The Anomaly Beyond The System

After checking through the messages, Lucian immediately noticed a newly saved contact ID—Lily(Association)—and beneath her name, several unread messages had already piled up.

<Hi, I’m Lily.>

<Remember me? We just met at the Awakened Association building hours ago?>

<Hello? Did you switch off your mobile?>

<(╯︵╰,) Anyways, your appointment has been fixed at 01:00 PM.>

<The Association will send a car to your location, but we need your location first.>

<Pls send the location as early as possible.>

Lucian blinked as he looked at the number of messages, along with the few emojis scattered between them.

’Wasn’t she supposed to be busy?’ he thought, vividly remembering the woman from yesterday, who had been diligently doing her work when they first arrived, as though she didn’t have time for anything else.

He was just about to reply and send her the address of the hotel where he was staying.

But before he could—

Ring~ Ring~~ Riiiing... Ring~

His phone suddenly vibrated in his hand.

Seeing the caller’s name, Lucian raised an amused brow.

Picking up the call, he was immediately greeted by Lily, who hurriedly bombarded him with questions about where he was, complaining that the Association had practically been grabbing her by the neck because they still didn’t know his location.

Even though she had suggested the hotel, it wasn’t the only one she had recommended. She had suggested more than ten hotels, and there was no way she could search through every single one of them trying to find him.

From the way she spoke, it almost felt as though the Association was giving him far more attention than usual.

That small detail didn’t escape Lucian.

After briefly answering her other casual questions—which almost made him wonder whether they had somehow become best friends overnight—he sent her the hotel’s address before ending the call.

Though he couldn’t help but notice the faint reluctance in her voice when he finally hung up.

’Must’ve been my imagination.’

Dismissing the thought, Lucian turned toward Seraphina, who looked slightly irritated by the receptionist’s obvious attempts to get closer to her son.

"She said they’ll pick us up at around 11:30," Lucian said while checking the time.

9:37 AM.

There was still plenty of time before the Association’s vehicle arrived.

Deciding to make use of it, Lucian went to take a bath, while Seraphina stepped out of the room.

Not before glancing at the emotionless maid.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly upon noticing that Lucian hadn’t asked Kanna to leave either.

Still, without saying anything, Seraphina quietly returned to her own room.

Lucian watched his mother’s departing figure with a soft, lingering smile.

The moment the door clicked shut, however...

His expression darkened ever so slightly, and his fists slowly clenched.

"Kanna," he called out calmly.

The maid blinked.

She had been slightly lost in her own thoughts.

Even now...

She found it unsettling how easily she had been brought to the verge of drinking his blood.

If Seraphina hadn’t entered the room at that exact moment...

Kanna wasn’t even sure whether she would’ve been able to stop herself.

’I have to be careful around him,’ she thought, deciding that she should keep some distance from him.

Though...

For some reason, that very thought irritated her.

She didn’t know why.

"Do you know what methods they’ll use to assess us during the registration?" Lucian asked.

Kanna paused.

’Both of them really are alike,’ she thought, remembering that Seraphina had asked her a similar question earlier.

The only difference was that Lucian’s question was far more specific.

"Yes."

She replied in her usual flat tone.

She then explained the artifacts the Association would most likely use during the registration process, based on information gathered from recently awakened individuals.

There was, however, a small possibility that Lucian’s assessment would be different.

After all...

The Association had specifically called him in.

She couldn’t help but feel that there was a reason behind it.

Though...

It wasn’t particularly difficult for her to guess what that reason might be.

An unregistered awakened who already possessed a rank... it would easily grab their attention.

Lucian silently listened to everything she said.

Lightly resting his chin on his hand, he quietly pondered something that had suddenly crossed his mind.

"Do you think there’s a chance that other guilds might try to recruit us?"

Kanna gave a small nod.

"Most of the tests are conducted for that exact reason. The Association records everyone’s measurements and stores all of the data."

"Record... huh?"

Lucian fell silent for a few seconds.

Seeing the unusually serious expression on his face, Kanna didn’t interrupt him.

Then...

"Kanna...?"

Lucian suddenly spoke, his voice unintentionally lowering yet noticeably heavier.

"Do you know if my f—Damien Cross has any connections with a guild?"

Kanna blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question.

For a brief moment, she remained silent, making Lucian think she simply didn’t know.

But then...

"He owns a guild of his own."

"...Huh?"

Lucian was genuinely surprised.

For a brief moment, he almost felt as though he had just heard a joke.

A truly ridiculous one...

At least, to him.

His body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Then, with visible effort, he forced himself to calm down.

"Aren’t awakened families the only ones who own guilds? The ones who already knew about supernatural powers from the very beginning?"

Hearing his words, Kanna shook her head.

"Other than the Church and a very select few individuals, no one knew about the supernatural world.

But after the barrier suffered enough damage, several dungeons broke out.

That was what led the rest of humanity to discover the truth."

"And regarding your father—"

Kanna’s voice abruptly stopped the moment she saw Lucian’s crimson eyes begin glowing brightly.

A suffocating pressure slowly seeped from his body.

"Do not... call him my father."

His voice remained frighteningly calm.

A faint, indifferent smile slowly spread across his face.

Even though there wasn’t a trace of visible rage in his expression...

The orange sparks flickering around him and the steadily rising temperature within the room spoke volumes about the restraint he was forcing upon himself.

Then...

Almost instantly...

His voice softened to an unnaturally gentle degree.

"...Okay?" he asked sweetly.

For some reason...

Kanna instinctively shuddered. She didn’t understand why.

Seeing her give a small nod, Lucian finally calmed himself before gently prompting her to continue.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!