Revenge: A Path of Destruction

The warded silence in the room pressed in like invisible walls as Lauren straightened, her sharp gaze sweeping across the others seated at the obsidian table.

The soft hum of activated artifacts coated the air with a faint, rhythmic vibration—a reminder that their secrecy came at the cost of constant vigilance.

"We all know why we're here," Lauren began, her voice calm but unwavering. "The bounty, of course. Alex."

The name dropped into the room like a weight.

"Or whoever he is now."

She turned slightly, pacing slowly down the length of the table. "Nearly a month ago, we were tasked with locating a high-value target from the bounty made by the Wind Clan.

The information surrounding him is null, redacted, and riddled with contradictions.

Despite using top-tier association trackers, mana analysts, shadow tags, and three separate spy teams, we haven't found a single usable lead that didn't end in a dead end—or a false flag."

The Grandmasters said nothing. They knew this already. But Lauren wasn't repeating herself for clarity. She was laying a foundation.

She stopped walking and turned back toward them. "And now, the Wind Clan—"

She paused.

"—they've stepped in. Invited us in, no less, with open arms. Housed us. Provided us safety and freedom of movement."

She let the sarcasm in her tone linger for a second.

"But in truth, they're using our presence as leverage. Marc made it clear enough: they want us to cooperate, not as equal partners, but as a public endorsement.

They want to hunt Alex under the guise of a joint interest. But behind closed doors, it's about control. They want ownership of the man, while also be trying to gain a foothold in the government."

She stepped back to the head of the table and gestured with a faint flick of her wrist.

"I'm opening the floor. Suggestions?"

For a moment, silence reigned.

Then Grandmaster Selene spoke. She was the elder of the three, a stoic woman with sharp gray eyes and a presence that had once made a Master-ranked commander flinch by gaze alone.

"We're blind," she said bluntly. "Completely. Every attempt to trace him has failed. Even the incident in Germany, where it was said he appeared, was a lie. As it seems like who we are dealing with his clever. And I don't mean clever disappearing. I mean wiped.

That's not the work of a lone target, even a genius. That's coordinated obfuscation, with resources behind it."

Lauren nodded once. "Go on."

Selene leaned forward slightly. "We have to consider that he's not alone. Someone—or something-is helping him. A backer. A god-tech specialist."

Another Grandmaster, Kento, tapped his finger on the table. He was younger than Selene, sharper in demeanor, a tactician trained in hostile territory logistics.

"We tried subtle infiltration, and we tried remote surveillance," he said. "Each attempt either got stonewalled or mirrored back at us. They've got defensive wards on their wards.

We have zero proof he's even in the continent. But the Wind Clan's recent maneuvering… it smells like they're getting close. Maybe even made contact."

"And we can't ask them directly without revealing our suspicion," Selene added.

"No, we can't," Lauren said quietly. "Because doing so would confirm we're not in control of the bounty anymore."

The third Grandmaster, Darien—a quiet observer most of the time—finally chimed in, his voice thoughtful. "They want to find for reason we don't know. We want to find him for those same reason.

Those are not incompatible goals. The problem is their method. If we allow them to frame the search as a cooperation, then we'll be boxed into whatever outcome is produced."

Lauren folded her arms. "So we need to find him before they do. Or at the very least, find a way to track their inner-circle activity without tipping them off."

All heads turned toward her again.

"That's… nearly impossible inside the Wind Clan's territory," Darien said. "Especially without a mole."

A heavy silence followed.

They had no mole. And creating one would take time they didn't have.

Lauren's gaze drifted momentarily toward Liam, who remained quiet, seated at the edge of the table, his hands folded, his expression unreadable.

He hadn't said a single word since the meeting began. That, in itself, was unusual.

But she didn't press him. Not yet.

Selene leaned back. "There's a third option."

Everyone turned to her.

"We set a trap."

Lauren raised a brow. "Explain."

Selene continued, "The bounty was created to lure him out, not just to inform others of his threat.

But we never made the bait personal. What if we… baited him with something emotionally charged? Something that would tempt him to make a move."

"That's dangerous," Kento said immediately. "We don't know his mindset. If he's already cold and detached, the bait will do nothing. If he's volatile, he'll strike—and we may not like the consequences."

Lauren seemed to weigh the idea for a few moments.

Then she shook her head. "We don't have enough psychological profiling on him to calculate that risk. We're working off assumptions and what little I've seen.

We'll keep it in the toolbox, but not as our primary strategy."

Darien spoke again. "Then we shift our strategy. Stop looking for him directly. Instead, look for where resources are moving—black market tech, hidden accounts, mana trails tied to old relics. Use the city's infrastructure. We track the ripples, not the man."

Lauren nodded slowly. "That might work. Quiet, indirect, and if done right, the Wind Clan won't catch on."

Kento added, "We'll need to reassign our analysts and scryers. Focus less on chasing a ghost and more on dissecting the water he's swimming in."

The room settled as the strategy took shape.

Lauren finally turned her eyes to Liam.

He still hadn't spoken.

"You've been quiet," she said.

He looked up, met her gaze—but didn't speak.

His eyes said it all.

He wanted to say something. But he was wrestling with something deeper.

Lauren didn't push him. Not here.

Instead, she looked back at the others.

"Then it's settled. We shift focus. We avoid further contact with the Wind Clan unless necessary.

All outward efforts will seem cooperative, but our true work starts now. Track the movements beneath the surface. If he's in this continent or city, he'll slip up eventually."

The Grandmasters nodded.

Lauren gave one last glance around the table.

"Dismissed."

And with that, the meeting ended.