Chapter 66: You're Still Weak
A split second.
A single second was all Caelan needed.
His blade cleared his scabbard before Talia could even blink, thrusting straight for her collarbone.
She threw herself backward, her boots scraping across the marble as she scrambled deeper into the foyer to put space between them. Without missing a beat, she whipped her sword around in a tight arc, releasing a heavy wave of black magic.
The energy was pure darkness, suffocating and foul, a sickening contrast to her polished, noble appearance.
Caelan didn't even flinch. He angled his blade sideways, caught the wave dead on, and slashed straight through the center.
The dark magic split down the middle, fizzling out into useless smoke.
"Man. You're still as weak as you were back in school," Caelan said, letting out a small, easy laugh.
A thick vein popped on Talia's forehead.
"You..."
Her face flushed crimson, her mouth working but no sound coming out.
She snapped. Talia charged Caelan with everything she had, driving her sword toward his left ribcage with a textbook form she must have drilled ten thousand times. Her face was twisted into pure, ugly rage.
She dug her heel into the stone floor, pouring every drop of mana she had left into the blade.
The sheer pressure in the air knocked the breath right out of Nuri's chest. He knew they were safe with the captain standing in front of them, but seeing that kind of raw, murderous power up close still made his knees wobble.
And Caelan? The guy looked like he was out for an afternoon stroll.
Even his grand entrance was a total cliché. Walking through the front door like he owned the place... honestly, Nuri couldn't even blame Talia for losing her mind.
Sigh.
Once again, the captain was out here making life-or-death fights look like a joke.
Caelan didn't wait for her blade to hit. He raised his sword horizontally across his chest, his lips moving as he muttered a short chant to the God of Harmony.
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The air blew cold.
A heavy, swirling torrent of water-like mana erupted around his steel, shooting forward like a whipped chain, moving exactly where Caelan pointed his wrist.
CRACK.
In a single hit, Talia's sword shattered into a hundred jagged glass shards.
The pressure wave whipped past her face, slicing a thin line across her cheek. A single line of blood beaded and ran down her jaw.
She hit the marble floor hard, sitting there in the debris, staring at her empty hilt like she couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
The kids stared just as hard, their eyes wide.
The woman who had almost chopped them into pieces two minutes ago was now sprawled out on the floor, helpless.
"You..." Talia gasped, her fingers digging into the stone floor. "You and that blonde freak are the exact same! Neither of you ever change!"
Her voice cracked, turning into a screech.
"No matter what I do, both of you walk around like you own the world!" She slammed her fists against the floor. "Because of you two... my plans always fall apart! You're always in my way!"
She screamed so loud the sound bounced off the high ceiling, forcing everyone, even Caelan, to wince and cover their ears.
"Why are you blaming him and me?" Caelan asked, squinting down at her and pulling his pinky from his ear. "You brought this on yourself."
Talia glared up at him, her eyes bloodshot.
"You just took it way too far this time," Caelan added softly.
He slid his sword back into its sheath with a quiet click, turned toward the open front door, and whistled.
A dozen heavy armored boots banged against the entrance steps. Squadrons from the Knight Order poured into the foyer, moving fast with iron chains and restraint papers already in hand. They knew exactly what they were here for.
"You can't do this! I am a noble!" Talia shrieked as two heavy knights pinned her arms behind her back.
"Sorry, Talia. You crossed the line," Caelan said, watching passively as they dragged her out the front doors.
Despite the noise and chaos, Nuri couldn't stop his brain from fixing on one detail.
Talia knew Lucien.
Or at least, Nuri was pretty sure that's who she meant by "that blonde freak."
The weird part was, she didn't seem to know Lucien was the actual Heretic.
Which raised an even bigger problem: how much did the captain know? Had he seen Lucien?
No. Nuri was certain that no matter how much Caelan tolerated the guy, if he caught Lucien committing an actual crime, he'd lock him up in a second.
Unless... Caelan just knew better than to try and hold him.
Something was deeply off about the whole thing.
Then again, who was Nuri to figure it out? It wasn't his business anyway. They could play their shadowy games all they wanted, as long as it didn't drag him into it. Hanging around either of those two was just a fast track to an early grave.
"Everyone alright?" Caelan turned around, looking them over with that same stupidly gentle expression Turman had worn earlier.
Ugh. Not that face again.
Caelan's eyes settled on Wan's tall, deformed frame standing next to Turman.
"Hmm... we're gonna have a problem walking him down the main street like that," Caelan murmured, rubbing his chin as he looked over Wan's cracked skin. "Oh well. We'll figure something out."
He jerked his thumb toward the door. "Come on. We're heading back."
"Can we really come with you?" Turman asked, stepping forward nervously.
Even though Nuri and Alina had promised him he could, Nuri wasn't actually sure Caelan would allow it. Especially with Wan looking the way he did.
Caelan looked at the two brothers, a warm, easy smile breaking across his face.
"The Knight Order doesn't turn people away," Caelan said. "Anyone with talent is welcome."