Free Web NovelChapter 41: Tochiux Serpent
The tension in the air was palpable.
His simple question made the air go stale, and the seriousness in his tone made the short man shift uncomfortably. But it didn’t matter, did it? After all, it was just a little girl.
’This is great. None of the others have gotten to him yet, so we can bring him in’
"Oh, Phantom! What a pleasant surprise. Please don’t concern yourself with the little girl. She should watch carefully when moving next time. She almost bumped into me. That aside—"
"I asked, which hand did you use?" Nicholas’s voice grew colder, enough to make all the kids in the room shift in fear.
The short man felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he looked at Nicholas. His cold blue eyes, visible behind the visor of the X Glasses.
"Phantom, you should calm down. We have kids here" Selena’s voice tore him out of his rage as she walked up to him with calm steps, "Please restrain yourself. The kids are scared and those men are representatives of the council" Selena muttered as she walked close to him.
Nicholas glanced towards the kids by the side and then turned back to the two men in front of him. freewebnσvel.cøm
"Sir, for what reason do we owe this pleasure of having you here?" Selena didn’t even let Nicholas speak as she took the initiative to strike a conversation.
The short man glanced at Selena for a moment, a small confident smile cutting across his face, "I’m the head scout of the Raystar association, I came here to meet with Phantom and offer him an exclusive contract with us, I’m pretty sure he’ll love the deal" The man said as he turned his gaze to Selena, whose eyes widened in shock
’An offer from Raystar? Well it’s expected. He’s gathered too much attention over the past few days’
Seeing the shock on Selena’s face, the grin on the man’s face widened but as he looked back at Nicholas, who didn’t even budge in the slightest, his gaze still cold and detached.
’He doesn’t know the association? That could only be the reason why he’s so calm. But this is a perfect opportunity! By the time I tell him everything about us, he’ll be more than willing to join!’ The man thought with a large smile on his face.
Things were sure to work out in their favour.
"If you don’t mind, we would love to discuss this more over tea" the taller man said, "We’ve prepared a spot for this"
Nicholas raised a brow, ’I thought as much, this was probably why they allowed Selena to come.’ Nicholas let out a sigh.
"I have no interest in your Raystar association" Nicholas’s words instantly made the two men freeze.
The scout’s smile stiffened for a fraction of a second before he forced it back into place.
"Phantom, I believe you don’t know much about the association. The Raystar association, is the powerhouse behind most of the influential heroes out there. We have the hero Vixen, Night Ninja and as well a lot of notable heroes. We’ve pushed their career to the next level, offering them brand deals and contracts spanning through different continents. With us on your side, all your needs will be catered for, and you’ll be paid handsomely for every mission you partake in" The man said, his smile ever present on his face.
Nicholas didn’t reply immediately, he shifted his gaze down to Katie who was still looking at the man with a hint of annoyance in her eyes, she stopped right on time before she could step on him, yet he still shoved her off coldly.
Nicholas nudged her a bit, calling her attention, she stared up at him with her round eyes and he asked in a calm voice, "What hand did he use to push you?"
Katie looked up at Nicholas. His voice felt unusual, but it still carried the same warmth as it did whenever he spoke to her, so she didn’t mind.
Without hesitation she pointed at his left arm, "He used that one"
Nicholas looked the short man dead in the eye, "I’ll only be considering your association if you’ll be leaving that hand behind here, or paying a fee for discomforting the kid and making me ask her"
The smile on the man’s face slowly twisted into an ugly frown as he heard Nicholas request.
"Phantom, our offer has nothing to do with the kid, do not let such an insignificant matter cause you to make wrong decisions. The Raystar association is—"
"And I couldn’t care less what the Raystar association is, if you don’t meet the demands then I won’t even consider joining your association" Nicholas said.
He left the two men dazed and even Selena as he turned his back on them, with Katie with him.
He walked back to the registrar, almost as though he didn’t even see the two men before.
Selena quickly followed behind him, "Nicholas, threatening a member of the Raystar association is absurd!" She scolded.
"Supervisor Selena, his hands are only still intact thanks to your interference. It wouldn’t be a threat if you didn’t interfere—He would be looking for an arm" Nicholas said without throwing her a glance.
Selena’s feet stopped, taken aback by his words, she turned her gaze down to Katie, ’They really struck a nerve when they touched her. He didn’t cut off the arm, so it’s not my business, honestly I wouldn’t even want him to join Raystar’ She let out a calm sigh, from his voice she could tell.
If this had happened outside the academy, Selena wasn’t entirely sure the scout would still have both arms attached.
"Whatever, let’s just get her signed up and leave" Selena said as they walked up to the registrar to continue the discussion on Katie’s admission.
The two men stared at their backs, the short man had his eyes wide with rage, a vein visible on his neck, without a word he turned his back and left the room, his co-worker rushing out with him.
"Who does that Phantom even think he is? He managed to deal with an impure and suddenly he feels like he can do whatever he wants? His ability is merely a copy of Vixen’s and he doesn’t even know how to use them as well as she does! Only a newbie in the game and he feels like he’s some sort of god?!"
"Well, he’s completed two missions and gained recognition and he never failed a mission yet. That’s probably why the hype on him is quite much" The taller man replied, he was much calmer, but the arch in his brows showed that he was clearly annoyed with the way Nicholas had replied to them.
The short man paused in his track upon hearing his words, "That’s right, he’s only getting the hype because he’s never failed a mission yet." He said with realisation a cold smile going up his face.
"What’s on your mind?"
The short man glanced back at him, "We still have the Tochiux serpent don’t we? The impure beast Vixen had defeated sometime ago?"
The taller man’s expression changed immediately.
The casual annoyance vanished from his face.
"You’re talking about that thing?" freewebnσvel.cѳm
Even now, he remembered the footage. The creature tearing through reinforced barriers. The evacuation alarms. The reports that followed.
Three heroes were hospitalized.
Two districts quarantined.
Vixen herself had needed support before finally bringing it down.
The serpent wasn’t merely dangerous.
It was the kind of monster that turned headlines into memorials.
"Are you saying we should release the impure? I thought we were saving it for the next headlines for Night Ninja?"
"Yes, but this will be a good time to teach this arrogant hero a lesson. He needs to learn how this association work. If everyone sees him getting beat up, then his hype would slowly die off, Sir Ronald will definitely see that he’s not worth it"
"That serpent is going to be tough for him to defeat. I mean, even Vixen had a hard time dealing with it and still needed external support from other heroes. Sir Ronald only arranged it for Night Ninja, since he hasn’t been on the headlines for a while, he’s also going to get support from Vixen. Also, are you sure it’s a great idea to release that thing near the school?"
"The kids will be fine, the defence system in the domes are powerful enough to withstand a full blown punch from Sir Eric, so it’ll be fine. As for Phantom, I’m not sure he’ll be fine, but that’s exactly what I want!"
The tall man paused for a moment, skeptical with the decision.
"Don’t think about it too much, it’ll be fine. Get the media ready and the team, the world is about to witness what Phantom looks like when he’s not the one winning" he said with a dark grin as they walked out of the academy grounds.
