"Lucas was following Asher, as was Livia, as they were returning to the Greville Estate.
"By the way, who was that girl?" Damian asked, his curiosity mirrored by Amelia.
"We've never seen her before!!" Damian questioned excitedly.
It was evident why he was so intrigued, but Asher avoided his question.
"I will go to the Greville Estate after making a detour," Asher informed Hassan.
"Ah, that might be a bit challenging," Hassan responded.
The current situation was precarious, and Hassan didn't want to take any chances with Asher's safety.
But how could he predict that the individual he was concerned for was the very same person who had plunged the entire world into chaos?
In his wildest dreams, nobody could even imagine that the masked man named Zephyr was none other than Asher Greville.
"Does he want to hide her identity?" Damian whispered to Amelia.
"I think so too," Amelia nodded.
The whole world was in turmoil, but these two were more curious about Asher's partner, who had already departed.
'It can't be someone from the Academy,' Amelia deduced, as almost everyone from first-year to third-year students avoided Asher.
"Emmy will take me there," Asher said. Hassan glanced to his right, and a car appeared with Emmy stepping out.
"Okay, if it's her, I can trust your safety in her hands," Hassan replied, looking back.
Lucas watched Asher, confused.
"I'll return to the Estate after a few hours," Asher replied. Lucas smiled, finally getting the chance to spend time with Asher and learn from him.
'It's time you learn the techniques you created,' Asher thought.
Asher noticed Lucas's expression as he turned to enter the car, where Emmy was waiting.
Asher climbed into the car, removed his suit, and looked at the tablet in the car.
"Is she at the Mansion?" Asher asked.
"Yes, I have escorted her safely," Emmy confirmed.
Relieved, Asher opened the tablet and received Gavin's message.
< Gavin : I have secured the drops of blood but why do you need it? >
< Asher : Just send them to me when you reach the World Academy >
Asher observed that the first prey had already fallen into his traps.
He didn't need to do anything else as nothing unexpected happened during this mission. He was prepared to deal with unknown variables, but this time, nothing of that sort occurred.
'And I completed some quests as well,' Asher thought, looking at the notification.
Hidden Quest Completed
Objective : Make Nathaniel Greville get the SSS Rank Mana Gem
Reward : 2000 Fate Points
This was the first quest he completed when Nathan earned the possession of the most coveted Mana Gem in the world.
Hidden Quest Completed
Objective : Prevent the Kalvas Gala
Reward : 1000 Fate Points
It had been a long time since he had received any hidden quests, but that was expected because he hadn't made any significant changes until now.
'Casie Hargrave,' Asher pondered on the new variable that had surfaced at the Gala.
And he knew it was related to the twins.
He didn't know much about Casie, so she was one of the few people he wanted to thoroughly investigate.
After all, Lucas was one of Asher's strongest cards for the future.
Even though he had recruited Dane and Kai, both of whom were extremely powerful hunters, Lucas was unique, surpassing both Dane and Kai despite being nearly half their age.
"What do you know about Casie Hargrave?" Asher asked Emmy, who was taken aback by his question.
"Ah, she was Sir Ivar's fiancée," Emmy replied.
"Though I'm not entirely sure if it's accurate, she wanted to marry Sir Ivar, but he refused her," Emmy added,
"Then the Hargraves used the Promise to force Master Arthur to break his engagement with Lady Sylvie or allow her to marry Sir Ivar," Emmy elucidated.
"Although it wouldn't have happened if she didn't have her father's support," Emmy told Asher.
Xarax Hargrave was the reason that Casie had such power and freedom in the Hargrave family. Some people even suggested that she might have taken the position of Family Head if she hadn't pursued her marriage with Ivar.
"I heard that many women who tried to court Sir Ivar were killed on her orders, but no evidence was found against her," Emmy added,
It was not hard for the Hargrave family to suppress such incidents, but Casie had one more card in her hand—her connection with the underground organizations that accepted requests from only a select few.
"Since the day Sir Ivar died, Casie Hargrave has secluded herself in her mansion, but perhaps because of the existence of young Master Lucas and young Lady Livia, she came to the Gala," Emmy concluded as Asher listened attentively.
Asher could already sense that her target would be the twins, but he was still unaware that Casie had already planned to present marriage proposals to the Greville family for Asher.
She wanted to ensnare the heir by choosing Asher's partner and turning him into her pawn.
After half an hour of driving and using a teleportation gate as well, Asher arrived at the mansion.
Emmy stood outside as per usual, following Asher's orders.
Asher entered, and he saw Alyssa, who was wearing her mask, reverting back to her scarred look.
"Follow me. I'll introduce you to the rest of the members," Asher said as Alyssa rose to her feet.
Asher had already told Dane and Kai to assemble in the meeting room with Tom, as Asher wanted Alyssa to be aware as well.
"Hi Boss," Dane greeted as all three of them rose when Asher and the masked girl entered the room.
Asher took the center seat, while Alyssa took the one opposite where Tom and the others were seated.
"Firstly, you should know about this," Asher said as he summoned Rifir.
"I saw it in the video, but it's real?" Dane questioned, his face a picture of shock,
He had never seen anyone tame a monster, and it even stunned Kai, who had thought the snake was fake or an illusion.
Rifir studied everyone as its eyes landed on Alyssa, who returned its gaze.
"So, you're that masked man?" Alyssa asked while maintaining a calm demeanor.
"Yes, and now you are also part of Zephyr. We have one more member, but he won't join us for now," Asher said, referring to Sam Allister.
He was not ready to let Sam join just yet.
"You won't join any of the missions yet," Asher declared.
There were two reasons Asher did not want Alyssa to participate in Zephyr's activities yet.
One was the fact that she was not ready or strong enough to handle the difficulty of the missions that Asher would assign Dane and Kai.
Secondly, when dealing with elite families, Asher had no idea when Alyssa might lose her self-restraint.
"Okay, should I go back to World Academy now?" Alyssa asked.
"Wait for a few days before going back," Asher instructed. Alyssa stood up.
"Ask Emmy to take you to your room," Asher said, and Alyssa nodded at him.
She exited the room, leaving Dane and Kai to watch the interaction in silence.
It was the first time someone had spoken with Asher without changing their expression. Both of them were highly inexpressive, so this made for a strange sight.
"As for you guys," Asher turned and looked at Dane and Kai,
"I have already sent the payment for this mission, and Tom will give you the details about the next one," Asher declared. Dane and Kai's faces changed slightly at this news.
"Don't worry, it's only a tracking mission; you'll be safe," Tom interjected, providing the details of the mission.
"Ah, if it's a tracking mission, then it's fine," Dane replied, glancing at Kai who was the best person for this job.
"Also, start targeting the business of these Elite Families," Asher passed Tom a device that had few names on it.
And one of them was the Neville Family.
"Ruin their public image, and do it before this situation calms down," Asher told Tom.
At the Kalvas Gala, a certain individual seemed a bit pleased with the current situation.
"Found it, your weakness," Leonard smiled as he gazed at the image of Asher's partner.
"She's not from the World Academy," Leonard asserted, confident in his knowledge of every single student in the World Academy.
"Let's see how long you can hide her," Leonard challenged, his eyes fixed on the image of Asher and Alyssa dancing together.
