( The guildmaster''s office )


    Candice stood in Karna''s office with her whole body trembling as she tried to make sense of the memories she extracted from Joe.


    That man was scum…..No he was beneath scum, as once Candice uncovered his motive behind betraying the guild and Riva, it made her sick to her stomach.


    Candice was a mind mage, she specialized in casting illusion spells and reading as well as altering memories.


    Usually, such techniques were reserved for monsters or enemies of humanity, however, for the first time she had to use her skills on an ex-guild mate and her discoveries made her heart fill with sorrow.


    "Joe voluntarily made contact with the Olympians, offering them information regarding Riva in return for power and riches.


    The reason behind his betrayal is simple greed and overconfidence.


    I tried to look for another reason, however, there was none.


    He never believed in the guild''s notion of ''one for all and all for one'', he never saw us as a family and never felt especially loyal towards us….." Candice said, as it was this part that seemed to be bothering her the most.


    The True Elites Guild was like a tight knit family, every member of the guild was ready toy down their lives for one another, which was why the betrayal of Joe affected the guild more than any external attack ever could.


    The guild members truly believed that they were above the base nature of humans filled with treachery and betrayal, however, Joe broke that idealistic myth.


    "He wanted to be bigger than you, guildmaster, he wanted the fame you and Riva had, he wanted the attention, the adoration... but also knew that his natural talent was not enough for him to get it, so he made a deal with the Olympians to make his life better.


    He sold out Riva as potentially being the Champion of Gemini, which she was not….


    And became the cause behind her kidnapping" wee-to-MVLeMpYr


    "He orchestrated the kidnapping bycing Riva''s apartment with explosives and teaming up with Perseus, the floor master of floor21 of the tower to have her kidnapped.


    Should she have turned out to be the Champion of Gemini, Joe was set to receive innumerable rewards, however, their ns went sour when it turned out that Riva wasn''t the chosen one.


    What''s more is that apparently Perseus''s father, the lesser god, is the one who is in possession of Riva right now and we don''t know what state she is in" Candice reported as Karna felt his blood boiling, listening to this report, however, he kept hisposure.


    "As for why she has not been released yet, Joe thought it''s because the Olympians wish to use her as bait to lure Rocky, however, they are waiting for certain conditions to be fulfilled before they make this offer.


    Apparently, Perseus''s little sister and Champion of Poseidon is involved in this as well, as a read into Joe''s memories suggested that she was deployed to the same university Rocky attends to either befriend or seduce him"


    "While Joe was not respected particrly within the Olympian faction as well, they did ce him under high security, which makes his kidnapping even more bizarre.


    Unless the man who delivered him to us was a monarch level entity, I don''t see how he could disable all those defenses and safety barriers that they ced Joe within as easily as he did" Candice reported, as Karna fell into deep contemtion after listening to her report.


    The fact that Joe was delivered to them safe and sound also needed to be viewed with scrutiny, there was no guarantee that his memories were not tampered with or that him being delivered to Earth was to start a war.


    However, Karna felt in his gut that whoever delivered Joe was definitely not harboring any malicious intentions towards the guild.


    "Amelia, first and foremost, write a letter to Rocky, warn him to not trust the sister of Perseus-" Karna said as he instructed Amelia to inform Rocky about this information before it was toote.


    "Candice, you have done a good job, rest now, let us handle the rest" Karna said, discharging Candice after a job well done, however, before she left, Candice looked back towards Karna with tears in her eyes as she said "Guildmaster we will save Riva right?"


    Candice, like everyone else in the guild who considered this organization to be extended family, was extremely worried for Riva.


    Ever since her disappearance many guild members were voluntarily searching for her trail, trying to pay for information using their own money on ck markets and do whatever they could to help, however, it wasrgely unsessful.


    "Of course we will, after the monster tide is over, even if it costs me my life, I''ll personally save Riva wherever she is," Karna said with conviction as he had long made up his mind to save Riva once he was no longer bound by his duty to Earth.


    ********


    ( Meanwhile Sir Jhonny )


    Sir Jhonny was the man who had kidnapped Joe from the heart of the Olympian stronghold, executing the with the ease of taking a stroll.


    In terms of strength, Jhonny was a floor 88 climber, one step away from bing a true god, however, he himself held no ambitions of bing one.


    He was the representative of Shakuni on the lower levels of the tower and was his ultimate soldier for carrying out his will.


    Had Shakuni instructed him to save Riva from the clutches of Perseus''s father, he had the capability of doing that as well, however, his lord only instructed him to kidnap and deliver Joe to Earth.


    "I havepleted the mission as you instructed me to, Rudra my boy" Sir Jhonny said, looking towards the sky as he called Shakuni by a name that was forgotten by the history of the tower.


    A name that he used before he became the deity that he was. A name from back when he was a mortal.


    "Thankyou Sir Jhonny, the execution was perfect as always….." A voice belonging to Shakuni whispered in his ears as Jhonny smiled at the praise.


    Of every believer of Gemini who wished to speak directly to the gods, he was one of the only four people in the tower who could actually do so without any restrictions.


    *Sigh*


    Letting out a deep sigh, Sir Jhonny observed the night sky above his head as he reminisced about the good old times.


    Long back, when this universe and this reality did not exist, he was a member of the True Elites Guild as well and kids like Karna and Neatwit were hisrades.


    Back then he had no idea about what sort of a life he was destined to live, however, looking back now, he could proudly say that those were the best times of his life.


    Ever since he stopped aging and became a lesser god, life had be dull and boring.


    There were hardly any challengers to fight and even less interesting things to be involved with.


    While Shakuni did keep plotting things once in a while, Sir Jhonny missed the good old days where he fought massive wars every three months with kids he really liked.