Chapter 09: The Chains Behind the Smile
"Young man, is something wrong?" the gray-haired man asked calmly, his eyes unreadable. Johan quickly masked his frown and confusion.
"Oh, I just thought... the watch should notify the school that we're leaving campus. I was worried it might get us into trouble," he lied, trying not to give away his growing suspicion.
"Don't worry," Claire interjected, smiling as she patted the seat beside her. "That's been taken care of. Sit here."
Johan obeyed silently as the vehicle hummed down the road. The car eventually pulled up to a massive, three-story mansion, surrounded by armed guards, electrified fences, and surveillance drones. The mansion radiated luxury and danger.
Johan's eyes scanned the compound. Claire noticed.
"My dad is powerful," she explained. "And power breeds enemies. This is the price of safety."
He said nothing but stored every detail in his mind.
The mansion's doors were golden, with intricate black handles. As they entered, Claire told him to relax while she spoke to a maid. Johan sank into one of the velvet couches, feeling slightly out of place.
A tray of food and drink soon arrived.
He took a sip from the offered drink. A few moments later, a wave of dizziness began to wash over him. Probably just exhaustion, he thought, and drank more.
Unbeknownst to him, Claire was watching closely. Why isn't he asleep yet? She wondered. The rug should've dropped a full-grown elephant in seconds. That idiot maid... maybe she switched it? But even then…
She stared in disbelief as Johan sat there, blinking slowly but still conscious.
Then—thump.
Johan collapsed to the floor.
His vision blurred, and just before everything went black, he heard a voice—calm, mechanical, and unfamiliar:
[Resistance detected. Sleep agent partially effective.]
Then… silence.
Johan awoke to darkness.
He was suspended mid-air, arms and legs stretched and shackled with thick enchanted chains. Below him was a cold stone floor. Across the room stood a table lined with surgical tools, wires, and items that clearly weren't meant for healing.
What happened…?
Footsteps echoed in the dark.
Then a light snapped on.
Claire stood beside the torture table, arms folded, her face unreadable. She didn't move, just stared, as if still deciding what to do.
Finally, she walked closer and spoke, her voice soft, almost remorseful.
"You know… since I was a child, I could never touch anyone."
Johan raised an eyebrow.
"I could speak, yes, but touch? That was a curse. Anything I touched... died." She raised her hand, now gloved in blue silk. "Only these special gloves protect others from me."
She seemed genuine, conflicted—even broken.
While she continued rambling about her curse and her family, Johan opened a mental channel to Lucy.
"Lucy… what's happening? What is she talking about?"
Lucy floated into view in his mind's eye, hands under her chin, deep in thought.
"Use Discerning Eyes. But I'm warning you now… you might not like what you see."
Johan activated the skill.
[Discerning Eyes – Level 01]
[Name: Claire Luna]
[Race: Human (???)]
[Realm: Late-stage Aura Condensation]
[Form: Humanoid]
[Evaluation: Appears to be a human affected by a blessing from a high-tier bloodline. Current blessing has altered mental state. Contact may be fatal.]
Johan's eyes narrowed.
"Lucy… is this real? Would I die from touching her?"
Lucy's voice, usually confident, now carried a tremor of fear.
"Listen, Johan. I don't know all your bloodlines yet, but hers… hers belongs to one of the most ancient powers. A being who challenged even the Three Principles."
"Three Principles?" Johan asked, confused.
Lucy nodded solemnly.
"They're the fundamental forces of reality—Time, Darkness, and Space. Three entities rule over them, keeping the balance. No one is supposed to rival them—except one."
"Who?"
"The Great Overlord Maximus," she whispered. "He was born from the union of an angel and a demonic beast—something forbidden. Hunted by both races, his parents were slaughtered, and in his pain, he ascended. He trained endlessly, destroyed empires, and became a nightmare that even gods whispered about. He vanished millions of years ago, but traces of his bloodline… still remain."
She paused. "And Claire… she has been blessed by one of those traces. Touching her, especially with uncontrolled bloodlines, could kill even you."
Johan's heart pounded—but there was no time to ask more.
"She's coming," Lucy warned.
Instinct kicked in.
In a flash, Johan summoned his Black Goblin—Noir—his familiar and silent guardian. With an enraged growl, Noir leapt from the shadows and snapped the chains, freeing Johan just as Claire's punch ripped through the air—barely missing his face.
The wall behind Johan cracked.
He had escaped by a hair's breadth.
Claire blinked in shock, unsure of what had just happened. Her curse didn't activate—because she hadn't made contact. And Johan? He was already crouched defensively, blood dripping from his wrists, ready to move.
The predator had met her match.
After his narrow escape, Johan moved several meters back, increasing the distance between him and Claire. His eyes glowed with a strange intensity, a calculated fury bubbling just beneath his blank expression. Claire stood still, wide-eyed—not because she feared Johan, but because of what had appeared beside him.
"Noir," she whispered. "What is that thing?"
Johan didn't answer. His voice remained cold, but this time there was an unmistakable edge to it—anger.
"Oh? And why would I tell you that?" he replied, his tone eerily composed.
Claire's gaze darted across his body. "How are you so fast all of a sudden? When did you reach the late stage?" Her voice trembled, confusion beginning to cloud her superiority.
But Johan wasn't listening.
In his mind, he was calculating something far more sinister—how to break her. How to return the pain, the humiliation, the betrayal, tenfold. His rage, previously buried, now burned like molten steel.
Then—snap.
He threw his hand forward.
A barrage of Hell flame balls—scarlet flames born of infernal energy—raced toward Claire with unnatural speed. She barely had time to gasp.
Whoosh! Boom!
The first wave hit.
She screamed.
The proud and confident Claire Luna—highborn, respected, feared—screamed in agony. The flames scorched not her skin, but her soul. She writhed, crashing into walls, rolling on the cold floor of the basement like a panicked animal. Her hands clawed at her own clothes, her face twisted in terror.
"No!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "Make it stop—MAKE IT STOP!"
Her shrill cries echoed violently through the underground room. Johan stood still, watching—expressionless—yet inwardly, every scream brought him... pleasure.
So you hate this power of yours... and yet you used it to deceive and betray, he thought. Let's see how much you hate it now.
Claire rolled until she collapsed, her energy depleted. Her arms and legs shook, body scorched and bruised, breath coming in sharp gasps.
Then—silence.
She fell unconscious.
Johan slowly raised his hand to summon another flame.
"Wake her up," he murmured. "Let her suffer it again… over and over... until she begs for death."
But just as he was about to act—Lucy appeared, her ethereal figure flickering to life in front of him.
"Stop."
Her voice was sharp, commanding—and concerned.
Johan hesitated.
She looked at him, her usually calm demeanor replaced by something almost... disturbed.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"What she deserves," Johan replied flatly.
Lucy's eyes flared with a deep glow. "Listen to me, Johan. That power you just used—Hell flame balls—it's not just any flame. It's the manifestation of wrath from the demonic lineage inside you and hell itself. Every time you feed it with emotions like this… it feeds back. You are giving in to your inner demon."
He clenched his fists.
Lucy looked down at Claire's unconscious, burned form. "I'm not saying spare her. But if you keep going like this, you won't even need an enemy to destroy yourself. Plus when one is chosen by such bloodlines, there is always a safety mechanism on them. If you try to kill her you would die without a doubt."
The room fell quiet.
Johan closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He raised his hand once more—and with a flick, extinguished the remaining flames.