Woosh!

Barbara moved before anyone could react, her speed so fast that only the sound of wind whistling could be heard.

One moment she was sitting, and the next she was across the table, her fingers clamped around Keryu’s throat.

The force of her movement sent the chair he had been sitting on crashing backward, its echo bouncing off the high walls of the hall.

Keryu gasped, his hands flying up to claw at her grip, but Barbara’s strength was monstrous. Her emerald eyes blazed with fury, as things seemed to have turned worse than she had expected.

“Who sent you?” She demanded, her voice like ice, yet burning with barely restrained rage. “What are your real intentions here?”

After hearing Alex’s words, she realized it.

Keryu’s intention for coming here was probably her. Why else would he know who she was? She was someone who was supposed to have died after all.

The lie detector, forgotten between them, pulsed a bright green, confirming the moment’s gravity.

Keryu gritted his teeth, trying to pry himself free, but Barbara’s grip only tightened.

The subordinates in the hall tensed, unsure if they should intervene. Some reached for their weapons, but without Barbara’s orders, they didn’t dare to move.

Of course, only Barbara’s subordinates didn’t move. Natasha, who had been hiding among the crowd, rushed toward Barbara with a dagger in her palm.

“Let go of him!” She yelled, her dagger ready to cleave Barbara, but before she could reach her, one of Barbara’s subordinates moved as well.

Bam!

With a punch straight to her gut, Natasha fell to her knees, wheezing for air, her eyes wide.

“No!!” Keryu, looking at that, let out a strained yell, his bloodshot eyes turning to Alex, the root of all that was happening.

“Answer. Me.”

Barbara’s words, along with her grip on his neck tightening, caused him to turn back to her.

“I sent myself,” Keryu choked out, his voice weakened. “No one sent me.”

Barbara growled, slamming him against the nearest pillar.

Boom!

The impact sent a dull thud through the room. “Liar! You knew who I was before I told you! You knew about my family! If you weren’t sent here, then how?!”

Keryu gasped, struggling for air, but his violet eyes never lost their sharpness. “I… I never wanted to kill you—”

His words, however, were cut short.

“Tch, tch,” Alex shook his head, sighing as he looked at Barbara. “Why are you even letting him speak? Just ask him to reply with a yes or no.”

Barbara glanced at Alex, her teeth gritting. She didn’t like how Alex was ordering her, nor did she like how she felt like he was saving her, but she knew that if not for him, she would’ve thought of Keryu as an ally.

“What? Can’t come up with questions?” Alex, on the other hand, took her silence as being unable to come up with a question. “Let me help you then.”

Turning to Keryu, who was staring at him with hate, he asked, “Did you not come here with the intention of destroying this organization? Did you have good intentions for Barbara? Were you not thinking of using her?”

One after another, Alex asked three questions, and Keryu, who heard them, knew what the situation would turn into if he answered them.

‘What the hell did I ever do to you?!’ He roared on the inside, wanting to know why Alex was doing this to him.

Yes, he had schemed against Alex, but there was no way he was caught doing that. In Alex’s eyes, he must be a normal junior in the academy doing his own work.

So, why was Alex going against him?!

Keryu wanted answers, but as he felt his windpipe press harder, he saw Barbara’s eyes. She wanted answers, and she wanted answers to the questions Alex had asked.

“Do I look like a joke to you?” She growled, her voice turning dark. “I. Want. Answers.”

Keryu’s mind raced. He was cornered, and he knew it. He had never expected Alex to expose him this way.

Things were going haywire again, and again, it was because of Alex.

His eyes moved toward Natasha. She was on the ground, still gasping for air, as the punch from that guy had pushed all air out of her lungs.

‘What should I do?’

He wanted to save her, but he was powerless.

Images flashed past his eyes—moments he had spent with her. Eating together, scheming together, and even their intimate moments.

Natasha was someone he could never lose.

But no matter what he thought, he couldn’t think of any way that he could save both of them.

It was then that Natasha’s eyes met his. There was a light of defeat in her eyes, a sad smile tugging at her lips as if she could read his intentions.

‘I-I don’t want to be left behind,’ she thought to herself, but on the outside, all Keryu saw was an encouraging smile.

‘Run.’ She lipsynced, causing him to clench his fists. Closing his eyes, Keryu made up his mind.

“You…” His voice echoed through the hall, where nothing other than Natasha’s gasping could be heard.

He stared into Barbara’s eyes, his purple eyes glowing eerily. “You are making a wrong choice.”

At those words, Barbara frowned, but before she could understand anything, a burst of purple light shot out of Keryu’s chest, stunning her, along with everyone else in their spot.

It was a mental attack.

‘What?!’

That was the collective thought everyone had, but things didn’t end with that.

With a burst of energy, Keryu rushed toward Natasha, picking her up in his arms. He tore the teleportation scroll, activating it.

“Stop him!” Barbara, who saw that, quickly broke free of her stunned state and roared, moving toward him herself.

Time seemed to have slowed down as Keryu’s purple eyes glowed with rage, scanning every face in the hall, especially Alex and Barbara’s, his jaws clenched hard.

‘Huh?’ Natasha, on the other hand, was still in confusion. She couldn’t even understand what was going on.

One second she was on the ground, and the next she was in Keryu’s arms. But for whatever reason it may be, she felt safe in his arms.

Fwoosh!

It was then, with a bright light coating both Keryu and Natasha, that they vanished from the spot.

Barbara’s fists reached the light, but unfortunately, all she caught was air. She wasn’t fast enough to beat the teleportation power yet.

“Damn it!” Barbara cursed, slamming her fist on the ground, causing the creaking floor to shatter.

Due to the surprise attack on her mind caused by Keryu, she couldn’t move for a second, and by the time she noticed the teleportation scroll in his hands, it was already too late.

The hall fell into a heavy silence, the weight of his escape settling over the room.

Barbara exhaled sharply, her hands curling into fists. “Coward.”

Alex chuckled, hopping off the table. “Well, that was dramatic.” He tilted his head, watching Barbara’s tense form. “So, what’s next, oh fearless leader? He might be coming back with a larger force this time.”

Barbara shot him a sharp look but didn’t answer immediately. She had been played, and she hated it.

However, she knew the truth in his words. She had to think of something now—a way to avoid or face the upcoming crisis.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep