Black Phoenix Heir

Chapter 220: Chapter 220 — The Same Wavelength

Chapter 220 — The Same Wavelength

The group arrived at the den.

Compared to the rest of the mansion, the room felt surprisingly comfortable. Several couches and cushioned chairs surrounded a fireplace along one wall.

Victor immediately noticed something strange about it.

The fire was green.

Bright green flames danced over the wood without producing even a hint of red or orange. Victor stared at them for a moment before turning his attention back to Gravius.

The patriarch hadn’t said much since Victor arrived. Even during dinner, he’d mostly remained quiet, speaking only when necessary.

That made him mildly more interesting to Victor.

But he doubted the silence would last much longer.

If anything, Gravius had probably been waiting for this exact moment.

Gravius walked toward a wooden box and opened it, revealing several cigars. He pulled out five and carefully prepared each one, cutting the tips before handing them around.

Gravius then moved toward the only individual chair in the room and sat down. The couches were arranged around him, naturally placing the patriarch at the center of everyone else.

Victor took a seat.

Gravius’s eyes settled on him.

The patriarch stared at him in silence.

Victor could already guess some of the questions running through the man’s head. Gravius had obviously heard about him asking questions. He probably knew about the missing slaves and Victor’s suspicions.

The question was how much else he knew.

Someone in Gravius’s position shouldn’t be lacking information. As the patriarch of one of the three most influential families in the Tower, he should know far more than Victor.

Even their earlier conversation had bothered him.

It seemed more people had questions about those six months than Victor originally thought.

The silence stretched on as smoke slowly curled through the room.

Finally, Gravius spoke.

”So, Victor.”

Daniel, Alex, and Zack remained quiet. None of them seemed interested in interrupting. They sat back with their cigars, understanding that the conversation had shifted between Victor and Gravius.

”It seems you and I need to get on the same wavelength.”

Victor waited.

Gravius took a slow pull from his cigar.

”I already understand the situation between you and my boy Alex.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”He made a stupid decision by trying to get you killed. I already know about it.”

Alex remained silent.

”Back when you were a slave, he positioned you to be killed by a mercenary team.”

Gravius spoke about it so casually that Victor almost found it strange.

”But we both know nothing can come from you trying to take revenge. If you ever attempt it—if anything happens to Alex—it’ll only become a lose-lose situation for you.”

Victor glanced toward Alex.

He hated admitting it, but Gravius was right.

At least for now.

Victor couldn’t do anything to Alex while the Graveborn family stood behind him. Not unless he became strong enough that the entire family could no longer threaten him.

But did Alex’s stupidity justify destroying an entire family?

No.

Victor wasn’t going to slaughter dozens or hundreds of people simply because one boy had tried to have him killed.

Someday, Alex would answer for what he’d done.

Victor simply knew how to wait.

”You don’t have to worry about that,” Victor said. ”Alex and I are never going to see eye to eye. But I understand that right now, I’m not able to take care of business.”

Gravius’s eyebrows rose.

”Not able to take care of business, you say?”

”No.”

Victor met his eyes.

”Today, I might not have the power to do anything. But who’s to say that’ll always be the case?”

The room went quiet.

Alex turned toward him, while Daniel’s cigar stopped halfway to his mouth.

For several seconds, Gravius simply stared at Victor.

Then a large smile spread across his face.

For once, the intimidating patriarch looked genuinely amused.

He glanced toward his son.

”You know, if that day comes, then I suppose Alex dug his own grave.”

Alex’s expression shifted.

Gravius looked back at Victor.

”But until that day comes, as long as I have the strength to make you pay for your actions, he’ll remain safe.”

Victor nodded.

”Understood.”

He took a slow breath.

”We have an agreement.”

”Good.”

Gravius smiled.

”You’re as smart as I’ve heard.”

The tension in the room eased slightly.

Only slightly.

Gravius leaned back.

”Now, onto the second topic.”

His attention briefly shifted toward Daniel.

”Daniel tells me you’ve been snooping around my mercenary teams. Asking questions about missing slaves.”

Victor remained silent.

”He believes your interest might have something to do with your history with Alex.”

Gravius’s eyes returned to him.

”Is that true?”

The patriarch slowly smoked his cigar as he waited. His expression was calm.

His eyes weren’t.

Victor didn’t look away.

Instead, he glanced toward Alex.

”I don’t trust Alex one bit.”

Alex’s expression hardened.

”I don’t know what he’s up to half the time, and his past has already shown me he’s untrustworthy.”

Victor then looked toward Gravius.

”But your family as a whole? I have nothing against you.”

His eyes shifted toward Daniel.

”That doesn’t change the fact that Daniel’s mercenary team has lost more than two hundred slaves, and their slave bracelets still recognize them as alive.”

Gravius stopped.

The cigar remained between his fingers.

For the first time since the conversation began, genuine surprise crossed his face.

He looked at Daniel.

”Is this true?”

Daniel’s usual smile faded slightly.

”Yes, Patriarch.”

Gravius became quiet.

Victor watched him closely.

He really didn’t know.

”That’s not all,” Victor said.

Gravius looked back at him.

”Multiple other teams under your family’s control have lost enough slaves to bring that number to roughly five hundred. And there are other teams outside of those that have lost another two hundred and fifty to three hundred.”

The room grew noticeably quieter.

”So whether I have something against one member of your family doesn’t change what’s happening.”

Victor held Gravius’s gaze.

”Something is going on. And whether you like it or not, right now it’s pointing toward your family.”

Gravius didn’t become angry. He simply nodded.

”I understand.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward Daniel.

”We’ll get this figured out.”

The words were calm, but something in Daniel’s expression tightened.

Then Gravius returned his attention to Victor.

”But now I have another question.”

Victor waited.

”Why are you looking into this?”

Gravius leaned forward slightly.

”And why are you using Elder Benton’s token of authority to do it?”

Victor’s expression remained calm.

”I was given the token to use at my own discretion.”

”That doesn’t answer the first question.”

Victor paused.

”I believed it was necessary to investigate the missing slaves. Especially with the hundreds of other people who’ve been disappearing throughout the Tower.”

Gravius watched him carefully.

”For reasons I believe you already understand.”

Silence settled over the room.

The green flames crackled behind them.

Then Gravius slowly nodded.

”I know about it.”

Victor wasn’t surprised.

”But the question is...” Gravius continued, ”how does a mere fourteen-year-old boy who was a slave six months ago know about it?”

Victor went quiet.

A few seconds passed before his eyes shifted toward Zack.

He hadn’t planned on bringing up the Evil God Organization in front of him.

Gravius noticed immediately.

”Zack already knows about the organization.”

Victor’s eyes snapped toward Zack.

Zack met his gaze.

Then nodded.

Victor frowned.

He looked toward Alex.

There was an almost smug expression on his face.

He knew too.

Victor slowly leaned back.

Apparently, everyone in this room already knew about the Evil God Organization.

That realization bothered him more than he’d expected.

”Then why aren’t you doing anything about it?”

Gravius’s expression changed.

The amusement disappeared.

”There are things you don’t understand, boy.”

His voice remained calm.

”There are people you don’t want to cross, and there are things you don’t want to get involved in.”

Gravius’s eyes hardened.

”My family didn’t reach its current position by nosing around in other people’s business.”

The meaning behind those words wasn’t difficult to understand.

Gravius knew.

And he’d made a deliberate choice to stay out of it.

Victor nodded slowly.

”I understand.”

Internally, however, his suspicions only grew.

Gravius hadn’t admitted that the Graveborn family was connected to the organization. But he hadn’t exactly separated himself from them either.

If anything, he’d made it clear that he knew about them and deliberately avoided interfering.

Victor wasn’t sure what that meant yet.

And he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions without proof.

”It doesn’t change the fact that the organization is running rampant throughout the Tower right now,” Victor said. ”More than ever.”

Gravius remained silent.

”But that’s neither here nor there.”

Victor leaned back slightly.

”Hopefully you can at least investigate what’s happening with your missing slaves and the mercenary teams.”

Gravius nodded.

”As a businessman, it would be stupid not to.”

He took another pull from his cigar.

”But thank you for letting me know.”

Then his eyes slowly moved toward Daniel.

”At least somebody decided to keep me informed of this.”

Daniel’s expression changed slightly.

Just for a moment.

Then his usual easy smile returned.

Victor leaned back and took in the room.

He’d come to the Graveborn estate looking for answers.

So far, he’d only gotten a few.

But he’d learned one thing for certain.

The people at the top of the Tower knew far more about what was happening than he’d originally thought.