Chapter 76: blazing
"Are you out of your fucking mind Kael?"
The Haven’s main door slammed shut behind Lightning Lass, her A-rank suit crackling faintly with static as she shoved Kael backward, her electric eyes blazing with a fury that caught him off guard.
The air in the room thickened, charged with her irritation, the faint hum of her power vibrating against the gray walls.
Kael stumbled, catching himself against the desk, his hazel eyes narrowing as he steadied his stance.
"What the hell’s wrong with you?" he asked, voice low but sharp, his usual smirk absent. Lightning Lass—Liss, wasn’t one for theatrics, not like this.
Her bluntness was her blade, but this anger felt personal, raw.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she flung a crumpled newspaper at him, the pages fluttering like a wounded bird before he snatched it mid-air.
The headline screamed in bold: "Fire Lantern: The Next S-Rank Hero?" Below it, a grainy photo captured Rhea—crimson hair wild, amber eyes fierce—mid-battle against a monstrous crocodile-lizard hybrid, its scales glinting under her conjured flames.
Crocky, the article called it, a A-rank beast she’d fought single-handedly.
Kael’s lips twitched, pride flickering in his chest.
Rhea—his Flame-Warden turned Flame-Lantern, his first success—had skyrocketed into the public eye faster than he’d anticipated.