Chapter 218: The Assassin and the Young Lady (Part 1)


    When Lorelei regained consciousness, shefound herselfnot in the distorted and crampedwalls, butratheramid the brilliant starry sky and the ruins.


    The Gertler family stronghold, which had a history of nearly a hundred years and had been reinforced countless times, no longer existed.Both the aboveground buildings and the underground facilities had been reducedto ruins. Fortunately, the barrier that blockedthe propagation of soundwas still functioning, so the fierce battle tonight had not affected the surroundings.


    Lorelei quietly checked herownbody and found no changes, not even a speck of dust on her. She couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Although she had disyed resolve and bravery in front of Shinji, she was ultimately an underage girl, and it was understandable that she would feel a little nervous in the presence of an unfamiliar stranger whose identity was unknown.


    After calming downa bit, the magic power stored in her body spread through her magic circuits, quickly dissipating the soreness caused by her unconsciousness. Lorelei sat up from the simple silver metal bed.


    It was only then that she realizedthat the bed she was lying onwas madeof a fluid-shaped, pressure-solidified Mercury.


    "I didn''t expect that unpleasant-sounding assassin to be so considerate. I''ve gained a bit of a better impression ofhim," Lorelei said, with a slight curve of her lips. The lofty air about her had somewhat abated, reced by the delicate femininity unique to a young girl.


    After a moment of thought, she left the metal bed, used her whip to outline a ritual, and dissolved the solidification of the mercury, then stood quietly at the edge of the mercury, waiting.


    Dozens of secondster, a figure in a cloak emerged from the wreckage, dragging a safe with his left hand and clutching a gem with his right hand, looking like a nouveau riche.


    "Ah, you''re awake. Good morning, mdy. Did you sleep well?"


    This "nouveau riche" was naturally Shinji. Sensing that the solidification magic on the mercury hadbeen dissolved, he knew that Lorelei had woken up.


    "It was alright, just a bit too hard. A mattress would have been better," Lorelei replied, not dwelling on the previous offense, perhaps because she was in a better mood after the nap or amused by Shinji''s entric appearance.


    "Ah, sorry, sorry, I identally used too much force andended up destroyingthe whole ce.Didn''thave time to grab a mattress. I''ll be more careful next time."


    "Next time?"


    Hearing Shinji''s insincere apology, Lorelei''s eyelids twitched, and she could barely hold back the urge to make a sarcastic remark.


    "What happened to the Gertlers?"


    "They''re dead, reduced to ashes, not even a trace left," Shinji said, shrugging.


    Since the head of the family had witnessed Shinji''s supreme form riding the Pegasus, the Gertlers had to die, and their bodies and souls had to be destroyed, lest the magus skilled in necromancy read any information from them.


    "I see..." Lorelei let out a sigh.


    "What''s wrong?" Shinji asked.


    Lorelei questioned in return, "Do you know why I was here?"


    "To mediate the conflict between El-Melloi and the Gertlers, right?"


    The Barthomeloi and the El-Melloi belonged to the same camp of aristocratic factions and were allies. But this time, the Barthomeloi family, who should have been on the El-Melloi''s side, had sided with the traitor Gertlers. There was an extremely high likelihood that the Gertlers had offered the Barthomeloi conditionsthat theycouldn''t refuse.


    "A mere Gertler, what leverage could they have to sway the Barthomeloi? If they had such leverage, wouldn''t it have been better to negotiate directly with the El-Melloi faction?"


    "Because the conditions the Gertlers offered were only tempting to the Barthomeloi in theentireClock Tower," Lorelei exined. "At this point, I might as well tell you the important information regarding Ottennbrose."


    "Whose information?" Shinji felt the name wasfamiliar,but couldn''t quite ce it.


    "Trhvmn Ortenrosse, although the title ''White Wing Lord'' is more well-known to most people."


    With that, Shinji knew who it was.


    The "White Wing Lord" Trhvmn Ortenrosse, the 17th seat of the "Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors",was a magus-turned-vampire. A typical vampire, known as the "King of the Dead Apostles" (in name only), his territory among the Twenty-Seven was thergest, being one of the oldest Dead Apostles.


    TheentireMagical World knew that the Barthomeloi familywas focusedon hunting Dead Apostles, and they were especially obsessed with the White Wing Lord.


    "I see, nowonder you wouldbe tempted. But surely a nobledy like yourself doesn''t need to put yourself in harm''s way.IfI didn''t have the means to break the impasse, it would truly be the end."


    Shinji''s seemingly normal response made Lorelei furrow her brow, looking suspicious.


    "Are you... one of the El-Melloi?"


    "Yes, why do you ask?" Shinji''s heart sank, but his tone remained unflinching.


    "Then you should know the Barthomeloi''s ideals."


    Shinji was left speechless, only able to carefully recallthe limited information he hadabout the Barthomeloi family and Lorelei''s background.


    It seems that out of some consideration, Lorelei did not delvedeeper,and instead continued to exin:


    "The Barthomeloi family''s ideology is that ''one''s abilities are more worthy of consideration than one''s character.'' Sothepeople in their family take family or personal matters very lightly, andwhat we value isonly ability.Ifyou want to obtain something, you must demonstrate the corresponding ability."


    While this does not sound like typical aristocratic rhetoric, it isindeedthe Barthomeloi family''s ideology. However, there is amajorcaveat - this only applies to those of equal status. The Barthomeloi firmly believe that only their bloodline possesses true nobilityandthe only ones who can stand as their equals are the manifested users of the First Magic.


    Therefore, the Barthomeloipletely disregard the well-being of other aristocratic families and rarely interact with them.The familythey are closest toisthe Archibald family, where Lord Keh resides.But even then, after Keh''s death, the Barthomeloi only provided the bare minimum of assistance to ensure the El-Melloiwere not disinherited.


    The other two factions are much the same. Regardless of whether they proim noble bloodlinesor not, magi are beings whose rationality outweighs emotion.As long asone has the ability, they willbe valuedin any faction, just not asextremelyas the Barthomeloi.


    Given this underlying premise, the members of the Barthomeloi family have long since cultivated the habit of "self-reliance and self-sufficiency."They may delegate unimportant matters to others, butcrucial thingsthey will always handle personally.


    "Within the Barthomeloi, the best way to demonstrate one''s abilities is throughthehuntingofDead Apostles, especially those rted to Ottennbrose.The Gertlers happen to possess information on a direct descendant of Ottennbrose. If I can hunt them down, no one will be able to block my inheritance of the Barthomeloi. For now, I''lljustassume you are a member of the El-Melloi family. How will youpensate me?"


    P.S. While the "White Wing Lord" has a vast domain, the vast majority of Dead Apostles don''t care about territory, so he iscertainly powerful,but likely still not strong enough to crack the top 10 of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, at best barely making it into the top ranks.


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