The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 396: The truth!

“Big sister…. Margret called!” Theta said as soon as Alpha entered the hotel suite’s living room, where she and Ruby were relaxing and having some tea after a successful shopping trip. They planned to meet Mona's friends the next day so they needed to dress up.

Alpha, on the other hand, returned late last night and went directly to sleep. She was clearly super drunk, so the girls didn’t disturb her.

“Did she need anything?” Alpha said as she threw herself onto one couch, she was clearly still distressed after going out yesterday. She even had a few marks of getting beaten up by a cane, but the girls chose not to comment.

“Yes, she wanted to tell us that Victor will be going somewhere, he will be gone for a few months, and that we should be careful as the family might presume him dead… “ she said. "It will be super dangerous!" she sighed.

“What?” Alpha brightened up. “Really?”

“Ah… Yes… They suspect someone might put a fake in his place… remember how Victor warned us…"Theta paused and then frowned as the smile on Alpha’s face became brighter. “Is there anything wrong?” she asked.

“Oh… Nothing… As long as Victor is not around, I don’t really have to do a thing!” she said. “Any idea where he is going?” she asked. She had to avoid him. JUST FUCKING AVOID HIM! She felt super smart!

“Margret said it is some other world… But I think she is joking…” Theta said, pouting a little as she was annoyed they were not telling her a thing.

“Oh… even better…” Alpha said happily. In her memories, there were some rare instances of people traveling to other worlds. Very few survived!

…

“Marcos, do you understand what you're doing?” Ann asked in a frosty cold voice, noticing the few guards who stood behind him. This was a clear coup! The only ally she had here was Alfred who was locked with her at the moment.

“I am fully aware!” Marcos said, “It is my time at last to rule this family!” he said proudly from behind the barrier as Victor appraised the flag that Marcos struck at the entrance.

“GO FUCK YOURSELF! DO YOU THINK A SIMPLE BARRIER CAN STOP ME!” she snapped launching an attack at the blue barrier, it flickered for a moment but at the same time caused the chamber to shake.

“GRANDMA! STOP!” Mike quickly said, making the enraged Ann glare at him and then notice that the gate began to flicker growing a little larger.

“FUCK…” She quickly stepped away from it.

“I advise against trying to use brute force… It is not only useless, but it would also cause the Gate to fluctuate and you will end right into that SSS-ranked dungeon like your sister,” Marcos said, smiling as he said it. “This barrier was inherited from our ancestor, and I am sure it is sturdy enough to withstand your flimsy attacks for a while,” he said.

“BASTARD… That’s why you kept wanting me to use my dark touch earlier…” she cursed. Her strongest skill had a 48-hour cooldown. She used it earlier to dissolve the boulder at the entrance.

He shrugged. “I have been planning this for the last 20 years, ever since I hid the truth about the rediscovery of the gate!… So I had time to calculate for every contingency,” he said, starting a stupid exposition that he may have practiced before. “If you had just died from that poison, you could have spared me a lot of trouble…” he sighed, blaming his wife for all his troubles like every loser man would.

“WHAT! YOU WERE THE ONE BEHIND THAT?” Ann flared again. She was pretty sure she got the culprit, it was an agent for the Von Zwei family, but it seemed like the plot was thicker than she anticipated.

“Yup! I just had to look the other way as they plotted around you!” he smiled proudly.

“Then the second branche’s coup… You were the one behind it?” she asked, squinting her eyes.

“Yup, I just had to act as a mysterious master and give Antoni some aid… I had to weaken them a little, or the other branches would never trust me after you are gone,” he said. “I will make it up to him later…”

“BASTARD! YOU ARE SO DEAD!” she cursed. This man had no bottom line, hurting his own family for benefits.

“That is the same thing Ariana told me before I threw her From getting Ariana locked in the dungeon!” he said. “An hour from now, I will be doing the same thing I did for her back then, shedding a few tears over you in front of the elders, promising that I will do the best to get you back! I am sure Olaf and the rest of the butlers will be sad… They will never know how much they helped me with my plot without realizing it! They would never guess that the bomb Antoni used was supplied by me so that they and the rest of you honorary guards will be temporarily out of service…” he laughed. “I am sure that the elders will sympathize with me… Hell, even the guardians might bless me!”

“IDIOT! Are you really going to sacrifice half of the family heirs for your petty desire to play king?” Ann, who seemingly calmed down a little, interrupted him. “Do you know how important the tournament is? IT WILL DECIDE THE FAMILY'S FUTURE!” she stated coldly. It was amazing how much control she had over her emotions. Victor had long noticed how she was squeezing her fist in anger, but she hid it well.

“You don’t worry about that… I am sure some factions would support me, and I already have another team ready for the tournament…” he said with a smile, not explaining anymore.

“What team?” Ann frowned. “And the orb is already destroyed! How are you going to fix that?” she asked.

“I already have another artifact and a better team…I am going to usher in a new era for the family!” he said, seeming wanting to look in one direction, but quickly averting his gaze. “That’s all I am going to tell you…” he quickly added, prompting both Ann and Alfred who was acting inconspicuously like a mosquito on the wall to frown. This man couldn’t be working alone.

“So You are still afraid of me even after trapping me here, afraid that I will leave the dungeon one day and come kick your sorry ass into oblivion…” Ann said coldly.

“...” he was afraid. “You will never leave… We will make sure of that…” he said, as if assuring himself then turned to leave.

We?

“One last thing… How did you make me decide on this chamber for the heirs to gather in?’ Ann asked.

Marcos paused then smiled. “It is because you are a bitch who thinks you are too smart!” he said, not missing the chance to insult Ann. “I just have to give you a list of lousy choices and let you choose the best one…” he shrugged. Using the same method Victor used on Lily to make her agree to his future harem list. This was a trap for overconfident people.

“Then how did you poison the heirs? You were with me at all times!” she asked.

“That’s simple! We just had to spread some poison in the chamber beforehand!” Marcos said dismissively.

We again?

Wait… Victor frowned.

He had definitely appraised this chamber when entering, it had no poison. And some other heirs would have noticed it, so it couldn’t have been that. Marcos was being played too… IDIOT!

Victor quickly thought of something, hiding behind Kuu and Zoe, he activated his Fate eyes. This was going to be troublesome, but he had to eliminate the threads between the heirs one by one to find the right one before he left… He had a feeling that there was a snake in their midst.

Yes, earlier when the explosion that trapped them happened, someone nearby must be the one who caused it, as the walls of the mine would block any remote magical signals!

“Then what about your grandsons?” Ann decided to try a different angle. Marcos seemed to be a little scared of the portal and intended to leave and she needed to squeeze all the info possible out of him.

“What about them?” he frowned.

“Are you going to sacrifice them too? They could have been poisoned to death!” Ann asked.

“MY GRANDSONS?” Marcos who was laughing flared angrily, looking at Alice and Mike with disgust. “Those bastards have nothing to do with me… Do you think I never knew about you getting pregnant in that dungeon?” he flared. “Theodore was never my son! I ran the tests! I will make sure to kill that bastard at the first opportunity!” he snapped, making both Alice and Mike look at Ann with shock.

“Oh…” Ann frowned, ignoring the looks that the heirs were shooting her. Mike’s mouth was open wide enough to fit an entire apple. “So you knew…” she frowned. She made sure to keep this hidden, and when she hid something it should never be revealed. Someone was betraying her! The family needed a second round of cleansing.

“Of course I did… Despite you trying to sabotage the tests, I redid them in secret!” he said, his face flushing red. Ann has successfully enraged him. But still not enough.

“Well, that guy was way better than you… I just couldn’t resist trying a real man for once…” she shrugged. She also couldn’t resist licking her lip thinking about him.

“BITCH!” Marcos flared. “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WITH Nathanial, Harvey and what was that last one called… Yes, LIMOR… YOU BITCH ONLY KNOW HOW TO FUCK AROUND!” Marcos completely lost it. The self-discipline that he cultivated for the last 30 years was all gone in a second.

“I am telling the truth… It is all your fault… Someone pathetic like you can’t even make a prostitute fake a moan…” Ann added, insulting the fuck out of him. “I was just considerate enough to keep it a secret…”

“SHUT UP! YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN KEEP A FAMILY IN SECRET!” he finally flared. She was insulting his manhood!

“Oh…. You have other sons?” Ann raised one eyebrow. Really? How did he hide them?

“...” Marcos stepped back. He shouldn’t have revealed that.

“It is ok, Marcos… It is time to leave…” someone suddenly said as she walked behind Marcos. It was that ugly woman Tolin, the vice head of the chamber of secrets.

“TOLIN! SO IT WAS YOU!” Ann flared as she noticed how Tolin put her hand around Marcos’s waist like a lover would.

“Yes…” Tolin said, casually taking off a ring in her hand that she usually kept in her sleeves, then her shape began to change slowly from that of an old woman to that of a hot young one. “Marcos and I have been lovers for ages, from before he married you… And we have already built a secret family that will replace yours…” she said coldly, making Ann freeze in shock for the first time. She had never seen this coming. No wonder Marcos always makes trips to check on the mines!

Victor on the other hand was frowning as he looked at the ring and then at Tolin. Earlier he was busy searching through the fate lines, but as soon as she appeared, a particular line stood out, one that he didn’t expect earlier. A mother and son line… He looked at the target…

HOLY SHIT…. He almost blurted out loud.

“YOU BITCH!” Ann flared.

“You are the only bitch here… “ Tolin replied without showing any emotions, “Oh, and Alfred, stop trying to secretly plant talismans on the walls, you look pathetic, this place is made out of sacred Iron, they will never work!” she said coldly.

“What? What is Sacred Iron?” Alfred who was found out quickly asked.

“Who knows…. “ Tolin shrugged and turned as if she was intending to leave.

“IF YOU THINK THAT MASTER BARLORD AND THE REST OF THE GUARDIANS WILL BE TRICKED… YOU WILL BE MISTAKEN!” Ann finally said, making Victor frown. He had never met the family guardians, but from what he knew, they were otherworldly beings who were hiding deep below the family’s island.

According to legend they swore allegiance to Nickolace and had been guarding the family ever since. They were the ones who stabilized Ann as the real family head.

Victor always wondered why they never appeared when the family collapsed back then. At first, he presumed that the Light lord was the one who subdued them, but they might have been taken care of long before!

Back then, Ann was killed by poison as Marcos, who became the controller of the family made a lot of changes… This was probably the reason Victor’s father stopped helping him back then, and this was why Mike died.

“Oh… Don’t worry about a group of old mummies, We…." Marcos began, but Tolin jabbed him.

“Enough! Let’s go… The men will activate the mechanism at any moment!“ Tolin said and dragged away Marcos who seemed to be a little reluctant and wanting to brag more. He could only give Ann one last look then leave.

“Say hi to Ariana for me…” Tolin spat before she disappeared.

“MARCOS YOU BASTARD IS ONLY GOOD AT SUCKING PUSSY!” Ann flared. “NO! YOU ARE NOT EVEN GOOD AT THAT!” she yelled behind him, but he seemed to ignore her.

She frowned, stained their looking at the portal for the next few seconds, and then turned to look at the gate.

“Grandma… What should we do?” Mike asked nervously as Alfred turned to face her with a questioning look.

“Those bastards would detonate the lava chamber… Make sure to survive! No dungeon goes unconquered!” Ann said as she took out a golden and activated it. “I will avenge you…”

The bitch was escaping. This was her secret trump card. An ultra-rare talisman.

She vanished.

She appeared one foot to the left.

“What happened?” Bruno asked her.

“SHIT…” Ann said as she turned to look at the heirs with a complex look. She failed… Shit…

“Were you trying to…” Alfred began to say with a frown, but a glare from Ann stopped him.

“Everyone… Try to attack the barrier…” Ann finally showing signs of despair said, prompting everyone to ignore the portal and begin hurling attacks at the blue barrier that obstructed the entrance.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG…

The room began to shake with the attacks, and this time, no one cared about the portal that began to sway behind them... Their eyes were on the shimmering barrier that only flickered once in a while.

That was for the exemption of Victor who could have easily used his shadow-shifting skill to go behind and stop the barrier but chose not to reveal his powers. It would deactivate by itself when the time was right!

He had more important things to take care of!

He sneaked up behind Bruno who was also throwing some punches at a random wall and then struck the back of his head with a sharp needle, laced with the strongest non-lethal dose of Soul wine possible while activating his disguise.

Yes, Bruno was the secret agent. He was Both Marcos’s and Tolin’s son. Maybe one of many other secret offspring!

This bastard was playing stupid all along, tricking everyone into thinking he was an idiot! What a piece of …

No wait… Victor remembered that he was doing the same.

Anyway, Bruno was definitely the one who detonated the chamber’s entrance and poisoned those poor heirs… He even made sure to distract Ann the moment she entered the chamber, allowing Macros to slip away as she walked in. He was the last backup they had left here in case something unexpected happened.

As for the portal, he didn’t fear it as when no one noticed, he slipped his hand in his pocket and wore an extra Ring.

Looking at Bruno who fell to the ground, Victor directly cut his hand using a sword that spread in his hand, but strangely enough, the Ring vanished and appeared in the other hand, cutting it, the ring vanished… Damn cursed rings!

Victor knew where it was, so with one last swift cut, Bruno became a eunuch and Victor got a dirty ring that he threw in his storage space.

He could have easily gotten it off with a cheap F rank dispelling Talisman as Bruno was planning to do, but he chose not to!

Finishing with that, Victor put a healing pill in Bruno’s mouth to stop the bleeding, then created a tracking fate thread on him before throwing him in the portal that was getting a little unstable…

He had no time to question him now as he was sure that as soon as Marcos and Tolin reached the upper level they would activate some mechanism to shake the Lave or something, they must have already tested this before.

Sending one last message to his harem and Rita, who was still locked in the cauldron, Victor was ready.

“Take care of Kuu and the girls for me…. I will be back in a month or two…” he whispered in the busy Zoe’s ear.

“What?” Zoe asked.

“Grandma don’t worry!” Victor suddenly declared. “I have an S rank gate closing talisman that I got from the skeleton dungeon here!” he declared and jumped at the porter as the busy Ann looked back. “It is 1,000,000 Coins! So make sure to….”

“DON’T…..” Ann wanted to warn him as those do not work on it as they tried them before…

Too bad it was too late as the dungeon suddenly expanded, swallowing Victor whole, and cursing everyone to hurry to the chamber’s walls for shelter as the portal almost touched them, except it never did... It froze a few feet away from them.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The portal imploded moments later, leaving an eerie silence.

"What just happened?" someone asked moments later.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO......... YOUNG MASTER!"

"VICTOR!!!"

"Will he be ok?"

"Did that talisman really work?"

"FUCK!"

"Where is Bruno?"

"Damn... Marcos... YOU ARE SO DEAD!"