Chapter 193: Zenthoria
Kael stood over the corpse, breathing hard. Sweat on his skin. His mana reserves sat at just 36%.
"Finally." He exhaled slowly. "With this domain, I can fight anyone from mid Mana Heart all the way to Rank 6." A pause. "But it’s quite draining. Just two minutes and more than half my mana is gone."
A shadow detached from the treeline.
Lira materialized beside him with a towel in hand, her expression as composed as always despite the battlefield of corpses surrounding them.
"My lord." She extended the towel. "It seems you’ve achieved your desired results."
Kael took it and dried his face. "Yeah."
"Also." Lira’s tone shifted slightly — still respectful, but carrying an edge of warning. "Since my lord hasn’t paid any heed to the mission calls from the Fourth Lady, she seems quite angry. She will surely make your next mission significantly more difficult."
Kael’s hand paused on the towel.
He knew how it worked. Every Vorn child stationed at home was expected to complete one mission per month. Skip a month, and the next assignment’s difficulty increased — sometimes substantially. The system was designed to prevent exactly what Kael had been doing: ignoring family obligations in favor of personal training.
He’d skipped two months of missions.
Kael’s thoughts churned as he walked through the estate grounds with Lira at his side.
Two months of ignoring mission calls. He’d The mission system existed partly as a testing mechanism and partly as a leash. Skip your duties, and the family made certain your next assignment reminded you of your place.
He’d accepted that. What irritated him was who held the leash.
The Hall of the White Wing dominated the estate’s central district — a sprawling complex of white stone and silver trim that served as the administrative heart of the Vorn family. Mission assignments, resource distribution, territory disputes, internal judgments — all of it flowed through these halls.
And at the center of it all sat Lady Ursula Holden.
"Lira." Kael stopped at the entrance. "Wait here."
The maid bowed. "As you wish, my lord."
The interior of the White Wing. White marble floors reflected overhead chandeliers that burned with pale mana-light. Servants moved along the walls like shadows, silent and invisible.
Kael followed the corridor to the mission chamber — a long room with a raised dais at the far end. Weapon racks lined the walls. Maps of the Thirteen Worlds along with other Vorn territories covered every surface. And on the dais, seated in a chair that resembled a smaller version of the Family Head’s throne, sat Lady Ursula Holden.
She looked to be in her early forties — deceptively young for a woman who had been married to the Family Head for ninety-eight years. Her hair was steel gray, pulled back in a severe knot that exposed sharp cheekbones. Her eyes were the color of frozen iron — hard, flat, and utterly without warmth.
The Holden family bred soldiers. Men and women who could take orders, endure punishment, and keep fighting long past the point where any sane person would stop. Enhanced durability. Suppressed pain response. Unquestioning obedience.
Ursula was the pinnacle of that breeding program.
She managed the Vorn household with the efficiency of a military campaign. Every servant, every resource allocation, every mission assignment passed through her hands. She was, for all practical purposes, the female head of the family.
And she did not like Kael.
Not because of anything he’d done to her personally. Because of what he represented. The child of Miriam Austin — a woman Ursula considered beneath notice — had returned from the academy with a purple grade talent and a tournament victory that eclipsed every achievement of Ursula’s own children, Marcus Vorn and Thalia Vorn.
Kael stopped before the dais and bowed slightly. "Lady Ursula."
"Kael Cassian Vorn." Her voice carried no inflection. She looked down at him from her elevated position like a general inspecting a conscript. "It seems your arrogance has grown during your time at the academy."
Kael kept his expression neutral. He knew exactly what she meant.
During Marcus’s generation, the inter-academy tournament had produced respectable results — second place overall, with Marcus serving as a squad member but not captain. Thalia had refused to participate entirely, citing research priorities. The family had accepted both outcomes with characteristic silence.
Kael had led his team to first place. Shattered a decades-long curse. Made the Vorn name dominant across multiple academies.
Ursula’s children had been outperformed by the son of a dead woman. The resentment was understandable.
"I apologize for missing my mission assignments," Kael said. "The tournament recovery required extended rest, and I underestimated the time—"
"Spare me." Ursula lifted a hand. "Your excuses are irrelevant. What matters is that you have accumulated two months of missed obligations. Per family protocol, the difficulty of your next assignment will be adjusted accordingly."
She unrolled a scroll on the desk beside her.
"In one week, you will depart for Zenthoria."
Kael’s expression didn’t change. But something cold settled in his stomach.
Zenthoria.
Every Vorn child knew the name. Zenthoria was a city on the Eastern Continent of World Thirteen — a notorious, lawless sprawl that existed in the gap between Vorn authority and criminal chaos. The city housed the continent’s most brutal criminals, corrupt mercenary syndicates, and outlaws who had been chased out of every civilized territory. The Vorn family’s influence in Zenthoria was theoretical at best. Their enforcers who entered rarely returned.
"Your mission is elimination." Ursula slid a list across the desk. "Individual targets and organized groups. Names, locations, known abilities — all documented."
Kael picked up the list and scanned it. Seven individual criminals — each with bounties that suggested Mana Heart rank — and two bandit organizations with combined memberships exceeding two hundred.
He set the list down.
"Lady Ursula. Zenthoria missions are traditionally assigned to full Swords." He kept his voice level. "Even peak Mana Heart cultivators find survival difficult in that city. I am just a Rank 1."
"Yes." Ursula’s lips curved into a smirk. "You are."
The implication was clear. This wasn’t a mission. It was an execution dressed in bureaucratic language.
Kael understood the hierarchy in the family.
Throne — a rank reserved solely for Cassandra, though she had no interest in the Family Head position.
Swords — the eight strongest combatants of the Vorn family children. Victor as First Sword. Felix as Second. Darius De Vorn, a branch family prodigy, as Third. Marcus, Thalia, and four other branch family members filled the remaining positions. All of them were Spirit Soul realm. All of them could survive Zenthoria.
Shadows — fourteen members, including Caelus, Diana, Isabella, and eleven branch family children. All at late or peak Mana Heart, ranks seven through nine.
Then comes The Sleepers — forty-six members. Kael, Sebastian, and forty-four branch family children. Core Formation through mid Mana Heart, ranks four through six. Kael sat at the top of this tier — Rank 1 among the Sleepers.
Sleepers did not receive Zenthoria missions. Sleepers received bandit clearing in controlled territories, beast culling in managed zones, and intelligence gathering in safe locations.
This assignment was a death sentence wrapped in paperwork.
"Don’t worry. Additionally," Ursula continued, "you will be accompanied by Garrett De Vorn. A Shadow from one of those useless branch families. He will serve as your support."
A Shadow. Late or peak Mana Heart. Helpful against the rank-and-file criminals, but useless against the true threats that lurked in Zenthoria’s depths.
If I die in Zenthoria, Garrett reports whatever story Ursula wants told. Accident. Ambush. Overwhelming enemy forces. The body never recovered.
"I see." Kael picked up the list again. "Is there anything else, Lady Ursula?"
"No." She dismissed him with a wave. "Good luck, Kael Cassian Vorn. The family looks forward to your report."
Kael bowed and left.
His footsteps echoed through the White Wing corridor. His face was a mask of indifferent acceptance.
Inside, he was seething.
Ursula, you damn bitch.
He stepped through the entrance and felt the open air hit his face. Lira materialized beside him, falling into step without a word.
Kael laughed.
"My lord," she said carefully. "Are you okay?"
Kael let the laughter fade as he calmed himself down.
"Lira. I need you to gather information on Garrett De Vorn. Cultivation, abilities, personality, family connections, any debts or obligations he carries. Everything."
"Of course, my lord. I will begin immediately."
They walked in silence for thirty paces before Kael spoke again.
"And Lira — be discreet. If anyone connects this investigation to me, it will cause problems I’d rather avoid."
"Understood."
They continued toward the Sixth Branch residence.
Inside his mind, the calculations had already begun.
Enjoy your time on that seat, Ursula. Because it will soon be your last.
Back in the Hall of the White Wing, Ursula remained on her dais long after Kael had departed. Her fingers traced the armrest of her chair.
A maid approached and bowed silently.
Ursula didn’t look up. "You know what to do."
The maid’s voice was barely audible. "Yes, my lady. He should not come back from this mission alive."
"See to it."
The maid vanished into the corridor.
Ursula finally allowed herself to smile.
"A child of that disgraceful woman," she murmured to the empty chamber. "More talented than my children. More celebrated than my children. More promising than my children. What a joke."
She stood and walked to the window, gazing out over the estate that she had managed for nearly a century.
"Enjoy your last days, Kael Cassian Vorn."
Her reflection stared back at her from the glass.
"Because they will soon be your last."