Chapter 77: Misstep

Among everything Isaac had held onto until his last breath was the hope that Scar wouldn’t end up alone.

It was vague; the old bastard had never been particularly articulate about it, but the feeling behind it had been clear: he loathed the thought of Scar without him and without anyone else.

Scar had taken it seriously. His desire to live came first; that had been his parents’ fight, and he carried it as his own. Close behind it was friendship. Companionship. The kind of thing that made the living feel like something.

But certain people had no interest in letting him have that. No interest in leaving the few meaningful things in his life untouched. The result of that was Emma, lying bedridden and unconscious somewhere, and her body doing the work of staying alive while everyone else waited.

Scar, Julien, and Mingle stood around Emma’s unconscious body without speaking. Bandages covered nearly all of her—everything but her face, which sat still and unfamiliar without expression. Scar looked at her and felt the absence of those massive glasses before he’d even fully registered why.

Emma’s state made one thing certain. He had to do this alone, the Inheritance research, all of it.

If those who tried to help him kept meeting fates like hers, he wasn’t going to keep watching his friends pay for his curiosity. But alongside the guilt, something else was forming.

His Emotional State awakening had handed him something neither predecessor had ever grasped… a beginning of understanding, a thread no one before him had followed.

He didn’t know where it led yet. But he knew, with a certainty he hadn’t felt before, that following it would eventually answer everything. What his Inheritance truly was. Why it was feared. Why it had been hunted for centuries.

“You shouldn’t overthink this, Scar. Her current state probably has nothing to do with the research.”

Scar locked eyes with Mingle, confused.

“Huh?”

“The clerk at the library clarified things when I questioned her. A false alarm had drawn her out, and no one else was present at the time. By the time she realized it was a false alarm and returned, she saw someone leaving. She couldn’t question them, but inside the library, she saw Emma as she is now.”

Scar flinched, the eagerness to know spilling into his expression immediately. But Mingle was hesitating, and that hesitation caught Scar off guard. He knew Mingle as cheerful, teasing, and rarely serious without a reason.

The last time Scar had seen that particular look on his face was the day Mingle had come to tell him Isaac was gone. That memory didn’t sit quietly.

Julien let out a slow exhale, the disappointment in it unmistakable. Whatever was building in the room, he clearly had no patience for it. He reached over, grabbed Scar by the shoulder, and spoke.

“You should have known, Mingle… Scar isn’t the type to be satisfied with just that.”

Sigh.

“The clerksaw Joel. But don’t rush into anything… you have every right to be angry, but hear me out. Purple has been suspicious of him since he rescued us in Area 17. She thinks his hatred toward Akumas is leading him down a dangerous path.”

Mingle nodded in agreement.

“The answer is simple. He went to the Grand Library to steal a book. Emma wasn’t supposed to be there, but she saw him, and that made her a problem.” Mingle said.

Scar frowned.

’What nonsense are they spouting? Do they even hear themselves?’

He let the anger run a little further than he should have before reining it in. But something had shaken loose in the process. He understood now why he had always hated Joel. The feeling had never had a proper reason attached to it, and now, quietly, it did.

“Did he leave the library with a book?”

“No.”

“Then where the hell did that theory even come from? And even if it were true, wouldn’t taking Joel out be better for everyone?”

The fist came without thinking, clenched so tight and with such specific intent that he could practically feel Joel’s throat beneath it.

“Say whatever you want… he’s human, and attacking him without reason might cost me my life. But in two days, at the Epic Competition, I’ll finally avenge Emma.”

Julien panicked for a moment.

“No. Any other day would be fine, but not that one. I told you already, we need to fake an injury and avoid the competition. Showing up would be suicide.”

It came back to him. Hours ago, Julien had passed along what Purple believed, that during the Epic Competition, something might go wrong with V.

Not a controlled awakening. Something unexpected, something that spilled outward. The kind of thing that left countless people dead in its wake.

He had been inclined to enter at first. That inclination hadn’t entirely left him. But Emma was right there on the bed beside him, struggling with something as basic as breathing, and that complicated things.

On top of that, Joel was human. Which meant that whatever happened during the Epic Competition, however bad it got, the Supreme Council was going to prioritize keeping him alive. That was simply how it worked.

“No, that’s bullshit.”

He couldn’t talk himself out of it. No matter how he approached it, he couldn’t let Joel walk away.

He had earned rest, technically. The battle with Adisa had been days ago, and his body knew it. But someone had put Emma in this state, beaten her to within reach of death, and that someone was Joel. Scar wasn’t letting that window close. He had to pay.

“I know you care, Julien, but no. I can’t let that motherfucker walk out of the arena. Even if I survive, the Supreme Council will punish me… and I’m ready for it.”

He turned to Emma.

“Look at her… don’t you think she deserved better? She didn’t even know Joel, and he still nearly killed her.”

He sneered.

“No one is going to give her justice. We have to take it ourselves. I understand if you don’t want to fight… but I can’t walk away. She’s my friend. And if it weren’t for me, she would never have stepped into the Grand Library.”

Julien stared at Scar for a moment, then let out a teasing sigh.

“You’re probably right. I can’t just watch you die… so I’ll stay and protect you.”

Scar returned his words with a soft smile.

Mingle finally wore his usual lustful smile.

“You’ve grown far more perceptive than before. I can’t deceive you now. If this is truly your choice, I’ll inform Arthur and the Rover family. Emma serves you both, after all… I’m sure they can ensure you escape punishment.”

Sweet words. Being a Rover had its perks, and he had been making good use of them recently. He was saved by that name only hours ago, and now he was already pointing at another problem.

Troublesome didn’t quite cover it. But trouble had never stopped him before, and it wasn’t going to stop him now. He’d do anything for his loved ones. For Emma, anything at all.

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