Splash!

A bucket of cold water crashed over Kael-X's face. His eyes snapped open, red veins dancing faintly across them as consciousness returned.

"Tsk…" He groaned, shaking his head sluggishly. "Where the hell am I?"

He tried to move, but resistance tugged at his limbs. His wrists and ankles were bound by thick ropes glowing with dull inscriptions.

He looked up, and his narrowed gaze met the sight of six figures looming over him. At their head was a familiar face.

"Bruno…" Kael muttered, his voice dripping venom. Then he smirked. "Hah. So the Blazing Medites finally decided to crawl out of their hole, huh?"

Bruno's grin stretched thin and cruel. "Oh, it won't be funny soon." He gestured with his hand. "Bring her in."

Two men dragged another bound figure forward and threw her into the light. Her wrists tied, her mouth gagged, her eyes wide with fear.

Kael's body stiffened the moment he saw her. Samantha.

The sparks began immediately—tiny, unstable flickers of lightning crawling across his skin.

Bruno noticed and chuckled. "It's funny, isn't it? Our little yellow lightning user. We actually mean well for you, Kael. Join the Blazing Medites, and everything will be fine. You have two choices: the first, join us willingly. The second, refuse… and she dies with you."

The other men burst into mocking laughter. One of them sneered, leaning closer. "And don't even bother trying to fight. That rope binding you? An elemental restrainer. No power, no lightning, no escape. You're finished."

Their laughter echoed in the room.

Kael, however, only tilted his head and… smiled.

The laughter faltered. "Why are you smiling?" one of them demanded.

Kael's eyes glowed faintly. "Because I wanted to see how far you'd go. But threatening Samantha?" His grin sharpened into something predatory. "That's the worst mistake you've ever made in your life."

The sparks intensified, crackling louder with each heartbeat. "You think the sports master and the athletes in that room were the targets? No. That miasma—" He leaned forward, his voice low, dangerous. "—was only meant for me. Which means they're your accomplices. They already took the antidote, didn't they?"

Bruno's eyes widened, then he clapped slowly, mockingly. "Impressive… you figured it out. To think you could see through all this."

Kael almost chuckled. Well, my intelligence stat is 3000+ after all.

"But let me make one thing clear." His tone dropped into cold steel as arcs of lightning danced wildly around him. "I am not… an elemental."

WHOOOOM!!!

The entire room trembled as a shockwave erupted from his body. The so-called elemental restrainer shattered into dust, disintegrated by raw force.

Kael's gaze snapped toward Samantha. Still bound. Still gagged. His jaw clenched. This is where destruction would be useful… but unfortunately, I don't have it yet.

The Blazing Medites froze. Disbelief twisted their faces. The restrainer was absolute. It was impossible to break it.

"What… what are you?!" one of them stammered.

Kael stood tall, eyes glowing like stormlight. "Let me tell you a story." His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of thunder.

"In a place called Zypheron-5, there was a commander named Zulek. A tyrant, surrounded by countless elite fighters. One of his elites… fell in love with a woman named Layla. But Zulek's son desired her too. When she rejected him, she was executed. Her lover—too weak to protect her—watched helplessly. But before his death, he swore…"

The sparks grew violent, streaks of yellow flashing around his fists.

"…that no one he loved would ever be harmed again. Even if it cost him his life."

The last word thundered as Kael raised his palm.

CRACK—BOOOOM!

Nine streaks of lightning burst forth. Eight speared through the chests of his enemies, dropping them instantly, their screams silenced before they hit the ground. The ninth split midair, slicing through the ropes binding Samantha and burning away the gag.

Kael vanished in a flash and reappeared before her, eyes softening. "Are you alright?"

Samantha staggered to her feet, staring at him in disbelief. "Yes…" she whispered.

"Good." He glanced back at the smoking corpses. "Let's get out of here. We'll pay blazing medites a visit… later."

Samantha nodded, but her heart twisted with something heavier than relief.

Because she knew—beyond all doubt—that the story Kael told wasn't about Zypheron-5.

It was about him.

---

The night air was cool as Kael and Samantha stepped out of the abandoned warehouse. The faint scent of ozone still clung to him, evidence of the massacre he had just unleashed.

Kael tilted his head slightly. "Augustus, where are we?"

[Bro, you're still in Red City.]

Kael smirked faintly. "Seems we're still in Red City," he said aloud, glancing at Samantha as if nothing was unusual.

Her brows furrowed. "Wait… who is Augustus?"

Kael didn't even hesitate. "An AI planted in me."

Samantha blinked, stunned by the blunt response. Although, she didn't hear Augustus reply, she half expected him to dodge the question, maybe joke about it, but instead he answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

For a moment, she opened her mouth as if to ask more—but then closed it again. The weight of everything she had just seen, the lightning, the impossible breaking of the restrainer, the story that sounded too personal… it all pressed down on her.

She decided not to push further.

Kael noticed her silence, but he didn't comment. His eyes were already scanning the streets, his expression calm yet sharp, like a predator that never lets its guard down.

[She's sharp, you know,] Augustus' voice echoed in his mind. [If she keeps piecing things together, she'll figure out who you really are.]

Kael didn't reply. Instead, he slipped his hands into his pockets and walked forward, the faint sparks around his body slowly dimming until he looked almost ordinary again.

Beside him, Samantha followed quietly, her green hair swaying in the night breeze. Outwardly calm, but inwardly, her thoughts were in chaos.

---

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