As I stood there, breathing in the scent of iron and smoke, basking in the carnage I'd just caused, the sound of sirens tore through the air—distant and late.
Typical.
Not a single slayer had shown up when people were being ripped apart. They were supposed to be the saviors of humanity—protectors of the weak—but in moments like this, they were nothing more than leeches feeding off the chaos, waiting until the screaming stopped to make their entrance.
Then, as if the world itself wanted to mock me, two figures appeared.
Silent.
So silent it took me a moment to realize they were even there. The air around them felt heavy, like gravity itself bowed to their presence. Their clothing didn't look that of a slayer but their eyes gleamed faintly under the flickering park lights, and their faces were expressionless—cold and detached.
It hit me then.
They hadn't just arrived.
They'd been here the whole damn time.
"So, you are Adrian Kade," one of them said, his voice deep and cold enough to freeze the blood in my veins. His hair was bright blond, his eyes the sharp kind of blue that felt like they could cut through lies. "The son of Damian Kade and Selene Kade. You really do resemble your parents more than I expected."
My body tensed. He said their names so casually, like they were just some strangers—like they weren't my parents.
He continued, his tone still calm but laced with something sharp underneath. "So, you're part of the Genesis Protocol that Leon's been planning for a while. Interesting. If the true meaning of the Genesis Protocol is realized, then… we can finally surpass Monarch tier."
"Surpass… Monarch tier?" I muttered under my breath, the words barely escaping my lips.
I gasped. I'd never heard of anything like that before. Surpassing Monarch tier was supposed to be impossible. Monarchs were legends, walking calamities—the highest existence a Slayer could reach. Beyond that point, there was nothing but myth.
And yet, the way he said it—so certain, so matter-of-fact—made my stomach twist.
Just what the hell had Leon dragged us into?
"There's no need to think about it, young one," the blond-haired man said, his tone calm but his eyes sharp and unreadable. "The project is still far from its beginning—so don't waste your thoughts on the end."
Before I could respond, another voice spoke up. "Hey, Art, let's go. The police are getting close."
It was a woman this time—her voice smooth, commanding. She stepped forward from behind him, her crimson hair flowing like fire and her red eyes glowing faintly in the night. There was something terrifyingly beautiful about her presence—like looking at blood through stained glass.
"We'll meet again soon, Adrian Kade," she said, a faint smirk curling her lips. "Be prepared… because we, the Apostles of Disaster, will go beyond mortality—and become something greater than gods."
And before I could even blink, the air rippled. A sudden gust of wind brushed against my face, and both of them vanished—gone as if they were never there.
All that remained was the faint scent of ozone… and the heavy silence that followed was heavy.
***
The police arrived soon after, their sirens slicing through the air like an afterthought. The chaos had already ended. The corpses of the lesser void terrors that hadn't evaporated into dust were hauled away by containment teams. Their mana cores—still faintly pulsing with corrupted light—were collected by the clean-up unit.
Theo and I were escorted to the nearest hospital. He'd passed out the moment I started cutting through the monsters—I'd thought he was standing there, watching my moment of glory. Turns out, the idiot was unconscious the whole time.
Still, we both made it out alive. Bandaged, exhausted, but breathing.
By the next morning, the incident was already buried. The park was cordoned off, the bodies removed, and the "official report" credited the pro slayers for the rescue.
We weren't even mentioned.
Not that I was surprised. That's just how this world worked—heroes bleed, but the system gets the glory.
***
6 days later.
"Today, this is where we'll end. Please submit your internship reports by the end of the day," said the teacher before leaving the classroom.
Yeah… we were back at school, not the guild. The switch from fighting monsters to sitting behind desks felt surreal.
As soon as the teacher stepped out, the room filled with chatter and laughter. Me and Theo headed out for lunch, trays in hand. We found our usual spot by the window—same view, same breeze, but everything felt different after what happened.
"So," Theo said between bites, "are we really gonna keep going to Titan's Wrath?"
I stared at my food for a second before answering. "I don't know… after what happened at Heavenly Park, maybe we should."
"Yeah," he said with a grin. "If we stop now, all that pain would've been for nothing."
He laughed like always, but behind his eyes, I could still see it—the fear, the memory of blood and claws.
"Well, it happened days ago," I said, waving a hand as if I could erase the memory from the air. "Let's not dig that up again."
Theo nodded, stuffing his mouth with another bite. "So it's decided—we're continuing at Titan's Wrath."
Before I could respond, a familiar voice broke in.
"Hi there."
I froze for a second, recognizing it immediately. I turned, and there she was. I'd been wondering why I hadn't seen her around school lately.
Lucielle Frosthart.
The girl with two sponsors. The one who somehow got through the class incident without lifting a finger. Pretty, calm, and way too composed for a normal student.
She smiled, brushing a lock of her silver hair behind her ear before sitting beside me. The faint scent of frost and lilies followed her.
"I haven't seen you two in a while," she said softly, her eyes flicking between me and Theo.
Theo looked up from his food, blinking like he'd just seen a ghost. "Oh crap… it's the Ice Queen."
Lucielle gave him a side glance that could've frozen lava.
The thing is, this person never glanced our way back when we were at Slayer Academy. Not once.
She was one of those people who existed above the crowd.
She was untouchable, untalked to, and too damn perfect to be real.
So why now?
Why walk up to us of all people, after pretending we were invisible for years?
Hidden agenda, maybe?
<[End of chapter 14]>!!