Chapter 46: Pushing the Pawn

The interrogation room inside the Vanguard security wing felt like a furnace. Two elite knights stood over a metal table.

"Aegon, we have done a deep background check on you. Tell me now if you were involved in the kidnapping of Neville." one of then asked.

"No, sir. i have no idea." he replied.

SLAM!

They slammed their fists against the steel. They shouted.

They bombarded Aegon Logcheville with every question they could think of.

"You humiliated him in the arena," the lead knight growled.

"Where were you at midnight? We think you hired the Cult to eliminate your rival. We have investigated of how jealous you were of him when you were young. We know everything about you, Aegon. It is better to spill the beans right now."

Aegon sat comfortably in the iron chair. He did not waver a single bit.

"All you know about me is from some unknown source. You have no evidence of whatever you are saying." he replied calmly. He was in no hurry.

His crimson eyes stared back at the heavily armed men with complete indifference. He answered every question smoothly as he continued.

"I was asleep in my bed," Aegon stated flatly.

"And if I wanted Neville gone, I would not hire rats in a sewer to do it. I would break his neck with my own hands. Check the dorm security logs. You have zero evidence."

"The logs can be manipulated. You might have bribed the logs officer and slipped past them. Isn’t that right?" they asked thinking they got it in the bag.

"And that can be done by anyone in the Academy. You have no specific proof of me committing the crime. You are just making up the stories from your heads." he mocked them.

"Alright! You just said if you had to kill him you would do it yourselves instead of hiring the Cult correct?"

"Yes."

"Then, is there not a possibility of you yourselves eliminating or perhaps kidnapping Neville?"

"That possibility is just as same as you eating dogshit while you’re at it. You should stop making these hypothetical stories and just ask me serious questions."

He was so done with them. He stood up and decided to leave.

"This conversation is going nowhere. Do a better investigation at the site of kidnapping and you will find a better story to prepare for your superiors."

But he was not allowed to leave.

"You will not leave unless we ask you to leave, Mr. Aegon." they warned him.

"Alright then. I will humor this pointless game of yours."

It was an entirely fruitless effort. After two hours of endless accusations and hypothetical blame games, the knights finally gave up.

They opened the heavy metal door and released him.

Aegon walked back into the cafeteria. The student body was in full panic mode over the missing Hero. Draven, Estella, and Reina were sitting at their usual table in the corner.

Aegon dropped heavily into his seat. He rubbed his stiff neck.

"They actually tried to blame me," Aegon grunted. "Idiots."

"At least they let you go," Reina said.

"What classes are we even taking next week? With this lockdown in place, the whole schedule is ruined."

"They will probably assign us to defensive formations," Estella added quietly. She picked at her food.

Draven took a slow sip of his black coffee. He looked at Aegon over the rim of his mug. It was time to push the pawn forward.

"Classes are secondary right now," Draven said. His voice easily cut through the noise of the cafeteria.

"The students are panicking. The people of the city will follow soon. They need a new pillar to stand on."

Aegon frowned. "The Guildmaster will figure it out."

"The Guildmaster failed to protect him," Draven countered coldly.

"You defeated Neville in front of everyone. You broke his invincible image. Now he is missing. There is no guarantee he will ever return. You have to bear the responsibility of leading these people in his place."

Aegon blinked in surprise. The idea carried a massive and suffocating weight. He looked at Draven with a complicated expression.

"Why me?" Aegon asked defensively. He leaned across the metal table and lowered his voice.

"I know your secret, Draven. You planned my entire victory. You have the strength. Why don’t you take the role?"

Draven met his gaze with pitch-black eyes.

"I will reveal my abilities someday," Draven answered softly.

"But it is not the time yet. I need to operate in the shadows to keep our enemies blind. You are a Logcheville. You were born for the spotlight. Be the shield this Academy needs."

Aegon looked down at his calloused hands. He understood exactly what Draven was asking of him. His crimson eyes flared with absolute resolve.

"Fine," Aegon declared. "I will do it."

---

Miles beneath the Bastion streets, the mood was entirely different.

Elder Martha stood in a damp sewer cavern lit by green mana crystals.

She held a crumpled piece of black parchment in her hands. It was a copy of the ransom note left at the hospital.

She was not terrified of the situation. She was absolutely pissed.

"Fifty million credits," Martha read aloud. Her voice dripped with pure venom.

She threw the note onto the stone floor and crushed it beneath her boot.

"Someone is using our name!" Martha snarled at the two assassins kneeling before her.

"We did not take the Golden Boy!"

The assassins kept their heads bowed in silence.

"We recently lost our regional altar," Martha paced angrily across the wet floor.

"We lost Instructor Graves. We barely have the resources to feed our own acolytes. We absolutely cannot afford a full-scale war against the Hennesy Clan right now!"

She stopped pacing. Her pale eyes twitched with violent frustration. Someone was performing massive atrocities and dumping the blame directly onto her Church.

"I will not let some nameless ghost use us as a shield," Martha hissed. She drew a jagged ritual dagger from her robes.

"Find out who wrote that note. I will hunt them down, and I will butcher them myself."