“You could say, Mr. Lloyd, this isn’t a threat but a declaration: even if I die, I’ll take a chunk out of you. Think carefully,” Boca said, his voice dripping with unmasked hostility.
Tommy found it laughable.
“Think carefully?” he chuckled. “Oh, I will.”
Even if g’s forcing my hand, that doesn’t an you can talk tough to .
A sudden thought struck: Was Boca behind g’s visit? Was he orchestrating this?
Squinting, Tommy probed, “A shadow demon’s power is impressive, isn’t it?”
“It’s strong, but I’m no weakling,” Boca replied, voice low. “Alastair already paid a visit. When’s your turn?”
He knows Alastair! Tommy’s mind roared, clarity dawning.
This was his key to solving g’s task in three days.
Boca shouldn’t know Alastair’s na this soon—not when even Grand Arbiter g lacked details, and Boca had no ties to the Inspectorate or Bureau.
He knew Alastair—maybe Alastair was his man!
That explained Boca’s quick agreent to attack Aiwass. He knew Aiwass would be fine. Why would a volatile demon-possessed like Alastair take Aiwass alive unless instructed?
Tommy suspected Aiwass wasn’t kidnapped but hidden by Boca to pressure Avalon’s authorities against him. Aiwass was faking his death!
This would hit Noble Red and, by extension, Lloyd Society—Tommy most of all. If g’s curse killed him and the society crumbled, Boca could reveal Aiwass, becoming a hero to both Lloyd Society and Avalon.
Public approval, dia buzz—Boca’s obsession.
What a plan!
Boca’s silence wasn’t weakness but a calculated strike. Tommy had to admit, Boca had outplayed him.
He’d initially thought Alastair was Noble Red’s, not Boca’s, as Boca lacked motive. But now it clicked: Tommy’s death was motive enough.
If Tommy hadn’t realized Alastair was Boca’s and searched Noble Red instead, three days wouldn’t suffice. His hostility could push Noble Red to abandon or silence him.
Ruthless Boca—still waters hiding a crocodile, not a rabbit!
Tommy’s eyes burned with killing intent, his giant blood barely restrained from crushing the phone.
“I’ll find you, Mr. Boca,” he said with a nacing grin. “Be careful… though it won’t help.”
He hung up.
On the other end, Boca’s face was grim.
Droste promised intel by afternoon but sent Diodes that morning, distrusting even allies.
That intel confird Alastair was Lloyd’s man.
Joining Noble Red without knowing his ntor? Impossible.
Boca knew Noble Red’s process: prospective mbers studied demonology and rituals via mail, then faced interviews and written tests by two full mbers. Passing led to an initiation ritual:
“We are the wounded fist, the bloodied hand, the scaleless blade.”
Killing soone with bare fists—not weapons or guns—required prolonged brutality, awakening malice to prevent later regrets. So joined for occult curiosity or Transcendence potential, unaware of the darkness.
After, they’d dissect the victim for their first ritual, becoming first-tier Transcendents. Only then did they receive a Noble Red ring and join a ntor’s tutelage.
Exceptions, like Aiwass, wild demon scholars who killed ring-holders, could skip initiation but were recruited by senior mbers.
Alastair, a demon-possessed, faced stricter scrutiny. Even York struggled to join. Droste’s described process was wrong, aning Alastair was deceived. He hadn’t joined but knew Noble Red’s ideals and had a ring—proof his deceiver was a ntor within the society.
With Noble Red planning a big move, Glass Island’s mbers worked in fixed pairs. Available ntors were Lloyd Society’s, and with York dead and Boca uninvolved, only Tommy remained.
Initially, Boca doubted the “Mr. Lloyd sends his regards” taunt, suspecting a ploy to pin him against Tommy’s volatile temper. But Droste’s intel erased doubt.
No more hesitation—retreat ant death.
Tommy’s unmasked killing intent aid to fra and eliminate Boca. Alastair was surely his.
But Boca’s allies were dead…
His mood darkened.
Tommy, a fourth-tier demon scholar nearing demon incarnation, had Alastair, a shadow demon-possessed, aiding him. They could strike anyti, and Boca’s rituals risked detection by Noble Red’s ritual experts.
Though Avalon’s royal family held ritual mage legacies, Noble Red retained ritual and curse knowledge.
Boca was in grave danger.
He had no choice but to take a desperate gamble.
If executed well, he might clear his na.
Saving Aiwass was his shot.
With resolve, he made the call:
“Honored Great Guardian, this is Bran Boca.
“I’m turning myself in and reporting Tommy Lloyd, president of Lloyd Society, for thirty-six counts of murder, kidnapping, extortion, and more… I request the witness protection program.”
(Chapter End)
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