My System Doesn't Give Power

Elsewhere, in Central City, a private villa stood within the grounds of Blackstone Academy, secluded from the crowds and separated from the rest of the campus.

Inside, a white-haired boy sat comfortably in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, leisurely eating cherries from a bowl.

Standing across from him was Mark Ritchie.

The boy said nothing. He simply ate his cherries one by one while Mark stood there with his head lowered.

Only after finishing the entire bowl, taking his sweet time with every last cherry, did the white-haired boy finally look at him.

"What happened?"

His voice was calm, but the condescension in his tone made it perfectly clear that he regarded Mark as beneath him.

"Why do you have that miserable look on your face?"

Mark lowered his head even further. "I...I caused a small problem."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Did you now? And what might that be?"

Mark hesitated, stuttering to talk.

"Come on, Mark. I don’t have all day." The boy sounded bored. "There’s still a beautiful MILF waiting for me."

Mark swallowed before finally explaining what had happened to his younger brother in Mellow City, followed by how he had sent second-year students after Zac.

The white-haired boy listened without interrupting. His expression remained tired and utterly uninterested throughout the entire explanation.

When Mark finally finished, silence lingered for a moment.

Then the boy smiled faintly.

"So, you failed to kill a newly awakened kid." He leaned back in his chair. "And now you think the people you sent after him are dead, and you’re afraid the trail might lead all the way back to you here at the academy."

He let out a long sigh. "You know what? I’m beginning to wonder whether allying with you and your family was a mistake."

Mark’s expression changed instantly. "No, no. It’s not like that. The situation was a... little complicated." He hurriedly tried to defend his obvious failure.

"Complicated, you say?" The boy tilted his head. "In what way?"

His faint smile remained. "What exactly is so complicated about killing some unknown brat?"

Mark opened his mouth, but the words refused to come out. Fear tightened around his throat. He knew he had to answer, yet every possible answer seemed like another step towards his own grave.

Before he could force anything out, the white-haired boy spoke again. "Why didn’t you simply have your family investigate them?"

"Find out where they live. Kill them. Slaughter the entire family." His tone remained disturbingly matter-of-fact. "Problem solved. Easy job, easy win."

"We... we tried," Mark stammered.

"Ha..." A quiet chuckle slipped from his lips.

"Ha... hahahaha..." The chuckle grew louder until he threw his head back, pale white hair falling away from his face as genuine amusement twisted his features.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Mark stood frozen as the laughter filled the villa.

Eventually, the boy lowered his head again, still smiling. "You just keep proving that associating with the likes of you and your family was a mistake."

His ruby-purple eyes settled on Mark. "What did you just say?" The smile widened. "You tried?"

He gave another short, disbelieving laugh.

"The mighty Ritchie family, practically the overlords of an entire city, with connections inside the Variant Association itself..." He slowly shook his head. "And you still couldn’t wipe out one woman and two kids?"

"No, no, that’s not it," Mark hurriedly said. "We really did try. The problem is... we can’t do anything to his family."

The boy’s smile disappeared. "Mark." His voice was still calm, but something in it made Mark stiffen. "You’ve been keeping me on the edge of this conversation for far too long, and I’m getting sick of it."

"So, spit it out."

Mark hesitated once more. Then, gathering what little courage he had left, he said, "It’s because of Armani."

The white-haired boy shot to his feet. "What?"

For the first time since the conversation began, his lazy, indifferent expression completely vanished. His pale features tightened, and something flickered behind those purple eyes.

"What the hell does she have to do with this?"

Mark immediately began explaining everything that had happened the day Armani visited the Ritchie family residence.

When he finally reached the end, he swallowed. "It seems the boy, or maybe his family, has some kind of connection to Armani. We don’t know exactly what kind, but..."

Slap!

A palm smashed across Mark’s face, and the force hurled him sideways, sending him tumbling across the floor.

Mark clutched his burning cheek in stunned disbelief and slowly looked up.

The white-haired boy stood over him with the indifference gone. His face was twisted with raw, vicious anger, while his ruby-purple eyes gave off a faint, unnatural glow.

Mark’s entire body seized.

"AAARGHHHH!"

A scream tore from his throat as he curled against the floor, his fingers clawing desperately at his clothes.

"AHH! SORRY! STOP! STOP!"

His back arched violently before he collapsed again, trembling uncontrollably as another wave of unbearable agony ripped through him.

"You had the fucking nerve to tell me that only now?" The white-haired boy’s voice thundered over Mark’s cries.

"Are you a fucking idiot?"

"I-I...!"

The violet light in the boy’s eyes brightened.

"AAAAAAARGHHH!"

Mark’s scream became shriller, his entire body convulsing as though every nerve inside him had been set ablaze at once.

"You sent people after someone connected to that wild bitch?"

"N-No! It... it won’t be a problem!"

"Like hell it won’t." The boy’s glowing eyes seemed to grow colder with every passing second. "Do you have any fucking idea what that woman has already done?"

Mark could barely breathe through the pain.

"And tell me something else." The white-haired boy took a slow step towards him. "If that bitch comes after you personally, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Another step. "And what the fuck am I supposed to do if she discovers your connection to me?"

"Listen... give me..."

A metallic hiss cut him off. The white-haired boy drew his sword. Mark’s breath caught as the tip of the blade came to rest against his throat.

The boy looked down at him, his face now completely devoid of amusement. "Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now."

Mark froze, looking at the thin line of cold steel pressed against his skin. "It... it won’t become a problem unless we involve the adults," he forced out.

The sword remained where it was. "Explain."

"Armani said it herself to my father. She won’t interfere as long as we don’t harm Zac’s family or involve veteran variants."

The white-haired boy’s eyes narrowed. "You’re sure she said that?"

"Yes." Mark nodded frantically despite the blade at his throat. "She came to our family personally after the first assassination attempt. She warned us not to touch his family."

He swallowed hard. "She also said that as long as the conflict remains between the younger generation, she won’t interfere herself."

Mark drew a shaky breath. "Even if Zac gets killed, she said she wouldn’t personally take action."

Silence filled the villa, and the white-haired boy stared down at him, thinking. After several seconds, the violet glow in his eyes finally began to fade.

"Let me ask you again: is everything you just said true?"

Mark nodded immediately.

"Because if I find out you’re blabbering nonsense just to save your miserable life..."

The sword pressed slightly harder against his neck. "It won’t be only you who dies." The boy smiled. "Every single member of your family will suffer something far uglier than death."

Mark’s face drained of color. "Yes." He swallowed again. "It’s true."

The white-haired boy studied him for several more seconds before finally withdrawing the sword. Without another word, he returned to his chair and sat down.

"Give me everything you have on that boy. His family, history, connections, and his recent activities. Every fucking thing, especially his relationship with that wild, insufferable freak of nature."

"Yes." Mark bowed his head immediately, turned towards the door, and hurried out of the villa without daring to look back.

The door closed behind him, and silence returned in the villa.

The white-haired boy remained alone in the dim room, staring at the ceiling for several long moments.

Then his lips moved. "Armani..."

A faint chuckle escaped him. "Heh..."

His shoulders trembled. "Hehehe..."

The chuckle deepened, slowly losing any trace of normal amusement.

"Hahahaha..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The laughter rang through the empty villa, loud, unrestrained, and utterly deranged. Eventually, it subsided into a low, breathless chuckle.

"Interesting."

His grin stretched wider.

"Interesting... interesting..."

He sank deeper into his chair. "The aloof Armani is actually connected to someone."

"That’s rather big news, isn’t it?"

He tilted his head, speaking to no one but himself. "Should I tell the higher-ups?"

A moment passed.

"Nah."

"I think I’ll keep this little secret to myself for now and see how this plays out."

"Who knows? It might come in handy someday."

An image of Armani surfaced in his mind.

"Quite a bitch." His lips curled upwards. "Even at her age, she is still such a fine delicacy."

He slowly ran his tongue across his teeth. "They say wine only gets better with age. Seems wine isn’t the only thing."

Then his expression changed and he sighed almost regretfully. "Too bad I can’t do anything to her right now."

His ruby-purple irises gleamed faintly in the darkness. "But when the time comes..."

His grin widened and suddenly he burst into laughter again.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The sound shook through the otherwise silent villa, rising louder and louder as he threw his head back, laughing with the unrestrained delight of someone who had just discovered a new toy.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

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