Chapter 833: Chapter 834: Broker His admiration for Seraph Null’s cruelty aside, they still needed a place to rest and a base of operations. "Normally, if this were Aetherus, an inn would suffice." Still, he turned his head, scanning the streets. There had to be some place offering lodging. His stomach grumbled softly. Then a louder rumble followed. He paused. That one was not his. He turned slightly and caught Sithara raising her eyebrows, eyes wide in embarrassment. Her face reddened until it was almost crimson. "I... I..." She lowered her head, muttering, "Just... hungry..." Damon smiled faintly. "Suppose the neatest place to gather information would be a tavern." Lazarak nodded in agreement. "Let us ask the locals here for directions." Damon shook his head. "They would eat you alive in a place like this. We already have eyes on us. The idea is to—" He reached out suddenly, shadows surging from the walls, grabbing a man from a nearby alley by the neck and slamming him against the wall. "And ask them for directions." Damon turned to the man and released his Omen of Dread. The man’s legs went weak. Before he could even scream, he soiled himself. Damon grimaced briefly, then reshaped the shadows around the man into jagged spikes that hovered inches from his skin. "Which way to the nicest place I can get a meal. Lie and you die." The man gulped. He had not even done anything yet. He had merely been following them, like everyone else. At most, he would have demanded mana cores for directions or robbed them if they were weak. Business as usual. Who knew he had provoked a fiend. With trembling fingers, he pointed. "That way. Several turns to the left. The Nude Virgin is the place." Damon nodded. The shadows pulled inward with a sickening crunch, devouring flesh and blood alike. A low system chime echoed. [You have slain Kiea] His hunger eased slightly. "I already told you. If you lie, you die." Damon turned his head to the other side. A second man, hidden within the shadows, was dragged forward as the darkness solidified around him like a shroud, hauling him toward Damon. "You have the same condition. Lie and you die." Damon sang the words lightly. The man broke instantly, spilling everything he knew without hesitation. When he finished, Damon tossed him aside, letting him collapse onto the street. Sithara followed close behind Damon. Then she reached out and held his hand. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺 Damon frowned down at her, but she did not seem bothered in the slightest. "How did you know the first guy was lying?" Damon knew, of course. He had lived that life. "I grew up on streets like this. I know how lowlifes act. After all, I was one." Sithara smiled up at him. "I don’t think you’re a lowlife. You’re our king." Damon smiled and shook his head, saying nothing. "Great, I’m a king without a kingdom." he finally added. The tavern called the Nude Virgin stood on a busy street. It was cleaner than the areas they had passed through, but only marginally so. As soon as Damon entered, eyes turned toward him. Everyone pretended not to stare. His expensive armor was a dead giveaway, but both he and Matia carried enough menace to discourage sudden greed. He scanned the room before his gaze settled on a lone man sitting in a corner. Damon took a seat across from him. Sithara and her brother followed, sitting beside him, with Lazarak taking a seat shortly after. Damon gestured to one of the servers, a large man missing an arm. "A drink for my friend here." The man sitting alone smiled. "What do you want, friend?" Damon’s expression remained calm. "What’s your going rate?" The man shrugged. "Depends. What are you asking?" Lyn and Sithara did not understand what was happening. Lazarak, however, had some idea. This man was an information broker. How Damon knew was unclear even to Lazarak. "For now," Damon said, "tell me how the guards operate." "Heheh." The man took a sip of the drink the server brought. Lyn followed suit, took a taste of the alcohol, and nearly choked from the bitter burn. Sithara reached for her drink, but Damon quietly took it away. After a moment of hesitation, he reached into his shadow storage and pulled out a cup of tamberry juice, setting it in front of her. She pouted visibly. "That’ll be three rank three cores," the man said. "Nothing much, since you’re new in town." Damon narrowed his eyes. "Three rank one cores. You’ll take it. This is public knowledge." "Two rank, two cores," the man countered. Damon crossed his arms. "One rank, one core. Shall I go lower?" The man smiled. "You drive a hard bargain, friend." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. The smell of burned herbs lingered on his breath. "The power hierarchy of Yari is complicated. But broken down, it’s simple." Damon nodded slowly. "Go ahead." The man opened his palms expectantly. Damon glanced at Sithara. She reached into her pouch and handed over a rank one core. The man smiled, voice low. "The Chain knights are above the gate guards. Elite guards with fanatical devotion, Chosen for loyalty, not talent." He covered his mouth slightly. "The Archivists are the record keepers. Espionage. Information gathering. They record sins, crimes, defiance levels. They decide punishments after the fact. Bastards are the eyes and ears of Yari." His voice dropped further. "You never see them. But they see you." The broker looked more afraid of them than anything else. Damon glanced briefly at his brand. That was likely how they gathered information. "Next are the Wardens. High enforcers with semi divine authority. They live in the deepest layers. The king of the chained people is one of them." He swallowed. "And lastly, Seraph Null himself. Ruler of the realm. Resident of the Black Spire." Damon nodded. He slowly pulled out a rank three core. It was large, glowing softly with dense energy. "Tell me something interesting, and I’ll make it worth your while." His smile sharpened. "If it’s boring, you die." He leaned forward slightly. "Do you accept?"