Published at 9th of October 2026 6:10 am

Chapter 2084 Man of Many Secrets

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"Miracle!"

Voraxus turned to Venia. "You don't mean…"

Venia nodded slowly. "She is from that clan, yes. But it appears she is unaware of her ancestry."

Voraxus was silent for a long time. He glanced at his sister, who seemed to be equally lost in thought. He couldn't help but ask:

"So this is the Pen of Manifestation's infamous resistance?"

Venia did not speak for a few moments. She slowly shook her head. "I'm not sure, but… this feels more like the boy's resistance than the Pen's."

"What?" Voraxus frowned.

"As I said," Venia explained, "the more I try to tamper with his fate, the more his fate tries to balance the disturbance. With Miracle's descendant's sudden arrival, I had to be even more careful. I could not involve her in the story, as that would alert Miracle. And you know how protective the House Fortuna is of their progeny."

Voraxus's frown deepened.

"First the Domina Occulta. Then the Old Mistress. And now Miracle. Sister, this… this is getting out of hand. If Mother were here, even she would advise you to steer clear of Miracle or anyone related."

"I know, Brother." Venia sighed. "I was careful with the story. I did not involve the girl. Although her involvement did make matters exceedingly difficult, in the end, I have accomplished Mother's wishes."

"But at what cost?" Voraxus had a sorrowful look on his face.

From the story, he could clearly tell that Adam deeply loved Valerian. Yet Venia was trying to separate the two brothers. Voraxus hadn't read the full story, but he could tell where it was heading.

"Do not be naive," Venia said sternly.

"You know as well as I that the boy is not capable of raising Valerian to his fullest potential. In his care, our youngest would always have to hide his true identity, forced to live like a cat for the rest of his life and run from the faintest sign of danger. Is this how you want Valerian to grow up?"

Voraxus was silent for a long time. Then he murmured, "Surely, there could have been a better way—"

Venia sharply interrupted him. "Return the papers if all you're going to do is criticize. I have yet to conclude the story."

You are too cold, Sister, Voraxus thought wryly.

But then again, why was he so surprised?

This was the same dragon who had laid an entire planet of orcs to waste just because one of their tribes had harmed her sibling. Billions of lives snuffed out in a single night.

That was who Venia Somnia was.

The things she had done to Adam could already be considered exceptionally lenient.

Voraxus did not return the parchments to Venia. Instead, he silently continued to read.

***

Judging that the dangers involved in the expedition were too high, Adam was of the mind to decline Esmond's request. But he changed his mind after a brief conversation with his little brother.

Adam had severely restricted Valerian's movements for his own safety. So when Valerian said he wanted to go outside, and that he didn't like staying in the city, Adam quickly understood his little brother's underlying meaning. His heart ached.

And so, despite the high risk of Esmond's mission, Adam chose to join it for the sake of his little brother.

In the background, Venia continued to scheme with Ajax to get rid of the Known Lord, Nigel Norwood, and have Emily Damon succeed to the position.

The arrival of Domina Occulta changed her plans slightly. More and more complications arose within the story that was supposed to be a straightforward one. The waters were getting truly muddy, and in the middle of it all were two brothers, completely oblivious to it all.

***

As the day of the fateful expedition drew near, Adam secretly met up with the Twilight Brotherhood. If he had decided to join them, it would prevent him from entering the Blood Moon Secret Plane. And that would not be beneficial to Venia's plans.

Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately—the secret society had long lost the will to fan the flames of Adam's ambitions. So he chose not to join them. Adam's ambitions, as it turned out, were grand. Truly grand. As expected of the man of many secrets!

Adam and his party reached Kinran Valley. There, they were welcomed by Aneesa and her illusory family. Oh, what a pitiful lady. She wove illusions of her lost family members to keep her company wherever she went.

Little did the party members know, a vampire had followed them secretly. The very vampire who would be instrumental in the separation of the two brothers.

***

As soon as Adam appeared inside the secret plane, he woke up in the Lands of Always War.

Thanks to the wondrous artifact left behind by the supremely powerful and funny existence, Adam was able to shapeshift into an undead creature. But even then, the undead shouldn't have ignored him so easily. The reason should be related to the mark of the Underworld he bore. Truly, a man of many secrets!

The two brothers devised a simple yet very effective plan to find the rest of the party members. Very soon, Adam caught Sandra's eye. His ability to traverse the Land of Always War at night, as well as his fighting prowess, made her believe she could add him to her plans of defeating the Vampire King.

Dorian, who was meant to play a critical role in the story, found himself stranded in the Lands of Always War. What a pathetic and useless little vampire! He could not get lost there and die a meaningless death. That would ruin Venia's development of the story. The vampire served a great purpose—to make Adam realize that he was not powerful enough to protect his little brother.

Sandra, who had been secretly observing Adam and his party, took note of Dorian strolling aimlessly in the mist. She hadn't seen a vampire from the material world in a long, long time. And so, she felt a strange urge to help Dorian out of the mist. Nothing unreasonable about her actions.

***

Sandra secretly visited Adam while he and his party camped out in the woods at night. After observing him up close, she noticed how unusually resistant his mind was. More importantly, she realized that Adam was the cautious type. She finally decided to involve him in her plans of escaping the secret plane.

Due to unforeseen circumstances and Darren Burk's stupidity and pettiness, two members of the party were killed. The party was separated briefly, until Adam reunited with Michael and Genevieve. Under the guidance of local adventurers, the three arrived at City Hall in Adventurers' City.

However, misfortune struck again.

Adam refused to hand over Hannibal's Handwraps. He was afraid that the Brand would be exposed. Or worse still, monsters would be drawn to him. He was refused entry into City Hall after he revealed to the adventurers that he was marked by Hell.

Although Venia failed to use the Brand in Davos to foster negative feelings between the two brothers, she had already begun devising how to use the Brand to her advantage while Adam was inside the secret plane.

One might wonder how she was able to keep an eye on them despite them being inside a secret plane. Why, of course, it was the amethyst amulet around Valerian's neck!

Venia had already planted the seed of doubt inside Adam's mind that he was not capable of protecting Valerian. In the days he spent inside Adventurers' City, he was constantly on the run and attacked by powerful monsters at every turn. He almost got trapped inside the Ink World.

If Adam had been in the right state of mind, he would never have visited a place like the Sun Temple after dark. However, his decision-making ability had been secretly tampered with, and he was not even aware. Adam was thrown into the dark pit of pain and misery.

He was captured by the Antlered High Priest.

Adam was a strange man. He laughed when subjected to intense torture. He laughed when he was sad. He laughed all the time. Clearly, Venia believed the madman was unsuitable for raising Valerian.

Valerian, on the other hand, was beside himself. He could not help Adam while he suffered agonizing torture. He wished he wasn't this helpless. He wished he was stronger. But how could he gain strength when his elder brother wouldn't allow him to step outside of his spirit sea? Valerain hated that he was so helpless and weak.

Through sheer willpower, Adam resisted almost a week of grueling torture. Coincidentally, a descendant of House Claudius was drawn to the commotion. He could hear Adam's screams echoing in the streets. Another variable was suddenly drawn to Venia's story. What will she do now? How will she fare with so many elements in the mix?

In an act of desperation, or perhaps madness, Adam unveiled the Brand of Evil and drew all the monsters in the vicinity of the Sun Temple toward himself. It was then that he realized that this secret plane was connected to the devils. He tricked the werewolf into fighting the horde of monsters rushing to the temple.

And then, Adam did something truly shocking. He ruthlessly cut off his arm and used it as bait. Valerian then helped Adam escape from the Sun Temple.

Just as Venia Somnia had planned…

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