"What do you want?" I asked her flatly, my tone sharper than I intended.
Lucielle just smiled, brushing a lock of silver hair behind her ear. "Why are you so uptight, Adrian? Loosen up a bit."
Her tone was playful, but I could feel the pressure behind it — subtle, heavy, like invisible hands pressing down on my shoulders.
Lucielle Frosthart.
Daughter of The Monarch of Gravity.
A woman who could bend space with a flick of her wrist. A woman who stood just beneath the apex of the world's power hierarchy — and the only reason she wasn't at the top was because of my parents.
Damian and Selene Kade — the dual legends that made the word Monarch seem small.
And here their daughter stood, smirking like she wasn't the daughter of a near god, trying to make small talk with me.
It didn't sit right. None of it did.
Theo was quiet beside me, clearly nervous. I could feel his unease.
Lucielle tilted her head, her crystalline eyes studying me like I was a puzzle she was trying to solve.
"Relax," she said, her voice honeyed but her gaze sharp. "I'm just curious about you, Adrian. You've changed."
Yeah. Curious.
That word never meant anything good in this world.
"What do you mean, changed?" I said, narrowing my eyes. "There's nothing different from what I used to be."
The air shifted.
I didn't even realize it at first — the quiet hum of mana began to rise from under my skin, my pulse syncing with it.
"Lucielle," I said, my tone low, "I'll ask you for the last time—what do you want?"
My white hair lifted slightly, strands flowing upward as if gravity had stopped existing for me. The red in my eyes deepened, glowing with that same predatory gleam that had terrified the void terrors.
And then—
BOOM!
A gust of wind burst out from me, shaking the tables around us. Papers flew. The other students froze mid-bite, wide-eyed.
Lucielle didn't flinch. Not even a little.
Instead, she smiled. A calm, knowing smile.
"There it is," she whispered. "That's what I meant."
Her eyes shimmered with violet light — and for a moment, the pressure of gravity around her surged, pushing down on the cl like a storm.
Two forces collided — my aura rising, hers weighing everything down — the air thick with raw power.
Theo stood, panicked. "Hey, hey! Both of you, stop! You're gonna blow the place up again!"
But neither of us moved.
Lucielle just smirked, leaning in close enough that her words brushed against my ear.
"I have a favor to ask of you both. If it isn't a hassle, that is," Lucielle said, her tone calm but her eyes sharp — calculating.
The daughter of the Monarch of Gravity.
What could she possibly want from us?
I crossed my arms and leaned back slightly, watching her every move. Theo stayed quiet beside me, still looking uneasy after the aura clash earlier.
"Speak," I said flatly.
Lucielle smiled faintly — the kind of smile that never reaches the eyes.
"I want you two to come with me," she said, her fingers brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "There's something I need help with… and it involves the Genesis Protocol."
At that name, my body tensed up immediately.
Theo glanced at me. "Did she just—"
"Yeah," I cut him off, staring straight into her violet eyes. "You better start explaining, Frosthart. Because that's not something you just say casually."
We stood up and left the cafeteria and went outside to the back of the school.
We stood up and left the cafeteria, heading to the back of the school where the noise of lunch chatter faded behind us. The air was quieter there — still, heavy with the weight of whatever Lucielle was about to say.
She folded her arms, her expression unusually serious.
"Please help me get into Titan's Wrath," she said plainly.
I narrowed my eyes. "Before we even think about that, tell us how you know about the Genesis Protocol."
Lucielle sighed, brushing her silver hair back. "Well, okay."
Her voice softened, almost hesitant — something I'd never expect from her.
"It was before the incident at Heavenly Park. Leon Everlance — the Star-tier Slayer — was once a student of my mother's, the Monarch of Gravity."
Theo's eyes widened a little at that. "Leon Everlance? That guy's basically a walking calamity."
Lucielle nodded. "Exactly. One day, he came to my mother and introduced her to something he called the Project. They discussed its contents privately, but I overheard enough to understand the basics." She paused, glancing at me. "The Genesis Protocol isn't just research. It's an attempt to force evolution — to make Slayers exceed their limits… maybe even surpass the Monarch tier."
I felt my breath hitch for a second. The words hit like a gunshot, echoing in my mind.
That's exactly what the blonde-haired guy said… the one who called himself an Apostle of Disaster.
I clenched my fists unconsciously.
"Then it's real," I muttered. "The project… everything."
"But how do you force evolution?" Theo asked, his brows furrowing as he stared at Lucielle. "I mean… how do they make Monarch Tiers move past Monarch Tier? What even comes after that?"
He paused for a moment, his tone sharpening.
"What's Leon Everlance really aiming for?"
Lucielle looked away, her eyes distant — as if recalling something she wished she hadn't overheard.
"The Genesis Protocol…" she said quietly. "It isn't just about power. It's about defiance."
Theo frowned. "Defiance?"
She nodded once, her tone soft, almost reverent.
"Leon Everlance believes the Monarch Tier isn't the peak. That there's something beyond — a state where humans stop being beneath gods and start standing beside them."
I felt a strange tightness in my chest. "And how do you even reach that?" I asked.
Lucielle's gaze lifted to the gray clouds above us. "By forcing the soul to evolve. By breaking the natural limits that bind our existence. He calls it The Next Ascension."
Theo's face twisted with disbelief. "Forcing evolution? That's insane. What's the point of becoming something beyond human if it destroys you?"
Lucielle smiled faintly, though there was no joy in it. "That's the question, isn't it?" She turned her eyes back to me. "He believes it's worth the risk. Because beyond Monarch Tier… lies something he calls the…
<[End of chapter 15]>!!