Villain's Path System

Chapter 163: True Stage Awakening

Lucian’s grin widened into something sly and calculating.

Leon glanced up at him from the floor, jelly still smeared on his cheeks, but kept munching innocently.

After a moment, Lucian dismissed the screen and stood up.

"Alright, Leon." He crouched down one more time, meeting the kid’s eyes. "Be a good boy and don’t leave the room. I’ll bring you gifts when I come back, okay?"

"’Kay, Papa." Leon nodded happily, already reaching for another piece of bread.

Lucian ruffled his hair once more, then stepped back and opened a portal.

The swirling gateway led directly to the cove.

He stepped through.

The moment he emerged on the other side he saw Sera and Elira were there, of course, but so were Lyria, Kaelen, Zeri, Zenith, and Viktor...

The top prodigies from Silvercrest were one thing. But seeing the top two from Sovereign Academy standing there as well? That was... unexpected.

Noticing him sera walked over quickly, relief flashing across her face.

"Lucian! Where were you? We thought you’d be here, so we—"

As soon as she got closer, she stopped mid-sentence. She had already felt the aura of his new heights...

"Hey... you seem a bit different...."

Before he could respond, Elira stepped closer. Without a word, and with her usual deadpan expression, she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. Then his chest. Then his face.

Lucian didn’t even flinch. He was used to this by now.

Across the cove, Viktor leaned in close to Zenith’s ear.

"Captain... something has changed in him."

Zenith gave a sharp, slight nod.

"I can already see that..."

"Have you reached the True Stage?..." elira bluntly announced in front of everyone.

Everyone’s eyebrows immediately furrowed in shock...

"W-What? True Stage?" Kaelen stumbled backward in the shallow lake water, nearly losing his balance.

Sera was also bewildered. She had felt his aura change too, but reaching the True Stage in a single night?

Unless...

She tried to recover, puffing her chest out slightly like she’d already figured it out before anyone else.

"Hah... well, I knew that. After all, he is my shiny future husband. What do you expect from a man like—"

Caught in the flow of the conversation, she accidentally blurted it out. It was said with the exact same bluntness Elira always used on purpose, except this was a pure slip of the tongue. Everyone froze, staring at her in stunned silence.

Sera paused... and from her neck all the way up, her entire face flushed bright red...

"There, there, it happens sometimes..." Elira tapped her on the shoulder...

Aria and Lyria both let out soft chuckles at the same time, hands covering their mouths.

Seeing Aria laugh, Zenith’s thoughts wandered for a moment... Before Lucian had arrived, she had learned about everything with Aria, and what she had been going through because of Adrian... So she stepped forward and was about to bow slightly...

"Aria..."

Everyone’s attention was drawn to her...

But Aria, saint-like as ever, already understood what Zenith was about to say. She raised one hand gently, cutting her off before she could continue.

"Zenith, this isn’t your fault, so don’t apologize. It was me who couldn’t pay attention... to what happened to me that day... and I know..."

She turned her gaze toward Lucian.

"I know that Lucian will make everything right..."

Zenith suddenly raised her head...

"Wait, why are you acting like that man is yours..."

Hmm... Aria blinked, momentarily caught off guard, though she maintained her serenity...

"Well, I am also his future wife... so what’s wrong with that..."

Viktor and Zenith both went rigid.

"What... you mean..." victor asked stunned.

Zenith glanced around at the others—Sera, Elira, Lyria, Kaelen. None of them looked surprised. At all. Their expressions were completely normal.

She cleared her throat and straightened her posture.

"Ahem... I suppose I can’t judge. A man having three wives is pretty normal..."

However, while saying this, there was a slight blush on her face...

Just then, Lucian, who was standing in the back, stepped forward...

"Now you already know, Miss Korr..." Bringing Sera and Elira alongside him on both sides, Lucian walked up to them and continued...

"That these three are my beloved future wives, and it is my duty to ensure they don’t get even a single scratch on them... So, when it came to what my brother Adrian did back then... I simply couldn’t tolerate it. So yes, I lost my temper there.

He said it all with a sly smile.

"As for that matter... it’s still not resolved."

Zenith’s eyes sharpened. "What are you trying to say?"

"The simple meaning is that whoever gets in my way today... I might not be as merciful as I was yesterday."

He said that while leaking his dark aura...

It was an open challenge right to Zenith’s face... Viktor’s fist clenched so hard a vein bulged on the back of his hand.

Zenith raised one hand without looking at him to hold back... and took two steps forward...

Her black hair fluttered in the breeze as she kept her gaze fixed on Lucian...

"Lucian, I have already apologized to you for whatever Adrian did. Furthermore, if you think Adrian needs to be punished, I will make sure he gets expelled from my academy, and another—"

Lucian cut her off mid-sentence—

"No, you are misunderstanding. Adrian is definitely involved, and I had no expectations from him anyway. But he also mentioned another name... a third-year student, Liebe Noctis..."

Zenith’s pupils shrank the moment she heard that name... Viktor also gulped... as Lucian continued,

"As far as I’ve found out, there is no third-year student by that name in our academy..." he said, looking toward Lyria and Kaelen...

They both shook their heads... they hadn’t heard anything about that name either...

"Lucian..." Zenith looked up, her tone completely serious.

"Are you sure you heard the right name? Liebe Noctis?"

"Yes, I am sure of it. I heard the right name... is there something you know about him..."

She nodded...

"The guy is one of the top three prodigies in our academy." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Lucian narrowed his eyes... "Well, that’s it... let’s go, Sera, Elira..." Lucian instantly opened a portal...

Both girls did not hesitate for a bit before starting to go with him...

"H-Hey, wait!" Zenith stepped forward sharply, her composure cracking for the first time.

"Are you crazy? Do you even know who you are going up against..."

Even her face showed visible tension just from hearing that name...

"And how are you going to get inside without permission... or how will you even find him..."

Lucian turned around.