Upon stepping into his room, a smile began to bloom across Klaus's face like a dawn unfurling. His hand curled into a tight, determined fist, the smile expanding in tandem with the sensation of raw power pulsing through his veins.
"Incredible," Klaus murmured to the silence.
His gaze, drawn as if magnetized, landed on the solid wall before him. He felt an irresistible urge to pit his newfound strength against its unyielding surface. Klaus chuckled to himself, "I couldn't possibly demolish it, right?"
There was a spark in his eyes, a challenge. "Only one way to truly know."
Surrendering to the impulse, he unleashed a punch at the wall. The resulting thud echoed through the room like a verdict, and he pulled back his fist, leaving an intricate network of cracks in the plaster.
"I thought as much," he said, a triumphant smirk playing on his lips as he turned away from his handiwork.
He was about to stride forward, to leave the scene of his small victory, when an ominous rumble made him freeze.
His eyebrows knitted together as the grating sound of crumbling plaster reached his ears. He turned back slowly, apprehension clawing its way up his throat. The once-minor crack had sprawled into a spiderweb of fractures.
Klaus swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. Before he could contemplate his next move, a tremor shivered through the wall. The tremor was a prelude to a symphony of destruction, the wall starting to collapse under its own weight.
A deafening crash filled the room.
Klaus could only murmur a weak, "Oh, dear," as the wall on the right side of his room surrendered to gravity.
The collapse was swift, leaving him no time to react - to do anything but watch as the wall crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
The moment the resonant crash echoed through the estate, Keira, in the tranquil garden, and Margaret, nestled amidst the bookshelves of the library, sprang into action. Their hearts raced as the distressing sound pierced the tranquility of their separate havens.
Within moments, Klaus's door was flung open with a jarring intensity. Keira and Margaret burst into the room, their eyes stinging from the dust and debris that clouded the air.
As the dust slowly settled, their gazes found Klaus standing amid the rubble, then turned to the gaping hole where the wall once stood.
Klaus, upon meeting their wide-eyed stares, scratched his head and offered them a grin that was part sheepish, part rebellious.
"My hand slipped," he said, his grin broadening into a roguish smile.
Puzzlement and astonishment painted themselves across Keira and Margaret's faces. Margaret moved towards Klaus, arms folded across her chest, taking a deep breath to steady her rattled nerves.
Keira trailed her steps, her pace more hesitant. She studied the crumbled wall with a thoughtful gaze. The house, built of resilient bricks and stones, was fortified with mana-infused magic.
She could only imagine the catastrophe if the magic hadn't held. The entire structure might have succumbed to Klaus's inadvertent demonstration of strength.
"Thank goodness for the mana," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the lingering echoes of the wall's demise. The relief in her voice was palpable, a testament to their narrow escape from a more disastrous outcome.
Margaret's eyes darted from the crumbled wall to Klaus's stoic face. "What do you mean your hand slipped? What could you possibly have done? Hit the wall?" she asked incredulously.
Klaus, in his usual nonchalant manner, nodded slowly. "Well, sort of. I suppose you could say I gave it a bit of a punch."
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, both Margaret and Keira were caught in a stunned silence. A glance shared between the two women revealed their mutual disbelief. They hadn't misheard – Klaus was claiming that the wreckage of the wall was the result of a mere punch.
Margaret was the first to regain her composure. Her brows furrowed as she turned back to Klaus. "Are you absolutely certain, Klaus?" she asked. "I know you've just started training with the Titan Sutra and your bone structure is commendable, but to say you punched the wall into ruins... isn't that a tad excessive, even for you?"
Her gaze then shifted to Keira, "what do you think Keira?"
Keira, having contemplated Klaus's claim, nodded in agreement with Margaret. "Yes," she began, her eyes fixated on Klaus. "Is there a chance something else occurred in this room that you could be mistaking for your punch?"
She paused, her expression thoughtful. "Could it be that you've regained some of your abilities, and this is a skill you remember possessing?" she proposed, adding another layer to the mystery.
Klaus raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "A skill that involves breaking walls," he mused, shaking his head with a faint smile.
In the face of the women's skepticism, he moved towards another unscathed wall.
He clenched his fist, and with a controlled force, he punched the wall. As he pulled his hand back, a faint surprise flickered across Klaus's face.
Despite his moderation, a crack had etched its way across the plaster from his punch.
As Klaus's fist connected with the wall, a shudder rippled through the room. Margaret, quick on her feet, rushed over to the damaged area. With a graceful gesture, she cast a spell and the crack from Klaus's punch vanished as if it had never existed. The wall, once again, stood smooth and unblemished.
Slowly, she turned her gaze to Klaus. "I believe you now," she admitted, her voice carrying an undercurrent of admiration.
Klaus nodded in acknowledgment before pointing towards the ruinous corner of the room. "Can you fix that too?" His voice was low, calm, yet carrying an implied apology for the destruction he had caused.
"I'll handle it, Klaus. You don't need to worry. You can stay in the chamber while I mend the damage," Margaret reassured him.
"Thank you," Klaus replied, his gratitude evident in his voice. As he exited the room, Margaret turned her attention to Keira.
A moment of silence passed between them before Margaret erupted into laughter. "We're nurturing a beast, Keira," she proclaimed, her voice carrying a sense of both amusement and certainty.
Keira's smile, in response, was strained. Her aunt's words seemed to bother her, and noticing the troubled expression on Keira's face, Margaret questioned her. "What's bothering you, Keira?"
Keira took a deep breath, her gaze never leaving Margaret's. "You don't mind? That we're raising someone with such...power?"
Margaret's response was immediate and resolute, her head shaking in dismissal. "Why should I?" She paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing, "Klaus is one of us. There's no reason to feel threatened or worried. His strength is our strength."
"Why do I sense a hidden significance in all of this, Aunt?" Keira asked. Her eyes searched Margaret's face, seeking answers that lay beyond the surface.
Margaret drew in a slow, measured breath, her expression grave. She met Keira's gaze, her eyes steady and unwavering. "Tell me, Keira," she began softly, "what are your thoughts on Klaus?"
The weight of Margaret's question hung in the air, stretching the silence between them. Keira's mind raced, piecing together the subtle implications behind her aunt's inquiry. And then, like a sudden gust of wind, realization swept over her, causing her to stumble back, a gasp escaping her trembling lips.
"No, Aunt, please!" The words burst forth from Keira, tinged with a mixture of shock and disbelief.