Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Birmond felt the effects of the solution kick in.

He immediately started feeling the calmness he was seeking at the moment. He licked his lips before speaking up.

"Another summoner to rub it in our faces? Bastards!

I fucking don't care who they have hired. I had told Rey not to approach that smokescreen guild. He didn't listen and was killed for it. Fine. That's something I can understand.

But they didn't have to ruin my House's reputation like this for killing Rey, did they? Janos was just following orders. He didn't need to be killed either. It seems more like a personal vendetta.

I'll fucking kill this sick bastard who did this. No matter who backs him up."

Naya placed her hand on Birmond's chest and tried to calm him down using her icy touch. The latter felt a familiar chill and continued.

"I don't care about that wretched city, Naya. We are not getting it back from the likes of Levine and House Derringer. I already knew that.

But that pawn needs to be disposed of. He has overplayed his importance in this equation."

Birmond sounded calm and collected even though the words he spoke were anything but. Naya agreed with him too. This was the first time she had seen this facet of human nature through the Grim Pillar.

Birmond was about to summon his subordinate once again to make a few preparations when he felt something in his storage. He retrieved another array that was used for long-distance communication.

Birmond imbued the array disk with his mana and let it project the scenes from the other side of the communication line.

"Am I catching you at a bad time, lad?"

Birmond heard Sebastian Slughorn's aged voice. He was in his private space in the city of New Beginnings.

"You can say that, uncle Sebastian. But it's fine."

Birmond caressed his beard with his hand and scratched it a bit before speaking up in a serene tone.

"On second thought, I shouldn't have gotten so riled up over a death or two. Especially over a cockroach that has recently learned to fly."

Sebastian flashed a smile when he understood what must have happened.

"So you learned about the incident. Currently, only a few people are aware of it. But soon it will be known throughout Edinburgh.

There are already a lot of people visiting the scene and treating it as a sightseeing activity on their way to the city of White Raven. I mean no offense but that pillar is a tight slap to you and your entire clan, lad."

In his mind, Sebastian thanked the stars for catching Birmond just in time.

"Did the White Raven guild do something to you too, uncle Sebastian?"

Birmond wasn't stupid. He immediately figured out that the old man was trying to gaslight him. But that was fine as well. Because he had already been gaslighted by the butcher himself with the display of the Grim Pillar.

Sebastian laughed and coughed at the same time. He readjusted himself and cleared his throat before speaking up.

"Haha. Lad, you're as sharp as I was in my youth. It's too bad you had to practice that problematic technique."

Sebastian shook his head and took a dramatic pause before verbally marching forward.

"Anyway, you are right about your guess. Birmond, we had a common enemy. And I'm sure you'd agree that he needs to be squashed as soon as we can."

The old man Sebastian then proceeded to tell Birmond about his interaction with Eren. He didn't hide anything from the man because most of the details were going to be common knowledge for House Remus anyway.

"So this is the story from my end. I also recently learned that the fiend has created trouble for you guys as well. So I thought I should give you a call.

I started digging more about the guild and Eren and found out that we are not the only enemies they have. The Escalon guild, Nico Chains from Demonmir's faction, and Rehaal Renar are also interested in my plan to kill Eren.

If your House decided to get in…"

"Yes. We are in."

Sebastian didn't have to say much. Birmond was ready to join hands with anyone and everyone in their common goal of killing Eren.

Through Sebastian, Birmond found out that Eren was still in the city of New Beginnings. Of course, they all knew that creating a mess in the city was out of the question.

Regardless, Sebastian's united front planned to strike the butcher after he left the city. The city's protectors won't interfere in matters that are outside the city.

Sebastian's plan was simple. Use the resources each of them possesses to strike Eren. Birmond was supposed to send a few people that would meet up with the people being sent from all the factions. They would create a giant ambush outside the city and wait for their prey to fall into their widely cast trap.

Sebastian had tried contacting one of the top manufacturing hubs within the kingdom and found out that what Eren had told him was true. Therefore, he had given up on retaliating against Eren by using the potion markets as a platform. He knew he couldn't win even if his House was stronger than the current White Raven guild.

Thus, Sebastian started to hatch the plan to erase the root of all the problems from existence. He knew that the kingdom was also going to benefit from Eren's massive trade.

Plus, Eren had the backing of two huge forces. So Sebastian decided to involve other forces in his plan. That way, they would all get shared responsibility. After all, just like the Grim Pillar, Eren's potential killing was also going to be an open secret. He didn't want House Slughorn to take all the credit for such a scandalous killing.

Birmond also understood why Sebastian wanted his House involved as well. But he didn't mind. He was all for shared responsibility as well. They both talked for a bit before finalizing a plan.

Birmond cut off the spectral screen call with Sebastian and summoned his subordinate. The same one who had submitted the array disk containing Grim Pillar's information.

"Hehe. Goro, you did a good job assessing the situation and staying away from me. I would have killed you accidentally otherwise."

Birmond chuckled when he saw his subordinate and disciple. His face suddenly turned grimmer and his voice serious as he addressed Goro.

"It's time you ventured out after staying cooped up here, Goro. Show me how far you have progressed in your path as a necromancer.

Teleport to New Beginnings using the teleportation arrays. If you are lucky, you'd also fight a summoner.

However, make sure you get rid of the nuisance before doing anything else."