CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 298: INFORMATION_2

Lance was certainly no saint; he had quite a temper. He was particularly irked by the Elder’s condescending attitude and her unprovoked attack. Only the distance between them prevented him from marching over and slapping her to see if she’d snap out of her hysteria.

"But this will surely lead to hostility from the Seekers of Omens. They will never allow these two items to get out, and they certainly won’t let me go," Tamara said with a sigh. "I know too much..." No organization would tolerate a traitor, and they would undoubtedly use any means necessary to deal with one—especially a core figure.

"I know, but as long as you don’t give up on yourself, I won’t give up on you."

Lance knew this, of course. In fact, he rather hoped the Seekers of Omens would send more assassins. As long as they couldn’t kill Tamara, their attempts would only push her further into his embrace. Eventually, the Seekers of Omens’ secret techniques would be his. He wanted the woman, the artifacts, and their knowledge.

Tamara was now dazed by Lance’s forceful demeanor, feeling a potent sense of security as if she were on cloud nine. She had thought she could confide in her teacher about the hardships of her years of wandering, but she never expected to be betrayed instead. Lance, on the other hand, had accepted and protected her based on a promise.

"Does that mean we can get rid of Amanda now?" Even though her mind was still a bit foggy, Tamara remained fixated on her ultimate goal.

Lance looked at her, momentarily speechless. Is this really the first thing you think of once you recover?

However, Lance didn’t agree immediately. After some thought, he rejected the idea. "The Seekers of Omens don’t acknowledge her existence, which means she’s been cast out, just like you. Think about how it felt when you weren’t understood or recognized."

A sly smile touched Lance’s lips. "Go tell her you’re both in the same boat now. Letting her live with that knowledge will be more agonizing for her than death."

"Yes! I’ll go tell her right now." Tamara, who had been quite dejected just moments before, grew excited at his words. It seemed Amanda was more important to her than anything else; even the organization’s denial could be temporarily set aside.

These two really were archenemies...

Lance thought.

He told her to take the Spirit Communication Ritual tools and return them, and off she scurried. Tamara hadn’t thought much beyond the immediate satisfaction; she was simply elated at the thought of Amanda’s distress. Misery loved company, and if someone else was suffering with her, it became bearable, even a source of dark amusement.

Lance smiled faintly and silently withdrew.

Amanda was a talent, regardless of her current situation. It would be best if he could make use of her. By having Tamara provoke her and undermine her morale, he could make Amanda doubt herself. Then, when Amanda was at her lowest, he could extend a helping hand, using that vulnerability to supplant the organization’s place in her heart. The hearts of people, ripe for his manipulation! Those who couldn’t be used by him... well, only the dead were beyond his influence.

It was only a short walk. Tamara hurried to the carriage and knocked on the window. When Amanda’s face appeared, she showed none of her previous dejection. Her ability to recover so quickly from the emotional toll of her earlier conflict with Lance spoke to Amanda’s strong professionalism.

"Here are your things back," Tamara said with a laugh, tossing the items. "It’s a pity, really. The higher-ups don’t acknowledge your existence at all. They don’t care if you live or die. Now we’re in the same boat!"

The sight of a smug Tamara filled Amanda with intense disgust. Without giving Tamara a chance to say more, Amanda slammed the window shut.

Her reaction made Tamara pause outside, but instead of anger, a smile spread across her face. She could see the panic and unease hidden beneath Amanda’s tense expression.

"Hahaha, serves you right for chasing me all this way!" Tamara gloated, though Amanda couldn’t hear her.

But it was undeniable: Amanda was indeed flustered.

Although she had suspected the organization wouldn’t acknowledge her intelligence-gathering mission, surely that should only apply to the mission itself. The organization wouldn’t just abandon her, would they? Her identity... That’s right! The organization definitely couldn’t just give up on me like this.

After retrieving the Spirit Communication Ritual tools, she hurriedly tried to contact her superiors. It was common knowledge among all Transcendents—the very first lesson they learned—that tools obtained from others must be thoroughly inspected. But Amanda couldn’t care less about that now; she desperately needed an explanation from above, not confirmation that she had truly been deserted.

Failure.

The Spiritual Network, which she should have been able to sense through the ritual, seemed to have vanished, severing her connection to her superiors. Amanda’s first thought was that Tamara had tampered with the tools, but after checking them again, she found nothing out of the ordinary. The idea that the Spiritual Network itself could be destroyed had never crossed her mind; in her view, such a thing was impossible.

Then only one possibility remained: the higher-ups had removed her from the Spiritual Network.

Had she truly been abandoned?

The tools slipped from her grasp. She had no other reaction, simply standing there stunned...

"Has the Spiritual Network not been repaired yet?" the aged woman asked, facing Tamara’s teacher, a hint of worry in her voice. The Elders’ Council had concluded. Numerous agenda items concerning this matter had been voted on and approved, and she was now responsible for their execution. Thus, she immediately turned her attention to this issue upon exiting, but the news was grim.

"In other regions, we’ve re-established contact with the Messengers, and the situation is stabilizing. However, the Messenger responsible for the Empire region has vanished. We can’t reach them. In the short term..." The woman’s expression also grew somber, but she forced herself to continue, "our operations in the Empire region will be severely crippled."

Transmitting information across thousands of miles was beyond current human capability; the Romani achieved it by borrowing the power of Transcendent entities known as "Messengers." The existence of the "Messenger" was an absolute Romani secret. Even ordinary Romani and most Seekers of Omens only had permission to use the Spirit Communication Ritual, completely unaware of its true nature or the Messengers. Only a handful were privy to the Messengers’ existence. As for what a "Messenger" truly was, that was a secret known only to the Elders.

"You’ve all worked hard." Hearing this, the old woman looked even older, the knowledge of what a Messenger was making her feel even more powerless. Over millennia, the Romani had found only a few such entities, each discovery made at an immense cost. The loss of even one was unacceptable to the Romani.

The Spiritual Network paralyzed, a Messenger lost, and a powerful enemy made... Her momentary impulse had brought such dire trouble to the organization, and indeed, to all Romani. The old woman knew that after this, she would have to step down from the Elders’ Council. No one else could bear this responsibility. But first, she had to resolve this crisis. If that proved impossible, she would at least have to eliminate that man. Indeed, an organization that had survived in this world for so many years had to be ruthless. Some secret techniques, while demanding a terrible price, possessed immense power. If she were to offer herself as that price, not even another Legendary could withstand it.

This would be her atonement. One last time, she would shield the Romani—that was an Elder’s duty.

"I will personally go to the Northern Borderlands of the Empire. Make the preparations."

"Elder, let me go instead. Tamara is my student, after all. If I talk to her, I might be able to help."

"There’s no need. These old bones aren’t so feeble yet," the old woman said, shaking her head with a smile. "You must manage things here. I will be stepping down soon. Resolve this matter properly; I have high hopes for you."

The woman understood the implication, of course. But, aware that her rival also had backing from other Elders, she hesitated for a moment before relaying a crucial piece of information.

"Elder, in the regions where we’ve re-established communication, we’ve received some unusual messages."

"What is it?"

"Before the Spiritual Network collapsed, someone disseminated a message to all Romani caravans concerning that man. The message proclaimed Hamlet as a sanctuary, a gathering place for Transcendents, and urged its dissemination."