Chapter : 134
Chapter : 134
"You are always so grumpy when it is past your bedtime, darling," a smooth, seductive voice purred.
Ken slowly pulled the blanket down just enough to peek out.
Stepping gracefully out of the freezing shadows was Leviathan, the Demon Queen of Serpents. She looked absolutely breathtaking, as always. She was wearing a sleek, form-fitting dark emerald dress that seemed to shimmer like actual water when she moved. Her long, flowing green hair cascaded perfectly down her back, and her deep violet eyes sparkled with playful mischief in the dim moonlight. She didn't walk so much as she glided across the room, her high heels making absolutely no sound on the floorboards.
Ken just stared at her with a completely flat, unimpressed expression. He looked like a guy who had just been interrupted by a late-night telemarketer.
"Leviathan, it is two in the morning," Ken said lazily, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "I am off the clock. If you are here to tell me that Ryu accidentally blew up a city block while he was out investigating, I don't want to hear it until after breakfast."
Leviathan chuckled, walking over to his desk. She leaned her hip casually against the edge of the wood, crossing her long legs. She picked up a broken pencil from his desk and twirled it effortlessly between her perfectly manicured fingers.
"Do not worry about the oversized lizard," Leviathan smiled, her voice dripping with casual confidence. "Ryu is currently guarding the perimeter of the outer city, making sure no one bothers us. I decided to come and deliver the intelligence report personally. I thought you might appreciate a slightly softer, quieter touch for your midnight briefing."
Ken sat up slightly, propping his pillows behind his back. He let out a loud yawn, stretching his arms. "Alright, fine. Since you are already here and making my room feel like a refrigerator, you might as well tell me what you found. Did you figure out who those masked guys in the dungeon were?"
Leviathan tossed the broken pencil back onto the desk. Her playful smile faded just a tiny bit, replaced by a look of sharp, dangerous intelligence.
"We found them very easily," Leviathan reported, crossing her arms over her chest. "Those masked thieves belong to a highly trained, underground mercenary group. They call themselves the 'Black Viper'."
Ken tilted his head, blinking his eyes. "The Black Viper? That sounds like a name a teenager came up with for his video game clan. Are they a big deal?"
"They are incredibly professional," Leviathan corrected him smoothly. "They are not common street thugs. They are elite assassins, thieves, and spies. They usually charge a massive fortune for their services, which means they do not work for random gang bosses in the slums. They only take contracts from the absolute highest bidders in the Inner City."
Ken frowned, scratching the side of his cheek. "Okay, so someone with a lot of money hired a bunch of expensive ninjas to crash our dungeon race and steal the Core of Luminus. That takes a lot of planning. Did you find out who signed their paychecks?"
Leviathan’s violet eyes locked onto Ken. She offered a slow, knowing smile.
"We followed the money trail directly to the source," Leviathan said, her voice dropping into a dramatic whisper. "The Black Viper mercenaries are secretly funded and entirely operated by a highly corrupt organization within the government. Specifically, they answer directly to Dr. Raven."
Ken froze. He stared at her for a second, totally processing the name.
"Dr. Raven?" Ken repeated, his voice full of genuine disbelief. "Wait, you mean the exact same politician who ruined Vane's life ten years ago? The guy who covered up the toxic mining project?"
"The very same," Leviathan nodded gracefully.
Ken let out a short, lazy scoff. He threw his head back against his pillows and stared up at the ceiling, shaking his head in absolute amusement.
"You have got to be kidding me," Ken laughed quietly, sounding completely annoyed. "I always thought Dr. Raven was just a boring, annoying politician who sat behind a desk all day stamping papers. I thought he was just a regular guy who liked to wear expensive suits and cause problems at the Upper Council. But now he is hiring secret ninja squads to steal ancient artifacts?"
"He is an incredibly ambitious man," Leviathan noted, walking slowly toward the foot of Ken's bed. "He is using his wealth to pull the strings from the shadows. He thinks he is playing a brilliant game of chess against the Royal Family."
"He is an absolute joke," Ken corrected her, rolling his eyes so hard it almost hurt. "He is a guy playing with forces that are way, way beyond his comprehension. He thinks he is a mastermind, but he is just making my life highly inconvenient. Do you have any idea how much walking I had to do today because his stupid mercenaries dropped from the ceiling?"
Leviathan let out a melodic, ringing laugh. She found Ken’s perspective absolutely fascinating. Any normal person would hear the name of a powerful, corrupt government official and shake with fear. They would panic about the massive political conspiracy.
But Ken Eliot didn't care about the politics at all. He wasn't scared of Dr. Raven's money or his assassins. Ken was purely, genuinely upset because Dr. Raven’s actions were interfering with his relaxation schedule. To Ken, the greatest threat in the Empire was just a minor, annoying roadblock standing between him and a good nap.
"Well, the annoying politician has the Core of Luminus now," Leviathan pointed out, resting her hands lightly on the wooden footboard of the bed. "What do you want us to do about it? Give me the word, and I will happily slither into his mansion tonight and drag him out by his ankles."
"No, no, no," Ken waved his hands rapidly, shaking his head. "We are not doing that. If you drag a major political figure out of his house in the middle of the night, the entire capital will go into full lockdown mode. There will be police sirens everywhere. Helicopters. Investigations. It would be entirely too loud."
Ken slouched down further into his bed, pulling his thin blanket up to his chest.
"Princess Iris already formed a team-up with her brother and sister," Ken explained lazily. "They are going to use their fancy Advisors to track the thieves down tomorrow. I am just going to let them handle it. It is way better to let the Royals do all the heavy lifting. I will just tag along in the background and try to find a comfortable place to sit."
Leviathan watched him carefully. Her violet eyes scanned his messy hair, his relaxed posture, and his completely unbothered attitude. A strange, highly curious expression crossed her beautiful face.
She slowly walked around the side of the bed, her high heels completely silent on the floorboards. She stopped right next to him, looking down with a very calculating, very teasing smile. The conversation was about to take a massive shift away from government conspiracies, and Ken was definitely not going to like where it was going.
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