Chapter 24 - 23: Victor vs. Kael
The explosive force of Kael’s jump cracked the reinforced stone beneath his boots, sending heatwaves radiating across the open terrace. Fueled by raw, blinding fury, Kael closed the distance in a fraction of a second, his fire-coated fist screaming through the air directly toward Victor’s face.
Victor didn’t flinch.
With his Fate-Shattering Perception activated, Kael’s frantic movement slowed to a crawl in Victor’s vision. He tilted his head a fraction of an inch to the left, letting the blazing fist graze past his dark collar, the intense heat scorching nothing but empty air.
Fast, but wild. No structure, no restraint, Victor evaluated calmly, stepping inside Kael’s guard with effortless precision.
Kael growled, spinning on his heel to throw a vicious, mana-infused low kick aimed at Victor’s ribs. Victor simply pivoted on his back foot, letting the burning arc miss him by millimeters.
Pure physical output fueled by emotion... Victor noted, observing the crimson flames dancing over Kael’s arms. The crimson hue, the sudden spike in physical density, the total sacrifice of defense for pure offensive power... That’s the Berserk trait.
It was a terrifying bloodline ability one that turned its user into an unyielding engine of destruction. But in its current, unrefined state, it was nothing more than a mindless tantrum.
"Is this all your rage can produce?" Victor murmured, his pitch-black eyes cold and unimpressed.
"SHUT UP!" Kael roared. The flames around his arms turned a darker, volatile shade of orange as he threw a rapid sequence of strikes a left hook, a right jab, and a spinning elbow.
Victor dodged every single blow with minimal movement, his hands remaining casually behind his back. He moved like a phantom dancing through a storm. Kael’s breath grew ragged, his violent strikes growing wilder as frustration consumed his mind.
Seeing an opening as Kael overextended on a heavy right cross, Victor finally acted.
He stepped forward, sidestepping the flame-wrapped fist, and delivered a simple, brutal straight punch directly into Kael’s solar plexus.
BOOM!
The mana barrier protecting Kael shattered instantly. The air blasted out of Kael’s lungs in an agonizing gasp, and the blazing crimson flames engulfing his body vanished in a flash. He collapsed onto his knees, clutching his stomach and gasping violently for breath as the cold stone tiles chilled his burning skin.
Elena gasped, taking a tentative step forward. "Kael!"
Victor stood over the kneeling boy, calmly adjusting his dark silk gloves with an exasperated sigh.
"What a terrible start to our lovely comradeship," Victor remarked sarcastically, shaking his head.
Kael gritted his teeth, trembling as he forced his head up, his eyes still burning with defiance. "You... you bastard..."
Victor reached inside his dark coat, pulled out a folded slip of parchment, and tossed it down. It landed right in front of Kael’s nose.
It was the itemized receipt from the high-end boutique in the upper district, stamped with the official seal of the merchant guild.
"Read it," Victor commanded, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy tone as his expression hardened. "I must say, I’m getting quite tired of you commoner hero-types making ridiculous assumptions."
Kael blinked through his pain, staring down at the parchment in confusion.
"You accuse me of forcing myself onto her?" Victor scoffed, his eyes narrowing with genuine irritation. "Look at her, Kael. Have I laid a single hand on her? Have I done any of the filthy things your ridiculous capital rumors claim?"
Kael hesitated, his chest heaving as his gaze darted between the receipt and Victor.
"I have been remarkably civilized toward your sister," Victor continued coldly. "All I did last night was buy her a proper dress because she was walking around looking like a homeless girl. Do you have any idea how bad it looks for someone of my standing to be seen with a girl dressed in rags? It was a matter of basic standards."
Victor took a step closer, towering over Kael. "I am not blackmailing her. I am not forcing her into anything improper. I paid for the garment out of my own pocket, and she is standing here entirely unharmed."
Kael’s breath caught in his throat. He turned his head slowly toward Elena, his eyes wide with desperate confusion and silent questioning. "Elena... is... is he telling the truth?"
Elena swallowed hard, her face flushing with a mix of shame and relief. She bit her lower lip and gave a firm, clear nod. "Yes, Kael... he didn’t touch me. He... he really just bought the dress."
Kael slumped slightly, the remaining embers of his rage completely suffocated by the awkward, overwhelming weight of the truth. He looked back down at the receipt, then up at Victor, completely lost.
Victor flicked a speck of dust off his sleeve, his tone shifting from annoyed to sharp and businesslike. He had spent enough time clearing up foolish misunderstandings; it was time to address the true purpose of this meeting.
He looked down at the kneeling, exhausted boy, his pitch-black eyes gleaming with absolute authority.
"Now that we’ve cleared up your pathetic little drama," Victor said smoothly, leaning down slightly to lock eyes with Kael. "Kael... I can fix you."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the rooftop terrace.
Elena and Kael exchanged a quick, bewildered glance, the confusion clearly written across both of their faces. *Fix him?* What was that supposed to mean?
Kael’s latent mana was wild, and completely unpredictable a dangerous burden he had struggled to contain his entire life. Even the Academy’s senior instructors had dismissed his erratic power spikes as nothing more than a commoner’s flawed mana control. How could Victor Vance, an infamous villain known only for dark schemes, possibly fix a broken core?
Despite the lingering fear and deep suspicion knotting their stomachs, neither of them dared to speak up or turn away. Victor still held the receipt a silent, binding leverage that could ruin Elena’s family in an instant if he demanded immediate compensation. Yet, beneath that fear, a strange realization was beginning to take root.
Victor had every opportunity to crush them. He had the status, the strength, and the leverage. But as he had pointed out, he hadn’t laid a finger on Elena, nor had he used brute force to compel them. For all his terrifying presence, he had been strangely... civil.
Victor straightened up, adjusting his dark coat as he looked down at the siblings.
"I won’t waste my breath explaining the details to you right now," Victor said smoothly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You wouldn’t understand even if I laid them out on paper."
He turned his back on them, taking a few measured steps toward the stairwell.
"Here is what you will do," Victor commanded without looking back. "Take the next few days off from the Academy. Clear your schedules, submit your leave notices, and prepare yourselves mentally and physically."
Kael pushed himself up off the cold tiles, holding his sore ribs as he frowned. "Leave notices? Where are we going?"
"On Sunday morning, at the break of dawn, you will meet me at the eastern capital gate," Victor said, pausing at the threshold of the iron door. "We are leaving the city."
"Leaving the capital?!" Elena gasped, her voice trembling. "Victor... where are you taking us?"
Victor glanced over his shoulder, a subtle, unreadable smirk playing on his lips, his pitch-black eyes dark as the abyss.
"Be at the gate on time," Victor replied quietly, offering no answers. "Don’t make me come looking for you."
Without waiting for a response, Victor stepped into the stairwell, the heavy iron door swinging shut behind him with a resonant
CLANG,
leaving the stunned siblings alone in the howling rooftop wind.