Chapter 56: Area 17 [ 6 ]

When the time ran out, Scar, Julien, and Purple began their exit from Area 17. Purple’s wounds prevented walking, so she leaned heavily between her companions, who helped her along carefully.

Joel floated behind them on his board, its yellow light cutting through the mist to illuminate their path. He looked far from pleased. His expression suggested he was barely restraining himself from slitting all their throats in one motion.

Joel’s hatred for Akumas and the Supreme Academy ran deep. What made it worse: his superiors, Amber and three others, had not only let these demons infiltrate their hidden training base, but they’d given them food, and now forced him to guide them to safety.

He wasn’t wrong.

Their punishment stemmed from losing three consecutive duels. Now corpses surrounded them… fresh kills, shattered skeletons, rotting bodies, some showing signs of final desperate pleas. Any of them could have ended up like this. All of them might have. Yet they were supposed to help.

“It’s unfair to the lost souls…” he often argued.

Still, the protest would’ve been more convincing if he hadn’t been the one to rescue Purple in the first place.

“Hey, can you pick up the pace? I’ve got training to get back to.”

Joel sneered.

Julien replied sarcastically as Purple focused intently on each step, determined not to worsen her wounds through carelessness.

For Scar, though, relief dominated. They’d made it out alive. He was actually glad they’d come, aside from the part where his recklessness had nearly gotten Purple killed. But through it all, he’d reconnected with his cousin. Amber didn’t hate him.

They’d be starting training soon. On orders from Scar’s uncle, who was also Amber’s father, Amber would instruct Scar in proper sword technique.

Apparently, she was among the best swordmasters alive, human or Akuma, thanks to her brutal conditioning as a nun.

Amber seemed tied up with the approaching Epic Competition between Akumas and humans. Training would have to be postponed until after.

’I couldn’t believe how calm she stayed. That nun training must be next-level.’

He sighed.

She seemed to understand the Supreme Council’s true agenda for the Epic Competition.

They planned to sacrifice as many Akumas as possible to summon Morvan, Savior of the Lost, who would then devour V, humanity’s threat.

Yet she showed no sign of fear that humans might be caught in the crossfire as well. Instead, she was confident she could protect them.

“…”

“You’re nothing but a curse. Summon Morvan, and that creature won’t care if humans are caught in its assault, as long as the villain among us dies. We could all be slaughtered in the arena.”

Joel’s irritated voice cut through the atmosphere. He didn’t leave any room for questions before doubling down, placing all the blame on Akumas.

His words alone gave Scar the motivation he needed to hurry. He loathed Joel to the core. The guy was too arrogant for his liking, not to mention his naive perspective.

Hours of careful movement through the mist brought them finally to Area 17’s edge. They needed to be careful. Staff members might be just outside, watching to see how their sentence had played out.

Joel abandoned them a few meters out, in a zone where the bugs and other threats couldn’t reach. His relief was obvious, he left without a word of goodbye.

Gradually, they stepped free of the fog. The transition from that oppressive, blood-tainted atmosphere to the gentle breeze of the normal world brought them the comforting warmth of normalcy.

But then a voice echoed…

“Aren’t you guys happy to see me?”

The voice belonged to a short girl wearing large glasses and a white medical robe, her dark hair hanging loose over her shoulders.

Scar smirked.

“To be honest… I am. Who knows if we would’ve had the opportunity to see you again?”

Julien spoke right after Scar.

“I’m counting on a carriage here. And can you patch up Purple while you’re at it?”

Emma adjusted her glasses, smirking.

“First, Purple, a little ’please’ would be nice. And don’t forget, my services come at a price. You’re not Scar or Arthur, after all.”

After some back and forth, Emma treated Purple’s wounds. She couldn’t heal them completely, the injuries were too severe, but she helped significantly.

Despite Scar’s objections, she still charged Purple for the service. Business was business.

Soon…

Back at the academy, Julien and Scar submitted the corpses from their punishment. Instead of the required ten, they’d brought fifteen, earning Purple the right to gloat.

While Julien and Scar freshened up, Purple rested in the infirmary, Lovis sitting across from her. His cocky smile from three days earlier had disappeared, replaced by something like understanding.

“I overestimated myself and didn’t double-check my research. You knew the Alpha Academy students were in Area 17 from the beginning. You were certain I’d send you there, aware of the 2% survival rate.”

Staring into Purple’s calm, unreadable expression, he sneered in irritation.

“Don’t tell me this was an accident. You planned it. Not just the Alpha students’ sympathy, but the wound itself. Deep enough. Severe enough. Long enough to keep you out of sight for weeks.”

Huh…

“Your reason for injuring yourself is logical. The timing, however, is not. It suggests there’s something else at play. You had every chance to inform your friends of your plan. Yet you withheld it and let them panic.”

Purple smiled gently.

Both legs were bandaged and, despite Emma’s treatment, far from healed. She couldn’t possibly duel, which meant Lovis had no way to arrange their rematch. His staff privileges didn’t help him now.

“I asked for a chess match. You said no. And somehow this is my fault?”

Purple shook her head in disbelief.

“I didn’t plan anything. I simply asked around and bet on the most obvious outcome. I’ve known you since we were young. I know how impatient you are.

“If you had chosen Area 34 or 26, you could have killed us. We wouldn’t have lasted a minute. My threads are a terrible match against lava and flame; the heat alone would have secured your victory. But instead… you chose the one place where you could monitor us.”

Her smile grew slightly sinister.

“That barrier over Area 17 told you exactly where we were. It even hinted at our condition. You only needed to question the caster.”

She held Lovis’s stare as his expression twitched with frustration.

“I can’t duel again… certainly not three matches before the Epic Competition. That was your window to kill us, wasn’t it? It’s gone now. When that day arrives, either the world falls under V’s control… or his army is wiped out. Ha. I thought you were omniscient. How did you not see this coming?”

Laughter echoed through the room momentarily before her malicious presence reasserted itself. Those purple eyes turned so menacing that Lovis began sweating nervously.

“I lead the Vey family, and I will raise it to power regardless of the obstacles before me. You will fall. The Heart family will fall. Anyone who dares stand in my path will be torn apart. Mark my words, the next time I speak of this, my threads will be tightening around your throat.”

The truth in her eyes was undeniable. Lovis knew he’d squandered his only chance to kill her.

Worse, he’d stirred something in her he hadn’t witnessed in years. A woman who’d cripple herself not just to survive but to resurrect her family’s name? Purple’s ruthlessness had no limits.

Even so, he smiled.

Exhale.

“I’ve never doubted your strength, Purple. That’s precisely why I’m certain I’ll get another perfect chance to kill you. Remember who I am, the head of the Voss family. I’ve known you since we were young… and I will be the one who ends you and your bloodline.”

Just as he spoke, Scar walked in. The tension was so thick he started sweating instantly.

More disturbing, Purple and Lovis both had eerie, chilling smiles plastered on their faces. For a moment, he thought he’d stumbled into something romantic.

Purple turned to Scar then, her smile becoming more welcoming.

“Oh, you’re here, Scar…” she turned to Lovis. “Ah! Fifteen, wasn’t it? Now you see? Those ’terrifying’ threats of yours were just a stroll through the park.”

Lovis didn’t respond. He maintained his smile as he exited the room.

Scar’s confusion wasn’t something to miss.

’Why do I feel like I missed something important?’

“Scar… can I speak with you for a sec?”

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