Chapter 265: The Excidus

"Soul Mark...Excidus?" Vlad asked, obviously confused by the unfamiliar terms.

"Let’s sit and talk," Aldric said, touching the marble floor with his cane.

Two transparent chairs materialized before them in front of the table. Once the duo settled, Aldric began, "Excidus is a criminal organization whose roots go even further back than the foundation of the Arcane Academy."

"Older than the Academy?" Vlad’s eyes widened. "But I never heard of their name."

Even though Vlad was from the countryside, he should have heard of this organization at least once in his life, especially one whose existence predated the Arcane Academy, which was founded around seven hundred years ago.

"Because its existence is deliberately kept a secret," Aldric stated. "Its members consist of people from different races and origins. As for its location, no one knows. Its objective, no one except the major powerhouses like Miss Principal or the remaining three heroes knows."

Vlad remained silent for a moment. "What was it about the Legendary Knight you mentioned?"

"This is highly confidential information that shouldn’t be revealed to anyone, not even Lady Seraphina," Aldric muttered, his emerald eyes behind the glasses demanding confirmation. Once Vlad nodded in agreement, Aldric revealed, "Twelve years ago, Excidus caused the death of the Legendary Knight and the Vampire Queen of the Sanguine Flame Art, Carmilla Vesper."

Vlad felt chills running down his spine, his hand moving to cover his open mouth. Now he understood why Aldric specifically mentioned to keep it hidden from Seraphina. It involved the information about her mother’s death that Lucas was keeping a secret from her. "B-but Miss Principal said that there was no one stronger than the Legendary Knight. How could he be killed?"

"He wasn’t killed," Aldric shook his head. "He and Queen Vespera sacrificed themselves to prevent something caused by Excidus. If not for them...there would have been no Argentum today."

It took Vlad more than a few seconds to digest this information. "What did Excidus do?" he asked, his crimson eyes rising to meet Aldric’s.

"That is something I can’t tell you," Aldric shook his head. "You are too weak to learn the secrets of the world just yet."

Vlad’s brows furrowed in annoyance, but he didn’t pester him for the answer. He understood the reason for the secrecy. Telling something confidential to a weak person was like sending a toddler into a street filled with thugs with a bag full of gold.

Once the toddler was caught, the invaluable money would land in the hands of the thugs.

Vlad was the toddler here, the information was the money, and the thugs could be anyone who could use that information to cause harm.

"So Daemoth was also a member of this so-called Excidus?" Vlad asked, his tone serious.

Aldric blinked. So he had already figured it out.

"Yes," Aldric answered. "Excidus is divided into five major groups:

New Moon,

Crescent Moon,

Quarter Moon,

Gibbous Moon, and

Full Moon.

The leader of each group is called a Harbinger."

Aldric’s jaw tightened as he revealed, "Each of these Harbingers possesses strength similar to or might even greater than that of the Four Heroes."

A gasp escaped Vlad’s mouth. The Four Heroes were at the pinnacle of achievable power, a level that no other person before them had reached. Yet, Aldric was telling him that there wasn’t just one, but five such figures who possessed similar power. And the worst part was that they were all members of the same organization.

"When the Vampire Queen died twelve years ago, Archmage Lucas hunted down every possible member of Excidus," Aldric revealed. "After killing hundreds of them across Argentum, he found their base. It was the base of the Crescent Moon, containing hundreds of Awakeners. Archmage Lucas wiped them all out, along with their Harbinger, who was also an Eight-Ring Archmage. After that incident, Excidus mysteriously vanished."

Vlad was still processing this information when Aldric continued, "But now, after twelve years...they have appeared once again. The Five-Ring Necromancer that you killed was the eleventh of the Lunar Twelve from the lowest-ranked branch of Excidus, New Moon."

Vlad’s brows rose in surprise. That monstrous Daemoth, who could command an army of a thousand undead and even possessed the physical prowess of a Knight of a similar level, was only ranked eleventh out of twelve in the weakest branch of Excidus.

If Vlad hadn’t taken him by surprise using Soul Shock, he could never have defeated him.

Seeing Vlad wearing such a stressed expression, Aldric gave him a minute to process all the information.

"So, this mark on my chest..." Vlad brushed the silver spot at the center of his chest. "You called it a Soul Mark. Could you tell me what it is?"

"The Soul Mark is a secret technique of Excidus used to mark individuals whom its members deem necessary to eliminate," Aldric explained, fixing Vlad with a narrowed gaze. "The moment you were marked, your location began being constantly revealed to the Harbinger of the New Moon."

Vlad immediately rose from the chair, his expression darkening. "Is there a way to remove this mark?"

Aldric shook his head. "It can only be suppressed so your exact location won’t be revealed. But still, they will have a general idea about your location. Like, they must be aware that you are inside the Arcane Academy right now, but they wouldn’t know that you are sitting here."

"Could you suppress it?"

"That was what I did when I touched your chest with the cane."

Vlad fell back into the chair, his face turning pale as a realization hit him like a broken dam. He had been out in the city with his family with no idea that he was being targeted. Not only had he put himself at risk, but his family as well. If any Excidus member had seen him there, they must already be aware of his parents as well.

"M-my family..." Vlad murmured, his fingers slightly shaking. "My family might be in danger."

He rose from the chair again. "I need to return to Grimwood Village right now!"