Crack!
Ssssrrrrtttttrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnngggggggg!!!
The barrier shattered, revealing Aether and the others.
Real Jack’s eyes widened in pure shock. “What the hell is this?!” he shouted, his voice dripping with disbelief, before turning to glare at his puppet. “Can’t you handle even a single fucking task, you useless idiot!” He punctuated his anger with a hard kick to his puppet.
“B-But I diverted them…” J1 stammered in a shaky, stunned tone. He was certain he had outsmarted them…. Yet,
The Principal turned sharply, her gaze locking on the old cloaked figure hovering in the sky. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the figure, feeling absolutely nothing—no aura, no energy, no presence.
Yet, this being had shattered her barrier as though it were mere glass. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire
The cloaked figure descended slowly, almost lazily, to the ground.
“Master!” Jack exclaimed, immediately dropping to his knees with reverence and fear.
Aether’s eyes widened in astonishment, ‘So this is the Master?’ he thought.
The cloaked figure gave a subtle nod before shifting its gaze to Victor, who stood unmoved and unimpressed, his head held high. Jack jabbed Victor’s knee with his elbow, urging him to show respect, but Victor barely reacted, instead saying with a smirk, “So you’re the Master everyone’s been whispering about… huh.”
The cloaked figure let out a soft laug, “Hah… Indeed, that would be me. This is our first meeting, Victor,” it replied, its voice smooth and eerily calm.
Victor nodded, stepping forward and extending his hand for a handshake… But the cloaked figure ignored the gesture, its gaze shifting instead to the Principal and her group.
“I must admit, I didn’t expect to find you here… Sovereign,” the figure said, its voice echoing with an unsettling resonance.
The Principal’s expression hardened as she studied the cloaked figure. Her voice was steady, demanding, as she asked, “Who are you?”
“Hmm… Everyone simply calls me Master,” the cloaked figure replied, almost dismissively, before scanning the group, “Fascinating… truly fascinating.”
Alaric stepped forward, “The Sovereign asked for your name, not your title. Who are you really?”
“Hmm…” The Master offered no response, his attention unwaveringly fixed on the Principal. “Now then… what are you waiting for?” he asked, extending a beckoning hand toward her.
“Wait!” Aether’s voice cut through the tension, “Where is Aqualina?!” he demanded suddenly, his eyes blazing with urgency.
The Master paused, tilting his head slightly toward Aether before shifting his gaze to Jack. Jack quickly responded, “He’s Aqualina’s servant.”
“Hmm… Color me surprised,” the Master said, his tone carrying a faint trace of amusement. “You’ve earned my respect, servant,” he added, his voice dipping into an almost acknowledgment. Then, after a moment’s pause, he continued, “Well, as for her…” He turned slightly, gesturing behind him. “She’s not far—resting peacefully, sound asleep.”
Aether exhaled, relief flickering across his face, ‘They haven’t done anything to her yet…’ he thought.
Morgana frowned deeply, gripping Lia’s hand tightly as she said, “We need to leave, now!”
Lia shook her head, her jaw tightening as she clicked her tongue in frustration. “I’m sorry, Aunt, but…” She cast a determined glance at Aether, who was clearly bracing himself for battle.
Lia bit her lip, “They’ve invaded our empire without permission. This is our responsibility to handle, Aunt!” As she spoke, her hands began to shimmer with particles of blood.
Morgana groaned, her face contorting in visible pain. Finally, she let out a weary sigh. “I’m only agreeing to this because the Sovereign is with us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t…”
“I understand!” Lia interrupted with a nod, a fierce smile spreading across her face. Her fangs extended, gleaming menacingly as her eyes locked onto Victor.
“Today, you will pay for the countless sins you’ve committed against Aether!” Lia hissed, her voice brimming with furious.
“Oh~ I’m trembling with fear~” Jack sneered, his tone mocking as he patted Victor on the shoulder. “You must be devastated to know Victor’s on our side, huh? What a cruel twist of fate for you.”
The Principal flinched at the words, She had nearly forgotten about Victor’s betrayal… maybe she didn’t care… anyway she needed to say some words, “I still can’t believe you’ve chosen their side, Victor.
But I’ll give you one last chance. Come with me. Accept a minor punishment, and I will forgive you.”
Victor, however, simply shrugged. “Sorry, but your side is boring,” he said with a smirk, his tone dripping with nonchalance.
“Told you!!” Alaric shouted furiously, his voice echoing with anger. “Didn’t I warn you not to trust this bastard?! Look at what’s happened now! This is exactly why I’ve hated him from the very beginning!” He seized the opportunity to highlight his point and boost his value in the Principal’s eyes.
“I’ll handle him,” Alaric growled. He had never forgotten the humiliation of that kick Victor had landed on him the last time their academy was in danger… It was high time to settle the score!
“Huh? Hold on. He’s mine!” Lia interjected, her tone sharp with irritation. “You can have Jack instead!” She frowned deeply, her annoyance clear. She hated when others tried to take what she considered her prey.
“Oh, come on! He’s obviously stronger than you!” Alaric shot back, his face twisting in frustration. He had no intention of letting anyone, especially Lia, interfere with his long-awaited revenge.
“Tsk, shouldn’t old people let the younger ones handle—” Before Lia could finish her taunt,
“Hahahaha…” The Master’s sudden laughter cut through the rising tension, “I-I can’t believe it… You’re all so focused on Victor instead of me. The sheer hatred you have for him is truly something!” His amusement was palpable as his voice echoed.
Jack chuckled along, clearly entertained. “Indeed. Victor pisses everyone off… That’s exactly why I like him~”
[+4000 AP]
“…”
The atmosphere shifted abruptly, plunging into a heavy, stunned silence.
Everyone’s attention snapped to Jack before collectively turning to Victor…. Something seemed to click in their minds all at once.
“I see…” they all murmured in eerie unison.
‘What do you mean, “I see”? That’s fucking not!’ Aether screamed inwardly, realizing they had completely misunderstood the situation. Somehow, they had convinced themselves that Victor’s alliance with Jack ran much deeper…. even deeper!
Alaric’s body trembled before he abruptly blurted, “Y-You can fight him!” He shifted his focus, clearly unnerved as he felt weird getting near to Victor.
Lia stared at Victor in stunned disbelief before her gaze flickered to…..Aether.
‘What now?’ Aether wondered.
Her thoughts spiraled into a wild conclusion she was never supposed to reach, and then she shouted in pure shock,
“You tried to seduce Aether?!”
“Pffttt—” The Principal struggled to stifle her laughter behind her hand. Meanwhile, Aether’s face contorted into one of pure annoyance as a flush of red crept up his cheeks. ‘Can we just fight already?!’ he thought, mortified.
They had misunderstood everything!
Jack’s expression turned sour, his lips curling into a snarl. “Oh? I see…” His glare locked onto Aether, dangerously cold and unyielding, as though he was ready to tear him apart for daring to “take” something precious from him.
And then—
Thud!
Before anyone could react, the Master suddenly appeared in front of the Principal and delivered a devastating punch to her gut. The force sent her hurtling into the sky, leaving everyone utterly stunned.
Just as Aether was about to move—
“Die, you fucker!” Jack roared, appearing in front of Aether with a pistol aimed directly at his head.
BANG!
The shot rang out, but Aether reacted just in time, catching Jack’s wrist and twisting it aside, causing the bullet to miss its mark.
“Hmm?” Jack was momentarily taken aback before his gaze hardened into a menacing glare directed at Aether.
“I was actually planning to use you later…” he began, his tone dripping with contempt, “but tsk, tsk… you just had to go out of your way to mess with what’s mine, didn’t you, fucker?” His growl was low and dangerous, his blank expression unnervingly cold. It was as if something had taken hold of him, twisting his words with a possessive edge as he declared,
“He is MINE!!”
[+5000 AP]
!~Ding~–
‘I’ll fucking kill you, Log!’ Aether fumed inwardly, glaring at the mental interface… to stop the system from doing anything unnecessary.
A cold shiver ran down Aether’s spine as he felt the sheer intensity radiating from Jack. This wasn’t someone he could afford to face right now—Jack had become far stronger than he had anticipated!!
More than one way!
And then—
BOOOOMMMM!!
The Principal crashed back down, landing with a resounding impact that shook the ground beneath them. She straightened up, cracking her neck audibly, before turning her attention to the cloaked figure. “Not bad… You’ve got some power,” she remarked with a sly grin, flexing her fingers as if preparing for a fight.