Published at 25th of August 2026 9:10 am

Chapter 1958: Glimmer of Hope

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Aramen had been living in this secret plane since the time of the first adventurers.

He had been nothing more than a Squire when the mysterious mist swallowed him. Now, he was old and weary. Over the centuries, he had lost countless friends and loved ones to this nightmare.

He had grown tired.

Far too tired.

Arguably the strongest adventurer in this secret plane, he was also the oldest. He had reached both the peak of the Cavalier Rank and the limits of his lifespan. He was more than eighteen hundred years old already.

He knew he had little time left.

But one thing he was certain of...

Freedom was only a step away.

Across from him sat Kesha, an elf gifted in magic. She had only spent a couple of hundred years inside this secret plane, so on many occasions, she deferred to Aramen’s judgment.

This was one of them.

"Must it be her?" Kesha asked with a frown on her beautiful face.

Aramen sat with an impassive look on his aged face. His blue eyes pierced through the invisible barrier protecting the building and locked onto the crimson moon outside.

"Yes," he said, his gaze still glued to the ominous moon.

He finally turned to Kesha and looked her in the eyes. His following words were cold and blunt.

"Unless you have other chaste maidens lying around, then it has to be her."

Kesha’s eyes narrowed, her frown deepening.

Genevieve was an Enchantress, and Kesha had recognized her true potential. She wanted to nurture the human girl and induct her into her faction.

But who could have guessed that a beautiful woman like her had remained a virgin?

At first, Kesha had refused to believe it. But after verifying it with magic, she had no choice but to accept the truth.

"Kesha," Aramen’s cold voice drifted in the private quarters, causing the temperature of the room to suddenly plummet. "Are you having second thoughts?"

Kesha’s eyes trembled.

Although she was a Mana Seed Magus, the human across from her was someone who had reached the limit of the Cavalier Rank. He had almost two thousand years of experience living and fighting in this brutal secret plane.

Kesha was certain. Before she could even prepare a spell, Aramen would take her head.

"Must I remind you of the favor I bestowed upon you?" Aramen continued.

"Were it not for my grace, your dear Daerona would have been sent away to the other side all those years ago."

Kesha bit her lower lip.

You call it grace? She thought indignantly.

I had to convince poor Daerona to give up her maidenhood before you could get to her.

She cried that night after losing her virginity!

And you call that grace?

How dare you...

Aramen’s voice turned colder, and the air around him turned heavy and overwhelming.

"Is that defiance I sense?" he asked, his voice cold and absolute.

Kesha gritted her teeth. But ultimately, she lowered her head in subservience.

"I would never dare," she said humbly.

Among the council members, it was an open secret that Aramen was in league with the vampire king’s underlings.

Even those who despised the arrangement understood why it existed.

Over the centuries, they had exhausted every conceivable means of escaping this nightmare. Aramen himself had devoted his entire life to finding a way out.

Every attempt had ended in failure.

A partnership with the vampire king, no matter how vile, was the only path that still offered a glimmer of hope.

There were no guarantees. But it was far more promising than anything they had tried before.

All they had to do was provide the vampire king with the young women who met the conditions required for whatever twisted ritual he was preparing.

In return, he would reveal a way to leave the secret plane.

It was a cruel bargain.

The lives of a few innocent girls in exchange for the freedom of hundreds.

No one on the council took pride in it. But after centuries of despair, hope had become a luxury they could no longer afford to reject.

"Good." Aramen retracted his aura, and the room suddenly felt more inhabitable.

Kesha subconsciously let out a breath of relief.

"I take it that you’ve shown interest in the girl," Aramen stated matter-of-factly.

"...Yes."

"Summon her tomorrow," Aramen commanded. "Give her team a mission to scout the rust pillar region. There’s only one safehouse in that region, so they’ll naturally rest there when night falls. And when the moon rises, they will find ghouls already waiting for them in the safehouse."

"What about Leah and the rest?" Kesha asked, though she already knew their fate.

Aramen said indifferently, "They will have died bravely, fighting the monsters."

"...I understand." Kesha nodded.

"I have been told that the vampire king’s ritual is close to completion," Aramen continued.

Kesha’s eyes gleamed. "That means..."

"A little more than a year," Aramen said with a nod. "Then we can prepare—"

The old Paladin paused, his eyes narrowing. He turned his head ever so slightly, his attention shifting toward the door.

Several seconds later, an attendant knocked on the door.

"Lady Kesha, Genevieve Saint Laurent requests an audience with you," the attendant humbly said from outside.

Kesha’s eyes narrowed. She turned to Aramen for a response.

Aramen thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Bring her in," she said.

After the attendant had left, Aramen rose to his feet. He silently retreated to the corner of Kesha’s chamber and patiently waited there. He would decide what to do with Genevieve based on her conversation with Kesha.

Genevieve could not abruptly disappear from the City Hall, for that would raise several questions. There was no need for unnecessary unrest.

A minute later, Genevieve arrived and stood before the desk.

She did not sense Aramen’s presence at all. The old Paladin stood out in the open, gazing at the crimson moon and the dark clouds outside. He was right there. Yet she did not see him.

With a long, smoking pipe in hand, Lady Kesha turned to Genevieve and smiled.

"Genevieve Saint Laurent, how may I help you?"

"Lady Kesha, I apologise for coming so late at night," Genevieve replied politely.

The elf waved her hand.

"Don’t worry about it," she said with a light smile. "Go on, have a seat."

Genevieve thanked her and sat down. As she did, she noticed the faint depression in the cushion. Someone had been sitting there only moments ago. Strange.

She pushed the thought aside.

After Kesha had taken her seat, Genevieve spoke without delay, her expression grave:

"My Lady, I wish to know what exactly transpired during the sun temple incident. How is it that you came to learn about the details of Adam’s death?"

Kesha’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I see..."

A flash of lightning tore through the night sky. Its ominous light spilled into Lady Kesha’s private quarters, illuminating Genevieve’s tense face...

And Aramen, standing silently right behind her.

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