Chapter 863

"Mmm…"

Sensing something amiss, the young man in water-blue robes beside the table glanced down at his left hand.

At the base of his left index finger, a gold-thread ring stamped with a red-tongue pattern had quietly split open along the tongue's tip, then snapped in two with a sharp crack.

Nicole…

Staring at the ring fragments fallen onto the table, the Aquarius Director fell silent, his gaze lingering on the name engraved inside the band, a flicker of nostalgia passing through his eyes.

He remembered finding Nicole unconscious on his privateer ship in the Saeo Kingdom—she was barely as tall as the gunwale, and since she resembled his daughter as a child, he'd taken her back to the Bureau by chance; it had been nearly twenty years now.

Hmm… though he'd lived over a hundred years, he'd been sold to traffickers as a child; his other relatives had either been distant or died young. If you counted true companionship, the one who'd stayed by his side longest was none other than Nicole, the girl he'd taken in on a whim—his bond with her ran deeper than most.

Unfortunately, this rare connection may well end today.

After a quiet sigh of deep emotion, the Aquarius Director gathered the ring fragments, then lifted his head to face the other shadows at the table and smiled.

"Apologies—just a minor incident… where were we?"

"We were still discussing the previous topic."

Across the long table, forged from the bones of some unknown creature and radiating a distinctly "evil villain" aesthetic, a woman wearing a black cat-mask and a pointed hat spoke up.

"You said the Blood-Haired Witch would be heading to the Dream Realm soon, and that the Executioner and the Dice King were both tied up and couldn't return in time—so the Virgin Division was virtually undefended. That's why we agreed to let No. move ahead."

"But as you can see, our No. —despite the massive resources we poured into it—couldn't even hold out for an hour before being neutralized by a single agent from the Virgin Division… Do you have anything to say about that?"

"I have nothing to say."

Smiling meaningfully at the woman across the table, the Fox-Masked Aquarius Director swept his gaze across the room, then added calmly:

"I understand everyone is disappointed this operation failed, but don't forget: my intelligence was flawless. Every elite agent of the Virgin Division was indeed lured away."

"Though I created this opportunity and provided the intelligence about the Virgin Division's weakness, when someone proposed accelerating No. 's activation and we voted on whether to trigger it, I was the first to vote against."

"One opposing vote proves nothing."

No sooner had the Aquarius Director finished than another shadow, wearing a Thrush-Crow mask and flickering faintly, spoke up:

"Your intelligence alone was enough to convince most of us that action was viable. Your vote—whether for or against—had no bearing on the outcome."

"So… you still suspect me?"

Glancing at the Thrush-Crow-masked shadow, the Aquarius Director sighed wearily.

"Though my goals aren't identical to yours, and I have no interest in slaughtering the Thirteen Royal Houses, since joining the Kill-King Society, I've worked tirelessly."

Including the Krokok Kingdom, I've created four prime opportunities over the years, helping you seize control of two of the Thirteen Royal Houses. If we're judging by performance, shouldn't I be number one?"

"You've certainly done a lot—we admit that."

Hearing this, the Black Cat-Masked woman spoke:

"But to avoid alerting the Cleansing Bureau prematurely, we never fully eradicated the corresponding royal houses—there's still room for them to recover. And this failure is simply too inexplicable. You remain a potential traitor."

"If you say so, then I can't argue."

The Aquarius Director spread his hands, sounding resigned.

"What you're doing is something the vast majority of people in this world don't want to happen—you're fighting against the will of the world itself. Those who oppose the world's will are naturally shunned by it. Bad luck strikes without reason—it's only natural."

"In my opinion, you failed because you were just unlucky. If you can't accept that, and insist on finding a traitor among us, then fine—call me the traitor!"

"We're not insisting on finding a traitor—we just find this situation suspicious."

After the Aquarius Director finished, the Thrush-Crow-masked shadow spoke again, its tone sharp:

"You should know: though No. looks unimpressive, it was forged by hunting down a demon god. Countless lives were lost to capture it—I'm still nursing wounds from that battle."

"According to No. 's final rank, any mortal below the divine tier, if their status was lower, could not defy its command. Yet, in a Virgin Division left defenseless, it was taken down by a single Level-3 Cleanser."

"Tell me—if this were your doing, could you accept such an absurd outcome?"

"Why not?"

The Aquarius Director smiled, then pointed at himself, calm and unruffled.

Didn't your own Level-3 Cleanser expose my ninety-year plan? As for your losses... heh, after my plan was ruined, the Cleansing Bureau went after me—I lost more than half of my own people!

"If I hadn't risked eternal enslavement by opening my soul to the King of Nightmares, my soul wounds would still be unhealed—and all of this is thanks to your 'mere' Level-3 Cleanser. I've already endured outcomes far more absurd than this—more than once."

"…"

"You need to know: when you lose, you accept it!"

Mimicking the Thrush-Crow's tone, the Aquarius Director raised an eyebrow and tapped the table with his knuckles.

"When I voted against it, I already gave my reason: the Virgin Division may have been empty, but that Level-3 Cleanser was strange. If he hadn't left the capital, your plan might have failed. I advised you to eliminate him first."

"I warned you then—what did you say? Hmm?"

Here, the Aquarius Director paused, then raised his voice, exaggerating:

"Just a Level-3 Cleanser? Ignore him!"

"Our resources are precious—we have no obligation to settle your petty personal grudge."

"You're too cautious. A Level-3 Cleanser is no different from a worm before a god-tier No. !"

"…"

Watching the masked shadows around the table fall silent, the Aquarius Director asked with quiet satisfaction:

"Well? Still think I'm being too cautious?"