The Spero Merchant Group, one of the three largest merchant groups within the Atheliya Empire, was a commercial titan. It conducted trade with the Cronos Empire and other kingdoms, its influence stretching to every corner of the continent. Kefelin Spero, the owner and master of the group, was a cunning and clever man who knew how to forge and exploit connections. He had used these connections to get close to the Imperial Family, and through his direct involvement in trade with the royal household, he had carved out a name for himself among nobles and business people. He now stood as one of the richest men in the Atheliya Empire.
But in the shadows, Kefelin was something else entirely.
Kefelin had a dark, hidden side. While he presented a facade of righteousness and fair dealings, in the shadows, he was a ruthless, cold-blooded human trafficker. His organization bought slaves—humans, elves, barbarians, and dwarves—from bandits who kidnapped them from across the continent. He would then sell them to nobles. He had bribed countless high-ranking government officials, His reach was so extensive, he had corrupted every layer of the government chain, from magistrates to imperial inspectors. ensuring he was never caught. Anyone who dared to dig for the truth was quickly silenced. In the public eye, he was a kind-hearted merchant; in the shadows, a merciless monster.
And now, this same man was crawling in the snow, groaning in pain at Aeon's feet.
"Ah... wh-why did... you, what have I done to you?" Kefelin screamed, his voice a broken, painful cry.
Aeon stood before him, two large, black daggers in his hand, a chilling silence radiating from him..
Five minutes earlier.
Kefelin and his manager, Alun, were in Kefelin's office, diligently reviewing documents. Before him was an unconscious elf boy, covered in bruises and blood from lashes, whips, and rods, lay on the floor before them.
"We're not getting any good slaves," Kefelin complained, his voice laced with frustration.
"The ones we sold to Sir Francis last time committed suicide. Some tried to attack their owners, and some aren't even worthy of being sold. Hey, Alun, I thought I told you to make those slave bastards behave. Is this how you're managing things? I'm getting complaints from the noble houses. If this continues, how will I hold my seat among the three biggest merchant companies?"
"I'll make sure to put those slaves in their place," Alun replied, bowing his head. "And Morf contacted me regarding the new batch of slaves. He said he got some good ones this time."
"Seriously? Is there someone from a noble bloodline?" Kefelin asked, a predatory smile spreading across his face.
"Yes," Alun confirmed. "He said he got the daughter of Count Daniel Gelly from the Ovoris Kingdom."
"How did he get her? Count Gelly is one of the swordmasters of the Ovoris Kingdom!" Kefelin exclaimed.
"He said that during the count's daughter's travels, her carriage was caught in a snowstorm. His men found her unconscious in the middle of the road and took her," Alun explained.
"Hmm, this is a difficult matter," Kefelin mused. "Daniel isn't an easy man to deal with. He's someone who will become a Grandmaster in the future. Tell Morf that no one is to touch his daughter. I'll return her to him myself."
"Master, you're planning to return her to her father and frame some other people for her kidnapping so that he'll be indebted to you for life?" Alun asked, a look of profound admiration on his face. "An excellent plan, Master!"
"You're right, Alun, because you understand me so well, I made you my manager," Kefelin said, pleased. He stood and walked over to the elf boy.
"This stingy elf," Kefelin sneered, standing directly over the boy. "I gave him a chance to make some noble women happy, but he refused. Just because you elves look handsome doesn't mean you can look down on anyone." With that, he placed his foot on the elf's face.
"Ahhh... f*** you, human!" the elf boy screamed, his voice muffled by Kefelin's foot.
"Oh ho, still playing hard? Let's see if you can handle the torture I'm going to give you," Kefelin said, pressing down harder.
BAM!
Kefelin went flying backward, crashing hard against the wall. The wall cracked from the immense impact. Alun, who was standing right behind him, was frozen in shock, unable to comprehend how Kefelin had been thrown.
Alun looked forward. Before him stood Aeon, still in disguise, but now with a cloak of shadow around him. Aeon saw the elf boy, barely clinging to life. He pulled a healing potion from his ring and gave it to the elf, who drank it greedily.
"Ah... cough, cough!" Kefelin struggled for breath. "Who are you?" he demanded, getting to his feet.
Aeon didn't reply. He merely glanced at Kefelin with his dark violet eyes, and a profound chill went down Kefelin's spine.
BOOOM!
Aeon punched Alun, sending him crashing into the wall next to Kefelin. He then pulled two large, dark daggers from behind of alun's back.
"Thank you, they're fine daggers," Aeon said, examining the blades.
He turned to face Kefelin, who was staring at him in terrified confusion. "Do you know who I am? I'll exterminate your entire family—" Kefelin tried to threaten him.
SLASH! SLASH!
CUT! CUT!
Aeon, with two swift, brutal cuts, severed both of Kefelin's hands.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
He screamed in agony, his cries echoing throughout the entire building.
"Now, shall we talk, you bloody human trafficker?" Aeon asked, getting close to his face. His eyes were full of unbridled rage. "Give me all the records of your illegal dealings and human trafficking—specifically the elves—and where and to whom you sold them!"
"Why... are you... doing this? If you want... money... then tell me... I'll... give you... any amount!" Kefelin pleaded, his face pale with pain and terror.
STAB!
Aeon stabbed him in the eye with one of the daggers.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Kefelin screamed in agony and pain.
"That isn't my question!" Aeon snarled. "I know that you hid them somewhere in this building. Tell me where it is, because I don't have a freaking minute to waste!"
Back in the present.
Kefelin knew that the man before him would not hesitate to kill him. He desperately pointed a finger at a painting on the wall. Aeon, with a flick of his hand, threw the painting aside. There was nothing behind it. Aeon narrowed his eyes, and his magical sight pierced through the wall. He saw a hidden mechanism, a sophisticated illusion that concealed a secret room.
"Oh, so it's a vault," Aeon murmured to himself. "This entire floor is a big protection mechanism to prevent anyone from infiltrating. And you just slammed both of them into the wall." Aeon then turned and punched the wall.
BOOOM!
The wall shattered, and Aeon stepped into the vault. It was filled with precious items: rare artifacts, shimmering jewelry, magical tools, swords, spears, bows, powerful healing potions, and more.
"As expected from one of the three largest merchant groups," Aeon said, his voice cold. "It's full of artifacts and items, and all of them are of Rare and Heroic rank. Well, I'm here for something else."
He scanned the vault, his eyes searching for something specific. He found a small, hidden vault. Aeon approached it, placed his hand on it, and with a soft CRACK!, it opened. Inside were several ledgers and five small bottles of healing potions. Aeon took all of them.
Name: Demero Potion
Grade: Legendary Rank
Description: Healing potion that can heal any fatal wound, cure any disease, and increase vitality.
"This is purely unexpected!" Aeon exclaimed, a look of profound surprise on his face. "Demero Potions, from the greatest alchemist on the entire continent! And not just one, but five of them! They'll be incredibly useful in the future."
He opened the ledgers, which contained a detailed record of all of Kefelin's black deeds: his dealings with nobles, the bribes he paid, the assassinations he commissioned, and his human trafficking operations. The ledgers meticulously detailed who his partners were and to whom he sold the slaves. Aeon put all of the records and potions into his storage ring. Before leaving the vault, he emptied it completely, not leaving a single thing behind.
Outside the vault, Kefelin and Alun lay unconscious on the ground. The elf boy, however, was still barely conscious, his gruesome injuries a testament to days of torture. Aeon approached him, took a Demero Potion from his ring, and fed it to him. Within seconds, his wounds began to heal, and the terrible marks on his body vanished without a trace.
"Ah... where am I?" the elf boy said, slowly waking up. He opened his eyes and saw Aeon standing before him. He flinched, trying to attack Aeon, his body still tense.
SLAP!
Aeon slapped him, and the elf boy slammed into the ground. He rubbed his cheek, looking at Aeon with a mixture of fear and confusion.
"You human bastard! Torturing me wasn't enough, and now you've brought this human with you?!" the elf boy shouted, misunderstanding the situation.
Aeon just stared at him. "You're Flune, right? The one who was kidnapped a month ago?"
"H-how do you know my name?" Flune asked, astonished.
"So you are Flune. Look, boy, I don't have time to waste on you. Just know that I'm here to save you and all of your kind. Now, get up and come with me," Aeon commanded.
Flune looked at Aeon's blood-splattered coat and then at the unconscious bodies of Kefelin and Alun. "Why are you helping me? Who sent you?" he asked, his mind reeling.
Aeon, without answering, picked up both Kefelin and Alun. "Your Queen, Faereluna. She sent me to take you home," he said.
"Seriously? My Queen really sent you to save me and my people?" Flune asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Yes. Now, enough with the chit-chat. Just follow me," Aeon said.
With that, he and Flune left the building.
Aeon reached Venessa Academy.
After leaving the elf Forest Aeon traveled directly from Quebiton City to Alofis. He noticed that the main building's lights were still on, and professors were running around frantically.
"What's going on here?" Aeon wondered. "Why are they all here in this chilling snowstorm?"
He then saw Ash leave a room and head in a specific direction. Aeon used his Wind Sonar.
"Come to the rooftop, Ash," Aeon's voice whispered in Ash's mind.
Ash stopped abruptly, looking around in confusion. His gaze finally settled on the rooftop, where Aeon, still in disguise, stood silhouetted against the dark sky. Their eyes met, and after a moment, after that Ash made his way to the rooftop.
"You're finally here, Ash," Aeon said. Behind him were the unconscious bodies of Kefelin and Alun, and beside them, Flune stood, looking shaken.
Ash, seeing the two bloodied men, immediately drew his sword.
"Don't be like this, Ash. I'm not here to fight but to hand over a criminal to you." Aeon said.
"Who are you, and who are those guys?" Ash demanded, his voice wary.
"They are scum, monsters in the face of humans," Aeon said, his tone filled with disgust.
"Don't blabber nonsense. Just tell me!" Ash insisted.
Aeon threw three ledgers at him. "Here. See these. These are the proof of their crimes. This man is Kefelin Spero, the master and owner of the Spero Merchant Group, and that's his manager."
Ash still drawing his sword looked at those ledgers.
"Don't be nervous ash, I swear on the my honour that I won't attack you. If I wanted to harm you I'd have done it when you arrived here." Aeon said.
Ash hearing Aeon's words took the ledgers and read through the ledgers, his eyes widening in disbelief. They were a meticulous record of every crime Kefelin had committed: bribery, assault, assassination, human trafficking, drug dealing, and more. He also found records of his dealings with noble families and high-ranking officials.
"How did you get these?" Ash asked, his voice a low growl.
"Can't you see how I got them?" Aeon said, pointing to the two unconscious men.
"Ash, I'm giving you these because I believe in you," Aeon continued, his voice serious. "This is the dirt and corruption of noble people and officials. Don't let it leak out. Work secretly with those you believe in, and punish them. I also brought this elf with me; he was also kidnapped. Please send him home."
Ash held those ledgers tightly. "Okay. Don't worry about it. I'll punish all of them. Thank you, mister," Ash said, his face grim with determination.
"You don't need to know my name. Just do your job as the Crown Prince," Aeon said. "And one more thing: why is the academy in an uproar? Did something happen, are the students who went for the assignment fine."
"How do you know about that." Ash asked, he was surprised.
"I have my ways of finding things out." Aeon said in cold voice.
"Professor Morry was the one who sent the students to Garxiz Forest. Everyone is looking for him." Ash said.
"So they found out," Aeon thought, a cold satisfaction in his expression.
"Okay then, Ash, I leave it to you," Aeon said.
"Look, wait a minute—" Ash started, but Aeon, with a quick movement, vanished into the shadows, leaving behind a bewildered Ash, a scared elf, and two unconscious, bloodied criminals.
Aeon ran over the rooftops, thinking through his plan. "I have only 18 days left to bring back every elf. Searching the entire Empire would have taken far too much time. By handing over the ledgers to Ash, my work has been reduced; he'll arrest all those nobles and officials who made deals with Kefelin. I only gave him the ledgers containing information about humans, dwarves, and barbarians. I took the elves' records with me."
"I couldn't believe it when I read all those ledgers. He had sold so many people to noble families across the empire. And the list of elves Faereluna gave me only contains around 100 names, but Kefelin's records have more than 100 elves on them. It's a good thing that most of them are in the Atheliya Empire. Now I just need to go to the Ovoris Kingdom and the Cronos Empire. I don't have much time left. And this weather doesn't look like it's going to get any better. I'll need to hurry up and capture those bandits and mercenaries." Aeon thought, a grim determination on his face.
He then left the city through the teleportation gate.
The next day, Aeon arrived in the southern territory of the Atheliya Empire, where the weather was less severe than in the northern, eastern, and western regions. He was in Xezisen City, and his target was a certain bar.
The bar was just a disguise, under its hidden floor it was slave house, where the slaves caught in the Empire and elf forest kept. Inside the bar's underground floor, a very dangerous man entered and sound of bloodshed echoed.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Aeon was in the underground level of the bar, which he had turned into a butcher's house. Blood covered the ground, the walls, and the ceiling. Corpses lay strewn about like torn clothes.
"Kill him before he damages this place any more!" a man shouted.
Ten men, all with weapons drawn, came charging towards Aeon.
"Good. I'm not in the mood to leave anyone alive," Aeon said, his voice cold and flat. He grabbed his daggers, and with a swift, deadly motion...
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
He severed the necks of every single one of them.
"Run, monster!" another man shouted, terrified.
They all tried to flee, but Aeon moved faster than them, cutting them down one by one.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Before him, a fat man, who was also the owner of the bar and one of the human trafficker crawled on the blood-soaked floor like a bug, his face a mask of pure terror.
"Please spare me! I swear, I'll become your dog, I'll do anything you say! But please, spare my life! I have a wife and children!" the fat man pleaded, his voice cracking.
Aeon grabbed his collar, lifting him. "Those people whom you have kidnapped and sold were also someone's father, mother, sister, and children. Did you show them any mercy? Look closely. All these people whom you have put in animal cages are also someone's family. It's too late to ask for forgiveness," Aeon said, his eyes burning with rage.
"No, p-please..."
THUMP!
Aeon put his hand on the man's chest and tore it apart, pulling out his still-beating heart. The man died a painful death.
Aeon then opened all the cage locks, freeing everyone who had been imprisoned.
"Are we free now?" a man asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Can I really go home?" another woman sobbed.
"Thank you, sir! You're our savior!"
"Yeah, sir! I owe you my life! Because of you, I can go back to my children and husband!"
"Thank you, savior!"
"Thank you, savior!"
A chorus of gratitude erupted from the freed captives.
"Go back and report this to the city lord and the local management," Aeon instructed, his voice firm. "People from the capital will be here tomorrow, so take care of yourselves. Now go."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Thank you, sir!"
The freed captives, a mix of humans and other races, rushed out of the bloody cellar, their fear of the man who saved them outweighed by their hope of returning home.
Aeon looked to the side. Five elves, all children, were huddled together, wide-eyed and trembling.
"Close your eyes, kids," Aeon said softly. He gathered all five of them and vanished into the shadows.
After a while, he reappeared at the top of the city's clock tower, the five elf children still with him. He quickly set up a teleportation array he had prepared earlier. He gestured to the children.
"Stand in the center of the circle and close your eyes," Aeon said.
They listened, standing in the center. Then, the youngest boy among them grabbed a hold of Aeon's coat. Aeon looked down at the boy, so small and fragile.
"Are you going to kill us?" the elf child whispered, his voice trembling.
Aeon's heart ached. He knelt, matching the boy's height, then took off his mask, revealing his true face. He gently placed a hand on the boy's head.
"No. I'm sending you back home, where your family is waiting for you," Aeon said in a soft, kind voice. "Do you believe me?"
The boy looked at Aeon's face, a face he had only seen in his darkest moments, but now it held an expression of pure sincerity. He nodded slowly. Aeon smiled back and, all the kids waved thier hands saying him goodbye Aeon also with a final wave, activated the teleportation array. A violet light enveloped the children, and they vanished, sent back to their forest.
Aeon stood alone on the clock tower, looking out at the bustling city below, a place filled with life and enjoyment. He saw children playing with their parents, and a wave of emotion washed over him. He was lost in his thoughts once more.
"It's always hard to see people suffering and enduring hardship," Aeon thought, a somber tone in his mind. "Those people who are enjoying the night with their families are the luckiest in my eyes, because some of them don't have that luxury of life. Greedy people didn't even spare the children for their personal gain. I won't let it happen. Even if Faereluna hadn't told me to bring back the kids, I would have brought them back and killed those people. But this time, I owe Faereluna, and I'll repay her."
Then, he vanished into the shadows, his mission far from over.