Chapter 194: SSS-rank Blackmail

Kaelen’s first reaction was to almost roll his eyes at the Herald.

He had been caught red-handed on the first try. This raised the earlier question about whether the Herald of the lobby he was sneaking into could detect a foreign candidate.

"You must be Lysandra’s Herald. I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you," Kaelen said calmly, his unbothered temperament making the Herald pause as she hovered before them.

"And you are? Let me guess: the infamous Kaelen Cross. Am I right?" the Herald asked with a dangerous smile.

"You guessed right. In fact, I would’ve tagged you a liar if you pretended you didn’t know me. I’m a bit of a celebrity now, y’know." Kaelen replied shamelessly. "My Lysandra aside," he said as he crossed his arm over Lysandra’s shoulder. "Do you think any of your candidates are worthy of clearing an entire floor solo? Mind you, mine was messed up, and I still did it against all odds." He laughed smugly.

First rule of the Tower: innocent until proven guilty. If your actions weren’t against any established rule, always act like the situation was under your control. Especially when it came to the Heralds, who didn’t make the rules.

The Herald stared at him for a moment before she tilted her head in irritation and scoffed in cold disbelief.

"Mr. Solo Clear, do you realize you’re invading my hub this minute, and your actions are punishable by death? It’s within my authority to kill you where you stand, for I have absolute dominion over this entire lobby."

Her words triggered Lysandra, but Kaelen pressed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Last time I checked, Heralds are only permitted to carry out an execution when a candidate goes against the rules. I didn’t break any rules. Besides, it’s like you said. You have absolute dominion over this lobby and everything inside. I don’t belong here. I’m sure you can’t use the psychic thing to implode my head because, if I remember correctly, the Herald Executioner mentioned that our lives belonged to our Herald. So, to put me down, you’ll have to beat me first. And if you succeeded, I don’t think my Herald would be too happy about losing their best fighter. I don’t think Lysandra here would be too happy about it, and we both know you’ll be losing her too. You wouldn’t have been spying on her from afar if you didn’t think she was your ticket to victory, isn’t that how you caught me? And oh... I don’t think my wife would be happy to become a widow this soon. We just got married a couple of days ago. I believe she was really stressed when that dungeon malfunctioned. I wonder what her reaction was?" Kaelen stroked his chin thoughtfully before shifting his attention back to the Herald, whose expression was colder than the negative degrees inside the alternate second floor.

"I’m not trying to challenge you or anything. I was only letting you know what you’re getting into. Because at times, we tend to make regrettable decisions when we’re in a bad mood," he added with an unapologetic smile.

If only she knew his Herald hated him and he and Emir weren’t even that close. But Kaelen was going to take advantage of every opportunity he got to abuse their power for leverage in situations like this.

His signature move had become SSS-rank Blackmail at this point.

"You think you’re tough, huh?" the Herald said with a cold, mischievous smile.

"I never said that," he replied innocently.

"Very well, then. Let’s see what your Herald and your wife have to say when the Herald Executioner gets involved," the Herald said with a sweet smile and remained stationary for a moment.

It was clear to both Kaelen and Lysandra that she was contacting Kelsey.

"Kaelen, I think you might get into trouble this time," Lysandra said worriedly.

Kaelen stared at the motionless Herald for a moment before turning to Lysandra with a calm smile. "I’m sure it’s nothing. I doubt they’ll believe one Herald over two candidates about something that should be impossible," he said as he took the treasure chest from her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion.

Kaelen only smiled. "When she eventually returns with anyone else, tell them you never saw me. None of this even happened, and you’ve been cultivating since, okay?"

"W-What?"

"Byeee." Kaelen waved and disappeared from the spot, leaving Lysandra standing there in disbelief. But before she could do anything, another figure appeared beside the Herald, who began moving once more.

It was the familiar appearance of the brutal host and Herald Executioner, Kelsey.

"That’s him right there..." the Herald said immediately but trailed off the moment her eyes met the empty spot where Kaelen had stood.

"Where?" Kelsey asked calmly, with her hands clasped behind her back. But if one looked into her eyes, they’d see the dangerous glint that hinted she was more interested in this case than she let on.

"He was just... right there. Lysandra, tell me, where is he hiding right now?" she commanded.

Lysandra stared at her in confusion, alternating her gaze between the two Heralds.

"Who? What is this about?" she asked, her brows slightly furrowed.

The Herald’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. "W-What do you mean? Where’s Kaelen Cross? He was here with you just now. Tell me right now where he’s hiding."

"Kaelen? My master Kaelen? Was here? I don’t think I understand what you’re saying. Can someone explain to me what is going on and why the Herald Executioner is here? Is Kaelen in some kind of trouble?" Lysandra asked in even greater confusion, with worry written all over her face.

This made the Herald pause to rethink what had happened in the past few minutes and whether she had been the one seeing things. She could tell when people were lying, and Lysandra wasn’t. This made her extremely confused.

"I-I’m sure he was here. Kaelen Cross was here..." she trailed off when Kelsey suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, which sent chills down the Herald’s spine.

"I swear I’m not lying. He was here, and when I reprimanded him, he threatened me with his Herald and—" the Herald hurriedly tried to defend herself.

"Of course, I know you aren’t lying," Kelsey interrupted her with a dangerous smile. "I only found it amusing. Because you see, Transcendant Dragons have the ability to alter memories. Theirs and those of others. Lysandra here probably did the same to herself, which is why she’s genuinely confused about what’s happening right now. But the only reason she’d do that is if Kaelen asked her to. Her memory alteration is probably temporary, but you should count yourself lucky that she didn’t alter yours as well while you were AFK."

The Herald was dumbstruck as she stared at Lysandra, who was staring back at them strangely, wondering what they were talking about.

"Since that’s the case," Kelsey said as she licked her lips, "let’s go find him in his lobby, then." She said it with a soft chuckle that sounded like the theme song of a nightmare.

The two disappeared the next moment, leaving Lysandra staring at the empty spot where they had stood. She breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead.

"Phew, that was intense. I can’t believe that worked. If I had to alter my memory just to cover up for Master Kaelen then I’m not worthy to be by his side." She said with a soft giggle.

"I’d better inform him about what happened before they get to him. I hope he doesn’t get into trouble."