"H-Huh? W-Wait...the Yu family Domestic Law?" Yu Niao's eyes widened in shock and fear.

Yu An Xue appeared just as surprised, while the rest of us sat in confusion.

"Uh...if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the Yu family Domestic Law?" I asked cautiously. "And...why was it sealed away?"

Yu An Xue took a deep breath and answered my question. "It's a torture tactic that had been sealed away generations ago, due to it being too harsh."

"...Too harsh, even among torture tactics?"

She nodded. "I've never actually seen it myself, but...I've heard stories."

I pondered this for a moment, but eventually realized that if the patriarch himself wanted to use it, who am I to object? This was a decision they had to make themselves. I did what I can, the rest is up to them.

"H-Hey, you're joking, right? B-Brother, y-you won't actually use t-that monstrous technique on me, r-right?" Yu Niao had a hopeful look on his face, despite it being so disheveled and aged. Yu Niao, who had been laughing in mockery just moments ago, was now on the verge of begging his former brother.

"I do not go back on my words," the patriarch, Yu Ao, spoke calmly and quietly. But there was no mistaking the menace in his voice.

He opened his Space Locket once more and reached inside. What he pulled out, was a scroll. I'm guessing that was the Yu family Domestic Law they were talking about. But if it came out of the patriarch's Space Locket...was this locket something passed down from generation to generation, storing all the treasures obtained by past patriarchs? I had no way to find out.

He calmly opened the scroll, in contrast to his brother's horrified expression. By the looks of it, this Domestic Law of theirs was probably some kind of Magic Array, since it's in the form of a scroll, and not a book.

"Yu Family Domestic Law-" the patriarch began chanting the activation phrase, but was quickly interrupted.

"W-Wait! I'll talk! I-I'll tell you everything!" Yu Niao cried, on the verge of tears. It seemed that the Yu Family Domestic Law was indeed very frightening, enough to make such an egotistic man bend down and confess. Either way, our goal was achieved, though I have to admit I was a little regretful I wasn't able to witness the array.

"...Speak," the patriarch said threateningly, still not returning the scroll to where it came from.

Yu Niao took a couple deep breaths and calmed himself.

"The truth behind that massacre years ago..."

*****

- Weeks Before The Night of The Yu Family Massacre -

"...And you're sure that idiotic brother of yours is going to be away?" a masked man asked.

"Hahah, no worries there. I've made some...arrangements," an old and haughty voice responded. This voice belonged to Yu Niao, head elder of the Yu family and brother of the current Yu family patriarch, Yu Ao.

"Oho? Kekeke...let's hear them," the same masked man from before spoke once more, taking out a cigar from his breast pocket and lighting it easily with Fire Magic. He then placed it casually in his mouth and waited patiently for the other man's response.

"I organized some hooligans to attack one of our hunting outposts in the mountains on the other side of the city," Yu Niao said with an evil sneer. "Those guys...they'll do anything for a little money. Their leader is as strong as myself, if not stronger. "

"...Meaning the patriarch will have to head there himself to resolve the issue," the masked man finished, taking the cigar out of his mouth and blowing out. "Kekeke...nicely done."

"I thank you for your praise. Now then...I trust you will hold up your end of the agreement?"

The masked man gave a dark laughter. "But of course. You have assisted us so well, after all."

"Your words put me at ease. Shall we review the plan one last time?"

*****

- Present Time -

"...And? What is this plan you speak of?" the patriarch, Yu Ao, asked the former head elder and his own brother, now prisoner and enemy, before him. "Tell me...every last detail."

"...As you wish," Yu Niao agreed quietly. "That man's objective was a child. A child with exceptional talent for magic, the younger the better."

"Did he say why he needed one?" I interrupted, picking up on key information.

"...Yes, but only very briefly. He dodged my questions every time I asked him for information," Yu Niao responded obediently. "...He said it was for an experiment."

"...An experiment, huh..." I muttered to myself. Chances were, it was an experiment that involved selectively 'erasing' the child's memories and turning them into a human battle machine. It was a sickening idea...but a valiant one. "And he didn't say anything more, I presume?" I continued just to make sure.

"...Unfortunately, yes. That was all I was told."

"And what did that man offer you in return for you to help him at the cost of your own niece?" the patriarch inquired further, doing his best to keep his temper in check, probably.

"H-He said he would eliminate you for me..." Yu Niao murmured inaudibly. Or at least, that's what he hoped. We all heard it, thanks to the silence in the room.

"...But here I am, alive and well," Yu Ao concluded. "Simply put, you got double-crossed."

"Y-Yes..."

Yu Niao, the ingenious (and perhaps ingenuous, seeing as how he got cheated this hard) head elder, closed his eyes and reflected on that memory. I didn't feel any pity for him, however. In this world where the strong prey the weak, it was the victim's fault for getting tricked.

But all that is not important. What is important, is...

"Do you remember anything distinctive about that man?" I asked, switching the topic.

Indeed - It didn't matter if Yu Niao got tricked or not, we were questioning him in the first place to find out the identity of the person who had taken away Yu An Yan, and the man from Yu Niao's story was very likely to be that person, or could at least lead us to him.

"...Nothing that I can recall, no..." Yu Niao replied exasperatedly. "It was years ago, after all."

I sighed and rested my chin on my hand. "Think hard. How did the mask look? Did he have any strange tattoos or anything on him?" Wild guesses, but hopefully they could trigger something in his memory.

"The mask...was just pure black. And as for tattoos..." the old man chained to a cross went silent for a moment, then widened his eyes. "I-I remember now! When I pretended to fight him for appearance's sake, I grazed his arm, cutting away his sleeve. Underneath was a black tattoo with lots of swirls and looked...kind of like a dragon? I was too far away so I couldn't tell, but I remember being confused when I saw it."

I narrowed my eyes. A black dragon-like tattoo...why do I feel like I've seen that somewhere before...? And fairly recently too...

By chance, I glanced over at Feng Mian sitting across from me, and she seemed to have noticed something as well. Then it hit me. It was during Operation Freedom, or whatever she had called that mission to save her parents from that man from the Midnight Syndicate.

He had a design similar to Yu Niao's description imprinted on his left arm. I saw it very clearly after he used Demonification, which eliminated all clothes in the way. I had wondered what it was, but since time was urgent and he was about to destroy my illusion, I quickly forgot about the tattoo entirely. It wasn't until today that I finally remembered.

The man that had captured Feng Mian's parents was wearing a black mask too. Could it be...just a coincidence? Yeah...no. Like hell it was. That man had mentioned someone above him also in Shenzhen...perhaps...the two of them were connected somehow. No - they were DEFINITELY connected.

And after putting together all the different pieces of this massive puzzle, that leads to my conclusion.

The tattoos were a symbol, a sign of a certain organization.

That's right...

...It was The Midnight Syndicate, once more.