The Anomaly Beyond The System

"Young lad—I mean, Lucian...!"

Cedric’s loud voice suddenly came from behind as the man hurriedly rushed toward him.

Lucian turned toward him, only to raise a brow when he saw the strange change in his expression. There was something different in his eyes.

Almost... fear?

"What is it?"

For some reason, his voice came out more haughty and commanding than usual, while the air around him naturally grew warmer.

Cedric stopped right before the young man, his eyes fixated on those golden eyes that were now clearly visible without the sunglasses obstructing his vision.

The closer he looked at them, at those eyes...

The more certain he became.

They were the same.

Or at least... they were extremely similar to the eyes of that red-haired woman.

The thought alone caused Cedric’s heart to beat slightly faster.

Slowly, his lips parted, and his voice shook ever so slightly as he spoke.

"Are you... are you somehow related to the red-haired, golden-eyed woman?"

Leonardo looked at his grandfather in confusion, not understanding the sudden shift in his tone.

The Director had always been calm, even when facing dangerous monsters or awakened far stronger than himself. He had spent years in the military, experienced countless battles, and witnessed things that would have given ordinary people nightmares.

Yet now...

Just now, after looking at Lucian’s eyes, his demeanour seemed to have completely changed.

Leonardo’s gaze shifted toward Lucian, who, however, merely tilted his head.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed sharply at the Director’s words.

’Red-haired woman? ...Valentina?’ he thought briefly, but after a moment, he shook his head.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked, his gaze fixed on the Director for several seconds—especially because Cedric right now looked at him like a nervous junior who had just encountered his bully.

"Cough."

Cedric coughed slightly, suddenly realising how he was currently behaving.

He had almost looked like a curious child wanting to know about his idol... or, perhaps more accurately, a monster from his nightmares.

"Sorry about that..."

His gaze hardened as he collected himself, and his back straightened as he tried to regain the dignity of the Director of the Awakened Association.

"It’s just that... back during my military days... when I had been workin—"

"I’m not interested in your documentary, old man."

Lucian clicked his tongue, annoyance flickering within his eyes.

Whatever Cedric was trying to tell him, he had no interest in listening to some long, boring story about a military man’s day in his life.

Besides...

There was something far more important.

Lucian turned away from the Director, ignoring the old man, and began walking toward Seraphina.

"How was the fight, Mo—Sera...?"

He almost stopped himself before clicking his tongue inwardly.

He had almost forgotten that her name was supposed to be Selene right now.

He had called her Sera by mistake—short for Seraphina—but hopefully neither of the men had noticed that small detail.

Not letting his thoughts wander any further, he stepped directly before her, closing the distance and prompting her to lift her head slightly to look at him.

Her eerie, pitch-dark, faceless mask faced him.

Meanwhile, Cedric continued staring at the young man’s eyes for a long while, which were now gleaming with intense fondness and playfulness.

Eventually, Cedric turned away.

For a moment, Selene simply stared at her son, not wanting to comment on how he had just made up a nickname from her name.

However, there was something else she couldn’t ignore.

"Your eyes..." she whispered in a low voice, her voice carrying a hint of confusion.

Lucian’s crimson-red eyes were gone.

In their place were now golden eyes—the same familiar colour possessed by the members of the Scarlett Duchy.

"I asked... how was the fight?"

His face moved slightly closer as his smile widened, and the sudden shift in his tone made Seraphina instinctively move backwards by half a step.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, noticing the sudden, unnatural change in his tone and his presence.

"Good... I... I guess."

She almost stammered, and hearing her uncertain answer, Lucian’s eyes brightened slightly, clearly satisfied.

But before she could move away, Lucian leaned forward even further, amused by her nervous reaction.

"Really~?"

Seraphina’s entire body stiffened before she instinctively took another step back, creating a little more distance between them.

Despite the frown hidden behind her mask, a faint heat began creeping across her face as she saw his playful smile.

’Why is he behaving like this?!’

She screamed inwardly, completely flustered.

But the moment she saw those golden eyes gleaming brightly...

Something finally clicked inside her mind.

’Scarlett Bloodline...’

Her expression changed slightly.

She remembered learning so much about the Scarlett Bloodline through the books she had read.

It was a bloodline that brought out the darker sides of a person’s emotions, amplifying negative emotions and increasing the intensity with which a person... favoured someone.

In short, their affections were multiplied multifold.

Despite not understanding it perfectly, she could only assume that Lucian had done something once again, causing him to behave like... this.

Without saying another word, Seraphina raised her hand, pushing it toward him before dropping something directly into Lucian’s palm.

"Wear it... now."

Her voice rose ever so slightly, coming out unusually firm as she stepped back a few more paces, quietly taking a few deep breaths.

Lucian’s brows furrowed as he looked down at the object she had dropped into his hand, only to find another pair of black sunglasses.

"Where did you get this?"

Seraphina didn’t answer, her gaze remaining cold behind the mask, if not for the faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

Thankfully, the mask hid her embarrassment completely.

"Wear it... and stop whatever you are doing."

The moment Lucian put on the sunglasses—

[Ding!~]

[The skill Bloodline Masquerade has been deactivated.]

Lucian’s golden eyes instantly shifted, returning to their original crimson hue.

And almost at the exact same moment—

[Ding~!]

[The skill Restriction has been deactivated completely.]

[All your stats have returned to normal.]

Lucian’s fingers twitched, and he flexed his hand, feeling the familiar surge of energy and strength returning to his body.

Everything that had been suppressed suddenly returned to him, making every muscle feel lighter and stronger.

His senses sharpened, and his mind, somewhat calmed down, gradually began clearing.

The wildness and aggressive intensity surrounding him also diminished.

"Where did you get another pair?" Lucian asked again, this time his voice much softer and calmer.

Seraphina remained silent.

For a second, she didn’t answer.

Then, finally, she opened her lips.

"Kanna."

Her answer was simple, and her voice came out unusually low. She didn’t elaborate any further, though it didn’t take a genius to understand the meaning.

Lucian looked down, only to notice the shadow shifting from beneath Seraphina’s feet back toward him.

He hadn’t even noticed when she had moved away from his shadow.

’She’s really a handy one,’ he thought.

Then, quietly, he turned toward Cedric and Leonardo...

Only to see the two of them speaking to each other with their backs facing his direction, almost as if they were deliberately avoiding disturbing them during their... moment.

Just how considerate were they?

"Old man... what were you talking about just now?"

Lucian’s voice finally broke the brief silence.

Cedric turned around, only to notice the increased distance between Lucian and Seraphina.

His gaze moved between the two of them before he shook his head, almost as if disappointed in the young man.

"What? Didn’t you say you didn’t like hearing this old man’s rambling?"

Lucian’s lips twitched faintly.

"My mistake, fine?" He shrugged casually before continuing.

"But you’re also in charge here, since you didn’t stop your grandson despite knowing he was using more strength than the rules allowed."

"What...?"

Leonardo muttered in confusion, his eyes shifting between the two of them.

Cedric, however, let out a faint sigh.

"You might not have noticed it, but you were using the strength and speed of a D ranker halfway through the match."

Leonardo’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t noticed that, since he had been too focused on the fight—too focused on Lucian’s movements and the enormous skills that he couldn’t help but feel envious of.

But even then...

If he had really increased his strength... then...?

Both Cedric’s and Leonardo’s gazes shifted toward Lucian at the same time, toward the man who stood there casually with his hands in his pockets.

And another strange thing was that... there was no sweat. No signs of fatigue.

Nothing. Not even after the long fight they had just gone through.

’Just... who is he?’

...

After a while, Cedric finally told Lucian about the woman he had seen, along with the long—annoyingly long—ten-minute story explaining the events surrounding his military days.

It almost made Lucian curse himself for asking him again, already regretting his decision.

Still, he listened.

And after hearing the story... especially the details about the red-haired woman... Lucian could only conclude that it was one of three people.

Valentina—the Duchess...

But that couldn’t be right, since she hadn’t visited the human world for years, perhaps even centuries.

Then there was Vivienne.

And knowing her, she probably would have visited Earth and caused some havoc during her stay.

But somehow, the name that came to Lucian’s mind was...

"Seren..." The name escaped his lips in a low voice.

He slowly shifted his attention toward Cedric, who seemed quite shocked by his words.

"So... you know her?" The Director asked uncertainly.

"More or less..."

Lucian paused briefly.

Then—

"She’s close to me."

Cedric gulped inwardly, his mind immediately returning to the calamity that had almost erupted that day.

’Let’s make sure this brat doesn’t become an enemy of the Association.’

He was certain that the woman was an S ranker, perhaps even above... despite how shocking that thought was.

But now...

Learning that such a person was close to this young man made Cedric’s expression grow slightly more serious.

’Seren... Mother did that? Why?’

Lucian’s brows furrowed slightly.

"When was the time this happened?"

Cedric paused, holding his bearded chin as his expression turned thoughtful, trying to recall the exact period.

"I’m sure it was about... seven years ago."

Lucian’s expression instantly stilled.

His hand slowly clenched.

Tightly.

So tightly that his fingernails dug into his palm, causing blood to almost flow before immediately regenerating.

His jaw tightened, his teeth grinding against each other.

Seven years.

This was the same time...

The exact same period when he had heard the news about their deaths.

A simple car accident, according to the officers who had delivered the news.

Seraphina, who had been standing nearby, also fell silent.

Her eyes narrowed faintly as she heard about that woman—someone she hated for reasons only she knew, and reasons she would never share with anyone.

Her fingers tightened slightly beneath her clothes.

That woman...

That woman had gotten to be with Lucian during his childhood. As his mother.

Something she couldn’t do.

Especially when she herself had been caged inside that isolated space of the asylum.

Unable to see him. Unable to hold him or watch him grow.

Unable... to hear his voice whenever she wanted.

Of course, she knew how much Lucian treasured that woman. But still... she still hated her for it.

That vampire took her beloved son!

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