Chapter 965: Not Exclusive To One Demon
Chapter 965 – Not Exclusive To One Demon
Lux’s expression went still.
Then he nodded once.
"I know."
The mirror dimmed.
Zavros vanished.
The room returned to system light, raven hacker, ancient jelly, and one demon prince who had forgotten how late the night had become.
Lux set the empty cup down.
Corvus spoke quietly. "More coffee?"
Lux stared at the screen. "No."
Zehar blinked.
Corvus blinked.
Lux leaned back, eyes still on the loophole list. "Bring me the volcanic records first."
Corvus nodded solemnly.
Zehar whispered, "No coffee? Growth."
Lux glanced at him.
Zehar immediately pretended to be a paperweight.
Lux turned back to the glowing screens.
The system windows shifted again, reorganizing themselves into sharper stacks of data. Old sigils. Burned registry fragments. Volcanic ash composition records. Half-deleted infernal testimonies. Maps with missing regions. Ancient debt chain diagrams. Too many possibilities, not enough proof.
Lux’s eyes moved faster than the windows.
[Deep Search Progress: 91%]
[Priority Analysis: Volcanic Disaster Manipulation Hypothesis]
[Cross-Referencing: Ancient Ash Residue / Proto-Royal Sigil Presence / Pre-Elven Catastrophe Markers / Ash Ledger Kin Movement Records]
[New Finding Detected]
Lux’s fingers stopped.
The room went quiet again.
Even Corvus leaned forward.
Zehar forgot to pretend he was an object.
Lux’s eyes narrowed. "Show me."
The system screen expanded.
Dark-gold light sharpened into lines. A rotating model of the ancient volcanic event appeared above the desk. Mountain, forest, lava flow, ash cloud, heat spread, evacuation paths, magical pressure marks.
Then another layer appeared.
Not natural.
A pattern hidden inside the eruption flow.
A series of ignition points.
Too clean.
Too deliberate.
[Volcanic Event Natural Probability: 19.6%]
[Artificial / Manipulated Probability: 80.4%]
[Conclusion: Eruption Was Likely Triggered Or Amplified By External Interference]
Lux stared.
Corvus whistled low.
Zehar wobbled in horror.
"Made up," Zehar whispered. "The fire was made up."
Lux did not answer.
His face had gone very still.
The first elf’s farewell echoed again.
We survived because darkness stood between us and fire.
We endured because a son of the demon bloodline answered when the world burned.
Lux’s jaw tightened once.
The world burned because someone might have lit it first.
The system continued.
[Additional Discovery: Ash Ledger Sigil Distribution]
[Historical Note: Ash Ledger Sigil Was Not Exclusive To One Demon]
[Pre-Royal Era Records Indicate Numerous Sigil Bearers]
[Estimated Number Of Active Bearers During Early Ancient Era: High]
[Authority Rank: Low To Mid]
[Combat Strength: Generally Low]
[Specialization: Debt Recording / Oath Preservation / Binding Witness / Claim Transfer]
[Remark: Sigil Bearers Often Operated In Groups]
Corvus clicked his beak.
"So the sigil did not mean one demon."
Zehar bounced once. "It meant a profession. Or bloodline branch. Or awful little club."
Lux hummed.
His gears spun.
But the room seemed to feel it. That invisible turning inside his head, where data became structure and structure became a trap someone else would eventually regret.
In the past, there were many bearers of that sigil.
A lot.
Not strong.
Not nobles.
Not royal.
They were small demons with a very specific function.
Bind here.
Witness there.
Record debt.
Preserve promise.
Move claim.
Low power, high persistence.
Then now...
None.
Lux’s eyes lifted slowly to the sigil.
The Ash Ledger mark rotated above his desk.
Old.
Erased.
Hidden.
Why?
If there had been many, where did they go?
Did Kaelmor erase them?
Absorb them?
Kill them?
Or worse... inherit everything they held?
His lips parted slightly.
"If..."
Corvus went still.
Zehar’s eyes widened.
Lux leaned back in his chair, the dim golden light painting the sharp lines of his face.
"If Kaelmor could steal other bearers’ contracts, payments, claims, or recorded debts as long as they shared the same bloodline sigil..."
The system flickered.
[Hypothesis Generated]
[Mechanism: Collective Sigil Claim Consolidation]
[Possible Process: Bloodline Authority Absorption / Contract Claim Transfer / Witness Authority Usurpation]
[Implication: Kaelmor May Not Be Original Debt Holder]
Lux’s smile came slowly.
Very slowly.
"I see how it is."
Corvus’s eyes glowed brighter.
Zehar whispered, "Oh no. He found the tasty part."
Lux ignored him.
"The demon’s son who helped the elves may not have been Kaelmor."
His finger tapped once against the desk.
"Maybe not even Kaelmor’s direct ancestor in the way we thought. Just someone who bore the same Ash Ledger sigil. Someone from the same bloodline network."
He looked at the sigil again.
"And if Kaelmor consolidated the claims after rising to power..."
Corvus finished softly, "He could use it."
Lux nodded.
"He could stand as the symbolic holder. The gardener. The heir to the debt. Not because he earned the debt."
His smile sharpened.
"But because he stole the office that held it."
Zehar wobbled.
"That is disgusting."
"Yes," Lux said.
A pause.
"And useful."
Lux huffed through his nose. "Okay."
Corvus tilted his head. "One homework done?"
"Yes." He rubbed his eyes with two fingers, then let his hand fall.
"But it’s still analysis."
The system windows paused as if listening.
Lux stared at the eruption model.
"No proof. Not enough. Not court-grade. Not contract-grade. Not enough to confront Kaelmor or convince the first elf. If I go there with only theory, she will say the debt remains."
Zehar looked down.
Corvus folded his wings.
Lux closed his eyes.
For a few seconds, he allowed the darkness behind his lids to exist.
Then he said, "I’ll take a break."
Corvus immediately straightened. "Coffee?"
Lux opened his eyes. "No."
Zehar gasped.
Corvus froze.
The system did not chime, but somehow the silence felt like it wanted to.
Lux stood. "Tea."
Zehar’s jelly body sagged dramatically. "Who are you?"
Lux gave him a flat look. "A demon trying not to die from caffeine-related stubbornness."
Corvus blinked. "That exists?"
"Apparently."
Lux stretched his shoulders slowly. The joints of his neck gave a soft crack. He looked toward the wall clock and only then realized the time.
Almost midnight.
He had not noticed.
Time was very rude when left unsupervised.
Lux swept one hand through the system windows, minimizing several and leaving only three active.
[Deep Search Continuing]
He glanced at Corvus and Zehar. "Do not fight."
Corvus lifted his head. "I am dignified."
Zehar wobbled. "He lies."
Lux pointed at both of them without looking. "I said do not."
They shut up.
Lux walked out of his room.
The hallway was dim and quiet. The mansion had changed at night. During the day, it was movement, servants, voices, portals, political disasters, women laughing, someone stealing sweets, Sira causing emotional property damage. At night, everything softened. The lamps glowed low along the walls. Wards pulsed faintly beneath the wallpaper like sleeping veins.
Lux intended to order Lyra for tea.
Simple.
Walk to the kitchen. Ask for tea. Stretch his legs. Maybe stand by the window for five minutes and pretend his brain was not constructing a legal guillotine for an ancient contract.
Then the living room caught his eye.
He stopped.
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