"This is just the first time he's gone head-to-head with an actual criminal. If he pulls it off, it'll be a huge win for the military. If he fails, we'll just smooth it over."

"You really spoil him," Rosaline teased.

"Aren't you the same?" Vince replied softly. His watch lit up, buzzing with an incoming call. "Yes, Captain."

The two tiptoed back to Vince's room and accepted the call. On the screen, Xander's face appeared—haggard, dark circles under his eyes. Clearly, the beast tide had given him little chance to rest.

"Vince, how are things going? Any progress?"

Vince shook his head. "We're still investigating. Nothing concrete yet."

Xander was silent for a moment. It was what he'd expected. Even in cities under heavy surveillance, spies had slipped through. To think Vince's team—working half blind—would uncover something solid this quickly would've been a miracle. His other units were just as clueless.

"Get some rest. Report if anything comes up," Xander said before ending the call.

"The Captain's in a bad mood," Rosaline whispered.

Vince glanced at the weak sunlight filtering through the gauze curtains, his expression tightening. "Of course he is. This operation won't get a second chance. If all we catch in the end are a few small fish, then it's a total failure."

The Whisper Syndicate, the Survey Corps, the Ministry of Defense, even the aristocratic families—so many factions had moved at once. They weren't after foot soldiers. They wanted the power behind the curtain. And right now, they were nowhere near it.

"Rosaline, you should rest too—" Vince stopped. She was already fast asleep, sprawled across his bed. Normally so proper, she now looked anything but graceful.

He sighed, shaking his head, then quietly slipped off her shoes, set them neatly aside, and pulled a blanket over her. After checking the others were resting as well, he finally found an empty room for himself.

The moment Axel entered his room, he collapsed face-first onto the mattress. Annabelle was already inside. She'd wanted to say something, but when she saw how drained he was, she stayed quiet.

The fatigue was bone-deep. It was still evening when Axel closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, morning light was already spilling through the curtains.

"Annabelle?" He rubbed his temples. It wasn't even seven yet, but the room was empty.

"Where the hell did she go?" He wasn't worried—she was safe with the team nearby—but the thought still nagged at him.

Then he felt it—something approaching, fast. He reached out instinctively, and Annabelle's form shimmered into view before him.

"Annabelle?!" Axel's eyes widened. She grinned, smug and playful.

He let go of her wrist, staring in surprise. "You advanced?"

Annabelle nodded. She'd felt the changes ever since soaking in the Dragon Pond. She'd wanted to tell him earlier, but with the Obsidian squad around and the mission pressing, she'd kept it to herself.

"Was that your Night Shadow Step?" Axel asked.

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She had learned a crude version of the technique back in Drakenfall, but she'd never wielded it this well. If she hadn't deliberately revealed herself, he never would have sensed her.

"It's a variation," Annabelle said, stepping back. "If I use it to attack, I can't stay hidden."

She demonstrated both versions. The first was the one Axel remembered—her speed blurring into shadow, her figure flickering in and out. The second was something new: a cloak so complete he'd only noticed her thanks to his mental power.

"Try hitting me," Axel said.

Annabelle nodded and swung. He caught her fist, but the bedframe splintered beneath him from the force.

"Over eight hundred Force Strength…" Axel's eyes gleamed, relief washing over him. After months of feeding her Life Crystals, she'd finally grown strong enough to stand on her own. By his reckoning, she was now as powerful as a low-tier Level Three Awakener.

"That's not all," Annabelle said, smiling wide at his expression. "That's just my baseline. If I push it to full power, I can squeeze out another twenty percent. But… it'll probably blow my cover."

Axel understood now. Annabelle could already wield the powers of a third-level Awakener while still maintaining her human form. If she wasn't worried about exposing her infected aura, her combat ability would be even more terrifying.

This girl's growth is accelerating.

For ordinary humans, strength only really skyrocketed after the age of eighteen. Before that, they were just laying the groundwork. Annabelle hadn't seemed especially remarkable at first—but now, Axel could feel her talent bursting through, sharp and undeniable.

"Brother, did you find the murderer?" Annabelle asked, suppressing her aura. Ever since Axel's own power had surged, she'd felt she was falling further and further behind, unable to help him like she once had. Seeing him so drained last night only deepened her frustration—she wanted to ease his burden, even just a little.

"Not yet. We'll have to wait for Miller's surveillance results." Axel glanced at the time again, his mind racing through the faces of every suspect. Fabian had been more or less ruled out yesterday, but that only made his theories feel more tangled. Monitoring everyone might give him answers, but even if the results lined up with his suspicions, it still wouldn't *prove* anything.

Annabelle hesitated, then whispered, "Brother, I wanted to tell you something yesterday. But… I don't think it has anything to do with the case."

Axel still straightened, his tone firm. "Tell me anyway."

She nodded, recalling their trip to the East Gate. "After we repelled the mutant beast yesterday, the smell of blood was everywhere. But at the East Gate…" she paused, frowning. "It was different. The stench was… off."

"Off?" Axel's eyes narrowed. He replayed the scene in his head, rubbed his fingers together unconsciously, and then clenched his fist tight.

"Annabelle, you've helped me more than you realize!"

Her half-infected nature made her hyper-sensitive to the scent of blood. That one observation snapped everything into place. It was the missing piece. The doubts clogging Axel's mind finally aligned into one sharp conclusion.

"Why—" Annabelle barely got a word out before Axel stormed past her, throwing the door open.

He pounded on Miller's door hard enough to rattle it.

"What the hell? What the hell? I don't need special services, I'm sleeping—" Miller yanked it open, bleary-eyed, only to freeze at Axel's wild stare. "What's wrong with you?"

"Millers. Show me the surveillance results. Now."

The outburst dragged Vince, Rosaline, and the others from their beds. One by one, they filed into Miller's room.

"Axel, what did you discover?" Kaia asked carefully.

But Axel didn't answer—his eyes were locked on the playback as Miller pulled it up on the screen. Vince caught Kaia's eye and gave the slightest shake of his head.

Miller began to report in his usual flat tone.

"Dennis and his brothers hit a bar in town, each took a woman back to their hotel."

"The Survey Corps went for a meal, then back to their lodging. They haven't left since. Fabian stayed on his plantation. After we left yesterday, he fertilized and watered his crops, then returned to his cabin."

"Geoffrey summoned members of the Ministry of Defense, said something to them, then returned later."

As the images flicked across the screen, Axel's suspicion only deepened.

Finally, he drew in a sharp breath and turned to Rosaline. "Rosaline—can you replicate what we did in the City of Sin? We need to arrest someone."

"Arrest who?" Rosaline asked immediately, but Vince cut in before Axel could answer.

"You're worried about casualties."

In the City of Sin, they'd frozen the Crowe Institute in order to avoid drawing attention from Morris's bodyguards.

Rosaline thought fast, then nodded. "If it's a Level Four Awakener, yes. If it's a Level Five, forget it. They'll sense it instantly."

Everyone stared as Axel's fingers tapped the table. The silence stretched. Then Rosaline's eyes widened. She understood. So did Vince.

He wasn't talking about a Level Four. The suspect was Level Five.

Which left only two names.

Fabian. Geoffrey.

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