Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 113: Victim

Rey had barely returned to a secure location—a rented room in district seven under yet another false identity—when the communication Artifact in his possession activated with a soft pulse of energy.

He recognized the mystical signature immediately: Elara.

Rey activated the device, and her voice emerged, strained but controlled. "Helt. Are you safe?"

"For now," Rey replied, allowing exhaustion to color his tone. "Though I’m not sure for how long. What about you?"

"Secure, temporarily. I..." She paused, and Rey could hear the weight of the night’s events in that silence. "I heard about your shop. The explosion. The Guards are saying it was an accident, but—"

"It wasn’t," Rey interrupted grimly. "I was attacked. In my own establishment, by someone who clearly knew the layout, knew where I’d be."

"What happened?" Elara’s voice sharpened with professional interest despite her own trauma.

Rey crafted his lie carefully, mixing truth with fiction in proportions designed to be believable.

"I was in the basement, reviewing inventory, when I sensed something wrong. My enhanced perception—one of the few abilities from my Artifacts I have—picked it up. Someone had placed explosive Artifacts throughout the building, rigged to detonate remotely."

He let genuine anger enter his voice.

"I barely had time to grab what I could and escape through the back entrance before the whole place went up. If I’d been upstairs, or even just less alert..." He trailed off meaningfully.

"I can relate to that."

"I also found a Layered Imprint on me. I’ve gotten rid of it now, thankfully."

"Same here. Honestly, Helt... I think the same people who attacked me," Elara stated. "They coordinated strikes against both of us simultaneously."

"It seems that way. Which means someone knows we’re investigating, knows we’re a threat."

Rey paused, allowing his lie to sink deep before continuing.

"Or they suspect we voted against the alliance for reasons that make us dangerous to their plans."

Elara was silent for a moment, then: "I have a secure location. A safehouse I’ve maintained independently of the Red House for exactly this kind of situation. Can you reach district six without being followed?"

"I can manage that."

"Good. I’ll send you the coordinates." The Artifact pulsed as encrypted location data transferred. "Come carefully. I’ve already contacted Lady Z through emergency channels. She knows what happened to both of us."

Rey acknowledged and terminated the connection.

He studied the coordinates Elara had provided, committing them to memory before destroying the message through the Artifact’s security protocols.

’Perfect,’ he thought. ’She’s doing exactly what I predicted—pulling us both into a secure location, establishing us as victims of a coordinated attack, and bringing Lady Z into the situation with the urgency it deserves.’

He changed into less distinctive clothing, activated appearance-altering Artifacts that made him look like a common laborer rather than a merchant, and set out through Elkrim’s streets.

The journey to district six took nearly an hour, with Rey taking deliberately circuitous routes and using every counter-surveillance technique he knew to ensure no one followed.

When he finally arrived at the coordinates Elara had provided, he found himself at a nondescript apartment building that looked like dozens of others in the area.

Elara met him at the door, her arm bandaged where the ice shards had cut her. She studied him carefully, clearly looking for signs of injury or deception.

Fortunately, Rey had taken some precautions so he could deceive her.

He had also started healing himself with a Potion, and from what he could see about her, it was the exact same.

"You look like a sight for sore eyes..." She muttered, staring keenly at him.

"How else is a man supposed to look when everything he built becomes gone in minutes."

Elara’s expression softened slightly.

"Sorry, come inside." She could only offer him an apology and warm entry inside.

The safehouse’s interior was spartan but functional—basic furniture, no personal items, the kind of place designed for temporary occupation during emergencies.

Mystical wards lined the walls, creating a secure perimeter that would detect and repel most surveillance attempts.

"We’ll be safe here," Elara said, gesturing for Rey to sit. "I’ve had this place for three years, maintained under a completely separate identity. No one in the Red House knows about it except Lady Z. Speaking of, I already told her tonight."

"What did she say?" Rey asked.

"That she’s calling an emergency Advisors Meeting in three days. Officially to discuss the Yellow Lily alliance, but really to address what happened to us." Elara’s expression was grim. "Someone made a serious mistake attacking us this brazenly. They’ve shown their hand."

Rey leaned forward. "What’s Lady Z planning to do? How will she catch the culprits?"

"I don’t know the specifics," Elara admitted. "She told me to trust her and wait. That she would handle it."

Rey studied Elara’s face, seeing the genuine faith in Lady Z despite the circumstances.

Interesting—Elara’s loyalty to the Red House leader ran deeper than mere professional obligation.

But Rey didn’t need Elara to explain Lady Z’s strategy.

He’d already caught enough glimpses into the young leader’s psychology during their interactions to predict exactly what she would do.

’She’ll use the attacks as leverage,’ Rey thought with satisfaction. ’Turn our victimhood into a weapon against the corrupt Advisors. Force them to show their cards by making the alliance politically toxic—after all, why would only the dissenting votes be targeted unless the alliance was part of a conspiracy?’

It was exactly what Rey would do in her position, and it played perfectly into his larger plans.

"We should rest," Elara said. "The next few days will be... complicated."

Rey nodded agreement, though rest was the furthest thing from his mind. His thoughts were already racing ahead to the Advisors Meeting, to how he would present himself, to what role he would play in the drama about to unfold.

***

Three days later...

The Advisors Meeting convened in the same converted warehouse as before, but the atmosphere was dramatically different.

Tension crackled through the air like static electricity. The Advisors who had voted for the alliance wore expressions ranging from confused concern to barely concealed worry.

Those who had abstained—just Rey and Elara—were notable by their very presence.

Lady Z sat at the head of the table, her face an unreadable mask.

It was time for the meeting to begin.