Chapter 102: Forget? It isn’t Even Possible
Dust still hung over the lobby.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The section of floor where Dorian had landed was fractured in a spiderweb of cracks, pieces of stone scattered across the tiles. A thin haze drifted through the air, catching the harsh lights overhead. Somewhere behind David, someone coughed.
Then the shouting started.
"Everyone back!"
"Clear the area!"
"Move away from the damaged section!"
Association personnel poured into the lobby from several entrances, forcing the crowd backward. Some raised their hands, directing people away from the center while others hurried toward the barriers surrounding the registration area.
David barely noticed them.
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
Dorian moved.
A hand pressed against the cracked floor.
He pushed himself upright slowly.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, disappearing beneath his jaw. His breathing was heavier now, his clothes covered in dust, but there was no sign that he was struggling to stand.
Then he smiled.
David’s eyes narrowed.
’He’s smiling?’
The expression didn’t belong on someone who had just been driven through the floor.
Before David could make sense of it, a sharp white light flashed across the lobby.
He flinched.
The damaged section suddenly lit up.
One barrier appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Transparent layers of magic unfolded around the combat zone, rising from the floor and locking into place with a low, resonant hum. The light spread across the walls and ceiling, briefly bathing the entire lobby in white.
The pressure in the air changed.
Not disappeared.
Changed.
The oppressive weight that had accompanied the fight was swallowed beneath the steady vibration of the suppression barriers.
A voice came through the Association’s speakers.
"All Hunters, cease combat immediately."
The command echoed through the lobby.
More personnel rushed in.
This time, they weren’t trying to control the crowd.
They were moving toward Dorian and Elias.
David watched them approach.
’They actually have a procedure for this.’
He supposed they had to.
Two S-Ranks fighting inside the Association’s headquarters probably wasn’t something the building’s emergency manual had forgotten to account for.
Several officials positioned themselves between the two men, though David couldn’t help noticing that none of them looked particularly comfortable doing it.
One officer stepped forward.
His posture was respectful.
His face was not.
"Master Wilburn," he said carefully. "We need you to explain what happened."
Dorian said nothing.
He simply looked at him.
Then his eyes moved past the officer.
Toward Elias.
The anger was still there.
David could see it.
But something else had replaced the immediate heat of the fight.
Amusement.
Dorian’s lips slowly curved upward.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
It wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
The people closest to him visibly stiffened.
Dorian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Then he looked at Elias again.
And nodded.
"I understand."
The officer frowned.
"Sir?"
Dorian’s smile widened.
"His game."
The words meant nothing to David.
Judging by the expressions around him, they didn’t mean much to anyone else either.
But Elias didn’t look confused.
He simply stood there.
Silent.
And somehow, that silence made David feel as though he’d missed something important.
The officer cleared his throat.
"Master Wilburn, regardless of the circumstances, you will need to come with us for questioning."
Dorian’s hand lifted.
"Don’t."
The officer stopped.
Dorian looked at him.
"Nervousness wasn’t quite the right word for the expression on the man’s face anymore. He looked like someone who had just been reminded that there were rules, and had suddenly realized he might be the one expected to enforce them.
"But, Master Wilburn—"
"I said nobody."
The officer hesitated.
David’s gaze shifted between them.
For all the Association’s authority, nobody seemed eager to test how much of it actually applied to Dorian.
Then Elias spoke.
"Let him go."
David looked at him.
’Seriously?’
Elias didn’t sound angry.
He didn’t sound tired, either.
He sounded like the matter simply wasn’t worth another minute of his attention.
The officer looked toward him.
Then Dorian.
Then back again.
Eventually, he lowered his hand.
"Understood."
Dorian’s smile returned.
Not because he’d won.
David could tell that much.
He’d been beaten.
Badly.
But somehow, Dorian looked as though that wasn’t the part of this situation he cared about.
He turned away from the Association personnel.
And that’s when he noticed the crowd.
Phones were everywhere.
People were recording from behind the barriers. Others whispered among themselves, some staring openly at the blood on Dorian’s face and the destruction around him.
A few screens were already pointed directly at him.
Someone near the back was livestreaming.
Dorian stopped.
He looked over the crowd.
For a moment, David expected irritation.
Instead, Dorian smiled.
It was almost pleased.
David’s stomach tightened.
’He doesn’t mind.’
If anything, Dorian seemed to enjoy having an audience.
His eyes moved across the spectators once more.
Then he spoke.
"Walter."
David glanced around.
For half a second, he wasn’t sure whether Dorian was actually calling someone.
Then a man stepped out from the crowd.
He walked through the spectators without hesitation, completely composed despite the destruction surrounding him.
He stopped in front of Dorian.
"Yes, Master Valeborn?"
Dorian didn’t look at him.
"Get the car."
Walter gave a small nod.
"Of course."
"I’ll be out shortly."
"Yes, Master Valentin."
Walter turned and walked away.
No questions.
No surprise.
He simply left.
David watched him disappear into the crowd.
That exchange had lasted less than ten seconds.
Yet somehow, it told him more about Dorian than any introduction could have.
The man had people.
People who appeared to know exactly what he wanted before he even finished asking.
David looked back at Dorian.
The S-Rank stood amid the wreckage, blood still staining his face.
And he looked completely at home.
Dorian didn’t leave.
Water was already gone, the Association personnel had backed off, and the crowd was slowly being pushed farther away from the damaged section.
Still, Dorian remained where he was.
His eyes were on Elias.
David noticed it before Elias did.
Or maybe Elias had noticed it and simply didn’t care.
A faint smile touched his face.
"You don’t have to keep staring."
Dorian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Elias tilted his head.
"If you want to do something, just do it."
For a moment, David thought the words might start another fight.
Instead, Dorian smiled.
It wasn’t the same amused smile from before.
This one was proud.
Almost certain.
"They might not see it."
He lifted one hand and pointed toward Elias.
"But I do."
Elias’s expression barely changed.
Dorian held his gaze for another second.
"Don’t worry."
His smile sharpened.
"I’ll be the one who kills you, Elias."
The lobby seemed quieter for a moment.
"When you finally show your true colors."
Then Dorian turned.
He walked through the opening the Association personnel had made for him, leaving the damaged lobby behind without another word.
David watched him go.
’True colors?’
What was that supposed to mean?
He looked at Elias.
The man didn’t seem particularly bothered.
If anything, he looked almost bored.
That somehow made the whole thing worse.
The Association personnel began moving again, directing the remaining civilians away from the damaged section.
"This way, please."
"Keep moving."
"Return to the registration area."
David stepped aside as one of the officers gestured toward him.
April was beside him.
They followed the crowd back toward the registration line.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
David glanced sideways.
April was unusually quiet.
Her shoulders were tense.
Her fingers were curled slightly at her sides, as if she hadn’t noticed she was doing it.
She wasn’t panicking.
She wasn’t even visibly frightened.
But she wasn’t relaxed either.
David looked ahead.
’She’d been tense before.’
He thought about it for another second.
Then corrected himself.
’No.’
His eyes returned to her.
’Not like this.’
He didn’t ask.
There was no reason to.
If she wanted to tell him, she would.
But he filed the observation away.
That was enough.
They continued walking.
The noise of the lobby slowly returned.
People were talking over one another now.
Some were excited.
Others were arguing about what had just happened.
A few had already started replaying their recordings.
David heard someone behind him say something about Dorian’s attack.
Another person was talking about Elias.
Someone else was insisting they’d never seen two S-Ranks fight that close before.
David barely listened.
His mind was somewhere else.
The fight kept replaying in his head.
The first exchange.
The speed.
The impact.
The sheer force behind every movement.
He’d known S-Ranks were powerful.
Everyone knew that.
It was common knowledge.
But knowing something intellectually and standing ten meters away from it were two completely different things.
Dorian’s presence alone had made breathing feel harder.
And Elias...
David’s gaze lowered.
Elias had barely seemed affected.
That was the part he couldn’t get out of his head.
Neither of them had looked like they were struggling.
Neither had seemed desperate.
And neither had used what David could only assume were their real weapons.
They’d been fighting with the basics.
The thought settled heavily in his stomach.
’And I’m an F-Rank.’
For the first time, the rank didn’t feel like a label.
It felt like a wall.
A massive one.
David had spent the last few days thinking about getting stronger.
About becoming an awakened Hunter worth taking seriously.
But watching that fight had given the goal a completely different shape.
This wasn’t a small gap.
It wasn’t something he could close by simply training a little harder.
The distance between him and people like Elias was absurd.
He swallowed.
’That’s the level I’m aiming for.’
The thought should have discouraged him.
Instead, something inside him tightened.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
More like determination sharpened by perspective.
At least now he knew what the mountain looked like.
"You’re quiet."
April’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
David looked at her.
"I’m thinking."
She glanced at him.
"That’s dangerous."
Normally, he would have had something ready.
This time, he didn’t.
His eyes drifted briefly toward her shoulders.
"You were tense."
April blinked.
"I was?"
"Yeah."
She looked ahead again.
"Anyone would have been."
David studied her for a moment.
Then looked back toward the registration area.
’No. Not anyone.’
He didn’t say it.
There was no point.
Whatever had made April tense wasn’t something he understood yet.
And he wasn’t going to interrogate her over it.
He simply kept walking.
They were almost back in line when an Association employee stepped in front of the crowd.
"Everyone, we apologize for the disruption."
A few people immediately began complaining.
The employee raised his voice slightly.
"The situation has been handled. Please return to your positions. The registration process will resume shortly."
David stared at him.
’How exactly were they expecting everyone to just forget what happened?’