Chapter 35: Dark Turn

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Dark Turn

"What?"

Ivy’s voice dropped into something colder than the ice still clinging to her blade. The tip pressed harder against the scarred man’s neck, drawing a fresh bead of blood that rolled slowly down his collarbone.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

For a moment, the entire area seemed to fall silent.

The disciples closest to them instinctively took a step back, their eyes darting between the blade at the man’s throat and the calm expression on her face.

Yet the man didn’t flinch.

He simply stared at Ivy.

Then, slowly, the corner of his mouth curled upward.

The smirk that followed held none of the earlier flirtation.

It was colder. Sharper. Almost amused.

He lifted both hands in a lazy show of surrender, the movement deliberate enough to feel mocking rather than submissive.

"Miss, you really should learn not to point a sword at random strangers."

His slit pupils glinted beneath the bright afternoon light as his gaze dropped to the blade resting against his neck.

For a heartbeat, his eyes lingered on the thin line of blood.

Then he looked back at Ivy.

"One day..." His voice lowered. "...that habit might actually get you killed."

Ivy scoffed at his show of intimidation. She tilted her chin toward the cluster of Fox Family disciples still standing in a loose defensive ring in front of her.

"No matter how strong you think you are, the fact that you’re inside a Babylon-class rift means you’re not Rank 5 or higher. Do you honestly believe I can’t put you down with everyone here behind me?"

The man’s smirk only deepened.

He rolled one shoulder as if the conversation were already beginning to bore him. "You’re still too naïve, princess."

He raised his gaze and locked it onto hers, the corners of his lips curling upward. "How about this? You and that cutie with the glasses over there become my women. The rest of the pretty ones can keep my men company. In exchange, none of you die today."

Ivy’s eyes darkened.

A chill spread from her body as her aura slipped outward, frost creeping across the stone beneath her feet. Thin icicles began forming around her boots.

"You aren’t worthy."

The man gave an exaggerated nod. "Of course not. Very few men would be worthy of two beauties like you. But—"

The sentence never finished.

Ivy’s blade pressed deeper against his neck, forcing him to lean back by an inch.

"Not only are you not worthy, you aren’t even worth a grain of sand beneath my husband’s shoes," she said, each word sharp and final. "He is the only man worthy of not just my sister and me, but also heaven and earth."

Her eyes narrowed. "So if you want to keep breathing; and avoid getting killed by him—scram. Now."

The man’s smirk finally disappeared.

His jaw clenched as his expression twisted into something ugly. "What?"

He drew a slow breath, visibly forcing himself to calm down before muttering under his breath,

"Hmm... There was no intel about any husband..."

His narrowed gaze flicked between Ivy and Rachel.

Then his fingers twitched.

Just once.

It was barely noticeable, but Rachel caught it immediately. She had spent years as a soldier before becoming a teacher, and she knew that tiny movement all too well.

He was about to strike.

Her expression changed in an instant. "...Ivy."

The warning in Rachel’s voice made Ivy’s eyes narrow.

"Get behind me."

Ivy raised one brow and half-turned. "Don’t worry, I—"

Rachel didn’t wait for her to finish. Her gaze remained locked on the scarred man, as though she were engaged in some silent battle with him that no one else could see.

Then—

"Shit!"

Rachel suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Her outstretched hand trembled for a fraction of a second before she clenched her fingers.

[Suppression]!

Pale green light flared around her palm as she brought her hand down sharply.

Immediately, an invisible weight crashed onto the scarred man and his henchmen.

Crack!

The sound of bones and joints buckling under immense pressure rang through the area as the men’s knees slammed into the stone floor.

Yet Rachel’s dark, blood-rimmed eyes never left them.

"Ivy!" she shouted. "Activate the teleportation rune!"

Ivy blinked. "Huh—"

"Now!"

The urgency in Rachel’s voice left no room for argument.

Ivy immediately spun around and sprinted toward the cluster of older Fox Family members already forming the complex sigil on the ground. Faint coordinates for the next floor glowed beneath their hands as they worked.

The scarred man watched her leave before turning his full attention back to Rachel.

Even with the suppression force pressing down on him, he was still able to roll one shoulder.

Rachel wasn’t a combat-focused Awakened, but she was still more than confident that her abilities could at least pin down even a Rank 9. Yet this strange man was moving under her suppression as though it were barely there.

"You’re quite sensitive for a cutie," he drawled, cracking his neck. "But I like feisty girls too. So how about it? Why don’t you join me instead? I’d treat you far better than some absent husband."

Rachel went completely still. For a moment, she said nothing.

The playful warmth that usually lingered in her eyes vanished without a trace. Her fingers tightened until her knuckles turned white, while the pale green glow around her palm suddenly intensified.

The air around her seemed to grow heavier.

Her glasses slid slightly down the bridge of her nose, but she didn’t bother pushing them back up.

She slowly raised her gaze.

The look in her eyes was no longer anger.

It was murderous intent.

"...Shut your mouth."

The man’s eyes widened by a fraction before he let out a heavy breath and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Such an ungrateful whore. And here I was looking for a way to spare you."

Rachel felt her vision growing hazy from the exertion. Her suppression force was already pushing her to her limits.

Her eyes closed once.

Just once.

When they snapped open again—

He was gone.

Rachel’s pupils contracted. "What—?"

She didn’t even have time to think, instead her body reacted on instinct.

She immediately threw herself backward, pouring every ounce of strength she had into her suppression force. The pressure doubled in an instant, spreading outward and wrapping around her body like an invisible wall.

The air itself seemed to distort beneath the sheer force.

Yet even that wasn’t enough.

Without a sound, he appeared before her, like a grim reaper coming to claim her soul.

His face was inches from hers, his eyes glowing with a bright, unnatural red.

Rachel’s mind went blank for a fraction of a second. ’When did he—?’

She tried to twist her body midair.

Too late.

His hand slammed into her stomach.

"Ghk—!"

The impact folded her body around his palm.

Then his wrist twisted sharply.

Pain exploded through her abdomen as her entire body was violently thrown off balance.

Rachel’s scream tore through the cavern—raw pain mixed with pure anguish.

Her body lifted off the ground and flew several meters before crashing hard onto the stone.

She curled instantly around her stomach, glasses askew, face paper-white.

Ivy’s head snapped around.

For a moment, she simply stared.

The teleportation circle beneath her feet finished locking into place, but she didn’t see it.

All she could see was Rachel.

The woman who had been laughing with her only moments ago. The woman who she had promised to keep safe.

And now she was lying on the cold stone, both arms wrapped protectively around the child growing inside her.

Ivy’s fingers began to tremble around her sword.

Not from fear.

From rage.

A thousand thoughts crashed through Ivy’s mind at once.

She had promised Rachel she would protect her. Yet she had just been standing there, playing the part of the cold little princess of the Fox Family instead of killing the man the instant he appeared.

And because of that...

Ivy’s hands flew to her mouth as a sudden wave of nausea hit her.

The world seemed to sway around her, but she forced herself to stay upright. She planted her feet firmly against the ground and clenched her jaw until her teeth hurt.

"You bastard..."

The words came out so quietly that even the nearby disciples barely heard them.

Then—

Boom!

Dust exploded beneath her feet as she launched herself forward in a streak of cold mist.

Her blade carved a vicious arc straight toward the man’s throat.

He simply stepped backward into empty air.

His body remained suspended there, as though gravity were nothing more than a suggestion, allowing Ivy’s blade to pass harmlessly beneath him.

"Hahaha! What’s all the fuss over one little punch, princess?!"

Ivy landed hard.

The moment her feet touched the ground, ice mana erupted from her body.

Crack!

The stone beneath her feet instantly froze, frost racing outward in every direction.

Her heterochromatic eyes locked onto him. The emerald and pale-blue irises that had once carried their usual cold elegance were now filled with something far more frightening.

The man tilted his head.

Then his eyes flicked toward Rachel.

A slow realization spread across his face. "Wait..."

His grin widened. "Haha... haha..."

His shoulders began to shake. "Hahahaha!"

His face twisted as though he were struggling to contain his amusement. "She was pregnant?"

His eyes widened with sudden delight. "Hahaha! That bitch was fucking pregnant?! Who could have known?!"

His mocking laughter soon echoed throughout the cavern, bouncing off the stone walls.

Ivy’s expression went completely still.

Something inside her snapped.

She lowered her sword slightly.

Her face became eerily calm.

"You knew?"

The man stopped laughing for a moment. "Hm?"

Ivy’s grip tightened. "You knew she was pregnant..."

The metal of her sword creaked beneath her fingers. "...and you still hit her there."

Her voice trembled.

Not with fear.

With fury.

The frost around her boots spread farther. "You deliberately struck my pregnant little sister in the stomach."

Her eyes narrowed into murderous slits. "And now you’re laughing about it."

She took one step forward.

The stone beneath her foot cracked beneath the sudden pressure of her ice mana.

"You really..."

Another step.

"...really..."

The temperature dropped again.

"...shouldn’t have touched her."

Rachel’s weak voice suddenly drifted from behind her. "Ivy..."

Ivy didn’t turn around. For the first time, she couldn’t bring herself to look at Rachel. Because if she did, she was afraid she’d lose the last bit of restraint she had left.

’Michael...’ Her thoughts tightened around his name. ’I’m sorry.’

Her eyes burned. ’You trusted me to protect her...’

Ivy raised her sword in front of her face in a formal knight’s salute. When she spoke again, every trace of emotion had vanished from her voice.

"However..." The frost behind her erupted into a towering wave. "...I will make certain this wretched beast dies here today."