A Week Later — December 21, 1624 of the Creation Calendar
Maklice Estate, Umgrad City
The past week had been nothing short of chaos — not just for the western territory, but for the entire Atheliya Empire.
Crown Prince Ash had initiated a full-scale purge. Armed with the meticulously detailed ledgers from Kefelin Spero, the owner of the Spero Merchant Group, Ash began arresting high-ranking nobles and officials. The ledgers were a damning testament to Kefelin's illegal dealings, which included bribery, assassinations, drug trafficking, and a massive human trafficking operation.
Kefelin didn't resist. Under interrogation, he confessed everything: bribing officials, commissioning assassinations, trafficking illegal drugs, kidnapping villagers and selling them into slavery. In a final act of betrayal, he executed every bandit and mercenary involved in his slave trade to silence potential witnesses.
Ash immediately formed an emergency task force, placing Sir Jackson and several other trusted commanders at the helm. Within days, they apprehended dozens of high-ranking nobles and corrupt bureaucrats. The most shocking arrest was the son of Marquis Bonny — the head of Imperial Intelligence — who had secretly purchased slaves from the Spero Group. As a result, the entire Bonny family was stripped of their marquis title.
The Crown Prince then ordered the arrest of everyone named in the ledgers. In a span of just seven days, over a hundred noble families and hundreds of government officials were arrested. Families tried to deny any association with their accused relatives, hoping to escape punishment — but Ash wasn't so easily fooled.
Over 20,000 slaves were rescued, including nearly 5,000 non-humans — barbarians, elves, and dwarves. Using their testimonies, Ash stripped all associated noble houses of their titles, seized their lands and wealth, and executed those who resisted capture. Due to the ongoing blizzard sweeping across the empire, the freed slaves couldn't be transported to their homelands, so Ash ordered his knights to ensure their safety for the time being.
The prince also exposed a massive corruption scandal. Opening accounts managed by bribed officials, he discovered that funds meant for city development, military operations, and pensions for fallen soldiers' families had been stolen. It was the largest case of embezzlement in the empire's history.
In response, Empress Lorath also passed an imperial decree authorizing the arrest and execution of all involved. She commanded territory lords to hunt down corrupted officials, confiscate their properties, and kill those who resisted.
Sir Harrison Maklice was among those called into action. He dispatched his sons — Julius, Bryan, and Roman — along with elite knights across the western territory to capture rogue nobles and officials. He personally led the mission to subdue high-ranking lords, restricting the use of teleportation gates to only the Maklice family to prevent escape.
Thanks to the relentless snowstorm that paralyzed the eastern, western, northern, and central regions of Atheliya, not a single criminal was able to flee.
In just one week, over a hundred noble houses were destroyed, thousands of officials were imprisoned, and nearly a thousand individuals were executed for resisting the Crown.
Managing the newly confiscated lands quickly became a problem. Ash acted swiftly, merging leaderless territories under the imperial government and appointing land managers loyal to the throne.
Meanwhile, the Cronos Empire faced a similar reckoning.
Anna Elibat — now a Seventh Circle Mage and Tower master of the Green Magic Tower — had uncovered the dark dealings of the Flosia Merchant Group. With the emperor's support, she launched her own purge. Thanks to records provided by Aeon, she dismantled the entire criminal network. Hundreds of enslaved citizens were rescued and returned to their homelands, and the guilty were arrested or executed.
– – –
Maklice Estate — Present
Silence filled the halls of the Maklice mansion.
James, Nana, Rolex, Sara, and Latty sat quietly in Silvia's room. Father Harpy had just finished his healing session and returned to the church. With Sir Harrison and his sons still away enforcing the imperial decree, the mansion felt unnaturally empty.
"This whole week has been a disaster for the Empire," Rolex said, breaking the silence. "Who would have thought the Spero Merchant Group was involved in so many illegal businesses with the noble families? My father said he saved hundreds of people who were sold as slaves in noble mansions and estates."
"My clan is going through the same," Sara nodded. "We had to launch our own internal investigation. My father said the Crown Prince sent a full list of suspects to every clan and official. Within a single night, they caught hundreds of high-ranking nobles and law enforcers."
"Right," Nana said. "Sir Harrison also left in the middle of the night with his knights. Things escalated so quickly, and I never thought this bizarre weather would be such a great help in capturing them."
"But did you hear the news from the Southern Territory?" Latty chimed in. "The weather wasn't as extreme there, but four days ago, someone killed all the bandits, mercenaries, and human traffickers. That man first freed everyone and then sent them to the government office to report it."
"Yeah, my father told me," Rolex said, his voice hushed. "When the officials reached that place, it was a butcher's house. People's heads were severed, limbs were torn apart, and a body was hanging from the ceiling chandelier. The man who was their boss had his heart ripped out."
"A week ago, the Crown Prince started capturing corrupt people, and that mystery man also appeared a week ago," Latty continued. "He completely wiped out every human trafficker not only in Xezisen City but in the entire Southern Territory. In just three days, he killed bandits, mercenaries, nobles, and even officials, and freed everyone who was being sold."
"Who do you think he could be?" Latty asked, her voice full of wonder.
"No idea," Sara replied, her expression somber. "And I'm worried about something else. It's been nine days since Kayle left, and there's no news about him."
"Yeah, Sir David also said he couldn't find Kayle in his territory, and this chaos also forced them to stop his search," Latty said.
"Don't worry about him. Wherever he is, he'll be fine," James said, sitting beside Silvia's bed, his hand resting gently on her arm. "He's a responsible man."
Everyone in the room quietly agreed, finding some solace in James's unwavering belief in Kayle.
– – –
In the city of Teridil, a city in the Ovoris Kingdom, Aeon's hunt for human traffickers continued. He moved through a dark, underground tunnel, his daggers a blur of deadly motion.
SHADOW SLASH!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"He's a monster! Run away!" a man screamed, terror in his voice.
"Run! Leave this place!" another yelled.
But there was no escape. Aeon was a whirlwind of death, cutting off every man's head with ruthless efficiency.
CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT!
He then grabbed a man hiding in a large drum and slammed him onto the ground with bone-shattering force.
SLAM!
Ahhhhhhh...
The man screamed as his bones shattered and blood gushed from his mouth. Aeon placed his foot on the man's chest and pressed down.
"Ahhh, why, why are you doing this?!" the man shrieked.
"I don't think I need to give you a reason after seeing what you guys are doing to people here," Aeon's voice was cold as ice.
"You don't know who you're messing with! No one can save you now!" the man threatened.
CUT!
Aeon sliced off the man's legs and hands, then grabbed his mouth to stifle his screams.
"Yeah, feel this pain. If you want, I can give you more. So, now, I want you to answer my question."
The man, terrified and in agony, nodded his head.
"Good. Now, tell me where the elves are. I'm not seeing any elves here. Where did you send them?" Aeon demanded.
"Cough, cough... on the outskirts of Teridil City," the man choked out, blood dripping from his mouth. "Behind the mountains, there's a plain. That's where those elves will be sold."
"Thank you for the information. Now you can die," Aeon said, and with a sickening CRUSH, he stomped on the man's head, killing him instantly.
He freed all the enslaved people. "Go back and report this to Count Pampille. I've already killed all the human traffickers, so don't worry about it," Aeon instructed, before vanishing.
At the plains behind the mountain, a large, well-hidden building stood. Carriages carrying noble people were arriving in a steady stream. Aeon waited until everyone was inside, then he approached. The guards, burly men with weapons drawn, saw him coming.
"Hey, stop there! You aren't allowed to go any further!" one of them said, putting a hand on Aeon's chest. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
THUMP!
Aeon dug his hand into the guard's chest, tearing it open and exposing his insides. The man fell dead. The other guards watched in horror, then attacked all at once. Aeon, holding his daggers, met their charge.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
He cut them all down into small pieces, and without a moment's hesitation, entered the building.
Inside was a grand hall where people from all over the kingdom were attending a slave auction, their faces hidden by masks. A woman got onto a stage.
"Hello, my dear noble guests from all across the Ovoris Kingdom! I'm Elfina, who will be hosting today's auction! I'm very excited about this, and I hope you are too! We have a whole new batch of elves for you, and the most interesting thing is that all of them are women!"
"Elf women! I've only seen them at some research events!" a man exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm very excited! In the entire world, only elf women are without flaws! It's making it hard for me to resist!" another man said.
"Get them out here now!" a voice boomed.
"Yes! Get them, we want to see!"
"Oh my, please have some patience, my dear guests! Here are your new slaves!" Elfina said.
Ten elf women, their hands and necks bound by metal chains, were led onto the stage. The nobles erupted in lustful murmurs.
"Oh, look at them! All of them have fair skin, not even Ovoris Kingdom's women can compare to them!"
"How fun it'll be playing with them!"
"I want her! She has such a beautiful face!"
"My nights are going to be amazing!"
The elf women heard these comments and tears streamed down their faces. The thought of becoming playthings for these monsters was heartbreaking.
"Now, my guests, let the bidding begin!" Elfina announced.
"127 heads!" a voice shouted.
Everyone turned, searching for the man who had made such a strange comment. "What? I don't understand, sir. I think I heard wrong. Everyone, please, no funny comments. Let's start the bidding," Elfina said, flustered.
"127 heads," the voice said again.
Everyone turned again, searching for the source.
"Okay, sir, please! This isn't funny anymore! We all have many things to do, so please don't waste our time!" Elfina said, a hint of frustration in her voice.
Then, a severed head flew onto the stage, landing with a wet thud at Elfina's feet.
AAAHHHHH
She screamed, horrified. Everyone looked back to where it had come from. In the shadows, Aeon stood.
"Just as I said," Aeon's voice, amplified by magic, resonated through the hall. "127 heads, including yours." He pointed a finger at Elfina.
"RUN!" a man screamed.
"Where are the guards? How could someone enter the hall?"
"The gates are locked! They're not opening!"
"You can't run anywhere without leaving your heads behind," Aeon said, his voice a cold promise.
The noble massacre began.
Aeon, holding his daggers, leaped onto a table. He was like a Grim Reaper, a blur of motion. He threw his daggers, severing the hands of two men.
CUT! CUT!
Chaos erupted as people realized he was seriously killing them. Aeon used telekinesis, and his daggers flew through the air, their aim incredibly precise. He began cutting off everyone's heads, one by one.
CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT!
"Three, four, five, six, seven, eight... eighty," Aeon counted, a chilling amusement in his voice. He was having fun.
"Monster! He's a monster! Get out of here! Let me out of here!" a man shrieked.
"Please don't kill me! I can give you anything! Anything you want! Even myself!" a woman cried, clinging to his legs.
Aeon looked at her, then threw her into the air and cut off her head.
CUT!
"You bastard! Do you know who I am?! My father is a count and my uncle is an well known Imperial Knight! You think you can remain safe?!" a man yelled, terrified.
CUT!
Aeon cut off his head. Elfina, who was trying to run, was hit by a flying dagger that sliced off her head.
CUT!
The elf women watched, terrified, unable to move.
"Stop it, you bastard! Do you even know who I am?! I'm Laura Pampille, the Countess of Pampille Land and Javier Pampille's wife! You think you can get away with this?!" Laura screamed.
Aeon's eyes widened. He grabbed Laura. "You're Javier's wife?" he asked.
"What? Got scared? Now you understand who I am! But it's too late now! You'll have to pay for this!" Laura threatened, thinking he was intimidated.
"If the Countess is here, that means the Count is also aware of this," Aeon thought. "And I sent those people to his house to report it."
He took his daggers back and, moving with the speed of light, cut off the heads of all remaining people in just three seconds.
CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT!
Laura fell to the ground, the last of the remaining 44 people to be killed. Only the elf women and laura remained.
"Tell me who else is with you in this?" Aeon demanded. "A Count like you can't handle a racket this big alone! Tell me who your supporter is!"
"Please don't kill me!" Laura sobbed, utterly terrified now.
Aeon realized she wouldn't be any help.
CUT!
He killed her, too.
He freed all the elf women. "Come with me. We don't have much time."
He and the elf women vanished into the darkness.
At Count Pampille's house, inside a bedroom, an elf woman lay on a bed, her hands tied and a metal collar around her neck. Count Javier Pampille stood over her.
"Those bastards can't even do a single thing!" Javier seethed. "How did those slaves run away, and who was that man who helped them? It's good they came to report me, so I caught them again."
He looked at the elf woman, and his mood changed. "Look at you. I've been seeing you for years, but you're as beautiful as before. Thanks to my father, I got you. Well, it's quite a shame, but I'll have to give you to my youngest son as a present, just like I got you from my father." He smiled, a creepy, predatory expression on his face. "Let's enjoy the night."
He began tearing her clothes. The woman just wept, helpless.
BAM!
Something hit Javier's head, and he fell to the ground. He looked at it: his wife's severed head.
"Ahhh! Aaaaaaa! Laura! Laura! Who did this?! Who did this to you?!" he screamed, horrified.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Aeon appeared and started punching him, beating him to a pulp.
"Wh... who are... you?" Javier asked, his face a bloody mess.
"Someone who'll make you pay for your crimes," Aeon said, his voice cold.
"Guards! Where are the guards?!" Javier screamed.
"Oh, I've already taken care of them, and freed those people again so don't worry. Now, tell me who is helping you in this slave business," Aeon demanded.
"You won't..."
TWIST!
AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
Aeon twisted his arm. "I'm tired of these threats! Just answer my damn question! Otherwise, I won't kill you, but I'll kill your sons—your oldest son and youngest son. I'll make them feel pain worse than death. Tell me, do you want that?" Aeon said with a deadly look in his eyes.
"I'll answer all your questions, so please leave my sons alone!" Javier begged, his will completely broken.
"Who's behind this human trafficking racket? A Count like you can't handle a racket this big alone. Who's your supporter?" Aeon pressed.
"Andrei! Andrei Ovoris!" Javier sobbed.
Aeon's eyes widened in genuine shock. Andrei Ovoris, the Second Prince of the Ovoris Kingdom.
"I'm telling you the truth! He's the one who's behind all of this! I support him in the succession race, and he lets me do what I want! Now, please, leave my family!" Javier pleaded.
Aeon was surprised by the revelation. He looked at Javier. "Where are your dealings records? Where are the ledgers?"
"In that wardrobe's vault," Javier replied.
Aeon glanced at the wardrobe. "Yeah. Now, go and meet your sons and wife in hell."
SNAP!
He snapped Javier's head 180 degrees. He retrieved the ledgers from the wardrobe, then turned to the elf woman on the bed. She was hiding her bare skin, trembling in terror. Aeon took off his coat and put it on her, then broke the mana-blocking chains restraining her.
The woman was terrified and scared. Aeon, understanding her fear, offered his hand. "Can you get up?"
She just stared at him. "Who are you, and why did you kill him? He's a Count! You won't be able to run away!"
"I'm someone your Queen sent to save you and all your kind," Aeon said.
"Our Queen? You mean Anifina?" she asked.
"No, Faereluna," Aeon corrected.
"Faereluna? You mean that girl became our Queen?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Yes. Now, let's go."
"Why? Why, after abandoning me and my friends all these years, would she send you now? Did she know what I went through? What happened to me?" she cried, her body wracked with sobs.
Aeon placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know that so many things have happened to you. But you can't blame her for everything. She also wanted to find you, but she couldn't, because she had to protect the forest—your home—so that when you return, it would be as good as it was. She holds a record of all of your names. She cries when she sees that her people aren't with her and that she isn't powerful enough to protect you. She's worked hard to find you, and she's waiting for you. Please, try to understand her circumstances and just let go of the past and go back home, where your families are waiting."
Sniff... sniff... Aahhhhh...
She heard Aeon's words and broke down, crying heavily on his shoulder. Aeon held her in his arms, letting her cry. "Please send me back home. I want to meet my mother, father," she sobbed.
"That's why I'm here. Now, let's go," Aeon said.
He took the elf woman and the ledgers and left the estate.
A while later, he arrived at an abandoned building where all the other elf women he had saved were waiting. They recognized the woman with Aeon.
"Miss Calenthia! It's really you!" a woman exclaimed.
"Are you really Miss Calenthia?" another said, shocked.
"You guys know me?" Calenthia asked, bewildered.
"You are the daughter of Grand Archer Daniek! We've seen your picture in his house!"
"You know my father?" Calenthia asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Yes, he was always worried about you and searched for you everywhere he could when you went missing," a woman said.
Hearing those words, tears started streaming down Calenthia's face.
"Okay, now everyone stand in the circle, and I'll send you all back," Aeon said.
They all stood in the center of the circle, and Aeon activated the teleportation array.
"Thank you, sir," one woman said.
"Thank you, sir, for saving us!" another echoed.
"I hope we meet again, sir."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, my savior," Calenthia said, her voice filled with gratitude.
With a flash of light, they all vanished, sent back to their forest.
Aeon stood in the abandoned building alone.
"Hnnn, this is getting bigger and bigger. I didn't know that the Second Prince was behind all of this. It's December 21st; I have only ten days left. I need to move fast and save every elf. I won't leave any of those human trash alive."