Chapter 282
The consequences crashed down on Vasoth like a collapsing fortress. The ridicule would be merciless. Their rivals would savor this failure, dragging their names through the mud at every opportunity.
He remembered their last failure—the sharp sneers, the hushed whispers slithering through the corridors, the cold disapproval in their superiors’ eyes. Captain Jorak’s words still echoed in his mind: “Another failure. Perhaps you are not fit for this role.”
At that time, Sera was not with them, so the matter was forgotten quickly. Yet, it was very troublesome.
Not to mention the city lord; his city faced a massacre, and the culprit managed to escape, and even they, the inquisitors, were not able to catch them despite acting so confident earlier.
Their image would be shattered too—no, the image of Sera, their captain, would suffer the most as she was the one who had assured the city lord to bring back the culprit with them.
Vasoth glanced at Sera, noting the slight slump in her usually confident posture.
He knew how much she prided herself on her reputation, how tirelessly she had worked to become captain.
This failure would be a blow, and he could almost see the doubt creeping into the eyes of their subordinates.
The laughter was already there, lurking in the shadows of his mind. He could hear the jeers echoing through the headquarters, the smug smirks curling on their rivals’ lips. They wouldn’t just mock them. They would feast on their humiliation.
Not only was she defeated and looked miserable, the culprit had caused casualties among their battalion forces too!
Nothing could be more shameful.
Vasoth wondered if they would get penalized severely after reporting this back to headquarters.
‘Demotion is certain. Resources slashed. Troops reassigned. Perhaps even worse.’
He knew they were all in for a punishment upon return.
After all, they had tarnished the name of Inquisitors as its representing members.
The city lord would not remain quiet either and would likely demand the headquarters to increase their penalties too for his losses.
Should we have called for backup? The thought was bitter. But no—no inquisitor would have agreed. Their pride wouldn’t allow it. It was just one human. A kid. And yet, they had still lost.
What a cruel joke.
‘What a predicament.’ Vasoth sighed ruefully as he looked at Sera with hopeful eyes.
Only she could decide what to do next.
He would follow what she ordered.
“Regroup and return to the city. Report everything to the city lord. Then, we leave for headquarters,” she instructed, her voice even—too even.
A deceptive stillness, like the silence before a storm.
Too calm. The kind of calm that felt like a cliff’s edge, fragile and ready to crumble.
“Yes, captain.” Vasoth bowed and left finally, leaving Sera alone.
Tap Tap Tap
She walked to the edge of a shallow cliff, the dirt crumbling slightly beneath her boots, stones tumbling down into the darkness below.
She stood motionless at the cliff’s edge, staring at the vast emptiness below. Minutes stretched, swallowed by silence.
Then—
A laugh, soft at first. Then louder. It spilled from her lips, raw and unrestrained, shattering the quiet like a blade through glass.
In fact, she did not look worried at all.
Her shoulders trembled slightly with the laughter, soft at first—then louder, until it cracked against the air like brittle glass.
But rather, after overcoming the previous shock and dazedness, she felt more alive than ever. Her heart raced, not with fear, but with a thrill she hadn’t felt in decades.
Her skin tingled, and a smile tugged at her lips despite the circumstances. It was as if a dormant part of her had awakened, invigorated by the challenge.
“How long has it been?” Sera murmured, her voice almost wistful. “Decades, perhaps.”
Her fingers traced the memory like an old wound. “Not since the Death Witch. Not since I last felt fear—not like this.”
She could still remember that encounter vividly—the cold sweat on her brow, the trembling of her hands, not from fear, but from the sheer excitement of facing a worthy opponent.
An opponent whom she could not even touch at that time.
Her laughter spilled out in uneven bursts, raw and unrestrained. Tears pricked her eyes—whether from amusement or something deeper, she didn’t know. Slowly, she wiped them away, but the grin remained.
Her fingertips pressed against her cheeks a little harder than necessary, as if testing whether she was awake or dreaming.
“Life is so exciting; without them, I could never enjoy things as much as I am right now. The humans are really something…”
Her aura surged, thick as a living shadow, warping the air around her. Pebbles trembled, drawn into the energy before scattering like frightened insects. Fine cracks splintered across the cliff’s edge, mirroring the frenzy in her chest.
It was not an aura that was fueled by her thirst for revenge or hatred but rather her excitement, an obsession in her eyes that could not be hidden any longer.
She slowly placed her hand over her chest; her heart was pounding loudly against her ribs.
“You can feel it, right?” She asked her heart as it pounded even louder, a wild drumbeat echoing in her ears.
“This excitement, this energy, this fear, all of this is making me crazy. This crazed motivation I am experiencing right now, no one can feel it,” she whispered.
Her blood roared in her veins, a violent symphony of anticipation and dread. This was the melody she had craved, the rhythm that made her truly alive.
“No one has made me feel this way since that day… not the so-called prodigies, not even the elders. I’ve been searching—endlessly searching…”
Her fingers twitched, curling into fists. The hunger in her eyes deepened.
Her dark espera pulsed—unstoppable, ravenous.
She started laughing hysterically, looking above at the sky.
The sky stared back, dark and unmoved, yet her laughter filled the void as if daring the heavens to respond.
It took her a whole while to calm herself down; the excitement was like a raging bubble, threatening to burst out.
“What doesn’t kill me will make me stronger,” she spoke to herself in a firm voice. It was the first serious note to her voice after returning.
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