Some Seconds Earlier
Yue's POV
"You need to find my granddaughter, no matter the cost. Understood?" Aria repeated for what felt like the millionth time in the last few weeks.
Her words buzzed in my ears like an irritating mantra.
I get it already! Your granddaughter is missing, and it's the end of the world. But seriously, Aria, I just traveled thousands of miles from Kamar-Taj to the Papal States, and the first thing you say when I step foot here is, 'LET'S GO FIND MY GRANDDAUGHTER!'
Not even a 'Hello, how was your journey?' or 'Thanks for coming, Yue.' Nope. Straight to the point.
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, resisting the urge to roll them. Aria didn't seem to notice—or care—how exhausted I was.
And then there's the endless repetition of her words, each time slightly rephrased, as though hammering the same point into my skull would make me more motivated.
It won't.
I get it, okay? I will find your granddaughter. I will comb through every inch of this cursed land, if that's what it takes, so stop repeating yourself already!
But of course, I didn't say any of that. Instead, I just nodded with a placid expression that masked the storm of annoyance brewing within me. Saying anything snarky to her face wouldn't help.
If anything, it might backfire, and we'd lose a competent servant like Aria.
Better to keep my lips sealed and toss the metaphorical key into the ocean.
"Master!"
The soft, fragile voice rang in my mind, pulling me out of my silent complaints. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
I kept walking.
"MASTER!"
This time, the voice came with a bit more insistence, shedding its previously timid tone. It wasn't outright disrespectful—my dear disciple wouldn't dare—but it lacked the deferential sweetness of before.
I let out a sigh.
She's persistent today, I thought, finally relenting to acknowledge her.
"What is it, Kara?" I replied through the same telepathic link she'd been using, my tone exasperated but patient. You're lucky I don't snap at you for interrupting my already strained patience.
Kara was trailing a few steps behind me, likely too intimidated by Aria to speak out loud. Not that I blamed her; Aria's intensity could make even the bravest of warriors shrink back.
Still, that didn't mean she had to keep poking at my mental space like a needy child tugging on my sleeve.
"MASTER! I CAN'T HANDLE IT ANYMORE! THIS BITCH'S GRANDDAUGHTER IS PROBABLY DEAD ALREADY!"
Kara practically screamed in my mind, her frustration pouring through the telepathic link.
I could feel every ounce of her annoyance, like a fire blazing in her tone. She was clearly at her limit, and honestly, I couldn't blame her.
Maybe bringing my disciples to Europe wasn't such a great idea after all... I sighed inwardly. It wasn't like I could back out now, though. I still had to find the treasure I came here for.
As I debated how to respond to Kara's outburst, something shifted.
Huh? What's this?
A faint connection—a thread of mana that linked me to Brianna—snapped like a brittle twig. My chest tightened immediately.
This wasn't good. Not good at all. If the link broke, it could only mean one thing: Brianna was in danger.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't care much about someone getting themselves into trouble. The world isn't some playground where you can prance around however you like. You need power to back up your actions.
If you can't, well… you're just another cog in the wheel of the food chain.
But this was different.
Brianna wasn't just anyone. She was supposed to become the Sorcerer Supreme—the greatest one in our thousand-year history. If she died now, Kamar-Taj was as good as doomed.
Guess I've got no choice. Time to save her.
Third Person POV
With that decision made, Yue disappeared from her spot in an instant. The faint shimmer of magic marked where she'd been, but by the time it faded, she had already arrived at Brianna's location.
The first thing Yue heard was a voice.
"Now, what should I do with you?"
The words dripped with cold amusement, and as Yue glanced at the scene in front of her, she immediately felt a heavy sense of wrongness.
Something was off. No, scratch that—everything was really, really wrong.
Brianna, who was usually the one dominating others, was now the one on the ground(Not in the literal sense), completely crushed.
And not just beaten—no, this was different. This wasn't the aftermath of a fair fight. It was more like watching a lion effortlessly maul its prey.
The sheer disparity between them was glaring.
Yue's gaze flicked to Octavian, who stood there with an almost casual aura, holding Brianna by the neck like she was nothing more than a rag doll.
Yet, Yue didn't feel anger.
No, she wasn't one of those typical xianxia masters who flew into a rage whenever their "precious disciple" got hurt.
Instead, her disappointment was palpable.
Her face said it all—cool and composed, with an expression that practically screamed, I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.
She didn't even flinch at the sight of Brianna's pitiful state. As long as the girl was alive, Yue didn't care much about her injuries. After all, she firmly believed that everyone had to learn the hard way that the world wasn't a playground.
Yue's voice was calm and low as she leaned in slightly, her breath brushing against Octavian's ear.
"Why don't you just let her go?" she whispered, her words carrying an eerie mix of nonchalance and subtle menace.
"Why don't you just let her go?"
The words were barely more than a whisper, soft yet sharp, like a blade grazing his ear. The sudden intrusion froze Octavian for a fraction of a second, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
That voice.
It was calm, composed... and uncomfortably close.
Octavian's lips curled into a grin—not one of amusement, but something far darker. Something predatory.
He turned his head toward the source of the voice, except he didn't move his body. His neck twisted unnaturally, almost a full 180 degrees, as if his body obeyed no laws of nature.
His crimson-streaked eyes locked onto the figure behind him, and his face contorted into a smile so unsettling it could make the statue from Solo Leveling look like a child with a beautiful smile.
"How did you do that?" he asked, his tone laced with equal parts curiosity and menace.
It wasn't a question born out of fear but rather fascination, like a scientist discovering something new and utterly bizarre.
Before Octavian could even process Yue's question—or the unsettling grin plastered across his face—he was suddenly yanked off his feet by an invisible force.
In the blink of an eye, Yue flung him through the air with so much force that his body became little more than a ragdoll in motion.
"FUCKING TELEKINESIS!" Octavian's voice roared out in frustration as he sailed through the air. His internal monologue didn't stop there.
Of course, telekinesis. Why wouldn't it be telekinesis?
As he tumbled uncontrollably, bouncing off the ground like a skipping stone, Octavian made a silent vow.
Mark my words, anyone who uses telekinesis is getting massacred in the future.
His impromptu flight came to a crashing halt when he collided with a building. The impact shattered the structure, leaving a gaping hole in its side and a plume of dust in the air.
Yue, meanwhile, barely glanced in his direction. She wasn't angry at Octavian, per se, but she wasn't about to take any chances either. Holding Brianna by the neck like that?
Agamotto forbid he decided to snap it—how would she even begin to fix that?
"Honestly," Yue muttered to herself, kneeling beside the unconscious Brianna. "That's why I told you not to act so childish."
She let out a sigh, brushing some stray strands of hair out of her face before focusing on Brianna's injuries.
First things first: the bone.
Yue gently grabbed the piece of Octavian's bone lodged in Brianna, intending to remove it before starting the healing process.
But the moment her fingers made contact with the hard, unyielding surface (🌚), something shifted in her demeanor.
Her expression twisted into a grimace—an "ugly, ugly" look, as if she had just bitten into the world's most bitter fruit.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and a slight tremble ran through her body.
"What the hell...?" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her gaze darted between the bone and Brianna as if trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
"Why does this bone have Aria's mana… and her DNA signature?"
The revelation hit her like a thunderbolt, her mind racing to connect the dots.
'This doesn't make sense. How could this child's bone carry traces of Aria?'
For the first time in a long while, Yue felt genuinely unsettled. Whatever was happening here, it was far bigger—and far messier—than she had anticipated.
{A/N: How long do you think it will take Octavian to get his revenge and humble Yue too?
I already know that there are going to be wrong answers only... 🌚}