicious group into a restricted Royal Council facility, disguises himself as a guard, and discovers a hidden dormitory housing dozens of young civilians. As he reaches the top floor, a siren blares, exposing his presence—just as a mysterious group outside prepares to launch their own infiltration.

In a dim, cramped chamber with a low ceiling and dusty air, Jack raised his hand, muttering a faint incantation. A swirling portal of blue light formed behind him, and in an instant, he and his team vanished—teleporting into a modest, dimly lit room where a commoner resided. The walls were cracked and yellowed with age, and a single lantern on the wooden table flickered uncertainly. As soon as they arrived, one of the team members swiftly closed the door behind them, locking it with a quiet click.

The commander, Gray, turned to the startled commoner and asked in a calm but commanding tone, "What's the situation? Why is the siren activated?"

The commoner, clutching a half-eaten loaf of bread, set it down nervously and replied, "I heard there's an intruder in the building. At first, I thought it was your signal—your plan starting—but if you're asking, then... maybe someone else found out. Someone else must be suspicious."

Jack frowned. "So the situation is worse than we thought. The soldiers are on full alert now—we need to move quietly. It's time we start finding clues."

The commoner nodded, glancing around uneasily. "That means... you found something out about this place, right?"

Gray stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "Yes. But we need proof. This chaos might be our best shot. If we use the intruder as a distraction, we can begin our search under the radar."

Jack looked at the commoner. "Did you do what I told you to?"

"Yes," the man replied quickly. "Exactly as you instructed. But it's risky for me—I want more compensation."

Jack held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, that's for the commander to decide."

Gray didn't hesitate. "Fine. You'll get it. But only if we succeed. Now, Jack, deploy us to the marked zones."

Jack nodded and began teleporting the group, one by one, to various locations throughout the building. With each flash of light, a member vanished until only Gray remained.

"Now it's your turn," Jack said, placing a hand on Gray's shoulder. With a final surge of magic, Gray was sent to the top floor—coincidentally, the same floor where Imperial had secretly infiltrated.

The top floor was dimly lit, with flickering enchantment lights barely illuminating the polished stone corridor. Gray crouched behind a column as two guards patrolled the hallway ahead. With a flick of his wrist, he whispered a brief chant. Moments later, a booming voice echoed through the hallways via the building's magical announcement system:

"The intruder has been spotted on the ground floor! All units report immediately! Do not let them escape!"

The two soldiers stiffened and then dashed down the hall, vanishing into the stairwell. Imperial, who had been hiding nearby, sighed in relief. He slumped against a cold wall, breathing heavily. "I'm safe for now," he muttered. But then a thought struck him—if the soldiers had been misled to the ground floor, who was the real intruder they'd caught?

"Could it be... Ari and the others? No, that would be bad. I have to do something," he said to himself in frustration. Slamming his hand against the wall, he was shocked when the solid surface clicked and slowly creaked open, revealing a hidden passageway.

"What the—?" he whispered, wide-eyed.

From a distance, Gray— is watched everything. His eyes narrowed as realization dawned. The true intruder was here, and the one captured downstairs... was Jack, serving as a decoy of us now make them busy with I teleportation magic so we get enough time to search. Classic Jack.

Gray moved stealthily, following Imperial into the mysterious passage.

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Meanwhile, after several hours of travel, Ari, Dawn, and Tracey finally reached outside the area which is in fully control of royal council then the beast got imperial smell so they go towards the trees . The moment they arrived at that place, they found themselves surrounded by several figures dressed in black coat — a signature style of the common association (CA).

Ari and Tracey tensed, preparing to fight, but Dawn extended her arm, halting them. "Stop. They're CA."

One of the members stepped forward, eyeing them suspiciously. "Who are you?"

Dawn calmly pulled out her identification badge and presented it. "We're here on a personal mission. One of our companions is inside this area."

The member's eyes widened slightly in recognition, then narrowed again. "You're connected to the intruder? The one who stirred this place into chaos?"

Ari stepped forward. "We need to find our friend. He may have discovered something crucial. Can you help us?"

The member hesitated, and then pointed at the towering stone building nearby. "He's inside that facility. But we can't let you enter. CA is already inside, and our orders are strict—no unauthorized entry."

Ari's voice sharpened. "And why should we listen to you?"

The agent's voice was cold. "Because this mission has already been compromised by your friend's actions. We're here to ensure no further damage is done."

Dawn intervened again. "Ari, Tracey—it's fine. CA members here are powerful, and they've helped us before. Let's trust them for now. If we cooperate, we might still help imperial ."

Reluctantly, Ari and Tracey agreed, staying outside while Dawn negotiated further with the agents.

________________________________________

Back inside, Imperial descended the hidden staircase. Each step down was met with a chilling drop in temperature. The stone steps were damp and covered in frost, and the torches on the wall were long dead. A haunting silence pervaded the descent, broken only by the echo of his footsteps.

Realizing the danger, Imperial pulled his mask tighter to conceal his identity—if caught, he'd let the blame fall on the decoy intruder. As he reached the bottom, he stepped into a vast underground hall, colder than anywhere he'd been in this building.

Then he start searching, there are many room so he decide to search one by one

The first door creaked open with a groan. Inside was a sterile, metallic chamber filled with racks of small metal boxes. Each side of the room was labeled: one read LONG DOSE, the other SHORT DOSE. Imperial walked cautiously to the LONG DOSE rack and picked up a box. It was heavy, cold to the touch, and humming faintly with energy.

He carefully opened it, revealing a silver syringe glowing faintly with magical liquid. Just then, a gust of air rushed behind him.

Suddenly he hears a foot step and hocked and said – why I can't sense his presence?

Now imperial know that someone enter the room and he failed to sense the person presence while his magic waves are I active.

Then he turned towards the door so he can attack that person cause imperial don't want now that he get caught after finally finding something.

As imperial can used any attack a bullet grazed his mask, shattering it to the floor.

Gray stood at the doorway, gun still raised. His eyes narrowed as he got a full look at Imperial.

"Who are you?" he asked voice low but firm. "You're not just a lost civilian. You're the real intruder. Why are you here? What are you after?"

Imperial didn't answer immediately, but then, slowly, he raised his hands.

"I'm not your enemy," Imperial said. "I'm here because I can find some evidence that what I going on here that all." Imperial saw his dress and he knows that he is from CA so he reveal himself to gray.

Gray didn't lower his weapon. "Then start talking. How can I trust you?"

Imperial looked around at the syringes, the cold, the secrecy.

Then imperial put that box on table and show him his CA card. And said – now you can trust me right?.

Gray saw that card and then asks – you are from Lunaris Empire so what are you doing here?.

Imperial said in this building people from Lunaris Empire are also coming so that why I am here so find out.

Gray said – but haven't you know that without the permission of the CA of that empire you can do anything as a sake of CA member and if you are from Lunaris empire that mean other also here so tell me where Is Vince ?

Imperial said – I will tell all things later but first I guess we have to find evidence right because you are also here for that in a cold tone.

Gray can feel now that the one who is standing in front of him is not an ordinary person he is strong and tough.

Gray's gaze flicked toward the racks. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Gray clicked the safety back on his gun and stepped into the room.

"You better tell me later," he said. "Because if you not, you won't get another warning.".

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