Man, the heckler disappeared, but instead, someone much more troublesome came. Now you might be wondering, is it really that difficult to deal with your beautiful sister? Yes, it is that troublesome. 

"That's quite a close call, Creed. If you responded, your one-way ticket to hell is secured."

Yuria narrowed her eyes with amusement and lightly smacked her lips. I felt a chill crawl up to my spine as I recall the previous exchange with Kasam. 'Damn, I was careless. Like what she said, I acted out of spur-of-the-moment and actually resisted his Qi. Typically, Creed will immediately cower in fear the moment Kasam pressed him with pressure. Instead, I went and neutralized it. I let the power of the Scripture get in my head. Haa, what a mess.' I silently shut my eyes and about to contemplate when-

"Reflecting is good and all but, it has to be in fitting time and place. Don't you think so? Creed."

She woke me from contemplating. I let out an embarrassed laugh and thanked her for earlier.

"It's nothing. After all, you're my dear brother, Creed."

Her smile is so dazzling that if not for the novel I read before transmigrating, I'll probably fall for her right away. I lightly slapped my face and decided to get to the main point. 

"Sister, is there something I could help you with?"

'Preferably, not the things that could guarantee my acquisition of one-way ticket to hell.'

"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing dangerous." Yuria shrugged and stared at me with a mischievous expression. 

'Now she can read my mind too.' I can't help but stare at her with a strange expression. Looking at my face, Yuria charmingly snickered.

"Anyway, you don't need to be that wary. I'm just here to deliver a message from the Patriarch."

'Message from the Patriarch? Why did she bother going here instead of just relaying it to her servants? Strange, what is her deal?' A suspicious thought flashed by as I listened to Yuria.

"Long story, short. The Patriarch is preparing for a banquet before the Aptitude Test. All sorts of influential Aristocrats will attend, so he wants us to make connections and widen our influence outside."

'Banquet, huh. If my memory isn't failing me, that's where the conflict between the Main Character and the Household of Lumeria started.'

"Which is why, Creed. If I could help it, I rather exclude you from the participants. But the orders of the Patriarch are absolute, so do be careful. Well then, see you later."

After relaying the message of the Patriarch, Yuria chatted with me for a while before leaving. I glanced in her direction and calmly assessed my situation.

"First things first, the upcoming Banquet is beneficial for me in the long term. But, it will also involve me at few troublesome events." First, the confrontation between the MC: Kim Jaehyun, and the first son of the Patriarch, Melchior. Second, the Dark Merchant incident, where a few prestigious Merchants got devoured and replaced by shape-shifting demons, secretly brewing turmoil underneath the Empire. Last but not least, the involvement of the Twisted Circus. It is unknown why those lunatics decided to attend the Banquet since the Author of Archnemesis didn't explain it in detail. Regardless, they're definitely up to something.

I silently stood up and picked up my stuffs. After leaving the Garden, I emitted my Qi and spread it to my surroundings. 

'As expected, I can't detect them at all.' 

I can feel that someone or something is watching me, but I can't detect their presence. Based on the novel, they're the eyes of the Patriarch. The Shrouded Enigmas. They are assigned to monitor each of the Heirs, reporting every notable development, for example, my previous exchange with Kasam and Yuria. Anyway, to put it simply, they're the dogs of the Patriarch.

'Hm, even someone deemed as trash needs a leash, huh.' I snorted and quietly walked to my room.

CLICK*

After making sure that the door is locked, I dropped my weary body at the nearby sofa. For reference, my room is as large as an average 5-star hotel with luxurious furniture made by top-notch Magitek Engineers. As for why I know? It's because the author of ArchNemesis is unnecessarily meticulous regarding this kind of stuff. Staring around the sparkling room abundant of Magia, I once again revere how wealthy the Household of Lumeria is.

'Now is not the time for this. Sigh, I'm just a Condensation realm cultivator. If things went sideways, forget joining the fight. Even escaping would be impossible.' As Ji-Hu agonized over his situation, a different scenario is playing at the torture chamber of Lumeria Household.

...                                                                                                           

"AAKH!!

The sound of whip hitting flesh and aggrieved howl reverberated throughout the dim chamber.

"This is your last chance."

A voice devoid of emotion echoes in the prison cell as its source glares at the shackled prisoner. 

TAP* TAP* TAP*

The sound of the boots sinisterly resounded as he approaches the shackled prisoner.

The prisoner, drenched with his blood, looked up at his visitor, seemingly unperturbed with the guest who wanted to see his tragic condition. The man paused at his track and silently looked down at the prisoner. The dim light bulb barely reveals the identity of this man.

"You..."

The man's beauty rivaled Creed's. Even with his chilling expression, it harmoniously blended with his elegant bearing. But for the prisoner, those features didn't stand out at all. What he could see and feel is nothing but horror and fear. The man, Melchior, raised his hand and slowly guided his Magia to his extended index finger, pointing at the prisoner's glabella. Melchior then started to chant the mysterious runes.

[You, the beholder of truth, lead this poor yeanling to his peaceful destruction, Eternal Damnation]

The prisoner paled as he felt something foreign crawling inside of him. He violently spasmed, and after a minute of grueling pain, his body fell limp, lifelessly dangling on the chains.

The Magia that Melchior sent to the prisoner returned with its victim's memory. 

"Hm, so that's how it is, huh."

Melchior turned his back to the prisoner with a calm expression. Making the previous scenario seems like a lie.

"Clean it up."

The black-cloaked figures surrounding him respectfully bowed as they awaited his departure.