In a dark room, with nothing but floating screens showing different scenes—three of which disyed Aster, Faeloria, and Vanessa''s struggles—a figure stood aloft, staring ahead with a steady frown.


    "This is unexpected..."


    Lori muttered as she watched the feed of the three intruders exploring the maze-like pocket dimension she had created.


    The maze itself didn''t consume her powers, as its strength varied depending on the strength of the one exploring it. That was why both Faeloria and Vanessa encountered monsters over level 1000 along their path.


    Of course, the maze was designed to destroy those who entered, but the strength of each member far surpassed what their levels could disy. As such, the first stage of her n hadpletely fallen apart, allowing all three of them to explore the maze undisturbed.


    "Well, not really," a voice called, interrupting Lori''s thoughts.


    She sighed before slowly turning to her side, ring at the man sitting on the sofa inside the dark space, sipping tea as if the ce were his home.


    "The Vampire Princess and the World Tree''s Guardian are both well-known for disying strength beyond their levels. Clearing this meager maze shouldn''t even be a challenge for them."


    He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his warm tea and letting out a satisfied sigh.


    "But what''s weird is that male brat. Was he called Aster? Where did this brate from?"


    He added, ring at the screen showing Aster running along the walls like he was Spider-Man or something.


    "His strength is even more exaggerated than those two. It''s too risky to let him live. If I could, I''d eliminate him right here and now, but..."


    "..."


    Lori''s stare, nk and devoid of emotions, made the man raise one hand in surrender. "I know, I know. I''m just an informant, anyway. I won''t touch your prey, little missy."


    Lori kept her sharp gaze on him a while longer before slowly drifting toward another figure sitting across from him—an orange-haired rabbit girl, Cassy, sitting quietly without moving an inch.


    Ever since she realized that Aster hade to her rescue, Cassy had brightened up. Her resistance increased, making Lori feel more conflicted than ever.


    Still, for her ns—to take over the world with their powers and avenge the oppression their race had suffered over the past few centuries—Cassy''s presence was required. Lionel and Sebastian—once she released the seals on thest two members—would make Lori''s group unstoppable!


    "And so, Mr. Informant..." Lori spoke, her voice cold and devoid of emotion. "Do you think your subordinates have what it takes to hold back these three monsters?"


    The man smiled briefly, his teeth gleaming white like a moon in the deepest, darkest night. "Hmm, I trust their strength, but... it''s hard to tell. The odds are 7:3 for now."


    "... Seven for them?"


    "Nope, for our side, of course." He chuckled lightly. "But variables exist, so I can''t speak conclusively. Especially concerning that brat. But for the other two, well, our win is basically in the bag already."


    "Hmph..."


    Lori closed her eyes for a moment, giving up her futile attempts to put the man under her control. Although it frustrated her, she couldn''t say that her eyes were "almighty" just yet. Still, some of the weaker over-level-1000 adventurers would easily fall under her influence right now.


    She had actually wanted everything to end early, so she tried to brainwash Aster, Vanessa, and Faeloria at the same time. However, it didn''t work.


    It remained a mystery why Aster couldn''t be brainwashed anymore, but it was surprising that both women had such high resistance to her abilities—ignoring the fact that only Aster wore an anti-brainwashing mask during their encounter.


    With such high resistance to mental attacks, it would be hard to say that they would lose to fanatics so easily, making Lori half-doubt the mysterious informant''s words.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "...!"


    Suddenly, the situation with Faeloria changed rapidly. All she saw was a giant tree growing before the video feed of her floor cut off.


    Both Lori and the informant frowned. They had been convinced that Faeloria was cut off from the World Tree as long as she remained within Lori''s domain. However, that no longer seemed to be true.


    "... What about now? Do you still dare to retain your earlier im?" She turned to the man, taunting him slightly.


    The man kept staring at the now-ck screen, staying quiet for a few seconds before shrugging. "Well, I guess not. The chances just dropped a bit—now it''s 50:50."


    As he spoke, the man grabbed a small blue marble from his pocket, held it tight in his palm, and—


    *CRACK!*


    —destroyed it. As soon as he did, high-density mana began to fill the space.


    It was so thick that Cassy, sitting right in front of him, suddenly had difficulty breathing. She felt as if she were being strangled by the invisible force of mana in the air! Enjoy new chapters from empire


    "Kuh...!"


    But despite that, she didn''t let herself fall. She bit her lip and held on, sitting ramrod straight with her shoulders tense, no matter what happened. Her body faintly trembled as she gasped for air.


    Suddenly, her breathing eased. Of course, it wasn''t because the man had finished whatever he was doing, but due to the person holding Cassy''s shoulder—Lori.


    Using her mana, Lori protected Cassy from the man, allowing her to finally rx.


    Of course, the man remained unaware of what he had done, and why Lori''s re had grown sharper. He was too focused on his task.


    The mana that burst from the small marble he had destroyed slowly gathered into a single dot before suddenly disappearing. It happened so abruptly that even Lori wasn''t sure how it vanished!


    "As a clincher, I sent one of my Executors of Purity to handle her, so the win rate should be 10:0 now." He sighed, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, just above his ck domino mask. "With this, there shouldn''t be any variables. The World Tree''s Guardian will breathe herst today!"


    The man boasted, but Lori continued ring at him. Her hand, still on Cassy''s shoulder, tightened slightly as her mind raced, but only Cassy noticed this small change.


    "Lory..." Cassy whispered, patting the hand over her right shoulder. "I''m fine now." She added with a weak smile.


    "..."


    Lori quickly removed her hand, realizing she had almost let Cassy see whaty behind her "mask." She returned to her earlier position, staring at the screens without looking away, watching as the other two continued their struggle to clear the maze.


    Various intentions were shing, making it hard to guess which one woulde out on top in the end.