Dungeon Of Pride, Laplace

Chapter 952- The Man Named Itherion (6)

"And yet now... their silence is almost deafening. They spoke as though the winds of change are merely a passing breeze, not a storm."

The two have lived through countless ages. They must sense what he sensed... So why? What are they waiting for?

Are they testing the people of this era? Or perhaps... they know something that others don't?

"Whatever their reasons, it seems they are reluctant to act until something more concrete happens. For now, it falls to us to stay vigilant"

Verdia exhaled, a hint of frustration threading her voice.

A heavy silence hovered in the room for a moment before it was broken by Itherion "At the least his Emminence, the Seraphim of Honor is busy".

The end of his words was lacced with a sardonic edge indicating that he was being sarcastic. Additionally, there was also an unmistakable flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

Verdia gave him a small, helpless smile, already accustomed to Itherion's frustrations over her colleague's antics.

"Please excuse his actions, Although he is a Seraphim, he's overly concerned with worldly affairs. Sometimes... far too much. He has difficulty seeing the big picture—or the ripples that his actions create. I imagine it causes trouble for more people than just you."

She shook her head softly, her expression somewhere between fond exasperation and reluctant acceptance.

Itherion exhaled slowly, running a hand through his silver-streaked hair. "Trouble is an understatement. That man has been giving me headaches for centuries now."

"Agreed, But I will admit... For all his excesses and shortsightedness, his recent actions have been unexpectedly helpful."

"Oh?" She arched a brow.

Itherion explained with a rare smile "The Seraphim of Honor's aggressive campaigns may have caused plenty of headaches, but they've also flushed out a few unwanted pests. The Cerberus Association, for instance—those wretched worms that have plagued us for generations—were rooted out of several strongholds across the mainland thanks to his movements"

"Their laboratories, hidden networks, and deep-rooted influence were finally unearthed. Thanks to him, we were able to save tens of thousands of lives and finally get a clue to their headquarters".

"The Cerberus huh... It's hard to believe they could stay hidden for so long. The fact that even you have a hard time locating them, must mean that they have..."

"Yeah, some powerful being or group is supporting them" Itherion completed the sentence for Verdia.

"Cerberus is an inhumane organization whose existence cannot—must not—be tolerated. They need to be completely destroyed before they can spread their influence any further. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks to the possessor of the Fragment of Honor, we were able to effectively sweep them off the continent"

"A parasite that burrows into the heart of society... For years we tried subtlety to remove them, hoping we could tear them out at the roots. But it was brute force—reckless and unforgiving—that finally gave us the edge we needed."

The Adventurer's Association has faced its fair share of enemies over the millennia—criminal syndicates, drug cartels, and rival factions, to name a few.

Most of those groups caused nothing more than a nuisance. Each time they tried to rise, the association crushed them underfoot before they became a real threat. And yet... despite their vigilance, Cerberus was different.

Their rise was unlike anything the association encountered. Other organizations crumbled under pressure—either from lack of resources, infighting, or a misstep in the open. But Cerberus? No matter what they threw at them, they only grew stronger.

What's more unsettling is that they've only been around for a few hundred years. Barely a couple hundred years, and yet their influence runs deeper than many ancient kingdoms and powers.