Chương 135: Found Them. Complicated.

Complicated.

The answer made Sieghart's attention sharpen immediately. Seraphina's descendants were among the few people whose unusual relationship with mana might resemble portions of his own System. Ronan unfolded the coded message, revealing only several short lines and a symbol Sieghart recognized as Mira's personal confirmation mark.

"Some descendants stay close to Lunar Arc, while others live ordinary lives elsewhere. Not all of them become mages, and some barely possess enough mana to activate tools." Sieghart remained silent while Ronan continued, already suspecting that the kidnapped relative's value came from something subtler than ordinary magical output.

"This one can't cast much, but his body harmonizes conflicting mana naturally. He can stabilize enchantments, calm unstable cores, and survive energies that injure ordinary people." That sounded exceptionally valuable to anyone experimenting with powers that should never coexist inside one body, especially groups already willing to obtain strength through corrupted methods.

"And someone thinks kidnapping him will transfer that power?"

"Something close enough." Ronan explained that several factions believed Seraphina's bloodline carried hidden principles inside the body, even when individual descendants lacked useful spells or formal magical training. Some attempted rituals using blood, bone, organs, or prolonged exposure, assuming inherited traits could be extracted, copied, grafted, or forced into another person.

Sieghart's expression remained unchanged, but the explanation confirmed a fear he had carried since rumors first connected his power with Seraphina's impossible magical endurance. If enemies suspected he was Seraphina's successor, Infinite Mana could make him far more valuable than a distant relative possessing only one inherited ability. Capture might become preferable to assassination.

Powerful families, foreign tribes, researchers, and corrupted factions could all decide that dismantling him offered more rewards than killing him quickly. Sieghart disliked that possibility considerably more than ordinary enemies trying to murder him, because death at least ended before someone began testing what parts remained useful.

"Isn't Mira strong enough to rescue him alone?"

"She is."

"Then why are you helping?" Ronan looked offended before Sieghart finished, pushing away from the door and placing one hand dramatically against his chest as though his professional reputation had suffered a mortal wound.

"Why are you speaking like you can help her and I can't? I'm extremely resourceful." Sieghart stared at him without answering, allowing the silence to communicate exactly how little confidence he possessed in Ronan's assessment of his own usefulness.

"I don't need flashy spells or an absurd mana pool. I have experience, contacts, knives, mana threads, excellent instincts, and several methods civilized people avoid discussing." Sieghart ignored the defense entirely, partly because arguing would encourage Ronan and partly because flashy spells had never been the standard used to measure the agent's danger.

"Where are we going, and why aren't you sending more guild members?" Ronan's expression flattened when the obvious attempt to recover his dignity failed, but he answered without continuing the argument or demanding the appreciation he clearly believed he deserved.

"Because Lunar Arc survives partly through reputation. Mira cannot allow rivals to believe the guild master abandoned her responsibilities and required an army to rescue one relative." The human Aura families already searched constantly for reasons to restrict Lunar Arc, and any visible weakness could become evidence that mages were incapable of governing themselves responsibly.

A large rescue force would also expose the kidnapping publicly, encouraging other factions to investigate Seraphina's descendants or attempt similar abductions before Lunar Arc strengthened its protections.

"If everyone learns they can move Mira by touching her distant relatives, they'll keep doing it."

"Exactly." Sieghart understood the calculation. Saving one person openly could endanger dozens later, especially when enemies learned which relationships were valuable enough to manipulate the guild master. Ronan continued explaining that Mira had crossed the border using an unofficial route, tracking the kidnappers before they reached territory controlled by the larger tribe supporting them.

"She sent me one message last night. Three words, followed by coordinates and enough interference to cut the connection before I could answer."

"What words?"

"Found them. Complicated." Sieghart considered the phrase. Mira was not dramatic, which meant calling something complicated probably translated into an armed settlement, dangerous ritual, or several hundred enemies.

"She didn't ask for help."

"No."

"And you're bringing me anyway."

"Yes." Ronan smiled faintly, apparently considering the accusation completely reasonable and feeling no obligation to appear ashamed of deliberately interpreting Mira's message as permission.

"Mira asked me years ago to recognize when she needed help instead of waiting for her to admit it. I have become exceptionally skilled at selective interpretation."

"That sounds like disobedience."

"It sounds better when adults do it." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Sieghart looked toward the training targets again, weighing unfinished spell experiments against a rescue involving Seraphina's bloodline and people willing to steal supernatural traits. The mission threatened secrecy, safety, and probably several body parts. It also offered information concerning corruption, inherited magical abilities, and enemies who might eventually target Sieghart himself.

"What territory?" Ronan's smile vanished once more, and the sudden seriousness around his eyes warned Sieghart that the tribe's name carried consequences beyond ordinary border hostility.

"Chimerian." Sieghart had encountered the term in historical books, usually near descriptions of forbidden body modification, unstable bloodlines, and wars caused by people seeking alternatives to Aura. The surviving Chimerian tribes were not one race. They were communities built around grafting monster traits, altered organs, foreign blood, and corrupted cores into living bodies.

Some inherited stable changes from previous generations, while others continued replacing parts throughout adulthood, becoming increasingly powerful and less recognizable with every successful procedure. The process did not always destroy intelligence. Many Chimerians maintained language, tactics, craftsmen, healers, and organized settlements despite looking like several monsters had argued over the same body. Their failures were worse.

Unstable subjects became violent beasts, while successful warriors sometimes developed instincts strong enough to overwhelm judgment during hunger, fear, mating, or rage. Sieghart remembered the Orc King and the corrupted core that had carried Wrath into his System. He immediately disliked how naturally that memory connected with Ronan's explanation.

"How large is the tribe?"

"Large enough that we cannot fight everyone."

"That wasn't a number."

"Several thousand in the wider territory, perhaps six hundred near the settlement where Mira's message ended, plus whatever they keep underground." Sieghart unfolded his arms slowly. Six hundred enemies would be manageable only if none possessed the strength, speed, resistance, senses, or rage-enhancement demonstrated by the Orc King. That condition seemed extremely unlikely inside a society devoted to collecting useful parts from powerful creatures and forcing them into living warriors.

"What do they want with Mira's relative specifically?"

"His harmonization may let them stabilize combinations that currently kill most subjects. If they succeed, the tribe could produce stronger hybrids without losing half their candidates." That transformed the kidnapping from a family crisis into a military problem. One captive could potentially improve an entire tribe's ability to create reliable corrupted warriors.

Sieghart glanced toward his sealed Necromancy and Sin Magic mentally, wondering whether Chimerian cores would contain equally dangerous principles if he absorbed them. The thought arrived too quickly. He pushed it aside before curiosity turned a rescue mission into another excuse for collecting forbidden power.

"Why me?"

"You possess enough different magic to solve basic problems we cannot predict, enough mana to keep going, and enough secrecy that nobody will hear about this afterward." Ronan paused before adding the final reason, looking toward the damaged targets, runic tools, and newly repaired portions of wall around the room.

"You're also becoming a hermit, and Mira will blame me if I allow that to become permanent."

"She will blame you for bringing me without asking." Ronan opened the door and gestured toward the hallway, apparently deciding that the conversation had reached the point where movement mattered more than consent.

"We leave through the eastern service tunnel in thirty minutes. No guild insignia, no official papers, and nothing you cannot carry while running." Sieghart began gathering his equipment without answering. The runic engraver entered his bag first, followed by the enchanted canteen, cold-resistant coat, healing supplies, and several prepared circuit plates. Ronan watched him pack three books and removed one before Sieghart could close the bag, placing it back on the desk with exaggerated patience.

"We're rescuing someone."

"I can read while traveling."

"You cannot outrun Chimerians while carrying a library." Sieghart removed a second book reluctantly, then replaced it with several small metal plates that could accept emergency runes if the mission required improvised equipment.

"Payment?" Ronan blinked several times, apparently surprised that Sieghart had transformed an unauthorized rescue mission for the guild master into a negotiation before they even left the basement.

"You are helping rescue Mira."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"You can negotiate for one of her restricted books after we return." Sieghart stopped packing and looked toward him with enough sudden interest that Ronan immediately realized access to restricted knowledge had become a far stronger incentive than friendship.

"Two."

"One." Ronan extended his hand before considering whether he possessed authority to promise either reward, then apparently decided future Mira could handle the consequences.

"Agreed." Sieghart shook his hand, already planning which forbidden-looking shelf inside Mira's private collection would become the first target of their agreement. Before lifting his bag, Sieghart looked toward Ronan and asked the question that had bothered him since the coded message appeared.

"Did Mira ask for me specifically?" Ronan remained quiet for one moment too long, which provided most of the answer before he finally decided how much honesty the situation required.

"She asked for someone capable of continuing after ordinary mages exhausted themselves. She did not mention your name."

"That sounds like me."

"It unfortunately does." Sieghart lifted the bag onto one shoulder, dismissed the remaining ice from his training targets, and followed Ronan into the hallway. The guild continued operating normally around them. Members carried reports, discussed missions, and argued over supplies without realizing their guild master had crossed into hostile territory alone. Keeping that appearance intact explained why only Ronan and Sieghart were leaving.

If anyone asked, they were completing another quiet assignment involving magical equipment outside Seraphina. The lie would remain believable until someone noticed both Mira and Ronan missing simultaneously, which gave them limited time before speculation spread throughout Lunar Arc. Ronan guided Sieghart toward a storage chamber beneath the eastern wing, then moved several crates aside and revealed a narrow tunnel hidden behind reinforced stone.

The passage belonged to Lunar Arc's older foundations and connected with abandoned waterworks beyond the city, allowing agents to leave without crossing watched gates. Sieghart entered first after activating Enhanced Smell lightly, checking for unfamiliar people, animals, poison, or the particularly memorable odor of Chimerian scouts. Nothing waited except wet stone, old metal, stagnant water, and Ronan's irritation when Sieghart mentioned that he could identify the man from several meters away.

"Stop smelling me."

"Improve your stealth." They continued through the darkness while Sieghart considered Mira's absence, the kidnapped descendant, and the tribe attempting to steal a power hidden inside inherited blood. The mission confirmed that strength attracted more than assassination. Sometimes enemies wanted the person alive, restrained, opened, studied, and transformed into material for someone else's advancement.

That possibility waited for Sieghart as well, especially if anyone proved the connection between Infinite Mana, Seraphina, and the corrupted powers his System could absorb. He tightened one hand around the strap of his bag and followed Ronan toward the tunnel's distant exit without reconsidering the decision. Mira might be walking into a trap designed around her relative. Ronan might be leading them toward six hundred altered warriors without a complete plan.

Sieghart still needed answers about Seraphina, forbidden power, and the kind of people who believed another person's body existed for harvesting. Unfortunately, their destination contained all three problems together, protected by hundreds of altered warriors who probably considered kidnapping, dissection, and forced grafting ordinary methods of research.

Beyond the border, waited enemy territory and a large tribe of Chimerians whose idea of self-improvement involved sewing monsters into themselves until something useful survived.