Frustration pulsed through Morgen's veins, a dark counterpoint to the flickering flames in his cavernous throne room. A crumpled report lay at his feet, the ink smudged with his own disgruntled grip. Another dead end in the search for Viscount Bernard.

"Still nothing?" Amy's voice echoed in the chamber, sharp yet laced with concern.

Morgen scowled, the familiar weight of paranoia settling in his gut. It had been years since he'd wrestled power from Bernard in a bloody coup. He'd assumed the man would launch a flashy counter-attack, a desperate bid to reclaim his position at the head of Dark Covenant. Yet, Bernard had vanished, a ghost haunting the fringes of the city.

"Not a whisper, not a trace," Morgen muttered, his voice laced with bitterness. "The viper is hiding, waiting for the opportune moment to strike."

A flicker of unease crossed Amy's eyes. Bernard, once his mentor, was a master of subterfuge. His silence spoke volumes; it whispered of calculated plans and simmering rage. Reconciliation was a distant dream, a naive thought Morgen had long discarded. This was a fight to the bitter end, a battle where only one leader would remain.

"We can't keep throwing people blindly into the dark," Amy argued, his voice a low rumble. "It stretches us thin, weakens our defenses."

Morgen knew she was right. Mobilizing too many in search of a phantom would expose their vulnerabilities, a fact Bernard wouldn't hesitate to exploit. Yet, the thought of Bernard lurking in the shadows, plotting his demise, gnawed at him.

"Then what do we do?" he rasped, the tension pulling at his voice. "Leave him be, hoping his venom doesn't find us?"

Amy's gaze narrowed. "No. We keep searching discreetly, a few trusted shadows sent into the unknown. But we also tighten our defenses, here and everywhere else. Bernard might be a serpent, but he won't strike unless he sees an opening."

Morgen considered her words, the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. He couldn't afford to be paralyzed by fear. He had to be a lion, strong and vigilant, protecting his den from the slithering threat.

"Very well," he finally said, a steely resolve entering his voice. "We double down on security, make Dark Covenant an impenetrable fortress. And we continue the hunt, a whisper against a whisper in the darkness."

A ghost of a smile played on Amy's lips. "Now you sound like the leader of Dark Covenant, Morgen. We fight fire with… shadows, in this case."

Morgen nodded, a sense of grim determination washing over him. Finding Bernard wouldn't be easy, but he wouldn't rest until the serpent in the shadows was exposed, its fangs removed.

A hollowness gnawed at Amy's gut as he stared at the report. Another dead end. Each fruitless search for Bernard felt like a silent victory for his former mentor. It was a bitter truth – in a straight-up brawl, Bernard would crush Morgen and his allies.

"This can't go on," Amy muttered beside him, his eyes reflecting the same gnawing fear. "If he gathers enough strength, we won't stand a chance."

Morgen slammed his fist against the armrest of his obsidian throne. "We can't allow that," he growled, a desperate edge creeping into his voice. He needed allies, a bulwark against the coming storm. His own pride, the bravado he'd cultivated to mask his vulnerability, almost choked him.

A glint of understanding flickered in Amy's crimson eyes. "Joe."

Morgen winced. Joe, the enigmatic owner of Green City, had been a surprise visitor. Working with him felt like a precarious dance with a viper, but the offer of cooperation had been too tempting to refuse.

"He needs the stolen scroll Bernard took," Morgen admitted, his voice laced with a grudging respect. "And Bernard is a threat to his dominion as well. Maybe... maybe we can turn the tables."

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A slow smile spread across Amy's face. "We use his resources to find Bernard, weaken him before he can fully consolidate his power. And then…" he trailed off, a glint of predatory cunning in his eyes.

Morgen understood the unspoken sentiment. They wouldn't simply point Joe at Bernard and hope for the best. They would control the narrative, manipulate the hunt, ensure Bernard was exposed and weakened while maintaining their own strength.

"It's a gamble," Morgen said, his voice still laced with trepidation. "Joe isn't stupid. He might see through us."

"A calculated gamble," Amy countered. "He might suspect our motives, but the threat of Bernard will be undeniable. And besides," she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a low purr, "we're better at playing the shadows than Joe will ever be."

A grim determination settled over Morgen. Bernard may have been a formidable opponent, but he wasn't the only player in this game. Morgen wouldn't crumble under the weight of fear. He'd use Joe, manipulate the situation, and forge an unlikely alliance to his advantage. He wouldn't just survive; he'd turn Bernard's own tactics against him, dismantling the viper's nest before it could strike.

A ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Alright, Amy," he said, a cold glint in his eyes. "Let's play a game of shadows, shall we? And this time, we ensure the viper gets caught in the web.”

The silence in Morgen's throne room was thick with the weight of strategy. Morgen and Amy huddled over a map of Green City, their faces grim as they traced potential paths with flickering candlelight.

"Finding him," Morgen growled, tracing a fingertip along the labyrinthine alleys, "that's the first hurdle." His voice betrayed a gnawing frustration. Bernard, a master of subterfuge, would be buried deep within the city's underbelly, a ghost in the shadows.

"And not just any pair of eyes can find him," Amy added, his voice laced with concern. "Bernard's sharp. Any scout we send could be spotted long before they catch a glimpse of him."

They needed a solution, a way to pierce the veil of Bernard's carefully constructed hiding place. Morgen slammed his fist on the map, scattering the wax of a fallen candle. "Damn it," he cursed.

"There's another problem," Amy continued, his voice regaining its usual composure. "Even if we find him… a straight fight is a gamble."

Morgen met her gaze, the unspoken truth hanging heavy in the air. He was nowhere near Bernard's level in terms of raw power. Even with his most trusted allies at his side, a head-on confrontation was a recipe for disaster.

"Four beta-level individuals, that's what's needed to overpower him," Morgen muttered, counting on his fingers. He could muster a few strong allies, but finding enough to guarantee victory felt like an impossible feat.

"There's Joe," Amy continued, his voice dropping to a murmur. "He's a gamma-level powerhouse. He could probably handle Bernard in a one-on-one fight."

Morgen grimaced. The thought of relying on Joe, the enigmatic owner of Green City, rankled him. But the logic was undeniable. Joe wanted Bernard gone as much as they did.

"Then let him," Amy purred, his eyes gleaming with a predatory amusement. "We find Bernard, lure him out, and Joe swoops in for the kill.”

Morgen prefers not to involve Joe in Bernard's arrest unless absolutely necessary. Once Joe is involved, Morgen won't have an opportunity to encounter Twelve Magic Scrolls, let alone capture Twelve Magic Scrolls.

Morgen tapped his finger against the map. "But what if Bernard escapes? With a teleport scroll, even Joe can't stop him."

Amy's smile stretched into a cunning grin. "That's where the 'fun' part comes in, Morgen. We don't let him escape. We find a way to neutralize his magic, a little… counter-spell surprise."

A thrill shot through Morgen. He hadn't considered a magical counter-measure. If they could neutralize Bernard's power, even for a moment, Joe could overpower him. The capture wouldn't be clean, wouldn't be a straightforward victory, but it would be effective.

The clarity of the plan to apprehend Bernard has evolved over time, and our primary focus now is to locate his hiding place. Success in finding Bernard is crucial for Morgen to execute the remaining two arrest strategies.

A flicker of morbid amusement danced in Morgen's eyes as he stared at the map spread across the table.Locating Bernard, the ever-elusive serpent, was the first hurdle, and perhaps the easiest, thanks to a recent turn of events.

"With Joe on board," Morgen said, his voice dripping with a cold satisfaction, "we can finally put Frey's little project to good use."

Amy, perched on the armrest of his obsidian throne, raised an eyebrow. "Frey's… shadow reconnaissance team?"

Morgen chuckled, a sound devoid of humor. "Indeed. Fifty silent, deadly vampires, trained for one purpose – to navigate the darkest corners of the city unseen, unheard." He tapped the map with a sharp fingernail. "Bernard may be a cunning viper, but even the most cunning serpent can't hide from the shadows themselves."

A slow smile crept across Amy's face. Frey, Morgen's second-in-command, had always been a stickler for discipline and meticulous planning. This vampire reconnaissance team had been his brainchild, initially met with mixed reactions within the Covenant.