The Paralyzed Man's Revenge

Seeking Allies Among Enemies

“He’s not a threat, Kai. He’s an investment,” Arthur replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

“An investment? You want to recruit a cop?” Kai asked, incredulous.

“This world doesn’t only need swords, Kai. It also needs a clean shield. Fiona will be our eyes inside their system. She’ll see the rot we can’t reach from the shadows,” Arthur explained.

“But she hates your methods. She called you a monster,” Kai shot back.

Arthur gave a faint smile, one laced with bitterness. “That’s true. And she isn’t wrong. But it takes a monster to hunt the real monsters. She’ll realize that, sooner or later.”

“The system reports an increase in Vengeance Points from your interaction with her, sir. But there’s something strange. There’s a fluctuation in Fear Points,” Kai reported.

“What does that mean?” Arthur asked.

“She’s afraid, that’s certain. But there’s also respect there. An acknowledgment of your power. The system classifies this as a ‘Vassal Potential’ anomaly,” Kai explained.

Arthur fell silent. He turned off his monitor, letting the van’s cabin sink into darkness. Vassal potential? An honest detective working for Sovereign?

“Focus on Alistair,” Arthur said at last. “He must be mobilizing everything now that he knows I’m still alive.”

“Yes, sir. ‘The Hounds’ have begun moving. They’re sweeping the harbor and the train stations. Alistair is truly panicking,” Kai replied.

“Let him panic. Fear is the finest seasoning for his downfall,” Arthur murmured.

Meanwhile, Fiona had reached her patrol car. She sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel tightly. She took out her personal phone and searched for the name “Eleanor McAlister.”

The results appeared instantly. A photo of a beautiful woman with a gentle smile, starkly at odds with the dark world Fiona had just stepped into. Beneath it read: Eleanor McAlister, Philanthropist and Founder of the Highland Education Foundation, Deceased due to Heart Failure.

“Heart failure… or murder?” Fiona whispered.

She closed her phone. Arthur’s offer of evidence echoed in her mind. She knew that if she followed this path, she would betray her badge. But if she didn’t, she would betray the truth she had always fought for.

“I’m not your hero, Fiona. I’m the storm that will cleanse this city.” Arthur’s words rang again in her ears.

Fiona started the engine and drove away from Loch Lomond. In the rearview mirror, she saw the fog slowly swallowing the road behind her, as if hiding the secret she had just uncovered from the world.

That night, at Edinburgh Police Headquarters, Fiona didn’t go home right away. She entered the digital archives room, using her personal access code to open Eleanor McAlister’s old case.

“Locked,” Fiona muttered when she saw the red padlock icon on the screen. “High-level authority only? Alistair, you’ve sealed this door tight.”

Suddenly, a message window appeared on her screen automatically.

Want the key, Detective?

Fiona held her breath. She glanced around, making sure no one else was in the archive room. Then she looked back at the screen.

Who is this? she typed, her hands trembling.

Someone who wants to help an honest detective do her job. Check the ‘Unsorted’ folder on your D drive.

Fiona quickly opened the folder. Inside was a large video file named Glencoe Truth.mp4. She clicked it, her heart pounding.

The video began to play. It was dashcam footage from a car parked on the roadside in Glencoe on the night of Eleanor’s death. It showed Alistair and Evelyn speaking with a man in medical attire, handing over a small bottle filled with a clear liquid.

“Make sure this goes into Eleanor’s daily IV. No traces,” Alistair’s voice came through clearly in the recording.

Fiona covered her mouth with her hand, tears welling in her eyes. This was no longer suspicion. This was proof of premeditated murder.

“Why are you giving me this, Arthur?” Fiona whispered to the monitor, now blank after the message vanished automatically.

She knew the answer. Arthur didn’t want her to simply be a cop. He wanted her as an ally. An ally forced to cooperate in the name of justice long denied.

Fiona copied the file onto her personal flash drive and erased her access trail from the office computer. She walked out of the police building with a heavy heart. The Edinburgh sky was beginning to glow with dawn, but for her, the darkness had only just begun.

On a hill overlooking the city, Arthur stood in silence, watching the city lights flicker out one by one. Beside him, Duncan stood with a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder.

“Are you sure she’ll use it, Young Master?” Duncan asked.

“She has no other choice, Duncan. She’s a good person. And good people are always tormented by truths left buried,” Arthur replied.

“What if Alistair finds out?”

“That’s the plan. Let them destroy each other from within. We only need to wait in the middle of the storm,” Arthur answered.

Arthur turned, his black coat billowing in the sharp morning wind. He felt his system power rising again as a new notification appeared before him.

Side Mission: Plant the Seed of Betrayal – Completed.

Reward: ‘Shadow Walk’ skill upgraded to Level 2.

Arthur looked at his palm. The shadow beneath his feet seemed alive, creeping up his wrist like a loyal serpent. He no longer feared this power. He was beginning to enjoy it.

“Let’s go home, Duncan. Today is a big day for McAlister Enterprises,” Arthur said.

“Any special orders for today, Young Master?” Duncan asked.

Arthur turned, a cold smile etched across his face. “Prepare a black dress for Lily. We’re attending my father’s funeral party today.”

Duncan nodded obediently. The two of them walked down the hill, disappearing into the remnants of the morning fog before the sun fully rose.

At the McAlister residence, Alistair awoke with a deep sense of unease. He walked to his bedroom window and stared outside. Everything looked normal, yet he could feel something was wrong. Something lurking beneath the luxury of his life.

He picked up his phone and called his head of security. “Any reports from ‘The Hounds’?”

“Nothing yet, sir. They’re still sweeping the Loch Lomond area. However, they reported a police patrol car spotted there early this morning,” the voice on the other end replied.

Alistair frowned. “Police? Who?”

“Detective Fiona, sir. She handled Julian’s case yesterday.”

Alistair tightened his grip on the phone. “Fiona… that woman again. Make sure she doesn’t find anything. If she starts sniffing too deep, you know what to do.”

“Understood, sir. We’ll handle it discreetly.”

Alistair ended the call. He looked at his reflection in the large mirror in his room. For a moment, it didn’t seem to move with him. It just stood there, staring back with eyes that seemed to glow red.

Alistair rubbed his eyes, and the reflection returned to normal. “I just need rest,” he muttered to himself.

But in the dark corner of the room, a whisper, barely audible, echoed in his ears.

“Rest, Father… while you still can.”

Alistair spun around, but the room was empty. Only the ticking of the wall clock remained, sounding like a countdown to his destruction.

Across the city, Fiona had just arrived at her modest apartment. She placed the flash drive on the dining table, staring at it as if it were a ticking bomb.

She knew that the moment she handed this evidence to her superiors, her life as a police officer might be over. Alistair had connections everywhere. But if she kept it to herself, she would become part of the crime.

“What would you do if you were me, Eleanor?” Fiona whispered, staring at Eleanor’s photo on her phone.

She closed her eyes for a moment, imagining Arthur’s cold, hate-filled face. Then she realized something terrifying. Arthur didn’t want Fiona to put Alistair in prison. He wanted her to prove the system was useless, so that when he finally slaughtered them all, Fiona would have no reason to stop him.

“You really are a devil, Arthur,” Fiona murmured.

She picked up the flash drive again and locked it inside a small safe beneath her bed. She wouldn’t turn it in yet. She needed more evidence. She needed to know which officers were on Alistair’s payroll.

And there was only one person who could give her that information.

Fiona took out a small piece of paper she had found in her coat pocket, something Arthur must have slipped in without her noticing. On it was nothing but the address of an old warehouse on the outskirts of Glasgow and a time.

“All right, Arthur. Let’s see how far you want to take this,” Fiona said firmly.

She knew she was walking toward her own grave, just as Arthur had said. But for Fiona, dying for the truth was far better than living as a pawn on the McAlister chessboard.

The sun had fully risen now, bathing Edinburgh in deceptive golden light. Beneath the grandeur of its old architecture and glittering social scene, a shadow war was raging. And no one would emerge without blood on their hands.

Arthur, now back at the Sovereign headquarters, stared at the system screen showing Fiona’s location moving toward Glasgow.

“She’s coming, Young Master,” Duncan said.

“I know,” Arthur replied. “Prepare the interrogation room. But this time, not for an enemy. For welcoming our newest member.”

“You’re sure she’ll join?” Kai asked from the corner of the room.

Arthur looked at the black crown logo on his main screen. “She has nowhere else to go, Kai. Her world collapsed last night. And in those ruins, only Sovereign offers protection.”

Arthur stood and walked toward the large window overlooking the harbor. He could feel the heartbeat of Glasgow pulsing in sync with his ambition.

“Welcome to the dark side, Detective Fiona,” Arthur whispered.