Published at 19th of February 2026 7:16 am

Chapter 1514 Mysterious Faction

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If Adam was being honest with himself, then he was genuinely flabbergasted by how things had played out.

Yes, at first, he had planned to guide Lebu slowly, feeding him vague fragments of information, letting him connect the dots and eventually realize that Nilrem was part of the new mysterious group responsible for killing two Councilors.

He was already aware of the Brotherhood's theory about a mysterious hidden faction that dealt with the traitorous Councilors and even sowed division among the remaining traitors.

His plan had been simple: give credibility to the Brotherhood's theory and turn a lie into the truth.

But even he hadn't guessed Lebu to hit the mark on his very first attempt. Either he had seriously underestimated Lebu's capabilities, or Lebu was a full-fledged conspiracy theorist!

Adam honestly didn't know.

What… what the fuck is going on?! He thought to himself, the corner of his lips twitching.

This isn't how I planned for things to unfold!

He stared at Lebu's solemn expression and, for a moment, didn't know what to say. This encounter had completely caught him off guard.

Lebu's face was grim, as though he was completely certain that what he had just said was the truth — and nothing but the truth.

At the same time, this was a deliberate psychological maneuver, meant to make the target believe there was no escape through lying, that every card had already been read.

"I know you're a part of this faction, Magus Nilrem," he continued. "I've already gathered all the evidence, spoken to the relevant people, and deduced all the connections. I know for certain that you're a part of this secret organization!"

He took another step forward, calming his restless mind and his wildly beating heart.

"Now, tell me," he said in a low voice. "Was Kenny a part of this group? Was he your spy, meant to infiltrate the Brotherhood from the root level?"

Nilrem's eyes narrowed.

"…Was?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Lebu's eyes flickered with a strange light. His lips parted, but the words he wanted to say never escaped them.

Now, it was time for Nilrem to press for answers. His eyes narrowed, and in a split second, his entire demeanor changed.

"Young man," he said in a slightly cold voice. "Where is Kenny?"

Lebu's lower lip quivered ever so slightly. He looked Nilrem in the eye and asked in a soft voice, "You really don't know?"

"Don't answer a question with a question," Nilrem spoke in a dignified voice. "Where is he?"

The ginger-haired Agent inhaled deeply, then released a shaky breath. He lowered his head in shame and slowly shook his head.

"He…" Lebu began. "He's no more."

"What?" Nilrem's voice sounded so cold that Lebu felt a literal chill crawl down his spine.

When he looked up, he saw the old man reaching out for him. There was nothing Lebu could do to defend against what was coming.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard Nilrem's stern voice echo in his ears.

"Looks like you and I need to have a chat."

***

Lebu slowly opened his eyes.

His vision was initially blurry, but when it focused, he realized that he was in a dimly lit room. He was seated in a chair with a table directly in front of him. He was neither handcuffed nor tied down.

A single lantern hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, steady glow that barely pushed back the shadows in the cramped space. There were no windows, and he didn't know where the door was.

It was unmistakably an interrogation room.

As memories of what occurred before he passed out surfaced inside his mind, his heart turned cold. Only one thought echoed in his mind:

Was I right about Nilrem, after all?!

Why else would the man suddenly kidnap him? It just didn't make sense.

Have I been captured by that mysterious faction? What… what's going to happen…

His thoughts came to a cold pause when Nilrem's voice echoed in the room.

"Looks like you were acting alone."

Lebu flinched.

He slowly turned around, toward the source of the voice. There, he saw the old man engulfed in shadows, leaning against the wall and smoking from a long, wooden pipe.

The sound of tobacco burning and the man inhaling the smoke echoed in Lebu's ears, causing goosebumps to cover his body.

"Just… who are you?!" He blurted out, his tone laced with dread. "What are you planning to do with me?!"

Nilrem exhaled a plume of smoke, then stepped out of the darkness. He calmly walked around the table and then took a seat across from Lebu.

After setting aside the pipe on the table, he looked at the ginger-haired man and calmly said, "Tell me what happened to Kenny."

Seeing that Lebu was still frightened out of his wits, Nilrem continued, "Tell me, and I will truthfully answer all of your questions."

He then placed his hand over his chest and said, "And I solemnly swear on the mana coursing through my body that I shall not harm you."

Hearing those words, Lebu's eyes widened in disbelief. "What!"

There was no need to swear a mana oath over something so insignificant. And yet, the fact that Nilrem had done so told Lebu how serious the old Magus was, and how desperate he was to learn the truth about what had happened to Kenny.

"You…" Lebu gulped involuntarily. "Just who was Kenny to you?"

Nilrem shamelessly lied through his teeth.

"Benefactor," he murmured. "He and his family. If it weren't for them, I might never have emerged from the Sea of Green."

Lebu intently studied the man. Although the latter didn't show it, he could tell that the old man was shaken by what might have happened to Kenny.

"…I understand." He nodded. "I'll tell you everything."

He then went on to explain everything that happened in the past few years. From finding Kenny in the jungles, to training him, to assigning him missions. Lebu laid it all bare, careful not to explicitly reveal his ties to the Brotherhood.

"…After securing evidence that exposed our enemy's dark secrets, he was apprehended by them. That was more than six months ago. And that was the last I ever heard from him," Lenu concluded with a sorrowful smile.

Nilrem closed his eyes, his fists clenching. He lowered his head and said in a shaky voice, "I see... So that's what happened."

His lips curled into a wry smile, and he added:

"Is this fate? To think that the boy I helped become a Magus would end up joining… the Twilight Brotherhood."

Lebu's eyebrows flew up, and his body trembled in shock.

"You…" he blurted out in disbelief. "How do you know…"

Nilrem glanced at Lebu with a faint smile. "How do I know about your secret organization? Isn't it obvious?"

All the dots that Lebu had connected in the past few days finally aligned, forming a single, chilling picture.

The puzzle was now complete.

And Nilrem's next words erased any lingering doubts.

The wandering Magus Nilrem rose to his feet, his visage half illuminated by the light and half covered in shadows. His lips parted, and he calmly said, "Just like you claimed, I am part of that mysterious faction."

He paused for a moment, his figure shrouded in mysteries.

"I, Nilrem, am a member of the Order of the Faceless Magi."

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