Chapter 13: Blinded By Rage

Thalia's vision became blurry, with dark spots clouding her sight as she stepped into the passageway. Her eyes struggled to adjust after walking through the poorly lit stairwell. After rubbing her eyes, the first thing she noticed was how dirty the room was. Cobwebs filled every corner, and dust floated around in the air.

The room was cluttered with old weapons and various objects, some of which had rust accumulating on their metallic handles. Thalia could feel an immense aura emanating from each item, and she had no doubt that everything in this room was extremely powerful.

"Thank you for allowing me a small nap," murmured Vice-Captain Alexander as he leaned against the wall, his black top hat shading his face.

"While you were relaxing, Thalia passed out from the pressure—or whatever while I was calling for you! And don't pretend you didn't hear me. Your hearing is excellent, especially since you could hear our conversation clearly above ground while lying under that tree." Theo was now shouting at the well-dressed man. He stormed over to where Alexander was resting, looking angrier than Thalia had seen him in a long time.

Theo's body began to change, appearing larger, and his demeanor shifted from timid to intimidating. The shadow cast on the wall was not his own; it stretched about five feet larger, with massive muscles the size of Thalia's head.

"I'm usually a patient and understanding person. However, I believe you knew bringing her down here would provoke that kind of reaction," Theo said, now standing directly in front of Alexander.

His eyes glowed a scarlet red as Theo's amber-red aura became faintly visible, a reflection of the anger building inside him. His skin began to glow a deep red, emanating heat so intense that steam visibly rose from his body.

"Oh, you siblings are quite a handful. I see now why she assigned you to us. The latent power hidden within both of you is quite frightening," Alexander said, laughing.

"Though it does take monsters to properly house-train another monster." The air and dust in the room grew still. Alexander flipped his top hat onto his head while still lying down. "I get it now; you're just a shrewd coward as long as your sister isn't harmed. Well, look at that—a lion hidden in sheep's clothing, are you?"

Theo's anger continued to escalate, his amber-red aura enveloping him and creating a nauseating feeling in Thalia's stomach. She hated it when her little brother got angry; he never seemed like himself in those moments.

"You graduated second in your class, correct? That means you're quite intelligent. What was the first rule they taught you at the Institute?" Alexander asked, picking himself up from the ground and dusting off the back of his black dress pants.

"The strong dominate the weak. The weak submit to the strong," Theo whispered under his breath, still clenching his fist.

"So you do remember," Alexander said, cocking his head to the side and smiling widely.

"I would argue that your logistical reasoning skills are the strongest I have ever seen from someone your age. I wager that ever since you first saw me under that tree, you knew that even if we were to fight 100,000 times, you still wouldn't win a single match. Even if you relied on that nasty power of yours, it would likely still end with both you and your sister at a disadvantage," Alexander said, his creepy grin growing wider.

Thalia could almost swear she saw his eye glimmer and glow bright gold beneath his black eye patch for just a brief moment. When his eye shimmered with gold, a cold shiver rushed down her spine—an unfamiliar sensation that she was starting to recognize. Previously, she had thought that only her Tia could instill such paralyzing fear in her. For just an instant, the man in front of them seemed almost inhuman. Thalia noticed that her Tia's powers reminded her of an angelic goddess, and by contrast, the Vice Captain's powers felt distinctly reminiscent of a demon.

"And yet you still decided to bare your fangs at me, knowing all that?" Alexander said, maintaining his unsettling smile.

Theo's anger was reaching a boiling point. At that moment, he didn't care if he could win; he was determined to confront someone who had deliberately hurt his sister. As his right arm began to shift and morph, increasing in size and muscle structure, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough. I'm fine, Theo. Calm down," Thalia said in a soothing voice, trying to defuse her brother's rage.

Theo slowly unclenched his fist, and his arm returned to its normal size. He raked his fingers through his greasy brown hair, feeling embarrassment wash over him.

"Sorry, I lost my cool there. Hopefully, there are no hard feelings, Vice-Captain," Theo said, laughing awkwardly.

Alexander clapped his hands together, and the tension in the room lifted, allowing the uneasy feeling in Thalia's stomach to fade.

"You two will make great additions to our little ragtag unit. I think our captain is going to love this!" Alexander exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Theo and laughing maniacally.