Chapter 522: Esma’s right
"The Eye of the Web," Arabel asked, noticing the change in the faces of all four of them. "Who or what is this?"
Irene and the others exchanged a quick glance, and eventually Arslan, Yulaya, and Hazel focused their gazes on Irene.
"This is a mysterious awakened one who calls himself that and communicates with everyone exclusively through the network," with a sigh, Irene took on the role and began to share what she knew about this Eye of the Web.
"No one knows his exact gender, age, name, origin or place of residence. However, he identifies himself as a man.
All that is known about him is that he looks like the so—called hackers, but his abilities are based on his awakened ability, which makes him impossible to figure out. He is able to hack almost anything he wants and monitor everyone through the net."
Arabel stared in horror at one of the men’s smartphones, which she was holding in her hands, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Are you saying that this awakened one is able not only to delete data, but also to monitor what is happening through smartphones and all devices with network access?" she asked, not hiding her excitement.
Irene and the other three nodded, confirming her fears.
Arabel felt panic rising inside her. She tried to remember the last time she had used her smartphone. And she remembered that it was in the city of Rumbus, where access to the network was limited. After arriving in the capital, she did not take it out of the spatial ring at Idan’s insistence, fearing that they might be monitored through this smartphone.
Since their arrival, they have not used their smartphones or the identity cards they had previously registered.
They could only be seen through other people’s gadgets and, of course, through the little fox’s smartphone.
For a moment, Arabel even considered taking Coco’s smartphone away from her.
"Don’t worry so much, Belle," Idan said. "As long as the net exists, there will always be those who can hack it and monitor others through it. This is not surprising," he added. "It’s just that we need to be more careful in the future."
Idan was convinced that this awakened one, who possessed such amazing abilities, could not be all-seeing and omnipresent. He was just like them, awakened, and could hardly keep an eye on so many people at the same time.
"So these five have something to do with this Awakened One?" asked Idan, turning to his sister.
"No, I doubt these five are related to this awakened one," — Irene shook her head.
"Most likely, whoever is behind these people is connected to the Eye of the Web," she added, then shared what she learned from reading the man’s memoirs.
The longer everyone listened, the gloomier their faces became.
"Are you saying that the target of these men was my Belle?" asked Idan, surprising everyone with his extraordinary calmness.
Irene, who knew her brother well, realized that his calmness was only masking his anger.
While the others were surprised at Idan’s equanimity, Arabel blushed and became embarrassed.
From Irene’s explanation, it became clear that the Moonlite Spoon restaurant, where they visited, was associated with these people. Not only did it serve as a place to attract attention, but it also served to weaken the attention of the people these people were targeting by drugging them.
The target of these people were attractive young women.
They took photos and sent them to a special VIP chat, where many anonymous high-status users haggled and offered prices for the abduction and ransom of beautiful women.
Five men noticed Arabel and, seeing the high demand for her photos, decided to kidnap her, and at the same time maim Idan.
However, their plan did not work: the effect of intoxication did not work, and in the end their target turned out to be a powerful Awakened One.
"Traffickers of women!" — Yulaya spat out in disgust.
"It became clear from the memories of this man that they have been involved in this case for a long time. Many young and beautiful girls have passed through their hands. And this is not the only such group, there are others that are scattered not only in the capital, but also in other major cities," Irene added.
"But how? Why don’t they write about it in the news and other sources?" wondered Hazel.
She, like many others, often checked the news on the net, but apart from rare reports of attacks on young girls, she did not find information about the disappearance or death of so many young women.
"The thing is, everything is carefully hidden," Irene said gloomily. "Most girls, humiliated and broken, return after a short absence, paying money and threatening to kill their relatives or friends if they resist."
"You can see for yourself that there are two Awakened Ones among these five," Irene kicked one of them.
"Besides, all those who place orders are influential people in power, and ordinary mortals can’t do anything against them," she added. "There is no doubt that these people have connections not only in the Association, but also in the government, so they can act with impunity."
The Eye of the Web probably provides them with information exchange and data leak protection services," Arslan suggested. "That’s why when these men got into the hands of the older sister, he deleted all the data from their smartphones to get rid of any evidence."
Arslan’s words sounded plausible, and everyone nodded in agreement with his opinion.
"And what are you going to do?" Esma asked with some impatience.
Everyone turned to look at her.
"What? Aren’t you going to punish bad people?" said Esma, clenching her fists.
There was silence, and everyone began to assess the situation and decide whether to act or not.
"Esma’s right," — Irene agreed, breaking the silence and making a decision. "We can’t just sit and watch this happen."
"Yes, but..." — Yulaya, although she agreed with Irene, however, the prospect of conflict with influential people with great connections in the face of the third disaster did not seem to her the best idea. However, she also didn’t want to turn a blind eye to what was happening.
Arslan didn’t say anything, but Hazel’s eyes showed that she completely agreed with Irene and was ready to follow them no matter what they decided.
"Go ahead, Sister," Idan said calmly. "Don’t worry about consequences and interference. Belle and I will take care of it."
"If you have any questions about where you got all this information, just point to us, our Guild," Idan added. "Esma and Bera in the guise of Elsa will go with you."
"If Bera is in the form of Elsa, then I..."
"We have already announced to everyone that Duke of Fire Ethan and Duchess of Ice Isabella are members of our Guild, as are Duke of Light Ignis and Duchess of Darkness Elsa. I think this is a great opportunity to show the world about the third pair of our Guild — the most loyal, but a little crazy of its members, don’t you think?" asked Idan, before Arabel could finish the question.
Idan had been wanting to test his new bloodline for a long time, but there was still no suitable moment. And finally, it seemed to him that now was the time.
It’s time for the Duke of Madness and the Duchess of Madness to take the stage.