Episode-740
Chapter : 1459
"Bael," he muttered to the wind. "You messed with my school. You messed with my people. I'm going to find you. And I'm going to evict you from this plane of existence."
The hunt for the Devil King had begun.
Lloyd rode hard. The journey back to the Ferrum estate usually took a few hours, but Lloyd made it in record time. He didn't stop for water. He didn't stop for food. He rode like the devil was chasing him—which, metaphorically, he was.
He arrived at the estate gates at dusk. The guards saluted. They looked nervous. Lloyd probably looked like a madman, his coat flapping, his eyes wild.
"Secure the perimeter!" Lloyd shouted as he galloped past. "Double the watch! Check the wards!"
He didn't wait for a response. He rode straight to the stable, jumped off his horse, and ran into the house.
He found his father, Arch Duke Roy, in the war room. Roy was looking at a map of the border. He looked up, surprised.
"Lloyd?" Roy asked. "I thought you were at school. Did you get expelled?"
"Worse," Lloyd said, slamming his hand on the table. "We have a Devil King problem."
Roy's expression didn't change, but the air in the room grew heavy. "Explain."
Lloyd told him everything. The curse. Rubaiya. Legion. And the name: Bael.
"Bael," Roy repeated. The name tasted like ash. "The Lord of Lies. The Manipulator. He hasn't been active in a hundred years."
"He's active now," Lloyd said. "He turned a professor into a bio-weapon. He's infiltrating our institutions. He's farming us, Father."
Roy walked to the window. He looked out at the darkening grounds. "This escalates things. The Seventh Circle... we knew they were moving. But a King? That means they are preparing for a full-scale invasion."
"Rubaiya said he's in her head," Lloyd said. "He controls his pawns remotely. Soul contracts. We can't just fight him with swords. We need to fight the connection."
"We need to find his anchor," Roy said. "Every Devil King needs an anchor in the mortal world to project that much power. A shrine. A relic. A person."
"Or a business," Lloyd realized. "The supplies. Rubaiya mentioned a supplier. A crate with a red eye symbol."
"The Red Eye," Roy mused. "There is a merchant guild in the East... The Crimson Caravan. They deal in exotic goods. Rare magic. Slaves."
"Slaves," Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "Rubaiya was a slave."
"It fits," Roy said. "If Bael is using the Crimson Caravan as a front... he could be moving agents and artifacts all over the continent."
"I need to go there," Lloyd said instantly. "I need to find this Caravan."
"No," Roy ordered. "You are too exposed. You are the 'Saint of the Coil'. You are the 'White Mask'. If you go East, they will see you coming."
"Then who?"
"We send the Wraiths," Roy said. "Your team. They are ready?"
"Almost," Lloyd said. "Two months, remember?"
"We don't have two months," Roy said. "Send Ken. Send your best. Have them track the Caravan. But tell them... do not engage. Just watch. Finding Bael's anchor is the priority."
Lloyd nodded. "I'll brief Ken tonight."
"And Lloyd?" Roy turned to him. "Be careful. Bael is not a warrior like Beelzebub. He doesn't crush you with power. He destroys you with truth. He finds the crack in your soul and pries it open."
"I know," Lloyd said, thinking of Rubaiya. "He finds what you want most, and uses it to hang you."
"Exactly," Roy said. "Go. Rest. You look like you fought a war."
"I did," Lloyd said. "A small one."
He left the war room. He felt heavier. The victory at the Academy felt small now. It was just a skirmish. The real enemy was a ghost who bought souls.
He walked to his room. He passed Rosa's door. It was closed. He paused. He wanted to knock. He wanted to tell her. But the wall between them was still there, made of ice and pride.
He walked on.
He entered his room and collapsed onto the bed. He didn't even take off his boots.
He closed his eyes. He saw Rubaiya's face. The terror. The relief when the spirit died.
"She was a victim," Lloyd thought. "But she was also a weapon. Bael turns victims into weapons."
He clenched his fist. "Not my people. Not anymore."
He fell asleep, dreaming of red eyes and chains made of smoke.
Chapter : 1460
The next morning, Lloyd met Ken in the garden. It was foggy. A perfect morning for spy talk.
"Ken," Lloyd said. "New mission. High priority."
Ken stood at attention. "I am ready, my lord."
"The Crimson Caravan," Lloyd said. "Eastern trade routes. They are a front for the Seventh Circle. Specifically, a Devil King named Bael."
Ken's eyes widened slightly. "A King?"
"Yes. He uses soul contracts. He enslaves people. I need you to find his operation. Find where the goods are coming from. Find the anchor."
"Understood," Ken said. "I will leave immediately. I will take a small team. Ghosts."
"Be careful, Ken," Lloyd warned. "This guy... he gets in your head. If you see anything... weird. Anything tempting. Run."
"I am not easily tempted," Ken said stoically.
"I know," Lloyd smiled. "Unless it's honey-cakes."
Ken blushed. "That was one time."
"Just... watch your back," Lloyd said. "And watch Habiba's. If she goes with you."
"She insisted," Ken admitted. "She says the desert is her territory."
"Good," Lloyd said. "She's sharp. You two make a good team."
Ken bowed and left. Lloyd watched him go. He felt like a general sending his best friend into the fire.
"He'll be fine," Lloyd told himself. "He's Ken. He's a tank."
He walked back to the house. He had one more loose end to tie up.
The police report.
Captain Zafer had sent a message. Rubaiya had been processed. She was in the convoy, heading for the capital.
"She's safe," Lloyd thought. "Zafer is good. His men are loyal."
But a nagging doubt scratched at the back of his mind. Bael didn't like loose ends. Rubaiya knew too much. She had confessed. She had broken the contract.
"He won't let her talk," Lloyd realized. "He'll silence her."
Lloyd ran to the stables. He grabbed a fresh horse. "I have to catch up to the convoy."
He rode out of the estate, pushing the horse to a gallop. The convoy had a day's head start, but they were slow. Heavy wagons. Armored guards.
He rode for hours. He reached the main highway. He saw tracks. Wagon wheels. Hoof prints.
And then, he saw smoke.
Black, oily smoke rising from the road ahead.
"No," Lloyd whispered.
He kicked the horse harder. He crested a hill.
Below, in a valley, was the convoy. Or what was left of it.
The iron carriage was on its side. It was burning. The horses were dead. The guards...
Lloyd rode down. He dismounted before the horse stopped. He ran to the wreckage.
The guards were scattered on the road. They weren't hacked apart. They weren't burned. They were just... dead. Their faces were twisted in horror. Their eyes were wide, staring at nothing.
"Soul drain," Lloyd hissed. "Mass soul drain."
He ran to the carriage. The door was ripped open. Not from the outside. From the inside.
He looked in.
It was empty.
No Rubaiya. No body. No blood.
Just a message burned into the metal wall of the cell. A single, jagged symbol.
A smiley face.
Lloyd stared at it. It was mocking. It was childish. It was terrifying.
"He took her," Lloyd realized. "He didn't kill her here. He took her back."
Captain Zafer was lying near the wheel. He was still alive, barely. He was gasping for air.
"Captain!" Lloyd knelt beside him. "What happened?"
Zafer grabbed Lloyd's collar. His eyes were unfocused. "The shadow... it came out of her. It... it ate them."
"Rubaiya?" Lloyd asked.
"No," Zafer wheezed. "Not her. The shadow behind her. It smiled... and then... darkness."
Zafer coughed. "She screamed. She begged him to let her die. He... he laughed. He said... 'The contract is eternal'."
Zafer's hand went limp. He was gone.
Lloyd stood up. He looked at the burning wagon. He looked at the dead men. He looked at the smiley face.
Bael hadn't just silenced a witness. He had reclaimed his property. He had dragged Rubaiya back to whatever hell he lived in, to punish her for eternity.
"You monster," Lloyd whispered. The rage in his chest was cold and hard. "You think this is a game? You think this is funny?"
He touched the scorched metal.
"You want eternal?" Lloyd said to the smiley face. "I'll give you eternal. I'm going to find you, Bael. And I'm going to make sure you never smile again."
He turned away from the carnage. There was nothing he could do here. The trail was cold. The enemy was gone.
But the war... the war had just become a crusade.