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-- Isabella pov --

So this entire fight is just Alan being an idiot and Joseph not having the influence to fight back because his brother is undermining him. it can all be summed up as boys being boys if I am honest but there is something else here. small and mostly unnoticeable but the fact that Alan is convinced Joseph poisoned him leading to him falling and crippling himself, but immediately after he could still use his powers it was only in the moment leads me to believe that it wasn't Joseph. that and Joseph had no reason to go after Alan since he was one of his greatest allies versus his brother for the lord position.

My speculation is it was the human somehow setting it all up and then using the dispute to regain control over the dark moon for Shea. but if I am honest I don't see why he would unless she has something on him, admittedly I don't know much of how he did it but he pulled it off showing a level of skill that could have gotten him employed just about anywhere. which is why I am looking forward to meeting him, what else is he capable of?

If he is a threat I can always use voodoo to quietly get rid of him but if there is something to gain from him I can employ him. depends on how useful he is decides where I employ him though, if it's small-time skills and luck then just with Obsidian so he will be pleased with my trip to the dark moon. if he's a bit more than that and is middle-tier then I can bring him to blood fall to try to get an opportunity to get revenge. if he's highly skilled then I can always have him work with me for my revenge directly so I can avenge my family before this curse kills me.

After having my people in the dark moon give me a report on Nova I have realized he is at least demon king level. he was given the position of mining officer and then shortly after Joseph lost connection to the mine and started a fight with his brother over who's people in the mine screwed up and I don't even think they know it has been cleared out. but my people have told me Shea sent a few troops to enforce the mine as if it was already clear of bandits and to secure the trade route in the west. this means he went there and cleared out the bandits, it was also said Athena went with him showing they most likely have a good relationship and she helped. but last I heard she just reached higher demon and should have been of much use so my idea is Nova is around demon king or at least high tier higher demon. all this is backed up by the fact he was spotted back in the dark moon already and opening up some businesses, which shows that he is trying to gather funds. if I can find out what it is he wants maybe I can provide it instead of Shea and he will work for my benefit.

After trying the food at his bakery I decide even if he won't work for me to help with my revenge I have to get him to my side just for his food. as of now, I have no clue where he is but after looking into I am aware he owns most of this district where he has opened his businesses and there is a large storage building that was once owned by a gang he busted. this gang had ties with blue lava and trafficked demons into slavery and was likely the way they found out about the Mellon family and began their plan to take out one of the leading families in the dark moon. but this building is shut down, for the most part, the only thing I have heard from anyone about it is shortly after it was seized a forge was delivered. other than that nothing, but when I was in the bakery I couldn't help but notice the tools they used through the door into the kitchen and most are foreign looking which made a connection for me that it was likely made by the human. so a forge was set up after the building was taken and then foreign equipment is supplied to his business. if I couldn't figure it out then I wouldn't be me so now I am standing outside the building after knocking and the sounds of hammering stopped.

After waiting for a good while the door is opened and Infront of me stands a tallish well-built male who has dark hair. he seems to have quickly cleaned himself but left some smudges on the side of his face. he looks around seeming to look for anyone else then looks back at me.

"Hello, can I help you with something?" I unleash a bit of my spirit power to check him and feel a bit of power around the higher demon level. either he is good at hiding his power or there is something else going on. giving a smile I begin to introduce myself even though I am sure he knows who I am, which only strengthens my belief in him being stronger than he lets on since he is not scared in the slightest.

"Hello my name is Isabella and I was looking into the recent events involving the finical minister's son and his unfortunate accident. Legu himself wanted to come and find the root cause since his son is very vocal about it being some kind of conspiracy to cripple him and I volunteered to come so Legu's busy schedule wouldn't be interrupted." he listens patiently as he leans on the door frame then holds out his hand.

"Nova, but I guess you knew that if you are here so would you like to come in and ask any questions you might have?" I look at his hand and he looks down at my side where mine is I slowly lift mine and he shakes it. quickly pulling back I scowl a bit I didn't feel him try anything but I don't want any male to touch me. he looks at me like I am the one acting weird but I quickly agree to talk inside since it wouldn't do to just stand in the doorway and chat.

-- Nova pov --

The look Isabella just gave me could kill me if I wasn't expecting such a response from casually shaking her hand. I had my hand covered in worthless and it seems she didn't notice which is a bit surprising, I am waiting for the level where people can feel my foreign magic at a first glance. it doesn't seem to be demon emperor but that could just be a lack of skill on Isabella's side so I will just keep it in mind. as we enter the room I have prepared I grab a pitcher of water and pour myself and her a drink before downing half of it an sitting in my spot. she looks around the room but doesn't see anything and chooses to sit Infront of me.

"So what kind of questions do you have for me?" the more casual I act the more I throw off the dynamic which is what I am hoping for and when she isn't expecting it I will spring my plan of recruiting on her. I hope this works since my chair is set up to teleport me out once I give it a command, should I get worried I will pull the pin and teleport out while the traps spring on her. nothing fatal will befall her but she should be incapacitated at the very least is the plan. it could all go down the drain if she also has a way to teleport out of the room before it springs on her.

"I would just like to hear your side of the story, one moment a sky battle on wyverns is going on, and then the next Alan is depowered and falling without any way to save himself. it almost looks like someone was trying to kill him."

"Oh I see, I guess I could just tell you the story from what I was able to observe." she nods and I begin to retell the story she just sits quietly listing, and doesn't interrupt likely looking for something to pick out. after finishing the story she asks some questions regarding some inconsistencies she has from the multiple viewpoints she has heard the story from.

"So you didn't see Joseph give Alan any kind of drug before the match?"

"I was more focused on dealing with my wyvern and didn't pay any attention to them." she nods and we sit in silence for a minute before she starts asking new questions.

"So I heard that you were assigned the position of mining officer, it's a pretty important job for Shea to appoint a human too."

"Yea I went to the mines to check it out and find out the situation since no new reports were coming in and to my surprise, the communication tower was destroyed but the bandits had been cleared out and the workers were getting back to work." she raises an eyebrow but before she can start to pick apart what I said I continue. "I came back to inform Shea and she sent some people to construct a new tower and also begin shipping the ore back to the dark moon."

"So the mine that has been overrun with bandits for years is all of a sudden empty upon your arrival?" I nod and smile, she seems a bit exasperated and rubs her temple. "and you have no idea how the mine got emptied or why the bandits decided to leave?" and here I am tempted to just rip the band-aid off and open up the conversation up to what I want to get to. I could simply play dumb and say I don't know but for some reason, I am tempted to just say it was me. given in truth it was Athena and Dodo for the most part but it was me in the grand scheme of things.

And for a moment with us just staring at each other I realize it doesn't matter if I say the truth. the truth could only really help me in the situation, Isabella despises males because one human male tricked her and stole her family artifact which got her family killed and he left her for dead with a curse. so saying the truth could be the start of changing her opinion of me in a way, it could also make her view me as a threat and try to kill me now but I set this trap for a reason. I have no intention of letting her leave without my evil piece since she is too much of a wild card. she doesn't truly work for anyone and only lives for revenge with nothing to lose only biding her time to strike. she is way too much of a wild card to let her scheme and plan and even if she doesn't know how much of a threat I am she would likely try to kill me one way or another and if it didn't work she might get Obsidian involved.

In the best-case scenario, she views me as a threat and uses voodoo on me like she did Chen Rui and I just worthless it and go about my business. but then she will know something is up and try something else. the worse case she goes to Obsidian with the info that I am a threat and trying to build the dark moon up and he makes a play to snuff out what I got going. so at the end of the day, I can't let her leave without reincarnating her, I would prefer if it is by her own choice but I can always make it up to her after the fact if I have to force it upon her. I mean she has very little time left to live and is in pain from a curse and filled with hate, it wouldn't be hard to improve her current life and make her happy. I just wish I had more time to lay out the groundwork.