Chapter 129 — Family Talk I

Sebastian’s house was far more equipped than a typical residence.

The medical wing alone could rival most hospital emergency rooms, filled with cutting-edge equipment that hadn’t even reached public markets yet.

Experimental devices Sebastian had designed himself lined the walls alongside traditional medical tools.

He’d been ready when they arrived, the treatment room prepared, equipment calibrated, his usual playful demeanor replaced with focused professionalism.

"Get him on the table."

Sebastian’s voice was clipped, efficient.

His silver hair was tied back, glasses reflecting the lights as he moved around the room with practiced precision. The lean, bespectacled man looked more like a scientist than a healer, which wasn’t far from the truth.

Brian helped Alaric lower Damian onto the examination table.

"I should go. The aftermath of the demon attack is going to require extensive SFD presence for investigation and civilian reassurance. I’ll be tied up for days at minimum."

He looked at Damian.

"Heal up properly. Don’t get involved with more problems again."

"I’m never the one seeking them out."

Brian shook his head with a slight smile and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

Sebastian immediately began running diagnostic scans, his hands moving over the equipment with familiar confidence.

"This is going to take time to heal completely. The injuries are extensive and some of them cut deeper than the surface damage suggests. You’re staying here until I’m satisfied you won’t collapse the moment you try to do something strenuous."

"Uncle Sebastian, I have self-healing abilities that–"

"I don’t care what abilities you have. You’re staying here and that’s final."

Sebastian’s tone left no room for argument.

He turned to address Alaric and Lyandra.

"All of you should stay as well. I have plenty of space. Besides, I’d like to monitor his recovery closely over the next few days."

Lyandra nodded immediately, clearly having no intention of leaving Damian’s side anyway.

Luna was still hovering nearby, Kuro perched contentedly on her shoulder, the raven having apparently decided she was his new favorite person after Damian.

As Sebastian worked, running treatments and applying specialized healing techniques that went far beyond standard medical practice, the family gradually moved to the sitting room adjacent to the medical wing.

Damian was propped up on a comfortable medical bed, bandaged but conscious and alert.

The room fell into a contemplative silence for several minutes.

Then Alaric spoke, his silver eyes fixed on his adopted son.

"What was Brian talking about earlier? About joining you? What exactly have you been doing at the Academy, Damian?"

The question hung in the air, weighted with paternal concern and the knowledge that whatever the answer was, it would be significant.

Damian was quiet for a long moment, his crimson eyes distant as he considered how to explain everything.

Luna sat beside his bed, her hand resting near his, her silver eyes watching his face carefully.

’He’s deciding how much to tell them. Ever since he awoke his memories, he is always calculating and thinking too much.’

She could see it in the micro-expressions most people missed.

Finally, Damian began speaking, his voice steady and clear.

"The Academy isn’t what most people think it is. It’s not an institution dedicated to nurturing talent and preparing humanity’s defenders.

It’s a system designed to maintain Noble superiority and convert commoner students into subordinates."

He looked at each family member in turn.

"Nobles control everything. The rankings, the resources, the training opportunities and the political structure. Commoners are systematically suppressed, pushed into accepting inferior positions and conditioned to believe they’re naturally beneath Nobles in ways that have nothing to do with actual talent or capability."

Lyandra’s face was growing darker with each word, her protective instincts flaring.

"I refused to accept that system and refused to bow to students who thought their family names made them superior. So I started building an alternative."

Damian’s voice took on a different quality now, harder and more certain.

"I formed an organization called the Mafia. Started with just a few students who were tired of being exploited. Now we have over thirty student members and control significant territory in Tranquil City. We’ve established rules, infrastructure and... services. Built something that actually helps people instead of just extracting from them."

Sebastian, who’d been monitoring equipment quietly, let out a low whistle.

"You built a criminal organization while attending your first semester at the Academy. That’s impressively ambitious even by our family’s standards."

"It’s not a criminal organization. It’s an alternative governance structure that happens to operate outside legal frameworks because the legal system is designed to prevent exactly this kind of challenge to established power."

Damian’s distinction was subtle but important to him.

"We forbid drugs in our territory. We provide protection without extortion. We run orphanages and support hospitals.

We solve problems the government ignores. Yes, we use violence when necessary, but we’re building something genuinely better than what exists."

Alaric listened without interruption, his face carefully neutral, but his mind clearly processing implications.

Luna’s grip on Damian’s hand had tightened unconsciously, her emotions a swirling mix of pride and fear and something that might have been admiration.

Lyandra looked like she wanted to simultaneously hug Damian and shake him for putting himself in such danger.

"The Imperial families have taken notice. They’ve pressured professors not to teach me... They’ve tried to suppress my access to resources and training. They forced my weapon art master to sever our relationship despite his personal wishes. In short, they’ve made it clear that I’m a problem they intend to eliminate eventually."

Damian’s voice remained calm and factual.

"Which means they might come after my family as leverage against me. I need you all to know that and to be aware of the potential threat so you can prepare or... distance yourselves from me if necessary."

Sebastian actually snorted at that, the sound echoing in the medical wing.

"Like hell any Noble family could harm Alaric and Lyandra. They’re not exactly defenseless civilians, Damian."

Damian’s eyes sharpened with interest at that phrasing.

The room went tense for a few seconds.

All of them had become serious the moment they fully processed what Damian had said about making enemies of the thirteen Imperial families.

These weren’t small Noble houses. These were the families that effectively controlled the Federation, that commanded resources and political power beyond most people’s comprehension.

Making an enemy of one Imperial family was career-ending for most people.

Making enemies of all thirteen simultaneously was suicidal.