Chapter 8: Clara Arcadia

Endlessly emotional and distraught, a hunched over figure looked at his room burning in flames.

Then watched as the fires died down…

'I… We- No, why did no one stop her?' Jake couldn't help feeling something was deeply wrong.

His feelings were a mess. He couldn't quite tame this feeling of 'wrongness' deep in his bones.

Why did he reject her like this anyway?

This question lingering in the air was sniffed out almost immediately. Footsteps could be heard.

His heartbeats started to deepen the closer they got. Heavy thumbs betraying his mixed emotions.

Two eyes gleaned past the mist made of ash.

The golden blonde woman's voice rang out:

"What happened?" It was a simple question, but he was somehow unable to feel the same as before.

It was as if something inside his head just clicked.

His eyes widened in horror, and he tried to push himself back… only to be met by the solid wall.

It only surviving due to magic-proof materials.

"Don't… Don't come any closer!" He pointed his crimson wand at her. Unable to make sense of it all.

She stopped…

Through the misty boundary of ashes lay a face that was the embodiment of innocent beauty.

Not immature, not charmless… It was the figure and face of an angel descended from heaven.

One that looked down on mere mortals..

Usually, his mind would twist that expressionless face into a smile… but his 'vision' had returned.

And so did his grip on reality.

Jake realised that he was a mere immature brat in front of the fairy. Her gaze was unfathomable.

A profound dread etched into his soul. Especially when that usually emotionless face stared smiling.

Her almost whispering voice resounded:

"Who woke you up?" She asked like a mother who was trying to calm a child having his little tantrum.

Her hands raised non-combatively.

"W-what have you done…? Answer!!" His wand started to burn a blazing ruby radiance of light.

"Brother… Are you trying to kill me?"

"I am not your brother! We look NOTHING alike!"

"Linda was the same, right?"

"She grew up with me. And you… Don't pretend we have the slightest blood relation to each other."

"That part isn't a lie." She stated without giving one strand of evidence, but she had no reason to lie.

Her feet slowly walked towards the young man…

"Aaaargh!!!" Projectiles of flames shot forth.

The blazing fires of light were intertwined by darkness, creating a jet-black flame from hell.

Darkness and flames layered and imposed onto each other, only to be slapped away by a cane.

From the depths of her spirit, Clara Arcadia pulled out the essence of her Class. She waved it freely.

However, this wasn't in any way similar to Jake.

While the soot-covered youth was manipulating the laws of magic, the girl merely struck with a stick.

A brilliance as strong as the sun itself illuminated the darkness. The flames extinguished by waves.

The surrounding ash was cleared up instantly.

When she finally arrived in front of her 'younger brother', she made sure to grasp his Red Wand.

"To think you'd unsheathe your Spirit Essence at me. You can deny it, but we really are siblings."

"We can't be… My father… had no other illegitimate children." He held onto his weapon for his dear life.

Even if he couldn't swing it, the fiery energy of Mana arose. It covered his body in a cover of fire.

His retaliation went by unnoticed…

…because her power was just that strong.

"Brother, please stop the denial. I'm more curious about how you escaped my hold on your mentality."

*Put!* 

Rather than saying words, Jake spat on her face in defiance. His eyes burning hot, seething with fury.

His emotions seemed to empower his flames.

It started to become clear to him now.

Before Clara came here, he and his sister finally had a harmonious relationship with each other.

They'd put aside their differences and the things about their past. Even his scar was a funny story.

Although his father stayed the same, the five Arcadia siblings got along well with each other.

It was a new beginning for all of them.

Back then, Jake wanted to become someone his men could rely on. A hunter of Monstrous Beasts. 

He'd perfected his 'Cast Crafting' of Shadow and Fire so specifically to aid the kingdom he served.

That was… until Clara made her appearance.

At first, he was skeptical of her and kept his distance… only to slowly fall under her powers.

He didn't know when it suddenly started, but he ended up considering this stranger a sister of his.

And eventually, that lead to him kicking out Linda.

He betrayed the person who'd finally forgiven him.

"This is all on you!" The greatest fears holding him down were shattered apart like broken chains.

His malice powered fist headed for her face…

"How sad..." She merely lifted a finger to stop him in his tracks. A radiant barrier held down his body.

She closed her eyes pitifully and cried:

"You don't have to be so mean~" 

Tears seemed to fall from her eyes, which only seemed to add to the wrath in the boy's heart.

However, he couldn't break the confining barrier.

Jake could only sit back and watch as a wave of energy washed over him. It affected his mind.

Vision suddenly turning blurry, as if the world was becoming an illusion. Her eyelids being distorted.

Only to end with those two sockets opening up…

…to show a jaw of white teeth in each one!

"AAAGGGHHH!!!!!" After a sudden scream, the room turned deadly silent since that point on.

Then… Clara's 'Younger Brother' was back.

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"Big sis, what happened to my room?" The boy with curious eyes looked at the toasted room.

Why was everything burnt?

"You accidentally let loose your only Fire Spell." A face of ice spoke with inconsistently warm words.

Though that was only true from Jake's perspective.

"Oh, were you worried about me?"

"And if I say that I was?"

"Then sorry… and thank you. You're so sweet to me. Really… thank you." He shook her hands.

Their Spirit Essences had vanished, and a look of endless gratitude appeared on Jake's face.

Her hand seemed to drain something from him before he left to find a new room with joyful eyes.

His steps skipping as he did so.

'Now this is a mess…' Clara thought to herself while looking at the burnt ashes and broken technology.

The fire alarm hadn't gone off properly.

Even the sprinklers seemed damaged.

But all that was a minor inconvenience compared to seeing how Jake snapped out of her illusion.

'Who could do this?' Although her younger brother was always high-spirited and ready to fight, it was impossible for him to break her power with meagre adrenaline spikes. What mattered was the heart.

So how did someone get under his skin so easily?

'Adam Graham, huh?' The memories she'd scoured from the youth showed a very irritating individual.

He seemed like the type of trash that's easy to crush. A person who cussed just to get a reaction.

She wasn't sure how he was so knowledgeable about Linda Arcadia. That part was unexpected.

However, it was also a perfect opportunity for her.

'Master wants that girl if he can.' She remembered the reason she even came to this backwater place.

Linda Arcadia was her target from the beginning.

Unfortunately, her plans didn't go as expected and the person she was here for had already escaped.

The beautiful blonde was about ready to leave after seeing there weren't any clues to where she went.

'Now I can meet Master with less shame.' She smiled to herself. The golden cane appeared again.

This time, she unsheathed it to reveal a blade.

"Adam Graham, Age 26, Former Landlord, and no real information other than owning a Territory License meant for aristocrats." She imagined such an opponent in front of her, then chopped it up.

Her movements so fast, it was as if she stood still.

The moment she returned the blade to the cane sheath, she gained the confidence to act secretly.

The order of the current Crowned King wasn't to be messed with, but that wasn't the only problem.

King Ramos wasn't much of a problem for her even if he DID have the blood of Royalty within him.

There was a quality difference between them.

While his Magic Pathways still had a Second-Tier Saturation Rank of Mana concerning 'Darkness'.

He managed to barely raise it from 'Dark' level to the level of 'Moondark' thanks to his familiar.

Such a person wasn't worth her time or effort.

However, the familiar companion who stayed close to the King's side seemed more worth her caution.

That slick back yet spiky red haired man with the one-sided blade. He had a certain quality to him.

She wasn't sure why… but felt almost 'divine'.

If she was to suddenly cause a mess in another person's territory openly and get caught, they'd likely use this as an excuse to team up. Especially if finding out she was going after the King's friend.

That wasn't even mentioning Queen Lara…

This kingdom was filled with allies that improper Villainess made over the course of her adventure.

These people would also be a headache to her.

'Should I use that?' An idea suddenly came into her mind. She plastered a smile on her face and ran off.

A knocking could be heard on the Duke's office door. The man inside casually allowed her in.

"Daddy~" Unlike with her younger brother, Clara was far more brighter in front of her only father.

And she literally meant the ONLY part…

When Duke Bryan saw her, a rare smile formed on his face. A fatherly look appeared as he spoke:

"You must want something."

"Daaaddd, I don't always come here for that."

"That's right. My daughter is always right. Now what does my 'always right' daughter want?"

"Actually, there's a guy I like." These words made the Duke's face harden. His lips lightly twitched.

"You should take your time before marrying. We haven't even been together long, and you're already leaving?" Even though his words seemed fatherly, his eyes seemed to contain secret desire.

The formerly suited old man with some whiteness in his hair walked up to Clara and patted her head.

His hands flowed through her hairs while imagining what she'd look like if he opened up her stomach.

Would her organs be the same as an Alaya Human?

Of course, Clara pretended not to see the familiar eyes she'd seen a lot from her own homeland.

If it weren't for the fact that mesmerised targets lost a lot of battle power, she wouldn't do this.

"Please~ I'm sure you'd like him too." She decided to shift the focus of those inhumane eyes of his.

"Hmm? In what way?"

"Apparently, he's a Landlord from a Lower Realm."

"…That doesn't sound like much."

"And he knows about Linda. Apparently, the two of them were good friends at one point in life."

"That sounds like a lie, but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Can I go meet him myself?"

"Of course~" She hugged her 'father', pretending she couldn't smell the odour of death from him.

This wasn't his own blood, but that of someone else. He somehow erased it, but the smell lingered.

Now… she just had to wait for Duke Bryan to do something crazy for the sake of his experiments.

He was likely much more experienced in kidnapping Earthlings than your average person.

The two of them talked more nonsense to each other like close family before they separated.

'Scum…' She wiped her hair and shivered in pure disgust from having had to act like a pure maiden.

Regardless of the results, she wasn't planning on letting him keep his mental faculties any longer.

She planted some suggestions in his head to get the man to act, but one chance was all she gave.

If he doesn't do anything despite her urging, the next newspaper will be about his untimely demise.

Clara sighed as she waited for the spectacle.

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