I took another thick, satisfying bite of my strawberry jam bread, the sweet crimson gel coating my tongue as I unrolled the oldest parchment from the stack with my single right hand.
Caria Times… Tuesday Edition
The bold, black ink of the front-page headline immediately caught my eye, sending a sharp jolt of awareness through my mental matrix.
THE CRIMSON PHANTOM'S REIGN: LEGEND OF THE WINGED DEMON SPREADS ACROSS ANDROMEDA
My single eye narrowed as I scanned the text. The article detailed how rumors of the "blood-sucking winged demon" had aggressively breached the borders of Caria, spreading wildfire-fast through all neighboring territories. The entire continent of Andromeda was now fully aware of my existence. The Luminous Knight Bureau Association was completely obsessed with hunting me down, their high-ranking squads desperate to claim the 15 gold pieces resting on my head. According to the report, since my very first recorded sighting just last month, the Bureau's investigative divisions had made terrifyingly rapid progress in charting my activities.
"15 gold pieces… Every low-life sellsword and high-tier knight on the continent will be looking for a winged silhouette in the sky." I thought, a cold, calculating grin pulling at my scarred lips.
I flipped to the local columns on the second page, and the tone of the ink shifted dramatically.
SISIPHON CITY DECLARED CLEAN: NO NEW ADDICTS REPORTED AFTER S-RANK TAKEDOWN
The article praised the total stabilization of the neighboring territory. The streets of Sisiphon City, once completely crippled by the Lotus Dust epidemic, were now entirely clean. The black-market distribution lines had collapsed overnight, and the hospitals reported zero new overdose cases. The entire region was celebrating the mysterious, elite S-rank bounty hunter who had single-handedly dismantled the multi-layered drug empire and permanently eliminated the ruthless Lotus Dust Queen, Oksana.
And that legendary savior was, of course, me.
A quiet sigh of relief escaped my throat. The Chief of the LKBA, Anton Kif, had kept his word flawlessly. He had aggressively classified my real name and physical description from the official press releases. Anton knew the operational reality: if my sister Elicia or any of my other siblings except Evelyn ever saw me in this monstrous, scarred, one-armed state, I would be heavily scolded and dragged away from the field. Because of his administrative censorship, my identity remained safe, even as the fruits of my labor transformed Sisiphon City into a safe haven.
I swallowed the last bite of my bread, dusting the crumbs off my lap with my right hand. The world was terrified of the Crimson Phantom, yet sleeping peacefully because of Eirene. I leaned back against the couch, stretching my massive blood wings slightly, and reached for the next newspaper in the pile. It was time to see how the media handled the impossible collapse of the Dodorant Citadel.
The sweet taste of the berry jam turned to ash in my mouth. I reached out with my single right hand, my long fingers gripping the edge of the next ink-stained parchment from the stack, and unrolled it with an expectant flick of my wrist.
Caria Times… Wednesday Edition
My single, dark eye scanned past the standard economic indices and local merchant disputes, settling directly onto a heavily featured investigative column near the center folds. The headline was printed in a bold, sweeping typeface that practically screamed of high-level espionage leaks.
SHADOWS UNVEILED: BUREAU'S LEGENDARY 'SHADOW WALKER' HARBORS SECRET FAMILY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
I read the lines beneath it, and my breath hitched violently in my throat. A ragged, involuntary cough escaped my scarred lips, the sudden shock causing me to nearly choke on the remaining crust of my breakfast. My massive crimson blood wings flared instinctively behind me, their sharp, translucent tips cutting through the dim air of the living room as my heart hammered against my ribs.
Elias Rynd. The Shadow Walker. The most elusive, terrifyingly efficient operative within the entire Bureau Association… and my legendary big brother.
According to the heavily sourced intelligence piece, the stoic, cold-blooded master of stealth who had spent years operating in the deepest recesses of the criminal underworld was harboring an absolute secret from the public eye. He wasn't just a solitary weapon of the state; he was a husband and a father. The article detailed that Elias had a deeply loving wife and a beloved young daughter hidden away from the chaotic political crosshairs of the major districts, tucked safely inside a secluded estate somewhere in the peaceful countryside.
I sat frozen on the sofa, the newspaper trembling slightly in my right hand as my mind raced to process this massive, unprecedented revelation.
"A family…" I thought, a profound, conflicting wave of emotion washing over my cold, predatory exterior.
In all our tactical briefings, family gatherings, and rare moments of shared quiet, Elias had maintained a flawless, impenetrable poker face. He had never dropped a single hint, never let a slip of the tongue betray the existence of a sister-in-law or a niece. But from a mastermind perspective, his secrecy made absolute, calculated sense. A man of his legendary status… a lethal phantom tracking high-tier threats across Andromeda… accumulated a catastrophic number of enemies. Total anonymity was the only weapon capable of keeping his loved ones safe from the vengeful blades of the syndicates.
A soft, genuine warmth, completely rare for the Crimson Phantom, settled behind my gruesome Glasgow smile. The stoic brother who always watched over us from the shadows had built a sanctuary of his own.
I looked down at the paper, my eye tracing the vague geographical descriptions of the countryside regions mentioned by the investigative journalists. Though my current trajectory was locked onto the arms trafficking guild in Carcaka and the looming execution of Don Anthony, a new, deeply personal objective officially added itself to my internal ledger.
"I hope I meet them soon," I whispered silently to the empty room, my missing tongue rendering the thought a beautiful, unvoiced promise.
As soon as the blood had settled, as soon as Cameron's bounty was claimed and the Luminous Knights were dealt with, I would use my high-stat agility to track down that countryside estate. I would shed this monstrous form, put on a proper dress, and introduce myself to the secret family my brother had fought so desperately to protect.
I carefully folded the Wednesday edition, placing it gently to the side as a sacred record, and reached back toward the remaining pile. The true storm… the news of Thursday and Friday regarding the Dodorant Citadel… was waiting for me.
I reached down and slid the next heavy parchment from the stack, unrolling the crisp pages with a quick flick of my right hand.
Caria Times… Thursday Edition
My single eye locked onto the bold financial and military columns dominating the front page. The Bureau was growing visibly desperate, and the economic toll of their failure was laid bare in black and white.
CRIMSON PHANTOM STILL ON THE LOOSE: PERIL IN CARIA ESCALATES AS BOUNTY RISES TO 16 GOLD PIECES
I scanned the analytical report beneath the headline. It stated that after a full month of fruitlessly hunting the "blood-sucking winged monster," the short-lived economic deflation in Caria had completely vanished. The massive financial strain of keeping high-ranking knight squads, investigators, and border patrols on high alert across the territory was draining the city's coffers. To force a breakthrough and entice the continent's most lethal mercenaries, the Luminous Knight Bureau Association had officially authorized a bounty increase, bumping the price on my head from 15 gold pieces to 16 gold pieces.
"Another desperate move by the Bureau, they really want my head on a spike." I thought, a cold, mocking hiss escaping my scarred lips.
They were bleeding resources, throwing another massive gold coin onto the pile just to catch a glimpse of my shadow. But a mastermind doesn't get intimidated by an inflating price tag; it simply meant I was becoming the most valuable asset on the continent. Let them raise it to twenty, thirty, or forty gold pieces… every knight they sent to collect would only end up feeding my blood wings.
Realizing the rest of the Thursday edition was just filled with redundant Bureau propaganda and panicked merchant warnings, I didn't bother reading the secondary pages. I tossed the parchment carelessly onto the floor with my right hand, watched it flutter open against the rug, and reached back to the table.
There was only one newspaper left in the backlog: the Friday edition. This was the exact paper detailing the immediate aftermath of my explosive escape from Lulu City. I picked it up, ready to see how the world handled the impossible shattering of the unbreakable Dodorant Citadel.
I picked up the final, crisp parchment from the table… the Caria Times Friday Edition… and unrolled it with my right hand, my single eye instantly locking onto the primary economic notices on the front page.
Caria Times… Friday Edition
CRUCIAL SHORTAGE: CARIA MINES ISSUE MASSIVE RECRUITING CALL FOR MINERS AS DEFLATION REVERSES
I scanned the operational details. Due to the sudden loss of deflation and the rapid influx of wealth back into the trading sectors, the local mining guilds were desperately short on manpower. To compensate, the high-end mining factions had aggressively increased the standard payout, offering prime gold and silver rates for any able-bodied workers willing to descend into the deep tunnels.
A sharp, calculated thought immediately struck my mind.
"I could make a massive haul of good money from this."
With my current elite physical stats, my raw strength and agility would allow me to tear through the solid rock walls and mine out an unprecedented volume of high-grade minerals in a fraction of the time it would take a mortal worker. But I quickly checked my ambitions. Not yet. My primary objective was strictly locked onto the underworld contracts. Mining would make the perfect, lucrative side job to fund my high-tier weapon upgrades once the immediate board was cleared. First, I had to finish my ultimate bounty.
I flipped the heavy parchment to the next page, where the headline practically screamed in chaotic, dark ink.
THE UNTHINKABLE BREACH: INMATE 345 'KEANE LEON' ESCAPES THE DODORANT CITADEL.. 10 GOLD BOUNTY ISSUED
The report was filled with frantic statements from Captain Friedrich's remaining military command. The public was in an absolute panic; the unbreakable island fortress had been permanently compromised. The Bureau had wasted no time finalizing the administrative paperwork, officially slapping a staggering 10 gold pieces bounty onto the head of the escaped pickpocket, Keane Leon.
I let out a low, silent, vibrating hiss of pure amusement through my scarred lips, leaning back against the sofa cushions as my massive crimson blood wings rippled behind me.
The utter irony of my situation was breathtaking. I was now actively hunting myself across the continent. On one side of the Bureau's ledgers, they were hunting the legendary Crimson Phantom… the blood-sucking winged demon… with a catastrophic 16 gold pieces price tag. On the other side, their patrols were tearing the region apart looking for Keane Leon, the elusive Citadel fugitive worth 10 gold pieces.
Combined, my two alternate faces held a total value of 26 gold coins… a fortune large enough to buy a minor noble estate. The entire continent of Andromeda was blindly chasing a pair of ghosts, completely ignorant of the fact that both legendary bounties were sitting on the exact same couch in House 132, eating strawberry jam.
I tossed the final newspaper onto the pile, my eye flashing with predatory focus. The public tracking was exactly where I wanted it. I had two days of absolute isolation before my crimson trench coat was tailored and Vanessa's files arrived. It was time to rest, let my mana pool overflow, and map out the exact strategy to infiltrate the Western town of Carcaka to claim Don Anthony's head.