Chapter 321 — Damian Will Die

"I have no father."

Lyandra’s tone was absolute.

Alaric’s voice came out softer but firmer.

"Ezra, we’re not having this conversation again. You know our position."

Ezra leaned forward, his professionalism cracking slightly.

"Your son has drawn attention from people in our generation. I know Headmaster Kaiser made his position clear to the SFD, but you’re both old enough to know what that actually means."

He paused, watching their faces.

"How many of Kaiser’s disciples lived past twenty?"

The silence that followed was heavy.

Alaric’s jaw tightened but he said nothing.

"All of them died," Ezra continued quietly. "Every single one. The Headmaster is a great warrior, but he doesn’t protect his students when real pressure comes. He teaches them to fight and lets them face the consequences alone. That’s always been his way."

Lyandra’s hands clenched into fists.

"We don’t need–"

"You’re both incredibly powerful," Ezra interrupted, his voice carrying respect. "The Twin Terrors could probably fight off most threats directly. But you can’t be everywhere at once."

He looked between them.

"Damian will be at Stormhold Academy. Luna will join him there soon. And you won’t be able to watch them every moment of every day."

Alaric’s silver eyes narrowed.

"Are you suggesting we can’t protect our own children?"

"I’m suggesting that the current Imperial family heads know better than to fight you directly," Ezra said carefully. "They’ll use proxies, accidents, systematic persecution. A training exercise that goes wrong, a portal assignment with faulty intelligence, a duel where the opponent ’accidentally’ uses lethal force."

His voice became harder.

"You can kill anyone who attacks openly. But you can’t stop a system designed to grind your children down while maintaining plausible deniability."

Lyandra’s Aura leaked slightly, visible distortions appearing in the air.

"Then we’ll destroy anyone who–"

"And start a war with Imperial families?" Ezra’s tone wasn’t challenging, just stating reality. "You’re strong enough to survive that. Are your children?"

The words hung in the air.

Ezra pressed forward while he had their attention.

"But there’s something else. Something that’s been bothering me..."

His expression became very serious.

"Demons appeared on the same train Damian was traveling on. First time in years that Demons breached dimensional barriers to reach a civilian transport route."

Alaric’s eyes sharpened.

"Then the first portal incident with Giants," Ezra continued. "Right in the location where Damian happened to be. The second portal can be explained, but the first two incidents?"

He leaned forward.

"When I was in the Capitol, I had a discussion with the Chairman. He pulled up the statistical analysis Gia ran. The probability of random coincidence for both incidents is negligible."

His voice dropped.

"Someone is manipulating events around your son. Orchestrating situations that force him into life-or-death scenarios."

The air in the room became thick with tension.

"And who," Ezra said quietly, "has both the power and the motive to do something like that? Who benefits from pushing Damian into increasingly dangerous situations?"

He didn’t say the name.

He didn’t have to.

Alaric’s face remained perfectly controlled, but something flickered in his silver eyes.

A memory.

’I... feel like my entire previous life was controlled. Someone pulling strings, making me dance to their tune. And even now...’

’Even now you feel like you’re still being used. Like a tool for someone else’s goals.’

’Yeah.’

Damian’s words from their rooftop conversation echoed in Alaric’s mind. At the time, he’d thought his son was talking about paranoia from trauma, the feeling of being manipulated by circumstances.

But what if it wasn’t paranoia?

What if Damian had been right all along?

A shadow fell across Alaric’s face, his expression becoming unreadable.

Ezra saw the change and continued carefully.

"I still have some connections with the Thorne family. The old monsters of their family are all betting on the same outcome."

His voice was grim.

"They believe Damian will die like all of Kaiser’s other disciples. They’re not even trying to kill him directly for humiliating Micheal Thorne. They’re just waiting for the Headmaster’s pattern to repeat itself."

He stood up slowly.

"But I’m not even here about Damian. The Headmaster’s reputation and the Vice Director’s political maneuvering have kept the worst away from him so far. I’m here about Luna."

Both parents’ hands tightened.

"She ranked first," Ezra continued. "First in Federation history for a commoner. Not top ten but first, with a gap that made the second-place finisher look average."

He let that sink in.

"That level of talent attracts attention from people who make the younger generation look like children. Old monsters who haven’t involved themselves in politics for decades."

His voice became very quiet.

"The kind who remember the times when talented commoners were eliminated before they could threaten the established order."

Lyandra’s voice emerged as barely controlled fury.

"If anyone touches my daughter–"

"They won’t touch her directly," Ezra said. "That’s my point. They’ll use the ways you can’t just kill your way out of."

He moved toward the door.

"The Vice Director has been providing that political cover for years. Why do you think no Imperial family head, the younger generation, moved openly against Damian despite everything? Why do you think the SFD backed off so quickly after you made your point?"

Alaric’s expression showed understanding he didn’t want to acknowledge.

"It wasn’t just fear of your power," Ezra continued. "It was the Vice Director making it clear through military channels that touching your family would have consequences beyond what you two could personally inflict."

He looked directly at Lyandra.

"I know he had... issues with Alaric. I know he didn’t approve when you two got together. But he never stopped caring about you. And he’s been watching over both your children because whatever happened between all of you, they’re still his grandchildren."

Lyandra’s face showed conflicting emotions, old wounds reopening.

Ezra paused at the threshold.

"I’m not asking you to forgive him or reconcile. I’m asking you to have one conversation about protecting Luna from threats that raw power can’t stop."

His voice became softer.

"The Vice Director has political weight in circles where even the Twin Terrors’ reputation only goes so far. Use it or don’t. But at least consider what’s at stake."

At exactly that moment, footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Ezra turned as Luna and Damian entered the living room.

His eyes immediately focused on Damian, scrutinizing him with practiced assessment.

The crimson eyes and hair held his attention longest.

"...You remind me of many old friends," Ezra said quietly. "They had the same crimson eyes and hair as you."

His voice carried weight.

"Sadly, all of them are dead."

Damian recognized the man immediately from news coverage and forums. The Arch-Inquisitor who’d declared him not guilty after the SFD incident.

His voice came out measured and calm.

"Are you talking about the Bloodworth Imperial Family?"

Ezra’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Indeed."

He stepped closer, studying Damian’s features as if searching for something specific.

Cough

Alaric’s deliberate sound made Ezra step back immediately.

"Ah, how rude of me."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a black and gold card, offering it to Damian.

"If you ever need anything related to military matters, contact me directly."

Damian accepted the card, studying the elegant design and official seals.

Arch-Inquisitor Ezra Thorne

Military Police - Central Command

Ezra turned toward the door without further ceremony.

"Think about what I said."

The words were directed at Alaric and Lyandra.

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

Luna immediately looked at her parents, concern visible on her face.

"Mother, what happened? Why was he here?"

Lyandra’s expression softened instantly, her cold demeanor melting away as maternal instincts took over.

"It’s nothing important, sweetie."

Her voice became warm, completely different from moments before.

"Congratulations. You’re an awakener now."

She pulled Luna into a hug, deliberately changing the subject.

But over Luna’s shoulder, Alaric and Lyandra’s eyes met again.

A silent conversation passed between them.

Whatever pride or old wounds stood between them and Lyandra’s father, their children’s safety mattered more.

And there was something else now, something far more disturbing.

If someone really was manipulating events around Damian, orchestrating situations designed to push him into danger...