Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

JJ Edgar AKA Jarlath Joshua Edgar.

Hansen spoke the third Sage's name softly. But the deathly silence over the battlefield allowed every ranker to hear those words clearly.

Of course, not everyone among Edinburgh and Layos forces knew the name. Hansen briefly mentioned JJ in his speech at the start of the graduation event. But almost nobody paid attention to it. Nobody except Eren.

Eren sat further back in the group representing Edinburgh's rankers. He was taken aback when he saw JJ Edgar in person. The butcher couldn't believe that he would get to see the face of the person whose diary had become a gateway for him to learn some hidden truths about the world.

'I guess he found what he was looking for.'

Eren thought to himself as he looked at the force standing behind JJ Edgar. The butcher identified the origins of this new force immediately. These rankers were half-bloods.

JJ Edgar made it clear in his diary that he sought lost paths of magic, which had been extinct in the land of Anfang. This was the reason he joined the Beast Bloods– so he could contact the real organization behind it.

JJ Edgar had spent the early days of his life searching for ways to become a half-blood and to possess a bloodline. To do this, he started studying the lost history hidden from the masses of the Anfang.

Eren did not know what JJ did after disappearing from the City of Silvermoon suddenly. But it looked like he succeeded in contacting the Last-Blood Bastion.

What's more? JJ Edgar's bloodline energy made it very clear to Eren that he had received a very strong bloodline. The fact that he had managed to become a Sage while being a half-blood attested to the amount of effort he must have put in.

Eren knew that a ranker could turn into a half-blood after some special conditions were met. He wasn't clear about his own transformation or the necessary conditions behind it. But the fact that he was turned into a half-blood made him realize that the same feat could be repeated by other rankers - especially someone who knew what they were doing.

Seek and ye shall find.

Edgar sought truth. He was a researcher at heart. So it was only natural that his desire to become a half-blood became his reality.

The forces of Edinburgh and Layos were both shocked by this new turn of events. Hansen and Gregory looked at each other in utter disbelief, trying to figure out if the other party was the one who sought an alliance with the half-bloods.

The silence grew louder as Hansen and Gregory realized where the third force had come from. Half Blood Bastian participated in the conflict openly- at least a major faction inside it.

'Sirius… that bastard… he didn't tell me the Last-Blood Bastion wanted to directly involve itself. I would have pitched great weapon-selling deals to this faction had I known.'

Eren knew better than most rankers present at the scene that Last-Blood Bastion was not a homogenous entity. It consisted of various factions represented by various half-blood clans.

However, none of the factions would do something that the remaining factions were completely against. Half-bloods were bonded by their need to survive together. After all, Anfang's establishments targeted them indiscriminately. The special forces didn't care which bloodlines the half-bloods possessed. The order issued to these special forces was very clear when dealing with half-bloods– kill at sight.

It was nearly impossible for one faction from the Last-Blood Bastion to make such a major move without other factions' approval. The butcher guessed that House Fenris was aware of this move by such a prominent faction.

'Don't forget, Eren. You were inside Sansara World for a month. Sirius might have tried to contact you but could not because you participated in the graduation event.'

When Eren heard Alephee's words, he began to understand. He couldn't change the past. But the butcher decided to contact Sirius anyway after this mess and get some clearance from him.

The butcher was also shocked by the fact that JJ Edgar belonged to the same organization he was secretly doing business with. Of course, he could never really blame Sirius or Fiona for it– his only two contacts belonging to Half Blood Bastian.

Eren wasn't really looking for Edgar in the first place. And even if he did, Sirius and Fiona had their right to keep Edgar's existence secret. After all, Edgar was a Sage– one of the most critical assets for the Last-Blood Bastion. Not everyone from the young generation would know anything about him.

Watching JJ Edgar live made Eren curious. If possible, he wanted to visit the Last-Blood Bastion and meet with all the faction leaders himself. The shrewd businessman in him wanted to sell a capitalist-driven "weapon culture" to these Sages and their minions.

***

"Hm? Haha. Long time no see, Hansen. It's a pleasure to see you after so long.

Yes, it's me, Jarlath. I take it you are doing fine... Like always, right?"

Edgar looked at Hansen and answered his mumblings with a smile on his face. Hansen, on the other hand, became tongue-tied by Edgar's confirmation. He thought Edgar died long ago after turning into a cultist and wasting his potential as a ranker.

But it turns out that Edgar also broke into a Sage rank. And just by looking at Edgar, Hansen knew he was more than he looked.

Hansen remembered what he had said about Edgar and felt a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason. After all, he used Edgar as an inappropriate example in front of the participants. And this supposed ill example had come out of the shadows to raise the bar of war single-handedly for them all.

Hansen and Edgar looked like two batchmates who had run into each other after a long time since they last met. This was not wrong because Edgar was once a Royal Ren student.

Edgar's smile disappeared when he looked at the golden sphere of Sansara World levitating into the arena skies. He looked at Hansen and Gregory with grim expressions before making his intentions known to them.

"I'm taking the Sansara World with me. Try to stop me and prepare to face the consequences."

AN: Hansen talks about JJ Edgar in chapter 1018.