Chapter 177: Who exactly are you?
The source of his absolute confidence laid within Kael.
While the human spies relied on the diluted, corrupt Nether granted to them by their demonic masters, they were essentially playing with fire they didn’t understand.
To Kael, the shadow essence infecting those traitors was nothing more than a crude, pale imitation of his own power.
Noah didn’t need to perform any complex rituals or draw dangerous circles to initiate a scan.
He simply had to let Kael reach out. The process was almost terrifying in its simplicity.
Kael would extend his consciousness, weaving his own abyssal aura into the air, effectively turning the surrounding space into an extension of his senses.
He could delve into a person’s body, sliding past their skin and bones to probe their very mana core with surgical precision.
If there was a single drop of tainted shadow energy residing within them, Kael would find it instantly.
Since shadow, by its very nature, was designed for stealth and subversion; it was meant to exist in the peripheral vision, to be felt rather than seen.
Because Kael’s manipulation of this element was so profoundly superior, he could conduct these scans without leaving a single ripple in the local mana flow.
He could scan every heart in the room, dismantle their secrets, and retreat back into the safety of Noah’s shadow before the subjects even realized they had been scrutinized.
They would be exposed, identified, and cataloged while remaining entirely oblivious to the fact that they were being observed by a predator far older and more dangerous than any demon.
Noah sat motionless, his mind racing with the tactical possibilities.
For those hidden shadow figures embedded deep within the ranks of the Adventurer Guild, the game had already changed.
He could task Kael with systematically exposing every last one of them.
He could even take a more active role himself, learning to mimic Kael’s precision to perform the scans whenever necessary.
However, he wasn’t sure he could go undetected pole the dragon.
Even if these spies possessed the skill to cloak their corruption from the prying eyes of the guild’s best sensors, there was no way in the world they could evade Kael.
To the dragon, their "stealth" was nothing more than a beacon, bright and unmistakable against the darkness.
Noah glanced the other two Arch Magi in the room, and realized just how blind they were.
They were the most powerful individuals in the city, yet they could be standing mere inches from an enemy, shaking hands with a traitor, and never have the slightest inkling of the danger.
The enemy was operating right under their noses, weaving webs of subversion that could topple the entire organization, and the guild leaders remained blissfully unaware, preoccupied with their own internal politics and pride.
Noah felt his brows knit together, a faint, sharp frown crossing his face beneath his mask. He shifted slightly, the leather of his chair creaking softly in the quiet room.
He began to compare his own essence to that of the others present.
His mana... it was different. It was denser, colder, and hummed with a different frequency than the light-aligned or elemental mana used by the Arch Magi around him.
The inability of the other magi to detect these shadow figures was a terrifying vulnerability.
It was the exact reason Tara had been able to successfully kill one of them previously, despite not possessing a higher level of raw strength or overwhelming mana.
The arch magus simply hadn’t seen her coming, unable to anticipate a threat that could navigate the shadows better than they could.
The average magi were completely blind to this specific threat. Against an enemy that could slip through solid walls and mask their very life force, the guild’s forces were essentially fighting a losing battle, completely defenseless against an enemy they couldn’t even see.
A few minutes later, the tense atmosphere finally began to shift as the emergency meeting drew to a close.
The heavy silence of the room was broken by the sound of scraping chairs as the remaining Arch Magi stood up and began to leave the table one by one.
Their faces were grim, weighed down by the massive public spectacle they now had to manage.
The central table, which had been the focus of so much intense debate and strategy, quickly cleared out as the powerful figures dispersed to prepare for the coming storm.
Yaroth was no longer present in the room either, having already been escorted away to the deepest sectors of the guild’s prison.
Even though Noah had explicitly stated during the meeting that the captive was nothing more than a dummy and practically harmless without his demonic assets, the adventurers weren’t taking any chances.
They had made absolutely sure to bound him securely with heavy, enchanted mana-suppressing chains.
It was an extreme precaution, but given the stakes, they wanted to ensure he wouldn’t be able to try anything, no matter how weak he currently seemed.
Noah adjusted his mask and was also about to turn and leave the room, ready to step out of the suffocating tension of the room.
However, before he could take a single step toward the exit, Morris’s voice suddenly cut through the quiet space, calling out to him.
"Mr. White..." the Grand Guild Master said, his voice deep and resonant.
Noah paused for a moment, his boots freezing against the stone floor. He let the silence stretch for a beat before slowly turning his head to look back at the most powerful man in the adventurer guild.
The hardened, resolute expression on Morris’s face softened slightly, and the older man offered him a genuine, appreciative smile.
"I just want to thank you personally," Morris said, looking directly at the masked enigma. "Without your help, we would have never gotten this far. You’ve given us a fighting chance."
Noah gave a brief, controlled nod, keeping his posture relaxed despite the intense scrutiny. "No problem," he replied smoothly, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
He expected that to be the end of the exchange, but Morris didn’t turn away. Instead, the Grand Guild Master’s eyes narrowed slightly, filled with a sharp, probing curiosity.
"What’s your reason for doing this though?" Morris asked suddenly, his tone dropping to a more serious, demanding register. "Who exactly are you?"
