The Villian Who Broke The Story

Kael looked at Cairo as he made his offer.

For a few seconds, he didn’t answer.

The hallway had become unusually quiet. Most of the students had already left for their dormitories, leaving only the occasional sound of footsteps echoing somewhere in the distance.

Kael studied Cairo carefully.

The Head of the Disciplinary Committee had already tried to kill him once.

That wasn’t exactly something Kael could forget.

He had also spent enough time around the academy to understand that people rarely did anything without a reason. Especially people in positions of authority.

Cairo wasn’t offering him a position out of kindness.

There was something else behind it.

Kael folded his arms.

"I thought I was going to be the one to meet you," Kael said honestly.

Cairo raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you want to meet me? I expected you to hate the Disciplinary Committee," Cairo stated locking his gaze with Kael, who let out a soft laugh.

Kael couldn’t deny that there was some truth in that.

The Disciplinary Committee had spent a considerable amount of time investigating him since the tournament.

He had been detained.

Questioned.

Accused of making a contract with a demon.

And Cairo himself had nearly killed him during their previous encounter.

Yet Kael had never really disliked the committee itself.

If anything, he found them interesting.

"Well, although I can see why you think that. The Student Council is going to be stressful and there’s no way I’m going there. I doubt I’ll get along with the Student Council," Kael stated.

Cairo looked at him for a moment.

"Why do you say that? I think you and the president might get along, just fine," Cairo replied.

Kael immediately shook his head.

"Nah, their presidents always have that stoic expression on their face, but," Kael paused making his suspicious obvious in his expression.

He stared at Cairo.

There was a slight change in his expression.

The joking attitude disappeared.

"When last we met, you tried to kill me. So I wonder why change your mind and try to recruit me," Kael said with a serious expression glaring at Cairo.

Cairo didn’t react immediately.

The question was fair.

Kael wasn’t the sort of person who would simply forget something like that.

During their last encounter, Cairo had regarded him as a threat.

Now he was offering him a position inside the very organization responsible for maintaining discipline throughout the academy.

Cairo finally answered.

"Oh, I’m still suspicious of you, but at the same time I feel you are the perfect candidate to be the next head of the Disciplinary Committee," Cairo stated.

Kael stared at him.

"Yeah, a student that happened to be possessed by a demon," Kael continued.

Cairo’s expression remained completely straight.

"Sarcasm, funny," Cairo replied, still looking at Kael.

Kael gave a small grin.

He wasn’t sure whether Cairo had actually found it funny or was simply tolerating him.

Probably the latter.

"But whatever, my reasons are my offer still stands. Do you want to be my Protégé?" Cairo asked once.

Kael looked away.

He thought about the offer.

There were several advantages.

The Disciplinary Committee had access to information that ordinary students didn’t.

They had connections throughout the academy.

They participated in investigations.

They dealt with incidents involving dangerous students and monsters.

More importantly, being a member would give Kael a legitimate reason to interact with several important people.

It was exactly the kind of position he had wanted.

Kael took a deep breath.

"Yes, I’ll be your Protégé," Kael replied.

Cairo’s expression changed immediately.

A small smile appeared on his face.

He had clearly expected the answer, but hearing it still seemed to satisfy him.

"Well, since, you’ve agreed, make a stop by the Disciplinary Committee tomorrow, we’ll introduce you to the rest," Cairo said turning to leave.

Kael watched him walk away.

He had expected more.

A ceremony.

Some sort of contract.

Maybe even a ridiculous speech.

Instead, Cairo simply accepted his answer and left.

Kael paused a moment still confused.

"We," he repeated.

Cairo had already made considerable distance between himself and Kael.

Then something moved.

A shadow stretched beside Cairo’s feet.

Someone stepped out of it.

The student had an exhausted expression.

His bangs covered most of his eyes, and his posture suggested that he would rather be anywhere else.

He looked like someone who had been dragged out of bed against his will.

Kael didn’t notice him.

The boy quietly followed behind Cairo.

Cairo glanced sideways.

"What do you think?" Cairo asked.

"He’s alright," The student by his side repeated with a sigh yawn as he walked past Cairo, "I still need to sleep if this is the boy you are so interested in, I can see why," The student said.

Cairo watched him walk ahead.

"Lynx, is that your true assessment?" Cairo asked the student.

The student stopped.

For the first time, he turned fully toward Cairo.

Lynx paused before turning Cairo.

"That’s it’s my actual assessment, although I couldn’t connect to his shadow," Lynx replied.

Cairo’s expression changed slightly.

"What would have happened if you did?" Cairo asked, a bit confused.

Lynx’s tired eyes became slightly more serious.

"His shadow would have consumed me whole," Lynx replied.

Cairo had a frown on his face.

The statement didn’t make much sense to him.

Lynx was stronger than Kael.

There was a clear difference in their ranks.

Yet Lynx was claiming that Kael’s shadow could have consumed him.

"But you are at a higher rank than him, why could his shadow be able to consume me?" Cairo asked.

Lynx remained silent for a moment.

Then he gave a tired sigh.

"When it comes to the concepts of elements, ranks rarely matter and that boy has unlocked one of the many concepts of the Darkness mana, and at the same time he awakened one of the most dangerous concept of Darkness mana," Lynx suddenly yawned feeling fatigued.

Cairo’s frown deepened.

He had already witnessed Kael’s Darkness Mana during the tournament.

He had seen the way it behaved.

It wasn’t simply ordinary darkness.

There had been something strange about it.

Something that even experienced mages couldn’t properly explain.

Lynx had now confirmed what Cairo had already begun to suspect.

Kael’s Darkness Mana wasn’t merely powerful.

It possessed a concept that made it dangerous even against people considerably stronger than him.

Lynx rubbed his eyes.

"If that is all, I’ll be going to my room, I really need to sleep," Lynx stated walking out of the hall.

Cairo didn’t stop him.

He simply stood there.

The sound of Lynx’s footsteps slowly disappeared down the corridor.

Cairo paused as he allowed Lynx’s words to settle.

"Hmm, that boy," Cairo muttered, turning back to where he met Kael.

He stared at the empty hallway.

Kael was gone.

Cairo’s thoughts returned to the tournament.

The final battle.

The darkness.

The strange symbol.

The way Kael’s fighting style had changed.

Everything pointed toward the same conclusion.

Kael was dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

But Cairo didn’t believe keeping him outside the Disciplinary Committee would make him any safer.

If anything, it would make him harder to monitor.

"It’s obvious that he’s dangerous, bringing him into the Disciplinary Committee is one of the best ways to keep an eye on him," Cairo thought as he processed Lynx’s speech while still recalling the events that happened through during the tournament.

He started walking again.

"He is truly dangerous," Cairo muttered as he kept walking.

Kael remained in the hallway for another moment after Cairo left.

He looked in the direction Cairo had disappeared.

Something about the encounter still bothered him.

Not the offer.

He had expected something like that eventually.

It was the strange feeling that someone else had been nearby.

Kael had sensed something.

Very faintly.

Like a presence hiding beneath another presence.

But it had disappeared before he could properly identify it.

"Was he here with someone?" Kael thought, a bit confused.

He scratched his head.

It wasn’t worth chasing after.

Not tonight.

Besides, he had more important things to think about.

Kael suddenly grinned.

One of his main agenda since entering the school was joining the Disciplinary Committee and you needed to be recruited by fellow member of the Disciplinary Committee.

Now he had finally gotten in.

He had originally expected it to happen later, after he had built more connections within the academy.

Instead, Cairo had made the decision himself.

Kael couldn’t complain.

"Now that I’m in the disciplinary committee, I would be expected to train with them for the upcoming Inter high tournament," Kael thought to himself.

His smile slowly disappeared.

The Inter High Tournament.

That was a completely different problem.

The first-year tournament had already shown him that this academy wasn’t filled with weaklings.

And the Inter High Tournament would bring students from other academies.

People he knew nothing about.

Different fighting styles.

Different abilities.

Different monsters.

And, most importantly, people who had been preparing for the competition for much longer than he had.

Kael sighed.

"This is going to be tough," he muttered as he walked towards his dormitory, with that psychopath coming for him ever during the extended holiday during the first semester to the Second Semester.

Just thinking about it made him tired.

He could already imagine the training.

Then there was his mother.

Then the Disciplinary Committee.

And now the Inter High Tournament.

Kael reached his dormitory and opened the door.

The familiar room greeted him.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

He dropped onto his bed.

The mattress sank beneath him.

Kael stared at the ceiling.

He had grown stronger.

There was no denying it.

His body felt different from when he first arrived at the academy.

His mana control had improved.

His physical abilities had improved.

His Darkness Mana had evolved.

And his understanding of combat had changed completely.

But there was still a long way to go.

Kael raised his hand.

"System."

The familiar translucent interface appeared before him.

His eyes moved down the list.

Name: Kael Draven

Class: ??

Rank: B-

Potential: ???

Strength: B-

Agility: B

Stamina: B-

Mana: B-

Kael stared at the numbers.

His lips slowly curved upward.

"I guess, I’ve grown stronger, maybe I’ll survive the Second Semester Inter high tournament," Kael thought, laying on his bed.

He closed his eyes.

For now, he didn’t want to think about training.

He didn’t want to think about the tournament.

He didn’t want to think about Cairo.

Tomorrow, he would officially enter the Disciplinary Committee.

That alone was enough trouble.

Kael pulled the blanket over himself.

"One problem at a time."

Within minutes, the room became silent.

Kael was asleep.