The Anomaly Beyond The System

Lucian didn’t have any flashy skills, as Lia had once called them—laser eyes.

He didn’t have those overpowered skills that could instantly destroy everything in his path, nor did he possess some ridiculous ability that could make an entire battlefield tremble with a single activation.

Whatever skills he had gotten from Valentina were mostly taught for combat... and some of them even for assassinations.

There were the fire skills, but he hadn’t used them yet... since he hadn’t really found a reason to.

That was, until Leonardo decided to change the rhythm of the fight.

"Tsk, why does it feel like you are targeting my face? Are you jealous already?"

Lucian spoke in an irritated tone as another strike came toward his head.

He wasn’t showing any visible signs of fatigue despite the continuous fighting, something that made the situation even more unbelievable.

But Leonardo didn’t answer, even as his eyes twitched at the narcissistic remark.

He held the blade firmly and struck toward Lucian, specifically at his face, while in his free hand...

Sparks began to form as small flames slowly appeared and rotated over his palm, their size increasing until they were slightly larger than a basketball.

The heat immediately began spreading throughout the surroundings.

Leonardo smirked.

"Let’s see how you dodge this."

Without giving Lucian any time to properly understand what he was planning, his hand thrust forward, launching the fireball toward him.

Whoosh!

Seraphina’s eyes widened, her entire body immediately tensing, but then—

Slash!

Everyone’s eyes widened once again as Lucian’s sword easily sliced through the fireball as if it were paper, splitting it apart as the flames scattered through the air.

Their eyes then gradually shifted toward Lucian’s sword.

It shimmered with flames.

Flames that looked even brighter and more intense than the ones Leonardo had created.

"What? Surprised?"

Lucian tilted his head, a mocking smile appearing on his face.

Then he shook his head.

"Your fire is weak..."

Leonardo’s expression stiffened, but before he could respond—

Flames began flickering behind Lucian.

The temperature instantly began rising around him as the flames rotated, forming balls of fire.

Not one... not two... But five.

Each one was roughly the same size as the fireball Leonardo had just created.

But the frightening thing was...

Even without sensing mana, anyone could tell that these flames were hotter, denser, and far more violent.

Everyone understood that.

Especially Leonardo himself, who stared at the fireballs floating behind Lucian, his expression slowly becoming more solemn.

Meanwhile, Lucian’s smile widened, almost becoming distorted as he saw Leonardo’s reaction.

Without a word—

All five fireballs shot toward Leonardo.

Leonardo, unlike Lucian, had to dodge each one while simultaneously moving toward him, almost blurring forward before striking.

Lucian’s blade, along with his arms, trembled beneath the pressure of the continuous assaults, especially because of his restricted stats.

That was also the exact reason he had only created five fireballs, since that should somewhat hide his true strength.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working particularly well, since Cedric was already wondering if something was wrong with the readings.

The moment those flames struck the ground, the fireballs exploded against the floor, blackening the stone and leaving shallow cracks beneath the impacts.

Boom! ...Boom! Boom! ...Boom!

BOOM!

Leonardo felt a bead of cold sweat slowly slide down the side of his face. If one of those fireballs touched him, then he was almost guaranteed to receive burns severe enough to leave scars, regardless of his rank.

’This fucker... is he trying to kill me?’

Leonardo’s face twisted slightly as he pushed himself even harder, almost threatening to use all of his strength to wipe the floor with this man’s face.

Lucian suddenly found it harder to fight, feeling both the speed and strength of his opponent increasing, but instead of feeling nervous—

"Hahahahaha...!"

Ignoring the madman’s laughter, Leonardo’s blade struck straight toward his face again, mainly focusing on the glasses that were obstructing his eyes.

Clank. Clank! CLANK!

His grandfather—the Director—had specifically motioned for him earlier to remove Lucian’s glasses, and even though he had been confused by that strange request, he loyally complied.

Cedric had been wanting to see Lucian’s eyes, especially after catching that faint glimpse of them in the elevator.

It had only been for a fleeting moment, but it had been enough to leave an impression on him, making him curious and slightly cautious about the young lad.

Lucian’s blade struck toward Leonardo’s face in turn, as if taking revenge on him for all those attacks aimed at his own face.

Leonardo instantly brought his sword up to protect himself.

But instead of directly striking against the blade, Lucian twisted his wrist sharply, quickly turning the sword midway through the attack and aiming it straight at his abdomen.

And this time—

Thud!

"Kh...!"

The dull blade struck against his stomach, barely giving him enough time to dodge the attack or twist his body.

But since the blade had no sharp edge, the attack didn’t cause any major harm, only knocking the air out of his lungs.

Cedric raised a brow in disbelief, while Leonardo’s eyes widened as a faint cough escaped his throat.

But the moment he saw the wide smile on Lucian’s face, his brows twitched.

Ignoring the mild pain in his abdomen, he struck back, and some of his attacks even struck Lucian directly...

But instead of reacting, Lucian simply stopped for barely a second before continuing, showing no hint of pain or discomfort on his face.

Which was ridiculous.

It made them wonder if he even felt pain.

Yet neither of them stopped, forcing each other backwards as their blades continued to strike against their bodies, while Leonardo still focused his attacks on the same spot—their faces.

"When are you going to stop them?"

Seraphina’s cold voice reached Cedric’s ears, causing him to turn toward the masked woman standing beside him.

Her gaze remained fixed on the fight.

The temperature seemed to decrease slightly as she continued watching the battle. Despite the fight appearing as though Lucian had the advantage, he was actually the one receiving more hits, mainly because Leonardo was continuing to increase his strength, perhaps even unconsciously.

But yet, despite all of that...!

The Director hadn’t stopped them.

He simply continued watching.

Cedric didn’t answer her. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward the two young men, watching as his grandson gradually took the offensive while Lucian continued blocking.

Meanwhile—

’This bastard is really after my glasses.’ Lucian clicked his tongue.

’Seems like they found out something.’

He was growing irritated by their actions, but at the same time, he was inwardly amused.

Still, despite how much he was enjoying the fight, Lucian couldn’t help but feel that he had to end it soon. He couldn’t continue like this forever.

Any of the attacks or strikes he received from Leonardo were instantly regenerating without even leaving a bruise on his skin beneath his black suit.

And the longer the fight continued, the more suspicious his condition would become to them, mainly because he wasn’t showing even the slightest sign of fatigue.

So, with one final step backwards, he decided to end the match.

The moment Leonardo’s blade came toward his face again—

Instead of dodging, Lucian merely tilted his face slightly.

The dull edge of the sword struck his glasses, knocking them off his face before they fell onto the floor with a dull clatter, the lenses shattering into pieces.

Seraphina’s breath hitched as she saw the blade come so close to her son’s face.

Leonardo immediately moved backwards, his eyes remaining fixed on Lucian. Even he was slightly confused, as he hadn’t expected that strike to land so easily.

Cedric’s expression changed as well, his gaze sharpening as Lucian gradually lowered his raised face toward Leonardo.

He slowly raised a hand and ran it through his lustrous black hair, pushing it backwards and revealing more of his handsome features.

"You were really after my face, after all... fucker." Lucian spoke with a wide, amused smile, tilting his head slightly as he saw Leonardo’s reaction.

"Happy now?"

Leonardo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Lucian’s...

Golden eyes.

Eyes that gleamed with arrogance and a strange, almost burning intensity that made Leonardo instinctively tense.

...

Blood Affinity.

Lucian hadn’t really taken the time to properly understand the affinity, and even when he had during his training, the most he could do was absorb the blood of his foes and create very... very simple structures by controlling the blood.

During the fight, however, he had already understood the main goal behind Leonardo’s attacks.

That bastard was after his eyes for some strange reason, and almost every attack Leonardo had made toward him had been aimed at his face, specifically to remove the dark sunglasses.

For a moment, Lucian had genuinely wondered if Leonardo was jealous of his face.

But he didn’t think he would be that petty—hopefully.

And if he managed to remove those glasses, then Lucian couldn’t exactly show his blood red eyes to them, as that would immediately cause even more trouble.

Even though he had thought about putting restrictions on his Sanguis Noctus Bloodline itself—something that had naturally made his eyes blood red.

But the bloodline was far too arrogant, and the moment he even considered restricting it... it felt as though something worse might happen if he tried to restrain it.

He couldn’t explain it. It was simply a feeling.

So, after thinking about it for some time, he finally came to one conclusion.

If he couldn’t hide his eyes by suppressing the bloodline itself, then he could simply make another bloodline take over.

Lucian controlled the blood inside his body, forcing the dominance of the Scarlett Bloodline to temporarily take over his body.

Yes, that was all he did. Nothing complicated.

At least, it wasn’t complicated to him.

Even he didn’t fully understand what he had done himself, mostly because it had come to him instinctively, almost like an innate talent that even he hadn’t known he possessed.

And because of that simple action—

[Ding!~]

[You have created a new Unique skill: Bloodline Masquerade.]

[Bloodline Masquerade]

– Temporarily shifts the outward dominance to one of the user’s bloodlines.

– Alters physical appearance, aura, and mana signature to match the manifested bloodline.

– Sustained use gradually increases mana consumption and strains bloodline control.

[Note: Can only manifest bloodlines already possessed by the user.]

Lucian blinked once, then twice... then once again, wondering if he was seeing right.

He stared at the notification intently, not quite understanding how he had suddenly created a Unique skill.

Wasn’t that supposed to be... like, extremely difficult?

Perhaps even impossible?

While Lucian was still surprised by his own feat, the Director’s gaze remained fixed on the young man’s eyes.

"Golden... eyes..."

Cedric muttered those words in a low voice, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

Not from surprise. But from... fear.

Suddenly, an image appeared inside his head.

A memory.

During his military days—back when he had been a commander—there had been a massacre on the boundaries, caused by some unknown reason.

Many people had died in that massacre, killed by something none of them could understand.

It was also the time when he had first discovered the existence of the awakened world.

Mainly after...

After witnessing a spectacle that had completely changed his life.

A woman...

Floating in the air beneath the night sky, her body hovering effortlessly as her short, blood-red hair fluttered wildly in the wind.

Flames burst around her, dancing beneath the darkness of the night, surrounding her body like a raging storm of fire and illuminating the entire battlefield.

Cedric remembered how the sight had made the eyes of his entire squad widen in horror, including his own.

Her face remained eerily still as her gaze drifted across the battlefield from afar.

Then... they shifted toward them.

Toward... him.

But the main thing he remembered was her eyes.

Bright, golden... and gleaming with the same—or perhaps even greater—arrogance than this young lad’s.

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