"Theo Roost... Who are you actually?"

The words echoed through the room. After it, silence follow.

I stared at her eyes, as she stared back at my eyes. I blinked, before sighing. "Me is me. What are you talking about?"

Gyllena continued her stare. She almost didn’t blink. Slowly, she opened her lips. "Should I recount the chronology of the incident for you?" She asked, before continuing without waiting for my response. "I assume so."

She raised one finger. "Point one. Why are you setting such a high price before? The way you raising it abruptly as such told me that you might know this all from the very beginning. At least you should be aware of what Jahreon Qua Tarram managed to do."

Her stare lingered on me. Seeing me didn’t say anything in response, she smiled a little. "Okay, let’s assume that you are just different from normal citizen. Every person had secrets. You knowing all of this before it even happened was not a surprise. However..."

She raised another finger. "Point two. You know too much. You know that those cultists will do the ritual in my yard, and after they started their plan, you somehow had a way to neutralize their threat with... a strange Potion of unknown origin? And resist Dark Magic? The Legendary Dark Magic, which usable only to middle and higher-leveled Demons, and considered as one of the most deadly power in the world? All... Before everything happened."

Gyllena paused for a moment. Slowly, she put down her fingers back. However, her stare never left my face.

"I’ll repeat," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Who are you actually, Theo Roost?"

Tick, tick. The ancient clock at the corner was ticking. Announcing the progression of time. But tonight, that natural, common occurrence felt like a ticking bomb.

’She’s sharp,’ I thought, my eyelids twitched a little. ’Way too sharp than expected.’

My brain worked immediately. Choices and solutions flooded my mind. Which one, which one suited this situation most? After almost 5 minutes of silence, I finally decided.

I pinched my chin, showing a thin smile. "Hmm, I see," I said. "So you want to know. The reason behinds Jahreon and their attacks. And the truth."

I approached her table. Once I was right across her, I leaned in, my palms on the table as I looked at her from close distance.

With a smirk, I whispered: "Don’t you think that... Naturally, such secreacy will never be cheap to buy?"

Gyllena’s eyelashes wavered a little. She hesitated, but after just a pause, she regained her determination back. "May I ask the estimation of the cost?" She asked.

I leaned back, giving her more space. But instead of answering her question, I sat on the table. "Why are you even wanting this information in the first place?" I asked her back. Now she piqued my interest.

Gyllena Layver. Does this girl had any ambition, or desire, that the game never told?

The young lady suddenly broke the eye contact at that moment. She looked down, propped her chin. She frowned, and letting out a sigh that felt more like an accumulation of suppressed ambition than mere a sign of exhaustion.

"Of course," she said, looking back at me. "I have a reason."

She leaned back, leaning her back on the chair. "Remember when I told you and Tizmilly about the disappearance of my parents?"

She asked a question, but didn’t wait for an answer. She continued. "I was just thinking, Theo Roost... Or Mr. Roost? How may I address you?"

"Just call me Theo," I replied. "I am just a commoner, after all. And I guess you are not like Tizmilly, who calls almost everyone with honorific?"

Gyllena giggled a little. "You’re right."

She then returned her serious expression. "I was just thinking, Theo. How could those cultists enter my mansion and avoid the eyes of my servants."

I sighed, scratching my head. "Well, they called themselves the Abyssal New Gate. They are... A cult who worships Demons. Doing as much as infiltrating into some noble mansion that don’t aware of their existence is an easy tast for them."

Gyllena’s knitted her eyebrows. "A cult who worships Demons?"

Instead of answering, I showed her a money gesture. Gyllena saw it with her frown, but still pulled out ten gold coins and put them down on the table.

Standing up, I received the coins with a smile.

Still frowning, Gyllena gritted her teeth. "Now, tell me what you know," she said with a demanding tone.

"Choose one," I said, raising two fingers. "The truth about the Abyssal New Gate, or the truth about what they had done to you—especially, to the Layver family as a whole."

The clock ticked. Gyllena’s eyes widened. She slammed the table as she erupted from her chair. "The second one!" She yelled.

Maintaining my smile, I shrugged. "Alright then."

"First, we will start about Dark Magic," I said, approaching the sofa to sit down. Gyllena followed and sat down across me.

"The most accurate and detailed depiction of Dark Magic is from ’the world of the dark ones’ written by the Sage."

I started slow so that she could digest the information without any problem.

"In the book, the Dark Magic is pictured as forbidden, out of the world branch of power. A taboo. A power that touched something Humans, or any beings should never touch—soul."

Gyllena crossed her leg over, her fingers continuously fidgeting her skirt. Since it was a good occasion to study her personality, I checked every detail of her expression. I wanted to know her more: about this character the developer had neglected for some reason.

I raised my pointer finger, and pointing it with my other hand’s finger. "Fortunately, Apostles couldn’t use that high level Dark Magic," I said, before looking directly at her eyes. "Yet."

Gyllena, as smart as she was, immediately picked up what I meant. "Wait, do you mean they will be able to use the true Dark Magic in the future?" She asked with a grim face.

I smiled and chose not to answer that. Because it was beyond what I agreed to reveal.

Still with the smile, I continued. "However, they still can touch the territory of something not less taboo as Soul—Mind."

She gritted her teeth in frustation seeing me ignored her question, but she quickly focused back on my words. From grim, her face became a mask of fury. "Don’t tell me..."

"Yes," I interrupted her with a nod.

I pointed down to the table, tapped it once. "In this Mansion. Some mind-controlled persons are prowling."

Her skin immediately lost its color. She crossed her hands before her chest almost like she was trying to hug herself, her eyes lowered to the ground, her eyebrows knitted as deep as they could be.

After a short silence, she looked at me again. "What... Should I do?"

I wanted to say that she could just kill them all. Tizmilly could identify them with the bangle. But then, an idea crossed my mind.

’Wouldn’t it be better if I could convince Gyllena to take Dorita in?’ I thought.

The plot had been deteriorating at a worrying pace at this point. I couldn’t be sure that my knowledge and what I knew from the game could 100% save my loved ones anymore.

However, as they say: new problem, new solution. It was the time to start thinking out of the box. With Dorita, Gyllena could get a power to resist the grasp of the Abyssal New Gate. Which, in turn, also could slow the progress of whatever those crazy people aiming to do at the moment. All while also guaranteed a better life, resources, and power for Dorita. That meant safer enviroment, more time, and more happiness for people. Killing three birds with one stone.

I grinned, and stood up. "I’ll introduce you to someone who can protect you from them. Come," I said, gesturing her to follow me to the window.

Gyllena looked confused, but still followed me, though hesitatingly.

With the key still on the keyhole, I could open the window easily. The cold wind of winter night immediately attack us, making we shudder a little under the sheer coldness. Fortunately, our fur jackets protected us. Then I extended my hand toward her.

The gesture was clear. She raised her hand, but hesitated. "Can’t I bring my knight with me?" She asked softly.

I shrugged. "If you wanted her to hate you, then do it."

Gyllena gritted her teeth. Her gaze looked alternately at me and my extended hand. The curtain were dancing violently due to the strong wind, hitting her side every so and then like an invisible countdown. After some time passed, she received my hand.

"Fine," she squeezed out a word of affirmation. "Take me with you."

"Then—"

However, before I say anything more, she interrupted me. Her hold got tighter.

"But I’ll warn you before hand. If you ever thought of something filthy," she hissed, her eyes narrowed to slits. "I will never, ever forgive you."