Maya had a puzzled expression on her face as she said, "There's no Ethan here."
Eduardo let out a long sigh. "You're telling me the exact same thing he told me."
He turned his head slowly to motion towards the sliced body at the entrance, still leaking blood onto the guild's floor.
Maya swallowed hard. "Do you think I would be dishonest right now, knowing you are standing here before me?"
She was being honest. Maya had never actually learned the name of the boy Wilson brought in earlier.
She'd only been told it was some random kid from his class that he wanted to rough up for a bit.
However, the driver who'd brought Wilson and his captive to the guild had a really nervous look on his face.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyes kept darting between Eduardo and the exit.
Eduardo then replied Maya. "Hm. Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind me checking for myself?"
That smile never left his face.
Maya gestured with both hands in a welcoming manner, trying to appear cooperative. "Please, by all means."
Eduardo pulled out his Arcphone as he followed the red dot on the tracker.
Maya walked behind him, trying to maintain some semblance of authority in her own guild.
The other members tried to follow behind her, but Maya raised her hand sharply, gesturing for them to stay right where they were.
She'd follow behind Eduardo alone.
As they descended into the basement, Maya noted inwardly how even though she was behind him, the old man's guard was still completely up.
His posture, his movements, even the angle of his head suggested he had absolutely no blind spots whatsoever.
Eduardo reached the spot where the tracker indicated Ethan should be. He looked around but didn't see him. Instead, his eyes landed on a coat lying crumpled on the ground.
His eyes widened.
In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his blade, and in a swing so fast it barely registered, the tip was pressed against Maya's throat.
She had received a slight cut already, and the point where the blade touched was bleeding. Her head tilted upward instinctively, trying to avoid the katana cutting any deeper.
Both her hands shot up in surrender, and her teeth gritted together, revealing her fangs.
"Your next words," Eduardo said in a tone so cold, with fury blazing in his eyes, "should be telling me exactly where you took Master Ethan."
Maya's face was covered in nervous sweat. "Wait, wait, that is the Ethan? In that case, he left! He isn't here anymore!"
"He left?" Eduardo's face looked puzzled. "Why was he here in the first place?"
Maya found it extremely difficult to say anything.
Should she tell this man that the person he was here for had been a captive? No, that would be utterly stupid.
Eduardo referred to him as "Master," which meant he held this boy in extremely high regard.
Mentioning that Ethan had been brought here as a prisoner might as well be the same as signing her own death warrant.
"Answer me!" Eduardo said, moving the sword a little bit further.
She bled more and said in between tones that were hard to speak, "His classmates Wilson and a daughter of Morgenstein brought him here. There was a serious fight between them, and then he left."
She said absolutely nothing about it being a kidnapping, instead making it sound like some schoolyard brawl between teenagers that got out of hand.
Eduardo, hearing the name Morgenstein, pulled his blade back slightly.
He knew they'd broken up, but this whole situation had just gotten a bit more complicated, and he didn't have time to keep up with this conversation.
"Where?" Eduardo asked, wanting more details on where Ethan had gone.
But Maya shook her head. "No idea. They simply had a fight, and this Ethan left after."
Eduardo clicked through the screens on his Arcphone to call Ethan's number, but it still gave a disconnected signal.
He picked up Ethan's coat from the ground and checked the pockets for the device, but it wasn't there either.
He stared at Maya again, then said. "If I don't find Master Ethan in one piece, you, this guild, and everyone involved will answer to me."
Maya gulped and nodded like her life depended on it.
Eduardo sheathed his blade back in one smooth motion and walked away without another word.
Maya let out a massive sigh of relief, then followed back upstairs.
By the time she reached the main floor, Eduardo had already gotten into his vintage car and driven off.
"President?" several members called out at different intervals, witg shocked expressions on their faces as they saw her.
One of them noticed the wound on her throat and moved forward, raising his hand to cast a healing spell.
But Maya raised her own hand towards the caster, in a gesture for him to stop.
Then she turned towards the nervous driver who'd been trying to hide his face away. She walked towards him slowly and said, "I noticed the look on your face when that man stepped in here asking for this Ethan. Mind telling me who he is?"
The driver stuttered as he began. "W-when I drove them back here, I heard them refer to the kid as Stark."
Maya blinked a few times in shock.
The name Stark was only popular for one reason in this country.
She repeated slowly, "Stark? As in Stark Industries?"
The driver nodded frantically.
Maya slammed her hand against her face and groaned.
In one day, her stupid little brother had just put her guild against Stark Industries, one of the top three corporations in the whole country, and against that man.
———
A steam-powered vehicle drove through the streets and stopped around a driveway near the Morgenstein residence.
Wilson was in the driver's seat with a flat, emotionless expression.
"Get out," he said.
Beatrice looked at him in shock. "What? Aren't you going to drive me inside?"
Her tone suggested she genuinely couldn't believe he was making her walk the remaining distance to her own house.
"I'm done with you, Beatrice. Get out."
Beatrice stared at him. "You don't know what you're saying. You can't be done with me."
"But I am, Beatrice." Wilson's voice was calm. "For the last few days, you've only been obsessed with one thing. Ethan, Ethan, Ethan! Now, not only have you made my sister lose whatever respect she had for me, you've set me against a demon."
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Beatrice said, her voice rising.
"Ethan is a demon, you dimwit!" Wilson yelled, finally snapping. "And a powerful one at that!"
His memory flashed back to that moment in the basement. It had only been for a second and nothing more, but he'd seen it.
Ethan's long horn sprouting from his head as his enormous mana surged and pushed them away like they were nothing.
Beatrice stared at him in shock at first. Then she burst into laughter.
Wilson looked surprised that she could still find any of this funny.
She wiped a tear from her eye. "I know I hit my head pretty hard, but it seems you were the one who got affected by the impact."
Wilson sighed, stepped out of his seat, walked around to her side, and opened the door. "Leave. Now."
"I'm going nowhere until you drive me into the compound." Beatrice crossed her arms defiantly. "You will not treat me, the daughter of Lord Morgenstein, with disrespect."
Wilson forcibly grabbed her face and turned it to look directly into his eyes. "Beatrice, leave my car. Now."
The Compulsion struck her the moment her gaze met his.
Her body stood silently from the vehicle, and she stepped out onto the street without another word.
Wilson slammed the door shut, got back into his seat, and drove away without looking back.
Beatrice just stood there on the side of the road, watching his taillights disappear into the distance.
While Wilson drove, a lot of thoughts that made no sense drifted through his mind.
The only way Ethan could've hidden being a demon was if he was a hybrid. But hybrids were weaker versions of the races they embodied.
That was the general knowledge of their basic biology.
So how in the hell did he have such an insane amount of mana?
Nothing about tonight made sense.
—-
Slightly over an hour had passed as Eduardo drove through the streets in search of Ethan.
Suddenly, his Arcphone rang. He glanced at the screen to see it was Francesca.
He assumed the old woman was calling to ask if he'd been successful yet. The moment he picked up, the first thing he said was, "I haven't found him yet, Francesca."
But right then, Ethan's voice spoke from the other end. "Come back home, Eduardo."
Eduardo's face immediately lit up with relief. "Yes, Master Ethan."
He turned the car around and drove home.