Chapter 382: Liberation
[A few hours ago]
"Sir."
A man hurried into Arthur’s office, urgency evident in his voice. "It’s Ray. He’s planning to do something tonight."
Arthur hummed thoughtfully his eyes never leaving the screen "Then apprehend him."
He paused, his expression shifting slightly as he turned to look at the man.
"Wait. Is he the same person who has been targeting Cadet Elena for some time now?"
The man nodded. "Indeed, sir. We didn’t know he had a few older trainees he was acquainted with here. He’s already made contact with them and plans to ambush the quarters tonight."
He spoke quickly, already considering how to prevent the situation from spiraling into chaos.
"Let it happen."
Arthur’s casual response brought him to a halt.
"Huh? But, sir..."
"This would be a good training method for those cadets. They need to understand how to deal with danger when they least expect it."
Arthur spoke with such indifference that one might have thought Ray was merely planning to frighten them before retreating.
This was not some harmless prank.
It was a planned ambush, intended to hurt the one person Ray had every business harming.
And also the one person they couldn’t afford to have harmed.
Arthur raised his eyes.
"Make sure security doesn’t reach the quarters for the first fifteen minutes."
"B-But, sir, Miss Elena..."
Arthur’s gaze hardened.
"Is she someone above the system? She’s a cadet, and no one forced her to become one. She chose to come here. Whatever trials we put her through, she must be capable of enduring them."
The man slowly nodded, understanding the point Arthur was making. Still, there was one more problem.
"What about Sir Jimmy? He would intervene regardless of who ordered him to stay back."
Arthur picked up his phone.
"Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered."
Arthur knew Jimmy’s personality well enough. If something happened that went against his morals, the man would have no hesitation in defying even the government itself.
"Understood, sir. I’ll deal with the security details."
Arthur nodded, and the man finally left the office.
Once he was alone, the blond man’s eyes narrowed.
Seraph Klaus’s words from the previous day still irritated him. The man had spoken as though it were Arthur’s responsibility to babysit his daughter.
"This will be a good opportunity for him to understand the difference in our authority."
Arthur knew exactly how much chaos Seraph would unleash if anything happened to his only daughter.
Especially if it happened at the hands of the very man Arthur had prevented Seraph from dealing with himself.
Seraph had been adamant about taking care of Ray personally, but Arthur had forbidden him from touching the man. Arthur was in charge here, and Ray was his responsibility to punish.
’This should be interesting.’
There was, however, one thing Arthur didn’t know.
Had he known, he would have done everything in his power to prevent this incident from happening.
His most important asset, his missing piece, Kyle, was sharing a room with Elena.
And Ray’s target was no longer Elena.
....
"Humiliation deserves death."
Ray grinned from ear to ear, looking almost like a child who had finally received the gift he had been waiting for.
His appearance told Kyle two things.
First, Seraph had failed to put the man down.
Second, someone within the headquarters was helping him.
"What happened? Cat got your tongue, bud?" Ray asked as he finally stepped into the room. "You were pretty vocal back in the pit."
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
Something about the man had changed.
Not just his appearance or his demeanor. His very internal structure had shifted. His Genesis circuits had ruptured from overuse, yet new ones were already forming in their place.
’His body is extremely adaptive to damage and capable of producing Genesis.’
There was no doubt about it. Ray possessed special-grade potential, along with a ridiculous unique skill and an overwhelming reserve of Genesis.
At this stage, he possessed more magical energy than Kyle.
But that alone was not enough to make him a threat.
Kyle summoned his bow and drew an arrow, ready to end the battle before it could escalate any further.
Ray grinned.
"Hehe! Now, now!"
He suddenly hurled a cluster of violet chains toward Kyle. Every chain moved faster than before, cutting through the air with terrifying speed.
Kyle had no intention of manipulating reality again. He could not risk damaging his vessel a second time. Instead, he released the arrow.
The moment it left the bowstring, it split apart into several smaller projectiles, each one shooting directly toward a different chain.
SCOOOOF!
When the two forces collided, something unexpected happened.
A massive cloud of smoke erupted between them.
’No. This isn’t the result of the collision.’
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
’He deliberately changed his approach.’
Ray had altered the very structure of his chains at the last moment, using them to create a smokescreen and blind him.
But why?
Ah!
Kyle’s eyes widened faintly when he caught movement in the corner of his vision.
Someone was standing nearby.
A man holding what appeared to be a crossbow had already taken aim. The weapon fired, sending a projectile hurtling toward Kyle with tremendous force.
"Kyle!"
His eyes widened further.
Elena had spread her wings.
Before Kyle could react, she threw herself into the arrow’s path.
He lunged forward, trying to pull her out of the way, but he was too late.
SQUELCH!
The arrow plunged into Elena’s back.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the arrow vanished.
Kyle’s expression darkened as he watched its remnants dissolve into Elena’s bloodstream. Something moved beneath her skin like a swarm of worms, spreading through her body and tearing the wound wider from within.
Her condition deteriorated almost instantly, rapidly reaching a point where her natural healing could no longer keep up.
Kyle turned toward the man who had fired the shot.
The attacker was already preparing another bolt.
Kyle’s eyes turned deathly calm.
"Aquilla."
At his command, an arrow tore through the air.
It struck the man’s head with enough force to end his life instantly.
"What is happening here?!"
An unexpected voice suddenly rang through the room.
Arthur rushed into the scene, panic flashing across his usually composed face. He had only just received word that Ray’s true target was someone else, and he had come running the moment he understood what was happening.
The first thing he did was close the distance and smack the back of Ray’s head, knocking him out of the way.
Kyle barely noticed.
His gaze remained fixed on Elena.
She was dying in his arms.
For a moment, the world seemed to grow strangely quiet.
Kyle looked down at her, then slowly raised his eyes toward Arthur.
A faint sigh escaped his lips.
"Aleda..."
[Host... no....]
Kyle closed his eyes.
The decision had already been made.
Heart of Authority: Liberate.
His figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Arthur.
Before the man could even react, Kyle pressed two fingers against his chest.
Then all three of them vanished.
°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. This arc was small but hey, he achieved what he came for
Drop a comment to motivate me or a review to help future readers.