Stephen walked toward some of the debris from the strange black stone, picked up a fragment, and placed it inside his storage ring.
Suddenly, he heard Kai's excited voice.
"Do you want me to help you collect all the fragments of this stone?"
Stephen looked at Kai and could see the excitement burning in his eyes. Kai's arms were spread wide, gesturing toward the remains of the black stone, most of which had shattered into extremely small pieces.
Stephen felt confused by Kai's sudden enthusiasm. Although Kai was always energetic, he seemed strangely excited now.
Stephen looked at the large amount of debris scattered across the ground, then glanced back at Kai in confusion.
'Collect all of it?... Has he gone crazy?'
"...I don't need it."
Kai's enthusiasm instantly faded, and he lowered his head in disappointment.
To Stephen, it looked as though a pair of fox ears had drooped sadly above Kai's head.
Then, suddenly, Kai's enthusiasm returned, and he looked at Stephen with those same burning eyes.
"Tell me to do anything, and I'll do it!"
Stephen remained silent for a moment as he imagined those fox ears standing upright again before he finally replied.
"...There's nothing."
Kai's enthusiasm disappeared once more, and he looked at Stephen resentfully.
Stephen raised an eyebrow in confusion.
'Why does he suddenly seem upset?'
Stephen shook his head and turned around. He needed to get the students out of this place first, determine where exactly this place was second, and then go to the Star Guild to inform James so this place could be investigated.
"Pfft..."
Stephen heard a muffled laugh from behind him. When he turned around, he saw Nathan laughing.
Stephen partially turned toward Nathan and asked,
"Why are you laughing?"
Nathan was enjoying the strange drama unfolding before him.
He shrugged and answered playfully,
"Nothing. I'm just entertained~"
Stephen frowned at him.
'He's weird.'
...
Stephen safely escorted all the students out of the place.
What Stephen discovered was a hidden area inside the cave-like location where several decomposed corpses and some bones were stored, their owners apparently having died a long time ago.
The altar had been located in a remote area on the outskirts of Ouro City, where the poor lived. This explained the large number of bodies, as the government paid little attention to impoverished districts.
Stephen guided the students safely toward the train so they could return to the academy. Along the way, he endured Kai's burning stares and repeated attempts to talk to him, but Stephen was like a mountain unmoved by the wind, so he ignored Kai and his strange behavior.
He also noticed David's sharp glances.
Stephen could understand the reason behind David's hostility. It was undoubtedly because of that old man.
Everyone knew how much the old man Carlos favored Black Crow, and David certainly knew as well. Because of this, David held some resentment toward the man known as Black Crow, which was only natural considering David's obsession with his grandfather Carlos.
Meanwhile, Nathan watched them all as though he were enjoying a play.
They finally arrived at the train station, where Stephen said goodbye and parted ways with the students.
Stephen summoned his Shadow Eagle and flew directly toward the Star Guild.
As he landed in front of the Star Guild building, he felt a sharp gaze fixed on him.
Stephen turned his head to see who it was. The moment he spotted that burgundy-colored hair, his brows furrowed. He turned his head away in annoyance, completely ignoring the irritating person.
'Annoying.'
Louis had just stepped out of his extremely expensive Ferrari. He wore a formal outfit consisting of a gray jacket and trousers with a white shirt underneath. His gray jacket rested on his shoulders instead of being worn properly, and a pair of black sunglasses sat atop his hair despite the fact that it was nighttime and the sky was dark.
Louis noticed Stephen dismount from his eagle and watched the Shadow Eagle disappear as though it had never existed.
Louis stared sharply at Stephen.
'Disgusting.'
After entering the Star Guild, Stephen headed toward the elevator and stepped inside. Just as the doors were about to close, an arm suddenly blocked them.
Stephen looked at the person who entered with him, frowned, and turned his face away, completely ignoring his presence.
Louis clicked his tongue and placed his guild card against the small screen inside the elevator. After the card was scanned, the doors closed.
After a brief silence, Louis spoke in a provocative tone.
"When are your teenage hormones finally going to settle down so you can take off that ugly cloak and show your face to the world? Or..."
Louis smiled mockingly.
"Or do you simply not have the courage to reveal your ugly face?"
Stephen glanced at him for a moment before replying coldly,
"I've told you several times that I won't tell anyone about 'that,' so stop bothering me."
Louis froze for a moment before his face turned red.
"That has nothing to do with that matter!!"
Stephen stared at him silently, completely convinced that the matter had everything to do with why Louis kept bothering him.
Louis looked away nervously under Stephen's gaze but quickly regained his composure. He looked back at Stephen with sharp green eyes and spoke arrogantly once more.
"I haven't seen you around the guild for a long time. Did you finally quit your job as an Awakened after causing the guild's destruction?"
Stephen frowned.
"The guild's destruction?"
Louis raised an eyebrow and mocked him.
"What? You didn't know?"
Stephen looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue.
Louis let out an exaggerated sigh before speaking.
"A high-ranking demonic servant infiltrated the guild and nearly stole all of the guild's data. Luckily, Guild Master Carlos was there at the time, so he discovered it before it was too late. Everything inside the guild was destroyed, but Master Carlos killed it in the end and managed to control the situation before the news reached the journalists or spread among the public."
The difference between a demonic servant and a demonic contractor was that the former was born with demonic mana and was considered a demon, though not among the nobility. The latter was a person—whether human, elf, dwarf, or even vampire—who formed a spiritual contract with a demon to obtain a portion of its power.
The distinction between a servant and a contractor could be identified through their demonic mana.
A demonic servant's mana was smooth, organized, and connected to its body. A contractor's demonic mana, however, was unstable and surrounded their body, making it difficult for them to control properly while using their power.
Stephen frowned. He remembered James mentioning earlier that an incident had required old man Carlos's intervention. It seemed this was what he had been referring to. If it had been a high-ranking demonic servant, then the situation must have been extremely dangerous.
'Was the old man injured?... Probably not. He's famous for killing a Marquis-ranked demon.'
Stephen shifted his gaze back toward Louis, who stood with his arms crossed and his back against the elevator wall. Stephen found it strange that this annoying man was blaming him for the attack. Although Stephen truly was the reason demons had placed the Star Guild at the top of their target list, it was still unreasonable to accuse him so suddenly.
"Why am I the reason?"
At that moment, the elevator doors opened. They had reached the floor containing James's office, a floor both of them had permission to access.
Louis clicked his tongue and walked out while speaking provocatively.
"Because you're a trouble magnet. Ever since you joined, the problems haven't stopped."
Stephen remained silent and stepped out of the elevator as well.
Deep down, he silently agreed with Louis's words.
The two arrived at James's office. Louis knocked only once before opening the door without waiting for permission and entering ahead of Stephen.
Stephen watched him for a moment, sighed, and followed quietly.
James, who had been preparing coffee for himself, looked up in surprise at the sudden intrusion.
Louis continued walking in without a care and sat down on one of the sofas as if he were in his own home.
"Make me a cup too. Don't forget to add milk and two large spoonfuls of sugar."
James looked at him tiredly, sighed, shook his head, and began preparing another cup of coffee.
James then noticed Stephen had arrived and asked,
"Do you want one too?"
Stephen shook his head.
"No. I want to leave soon."
James nodded and continued making the coffee. Once finished, he placed it in front of Louis before turning toward Stephen.
"What do you have for me?"
Stephen glanced briefly at Louis, who was leisurely sipping his coffee, then looked at James and spoke.
"I have a report about an altar located in the poor districts on the outskirts of Ouro City."
"The people responsible for this altar were members of the Hollow Crown Organization, and students from Hope Academy were involved."
James stopped drinking his coffee and stared at Stephen with widened eyes.
Louis also froze and looked at Stephen in shock.
James quickly regained his focus, his expression becoming extremely serious.
"Tell me everything."
Stephen nodded and began explaining everything that had happened inside that place in detail, although he lied about certain things that might reveal his identity, such as how he had found the location.
After Stephen finished speaking, James remained silent for a short moment before speaking thoughtfully.
"If the Hollow Crown Organization has truly allied themselves with demons, then this is a major problem. I need to inform the Guild Master immediately so we can arrange a meeting with the other guilds as soon as possible."
Stephen nodded and pulled a small black fragment from his storage ring.
"And this is a piece of that stone. Please investigate it and find out what it is."
James took the fragment and examined it carefully before nodding and placing it inside his own storage ring.
"I'll give it to a specialist."
Stephen nodded.
"Then I'll leave now."
James bid him farewell while Louis watched him leave with a frown.
...