Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

[Chapter title at the end.]

"What do you want to know? Let me make it clear though. I have no fucking clue about half of the stuff you'd be asking. I have questions of my own, damn it."

Ivor said and looked at Eren with expressions that screamed that he was feeling wronged. The butcher thought about it for a while then turned his neck back at Eliza. The Sage had an amused expression on her face.

The butcher realized that he couldn't get any answer from the witch anytime soon. So he focused on his slap-fest victim at hand:

"First of all, I can understand Jason coming here. But what are you doing here? This isn't a place a baron candidate like you would visit carelessly."

Ivor replied Eren with a question of his own that was soaked in his feelings of irritation:

"Oh yeah? You are not even important enough to know about this place. So what the fuck are you doing here?"

Ivor looked Eren in the eyes and said with a voice that was a mix of anger and frustration. His feisty nature wasn't something Eren could straighten up with one round of slapping.

In response to Ivor's question, Eren maintained eye contact with Ivor and held him by the collar with his right hand. Then with his left hand, he tried to reach for Ivor's crotch.

The slap-fest victim looked down and saw that Eren's left hand was getting dangerously close to his little Ivor. A primal fear overtook him before he shouted as quickly as he could:

"Ho… hold on, you pervert. I'll tell you.

Jason insisted that we come here. I wasn't sure if I should join this Purgatory expedition. So I tried contacting my grandpa about it. But no matter what I did, I couldn't talk to him.

There would always be some fringe problems present no matter which mode of communication I tried using. When Jason's pestering almost turned into low-key threats, I decided to relent.

He had told me he'd take care of our security in a separate dimension. And I believed the guy. Why would a bastard scion of house Renar lie, right?

Don't tell me, were you also invited?

Ivor asked and puzzled Eren even more.

"You said your Isen couldn't be reached. He must have assigned you a few men as your detail, right? Where are they?"

Ivor said without a moment's delay:

"They all suddenly left a note to me saying they had an urgent matter to look after. And they abandoned their duties at the same time."

'This kid is still wet behind the ears. Leaving notes for urgent matters, all at the same time? Looks like… they are dead.'

Eren thought to himself. The more answers he got from Ivor, the more confusing it became for him. So he just narrowed his eyes and said:

"Go on. Tell me everything that has happened since then."

Ivor spoke up right afterwards:

"I was going to complain to my grandpa, but that geezer had already left our place in the city of Osan along with the rest of my family."

Hm? What makes Isen Osan feel like he has left his barony with the rest of his family? That too without informing his grandson? What the fuck is going on? What has happened outside?'

Eren had multiple calculations running in his head while Ivor continued:

"I don't know what has happened since then. It seems for some reason, Jason's men have glued their eyes on me. They always stayed around wherever I was heading.

I decided to clear the solo tower first because I wanted some alone time to figure this out. But after I cleared the first floor, these runes appeared on my body and tied me up. I was teleported to a barely lit place that I couldn't even see.

I stayed there for who knows how long. Then I was teleported here and saw you. Now you answer my question. What are you doing here?"

Eren scratched his chin when he heard Ivor's statement.

'They have been keeping tabs on Ivor. Something has spooked Isen Osan and he left his barony. Jason insisted Ivor come here even though the details that were placed on him were nowhere to be found.

What has this guy done?'

Eren looked at Ivor with puzzling expressions. Elize chuckled after looking at the interrogation and gave Eren a hint:

"Fufufu! It was Arthur who told me he had somewhat fulfilled his end of the deal. By dragging this kid here and practically gifting him to me. You know what deal he had with me, right?

I was looking for the signs of Reen's presence on this Ivor kid. Imagine my surprise when it was you who displayed them instead.

Do you understand, Eren? It took me a while to figure out what was wrong on Arthur's end as well. Fufufufu!"

Eren raised his eyebrows and tried to sum up all the facts he had with him at the time out loud:

"Arthur's deal with you… was regarding Reen.

He was supposed to hand you…

Hold on a fucking moment…"

Eren then looked at the puzzled Ivor and thought of something radical:

"Isen Osan is most likely MIA… probably because he sensed something coming for him?

Then comes this edgelord.

His bodyguards vanished. He couldn't contact his grandfather. And then he is forced to come here.

Arthur says he has kept his end of the deal by delivering this guy…

He is assuming Ivor has Reen with him…

But how can a bigshot like him assume something like this? Reen is with me…"

Eren opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Ivor as if the guy was a hidden wonder of the world:

"Wait a minute. Reen is supposed to be with the Osan Woods Butcher…"

Eren turned to Eliza and Reen while pointing a finger at Ivor– shock and unbelief were written all over his face– before speaking up in a loud voice:

"Those sods think Ivor is the Osan Woods Butcher!"

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AN: Hangman is coming down from the gallows… And I don't have very long! ;)

If you can, read chapter 199. Then re-read chapter 200's title, content, and author's note. Chapter 267 also contains some behavioural signs about Ivor, along with Garvin Karr's derived clues (listed afterwards) to come to this conclusion.

In a way, all of Ivor Osan's interactions and his background (his links with the city of Osan, his relationship with his brother Isaac, Isen's relationship with Arthur etc.) culminate towards making him get stamped as OWB (Osan Woods Butcher). You can find the tidbits in other chapters as well.

Even though it has been kept vague till now, I hope some of you saw it coming. ;)

The second volume of the VEH is about to conclude. The OWB storyline, or more correctly, a huge part of it, will be wrapped up soon.

VEH might take a short break before the start of the third volume. It'll be around 30 chapters before that happens. This is just a little heads-up. ;)