CHAPTER 94: THE REAL DANGER

Ray remained silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on her, before he finally spoke with a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"One last question. I always see you in the Tower. Day after day, you’re here. Is it because you can’t return home for some reason?

"High-profile targets are being assassinated left and right in Veloria. It isn’t safe for me there." Lia smiled bitterly.

"Are you... like someone important?" he asked.

In response, Lia tugged lightly on the chain around her neck. A pendant slipped free from beneath her shirt and fell forward, catching the dim light of the hub as she held it out for him to see.

It was shaped like a crescent moon, but its edges were petaled like a flower in full bloom. It looked beautiful and equally magical as it seemed to be be woven from moonlight itself, giving off a soft silver radiance.

Ray tilted his head, "Is this supposed to mean something?"

She held it up between them, her eyes searching his. "You don’t understand?"

Ray blinked, "...No."

"Ah, forgive me. I forgot you’re not a Velorian. For us, this is common sense, something every child would recognize at a glance. But for you... for you, it’s utterly foreign. Of course you wouldn’t know." She smiled self mockingly.

Ray’s brow twitched. "If you’re done pointing out my ignorance, then can we please move on to the part where you actually explain it to me?" he said, his voice carrying a note of irritation.

"Ahem," Lia cleared her throat. "How should I put it..."

She brushed her thumb across the surface of her pendant, and its glow rippled faintly as she revealed.

"This pendant is made from a Moon Gem. It is a miracle that only grows once every century, and only on the Mother Tree at the heart of Ivondir, the sacred lands of the elves. A single gem takes a hundred years to form. It is priceless. Because of how rare it is, it is bestowed only upon the children of the reigning king of the Moon-Worshiping Elves when they are born."

Ray froze. His eyes widened. He nearly choked on his own saliva before blurting out in shock, "Wait—you... you’re telling me you’re a princess!?"

"Shh!" Lia’s hand shot forward, pressing firmly against his lips, afraid he had drawn unwanted attention. "Not so loud!"

Her eyes darted around the Main Hub nervously. After several tense seconds, she let out a soft sigh of relief when she realized no one was paying them any mind.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs. No one looked interested in their conversation. What she feared hasn’t happened. Her identity was still a mystery to the gathered crowd.

Suddenly finding Lia’s soft hand blocking his mouth, Ray felt confused at first, but then, as he questioned her bewildering behaviour and his mind raced, the dots connected themselves one after another until a crucial realization hit him like a blade of cold steel.

’No way. Even this place that exists to resist the spread of demonic creatures isn’t absolutely safe.’

It gave rise to a question he needed answered immediately.

He gently pulled her hand away and asked, "Mind explaining why it’s a bad thing to reveal who you are in the tower that’s supposed to be safe from demonic creatures?"

Lia leaned closer.

So close that Ray caught a whiff of her scent.

It was strong, and it was there. Pleasant, lingering. A fragrance like roses after the rain. Sweet, refreshing, and dangerously captivating.

For just a moment, a shameless thought crossed his mind. Would she taste as sweet as she smelled?

’Get a grip, idiot. This isn’t the time to think like that.’

Ray scolded himself in his heart, shoving the wicked thought down into the abyss where it belonged.

Lia’s lips brushed dangerously close to his ear as she whispered, "The bloodsuckers can enslave others, and they are not the only demonic creatures with such powers. Who knows how many spies they have planted within our ranks. For all we know, any seeker here could be working for them. Nowhere is truly safe."

The reason she whispered these words into his ears was simple.

She didn’t want others to hear it, because the truth could be more offensive, more dangerous, than any insult.

Honestly, it was the kind of truth people refused to admit. The kind of truth people would rather deny. But that didn’t make it any less real.

Ray fell silent, her words echoing in his head again and again, louder each time until they almost drowned out the sounds of the bustling hub around them, a thought crossing his mind.

’I’ve seriously overlooked the reach of the demonic creatures.’

Until now, the demonic creatures he had faced were mostly iron rankers with some of them being bronze rankers. They had been dangerous, yes, but not particularly intelligent. They were wild, bestial, and direct. Their strength lay in brute force, not cunning. Compared to them, silver rankers and higher demonic creatures were on an entirely different level. They were clever, manipulative, capable of weaving plots that stretched for years to millennium, plots that could decide the fates of worlds!

Because of his personal experience, Ray had assumed the enemy would always come charging from the outside, but Lia’s words made something painfully clear to him.

Demonic creatures were only one danger people like them had to face. The other, far greater danger, was the unseen traitor standing right beside them. The ally you trusted, the comrade you fought shoulder to shoulder with, could in truth be nothing more than a puppet dancing on strings, waiting for that one command from their demonic masters that could turn them against you in a single heartbeat.

The realization made his chest tighten. He hadn’t thought of that possibility. He hadn’t wanted to. But now, it loomed over him like the reaper’s scythe.

With Lia pointing it out so bluntly, the severity of the situation finally dawned on him.

From now on, he decided, I will be far more cautious.

These were times where demonic creatures were expanding their territories and influence across countless worlds in the cosmos. They weren’t just fighting to destroy cities or conquer kingdoms. They were spreading like a plague, infecting every corner of creation, planting roots where no one thought to look.

In such an age, no one could be trusted. In such an age, nothing could be taken for granted!