Chương 325: Chapter : 325

"Is it safe?" Ken complained loudly from under the marble table, rubbing his stomach with a long, dramatic groan.

"Because I am officially withering away. My stomach is so empty my ribs are touching my spine. If I don't get a snack in the next two minutes, I am going to completely faint from malnutrition." Naomi walked over to the overturned table, sighing as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

"We are in a magically sealed, destroyed penthouse surrounded by unconscious assassins, Ken. You can survive another ten minutes without food."

Princess Iris shook her head, a tired but genuine smile briefly touching her lips before the grim reality of the room pulled her focus back. She looked away from the comedic absurdity under the table and stared at the blood-stained white rug.

"Focus, everyone," Princess Iris commanded softly, her violet eyes filling with deep sadness as she looked at Anny's lifeless body.

"We have a tragedy on our hands. The mastermind silenced her permanently. But before she died, Anny said Dr. Raven had hidden secret files behind one of these paintings. We need to find them before the Imperial Police arrive." The team immediately snapped back to attention, sobering up. Naomi and Laxmi began carefully pulling the expensive artwork off the scorch-marked walls, searching for the hidden safe. Ken stayed sitting comfortably under the marble table.

He chewed the buttery, flaky pastry, his sleepy eyes lazily scanning the ruined living room from his hidden vantage point. He counted the people in the room out of pure habit. Naomi. Laxmi. Zinia. Sayma. Luna. Princess Iris. Risa. Ken stopped chewing. He blinked his eyes. He frowned slightly. The group was not complete. The fiercely private, completely emotionless water mage was not standing with them. Ira was gone. Ken did not panic. He did not shout her name.

He kept his goofy, satisfied smile on his face and slouched his shoulders even further. But internally, his sharp mind started working at blinding speed.

"Where is Ira?" Ken thought to himself.

"She was right here when the glass broke. She was standing next to the elevator doors. But she did not use her water whips during the assassin fight. She did not cast a single spell." Ken knew exactly what this meant. Ira had intentionally slipped away. She had left the defensive formation the absolute moment the fighting started. She had used the chaos of the exploding glass and the screaming assassins as a cover to leave the room. Nobody else had noticed. Naomi was too busy fighting.

Sayma was too busy maintaining the shields. Princess Iris was focused on finding the files. In the middle of a brutal, fast-paced battle followed by a reality-breaking comedy routine, it was incredibly easy to lose track of one quiet, introverted person. But Ken noticed everything. His senses were absolute. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ken casually leaned his head back against the leg of the overturned table.

He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. He did not cast a visible spell. He simply expanded his internal, god-like awareness. His omniscient senses washed over the entire luxury apartment building, piercing through walls and floors. He felt the ambient mana in the air. He filtered out the burning fire residue from Laxmi. He filtered out the holy light from Princess Iris. He searched for the cool, calm, incredibly contained signature of water magic. He found it immediately.

Ira's magical signature was far away from the penthouse living room. She was moving down a long, dark side corridor on the exact opposite wing of the apartment complex. But she was not alone. Ken felt another magical signature. This second signature was incredibly strong. It was cold, sharp, and totally ruthless. It felt like a massive block of solid ice pressing against the fabric of reality. It was a Grandmaster-level presence. It was a very familiar, very unpleasant aura. It was Niro.

Ken recognized the aura instantly. He remembered the arrogant man from the corporate lobby. He remembered the cruel brother who had belittled and insulted Ira in front of everyone, threatening to strike her for simply existing. Niro had secretly infiltrated the building.

"Oh, I see," Ken deduced silently in his mind, feeling a sharp, cold spike of annoyance.

"Niro sneaked in here during the firefight. He used the assassins as a distraction to bypass the building's security. He came here looking for something specific. And Ira sensed him. She left the fight to confront her abuser entirely alone." Ken opened his eyes. He swallowed the last piece of his chocolate croissant. He knew Ira was in terrible danger. She was strong, but she was facing a Grandmaster. She was facing her biggest, most paralyzing trauma. She could not win that fight alone.

Her mental walls would shatter. He needed to go help her. But he could not let his team know about his true power, and he certainly couldn't just walk out of Sayma's sealed room without an excuse. Ken needed a very lazy, very believable reason to leave.

"Hey guys," Ken announced loudly, crawling out from under the table. He grabbed his stomach with both hands and bent over slightly, groaning in exaggerated discomfort.

"I think all this excitement is really messing with my digestion. First the strawberry candy, and now the buttery croissant... my stomach is doing absolute backflips. I need to go find a bathroom right now. It is a severe, code-red emergency." Naomi turned around, rolling her eyes. She let out an amused, exasperated sigh.

"Seriously, Ken? Right now? We are looking for classified treason documents!"

"Yes, right now!" Ken complained, starting to walk backward toward the hallway that led deeper into the penthouse suite.

"When nature calls, you have to answer the phone! Do not wait for me! I will catch up with you guys in a few minutes! Just yell if you find the secret safe!" Sayma pushed her glasses up, briefly dropping a small section of her internal barrier to let him access the hallway bathrooms.

"Make it quick, Ken. We need to secure this area and contact the Imperial Police before more mercenaries arrive."

"I will be super quick!" Ken promised, giving them a goofy, clumsy salute. He spun around and shuffled into the dark hallway. He dragged his shoes on the expensive carpet. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. The moment he turned the corner and stepped completely out of sight, the lazy guy vanished. He stopped dragging his feet. He stood up perfectly straight. His sleepy eyes turned incredibly cold and fiercely focused.

"Anime logic, substitute," Ken whispered. In a faint shimmer of light, an exact, perfect magical clone of Ken Eliot stepped out of his shadow. The clone grabbed its stomach and waddled into the nearest bathroom, locking the door loudly. The real Ken did not hesitate. He moved with absolute, silent precision. With a snap of his fingers, he bypassed the walls entirely, teleporting directly toward the isolated side corridor. He was ready to find the missing mage.

He was ready to handle a very personal distraction, and he was absolutely going to make sure the arrogant Grandmaster regretted ever stepping foot in this building.