Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'It's a perfect storm in the making no matter what I do.'

Eren tapped his fingers on the table as he thought of many things at once. His absent-minded eyes looked like they were peering into all the possible future events unfolding because of his actions.

'Demonmir. Demon Princes. The half-bloods. Last Blood Bastion. Anfang Alliance. The kingdom of Layos. Ongoing war. Lazarus Project. Reen. Sansara World. Sansara runes. Maya. The world-encompassing barrier. The five neighboring worlds. My spirit beast. Hex gear sets. Master Rank….

Many variables. And the poor lonely me. Kekeke. This… this should be fun.'

The butcher's eyes shone brightly when he formulated a radical plan in his head. It brought a smile to his face and finally inspired him to get up from his seat. It also inspired him to do more than just get up.

'As storm clouds gather in my sight,

Fallout lurks in each new site.

Each path I take shakes my poise.

Leaves me to face the deafening noise.

I seek an escape from my fate.

Each choice seems to seal my state.

Yet in the midst of this brewing storm,

A chance to transform, to be reborn.

With countless variables at play,

A flawless plan seems out of sway.

For I know that in the end,

Plans may break or bend.

Despite the chaos, I'll find my way.

Break free from this vicious fray.

And if flames of fallout ensue,

I'll rebirth from the ashes, rise anew.

So let the winds of change rage on.

Let chips fall where they may belong.

The bringer of endless fright I'll be.

Grimdawn, forever etched in memory.'

Grimdawn mused to himself as he stood straight and looked outside the broken window with his hands behind his back. Even after thinking about the potential fallout, his heartbeats were steady and consistent. It was as if his entire being was ready to face chaos- and thrive in it.

For Eren, letting his thoughts run astray worked in his favor. It allowed him to understand what he could do to achieve his goals without sacrificing his self-interests for the most part.

Eren stopped contemplating when he heard noises outside the house.

"I think… I think Lord Grimdawn is here somewhere. This is the only place in the vicinity we haven't searched for." The first voice sounded full of doubt.

"But we've been trying to reach him for hours now. What chances do we have of finding him now?" The second voice prompted everyone to almost give up on their mission.

However, the third voice shared information that breathed new life into the minds and mission of these young searchers.

"My friend stationed at Lord Grimdawn's villa says he is not back there yet. He may be still roaming the streets of Edin."

The first voice pondered for a bit before making a decision.

"Alright. He is an Expert ranker after all. He may have used his means to escape us. But... But we will try anyway. We'll split up and check each house separately. Let's see who meets him first. Hahaha."

Eren heard these boisterous voices from somewhere not too far. These young voices were filled with enthusiasm. They chased Ariella as she fled the elven tavern carrying last night's intoxicated Eren. Apparently, they searched for him all night and were unwilling to give up on their chase.

It seemed that Eren had become too popular after the graduation event. Especially after witnessing his peculiar individuality. It struck fear in their hearts when they first experienced it. And that fear transformed into admiration. The overwhelming individual might be well respected in Anfang after all.

Most of Grimdawn's fans were young Novice rankers. They had all the time and energy to pursue him and ask for his guidance. They weren't even content with meeting him or shaking hands.

In the next moment, someone stepped into the shabby house he was occupying. A door leading to Eren was about to creak open.

Grimdawn had his back turned against the door. He laughed lightly before saying out loud, "Sorry boys, I got work to do. Maybe another time."

Blink.

When the door was completely open, Grimdawn was nowhere to be found. An empty silver chalice was left behind for the young ranker by Eren on the rickety table as a souvenir.

The young ranker was disappointed to miss Grimdawn by a hair's breadth. Then his mind convinced himself that the back of the ranker he saw and the voice he heard was an illusion. It was his defense mechanism designed to save him from feelings of regret.

When he saw the souvenir on the table, he was amazed. His eyes sparkled and he quickly grabbed onto the chalice like his life depended on it.

This silver chalice would be something the Novice ranker would cherish throughout his life. It was sure to be passed down to his future generations as a family heirloom.

***

A well-lit potion-making lab. Eren's villa.

The lab had the right set of arrays and alchemy products in place. It had a dedicated potion bank and isolation chambers for various ingredients. The trapped, sulfuric air of the potion lab was cleaned in real-time by the wind-element arrays, making it inert and odorless.

Eren and Levine were seen standing at their respective tables. They were completing a very precious concoction. Levine guided Eren while paying attention to her own brewing process.

"Eren, you can add the remaining ingredients now."

Levine didn't have to instruct Eren much. The latter knew how much elemental mana he needed to imbue in the concoction process to stabilize the content inside the cauldron placed in front of him.

The toe of a Greenwater frog, the wool of a lightning bat, the tongue of a Black Flame wolf, and a purple silk blind-worm. Eren added various ranked items to the concoction after processing them parallelly. His Expert-ranked elemental mana was added and elevated the potion's potency.

Gurgle!

The bubbles formed in the concoction as the cauldron harnessed the heat of the orange flames under it. A series of mana pulses was also generated which subside with each passing second.

The butcher stabilized the concoction by adjusting the rune array etched over the cauldron. When he knew the concoction was ready, he used a runic pipette to draw a small quantity of the concoction from the cauldron. He poured it into the beaker placed beside the cauldron on the table.

The beaker's runic inscriptions reacted to the concoction and changed its color from green to colorless. An indication that the concoction was perfectly stabilized and ready to consume.

"With this, I have nothing else to teach you, Eren. So I will not be your potion teacher anymore."

Eren heard Levine's slightly exhausted sound from behind him as he observed the contents inside the beaker. Smiling, he turned around.