Plymouth.
Investigation Bureau Headquarters, dormitory.
"Huff... huff!"
Percy woke to find his forehead drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath.
But he had no time to care about that. Silently, he recalled what had happened in the dream.
He had actually been summoned alone by the legendary Count of Green Forest and assigned the dangerous task of investigating the Gourmet Association—especially its president, Flander!
"This is downright deadly... but how could I possibly refuse a 'Longevity'?"
At the thought of that terrifying figure, whose depths were as unfathomable as the sea, Percy could not help shuddering again.
"I didn't see Yasuo, the 'Divine Envoy,' this time. Has his status changed along with the Count of Green Forest's increased activity and his initiative in taking charge of us mundane Transcendents?"
As Percy let his thoughts run wild, he checked the time, got up to dress and wash...
When he arrived at the headquarters cafeteria for breakfast, he found quite a few colleagues looking grave as they discussed something.
"What happened?"
He approached a colleague he was usually on decent speaking terms with and asked as if casually.
"Latest news—the Blood of Decay has been wiped out. The hidden world's been in constant turmoil lately..."
With a weathered expression, the colleague replied, "And you'd never guess who did it."
"Who?"
Percy asked without thinking.
"Aaron Yugus... that descendant of the Sothoth Family. During the Podium Massacre, he had only just unlocked the Fourth Primordial and advanced beyond human, yet he wiped out an ancient cult... And the power of 'Law' remained at the scene. He may have fought one of Their Excellencies—and walked away unscathed."
"It was him?!"
Percy's astonishment was not an act.
Through the intelligence of the Investigation General Bureau over this period, he had more or less connected Aaron