The Anomaly Beyond The System

"Welcome to the Awakened Association."

The elderly—yet tall and broad-shouldered—man seated behind the large desk spoke in a calm, composed voice.

"I am Cedric Grant, the director of this facility."

His posture remained perfectly straight as his sharp eyes observed the two guests seated before him.

One... an exceptionally handsome young man wearing black sunglasses despite being indoors.

The other... a woman whose face was completely concealed beneath an eerie pitch-black mask—as though darkness itself had draped over her face. If not for her feminine figure, it would have been difficult to tell she was a woman at all.

For a brief moment...

Cedric silently studied the pair before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I must admit... you two certainly have quite a unique appearance."

His gaze lingered on the woman’s faceless mask for a few seconds before shifting toward Lucian’s sunglasses.

Across from him, Lucian sat comfortably with one leg crossed over the other, while Seraphina remained completely silent beside him, sitting upright without making the slightest movement, almost as though she had been trained to behave that way...

Which wasn’t exactly wrong.

Behind Cedric, Leonardo—the white-suited man—stood with both hands behind his back, maintaining a professional posture as he quietly observed the meeting.

"Well... we are unique, so I suppose it would only be appropriate to look so."

Lucian answered with a faint smile, drawing a soft chuckle from Cedric.

"Anyway..." Lucian continued. "We came here to complete our registration."

Cedric slowly nodded before leaning forward slightly.

"I know having to wait until today must have been inconvenient."

"Yes, it was annoying." Lucian nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Silence filled the office for a brief second.

Cedric’s lips twitched ever so slightly, and behind him, even Leonardo struggled to keep a straight face.

Very few people spoke so casually to the director of an Association branch...

Unless they wanted to get themselves thrown out.

Cedric simply shook his head with a helpless smile.

"It couldn’t be helped," he said.

"We rarely encounter people who awaken before officially registering."

’At least, people who were completely unaware of the awakened world until now.’

He thought to himself but didn’t voice it aloud.

"Because of that... we decided it would be best to oversee the examination personally."

As he spoke, Cedric’s eyes quietly shifted toward Seraphina.

She hadn’t spoken a single word since entering the office.

Despite remaining silent, she possessed a naturally composed demeanour, not overwhelming, yet still noticeably different from newcomers who had only recently awakened.

’Her presence is mild... but it’s still decent...

Meanwhile...’

His gaze slowly returned to Lucian—the young man who was already looking directly back at him.

’He seems weak... his presence... it’s almost nonexistent.’

A small frown formed between his wrinkled brows.

According to yesterday’s report...

The young man himself had claimed to be around E Rank.

If that were true, then why was his presence weaker than the woman’s?

Not dwelling on it any further for now—

"Let’s head to the training section. We’ll conduct your registration examination there."

After a brief pause, he continued.

"You’re both comfortable with taking the test immediately, right? Or would you prefer some time to prepare yourselves?"

Normally...

The Association never offered such a choice, since registrations were conducted immediately after an awakening.

However, he knew better than that.

He had already realised these two weren’t ordinary civilians.

Whether it was their demeanour, their clothing, or the unusual calmness and confidence the young man displayed before them...

Everything told him it would be better to leave a good impression.

Lucian glanced sideways toward Seraphina, who met his gaze before giving a small nod.

Understanding her answer, Lucian turned back toward the director.

"Yeah. We can start now."

"Good." Cedric gave a small nod before stepping away from the desk.

"Then let’s head down to the training section in the basement."

Lucian stood up alongside Seraphina, though the moment he heard those words...

His lips twitched slightly.

He looked at both of them, his gaze lingering for a brief moment before his lips parted.

"We could’ve simply had this conversation downstairs, couldn’t we? Was there really a reason to bring us all the way up here first?"

His eyes narrowed faintly, making both of them pause where they stood.

Cedric, who had already started walking toward the door, slowly turned around, his sharp gaze resting on the boy.

Then—

An invisible pressure quietly descended throughout the office.

The atmosphere instantly grew heavier, and even the air itself felt denser.

Seraphina’s fingers curled beneath her lap, tightly gripping the fabric of her clothes without anyone noticing.

’He’s... strong.’

She thought, her jaw clenching behind the mask as she tried to keep her breathing steady.

As for Lucian...

He didn’t react in the slightest, almost as though he hadn’t noticed the pressure at all.

But...

The moment he sensed Seraphina struggling beside him...

The faint smile on his face disappeared.

His lips twisted ever so slightly.

His crimson eyes began glowing faintly beneath the sunglasses...

Enough that anyone paying close attention might have noticed.

Noticing the complete lack of reaction from Lucian—and the fact that Seraphina was still standing despite the pressure—

A trace of surprise flashed through Cedric’s eyes.

’Interesting...’

Both of them had clearly experienced their fair share of pressure to remain this unfazed.

"It’s merely protocol, lad. There’s no need to think too deeply about it," Cedric said quietly, choosing to overlook the lack of respect in Lucian’s tone for now.

The young man clearly had no idea who he was speaking to.

Cedric said nothing about the pressure he had deliberately released, and seeing that, a flicker of annoyance surfaced within Lucian.

But just as he was about to speak—

Seraphina’s gentle touch stopped him as her hand lightly rested against his, silently telling him not to do anything reckless...

Or cause a scene in front of these people.

The crimson glow within his eyes slowly faded.

Behind Cedric, Leonardo silently observed everything, a faint frown forming between his brows.

His fingers twitched almost imperceptibly as he restrained himself from reacting to the sheer disrespect shown toward the director.

The atmosphere inside the office remained tense.

Not because of Cedric’s pressure anymore.

All three men continued staring at one another, each of their gazes carrying its own weight.

Seeing their restrained irritation...

Lucian’s lips curled ever so slightly.

Feeling mildly satisfied.

Perhaps he was becoming petty...

But he didn’t like people trying to pressure him in any way.

Seraphina quietly watched her son from the side, not understanding exactly what he was trying to accomplish.

She couldn’t help but feel that he was deliberately doing something...

Though she had no idea what.

Without another word, Leonardo stepped toward the elevator once again, and the moment everyone was inside, he pressed the button leading to the lowest basement floor.

The elevator swiftly carried them downward, and silence filled the confined space.

Cedric stood beside him, and perhaps because they were now much closer...

His gaze unintentionally drifted toward the young man.

At that moment...

Cedric caught the faintest glimpse beneath the dark lenses of Lucian’s sunglasses.

It lasted for only a fraction of a second... perhaps even less...

Yet he saw it.

Bright... crimson.