Chapter 9- Trials~2

Victor was...taken aback.

When he reached the training ground at four, he found someone already present there, doing pushups casually.

'He doesn't seem sleep-deprived. Should I consult a doctor?' The Carl he knew, would rather remain awake until four if it's an emergency or won't wake up this early once he falls asleep.

So there definitely is a change. And his brother is quite serious about diving into the Ravenshade business.

"Morning," Carlisle muttered, as he got back to his feet and wiped the sweat. 

The little guy's face was red and his hands were trembling a little.

He is so frail and thin that Victory fears that he might end up snapping his bone while working out.

Need to consult the doctor about it.

"So you came." Victor said as he stood before his brother, with his hands crossed behind his back, "Are you ready for the assessment."

"That's why I am here," Carlisle responded, not a speck of hesitation on his face.

Okay. 

"What do you know about the Ravenshade family? What exactly do we do?" Victor began with a few questions first.

"We assassinate criminals and rogues who have infiltrated the human lands," Carlisle responded briefly.

"That's right. We are the blade of Humanity. We are responsible for taking care of those entities which can threaten the peace of our lands. What we do isn't illegal, but also not something that a normal person can achieve or witness."

Carlisle didn't say anything this time, his hands still locked behind his back and his posture upright.

Victor narrowed his eyes, "Tell me something, Carl, if you want to join the family business, are you ready to murder someone?"

"Yes."

The answer was so swift that it baffled Victor.

But soon his brows drew closer as he asked, "Such fluency...have you killed someone before, Carl?" Victor remembers the blood on Carl's face that day was someone else's, but he didn't kill anyone. Rather, he just painted the knife to make it appear that he killed someone.

That was quite brilliant on his part. Truly his brother is so--no, wait. 

"Carlisle, did you kill someone in the past?" He asked again.

"No, until now, I haven't murdered a human until now."

Victor frowned...if that's true, then why does he seem so disconnected from the world, as if he had slaughtered hundreds of beings and survived all that without a speck of remorse?

Or maybe he was putting up a tough act so that he could get involved in the family business? 

Victor needs to confirm.

"Let's do the test. Come with me." Saying so, Victor led Carlisle outside the house before they entered the forest surrounding their mansion.

The nearest city to the mansion was about fifty miles away, and all around the mansion was a green forest—something which the ladies of the house requested.

"Carter," Once Victor reached a fairly far point from the mansion, he called out.

A man in a three-piece black suit appeared before the duo while holding a chain—and bound to that was a four-foot-long boar.

"Tell me, Carlisle, do you know what it is?"

"A wild boar...mutated boar."

Victor nodded, "Unlike a normal boar, it has a magical attribute which makes it stronger than a normal one. Defeating it would take a whole mag of an assault rifle. And for an awakened like me, a simple butter knife."

Turning toward his brother, he said, "What weapon would you need to defeat it?"

Carlisle stepped toward the boar and scanned its skin—it was tough for sure. 

The brown fur over its skin and the fact it has magic didn't allow Carlisle to take this lightly. 

In the end, he said, "A scalpel." 

Victor, who was about to ask Carter for the sword he was hanging by his waist, stopped.

Scalpel?

Victor was genuinely taken aback. In the family, no one uses that. Not even a dagger but...

'Should I advise him...no, this isn't a test. Rather, I want him to know the danger of this world.'

With those thoughts, Victor called out, "Aria," A woman in her late twenties, appeared before her master with her head bowed and a scalpel resting on her palms, 

"I have sterilized it, young master." Carlisle took the weapon, assessed the sharpness, and gave a nod, 

"Works."

Works...huh? Carl is surely not being Carl. Why does he look so confident?

Need to consult.

Carlisle stepped back, holding the scalpel by his side. For a moment he wanted to take the stance, but that would have scared his brother, so he assumed an amateur pose. 

Carter turned towards Victor, hesitation clear in his eyes.

However, Victor has already decided to go all the way, and let his younger brother know what this world has in store.

"Release." As those words fell, Carter released the hold from the glowing chains, and the boar charged forward.

Having the instincts of a beast, it knew whom to strike.

Carlisle remained standing with his back slightly hunch, as he saw his prey advancing.

'Hmm...what would be the least susceptible method to kill it...' He actually had several methods to slaughter the boar without getting harmed. However, as someone who came to hunt a monster for the first time, he couldn't do that.

*DHAK*

Carlisle tried to dodge, but the boar struck him by moving its head at the last moment and sending Carl sliding back.

The two bodyguards moved on instincts, ready to slaughter the pig into a bloody mess who dared to hurt little master. 

However, Victor raised his hand and stopped them.

"*COUGH*" Carlisle coughed, feeling a slight metallic taste on his tongue before he looked back at the boar.

The beast stomped the ground, its muscles tensing before it charged again—this time, a faint aura shimmering around its massive frame.

'Oh? Using magic now, are we?' Carl smirked.

In response, he coated his blade with mana and stepped forward. The boar was faster, no doubt, but speed wasn't everything—Carl knew exactly when to move.

As they closed in, just inches apart, Carl suddenly tilted his body to the right. The boar, instinctively reading the motion, shifted left, aiming to intercept him.

But that was exactly what Carl wanted.

At the last second, he launched himself into the air, twisting mid-flip as he soared over the boar's massive head. His legs parted elegantly, his body weightless for an instant before he landed smoothly behind it.

The boar thundered forward, its charge unstoppable—until, suddenly, it wasn't.

Its pace slowed.

Then staggered.

Tip… tip…

Victor's sharp eyes caught it first—Carl's blade glistened, streaked with fresh blood. But none of it was his.

THUD.

The boar's head hit the ground.

A moment later, its massive body followed.

The two guards instantly began to clap at the performance of the young master—ready to praise him, when suddenly,

"Carl...go and extract its heart." Victor extended another command.

Aria and Carter gasped as they looked at the older Ravenshade.

However, the most astonishing part was the nod that came from Carlisle before he moved toward the boar with the scalpel raised.

******

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Save the book in your library.