Victory had just curled across her lips. But before she could savor it, Razeal's hand snapped upward. Two fingers forced past her lips, forcing themselves deep into her mouth before she could jerk away.

Her eyes widened in shock as she gagged, Her muffled protest cracked in her throat as he pinned her against the tree, immovable. But his strength was absolute. She couldn't stop him.

Blood affinity surged around his fingers, a scarlet aura that pulsed with menace. Then he shoved it down her throat.

Maria gagged, thrashing, nails scraping against his arm as she tried to fight him off. But his strength was merciless, his control absolute. The blood burned cold and heavy as it slid deep down into her throat.

When he was satisfied, he pulled his hand back. Her knees buckled as she stumbled forward, coughing and spitting, her face contorted with rage and disgust. "What.. what did you make me drink?!" she gasped, her voice hoarse as she wiped her lips with trembling hands.

Razeal calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped his wet fingers, the faint trace of her saliva gleaming in the dim light. His expression never shifted. "Nothing," he said evenly. "A forbidden skill of mine. If you ever think of betraying me… it will torture you first. And if I will it, it can kill you. Now, you can come with me."

Maria's eyes blazed. Humiliation scorched her chest as she watched him clean his fingers with that calm disdain, like she was nothing more than dirt clinging to him. The urge to strike him, to smash her fist into his face, rose like fire. She drew back her arm..

And pain lanced through her chest.

She collapsed with a strangled cry, clutching herself as if invisible chains were crushing her ribs. The agony was unbearable, wracking her body until she fell to her knees, convulsing.

"Arghh.. what... what did you!" she gasped, her voice breaking with every jolt.

Razeal crouched slightly, his eyes cold as steel as he looked down at her writhing on the ground. "I told you," he said, calm and cruel, "if you so much as think of turning against me, you'll feel pain. Do it again… and it will kill you."

He said while releasing his control, withdrawing the invisible strings he had pulled with his blood manipulation.

Of course, there was no forbidden skill. That was his lie. In truth, he had merely forced his blood into her and was manipulating it now, twisting her own body with his control. But she didn't know that. To her, it was real.

Maria lay on the ground, chest heaving, her hair a tangled mess. Slowly, painfully, she pushed herself to her feet. Her legs trembled, her breaths ragged. Her once-proud gaze was fractured now, shards of fear gleaming through the cracks.

"Don't think of testing me again," Razeal said quietly. His tone was calm, but the weight of his words pressed down harder than any shout.

Maria swallowed hard, her throat burning. For the first time in years, she felt genuine fear bloom in her chest. She had been toyed with, manipulated, shackled by something she couldn't see or fight.

Razeal gave a slow, deliberate glance over her.

"Now you can come," he said simply. His tone was still calm, detached as though nothing that had just happened mattered to him. Then, after a pause: "I trust you understand your situation.

Then he turned around, his expression unreadable. Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to carry her with him. But time was short. And Maria… Maria might be useful. A noble-grade bloodline, affinity with water. In the ocean, she could be an asset.

But he would keep her close. Controlled. Shackled in illusion.

"Alright. Fine. But you'll take my bloodline out after, right?" Maria's lips still burned from his fingers, but she didn't comment on it. She just wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, straightened herself, and asked quietly, almost carefully

Razeal's face didn't change. His voice was calm, almost indifferent. "I don't have a way to do it yet. But I'll find one."

Maria narrowed her eyes, studying him. "And how am I supposed to trust you won't go back on your words?"

"I gave my word." He looked straight into her eyes, cold and steady. "I don't go back."

Maria's lips parted, the protest ready on her tongue. This man had just shackled her with some cursed blood technique, bound her body in pain, and now expected her to trust a promise. But then she saw his eyes calm, sharp, impenetrable. Bit the just shut it again.

"…Alright. Hope you mean it."

"I never break my word." His gaze didn't shift. "I said I'd defeat you without even fighting. Did we fight?"

Maria froze. Her lips parted, but no words came. She turned her head to the side, brushing dirt from her once-pristine blue dress, hiding her expression in the small, deliberate movement. The heir of the Grave family, reduced to dusting herself off like a scolded child.

Razeal didn't linger. He turned away from her and walked back to Levy.

Levy had been silent the entire time, watching the scene unfold from start to finish. His eyes flicked from Maria, still composed despite her humiliation, back to Razeal, who stood like nothing had happened. Levy finally spoke.

"She's the heiress of the Grave family… isn't she?" He pointed toward Maria.

"Yeah," Razeal answered without hesitation. His face betrayed no concern. "What about it?"

Levy's mouth opened, then shut. His thoughts tangled in his head. The fourth son of a Pillar family was already untouchable, and this woman… she's not just some daughter. She's the heiress. The only child. If anyone so much as brushed her wrong, her family would burn half the empire to the ground except some few. And this dude? He's choking her, throwing her on the ground, forcing fingers down her throat… and he doesn't care. Honestly he really doesn't know how to treat a lady like a lady.

Levy rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "...Nothing. Forget it."

Razeal studied him for a moment, then asked simply, "So are you coming with me or not?"

Levy blinked. "What?"

"I need you," Razeal said flatly. No pretense. No disguise. His tone was a simple statement of fact. "If you don't come, it'll be harder for me to manage what's next."

Levy stared at him, baffled. "What do you mean coming with you or not? You don't even know where to go. Forget the location for a second have you thought about the rest? The monsters in the ocean, the portals and rifts that open under the waves a thousands of times more often than on land? The ocean creatures themselves, the currents, the storms, even food? And that's ignoring the fact that if I go with you, I'll be branded an enemy of the empire, a criminal for stepping foot into the ocean. Only an idi...." Levy was rattling off every reason he shouldn't go with them, but Razeal cut him off before he could say more.

His voice was quiet but carried weight.

"I know where to find it."

Levy's rant stalled. His still stayed open as cut mid words, the words dying in his throat. Slowly, he asked, "...How?"

Razeal's eyes gleamed faintly, his face as unreadable as ever. "Atlantis. It have location to Ocean Black."

At which levy just dragged a hand down his face, groaning. "And how are we supposed to find that also? Atlantis was a legend too. Do you hear yourself?" His head throbbed as though every word Razeal spoke was a nail being hammered into his skull. Talking to this guy is like talking to a dumb idiot, he thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Maira remained quiet. She didn't show any judgment yet.. after all, she knew him better than Levy. This was the same man who had stood against the entire empire and still survived not by strength, but through sheer intelligence.

She remembered. He had slipped into the Academy trials while branded one of the empire's most wanted. Forced the Academy to protect him from Church knights. Wormed his way into the royal classroom without forming team. Slapped a duke's heir in the face in front of whole empire and still walked away alive. Declared a duel of honor, then won it that too without actual fight. He pulled strings, twisted situations, and somehow always survived.

If not for his arrogance and reckless pride, Maria might have admired him more. But those flaws made him act stupid sometimes like the fight with Sylva, which was pointless and unnecessary, even to her eyes. Still, she couldn't deny it: beneath the bad personality and ego, Razeal was brilliant.

Still… even she hesitated now. Atlantis. A name heavy with myth. Of course she knew it. Every child in the empire who read history had heard the stories. And she had water affinity, and yet she didn't know the legend of a kingdom sunk beneath the sea? Impossible.

Even her mother had dismissed it as nothing more than a story, since no evidence had ever been found. Maybe, if the empire hadn't banned ocean exploration, she would have ventured there herself just to see if it was real.

"Atlantis? So you're saying you know where Atlantis is?" Levy asked, pressing him this time, just wanting to crush this guy with common sense.

"No."

The answer came flat, immediate.

Levy stared at him. His mouth opened, then closed again. His head dropped back, and he exhaled slowly, fighting the urge to tear his own hair out.

"Then how are we supposed to find it?" he asked, voice strained, almost pleading.

"That old man," Razeal said calmly. "The one who spread the story about the Black Ocean. He's been there. He knows. We'll get him.. and he'll take us there."

"That crazy old man? It's been sixty years since he spread that story… and wait.. if I remember right, the Empire declared him a rogue criminal back then. But he escaped, didn't he?" Levy frowned, piecing it together. Wasn't that why his tales got so famous in first place? And if I'm not wrong, they caught him thirty years ago. Is he even alive?"

"I know about him. He's in Eternal Hold," Maria cut in, arms folded as she looked at Levy. "For some reason they didn't execute him. The Empire locked him away in their prison instead."

Razeal gave a short nod. He had already known.

Levy turned to him, his eyes narrowing. But then he just sighed as though words kept trying to escape but withering on his tongue. Finally, he exhaled sharply.

"So… how are you going to 'ask' him, then? Eternal Hold doesn't allow visits. Not even family. No exceptions. To see someone inside, you'd need the permission of the imperial family themselves." He blinked. "You're not going to convince them, are you?"

"No." Razeal's answer was immediate.

Levy stared. "Then how?"

"We're going to take him out of Eternal Hold."

The words landed like a blade in the silence.

Levy's eyes widened. His voice pitched upward, almost cracking. "Impossible. No one has ever broken that prison. Not once in history. Even if you were strong enough, no one even knows where it is. It's hidden. Wiped off every map. That's why it's called Eternal Hold.. you go in, and you never come out."

Razeal rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Don't worry about it. I'll get in."

Levy blinked, stunned by the casual tone. "Get in… how?"

Razeal's lips curled, but his voice remained calm, almost bored. "Don't worry. It'll be done."

Levy stepped forward, exasperated. "Tell me how! At least tell me that much. How do you just plan to walk into Eternal Hold?"

Razeal raised one finger and said.

"Crime."

Both Levy and Maria's heads snapped toward him, their brows twitching jumping at the same time.

Crime? What crime?

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