บท 16: Ascent [IV]
After a few tense minutes, Juliana set the jet to autopilot and slowly stood from the pilot's seat before heading toward the mini-bar.
Her movements were deliberate, as if each step was an effort to maintain control.
She reached for a bottle of fine ice wine and poured herself a glass.
Elegantly taking a sip, she let out a soft breath and allowed herself a fleeting moment of composure.
—Thwamm!!
Then, abruptly, she threw the glass. It shattered against the wall with a sharp sound and the wine splattered all over the floor.
Her hand, still outstretched from the throw, trembled as if the rage coursing through her veins could no longer be contained.
"That bastard!" she hissed through clenched teeth, her voice barely above a whisper.
The restraint in her tone only heightened the ferocity of her anger.
Her chest heaved, each breath drawn in long, shuddering gasps as her heart pounded with an almost violent intensity.
If she could, she would have summoned her rapier and run it through Samael's skull right then and there.
The very thought of it sent a thrill down her spine.
But she knew better.
"Not yet."
The bitterness of her predicament was a familiar taste, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow.
Samael was stronger than her, at least for now.
And killing a noble – even a disowned one – would present severe consequences that could jeopardize everything she'd worked for.
Taking his life simply wasn't worth the risk.
Yet, a question gnawed at her—why had Samael chosen to provoke her today?
What was he playing at?
There had to be a reason, right?
Was he planning something, or was this just one of his twisted pranks? It wouldn't be the first time he did that.
Juliana didn't know.
Usually, she was good at predicting his moves… but lately… it was almost as if he had become a different person.
Since waking up in the hospital that day, he had been unpredictable, and it troubled her more than she would admit.
Just now, for instance!
One moment he was acting normally, and the next he began threatening her.
He dredged up the painful memories of her family, taunting her with the torment his own had inflicted on her when she was a child.
But why, though?
What was his angle?
It didn't feel like just another sadistic prank.
The words he said were measured, and the way he poked her for reaction seemed intended. Juliana knew all these tricks because she herself had mastered them.
He was definitely up to something…
"...Haaa!"
But then, a strange… an almost deranged glint flashed in Juliana's eyes.
Her graceful lips curled up into a bitter smile as she tucked a few loose strands of her white hair behind her ear.
A dry, empty laugh escaped her mouth, tinged with the unstable madness that simmered just beneath her refined surface.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered to herself, her voice carrying a tremor of something unhinged. "I'm so close."
Indeed.
She was so close.
Whatever game Samael was playing was irrelevant.
They were almost to the Apex Academy.
Once there, she would find a way to rid herself of the BloodWorm.
She had waited too long and endured too much for that moment.
At last…
Freedom was within her grasp. She could almost taste its sweetness.
And after that… after she had achieved her goal, she would move on to exact her long-deserved revenge on the Theosbane family.
Every single one of them would pay – This was the promise she made to herself upon seeing her father's beheaded body when she was a child.
She intended to keep it.
One by one, she would kill them.
She would kill them all.
Until their very name was nothing more than a cursed memory.
Oh, but that alone wouldn't satisfy her. She would save the most exquisite suffering for the one man that had torn her world apart.
The one man that destroyed her life.
The one man who was to blame for it all.
The Golden Duke.
She would kill him personally and avenge her family in blood.
"Just a bit more," she murmured, her voice a soft, manic whisper.
The madness in her eyes solidified to resemble a cold, calculating determination.
She only had to endure just a bit more.
•••
I couldn't sleep in the end.
Rest seems to elude you when you've ballsily threatened a high-functioning, sociopathic killer who's sharing the same flying roof with you.
Not exactly the best environment to let your guard down.
I knew Juliana wouldn't risk killing me. Not yet, at least.
No matter what I did to her right now, she would obediently endure it all.
She was biding her time until we got to the academy, and I was certain she wouldn't let her feelings get in the way of her ultimate goal.
So, I was safe.
…Or was I?
In the game, what made Juliana so dangerous was her unpredictability.
She wasn't just crazy; she was a strategic kind of crazy.
The kind that would make you want to sleep with one eye open — if you could sleep at all.
She was the chief of never let them know your next move.
Sometimes, she'd go out of her way to hurt her enemies, even if it meant sacrificing everything.
She played a huge role in the game by plunging all five Safe-Zones into a state of anarchy just to carry out her revenge. Because why not?
Hell, there was this one time when she almost died trying to lure a Monarch into a trap.
She almost died over a plan with the success rate of a coin flip, risking her life for nothing but a tiny sliver of hope for victory!
That's either commitment… or insanity. Honestly, it's a fine line with her.
The reason this girl was so terrifying in the game wasn't just because she had no loyalty, no morals, and no restraints—it was because she was completely untethered by anything remotely resembling common sense.
One day, she'd help the poor like some benevolent saint. The next day, she'd burn down the slums because someone there looked at her funny.
Then she'd extend a hand of friendship to some unsuspecting soul, only to stab them in the back a day later.
She'd do you a favor and not ask for anything in return, leaving you confused and paranoid, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
One moment, she was the smartest, most logical person in the room. In the next, she'd turn into a madwoman, shredding all sense of sanity and going after her enemy like she had nothing to lose.
So, yeah, while I knew she wouldn't kill me in my sleep, I wasn't going to bet my life on it.
I was pretty sure she hadn't gone THAT mad yet, but caution is free and life is precious—at least mine is.
Besides, there wasn't much time to rest anyway. Just short of two hours after our little tête-à-tête, we entered the restricted flight zone of the Ascent Isles.
Suddenly, a gruff voice crackled through the jet's speakers, demanding that we verify our identity and purpose.
Standard procedure, but it still felt like we were about to be stopped by some airborne mall cop.
Normally, there's a shared vehicle – like a flying bus – issued by the Apex Academy to pick up prospective cadets from their residential areas.
After all, not everyone applying to the Academy can afford private planes… except, of course, for nobles.
And we nobles, well, we love our luxuries.
The thought of being lumped together with the peasants in a public vehicle? Unthinkable!
Most nobles wouldn't be caught dead taking the shared ride, opting instead to arrive at the Academy in style, aboard their private planes, making a grand entrance at their leisure.
In fact, turning up to the Academy in anything less than a luxurious jet, with at least one Shadow or a few valets and maids in tow, plus a bag full of riches, was practically an invitation to be scoffed at by the other elites.
So, naturally, the Academy provided helipads and landing lanes for the nobles. But to even get near the Ascent Isles, you had to present the right identification.
…Or else the turrets and cannons on the flying islands would blow you to smithereens
That's why, before the voice over the speaker could even finish the sentence, Juliana uploaded our IDs on an open channel for the Ascent's headquarters to verify.
Within seconds, we were granted permission to approach.
And that's when I saw them—a cluster of islands floating above the clouds…
The Ascent Isles!
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