Chapter 24 – I Stand in the Wilderness (3)

The footsteps grew closer, and a strange heat began to rise within Cariel, thawing emotions long frozen. But even as they warmed, a deeper chill settled over him, an icy resolve.

Step. Step.

Like ripples spreading across a still pond, the silence fractured.

“Cariel.” The prince’s face was a mask of barely contained fury.

Astonishingly, it was… business as usual.

“What are you doing here?”

“…”

“Answer His Highness!” one of the prince’s lackeys barked.

“You think you own the place just because you managed to pull off one trick?” another sneered.

“You’re only acting so bold because you think Sir Luelde will protect you…”

“Enough.” The prince raised a hand, silencing his entourage.

“…”

Even this felt… routine.

“I won’t ask again. What are you doing here?”

“…”

“This bastard…!”

“I was waiting.”

“…?” Alessius blinked, unsure if he’d heard correctly. Waiting? Waiting for what?

“Human malice thrives on profit and amusement,” Cariel stated, his voice flat.

“What…?” Alessius started to speak, but Cariel cut him off.

“The strong prey on the weak to reaffirm their position. It’s a favorite pastime of those in power.”

So…

“I understand all of this. That’s why I don’t blame you.”

“What the hell are you…?”

Alessius’s head snapped to the side.

Thud.

……

……?

“??”

For a moment, Alessius lay there, disoriented, trying to understand why he was on the floor. His ears rang, his vision swam, and a sharp sting pulsed on his cheek. He couldn’t process what had just happened.

Your Highness!

That lunatic! He’s gone mad!

Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!

What are you waiting for?!

The panicked cries of his entourage sounded distant, muffled. Slowly, as sensation returned, the pieces clicked into place.

“…?” He’d been hit? Him? Struck down by this… this pathetic worm?

It was unthinkable. He shouldn’t have been touched. The very idea that this imbecile would dare strike him was preposterous enough. But to actually be hit, to be knocked to the ground…?

Alessius wasn’t so easily defeated. Even unarmed, his close-combat skills were unmatched among his peers, placing him among the Academy’s elite. With a sword, he was practically untouchable. Even his magic, something he’d studied more for cultural refinement than practical application, surpassed most students in the magic department. And it wasn’t as if he lacked theoretical knowledge. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Whether or not it aligned with his natural talents, he had to excel in all areas. It was his duty, his birthright as a member of the imperial family.

Whether blue-blooded or common, predators were drawn to weakness like moths to a flame. Power stemmed from overwhelming strength. Titles and legitimacy held meaning only when backed by force.

He couldn’t allow himself such a display of weakness.

Excuses like bad luck or unfavorable circumstances were meaningless. They were unworthy. Unacceptable.

“Damn it!”

But to wallow in shock, to be rendered incapacitated by a single blow? That was beyond disgrace. It was an unforgivable weakness.

“You dare…!”

Mere seconds had passed.

Why… why were all his men sprawled on the library floor while he, with the help of one still-standing lackey, struggled to rise?

“Eek!” Aside from the one supporting him, not a single person who’d shown hostility towards Cariel remained standing.

“Come at me,” Cariel said, his voice cold and flat.

“…You’ve truly lost your mind.”

The commotion in the library, a place meant for quiet study, had drawn the attention of the few students present. Normally, Alessius would have moved the confrontation elsewhere, but this wasn’t a fight he’d initiated. As shocking as it was—no, the very fact he found it shocking was shocking—Cariel had struck the first blow.

Does he have no regard for appearances? Alessius fumed. This disgrace reflects poorly on our families. He knows that as well as I do.

“Don’t worry about that,” Cariel said, approaching calmly. “If it comes down to it, I can always die.”

“What…?”

“You’ve gone completely insane…!” Alessius roared, throwing a punch.

Cariel deflected it easily, seizing Alessius’s arm mid-swing.

“Gah?!” Alessius desperately tried to channel his mana, to reinforce his strength and sharpen his senses, but…

What?! It dissipated. As though forcibly dispelled, his mana control faltered, leaving him vulnerable.

“Ugh!” Cariel yanked his head back, delivering a series of quick jabs. They weren’t powerful blows, but their precision left Alessius disoriented, his vision blurring.

Weak. Without the benefit of mana enhancement, Cariel’s strikes lacked force. They were a mere annoyance.

That’s all.

Blinded by rage, Alessius missed the crucial detail: this “weakling” had already taken down all his men. He tried again to channel his mana, to break free, but…

—? It wasn’t a fluke. The world tilted again.

“Gah!” He slammed into a library table, splitting it in two. He landed hard, his back screaming in pain.

“You… bastard…!”

“Get up.” Cariel’s voice was devoid of emotion. “We have a lot to discuss.”

“Cough! Discuss? What the…?” This lunatic… what was he talking about?

“Ah.” Cariel paused, a flicker of something like realization in his eyes. He glanced upwards, as if remembering something. “I forgot. It only happened this morning.”

“Cough! I… I won’t let you get away with…!” Alessius struggled to his feet.

“Get up,” Cariel repeated, watching his pathetic struggles with cold detachment. “The adults might dismiss this as a childish squabble, but we both know… we’ve crossed a line.”

Even if you change your mind later, I no longer have that option.

“Feeling proud of yourself, aren’t you?! One lucky shot and you think you’re invincible?! You think you can take me?!”

“Since earlier,” Cariel interrupted, his gaze unwavering, “what nonsense have you been spouting?”

“You… you dare talk to me like that?! You, of all people?!”

“Stop yapping.” Cariel approached slowly, stepping over the debris of the shattered table. “There won’t be a next time.”

“No next time?!”

“If you fall again, be prepared.”

“You crazy…!” Using a specialized breathing technique, Alessius forced mana into his heart. A surge of power coursed through him, as if the earlier humiliation had been a dream.

I wasn’t being careless. His mind cleared, his rage replaced by a chilling calm. Some considered this sudden shift in temperament a flaw, but…

It’s just another tool. His father, the Emperor, had taught him that. Don’t lament what you lack, nor covet what others possess.

As his anger faded, an icy clarity settled over him.

His touch disrupts my mana. Whatever sorcery he was using, it didn’t matter. The solution was simple: avoid contact.

…And yet. Cariel’s movements were deceptively simple, almost clumsy. No, that was wrong. They were inefficient, yet extraordinarily difficult to counter. It wasn’t speed or agility; his movements were simply… precise.

He replayed the earlier humiliation in his mind. There was nothing remarkable about Cariel’s technique, nothing he couldn’t replicate.

Was it some form of mana manipulation? If so, that made even less sense.

What is this sorcery?

Now within arm’s reach, Alessius instinctively retreated. And in that instant, his rage exploded.

Me… backing away? Afraid of him? The thought was unbearable.

He lunged forward, his shame fueling his rage.

This is your fault.

He wouldn’t hold back. There was no reason for mercy.

He attacked with renewed ferocity, but Cariel simply stood there, watching him approach as if time had slowed to a crawl.

Fine. I admit it.

I’ve always… despised you.

“…” And the world flipped again.

“…?!” He slammed into the ground, his back and waist hitting hard.

“Guh!” The strength he’d just regained vanished, leaving him weak and vulnerable.

“Ugh… wh-what…?”

When had Cariel grabbed him? The fiery rage that had consumed him was extinguished, replaced by a chilling emptiness. Pain wracked his body, his breath hitched, and panic welled up inside him. But even as his emotions spiraled, his mind remained coldly analytical.

He has my arm. He was twisted, thrown.

“Argh!” It wasn’t over. Cariel was on top of him, pinning him down, twisting his arm.

Crack!

“?!” His shoulder dislocated. It was deliberate, brutal.

Alessius refused to scream. He was no stranger to pain. But familiarity didn’t negate the agony.

“I warned you,” Cariel said, his voice a cold whisper. “Be prepared.”

“What the—?!” Cariel’s fist slammed into his face.

Thwack!

“?!” He raised his left arm to block, but Cariel’s weight pressed down on his elbow joint, sending a jolt of pain through his arm.

Thwack! A knee to the ribs.

Crack!

“?!” His left shoulder dislocated. Outwardly, it looked fine, but both his arms were now useless, leaving him utterly defenseless. Terror gripped him.

“You—!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Cariel’s fists rained down on him, relentless and brutal.

“You… think… you’ll… get… away… with… this…!” Each word punctuated by a blow.

Suddenly, he was flipped onto his back.

What…?! Cariel’s weight pressed down on him, and then…

Thwack! His face was driven into the ground, the blows coming from the side, rhythmic and merciless.

This bastard…!

“Gah!” Cariel yanked his head up by his hair, his red locks tangled in his fist.

“Endure it,” Cariel said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. “I’ve endured enough. Now it’s your turn.”

Thwack! Cariel straddled his back, holding him down, his fists slamming into his face again and again.

Thwack! Thwack! Crack!

“H-help…!”

“What… what’s happening?”

“He’s… he’s gone mad! He’s attacking His Highness! How are we supposed to…?”

“He… he dares… to strike the prince?! This… this is treason! Rebellion!”

The panicked cries of the onlookers meant nothing to Cariel.

I was dragged into the abyss. He’d clawed his way out, but it wasn’t enough. He had to drag those who’d pushed him down there down with him.

Until then, nothing else mattered—not reality, not appearances, not the future, not happiness, not dreams.

Only revenge.

“This is just a warm-up. I won’t kill you… yet.”

For now…

“Endure it.” As he’d been forced to endure. As he’d trembled and barely held on.

“We are no longer destined to live under the same sky.”

His fist connected again.

Crunch!

And again.

Crunch!

And again.

Crunch!

Relentlessly.

Crunch!