Death... and me

Sevinia shook her head, though. "I knew about the plan, but I've never seen you personally until now. Well, it's not like I would have told you the truth either since the demon beasts are the Zasfin's enemies. However, I didn't participate, so look for someone else to accuse."

It didn't matter whether the Hafel Clan was involved or not. The fact was that Rean proved to Red that he was lying. The Bestial Blood Pond truly kept filling up automatically, without the intervention of Phex or any of the other Divine Demon Beasts at all. Besides, no demon beast was sacrificed as Red thought. Only the ones who died would have their blood taken away by the Sacred Ground. "Hehehe...so that's how it is..."

Rean intervened at that point before Red lost his cool, telling him, "Alright, that's enough for now. Red, you can think about that later since you can't do much with your strength." Rean then looked at Sevinia, asking, "So, are you in or not?"

Sevinia snorted in response, saying, "In or not? You still haven't explained anything other than the fact that it would work."

Red calmed down as Rean and Sevinia continued to talk. Finally, he decided to inquire Rean about it. "Just what is it that you promised her that she hasn't killed you yet?"

Rean saw that there was no need to keep it hidden anymore, so he opened his mouth, telling him, "Oh! The Hafel Clan has held quite a few high and low positions in the Soul Rulers organization during its time. However, because of their more lenient opinion regarding the humans, they never had a clan member as the Soul Rulers' leader. It was always someone else."

Rean continued, "Now, because of Roan, Kentucky, and I, that position is as far as it could possibly be. In fact, they might even be excluded from the Soul Rulers or wiped out because of us." Rean then smiled before saying, "What I promised her was enough war merits to bring her clan to the top again and probably...even have one of their members become the next Soul Rulers' leader."

Red and the old man beside Sevinia were taken aback after hearing that. The Hafel Clan couldn't be more hated at the moment, so how could that be possible?

It was then that Red had an idea, soon voicing out his hypothesis as he asked, "Wait! Did you say war merits? Are you planning to give up on the demon beasts so you can get a higher position in the Soul Rulers?"

Rean looked at Red as if he was looking at an idiot as he replied, "Where the hell did you get that idea? Even if I really did such a thing, do you think the Soul Rulers would accept me back in their ranks? I would be lucky enough if they didn't torture me before dying."

Red had to admit that Rean was right. "Then...what do you mean by war merits?"

With that, Rean began to explain his thought process. "Because their clan is part of the Soul Rulers, they also have a part of the Zasfins' army to control. It has nothing to do with whether or not the Soul Rulers trust the Hafel Clan to command part of the army or not. It's just that the Soul Rulers work on a system of sharing. As much as they don't like the Hafel Clan right now, the rules still say that the Hafel Clan has the right to take part in it. They would only be barred if it was proven that they betrayed the Soul Rulers, which isn't the case." Rean then patted Sevinia's shoulder as he continued, "They only made a slightly bad call when they took in my brother and me. It wasn't as if they wanted that outcome."

Sevinia's mouth twitched in response as she pinched Rean's hand to the point she almost tore a piece of it out.

*Ouch!*

"Slightly bad call? Is that what you call what happened?" Naturally, she was angry at how Rean treated the issue.

In any case, Rean quickly healed his hand with Instant Recovery as he laughed. Well, that was just his way of covering his nervousness. "Hahaha! I'm joking, I'm joking!" Of course, his explanation continued. "Because their clan has access to a small part of the Zasfins' army, they can still use it to gain credit back. In fact, I believe your Hafel Clan is putting most of its effort on it, right?"

Sevinia didn't try to hide it, replying, "Since you already know of it, what's the point in denying it? Now, stop beating around the bush and tell me what you and that brother of yours are planning. Whether I'll capture you here or agree with your plan will depend on how realistic your plans are."

For the next hour, Rean went through everything he and Roan worked on. The more Rean talked, the more Sevinia's expression changed. Of course, Red and the old man beside Sevinia were just as impressed. In the end, Red couldn't help but exclaim, "Are you crazy?! There's no wa-"

However, the old man cut Red's words short as he instead said, "No, it can work!"

Sevinia was taken aback as well, not expecting the old man to open his mouth. "What are you saying? Who said you could intervene in this conversation?"

However, the old man only put a hand on Sevinia's shoulder before shaking his head, saying, "It's fine, Sevinia. You don't need to pretend anymore."

Red and Rean looked at that situation, puzzled. However, as soon as the old man said those words, Sevinia's demeanor towards the old man completely changed as she asked, "Ancestor...are you sure it's okay?"

"Ancestor?!" Rean and Red were terrified to hear that word. In the Soul Rulers' organization, only one type of Zasfin could be called an ancestor, Transition Realm cultivators! However, this old man wasn't doing anything else other than taking care of an old and worn store forgotten by its city. How could that be? Shouldn't someone like him be together with the other ancestors of the Soul Rulers?

The old man didn't change at all, though. He still looked like a frail man as he was when Rean first met him. He then introduced himself, saying, "Nice to meet you. My name is Duran Hafel, one of the deceased ancestors of the Soul Rulers' organization."

"Deceased?" That word only puzzled Rean and Red even more.

The old man smiled in response as he replied, "Simply put, everyone thinks I'm dead."