Cold. Trembling.
In his slumber, Caesar suddenly sensed the presence of another person. His eyes snapped open.
"Not bad. You're the most promising one in this batch."
A bright, captivating face leaned in close. Her eyes, lightly shadowed, gleamed like crimson blades, sharp and mesmerizing. Her long, jet-black hair was tied into a ponytail, cascading over her ample chest. She grinned at him and said, "Caesar Gattuso, welcome to hell!"
"???"
Caesar was utterly confused.
"Relax~ Just messing with you."
The girl raised her slender, pale hand, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her crystal-clear ear. She chuckled softly, sitting back up straight. "Let's do introductions. My name is Saké Tokugawa. I'm a mercenary."
A mercenary?
Caesar's mind was a mess. A sharp pain throbbed in his head as memories flooded in like a tidal wave.
That's right. At the Santa Lucia port, a bullet had suddenly shot out from the shadows and struck him. He lost consciousness and fell into the sea.
The sensation of having his chest pierced—it returned with the memory, like an illusionary pain echoing through his body.
Instinctively, Caesar bolted upright from the bed, hands frantically searching his chest. But to his shock, there was nothing—no wound, no scar. It was as if it had never happened.
"Why…?" Caesar froze. He was certain that bullet had gone straight through him.
Saké Tokugawa crossed one long, snow-white leg over the other. Reaching into her tight leather suit, she pulled out a bullet and casually tossed it over. "Here~ You should recognize this, right?"
"This is… a Frigg Bullet?"
Caesar's expression twisted in disbelief. He hesitated but picked up the bullet, examining it closely. It was real. No doubt about it. But then another question surfaced.
"But Frigg Bullets vaporize upon impact. How could it have made me feel like I was shot through?"
"A little magic trick~"
Saké Tokugawa winked playfully, showing no intention of explaining further.
"You were the one who shot me at the coast." Caesar rubbed the bullet between his fingers, his brows furrowing slightly. His gaze darkened with wariness. "What's your goal?"
"Relax, I'm on your side~" Jiude Mai playfully stuck out her tongue and said with a grin, "Before the 'main character squad' arrives, I'm responsible for keeping you safe."
"Main character squad?"
Caesar was momentarily stunned.
"Yep~ The protagonist is riding in on a horse right now to defeat the great evil Demon King," Jiude Mai joked with a mischievous smile.
"And who's the protagonist? Who's the Demon King?" Caesar asked curiously.
"Hehe, take a guess~"
Jiude Mai motioned to the side and said, "Oh, don't forget your stuff. We're almost at our destination."
Caesar followed her gaze and saw a book wrapped in silk cloth. Seeing that Jiude Mai was about to leave, he quickly grabbed it, stuffed it into his coat, and hurried after her.
"Destination? Where are we going?"
Jiude Mai pushed open the door, and a vast, pitch-black seascape unfolded before Caesar's eyes.
Only now did he realize—no wonder everything had been swaying. They were on a luxury yacht.
The night outside was deep and dark, with even the moon hidden behind thick clouds. There was no way to tell which direction they were heading, only the faint glow of a distant shoreline in sight.
"Rome, the Pantheon."
Jiude Mai pointed toward a massive bridge stretching across the sea. "That's where we—no, I should say, where you're headed."
"Who exactly are you? And how do you know all this?"
Caesar felt a growing suspicion about the girl in front of him.
Almost no one should have known about this. He had only learned about it from Pompeii, yet this girl had seemingly foreseen everything, predicting his destination before he even mentioned it.
"I already told you, didn't I? I'm here to help~"
Jiude Mai turned around, leaning against the ship's railing. Her long black hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and her bright eyes shimmered.
"You don't have to believe me, but at least until now, I haven't harmed you."
"Then what was that shot about?" Caesar asked coldly.
"Helping you shake off those people~"
Jiude Mai answered honestly.
"Apart from the Gattuso family, there's another group tracking you. They're not like those weaklings—you can't just take care of them so easily."
"The Secret Order?"
Caesar frowned slightly, his voice deep.
"That's right. I've been following one of them." Jiude Mai nodded, her face serious.
"I swear, the members of the Secret Order are strong. The one I encountered had at least an A-rank bloodline, and his Word Soul was Moment. If my teammate hadn't helped, I'd be dead by now."
"More hybrids..."
Caesar gritted his teeth.
He suddenly realized that the Secret Order's influence was far scarier than he had imagined.
Right under the noses of Cassell College and the Board of Directors, such a massive force had taken root in Europe. Even the Gattuso family was deeply entangled in it.
Caesar could hardly fathom just how many hidden-hybrid clans had secretly joined the Secret Order without them knowing.
Jiude Mai seemed to notice his thoughts and comforted him.
"Relax, you're not alone~"
"How much do you know about the Secret Order?" Caesar quickly shook off his frustration and asked.
"Not much. Just that they've been in hiding for years and only recently resurfaced." Jiude Mai handed him a tablet.
"This is the intel we've gathered. We don't know much about them, but one thing is certain. Want to hear it?"
Caesar took the tablet and browsed through it.
As she said, there was barely any information—he could scan through it in seconds.
"Go ahead. I've got nothing to lose now."
"One bad news, and one worse news. Which do you want first?" Jiude Mai asked.
"Is there even a difference?" Caesar looked at her, speechless.
"Alright, I'll just say them both."
Jiude Mai adjusted her expression, then spoke slowly.
"The bad news is—Pompeii Gattuso isn't dead. The worse news—he's a Bishop in the Secret Order. Basically, a leader."
"As expected, just as I guessed."
Caesar wasn't shocked as one might imagine after hearing everything. Instead, he remained calm.
His thoughts drifted back to that day—when he returned to the Gattuso family and met his father, who was always wandering outside.
However, the scene he had envisioned never happened. Instead, Pompeii told him about the 'Secret Order.'
And he let him witness a 'miracle' with his own eyes—an eerie force from the vast starry sky, a terrifying illusion capable of piercing the mind.
Then, Pompeii revealed an even more chilling truth. He would lead the family to use a certain alchemical matrix to summon an unspeakable being slumbering beneath the Eternal Lake when the Black Star of Carcosa rose.
What happened next was exactly as the Gattuso family announced to the public. Caesar cut off Pompeii's head with the Black Knife and stole the crucial 'Notebook.'
According to the contents of the notebook, summoning the 'Nameless One' from the depths of the cosmos required the right time, location, ritual items, and a sacrifice to complete the 'Descent Ritual.'
If Caesar wanted to stop it, he had to recite the banishment incantation at the precise moment and place.
And that was why he had to take the notebook to the Pantheon in Rome.
"He let me leave on purpose."
Caesar's golden-red eyes shimmered as he gazed at the churning black sea. He spoke calmly, "Everything makes sense now. His target isn't just me. If I'm right, the 'main character group' you're talking about… they should be people I know—Cassell College students, right?"
"An hour and a half ago, Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Xia Mi, and Chen Motong arrived in Rome."
Jiu De Mai said softly, "Clearly, Pompeii accounted for this and is waiting for you at the Pantheon—ready for you to walk right into his trap."
"A trap? Not necessarily."
Caesar let out a cold chuckle. A confident smile appeared on his sharp, flawless face.
"Do you know who I am? I'm Caesar. Even if the odds are against me, I can still turn the tables!"
********
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