There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 372 - 364. Allegation

Chapter 372: Chapter 364. Allegation

The statement from the Apsoro clan made the other representatives check on the data again, the names that weren’t part of their families. They even made a separate note of it, and their finding was concluded by the one who brought it up.

"In fact, aside from three families and House Ishtera--which I believe can be excluded--all of the Houses had lost someone or more from this...operation," the representative of Apsoro continued without removing his gaze from Torodeo Horin.

The old man returned the gaze coldly, with a blast of pressuring mana that lasted for a second. But that second was enough for the bodyguards of the other Houses to move closer to their charge defensively--especially the three families across Torodeo.

"What is this allegation?" the old man said in a voice that sounded like a hiss, the cold eyes swept the table and the President. "Just because my family name is absent, you’re accusing me of a wicked conspiracy? Must the member of my family die first?"

"Of course not, Patriarch," Ludya leaned back against her chair and smiled, which made the other calmer. "That doesn’t prove anything, although it is indeed suspicious."

Torodeo narrowed his eyes, golden gaze shifted to the matriarch. That calmness, rather than comforting, was unsettling. It made him feel like the woman was mocking him.

That feeling, when he very well knew that he was guilty of everything, made him anxious and impatient.

With the same soft and lighthearted tone, the matriarch raised her hand toward the head of the table. "It will be different, of course, if Mr. President here can prove that House Horin had a dealing with...such wicked tools," she said, before shifting her gaze back to Torodeo and continuing with a deep smile. "Do you perhaps have a Specter’s core lying around in your home, Patriarch?"

The wave of mana was blasting again, and this time, the President, as well as the heir of House Kamui, stood up to give a warning to the old man. As a rule, the use of mana was prohibited during the meeting, and the bodyguards were there to protect the representatives from outside aggression, not someone from inside the room.

"Sir Horin, I have to inform you that any further use of your mana would compel your arrest."

"I am not here to hear my House being slandered."

Torodeo glanced at the President for two seconds, before returning his gaze to the front, at the woman whose smile didn’t falter despite receiving the brunt of the mana blast.

Instead of shrinking, Ludya Mallarc covered her lips and chuckled. "Pff--just kidding, please don’t take it seriously."

Torodeo scoffed dismissively, which made the other feel the situation would be conducive again. But of course, there was always that itch to churn the calming water.

"Unless--"

Torodeo shot the speaker a glare, to whom Ludya warned with a calm scolding. "Yuria..."

The man who stood behind the representative of Apsoro chuckled mischievously. But who would have thought that Li Caishen would instead, continue that remark?

"Unless...there’s someone who witnessed such a thing," the President said, almost playfully.

Ludya gasped sharply--too sharply, in Zein’s opinion--covering her parted lips with her hand. "Oh, really?"

Zein had no idea whether he wanted to laugh or to roll his eyes. Was this penchant to act ran in the family? It was easy to see Radia sitting in Ludya’s chair even now.

As Zein was busy with his comparison, the main screen suddenly played a video that instantly garnered their attention. How couldn’t it be, for the one who appeared in that recording was a man who was presumed to be in ’seclusion’ all this time.

Varion Belthera; the Guildmaster of Celestia.

Zein shifted his gaze from the screen, to rest on the slightly shaking golden eyes. He didn’t need to watch the video--he was there when they recorded it this afternoon, after a delightful lunch in which Radia used the power of...harsh persuasion, to convince the man of this.

To his credit, Varion didn’t appear to look like someone who had gotten threatened during his meal. The man spoke with clear eyes and a firm voice, which was good proof that he wasn’t under mind control.

[Greeting, esteemed representatives] the man greeted them in a charming way he always used in public. [I will not bother to waste your time with an introduction, but I am Varion Belthera, and there’s news outside that I am currently in secluded training. That is, unfortunately, false]

The representatives looked at each other, wondering what Varion Belthera had to do with anything. Zein, meanwhile, watched Todoreo’s fingers on the table curled into a fist. Are you surprised? Did you think Celestia is covering his death instead of his disappearance? Zein rubbed his lips to prevent them from curling.

[I am, in fact, in hiding] Varion continued. [Not too long ago, I almost died--or at least, someone planned my death. I was invited to enter a room, and was shown a pitch-black sphere that was leaking miasma, and was forced to touch it]

The representatives, even Ludya, gasped. This too, wasn’t something Radia had told her due to the time constraint of their meeting. Zein had this thought that Varion would like all of this attention if this was a conference instead of a recording.

[It was corroding my mind and drove me to momentary insanity. Thankfully, I managed to snap out of it...] Varion paused, seemingly glancing at something behind the camera, before adding guiltily. [With some people’s help. Thanks to that, my memory is back and crystal clear now]

That was a lie, Zein knew that. The memory was just something that Radia’s summon read from Varion’s vision. But the others didn’t have to know that.

Todoreo and his entourage didn’t have to know that.

[So I can inform you, right now, that the room where I was brought into is located in the House of Horin’s compound]

Zhou Caishen and Seiji Kamui’s chairs dragged on the floor as they stood up abruptly, stepping away from the Horins and reflexively making a defensive stance.

[And the one who led me to that room is none other than the patriarch--Sir Todoreo Horin himself]

"That is rubbish!" one of the entourage, who was one of Todoreo’s nephews, yelled indignantly. "Utter rubbish!"

Another one, younger this time, stepped near the table and slammed it. "That is a concocted lie made to discredit our House! You--" he pointed toward the other side of the table; the Mallarcs, the Apsoros, and the Ishteras. "You cooperate with him in this, aren’t you? To attack us! To--"

"Attack you? Us? What for?" Yuria scoffed, leaning against the chair that his cousin--the fake patriarch--sitting at. "What benefit could we get from attacking your clan? It’s not like you have a lot of money like the Mallarcs."

"Ahem,"

"Beg your pardon, Matriarch," Yuria grinned mischievously at Ludya, who gave him a side eye before shaking her head lightly as if she was already used to it. With a smirk, he cocked his head toward the screen. "And isn’t this man the Patriarch’s grandson?"

Yuria curled his lips as the other representatives widened their eyes for this information and continued. "The son of Darleon Balthera, who used to be Darleon Horin."

"Used to!" the Horin entourage’s yelling drowned the series of gasps. "He left the family a long time ago! Who’s to say he’s not doing it for revenge?"

"Revenge against his own family," Yuria chuckled. "Goes to show there’s something wrong with the family."

"Silence!"

"That’s enough!" Todoreo slammed his fist against the table to stop the yelling and whispering happening around the table. Instead of looking at the other representatives, he addressed the President instead. "Do you even have something conclusive instead of this fabricated story?"

Yuria, seemingly unsatisfied with his attempt at stirring chaos, laughed at the old man’s question. "Are you telling us that someone fabricated this whole device and target list and trying to falsely accuse you?" the sneer on his face was palpably mocking. "Rather too elaborate, isn’t it?"

"People make elaborate lies all the time," Todoreo countered calmly.

"Then I guess you’re going to say this one is fabricated too?" the President said, signaling his staff to send another file to the screens in front of the representatives.

They immediately opened it; a document that contained an emergency protocol, the chain of command that needed to be heeded, which showed the House of Horin at the very top, the other two Houses--Neelaka and Chodjim--below it, and a few company from conglomerate group.

Before their surprise ending, another file was sent, which showed images; photographs of pages from a ledger. That ledger, evidently, contained the stream of money used to build and maintain the building and device inside the eternal dungeon.

The document that was stolen from the Horin residence.

Todoreo felt his eyes twitch, hands curling tighter on the armrests. All of these documents were familiar in his eyes, the things that he had been searching for since yesterday. But right now, he couldn’t do anything but press his lips.

He had thought about all kinds of possibilities, who it was who took them. He even thought there might be a mole in his clan, a traitor. But one day was too short to speculate that the document fell into the hands of the worst coalition he could think of.

It was one thing for the document to fall into Li Caishen’s hands. It was a whole other thing to have the government and the Mallarcs, who were guarding Luzein Ishtera, join hands to attack them. And whoever it was that had been messing with the device!

But even then, he couldn’t say that was stolen property because that would only incriminate him and thankfully, the people who came with him were not stupid enough to make some obvious reaction.

So, what else could he do but say that it was all a fabrication?

"Naturally," Todoreo leaned back and crossed his arms.

"How shameless!"

Todoreo scoffed. "Hmph! This is just a conspiracy to tackle our clan."

"Like how you eliminate House Ishtera?"

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