Chapter 238: Kiss My Face
Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Kiss My Face
Chapter 238 – Kiss My Face
"...I beg your pardon?" Cassius blurted out in surprise, thinking his hearing was failing him. "Mating with a what? A monster?"
"A monster, indeed." Seraphim laughed as if the situation were anything but amusing to her. "A Tier Four monster, to be more exact."
"W-What?"
"Tier Four, pretty. Tier Four. You already know monsters undergo a special transformation once they reach Tier Four, right?"
"I do." He replied, frowning. "But how much of a transformation can change a human enough to think that ’mating’ with one is a good idea?"
"Oh, my pretty baby, they’re nothing alike from Tier Five to Tier Four." She smiled. "Nothing alike at all. At Tier Four they could basically be considered another race, though that’s not quite an accurate description. However, transformed or not, they remain a monster at their core, and are not compatible with us, humans."
"So why did he do it?" he asked again, still confused. "I doubt Teacher Kai was ignorant of these things."
"That monster was of the Irregular type, I’ve heard." Seraphim said, cocking her head as she recalled that fateful day. "And you know Irregulars are... irregular. This one was a monster that devoured the very concept of ’Change.’ A monster able to transform into anything once conditions were met. The best monster Adam Kai could ever meet, considering his unique Aspect. It’s no wonder he decided to tempt his luck by trying to have a child with both Change and Transmutation. It sounds the same, but it’s completely different."
Cassius nodded slightly as he took in his aunt’s words. It was true that, if that was indeed what happened, Adam Kai mating with a monster became slightly more logical.
Especially considering how that man believed power and talent were above everything else. That type of man would always try to stay true to his beliefs by producing talented offspring.
’And yet he failed, birthing a child who can’t even awaken an Aspect. A Waste, in every sense of the word. What irony.’
"How reliable is this information?" he asked, cocking his head. "Have you ever seen this daughter?"
"That’s the hard part. I’ve searched for clues about the daughter but found none. And I’d rather not dig too deep and risk making Adam aware of it."
"Then this daughter might exist, or might not? For all we know, that man you tortured spouted some bullshit hoping you’d show him mercy."
"Ah." Seraphim barked a laugh. "If that was his intention, then poor him. I killed him in the most atrocious way possible. The information I get during torture never changes anything."
’How cruel. As expected of someone ready to sacrifice hundreds, even millions, for revolution.’
"So you mean," Cassius continued, "this could be true, just as it could be false."
"Indeed." She admitted. "But does it matter? You don’t need certain truth. You need believable truth, even if, at its core, it’s nothing but a lie. That’s how things work, my pretty boy."
"I suppose so." He said, his mind turning over the whole situation.
This information had never been revealed in the Game, so Cassius truly had no way to verify it.
And he wasn’t foolish enough to investigate it with his current power.
If even his aunt was cautious around Adam Kai, he needed to be even more so.
’But then, how can I use this information?’
Cassius couldn’t come up with a solid idea after a while, and decided to set it aside. Still, having this knowledge wasn’t useless. Now his mind would naturally pick up on any related clues.
If there were any.
For now, though...
"I see." He said, refocusing on his aunt, who was admiring his face again. "I’ll think about it later. Thanks for the information, Aunt Sera. But I might have a request."
"A request?"
"Yes. You don’t have to do it if you think it’s too dangerous, but..." he took a deep breath, then spoke as he exhaled, "is it possible for you to step out of your neutral stance and join the Vice Dean’s faction?"
His words made Seraphim instantly focus, her face hardening further.
"And once inside, you could do what you’ve always done." He smiled nervously. "Seek more power and influence, no matter the consequences."
"You want me to make the faction chaotic with my presence." She guessed easily, then chuckled. "Is this the Dean’s plan? I can smell her way of thinking behind those words."
"Guilty. It’s her."
"So she’s finally begun acting to preserve her position, huh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Is it because of you, my pretty baby?"
"I don’t think so. But now that I’m her disciple, I have no choice but to dirty my hands in this affair."
"Fair enough." She said, then shrugged. "But I refuse."
"Huh?" Cassius exclaimed.
"I refuse." She smiled. "Picking a side means putting myself in danger. Especially given my profession. Sorry, pretty baby, but I can’t put myself at risk, not with White Chamberlight and Adam Kai standing in front of me."
"Are you forgetting my master?"
"Mallory Octavia of Claweye will most likely do nothing to me." She smiled. "Not only because I’m your lovely aunt, but because she’s already behind the other two when it comes to antagonising the one responsible for the House of Sanctions."
She shook her head slightly.
"And I don’t think you understand the full picture of your situation here, Cassius. Adam Kai has the backing of the White Phoenix, one of the three Paragons. On top of that, many Teachers and Head Teachers are on his side. Why do you think this Academy is so ruthless? Do you think we don’t see the commoners being tortured, some of them killed silently? Do you think we don’t see all the blackmail, the fights, the manipulation happening beneath this Academy?"
Cassius fell into solemn silence, robbed of words.
"We see all of it, and we do nothing to prevent it, so long as it stays in the shadows." Her eyes turned dead cold. "And all of this is because of Adam’s doing. This entire Academy already plays by his rules. How can you win?"
"We can always try." Cassius said, though he wasn’t as convinced as before.
"You definitely can." Seraphim shrugged. "And you’ll die."
"I’m a Desdemona, aunt. Killing me requires far more than being stronger than me." He smiled coldly. "You’d need to be stronger than Fate itself."
"Bold words. But I have some advice for you, my pretty baby." She lifted two fingers. "You have two ways to win against Adam Kai. Either shift the battlefield to more neutral ground, or..."
She smiled widely.
"...become better at his own game. He thinks strength and talent are everything? He thinks cruelty can be forgiven so long as talent backs it? He believes anyone who died simply didn’t deserve to live in the first place? Then show him how true all of that is. And you already said it yourself, didn’t you?"
She pressed her finger to his chest, right where his heart lay.
"There’s a reason the Desdemona always prevail in this Academy. It’s because this is your playground. This cruelty, this ruthlessness... this is your domain, or rather, ours. Morgan proved it. Dorian did the same, in his own way. Now the Twins are following their own path. Only you remain. Are you really going to be the Angel everyone thinks you are?"
Her voice shrank to a whisper.
"Or are you going to show them you’re both a Desdemona and a Hood? Death lives inside you, no matter how small it is."
Cassius smiled emptily, his crimson eyes showing no particular feeling. "You want me to be a monster. A bloody monster."
"That’s how you’ll prevail. Remember if the Dean falls," she laughed, "you fall with her. That’s only natural, as her disciple."
"How much of a monster must I be?"
"The highest you can imagine."
"Then would I still be the same Cassius Desdemona I’m known as?"
"Oh, pretty baby, don’t attach yourself to the image people have of you." She scoffed. "People’s opinions change constantly. Trying to match their perception of you is a foolish endeavour. You’ll fail without a doubt. Then you’ll break. Then you’ll hate yourself. And finally, you’ll hate the whole world."
Her monstrous face grinned.
"I’m living proof, pretty boy. I was pretty once, you know? Very pretty, once upon a time. Now everything’s ashes. Everything’s meaningless. The world is ugly now. Very ugly and disgusting."
"So you’re saying," Cassius whispered, "that I must be who I am, and hope that who I am doesn’t shy away from cruelty?"
"You’re a Desdemona. You won’t flinch from it. Unless you force yourself to, because of your Name."
"I understand." Cassius said with a smile. "But you’ve got me wrong, Aunt Sera. I never planned to shy away from cruelty in the first place. I simply don’t act on it mindlessly, without reasonable cause."
"Oh?"
"And I particularly dislike being unjust to my family... but you’re living proof that there isn’t always a choice in this matter."
Without moving, he stretched out his hands and took Seraphim’s face between his palms.
Instinctively, she shuddered at the touch, her eyes widening slightly.
No one had touched her face like this since her little brother, Dantes, had done this to her.
The touch was painful, her wounds aching even more than before. Yet it was warm.
Warm like a summer wind.
At that, Seraphim Hood both wanted to pull Cassius’s hands away and wanted to leave them there a little longer.
These two contradicting feelings, pulling her in each direction, made her reaction far too slow.
"Let’s say I won’t force you to join the Vice Dean’s faction for us. However, dear aunt," he gently wiped away blood dripping from one of her blackened, unhealed wounds, making her flinch, "I expect you to share any information you obtain with me, and to thoroughly torture anyone I send your way."
Cassius smiled devilishly.
"You love your job, don’t you, aunt? I’ll make your days more fulfilling."
Seraphim’s face flushed red, excitement and joy at her nephew’s hidden, well-concealed cruelty bringing her a new level of ecstasy.
She licked her lips, breathing heavily.
"More fulfilling, you said, my pretty baby?"
"Yes."
"Then kiss my face." She smiled even wider. "Kiss my monstrous face, and you’ll have my help. Send anyone, I’ll torture them. Guilty, innocent, young and old, commoner and noble, male or female... it doesn’t matter. All of them will taste my instruments."
"Kiss your face?" Cassius chuckled. "I wouldn’t be a good nephew if I couldn’t kiss my aunt’s cheek."
With that, Cassius leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her left cheek without much hesitation, doing his best not to let any adverse feeling show.
The result of that simple action was staggering within Seraphim’s mind.
For the first time since she had become like this, someone had held her face and kissed her cheek.
The first time in almost twenty years.
Seraphim’s eyes glazed over, her body shaking, her mouth repeatedly muttering "my pretty baby" like a broken record.
Seeing her like this, Cassius decided he’d done enough for now.
All that remained was...
"So?" he said, drawing her focus back to him. "Will you help me?"
Seraphim’s face split into a horrific smile.
"Who. Is. The. Target?"
—End of Chapter 238—