Chapter 463: All Of Them
Damian sat there, his hands resting on his knees, his glass forgotten on the table and his crimson eyes fixed on Felix’s face without saying anything.
What could he even say?
That he was sorry for existing? That he wished his birth family had just died quietly without dragging anyone else into their fate?
The words wouldn’t come, trapped somewhere between his chest and throat.
"..."
The silence stretched between them, heavy with the weight of everything that had been laid bare in this room.
Then Damian bowed his head slightly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Thank you for keeping my identity a secret, Vice Director Onyx." He paused. "And for every time you helped, even when you didn’t have to."
Felix hadn’t said it explicitly, but Damian knew.
The man standing across from him was one of the reasons he was still alive, still breathing and still able to pretend he was just another commoner with unusual hair.
Even today, Felix had stood between him and one of the Nine Marshals and forced him to give up a personal skill as compensation for nearly attacking him.
’How many times has he done something like this without me knowing? How many threats has he silenced in the shadows?’
Felix looked at Damian for a long time, his black eyes searching the boy’s face for something.
’It’s not his fault... he is the biggest victim.’
Then he took a deep breath, looked away, and walked around the desk.
He dropped into his chair roughly, the alcohol clearly affecting his movements despite his attempt to maintain control.
"I don’t know what happened the night of your celebration."
His voice came out quieter now, some of the earlier venom draining away.
"All the Imperials were invited to the Bloodworth estate for the birth ceremony. That meant almost all the Marshals, the Director of the Military Police, and me... we all had to be stationed at important locations and high-ranked portals across the Federation."
He paused, as if remembering.
"Someone had to guard the places that mattered while every person of real power in the Imperial Council was in one location. So we were scattered across the region, each of us manning positions that couldn’t be left undefended."
He poured another glass, his hands steadier than they should be given how much he’d already consumed.
"By the time reports came through that something was wrong, by the time anyone reached the estate to investigate, it was already over. The massacre had been completed with speed that shouldn’t even be possible against a family as large as the Bloodworths."
Damian’s hands tightened on the armrests of his chair.
"But I know this much."
Felix’s voice became harder.
"All the twelve remaining Patriarchs of the Imperial families were physically present at your family estate that night, alongside all the SS ranked awakeners from their families and many of the powerful members of Imperial Council."
’So all of them were really there...’
Damian picked up his glass again, his thoughts racing as he took a large gulp of the elvish alcohol.
He already knew about the Patriarchs being invited when Alaric had told him the truth. But being invited and being really present were two completely different things.
Felix continued, his voice carrying weight.
"And the Bloodworth family only had two SS ranked awakeners."
His eyes seemed to flash with something when he spoke the next words.
"One was the Patriarch, Desiderius Bloodworth... A man who’d saved more lives than anyone could count."
The name came out with reverence and pain mixed together.
"And the other was your father."
’He probably doesn’t know how great his father was...’
Felix looked directly at Damian.
"Young Lord Darius Bloodworth... The youngest SS rank awakener the Federation had ever produced."
Damian’s breathing became shallow, his crimson eyes fixed on Felix’s face.
"You saw Marshal Eckhart today, didn’t you? How talented he is to be the youngest Marshal, one of the strongest people in the entire Federation."
Felix’s lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
"But in front of the Young Lord, he was nothing. Marshal Eckhart challenged your father repeatedly over the years, fought him in official duels and unofficial matches, threw everything he had at him."
He drank again.
"He never won against him... Not even came close. The gap between your father and everyone else in his generation wasn’t something that could be crossed through hard work or determination or even talent."
’So that’s why he mentioned the hair and eyes...’
Damian’s mind flashed back to the Mind Tower chamber, to the venom in Lysander’s voice as he’d raised his hand.
Felix continued, his words coming faster now as if he needed to get them out before the alcohol pulled him under completely.
"Later on, after everything was finished, the Director went to the estate personally to examine the scene. He needed to understand what had really happened, how an entire Imperial family could be exterminated in one night despite having two SS ranked awakeners and dozens of S ranked warriors protecting them."
He paused, his jaw clenching.
"Do you know what he told me when he came back?"
Damian said nothing as he waited.
"He said he found no sign of Patriarch Desiderius Bloodworth fighting... No traces of his techniques, no evidence of his Aura being deployed in combat, nothing that suggested he’d put up any resistance at all."
Felix’s voice dropped lower.
"And the first SS rank to die that night might have been none other than the Patriarch himself."
The words hit like physical blows.
"I couldn’t believe it when he told me... How could Lord Desiderius have died so easily? A man who’d survived years on the frontlines, who’d even fought Demon Rulers that had exterminated worlds, who’d been called the Guardian of the North by everyone in the region."
Suddenly, Damian snapped out of everything he was feeling.
’Grandfather... fought Demon Rulers?’
His mind tried remembering what the old beggar had told him.
’Those beings shouldn’t have had the time to come after Earth... They should be occupied by the Light Bearers, fighting wars across multiple worlds.’
The pieces didn’t fit together properly.
’But now I’m being told my grandfather fought them? And even survived?’
His hands clenched tighter.
’Then how could anyone in the Federation have killed him? How could he have died without even fighting back? All of this makes no sense!’
Felix’s hands trembled slightly as he set his glass down.
"Maybe he didn’t expect what was about to happen, maybe he was ambushed before he could react, or maybe something else occurred that we’ll never understand."
He paused, his hands tightening on the desk.
"But regardless of the reason, the Patriarch ceased to exist that night with no trace of his body ever recovered."
He looked at Damian with an unreadable expression.
"And if the first SS rank to die that night was indeed Lord Desiderius, then that means it was the Young Lord who fought against all the SS ranked awakeners... alone."