Chapter 132: A Past That Refused to Die
"They took longer than I expected."
Cher sat beside the barbecue fire, cutting into a piece of meat with a golden fork and knife while keeping her eyes fixed on the nearby rest building where Silas and Darius had disappeared.
She already knew what Silas wanted from Darius. The latter had revealed far too many suspicious signs during the mission.
’He helped us more than a few times with that ability...’
She admitted it without hesitation.
’Everyone has secrets.’
’Still... something about him doesn’t feel right.’
No matter how she tried to dismiss the feeling, it refused to fade. Darius’ ability left her with an unease she couldn’t explain.
"I’m sure Silas will handle it, as always."
Alfred’s calm voice broke the silence.
Nearby, Lara had already forced him to prepare a second round of meat for her squirrels. Holding another piece on a long stick, she sprinted around the clearing while the three monsters chased after her, competing to snatch it first. Their excited roars and Lara’s carefree laughter softened the atmosphere, though they did little to ease the thoughts weighing on the others.
Alfred had witnessed Darius’ ability firsthand, and Terio had as well.
As the newest member of the team, Terio remained unusually quiet. He neither interrupted nor questioned anything, carefully restraining every doubt that crossed his mind.
"That reminds me..."
Cher turned toward Alfred.
"You and I have a few things to discuss."
She pointed toward the parked shuttle.
"Since we’re waiting for them anyway, let’s talk over there."
Terio nearly choked on his food. His gaze shifted from Cher to Alfred, then toward the shuttle.
’Isn’t she on Silas’ side?’
The thought lasted only a moment. Alfred’s stiff expression immediately told him this conversation was anything but ordinary. Then he noticed the cold look in Cher’s eyes.
A frightening possibility crossed his mind.
’Is she going to kill him?’
’But... why?’
As though sensing his thoughts, Cher glanced at him. Their eyes met for only an instant, and that was enough.
Terio immediately lowered his head and returned to eating, pretending nothing around him existed.
’Sorry, brother...’
’I’ll pray for you.’
Alfred could only nod and follow. Oddly enough, he wasn’t surprised.
’I knew this day would come.’
’The Princess of Avaron... there’s no way she didn’t investigate me, just as she investigated everyone else.’
He had long realised how terrifying his teammates truly were.
Silas was an exceptional leader, but he lacked the influence and resources that came with a powerful clan.
Cher was different. As a daughter of the mighty Avaron Clan, she possessed both ability and connections.
As for Darius... Until meeting Terio, Alfred had never truly considered him dangerous. Now he knew better.
’He’s the most mysterious among us... the kind of person who acts instead of talking.’
’The most dangerous kind.’
His eyes lingered on Cher’s back as she walked toward the shuttle with steady, confident steps.
’And yet...’
’She’s the hardest one to deal with.’
He knew that if it had been Silas instead, he wouldn’t have felt this anxious. Silas would have his doubts and suspicions, but he would never possess enough information to uncover the truth about his past.
Cher was different.
Alfred didn’t need the meeting to begin to know she wouldn’t confront him with mere guesses.
’She’ll probably pull out a thick file from her portable device.’
The two entered the shuttle, yet Cher didn’t speak immediately. She left him alone inside while she waited for the crew to disembark. Only after the last person had left did she return, take the seat opposite him, and silently do exactly what he had expected.
"You see... I was far more interested in someone else, so I conducted a thorough investigation into everyone’s past."
She placed a thick file on the table between them, one she had received shortly before the shuttle departed from the mine. Resting a finger on its cover, she never looked away from Alfred.
"And guess what?"
"I was expecting someone else to shock me, but you turned out to be the biggest surprise of them all."
"I... I can explain."
Alfred didn’t just sense anger. He felt genuine hatred, and he knew it wasn’t without reason.
"Explain?" Cher let out a cold, bitter chuckle. "That’s almost funny."
"What exactly were you expecting?"
"You joined a team that included me, Cher Avaron. Did you really believe I would never uncover the truth?"
Her violet eyes gradually darkened, becoming colder with every passing second. Alfred could feel the weight of her fury pressing against him, yet he still had one final card to play.
"I can offer you something."
"Nothing but revenge can satisfy me."
Her voice grew lower, heavier, and the air inside the shuttle seemed to turn several degrees colder.
"My mother died at the hands of those filthy criminals."
"You came from that cursed laboratory."
"You bear their mark."
"And you bear their sins."
The more she spoke, the brighter her violet eyes became. Alfred realised that if he failed to stop her now, he would never leave this shuttle alive.
"I know who killed your mother."
Her expression didn’t change.
’Not enough.’
"And I know where you can find him."
This time, something finally shifted. The light in her eyes dimmed ever so slightly, although the hostility within them remained unchanged.
"Speak."
She wanted only the information. Letting him go had never been part of her plan.
Long before this meeting, she had already contacted one of her supporters and instructed him to verify every piece of information Alfred would reveal.
’People become desperate when death is staring them in the face.’
’Lies won’t save you.’
Alfred knew that simply revealing the man’s name wouldn’t be enough. Someone like Cher had almost certainly learned his identity years ago.
Instead, he carefully explained where she could find him while deliberately withholding the deeper secrets surrounding both the man and the laboratory.
’I may need these for another time.’
"But there’s something you need to know first..."
"I know."
Cher cut him off as she forwarded the recorded conversation to her supporter.
"I already know he’s dangerous."
She had no interest in hearing Alfred’s advice or receiving anything beyond the information she had asked for. As the report appeared before her, her thoughts drifted back to that night, the darkest nightmare she had ever endured.
She had been barely eight years old when someone breached the heavily fortified Avaron mansion. Even after all these years, no one had discovered how that man had slipped through the clan’s countless defences, fought her father, and murdered her mother.
’I still can’t believe that after all these years, all I know about that disastrous night is the killer’s name and identity...’
The thought made her frown. She had avoided revisiting those memories for years, yet seeing the name of that cursed laboratory in Alfred’s file forced everything she had buried to resurface.
’I’m sure Father had only recently advanced to A-grade.’
’Then how could he not stop that man, even with the clan’s special squad beside him?’
’How did the killer infiltrate the headquarters of the Avaron Clan without anyone noticing?’
Only then did Cher realise something.
The last time she had truly questioned that night, she had been no older than ten. Five years had passed since then, and she was no longer the frightened child who accepted everything she was told.
Now, she could see countless holes in the story surrounding her mother’s death.
Worse still, she had been there herself. She had watched that curved blade pierce her mother’s chest with her own eyes.
She still could recall the moment when her mother’s back was pierced by that glowing silver arced blade. Even so, her mother never budged an inch, shielding her from the killer so she wouldn’t be next.
Yet the more she tried to remember anything else, the hazier those memories became.
’I thought I’d never forget a single detail of that night.’
’Weird...’
A notification interrupted her thoughts.
She calmly opened the message about verifying Alfred’s intel and began reading, while Alfred remained perfectly silent, knowing his future depended entirely on whatever expression appeared on her face.
He didn’t dare speak, afraid that even a single careless word would reignite her hatred.
’I thought I was doing a good job avoiding her.’
He silently cursed his luck.
The moment Darius dragged him into this team, he had known this day would eventually come.
At first, Cher had paid him little attention, allowing him to stay safely in the background while she focused on Silas. He did his part as he didn’t speak too much, kept his real personality hidden, and acted as the cold and detached member of the team.
Later, after everything that happened at the mine, her suspicion shifted almost entirely toward Darius.
Alfred had been convinced she was trying to uncover Darius’ secrets. Instead, he was the one sitting before her.
’Dammit, Darius.’
’I thought you were the most mysterious among us.’
’Couldn’t you have had some earth-shattering secret to keep her occupied instead of exposing mine?’
Regret was pointless now.
His fate had been sealed the moment he joined this team, and all he could do was accept whatever came next.
"Very good..."
Cher deliberately took her time, spending more than ten minutes reading every line of the report before finally looking up.
The response came to verify what Alfred said. Yet she was a bit hesitant. He was part of the lab which attacked and killed her mother. But soon enough, she finally made up her mind.
’Trust your companions.’
’Fine, Gaia... I’m listening.’
She finally lifted her eyes off the wristwatch and looked at the ashen white face of Alfred.
"You didn’t lie to me."
"I’ll keep a close eye on that bastard."
"Until I become strong enough, no one is allowed to touch him."
The coldness in her eyes sharpened once more, darting away from Alfred, allowing the latter to have some blood return to his face.
"No one is going to kill him except me."
"He turned me into an orphan. He destroyed my life..."
"Silas is an orphan too."
"And look how far he’s come."
Alfred only wanted to comfort her, hoping a few words might improve her opinion of him.
Instead, the moment those words left his mouth, Cher shot him a terrifying glare.
’Shit.’
’Couldn’t you have kept your mouth shut, Alfred, you idiot?’
Just as he braced himself for an attack, the fury in Cher’s eyes slowly faded. Her hatred subsided, replaced by a complicated calm.
’Since he was a baby...’
’Silas lost both his parents...’
’At least I still had my clan to support me.’
’At least I have a father...’
’He had no one.’
Seeing her emotions settle, Alfred immediately decided that silence was the safest choice for the rest of the conversation.