Talia came out of Lana's shop more than shaken.

If she couldn't trust Professor Iakopo not to be a Cultist, she couldn't trust anyone. She had actually, genuinely thought that Professor Iakopo couldn't be a Cultist. Even now, her hunch told her that it was so unlikely as to be crazy.

But maybe it was because he had been close to her mother.

Maybe some part of Talia wanted to believe that her mother would have noticed if he was a monster and dealt with the man herself.

She found the same powder used by Akua to summon circles back in Solara in Iakopo's study. She had heard from Lana that Iakopo was solely responsible for the catastrophe. She had also remembered that Mano, the Secret Dealer she had met back in the Market, had mentioned that he wouldn't divulge anything about Professor Iakopo since the man would gut him if he ever found out.

That didn't sound like the honorable behavior of a Water Rider.

Plus, Talia had seen the man skulking around the Leviathan's Hall with her own eyes.

If this had been about anyone else, she would have considered it pretty damning evidence.

But because it was Professor Iakopo, she hesitated.

Why?

Is it really because of Mom?

Why am I refusing to believe it?

She returned to the dorms and looked up at the building, suddenly getting an idea. There was one person she could trust, actually.

* * *

Talia led Nami and Lilo down the narrow staircase to the dormitory's basement. At the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves facing a sturdy wooden door. In front of it stood a senior student.

As they approached, the student recognized them and bowed his head to Nami, and Lilo came into view.

"L-Lady Nami, Lady Lilo," he stammered, bowing his head slightly. "What brings you down here?"

Nami stepped forward, her eyes cool and appraising. "We need to speak with the prisoner."

The guard shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, but I have strict orders from Professor Iakopo. No one is to enter without his express permission."

Lilo moved to stand beside her sister, her usually cheerful demeanor replaced by a stern frown.

"And who gave you those orders? A professor or the heir to the Moana family?"

The guard's face paled slightly. "I... I understand your position, my ladies, but-"

"But nothing, cadet," Nami cut him off, her voice sharp. "What's your name?"

"Koa, my lady. Koa Moana."

Talia smirked.

She had asked around and found out that the guy guarding the crazy girl who had attacked Takai was actually part of the Moana Family.

So, she had brought the two sisters with her to put pressure on him.

Nami's eyes narrowed.

"Ah, from the West Deep branch, if I'm not mistaken. You and my cousin share the name. Tell me, Koa, how do you think your family would react if they knew you were refusing a direct request from the two heirs of the main family, the Chosen, and her Shield?"

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Koa swallowed hard, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"I... I don't mean any disrespect, but my orders-"

"Your orders," Lilo interjected, her voice uncharacteristically cold, "are ultimately from the Moana family. Or have you forgotten where your true loyalties lie?"

The guard's resolve was visibly crumbling. He glanced nervously between the sisters and the door behind him. "But Professor Iakopo..."

"Professor Iakopo is not here," Nami stated flatly. "We are. And we're telling you to step aside. No harm will befall the prisoner. We just need information on behalf of the family. Or have you grown into a traitor, too?"

Talia watched the exchange with a mixture of awe and discomfort.

She had known the Moana sisters were influential, but seeing them wield their family name like a weapon was something else entirely.

Koa looked about to protest again, but Lilo stepped closer.

"Let me make this very clear, Koa. This isn't a request. It's an order. And disobeying a direct order from the main family... well, you can imagine the consequences."

The guard's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I... I understand, my ladies. Please, go ahead." He stepped aside, fumbling with a key to unlock the door.

As the lock clicked open, Nami turned to Talia.

"After you," she said, gesturing towards the door.

Talia nodded, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open.

As she stepped into the dimly lit room beyond, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for the guard they had just strong-armed.

I didn’t know they had that in them, Talia frowned, thinking about Keanu's doubts about nobles.

But she pushed the feeling aside.

There were more important matters at hand.

Inside the room, seated on a simple cot with her hands still bound by mana-draining cuffs, was Lilinoe.

"Well," Lilinoe said, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "This should be interesting."

* * *

Twenty-Years Prior

When someone opened the door, Iakopo was rapping his knuckles on the desk he was sitting at, surveying the maps of Placid City in front of him.

He raised his eyes in a frown, only to dissolve the grumpy expression when he saw that it was Yalena.

“Hey,” she said. “News?”

“I’ve stationed seniors at the shipyard and beach and dispatched more to follow the first-year groups into the cave. But… there are so many holes in this Dungeon. How? How is this possible? And if there are so many holes and monsters, there should be even more monsters than the ones we see. This makes no sense.”

Yalena leaned against the doorframe. Her brow furrowed as she processed Iakopo's words.

"You're right," she said, standing beside him at the desk. "The numbers don't add up. There should be far more monsters, given the state of the Dungeon."

Iakopo nodded grimly. "Exactly. And that can only mean one thing."

Yalena's eyes widened. "Cultists?"

"I'm almost certain of it," Iakopo confirmed, his voice low and tense. "They must be controlling the monster population somehow, keeping them in check until..."

"Until what?" Yalena asked.

Iakopo stood up, pacing the small room.

"Until they're ready to unleash them all at once. Yalena, I think something is about to go very, very wrong here."

He turned to face her. Then, he walked back to the desk, pointing at various locations on the map.

"Look here and here. These are all potential weak points in the city's defenses—and it’s full of tunnels that go from the Dungeon right next to them. If the cultists have been manipulating the Dungeon's monster population, they could use these points to launch a coordinated attack on Placid City. It could have been a slaughter if we weren't present. The average level here is low."

Yalena's face paled slightly as she followed Iakopo's reasoning.

"So what do we do?”

“Let’s call back the students from the Dungeon. We’ll go there ourselves. We need to kill as many of the monsters as we can. I’ll leave the city for Hi'iaka. Lukaloa and Kainoa will survey the weak points. The rest of the Retinue will stay among the students and the civilians. If cultists are here, we can’t let them know we’re aware of their presence. That would only force their hand. Let's storm the cave as quickly as possible and capture them. We'll need to ask questions.”

"Agreed. But Iakopo... what if they’re here for the Dark Water Well?"

“Why's that important?” Iakopo frowned.

“Iakopo,” Yalena said with gritted teeth, going up to his desk and putting her hands on it. “We need the Dark Water Well. I have been studying everything—I need Dark Water for the ritual. It’s in the Kaimoro’s ancient texts—they were masters of Dark Water, and it was involved in the creation of the Nā ʻAlo Aliʻi. The ritual to unravel its existence requires Dark Water. It’s not something I can do without.”

“The safety of the civilians is the most important thing at the moment,” Iakopo frowned. “We’ll take care of the well once we’ve made sure no one’s going to die from this, Yalena. There could be Drakes inside the Placid Cave.”

“Iakopo! The entire archipelago might be destroyed if we don’t get to the well!”

“I know,” he said, slowly getting up and matching the intensity of her gaze. “Everything is arranged, anyway. Let’s go inside the cave and let’s exterminate all the monsters inside—we’ll look for the Dark Water Well, too. I promise.”

Yalena pushed herself away from the desk and nodded stiffly.

“Ok. Let’s go.”

But a dark cloud passed over the woman's eyes as she watched the man's back. She took up a seashell and spoke into it.

"You're coming with us to the Placid Cave. Get ready."