But just then—

A sharp voice cut through the air like a whip.

"Enough!"

The blazing fist stopped midair, its flames flickering out as if doused by invisible water. The ground trembled from the sudden halt of energy, and every eye turned toward the newcomer.

Vice President Kim stood between them, his tall figure radiating quiet authority that pressed on everyone's chest. His coat fluttered from the lingering aura, but his expression was calm—too calm.

He didn't shout again. He didn't need to.

The Nelkon captain gritted his teeth, stepping back only a little, his fury refusing to fade. "Vice President Kim, this boy—!"

"I said enough." Kim's tone was sharp, controlled, like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath. His gaze shifted briefly toward Kieran, who stood motionless, white flames still fading from his hands.

A faint smirk curved Kieran's lips, and it didn't escape Kim's notice.

"What's going on here?" Kim asked, his tone cold but level. "We're barely out of the tower, and captains are already turning the camp into a battlefield?"

The Nelkon captain's jaw clenched.

"That brat attacked my men! Do you expect me to watch quietly while my people are slaughtered?"

Kim's eyes narrowed. "Slaughtered? That's a bold claim."

The captain pointed an accusing finger at Kieran. "He killed them, Vice President Kim! Frank and the others—there's not even a body left! They vanished, erased as if burned out of existence! If that's not a threat, I don't know what is."

A murmur rippled through the crowd, cold and uneasy.

Kim turned to Kieran, who met his gaze steadily. "Is that true?"

Kieran's voice came low, steady, but there was something haunted beneath it. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Kim repeated.

Kieran's brows drew together slightly. "I remember fighting them. Then… nothing. When I woke up, they were gone. I didn't mean for it to happen. I didn't even know it did happen."

The Nelkon captain barked a humorless laugh. "Convenient, isn't it? 'I don't remember'—that's your excuse?"

Kieran didn't flinch. "Believe what you want."

Kim's eyes flickered between the two, reading the tension in the air. "Even if it's true," he said evenly, "you attacking a student is not how justice works."

The Nelkon captain's tone turned icy. "With all due respect, Vice President Kim, this has nothing to do with the AFO. This is a matter of the Nelkon family. Our people were killed."

Kim's gaze hardened instantly. The air in the area seemed to tighten.

"But the tower," Kim said calmly, "is solely under the guidance of the AFO. Which means your family has no authority here. Anything you wish to do will have to wait until we've left this realm."

The captain scoffed, his pride stung. "You think this ends here?" He gave Kieran a venomous glare that practically dripped with promise. "Fine. Enjoy your little shield while it lasts, boy."

He turned sharply and stormed off, his subordinates following after him, though not without casting fearful looks Kieran's way.

The crowd began to disperse, uneasy whispers echoing through the cold air.

Kim remained silent until the last of them had left. Then his eyes met Kieran's. "You enjoy testing boundaries, don't you?"

Kieran gave a faint smile. "Only when people cross mine first."

Kim didn't return the smile. "You're walking a dangerous path. I can hold them off while we're inside this tower, but once we leave—" his voice dropped lower, "—the Nelkon family will come for you. And I won't be able to protect you then."

Kieran didn't react immediately. He looked away, his eyes following the fading glow of the mana lanterns. "Then I'll just have to be ready."

Kim's gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before he turned away, muttering, "You sound too confident for someone who just lost control of himself."

That word—lost control—made Kieran's chest tighten slightly.

He remembered flashes of movement, screams, heat, and then silence.

No bodies.

Just ash.

He didn't remember killing anyone, but the images refused to leave his mind.

---

That night, the camp felt colder.

The moon hung high, pale and ghostly over the empty training grounds. Only a few sentries stood watch, the mana lanterns humming faintly in the darkness.

Kieran sat on a bench near the edge of the field, staring into the distance. He could still feel Kim's aura—razor sharp, controlled, dangerous.

'That man's not just strong,' Kieran thought. 'He's precise. He knew exactly when to step in.'

But what unsettled him wasn't Kim. It was himself.

He closed his eyes, and the memory flickered again: the moment his vision went white, the strange voice whispering from the depths of his mind, the feeling of something else taking over.

Then nothing.

Jacob's voice broke the silence. "You know, most people take it easy after a mission. You start civil wars."

Kieran didn't look at him. "They came for me first."

Jacob sighed. "Doesn't matter. You're not just some random recruit anymore. The Nelkon family won't forget this. Frank was one of their own, and now he's gone. Not dead—gone. No trace. You think they'll just let that slide?"

Kieran's tone stayed calm, but his eyes darkened slightly. "Then they'll learn the same way he did."

Jacob froze at the quiet menace in his voice. "You don't even hear yourself sometimes."

Before Kieran could reply, a faint chime echoed through the field. A small glowing orb floated toward him and unfolded into a message.

『Vice President Kim requests your presence at the central tower.』

Jacob groaned. "Again? He must really like you."

Kieran stood, brushing off his jacket. "Or he's looking for answers."

Jacob crossed his arms. "Just… be careful, alright? Kim's not someone who gets fooled easily."

Kieran nodded faintly. "I know."

---

The central tower loomed at the center of the camp, humming softly with mana. Inside, the air was cold, filled with the rhythmic pulse of reactors beneath the floor.

Kim stood near the wide window overlooking the distant forest. His reflection shimmered faintly against the glass, his posture straight and unreadable.

"Sit," he said without turning.

Kieran obeyed, lowering himself into the chair opposite the desk. The silence between them stretched thin, broken only by the low hum of energy below.

"You're calm," Kim said finally. "Most recruits aren't, after killing three people."

Kieran's gaze didn't waver. "I didn't kill them."

Kim turned, his eyes sharp. "Then what did?"

Kieran hesitated. "…I don't know."

Kim studied him for a long moment, then he briefly glanced over his shoulder, "Come in"

Suddenly, a round faced plump boy walked in.

He walked confidently, his shoulder held high.

For newly awakeneds like him, getting to be in the same room as the vice president of the AFO was a lifetime privilege he could brag with.

"Use your abilities" Kim ordered.

Kieran raised a brow, looking at the boy with a cautious look.

The boy walked forward, and placed his two hands over the table.

Taking a deep breath, he focused all his energy and slowly, a bright white light took form.

The mana surged, forming a crystal tablet.

Slowly the crystal tablet rested on his hands, and he slowly placed the crystal tablet on the desk.

It projected footage of Kieran's battle against Castan—the white flames, the distortion, the divine-like surge of power.

Kieran frowned at the sight.

"This energy," Kim said quietly, "doesn't belong to any known element. Not fire, not celestial, not even divine. It's something else entirely."

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