The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: A Disturbing Discovery

Three Years Later

As time passed, the Eclipse Order continued to grow.

Day by day, Vhan and Vince brought back people they had encountered during their missions. Some came from other towns, some had been sold into slavery, while others had simply been abandoned after losing everything they had. There were even those who had been left on the verge of death, with nowhere else to go.

Of course, we did not accept everyone.

Talent was the first requirement.

Age was another.

I had no interest in building an organization filled with adults who had already developed their own loyalties and ways of thinking. I wanted people who could grow alongside the Eclipse and eventually become its true pillars.

Three years passed in this manner.

By the time I turned twelve, the Eclipse Order had grown far beyond what I had originally imagined.

After the Four Black Roses, seven young women emerged whose talents were even greater than those of the ordinary members. Their abilities and compatibility with the Eclipse were extraordinary, so I gave them a position of their own.

The Seven Crowns.

They became responsible for overseeing the members beneath them, managing training schedules, distributing assignments, supervising expeditions, and reporting anything unusual directly to the Four Black Roses. They also handled the internal affairs of the organization whenever Vhan and Vince were away.

Then there were the next ten.

The Reapers.

Unlike the Seven Crowns, they did not possess a single unified fighting style. Each had developed a different ability and preferred a different weapon, ranging from swords and spears to bows, scythes, and other specialized weapons.

Their purpose was simple.

They were the ones sent whenever a mission required someone capable of dealing with a difficult target alone.

With them included, the Eclipse Order had grown to more than fifty members.

And surprisingly, everything was running smoothly.

The members trained regularly, carried out their assignments, gathered information, hunted monsters, and supplied the organization with materials. The stronger members also began teaching the newer recruits, allowing the organization to continue expanding without requiring my constant supervision.

As for our funds, we had developed several methods of obtaining them.

Monster materials were the most legitimate source, but they were hardly enough to support an organization of this size. Whenever we encountered bandits, however, their accumulated wealth conveniently found its way into our treasury.

The same occasionally happened with corrupt nobles who had acquired their wealth through less-than-honorable means.

Naturally, I considered such money to be an appropriate contribution to the Eclipse.

Because of that, the headquarters had changed considerably.

What had once been nothing more than a small hidden base deep within the mountains had gradually become a spacious underground complex. Training grounds had been constructed, storage rooms filled with weapons and materials had been added, and separate living quarters had been prepared for the members.

It was beginning to look less like a hideout and more like an actual organization.

Which, honestly, was exactly what I wanted.

The only problem was that I was about to leave.

Vhan and Vince would be accompanying me to the capital.

The Four Black Roses would remain behind and take overall command of the organization. The Seven Crowns would assist them by managing the day-to-day affairs, while the Reapers and the other members continued carrying out their assigned missions.

It was not that I was worried about leaving them behind.

If anything, I was confident that they could handle things perfectly well without me.

The capital was simply very far from our territory.

If something happened while I was there, I would not be able to return immediately.

Therefore, before leaving, I made sure the chain of command was clear.

The Four Black Roses would lead.

The Seven Crowns would support them.

The Reapers would handle difficult missions.

And everyone else would continue doing what they had already been doing.

With that arrangement in place, there was no reason for me to worry about the Eclipse Order.

Besides...

I was going to the capital.

That alone was enough to make me curious.

I had spent the last three years building an organization in the shadows while living as the son of Count D’Averon.

Now I was finally going somewhere where I could observe a much larger world.

Perhaps I would find something interesting there.

Or perhaps I would find someone interesting.

Either way, I had a feeling that my life in the capital was going to be considerably more entertaining than my life here.

The Eclipse Headquarters

By then, the headquarters had become considerably different from the place we had first established.

The deeper part of the mountain had been transformed into a proper base. Training grounds occupied several open areas, while underground chambers had been carved into the rock for storage, meetings, research, and other activities that were better kept away from outsiders.

Even now, the headquarters was far from quiet.

The sound of swords occasionally echoed from the training grounds. Some members were sparring, while others were discussing assignments, examining maps, or preparing for their next missions.

The organization had grown considerably over the past three years.

But this meeting was different.

Only the higher-ranking members had been summoned.

Inside the main chamber, a large circular table occupied the center of the room.

Four women sat at the front.

Aurora.

Herrera.

Octavia.

Leonora.

The Four Black Roses.

Behind them stood Vhan and Vince, the two brothers who had been with the organization since its earliest days.

At the center, sitting quietly in his chair, was Ares.

The Eclipse.

There were only six of the Seven Crowns present today.

Samantha was currently away with two of the Reapers on an important investigation, leaving the remaining six to attend the meeting.

Five members of the Ten Reapers were also present. The other five were scattered across different territories carrying out their assignments.

Among those present were two men and two women standing behind the Crowns, waiting silently for the discussion to begin.

The hierarchy of the Eclipse was clear.

The Four Black Roses stood at the highest position beneath Ares, followed by the Seven Crowns and the Ten Reapers.

Yet rank was not the only reason the others respected them.

Every one of them had witnessed what those positions represented.

The Four Black Roses were the first.

The Seven Crowns were the strongest members who had followed.

The Ten Reapers were those trusted with some of the organization’s most dangerous tasks.

To the lower-ranked members, the Black Roses and Crowns were not simply commanders.

They were people worthy of respect.

"Lady Aurora."

One of the Reapers stepped forward and placed a bundle of documents onto the table.

"We have received a report from the western sector."

Aurora looked at the documents.

"Go on."

The Reaper opened the first report.

"Several days ago, one of our members discovered an abandoned building beneath an isolated settlement. There was nothing unusual about the building itself. However, while searching the basement, they discovered a concealed passage."

Herrera’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"A concealed passage?"

"Yes, Lady Herrera."

The Reaper placed a rough map onto the table.

"The passage led underground. At first, they believed it was simply an old storage chamber. There were no guards, no living occupants, and no obvious signs that the place was still being used."

Octavia leaned forward.

"And then?"

"We found remains."

The atmosphere in the room changed.

"Human bones," the Reaper continued. "Several sets. Some were badly deteriorated, while others appeared to be considerably more recent."

Leonora’s expression hardened.

"How many?"

"We cannot give an exact number yet. Some of the remains were incomplete."

She glanced toward the others.

"That alone doesn’t prove experimentation."

"No," Aurora replied calmly. "But the rest of the evidence does."

She picked up another document.

"What else did you find?"

The Reaper hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Equipment."

"What kind?"

"Restraints. Metal tables. Several containers. Some appear to have been designed to hold living subjects."

Octavia’s fingers stopped against the table.

"Living subjects?"

"That is what we believe."

Another document was placed beside the first.

"There were also remains belonging to monsters."

Herrera looked at the report.

"Monster remains?"

"Several different species. Some had been dissected. Others appeared to have been subjected to some form of magical examination."

Leonora’s eyes moved across the diagrams.

"And the demons?"

"We found several unidentified corpses. The remains have similarities to demonic creatures, but we have not yet determined their exact classification."

Silence settled over the room.

This was no longer a simple abandoned basement.

It was a place where someone had gathered humans, monsters, and demons.

And whatever they had been doing there, they had not wanted anyone to find out.

One of the Seven Crowns finally spoke.

"Did you find records?"

"Very little, Lady Celeste."

The Reaper placed several fragments of paper on the table.

"Most of the documents had been destroyed. Some were burned, while others had been deliberately damaged. However, we recovered fragments containing several repeated terms."

Celeste picked one up.

"Mana compatibility."

She looked at another.

"Physical adaptation."

Her expression became colder.

"And... subject rejection."

Herrera glanced at her.

"That sounds less like research and more like experimentation."

"Agreed."

Aurora folded her hands.

"But we still don’t know what they were attempting to achieve."

"Could it have been an attempt to create enhanced soldiers?" one of the Crowns suggested.

"Possible," Leonora replied. "But if that were the purpose, there should have been more evidence concerning combat enhancement."

She pointed toward the recovered documents.

"There isn’t enough information here."

Another Crown spoke.

"Then perhaps the monsters were being used as magical components."

Octavia shook her head.

"That doesn’t explain the human remains."

"No."

The discussion continued.

Each possibility was examined, questioned, and discarded or kept depending on the evidence.

No one rushed to a conclusion.

That was one of the reasons the organization had survived.

Strength was important.

Information was more important.

And understanding what they did not know was perhaps the most important thing of all.

Vhan remained silent behind the Black Roses, his arms folded.

Vince stood beside him, watching the documents carefully.

Neither brother interrupted.

They had long since learned that meetings like this were not the place to speak simply for the sake of speaking.

Outside, the sound of swords striking against one another echoed through the walls.

Inside, the discussion continued.

"How old is the facility?" Celeste asked.

"We don’t know."

"Any recent footprints?"

"Yes. But they were difficult to distinguish from the older ones."

"Then someone may have returned after the facility was abandoned."

"That is one possibility."

"Or," Herrera added, "the people responsible never truly left."

That possibility caused several members to fall silent.

Aurora slowly looked around the table.

"Either way, we shouldn’t assume the facility is the entire operation."

Celeste nodded.

"Agreed. A hidden basement containing remains and damaged records is unlikely to be the main facility. It may have been nothing more than a temporary site."

"Which means there could be others."

Octavia’s voice was quiet.

"And if there are others, we need to find them before whoever is responsible realizes we’ve discovered this one."

No one disagreed.

The room became silent again.

At the center of the table, Ares continued to listen without saying a word.

He had no need to dominate the conversation.

The people sitting around the table were already capable of handling most of the organization’s affairs themselves.

That was exactly why he had created them.

He had given them power.

Then he had given them responsibility.

Now they were learning how to use both.

Aurora finally closed the report.

"For now, the western sector will remain under observation."

She looked toward the Reaper.

"Do not investigate alone. Continue gathering information from a distance. If you discover another facility, report it immediately."

"Understood, Lady Aurora."

"Celeste."

The Crown looked up.

"Yes?"

"Send a letter to Samantha and the Reapers assigned to the investigation will continue analyzing the recovered material. If you discover evidence that connects this facility to another organization or location, inform the Black Roses immediately."

"Understood."

Aurora nodded.

"And until we know more, nobody outside the upper ranks needs to know the details."

The Reaper bowed.

"Yes, Lady Aurora."

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