Chapter 51: Area 17 [ 1 ]

The room was gloomy, sparse, and filthy. The narrow window admitted almost no sunlight. A wooden table dominated the space, buried under stacks of documents. No visitor seating existed, and the person behind the desk only added to the inhospitable atmosphere.

The dark suit rendered him nearly invisible in the darkness. He leaned forward, elbows on the desk, wrists crossed, face hovering just above his folded hands.

His smile was pure villainy, like he’d sold his soul just to perfect that monstrous look.

Scar, Julien, and Purple stood before the insufferable young man, waiting to be judged for three straight duel losses. Luccy’s presence didn’t escape them, perched in the corner, watching everything with a smile.

Purple calmly took a step forward, hands tucked in her pockets.

“I suspected as much. Who would want us dead, plotting so carefully that survival isn’t an option? I thought it’d be some weak coward… but you? Lovis? I didn’t know the Voss family feared me enough to resort to underhanded schemes against my friends and me.”

Lovis’s face remained unmoved, that creepy smile fixed in place. Purple was equally composed, unreadable as ever.

Confusion crossed Scar’s face as he glanced around. He’d focused on Luccy since he seemed to be the reason she was there, but after twenty minutes of silence, Purple’s words had finally shattered it. Who was Lovis? And why did he care about Scar?

Finally, Lovis spoke:

“See, Purple? This is why you’ll never triumph in this war. Your faith in yourself is so blind that you forfeit every duel, believing you can withstand whatever I unleash.”

Lovis leaned into his seat and crossed his legs.

“Since we were young, I’ve been telling you: the Soul of Converse will always outmatch the Threads of Fate. These souls supply me with endless knowledge. I am omniscient.”

Purple finally wore a smile.

Julien remained on edge, listening.

Scar’s confusion persisted, though. What was Lovis’s motive for wanting them dead? Was there some connection to the Vey and Voss families? And why had he been dragged into this?

Then, as though Lovis had read his mind, he turned to Julien and spoke:

“Ah, the bodyguard of Purple. That bold bargain of yours, attempting to kill Quagmire… what absurd delusions.”

Though Julien’s face betrayed his annoyance with a twitch, he held steady and kept his reaction in check.

Lovis’s gaze shifted to Scar, his smile vanishing briefly before sliding back into place.

“You poor soul. You were never meant to be part of this. I only used you to unsettle Purple, you have no real connection to the Vey family. I would have pardoned you today, had Luccy not interfered. But it seems you’re… exceptional. Turns out, you are the Ruler of Zeus’s chosen prey. Consider that an honor.”

Scar exhaled with a hoarse breath.

’Makes sense now.’

Purple had called it perfectly. Someone was leveraging the Supreme Council’s Akuma sacrifice plan to awaken Morvan and kill V in three two weeks time. Scar suspected Dain, which wasn’t entirely accurate but wasn’t wrong either. Luccy’s presence confirmed the link.

“Stop pretending, Lovis. You had no intention of sparing Scar. You want to kill my friends and me simply to show off how superior you think you and your family are.”

Purple clicked her tongue.

“I’ve been saying it since we were children: even if I’d never awakened this Inheritance, you’d never match me. I surpassed you at everything, despite having nothing… and yet, you still did.”

Scar anticipated some reaction from Lovis, but the man appeared completely unbothered. His smile remained fixed in place.

Purple shrugged her shoulders.

“A hundred dead souls obey you, gathering secrets, spying… they cannot kill directly, but they could arm you with everything needed to kill anyone. And what did you do? Hide behind your staff privileges at the academy. Pathetic. Just imagine the havoc you could have wrought with this Inheritance.”

Finally, Lovis’ face began flinching with annoyance.

“Ha! She got you there,” Luccy’s teasing words cut deep, and soon, Lovis frowned.

“I don’t need to prove a thing. I personally caused your family to lose 180 gold coins in the last seven years. That’s more than RECO pulls in annually, even as the hottest company on the market.”

Scar looked at him with barely concealed disinterest. Lovis’s outburst surprised him. The combination of arrogance and self-congratulation didn’t fit the guy’s normal style.

But aside from that, Scar found himself in awe. He’d heard Julien describe Purple’s unshakeable calm, but seeing it in person was far more impressive. She acted as though she was invincible, even when they all understood the gravity of their situation.

“Bragging all day, are we? I assumed all of this was just your plan to kill us… but if you’ve had a change of heart, we can settle it with chess. You want to show me you’re smarter, don’t you? Sounds ideal.”

Lovis seemed stunned at first, but then he erupted into manic laughter. Inexplicably, Luccy began laughing along with him.

Scar and Julien glanced at each other uneasily. Lovis and Luccy looked like they’d lost it, but maybe the laughter made sense to them somehow.

“Such a laughable, manipulative tactic. You honestly thought I’d give in? And now, after losing your duels, punishment is all that’s left for you.”

Lovis exhaled deeply and resumed his theatrical villain stance, the creepy smile included.

“Three days in Area 17, that’s your punishment. A few bugs are roaming around, and you’ll need to come back with at least ten corpses. Return without them and you’d be executed… haaa, what a relief.”

Scar’s body went rigid. What? Area 17? That was suicide! Before his mind could spiral further, he saw Purple react as though her world had shattered.

She shook violently, hands trembling as they pressed against her chest, then her knees gave out, and she collapsed.

For an instant, Scar was convinced she was truly scared. Then he spotted the faint, entertained smile tugging at Julien’s lips.

The act ended. Purple took a deep breath, smirking slightly. She’d been toying with Lovis the entire time.

“Survival rate in Area 17 is 2%, yes? I’ll concede, it’s no easy task. But you’ve miscalculated once again, Lovis. I’m Purple Vey, head of the Vey family. That’s not nearly enough to get rid of me.”

Scar’s heart wouldn’t stop hammering, made worse by Luccy’s teasing waves and smirk. But promising survival in a place with less than a 2% survival rate?

“Ah, Purple, my old friend. That arrogance of yours is going to get you killed. But don’t worry, Luccy will come for your corpses in five days.”

Lovis was done. Without saying anything more, he dismissed them to face their punishment.

Purple seemed calm as ever, though Scar prayed she had a real strategy. If she were all talk, they wouldn’t survive more than hours in Area 17.

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