Chapter 11 – Fiora
"Huh...?" Zane coughed as he clutched his side, pain flaring through his ribs. The sudden blast had left his body aching and his mind reeling. He hadn't expected the situation to spiral like this, and now he was completely at a loss. 'Was she trying to invade my mind? That definitely felt like it!'
A flood of questions rushed through his head, unanswered and unrelenting. All he could do now was stare at the woman, who hadn't taken her eyes off him.
"Who are you?" she asked again, her voice lower but no less demanding. "Where did you co from?"
"What...? What are you talking about?" Zane groaned as he struggled to his feet. Every inch of movent sent new waves of discomfort through his already battered fra.
"State your na," she said flatly, her expression unreadable.
Zane glared up at her, jaw clenched. "Why should I? My na should be in the docunts you were given."
"I don't have ti to read through every random na tossed in front of ," she replied curtly. "Yours, however... I'm very curious about."
"Oh? And will you tell why you just tried to fry my brain if I reply?" he snapped back, his crimson eyes locking onto hers, unflinching.
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. 'This kid... He's not scared. Even after what I did, he doesn't waver.'
There wasn't even a flicker of hesitation in his gaze—no fear, no nervous glances, not even an ounce of submission. For the first ti in a long while, she found herself at a loss. She had applied real pressure, and yet... this boy didn't so much as flinch.
"You're not in a position to ask questions," she said, her voice sharpening like a blade.
"I ca here to receive a ticket. I got that. Your job is over." His tone was clipped, cold. "Is grilling students for your own amusent part of official Injection procedures?"
Her hands twitched at her sides. 'This little brat...'
He wasn't wrong. Her job today was simple: distribute tickets and nothing more. The probing, the questions—those were fueled by her own curiosity. And now this boy had caught her in the act, challenging her authority with nothing but words and a steely glare.
She exhaled through her nose, trying to reel in her irritation. "Fine. I'll answer your question... if you answer mine first."
Zane noticed the subtle shift in her expression, a flicker of retreat behind the mask. He almost smirked. 'Even Dinsional Knights have bosses they don't want to upset.'
Knowing how important it was for her not to get on her superior's bad side, he could easily press her into acceptance.
"Zane," he finally said. "Zane Darkborn."
The woman blinked, slightly caught off guard. "Darkborn?" she repeated, as if tasting the na. "That's... quite the ominous surna you've got, kid."
Zane didn't bother responding to that. Instead, he threw a question back at her. "And you? What's your na?"
"That wasn't part of the deal," she replied quickly.
"It's just common courtesy to introduce yourself when questioning soone. Or is that not part of Dinsional Knight etiquette?" He raised a brow at her, expression deadpan.
The woman looked at him, montarily stunned. 'He's actually serious... Does he know who he's talking to? I could break your neck before you even blink, kid.'
He had insulted her—openly and without hesitation—knowing full well she could crush him in an instant. Yet still, he held his ground. Her disbelief grew the longer she looked at him. 'Where the hell did they find this little demon?'
Lower Earth was one of the weakest realms among the Dinsions. The odds of encountering soone with real potential here were laughably low. Coming here had felt like a chore—hand out a few tickets, maybe mark down one or two barely decent talents, then go ho and get paid. She was more than glad to do that, as it was a walk in the park usually.
But this... this was different.
Even promising candidates would crumble under her presence. Zane hadn't even been injected yet, aning his mind should've been defenseless—completely open to her probing. And yet, he had stopped her. Not with skill. Not with technique. But with raw resistance.
Her eyes narrowed. "That sharp tongue of yours won't carry you far, kid." She folded her arms. "But if you must know, you can call Fiora."
"Fiora?" he echoed.
"Miss Fiora," she corrected pointedly.
"..."
Her eyes twitched.
"Now," she said, stepping forward again, "my turn. Who are you, Zane? I've never t anyone like you."
"What do you an?"
"A few minutes ago, I tried to probe your thoughts. I failed. That doesn't happen. Tell , do you have so kind of artifact? Sothing that blocks ntal intrusion?"
Zane's expression stiffened. "Artifact?" he repeated. 'So that's why she did that... She wanted to wipe my mories. Keep this whole operation quiet, maybe? But... if that's true, why didn't it work on ?'
"I don't have anything like that," he said after a pause.
"...Unbelievable..." Fiora muttered, staring at him as if he'd just claid to fly. 'No Core Energy, no artifacts to boost his ntal strength, and still... he pushed out?'
Her mind began to spin. No artifact. No energy shielding. Just sheer ntal resistance? That kind of fortitude was supposed to be impossible at his level—especially for soone from this realm.
Zane tilted his head slightly. "Miss Fiora? Are you ok?"
She blinked, snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh? Oh... yeah. I'm fine."
'What the hell am I supposed to do with this?' she thought, rubbing her temples. 'If I report this, will they even believe ? They'll think I've lost it... Ugh, they don't pay enough for this.'
She looked at Zane again. He seed genuinely confused, like he had no idea what he'd just done. 'No, this doesn't feel right. I ca here for an easy job. This is... complicated.'
"Alright, kid. I'll be honest with you," she said finally. "What just happened? It's rare. Unheard of, even. You shouldn't have been able to resist —not even a little. I have never co across such a situation before in my career, so I'm simply doing what I believe is right here. If your injection goes smoothly tomorrow, I'm going to have to report this to my superiors."
Zane's expression shifted, and a pit began to form in his stomach.
'Report it? That's bad. Really bad. I don't need anyone looking at too closely... Not now.'
He had one goal: to find the people responsible for his mother's death. And for that, he needed ti—ti to grow, to hide, to move unnoticed through the ranks. Special attention would only complicate everything.
"Mm..." He hesitated. "Can I... ask you not to do that?"
Fiora raised an eyebrow. "Excuse ?"
"I'd prefer to stay off the radar. I don't like being watched, it makes really nervous and anxious."
She blinked again, this ti more slowly. 'He doesn't like pressure...? I guess that makes sense. He's still a kid, and I did kind of go too hard on him. All this must be overwhelming.'
For the first ti since they t, Fiora felt sothing unexpected stir in her—sympathy.
'Technically... I wasn't told to report anomalies like this. Not officially, anyway... And they've never happened before, so there's no protocol. If I keep quiet... maybe I can get away with it?'
She exhaled slowly. "Alright, kid. You owe for this one," she said, her voice softening just a touch. "I'll keep it between us—for now."
Zane's expression eased. He offered a small, genuine smile. "Thank you."
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