Chapter 168: She was here.
Chapter 168: She was here.
Only demons with a proper demonic identity could use their True Forms.
And then came Lucian.
A being who wasn’t even a proper demon could somehow use something only demons with a ’proper identity’ could use...?
What... did that even mean...?
"That isn’t possible."
Losef Ardent, the Archivist Seat, shook his head.
He did not want to believe it.
He wouldn’t believe it!
But...
The proof was right in front of him.
"Did Cross remain aware?"
Cassian Rook, the Inquest Seat, questioned.
"I cannot say anything with certainty since he did not remain there for long, but I do believe he was aware."
Alaric answered.
"Was he able to distinguish ally from enemy?"
"He protected Evelyn Starling, he avoided friendly personnel. He even created an opening for me while he was in that state."
"Did he attempt to attack Orpheus?"
Garrick, the Warden Seat, asked.
Alaric paused for a moment, then answered honestly.
"For a moment, yes, but he did not.
He prioritized extraction."
"So even in that state, he retained objective priority."
Garrick seemed satisfied.
"It could be instinctive attachment."
Cassian wasn’t having it.
Helena, the Crucible Seat, looked at him.
"Sometimes those are more reliable than orders."
"Sometimes they are how disasters start."
"You are too—"
"How many civilians saw this form?"
Marcelline Voss cut in before the two could continue.
"We do not know."
Alaric shook his head again.
"The hallway where the manifestation occurred was not in public view. The main cameras were cut. Some staff were nearby, but most were dead, unconscious, or in panic."
"That is not an acceptable answer."
Marcelline narrowed her eyes. Alaric didn’t say anything, so Marcelline glanced at Claire instead and Claire nodded.
"Cleaner teams are already isolating surviving staff, emergency workers, and studio personnel. Public footage only shows equipment failure, smoke, and evacuation panic. Currently, no confirmed recording of Cross’s form has surfaced outside our control."
"Currently."
Marcelline narrowed her eyes even further.
"Yes, currently."
Claire nodded with a meaningful look on her face.
That was when Severin, the Concord Seat, asked a more important question.
"What is Miss Starling’s condition?"
"She is alive and physically stable, she is currently with Lady Vivienne."
Alaric answered and the moment that name was mentioned, the Directorates reacted.
"She is with... Vivienne...?"
Helena questioned carefully.
"Lady Vivienne took Cross and Starling refused to leave him."
"Brave."
Garrick couldn’t help but praise.
"She stood beside the man who saved her life."
"She is contracted to him. Attachment is no longer a purely emotional variable."
Cassian, the Inquest Seat, replied coldly.
"The contract has not been examined yet."
Garrick frowned.
"Which is exactly the problem."
Selene Marr, the Research Seat, spoke up.
"I would need access to both of them to confirm the structure."
"It won’t happen."
Cadrien Ashcroft, the Old Families Seat, shook his head. Selene narrowed her eyes.
"Lord Ashcroft, with respect, this matter concerns Enclave research classification."
"With respect, Lucian Cross is currently in Vivienne Everhart’s care. If you wish to request access, I encourage you to ask her personally."
Cadrien answered and Selene—
She didn’t say anything anymore.
Vivienne took him before the Medical Ward could heal him. That alone was enough for her to understand that she did not want the Medical Ward or the Research Branch around Lucian.
Asking her personally when she made it that clear?
Selene did not have a death wish.
"I am glad we understand each other."
Cadrien nodded at her. Selene only avoided his eyes.
No other Seat mentioned it again.
The name alone was more than enough for all of them to deter from it.
"The matter before this Council has three heads."
That was when Losef Ardent, the Archivist Seat, spoke up.
"First, the public breach.
Civilians died, Cleaners need to determine whether exposure can be contained completely or if we need to put in more resources.
Second, Vaelrith.
This is the second time the Greater Demon has escalated publicly and risked exposure.
And third, Lucian Cross."
The instant that name settled over the table, the Seats reacted.
Losef continued—
"His status as a Blood-Altered Human is now insufficient. His contract with Evelyn Starling and his manifestation of a possible True Form require a formal review."
That was when Cassian Rook, the Inquest Seat, leaned forward.
"Inquest recommends immediate restriction once Vivienne releases him."
"Crucible objects to premature restriction."
Helena Draven stood against it almost immediately.
"If he is unstable, then he needs training, not chains. Observe, test, and train him under controlled conditions."
"Controlled by whom?"
Cassian narrowed his eyes.
Helena smiled faintly.
"The Crucible."
"Research requests medical and biological access."
Selene Marr asked in a quiet, almost gentle voice.
"If he can be restricted during the process, I do not mind."
Cassian agreed.
"We can do restrictions, yes."
Selene’s smile widened.
"Enough."
That was when Garrick Vale, the Warden Seat, spoke.
"The boy broke protocol, he might be dangerous. Fine. Write it down ten times if it makes you feel useful, but he was the one who saved the mission when the rest of his team failed."
Marcelline Voss spoke up as well.
"We are less concerned with how useful Cross is and more concerned with how visible he becomes while being useful."
She then read the files Claire had brought for her.
"A public studio burned, civilians died, fortunately, the cameras failed. If he had manifested that state in front of the wrong lens, this Council would have had a far graver issue to discuss."
The Seats looked at each other.
They could see the problem.
"If he remains active, he needs countermeasures."
Ophelia Saint, the Reliquary Seat, spoke up as well.
"You mean restraints."
Helena narrowed her eyes.
"I mean safeguards."
Ophelia corrected.
"Anchors, suppression relics, emergency failsafes. Something that can slow him if he loses himself again."
"You want to put a leash on him."
Helena scoffed.
Garrick narrowed his eyes as well. He did not like that idea. He did not wish for the hunter who completed the mission and saved lives or his team members in another mission to be rewarded with leashes.
But Ophelia—
"I want to make sure the next time he awakens something impossible, the Enclave has an answer other than simply hoping everything go—"
And just then, just as the Council of Directorates, the strongest, the most influential people in Enclave, were discussing Lucian Cross’s fate—
BOOOOOM
The chamber doors burst open and—
"If you were discussing MY student."
A voice was heard.
"Don’t you think informing me was the obvious first step?"
Vivienne was here.