She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother - Chapter 257: The Aftermath
Chapter 257: The Aftermath
The moment Alex’s car pulled away from the industrial district, Viktor finally allowed himself to breathe.
He and his team had been holding position in the shadows between abandoned warehouses for the past ten minutes, hands locked on weapons with white-knuckled grips, every muscle coiled and ready to intervene.
When Alex had first stepped out of the car to face Adrian Blackwell, Viktor’s pulse had quickened with a mix of anticipation and concern.
He knew Adrian Blackwell. Not personally, but by reputation… the kind that circulated through hidden networks and cultivator circles with consistent details.
Peak Enhanced. Less than a year from Apex breakthrough according to multiple sources. Combat-trained since childhood by some of the best instructors money could buy. Heir to one of the most prestigious vassal families in the region, with all the resources and refinement that lineage provided.
A genuine threat by any professional assessment.
And Alex…
Viktor’s enhanced perception swept over his employer one more time, searching for any signature he might have missed, any indication of hidden power or suppressed cultivation base.
Nothing.
Still felt like a normal person. Mortal. Baseline human with no discernible realm advancement or energy signature.
“We can finally witness his true strength,” Damien’s voice came through the secure comm, calm and measured.
Viktor nodded. He knew everyone else on the team was thinking the same thing.
And as the fight progressed… brutal, relentless, closer than it should have been but ending exactly as they expected.
But, Alex had struggled. That much was obvious to anyone with combat experience. His technique was crude, his movements wasteful, his defense reactive rather than proactive. Adrian had landed strikes that should have ended the fight… cracked ribs, numbing shoulder impact, cuts that drew blood.
But Alex had adapted mid-combat with tactical intelligence that transcended raw power. Recognized his stamina advantage. Baited Adrian into exhausting himself. Created a deliberate opening and exploited it with devastating precision.
Not the fighting style of a prodigy who’d trained since childhood.
The pragmatic approach of someone who understood their limitations and compensated through strategy rather than skill.
And the final result… Adrian Blackwell, Peak Enhanced genius of the Blackwell family, broken against a warehouse wall with his cultivation base shattered… spoke louder than any analysis.
Viktor turned to his team, finally releasing the weapon grip that had left marks in his palm.
They were all staring at the receding taillights of Alex’s vehicle with expressions that matched Viktor’s internal chaos… professional composure stretched thin over genuine shock.
Pavel spoke first, his voice tight with barely contained shock.
“Sir,” he whispered, though there was no one left to overhear them. “What… what was that?”
“Too fast,” Andre added, his enhanced perception still struggling to piece together the final exchange. “The feint, the counter, the redirect… I barely tracked half of it.”
Viktor’s jaw tightened slightly as realization settled.
The fight had been easy for him to follow… his cultivation realm and combat experience letting him parse each movement, each tactical decision, each moment of adaptation.
But for the rest of his team, operating at lower realms or with less refined perception, the final sequence must have blurred into incomprehensible speed.
He turned to Damien, the most experienced fighter on the team, the one man whose combat assessment Viktor trusted without reservation.
“So, Damien?” Viktor kept his voice level, professional. “What do you think?”
Damien had been watching the fight with the focused intensity of someone studying a technique demonstration rather than witnessing an employer’s potential death.
Now he turned to Viktor, expression thoughtful rather than shocked.
“Sir, I’ve got fifteen years of active combat behind me. Fought cultivators from Early Enhanced all the way up to Peak. Built my foundation carefully. Refined my technique through blood and repetition.” He paused, choosing his words with visible care. “And I’m telling you right now… I don’t have confidence I could beat either of them.”
He let that sink in before continuing.
“But neither of them fought to their full potential. Adrian lost himself to emotion, followed whatever trap Alex prepared like he was blind to basic combat sense. Rage made him predictable.”
Damien’s gaze shifted toward where Alex’s car had disappeared.
“And Alex… he looked clumsy at first. Raw. But he found his rhythm mid-fight, adapted his strategy on the fly.” A pause. “Could have ended it earlier if he had real combat experience. The power’s there. The tactical mind’s there. But the refinement? The instinct that comes from actual life-or-death fights? That’s missing.”
“Hmm.” Viktor nodded slowly, clearly agreeing with Damien’s assessment.
His eyes tracked the empty road where Alex had driven away.
“Let’s see if he’s ready to accept his flaws and work on them,” Viktor said quietly, almost to himself. “Or if he lets this victory go to his head.”
“Alright,” Viktor said, decision crystallizing with the same clarity that had always guided his operational planning. “Pavel, Dimitri… secure the perimeter. Make sure no witnesses, no surveillance we missed.”
His team moved immediately, professional discipline overriding their shock as training reasserted itself.
“And make it clean,” Viktor added, voice dropping into the tone that meant consequences for failure. “No traces. No evidence. Nothing that creates problems for Mr. Hale down the line.”
Because that’s what this was about now. Not just following orders or collecting payment. But genuine investment in someone who’d just demonstrated they were worth the commitment.
***
While Viktor and his team worked to erase all traces of the confrontation from the industrial district, Alex’s car pulled through the gates of the Blackwood estate, tires crunching against pristine gravel that contrasted sharply with the cracked pavement they’d left behind.
Alex headed straight for the bathroom, closing the door with a soft click before finally allowing himself to assess the damage properly.
His reflection in the mirror was brutal… blood streaked across his face and neck, his shirt soaked through with dark patches, cuts visible through torn fabric.
He stripped methodically, peeling away the ruined clothing and dropping it in a pile for disposal.
The injuries underneath should have been horrifying.
Should have required immediate medical attention.
Cracked ribs. Deep tissue damage in his shoulder. Multiple lacerations across his arms and torso where Adrian’s strikes had connected with Peak Enhanced force.
But as Alex’s fingers traced the places where pain had bloomed sharp and immediate during the fight…
Nothing.
Smooth skin. No bruising. No cuts. Not even the faint discoloration that should mark healing wounds.
His ribs, which had cracked audibly when Adrian’s knee connected, felt perfectly solid when he pressed against them experimentally.
His shoulder, numbed by an elbow strike that should have required weeks of recovery, moved through its full range of motion without the slightest twinge.
Complete regeneration.
Alex exhaled slowly, watching his reflection absorb this confirmation of what Lilith had promised.
Enhanced healing. Beyond what normal cultivation provided. Fast enough that injuries sustained in combat vanished within the time it took to drive home.
