Awakening The Only SSS-Rank Class! Now Even Dragons Obey Me Chapter 732: The Spy

Chaos continued to engulf the guild in flames.

Shouts, battles, and booming skill impacts resounded from all directions, yet right in the heart of this turmoil, Daniel stood with Varnos and Lana, hunting for the infiltrator.

From questioning that individual, he had extracted certain details, though far from sufficient. One fact stood confirmed: a toxin sparked this inner turmoil.

This toxin's source matched the one that afflicted him and Varnos. Thus, the maker was identical, clearly pointing to a ploy by the Goblin Guild.

Yet why? What drove the Goblin Guild to such tactics?

Daniel harbored several hypotheses, but none solid enough for certainty. More time was needed to ponder.

Regardless, his priority now was locating the spy and their poisoning method—and fast. Failure meant the guild's implosion from inside.

He drew in a deep breath.

"I have to find them..."

A subtle energy stream emanated from him. Not for offense or protection... but for perception.

He commenced the scan.

Systematically, he probed the energy signatures of each Awakened.

With the toxin impairing him, this was his limit currently. Absent this cursed poison, he could have pinpointed the spy instantly.

He delved further, scrutinizing their auras, their mana, the very spots where he had detected the taint in that prior victim.

Yet penetration proved challenging. Depth eluded him.

Initially, nothing appeared.

But surrender wasn't his style. Persistence revealed anomalies.

And suddenly...

His gaze sharpened.

"...There it is."

A barely perceptible ripple.

Imperceptible without his prior encounter.

Like a blemish, seamlessly merging with the ambient flow.

A minute impurity... alien to normal states.

His thoughts raced to analyze.

First... second... third...

A pattern emerged.

One shared trait among them.

A connection they ought not possess.

Daniel's eyes widened a fraction.

"Mr. Varnos."

Without glancing back, he addressed him.

His tone steady, yet grave.

The guild master, mid-command, shifted his attention.

"What is it?"

Daniel spoke forthrightly.

"They... weren’t infected through direct contact."

Silence briefly enveloped them.

Their minds parsed his revelation, then furrowed brows followed comprehension.

Not direct touch... then how?

"Then how?" Lana pressed urgently.

Daniel extended his arm, indicating an Awakened still clinging to control.

"That one... and the rest... they share a common element."

"What?"

Now meeting their stares directly, Daniel declared.

"Talisman."

Several seconds of hush.

Then incredulity rippled through.

"What?!" Lana exclaimed, stunned.

"The communication talismans... they’re spreading the poison."

The air turned frigid.

Varnos's brow creased.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Daniel affirmed instantly. "The energy trace lingers within... identical contamination. Faint, yet unmistakable."

A weighty quiet descended.

Varnos pivoted sharply to an officer.

"Who handled the new talisman distribution?"

Post-war outbreak, fresh talismans had gone to Awakened—battle-hardened variants resistant to mana floods.

Standard ones faltered under dense mana barrages; these endured.

And upon reflection... the mayhem ignited precisely then.

"Support and medical division..." the officer hesitated, then replied.

Varnos's eyes narrowed.

"Name."

"...Aria Solis."

Lana's breath hitched.

"No..."

Her words quivered.

"That’s impossible..."

Aria Solis.

The guild's renowned healer.

Savior of countless lives.

Celebrated among Awakened as the "Hand of Salvation of Everlight Moon."

"Bring her to the interrogation sector," Varnos ordered, expression unaltered.

Execution was swift. They too proceeded there.

Aria occupied a seat.

Her wrists bound lightly. She remained a guildmate, merely suspected. Error here would prove grave.

Her complexion drained.

Upon Daniel, Varnos, and Lana's entry, she bowed her head.

Moments of stillness.

Then—

Tears erupted from her.

Not subdued. Utterly shattered.

"...I didn’t want to."

Her voice fractured.

"I... I didn’t want this to happen..."

Guilt sealed it.

Daniel sighed. No denial meant no true traitor.

Coercion had gripped her.

"So why did you do it?!" Lana advanced.

Aria lifted her face.

"They... they took my family..."

Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"They said if I didn’t cooperate... they would kill them... in front of me..."

Her tone shook.

"I... had no choice..."

Tension thickened.

Varnos held silent briefly.

Then advanced measuredly.

"Don’t worry."

His voice gentled.

Such betrayal under his vigilance?

What leader allowed this?

Protecting members was his charge; he had faltered.

"Your family... is safe."

"W-What...?" Aria gasped, eyes bulging.

She braced for fury, for yells.

None came.

"We’ll protect them," Varnos pressed on.

"I’ve dealt with situations like this before."

His look wandered momentarily, haunted by old shadows.

Aria wept fiercer, frame quaking.

Right or wrong paths blurred.

Lana approached. Firm, anger ebbed.

"Stop the poison."

"Undo whatever you did."

"And don’t worry about your family."

"I-I’m sorry... I... I’m really sorry..." Aria sobbed deeper.

Betrayal? Unthinkable. The guild was her haven, her kin.

Each act ripped her soul asunder.

No alternative. Family hung in balance.

Yet now... atonement with her life.

At that moment, Daniel’s eyes sharpened.

A known sensation.

Identical vibe.

"...Step back." His tone hardened abruptly. Lana and Varnos turned.

"What—?"

"Now!"

Instantly, Aria convulsed.

Her eyes blackened wholly.

Then, detonation.

Dark power erupted. Corrupt surge swept the chamber. Bystanders hurled aside.

Left behind... mangled remnants of her form.

Simultaneously, Varnos's comm buzzed.

"Leader!"

"Report from across the guild—"

"The infected... have returned to normal!"

Varnos exhaled heavily.

A breath laced with rage.

Lana ground her teeth.

"Damn bastards..."

Aria's self-sacrifice neutralized the toxin.

Relief barely dawned when a thunderous blast roared.

The earth quivered.

Then an officer, ashen-faced, bellowed:

"Celestial Aegis... has been destroyed!"