After the incident with the Grand Sorcerer of the Underworld, Roy finally enjoyed a period of calm.
For half a month, nothing significant happened, allowing Roy to attend classes properly for a few days.
The public uproar surrounding the Ouroboros Society had also died down, so Roy could finally join the much-anticipated fraternity party. It was wild, to say the least, and opened his eyes to a whole new world.
During this time, Roy also competed in two NCAA boxing qualifiers, something he'd promised the school earlier.
There was more good news: the cleanup of the ghost ship was finally complete. Heather, Penny, Amy, and Daria arrived in Los Angeles, along with the Weyland father and daughter.
Trillium, however, didn't come. True to her free-spirited thief nature, she took her share of the profits and went off to travel the world.
Finnegan and Joey also got a hefty payout. Having made enough money, they decided to retire, settle down somewhere, get married, and start families.
"Mr. Blake, I'd like to discuss something with you."
After arriving in Los Angeles, Charles suddenly called Roy, asking to meet.
Roy agreed readily.
They met in Hawthorne, a wealthy neighborhood in Los Angeles where Charles owned property.
"Roy, I missed you so much!"
As soon as Roy stepped into Charles's house, Serena threw herself into his arms. Not seeing him for two or three months had clearly made her miss him deeply.
Charles chuckled, watching Roy and Serena embrace.
Roy glanced at Serena and Charles. Serena looked mostly the same, but Charles appeared to have aged a decade. Still, his spirit seemed intact, as if he'd let go of some burdens.
Roy had heard about Charles's situation. The San Diego incident had tanked his business reputation, forcing him to sell all his controlling shares in his companies, keeping only a few investment stakes.
Charles had no chance of making a comeback as a tycoon. All he could do now was live as a wealthy retiree.
Thankfully, the Weyland family had a charitable foundation, so Charles wasn't completely idle.
"Mr. Weyland, how have you been?" Roy asked.
Charles sighed. "It's been like a rollercoaster—constant ups and downs. But I've come to terms with it."
Roy studied Charles's expression. He seemed genuinely optimistic, not putting on an act.
"That's good to hear. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Roy, now that I have some free time, I want to do something. Can you help me?"
"With what?"
Charles stood and gazed out the window.
"When I was young, I dreamed of being a great explorer. But by chance, I became an entrepreneur instead. That gave me wealth but trapped me in an office. Now that I'm free again, I want to chase my dream of becoming an explorer!"
Roy was a bit surprised by this.
"Mr. Weyland, do you have a specific goal in mind?"
"Yes! A friend of mine at an Antarctic research station tipped me off about something. They detected unusual energy fluctuations in a certain area of the Antarctic continent, possibly from an underground energy field. I want you to join me on an expedition to Antarctica. If we find something, our names could go down in history!"
It seemed Charles had given up on being a business mogul and now wanted to make a name for himself as an explorer.
That made sense. At his stage in life, with money no longer an issue and nothing else to occupy him, he wanted to achieve something meaningful.
Serena, seeing Roy hesitate, grabbed his arm and shook it. "Roy, please help Dad! He really wants to be an explorer."
"I didn't say no. When do we leave?"
Charles was practically Roy's father-in-law, so helping him out felt like the right thing to do.
Charles was so excited he nearly jumped. "I've already assembled the expedition team. We leave tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow? That's fast."
"Roy, I'm not the only one who knows about the energy fluctuations in Antarctica. We need to move quickly before someone else beats us to that underground energy field!"
Roy nodded. "Alright, I'll get ready and head out with you tomorrow."
Roy didn't have much to prepare. He mostly needed to let the women in his life know and see if any wanted to join the Antarctic adventure. He also needed to stock up on emergency food—his appetite was too big for the expedition's supplies to suffice, so he'd pack extra in his inventory.
Jennifer, Nidi, Ashley, and Mary were tied up with school and couldn't go.
Amy and Daria, after their grueling summer at sea, weren't keen on more travel either. Daria, especially, had a daughter and wasn't about to head to a dangerous place like Antarctica.
Heather and Penny, however, were intrigued. After some discussion, they decided to join the expedition, partly to "take care" of Roy's needs.
The next day, Roy, Heather, and Penny met up with Charles.
Serena couldn't come. As the sole heir to the Weyland family, she couldn't risk being on the same expedition as her father, even with Roy there to ensure safety.
After an intense farewell with Roy, Serena headed to New York to continue her studies.
After Roy left, Claire went to a hidden room in a Los Angeles church.
As Roy had suspected, Claire did know where Elise was, and Elise was indeed avoiding him.
"Teacher Elise, Roy's left Los Angeles," Claire said.
Elise let out a long sigh of relief and stepped out of the hidden room. "He's finally gone?"
Claire didn't know what had happened between Roy and Elise or why Elise was hiding.
"Teacher Elise, what's going on? Why are you avoiding Roy?"
"I'm not avoiding him. I just… can't face certain things."
Elise's expression was complex. After half a month of recovery, her physical wounds had healed, but the emotional scars were far from mended.
She might carry the memory of that day for the rest of her life, until the end of the world.
"So, what now?" Claire asked.
"Claire, you can go do your own thing. I'll make my comeback soon. You don't need to worry about me."
Claire hesitated but left as Elise instructed.
Elise looked up at the sky with a lost expression, whispering to herself, "Michael, when you faced this, what choice did you make?"
No one could answer her. With a deep sigh, the Angel of Wisdom felt she could no longer see the future clearly.
Eventually, Elise left the church and headed toward UCLA. She needed to talk to someone.
"Uriel, I thought you'd never dare show your face again!" Elizabeth said, lounging in her room as Eluresha massaged her. She shot Elise a teasing glance.
Elise met Elizabeth's gaze fearlessly. She knew the demon queen was trying to humiliate her, but as an angel, she wouldn't be cowed by mental taunts.
"Belial, I have questions for you."
"What? Wondering where Roy went? Sorry, he's not around to help with your… physical needs right now."
Elise frowned, a flicker of anger crossing her face. "Belial, you can't provoke me with cheap shots like that. What's your purpose here on Earth?"
"What purpose could I have? I'm the King of Sloth. I'm here to laze around," Elizabeth said, spreading her hands with an innocent look.
Elise wasn't buying it. "Don't lie to me, Belial. Tell me your real purpose, or I'll open the Gates of Heaven and send you back to Hell!"
Elizabeth burst into laughter, her body shaking with amusement. "Go ahead, open the gates! I'd love to chat with your colleagues about how Roy broke you, body and soul."
That was too much for Elise. "Shut up!"
Breathing heavily, she forced herself to calm down. Anger would only cloud her judgment, and she refused to let it control her.
"Belial, let's talk openly. I know you're not like Leviathan, with no real interest in Earth. I can turn a blind eye to your presence, but you have to tell me your true purpose. If you don't, I'll take you down, even if you spill what happened that day. I mean it."
Elizabeth saw Elise was serious. If the Angel of Wisdom went all out, it would only benefit the other demon lords.
The King of Sloth changed her tone. "Ugh, you angels have no sense of humor. Can't you tell I'm joking?"
"Cut the nonsense. Your lies won't fool my Divine Eye."
"What's the rush? You weren't this impatient that day. Pent-up frustration, maybe?"
"Say one more word!" Elise snapped, her temper flaring.
Seeing Elise about to lose it, Elizabeth quickly backtracked. "Alright, alright, I'll stop. Here's the deal…"
No one else heard the conversation between the Angel of Wisdom and the King of Sloth. Even Eluresha's memory of it was erased afterward.
In the end, Elise accepted Elizabeth's presence and officially returned to the FEA.
This was a relief for Gerald, who'd been worried about Elise causing trouble in his jurisdiction.
The FEA was in chaos. Paxton Fertel's disappearance had left the organization spiraling, with higher-ups pointing fingers and dodging blame. They desperately needed someone to take charge and get to the bottom of things.
With her Divine Eye, Elise could see the past and future. Once she started investigating, she'd quickly uncover what happened to Paxton.
Back at the FEA, Elise hit the ground running. Using her Divine Eye, she located Paxton—he'd fled to San Francisco. The details would only become clear once she got there.
"San Francisco?" Gerald's brow furrowed.
"What's wrong with San Francisco?" Elise asked, her tone softer since she knew Gerald was Roy's friend.
"The Bay Area's FEA branch is deeply tied to Amacham Corporation. Investigating there could get messy."
"Messy or not, we have to go. We can't let that succubus and Paxton keep hiding."
Paxton's actions had crippled the FEA's ability to use their clone troops, making FEAR's operations much harder.
For months, the FEA had relied on clone troops as cannon fodder before deploying FEAR, drastically reducing losses.
"Mr. Olin, contact FEA headquarters. I'll talk to the director myself. If he doesn't agree, I'll go to the White House. This needs to be resolved fast."
The director, of course, was the head of FEA headquarters.
Elise was determined to deal with the succubus and Paxton, her stance unwavering.
Gerald called New York. The FEA's director was reluctant to let Elise dig deeper. Over the past decade, the FEA had made too many shady deals with Amacham Corporation. Uncovering them could cause a major scandal.
But Elise was relentless, speaking to the director with near-commanding authority. "If you don't agree, I'll go to the White House. If they don't agree, I'll take the Shadow Hunters to the Bay Area myself."
That left the director with no choice. He tried to stall. "How about we hold a meeting at headquarters to discuss this?"
"Do I need to join that meeting? Maybe I can help root out a few bad apples."
That was a clear threat. Everyone had secrets, even Gerald. If Elise used her Divine Eye for an anti-corruption sweep, she'd catch everyone red-handed.
The director couldn't keep stonewalling, or the problem would become his own. "No need! It's just a small meeting. We'll have a decision by tomorrow."
Elise's expression softened slightly. She could wait one day. "Fine, I'll wait for your answer tomorrow. Don't let me down."
After hanging up, she turned to Gerald. "I'm heading to the Bay Area now."
Gerald blinked. "You're not waiting for the meeting's outcome?"
"No need. I'm worried someone might tip off the Bay Area. It's better to go now. Don't worry, I'll investigate first and act only after we get authorization."
Gerald nodded. That made sense. "I won't tell anyone where you're going, Ms. Elise."
"Guess which movie's plot comes next?"
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