"Varian…is gone."
"Hahahaha!" Narcis burst out laughing. Every fiber of his being was exhilarated.
This was easily the single best news he heard in his entire life!
The best part? He didn't do anything for it!
Was this what they call Heaven's gift?
Narcis didn't know, but his elation was only rising. He looked at the debris in the hologram and seemed to see Varian in them.
"I hate you. You are the same age as me, you are in the same class as me, but you are way, way stronger." Narcis said bitterly. "You don't deserve the power. Peak level 5 as 1st year?"
He wanted to spit out those words since the day Varian defeated him in the duel. But his fragile self-esteem held those words in.
Nothing hurt his self-esteem than admitting he was of less worth compared to Varian. So he held those words back. He denied reality. He deluded himself. But he never admitted.
Even if he did that, Varian's ascent was a nightmare to him.
Narcis just couldn't accept that someone his age was better than him.
If it was a small gap, he could've competed.
But the gap was so big that he couldn't even see the back of that person.
He wasn't even qualified to be a rival, much less an opponent.
Then came the worst part of his nightmare.
Varian became the winner of the Solar Trial. Something that Narcis couldn't even dream of with his current prowess.
But his peer, a guy of the same age did it!
Narcis understood something at that moment. His opponent was already competing with his brother.
Whereas he…he was not even qualified to be a mob.
The realization suffocated him and he felt like dying. But then came heaven's gift.
"Hahahahah!" Narcis chortled. He was happy. No. He was ecstatic.
But before he knew it, Narcis curled up and shed tears.
"Why? Why am I so weak?" His rational side kept wailing.
"Yes! He must die!" His emotional side kept groaning.
But Narcis quickly ignored his rational side, wiped off the tears he considered to be shameful, and leaned back into the couch.
"I must celebrate. I'll throw a party, should I call…Sarah, hehehe—heuk!"
As he was about to tap his comm, a heavy pressure descended.
The chair he was sitting on broke into pieces and Narcis was instantly blown away.
Baa!
He crashed on the ground and sprawled out like a dog.
"Who?!" Narcis yelled in rage and shock.
How the hell did this person get in?
Countless powerhouses were on the scene! With their powerful senses, someone must have noticed the situation already!
Narcis' thoughts spun as he consoled himself that things would be fine.
'They'll find the anomaly any second now. Just be patient. Patient. Patient…'
Ta. Ta. Ta.
Rhythmic footsteps sounded, and with each passing second, their volume increased, indicating the intruder was getting closer and closer to him.
But the so-called experts didn't appear! They didn't seem to notice anything at alL!
A sense of unease welled up in Narcis' heart. "Guards! Guards!"
His calls garnered no reply.
He had level 7 guards! Where the fuck are they now?
'Brutes! For your dereliction of duty, you will face cruel punishments! Don't even come begging to me then. I gave you a chance to save me already. Heck! You allowed this person to sneak into the spaceship! I think you'll be better off serving as a lab rat!'
Ta! Ta! Ta!
The footsteps grew louder. In fact, it was his sensitive hearing that made them sound louder. But he was able to judge that the person was only ten meters away from him.
Ta! Ta!
With each footstep, Narcis' heart pounded and threatened to stop. He was scared! This shouldn't be! But the periodic, rhythmic, and almost artistic footsteps, his heart grew tenser and tenser.
"Fuck!" Realizing no guards were coming, Narcis mentally activated his comm and was about to contact his father.
Right then—
Kacha!
A black shoe stepped on his comm, crushing it and in the process, breaking his left-hand bones into countless pieces.
"Arrrgggh!" Narcis screamed as tears ran down his cheeks. His body struggled to twitch, but under the heavy aura, it couldn't move at all.
Gone!
One-stop and his left hand was gone!
Narcis couldn't feel anything below his forearm. "I don't know who you are! But if you're looking for ransom, then—"
Kacha!
A black-light flashed and Narcis felt something strike his face. The next moment, he flew into the air, coughing out blood.
'Wah…what is this?' As his world spun, Narcis's mind seemed to slow down for a moment.
Then the pain caught up. Searing pain coursed through every fiber of his being and particularly his face.
His jaw was broken into pieces and his cheeks were now cracked. His face was a mess of flesh, bones, and blood. His vision was dyed red.
Under the extreme pain, Narcis cried.
And he also understood one thing. He was in no position of power. He was a weak and helpless awakener.
Without his backing, his own strength was nothing!
But he didn't want to die here! No matter the cost!
"Pweashe…lheh…mea…gho…" Narcis begged, his broken mouth forming incoherent sounds.
He initially thought it was a kidnapping attempt.
These days, there has been a rise in kidnapping cases. But he realized he was being too naive.
This person was really trying to kill him.
Was dignity more important than dignity?
To Narcis, the answer was a clear no.
So, he swallowed his pride and begged again.
"Pweash…Shworry…leht me goh…"
"Let you go? Heh." A sweet, but cold voice sneered.
Ta! Ta! Ta!
Her shoes clinked with the floor and Narcis was finally able to see the violent maniac.
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
Only if he wasn't lying at her feet with serious injuries in a puddle of blood, Narcis would've greeted her with the most expensive flowers he could find.
But in this situation, all he could do was dumbly stare as the beauty's golden eyes looked at him with coldness and…hatred.
Hatred?
What did he do?
He didn't even have a memory of her.
"Whahy?" Narcis spoke once again. His throat seemed to burn as blood dripped on the ground and formed a small puddle.
But he didn't care. He needed to know why he was treated so unfairly!
"Why?" She repeated and her beautiful lips flashed a cold smile.
Narcis felt an impact in his stomach and the next moment, he felt like his stomach was hit by a hammer.
Baam!
He flew in a parabola, hit the wall, and slid down to the ground. Probably, every organ in his stomach was broken by this point. Even if it's not broken, it was a horrendous mess.
"Narcis, you are the first enemy Varian made." The girl said lightly. When she muttered the word Narcis, her tone was full of coldness. But when the same girl said Varian, it was full of gentleness.
Varian's name caused Narcis who was about to faint to suddenly focus. His thoughts spun and he realized it!
Aha!
So she's Varian's ally or lover or backer. Was this his hidden background?
But so what? Varian was already dead!
Now, why deal with him?
There's no use in killing him!
"Your father promised Enigma to not attack Varian, but he broke it without hesitation," Sia said as she unsheathed a red sword.
Narcis felt the venomous hatred in her voice and shivered. But even more than that, he was puzzled by the promises his father made to Enigma.
Was Varian so important that his father had to promise Enigma not to attack him?
And more importantly, how could Enigma force Julius to an agreement?
He didn't know. With the state of things, he never will.
"I wanted to kill Charles, but he's Varian's target. Let him sort it out. And you, you aren't even qualified to be an insect, but you're making fun of Varian.
Varian doesn't even see you as a peer, You're like a pebble on the ground to him.
But I don't like it when someone wants to harm him. I don't like how you forced Varian and made his early academy life hell. You must be punished!"
The more she said, the angrier Sia became. She knew what was happening with Varian the whole time.
But as per the agreement, she wasn't allowed to be involved in his life. But now those bastards—
"And Narcis, for your father breaking the agreement, you should pay.
That's your only value anyway."
Sia's words cut him deeper than any knife could.
"I feel sorry that I can't torture you, but I'll be busy.." She said and slashed her sword.
"Mha! Grhh!"
Narcis struggled with every fiber of his being. He hoped someone would save him. He hoped the girl would forgive him. He hoped none of this ever happened.
But—
The cold metal finally touched his neck and cut through his flesh. Before he could think further, the world went blank.
"….Sorry." He muttered before his head rolled on the ground.
Sia looked at him without any pity.
"If you go against him, you go against me." She muttered and picked his comm.
Without any hesitation, she recorded the gruesome and incomplete corpse and sent ito to Julius.
[Your Son's last message]
Then she looked back at the assassination site and sighed.
With the strange treasure he used to sneak into Enigma's residence last time, Varian must be alive.
Sia didn't know why she felt that way, but the feeling was quite strong.
The closer they were, the stranger such feelings became.
'Even if you are alive, attacking you is unacceptable. Xanders, Kreo, both of you must pay.'
Sia's grip on her sword tightened and her gaze burned with tremendous killing intent.
In fact, her killing intent equaled Evander who was on the battlefield for more years than she was awake in her entire life!
Shaking her head, Sia thought for a moment and retrieved an explosive.
'This should do.'
The meeting outside was still going on when Narics' space shuttle blasted into pieces.
Everyone on the scene froze.