He rushed to the front hall in a panic, then grabbed onto Tonar before asking, "Did anyone leave through here just now?"

Tonar could see that Erwin was looking extremely panicked and frantic, and he hurriedly asked, "Did something happen, Mr. Erwin?"

Erwin locked his hand around Tonar's throat before slamming his back against the wall, then interrogated with a murderous expression, "Who instructed you to organize this bullshit rendezvous?"

"What's... going on, Mr. Erwin? I... don't know..." Tonar was barely able to draw breath with Erwin's hand locked around his throat.

"Don't try to play dumb! My wife is missing!" Erwin roared. "Tell me where Sanfesa took my woman!"

"I swear I don't know... anything about this..." Tonar's face was turning purple from asphyxiation, and his eyes were about to roll back into his head.

Seeing as Tonar refused to confess even with his life under imminent threat, Erwin could only conclude that he really did know nothing about this, so he released Tonar and threw him down in frustration.

Tonar immediately began to gulp down lungfuls of air as he stared at Erwin with an alarmed expression.

"There's a piece of artwork in there by the name of 'Fishing Boat on a Turbulent Sea' drawn by Sanfesa Peroni. Do you know her?" Erwin asked as he turned to Tonar with a cold expression.

"I was the one who accepted the piece of artwork, but it was brought here by one of her servants, not her," Tonar immediately replied.

This was clearly a trap that had been meticulously set by Sanfesa, so it made sense that none of these people knew anything about it.

"Are there any other exits in this villa?" Erwin asked.

"There is a back door beside the Fulnon River, but it's no longer in use due to the work that was done on the river canal some years ago."

Seeing as Tonar isn't in on this plan, there's no reason for him to lie to me. If no one has gone out through the main entrance, then Onean must still be in the villa, Erwin thought to himself.

"Are there any secret rooms in this villa?" Erwin asked as he turned to Tonar again.

"Back when I came to organize this event a few days ago, I went through all of the rooms in the villa and didn't discover any secret rooms," Tonar replied after pondering the question for a short while.

"Let me ask you this again: has anyone come out through here after my wife and I entered the villa?" Erwin asked as he looked into Tonar's eyes with a piercing gaze. "If I find out that you've lied to me, I'll make sure you don't live past today."

Tonar was growing quite panicked at the sight of Erwin's intense gaze, and he hurriedly said, "No, Mr. Erwin, I swear I'm telling the truth... I can even swear on all of the deities of the New Light Church. If I've told you even half a lie today, let the gods of the New Light Church drown me in the Fulnon River!"

"I'm going to chase out all of the guests here in a bit. Your job is to pay attention and see if there's anyone looking excessively into the villa. If you do find someone like that, wait until they leave, then follow them and see who they meet up with in the end," Erwin said as he dropped a pile of Loonies and a slip of paper containing the name of the hotel that he was staying at onto Tonar's hands. "If you find out any useful information, come and visit me at this hotel."

Tonar was astonished by the sight of the massive pile of Loonies on his hands, but he then immediately thrust all of the Loonies back to him without so much as a second thought. "I can't take your money, Mr. Erwin. Your wife has disappeared during a rendezvous organized by us, so we have a duty and responsibility to help you find her. Rest assured, Mr. Erwin, I'll do everything you say, and if I see anyone suspicious, I'll follow them right away."

Looking at the determined look in the young man's eyes, Erwin nodded in response, and he felt a hint of guilt for his violent actions earlier.

However, there was no time to be dwelling on such emotions now.

Right at this moment, the fake Onean emerged from the villa before turning to Erwin with a smile.

However, the smile on her face quickly faded as Erwin lunged toward her before pinning her against a pillar. "Tell me where you hid her!"

Unfortunately, he was too forceful, and the woman fainted from fear before she could say anything.

Erwin was in a state of blind panic, and he didn't even care whether this woman was a magician or martial artist. He took a disdainful glance at the woman on the ground, then gave her a vicious kick, sending her flying several feet away.

Tonar gulped nervously upon seeing this, then hurriedly rushed over to examine the woman's injuries.

He removed her swan mask, and sure enough, this was not the same woman who had accompanied Erwin to the villa.

Looking at the blood that was gushing incessantly out of her mouth and nostrils, Tonar was very glad that he hadn't lied to Erwin. Otherwise, he would've most likely already been dead by now.

With a wave of Erwin's hand, the entire back hall was set alight by scorching flames.

The guests inside immediately rushed out in panic.

Erwin made his way through the crowd before arriving in the inner hall, standing amid the fire as he stared at Sanfesa's artwork in silence.

At this point, he was the only one left in the inner hall.

...

Inside the carriage that was parked at the intersection outside, John Farody and Sanfesa Peroni could both see the black smoke billowing up into the air nearby.

"Why has the villa been set on fire?" John asked with a perplexed expression.

"He wants to kick everyone out, and the fastest way to do that is to set the building on fire," Sanfesa replied in a calm manner.

"I bet he's going to be really 'fired up' once he sees the surprise we've prepared for him," Sanfesa chuckled as she turned her gaze toward John.

"Indeed," John said as a sinister grin appeared on his face. "I hope that brother of mine perishes in the flames of his wrath."

However, a concerned look then appeared on his face as he said, "My only worry is that what we used on that woman won't work. After all, she's a very powerful magician."

"Rest assured, I've made sure beyond a doubt that everything will go according to plan," Sanfesa said with a consoling smile. "The drug that I used on her is called 'Desert Oasis'."

"Why is that?" John asked with a perplexed expression, then immediately realized the reason behind its name. At the same time, he felt a little disappointed that he couldn't witness the scene in person. He really wanted to see what it would look like for such a high and mighty goddess to be defiled in a debaucherous fall from grace.

"I don't care how proud or restrained she is, anyone who has a taste of Desert Oasis will be reduced to a bitch in heat. At least your brother gets to have the best experience of his life before he dies," Sanfesa said in a nonchalant voice, but there was a clear hint of malice and envy in her eyes as she spoke.

...

Meanwhile, a secret room in the back hall of the villa was teeming with passion and lust.

Under the effects of Desert Oasis, Onean was being severely tormented and ravaged by flames of desire, so much so that her face, neck, and shoulders had all turned bright red.

Her breathing was very fast and shallow, and her chest was heaving violently. Her vision was blurry, and she felt as if there were molten lava in her veins.

Beside her stood Lucidy Farody with his upper body completely bared, and his face was twisted with agony and conflict. Judging from the bright red complexion of his exposed skin, it was clear that he had also been drugged, but the dosage that he received seemed to be far smaller than Onean's.

First, Onean fell prey to some type of unknown magic drug that robbed her of all of her strength and made her unable to draw upon any magic power. After that, she was fed an extremely potent aphrodisiac. At this moment, her consciousness was completely blurred, and she was unable to resist the magic drug in her body, leaving her at the mercy of the specially concocted aphrodisiac.

As for Lucidy Farody, he was a very mediocre martial artist, so there was no need to use any high-end magic drug on him. Just the average disorientation drug was enough to leave him dazed and confused, and the aphrodisiac used on him was also only the most ordinary variety found in red-light districts. Unfortunately, due to how inept he was, even these ordinary drugs were enough to completely take him over.

There was also the question of whether he even wanted to resist the effects of the drugs in his system.

Laying beside him right at this very moment was the goddess that he had been thinking about day and night. As soon as this thought sprang into his mind, a fire was immediately lit in his lower abdomen. Looking at the frail woman who was panting incessantly, countless emotions were surging through his heart. Her supple lips were parted as she gasped for air, and her dazed and misty eyes were giving off an unintentional sense of seduction. Her tightly furrowed brows evoked within the beholder a sense of sympathy and the urge to protect her, and the combination of all of this made him unable to suppress the urge to take her.

However, he didn't want to be a detestable beast that exploited Onean for his own gratification. Even he could tell that there was something wrong with her. Otherwise, there was no way that she would be behaving in such an abnormal fashion.

If it were just a normal woman laying beside him, perhaps he would've been able to restrain himself, but this was Onean, the woman that he had constantly been thinking of. She had appeared in his dreams on countless occasions, and he desperately wanted to take her for himself. He was so envious of Erwin, and this envy had been festering inside his heart ever since their first encounter at the Holy Jade Cathedral. Onean's heavenly singing voice had passed through his entire being and cleansed his soul, captivating him on a level that went far beyond just physical attraction.

At this moment, Onean's consciousness had completely faded from the effects of the Desert Oasis, and the desire rising up in her heart was stimulating every single nerve in her body. She was unable to banish the image of Erwin out of her mind, and she wanted to fall into his arms, to be held tightly by him, to kiss him and...

Hence, as Lucidy pounced onto her, her first reaction was that it was Erwin.

However, as she felt the man frantically nibbling at her neck, her pupils instantly widened. No, this isn't what he smells like!

She mustered up what little strength she was able to before pushing the man back with all her might, then slapped him across the face.

Even though Onean was unable to draw upon any magic power, her slap still had Lucidy reeling.

...

At this moment, Erwin was racking his brain as he stood in front of Sanfesa's painting, and finally, he spotted a potential opening.

As soon as Onean entered the inner hall, she clearly didn't seem like herself. Looking back now, Erwin realized that the trap had already begun to take effect then. With that in mind, he came to the conclusion that there had to be some type of magic drug being given off by the coloring materials used in Sanfesa's painting.

In that case, why was it that Erwin and the other guest were completely unaffected?

After some deep thought, Erwin concluded that this type of magic drug wouldn't do anything on its own. The key was Onean's swan mask. That was the true root of the problem. According to Erwin's theory, another type of magic drug that had no discernible color or scent had most likely been smeared onto the mask, and only after encountering the magic drug emanating from Sanfesa's painting as a catalyst would the initial drug take effect.

That was the only explanation for how Onean could've possibly been abducted. Given her powers, only such a complex setup could've caught her unawares.

Even though there was fire all around him, he was remarkably calm.

Seeing as Onean had to approach this artwork for the drug to take effect, the secret room where she was being held had to be somewhere close to the painting as well. After all, dragging an unconscious woman through the room with so many people around would've been very conspicuous. Furthermore, he hadn't spent very long looking at the painting, so Onean had to have been dragged into the secret room in a very brief period of time.

With that in mind, Erwin began to frantically knock on all of the furniture around him, trying to see if he could find any mechanisms that could lead to a secret room. He tried the ornaments above the fireplace to no avail, and the same applied to the nearby cabinets as well.

He then realized that if the mechanisms were too loud and clunky, then someone at the gathering would've definitely noticed.

What exactly could they have done to keep everyone oblivious? Erwin thought to himself as he paced back and forth with tightly furrowed brows. His pacing took him to the window, where a curtain was burning rapidly beside him.

As a result, the floorboards that the curtain was draped over were quickly revealed, and after taking an absentminded glance at those floorboards, he discovered that there was something off about them, namely the fact that one particular floorboard was clearly shorter than the others.

With a wave of his hand, the curtain flew out while still on fire before landing on Sanfesa's painting. Erwin didn't even take a glance at the painting before laying the tip of his foot on one end of the floorboard and pushing it toward the other end.

Sure enough, the surrounding floorboards immediately fell away, revealing an opening that was just large enough to fit a human through.

Erwin was ecstatic to see this, and he immediately leaped into it.

Below the floorboards was a confined space, and with the light released by the fire on his palm, he was able to illuminate a harrowing scene, one that made him feel as if a dagger had been plunged directly into his heart.