The Words In Red Ink

ICUWSA first arc, subarc 2, Professor Deerheart incident.

There was only one reason why the main cast was able to survive this arc, and that was because of Matthew's training with the Radiant Sword and the fact that Radiant Sword, being his master, was present during the incident.

So why were things different now? It was actually pretty simple since classes and the way of life had been changed due to the Lock League. Matthew never had a chance to meet Radiant Sword.

And that also meant there was no one to stop Professor Deerheart from making his move and destroying the academy.

That was the reason Kai had sent Ivy to contact the Asuras and learn about Roleca before the subarc began.

Kai looked straight at his two opponents; his eyes flickered with ocean-blue light as his tachi blade clashed with Anica's pure white sword.

The swords only met for a brief moment, but it was enough for Kai to know the power gap between the two of them.

Instinctively twisting his wrist, Kai diverted the force of the strike and moved two steps back, giving himself a second to breathe and time for the other two to attack each other.

Joshua stretched his hands, concentrating a large amount of mana in them, and almost instantly, a large golem figure made of pure blue mana appeared around him.

The golem stretched its arm, forming a large sword in it and sending it towards Anica with a downward slash.

Anica shifted back as if trying to trip on her feet, augmenting her body with the white flames; she dashed towards Joshua like a meteorite.

Joshua didn't flinch; instead, he took the attack head-on. The shock wave accompanied by the attack was devastating, causing most of the renovated tiles to scatter into piles of debris and rubble.

As the smoke cleared, Kai sensed a presence behind him and lashed his blade out in an arc.

Steel clashed against steel as the figure of Anica appeared in the settling dust.

"I never knew you played dirty," Kai muttered, and to his surprise, she answered.

"There is no unfairness on the battlefield."

Hearing her words, Kai couldn't help but smile; he jumped a few steps back, throwing the already-summoned poison dagger towards her.

Though it was just a slight graze, it was enough to slow her down.

Kai concentrated on the transmission ability that he weaved, but there was no response no matter how much he tried to use it.

Unlike the appraisal, which was like breathing to him, the transmission ability didn't respond as if it didn't exist.

'Did I mess something up?' Kai thought as Anica drove her blade towards his chest.

At that exact moment, he felt it; so did everyone who was present.

His body glitched with blue light, and before the sword could graze him, he scattered into fragments of light.

Kai dreamt of a dark world where no light entered, but as he snapped himself out of what felt like a trance, he saw himself in a different place.

Or more accurately, a world that exists in-between our world and another world.

He could see everything that was going on and hear everything that was happening, and even though he had stayed in the world for close to thirty seconds, almost nothing had happened in real time.

Kai immediately shifted to his desired location as if gliding through space itself.

And as he released the ability, his body reformed itself behind Anica.

His initial plan was to strike her the moment he teleported, but to his surprise or more so, he had already expected it.

Stuttering a few steps back, Kai landed on his butt, and soon the sword of Anica rested on his shoulder.

Shock. Helplessness, that was what Anica had felt in the split second Kai had teleported.

Looking down at the figure who was struggling to stand, she couldn't help but frown.

'How did he do that?' she thought to herself.

"Let's end here," Joshua addressed Anica.

She simply nodded in response, astonishment boldly written on her face.

"Can we do this again?" she asked Kai, her gentle voice carrying a gentle elegance.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure," Kai responded as he stood to his feet.

"Ok, kids, it's getting late, so..."

Everyone simultaneously turned to Neko-sensei before giving a simple nod.

-----

Soon the once-filled house was empty, with only Kai standing alone in the courtyard.

"Ha, what to do?" Kai said as he headed into the kitchen.

It was about time Ivy came back, and as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a presence crept into his awareness.

"You are back," Kai spoke, dishing out two plates of pasta that Neko-sensei put in his fridge.

A figure of a beautiful woman soon landed on the floor next to Kai. "Yes, my liege." She paused, looking at the plate in Kai's hands. "Is that pasta, my liege?"

Kai turned to see Ivy's lips covered in drool. "You want some?"

Without wasting a second, she nodded.

------

After eating the delicious food made by Neko-sensei, Kai did the dishes and waited for Ivy to rest a little before sitting on one of the chairs in the living area.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "So how did it go?"

Ivy gripped the cup in her hands tightly. "I don't know how you knew all those things, my liege," she added. "But everything went exactly as you asked me, even smoother than what I imagined."

Kai smiled slightly. "That's good to know... So the items?"

"Oh yes."

Ivy scrammed through her pockets before bringing out a storage ring. "Everything is inside here, young master."

Kai looked at the ordinary ring that Ivy placed in his palm; except for the faint mana signatures, nothing else set it apart from an ordinary ring.

But Kai knew otherwise; just like the tote bag that Neko-sensei brought with her, this was one of the many items that had greater storage than it seemed.

Like the water bottles that could carry over twenty times their usual capacity or a bag that could fit a house or even an estate.

Kai analyzed the ring once more before inserting mana into it.

As the mana entered the ring, Ivy's voice shot out. "My liege, no, the ring only reacts to my ma..."

Her words were cut short by the sound of the coins and paper bills that fell on the tiled floor.

"How did you do that, my liege?"

Kai smirked. "I just have really good eyes."

'Literally,' he thought as he grabbed the red book that sat among the pile of coins.

'This must be the Asura's note. Weird way to go about being mysterious.'

Kai immediately flipped through the pages, but as he thought it was empty.

The Asuras group had a set pattern of delivering messages, especially important ones.

That was through the split moon writing method; this meant that any letter written with this writing could only be read during a full moon.

But that was still weeks away, and Kai couldn't wait to do that if he wanted to survive.

Activating his appraisal skill, the once-empty book now wrote with crimson ink.

As Ivy tilted her head in confusion, a dark expression soon replaced it as she saw Kai's face twisted with horror.

'The VG family… no way.'

Kai's hands tightened around the book as his eyes scanned the first page.

The Vanguard Family.