Liam expected a wave of questions the mont he stepped outside. After all, he had just been in a room with a dangerous criminal who had refused to talk to anyone else. Surely soone would want to interrogate him, ask him what Ethan had said.
But instead, he was t with an entirely different problem.
Standing just outside the room, waiting for him, was Victor.
Liam stopped dead in his tracks, his entire body going tense.
Victor was leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed, his signature lazy smirk plastered across his face. His sharp golden eyes flicked to Liam the mont he stepped out.
Liam instinctively wanted to take a step back.
Victor noticed. And grinned.
"Now, now, no need to run. I’m not here to make your day worse."
Victor said smoothly, pushing off the wall.
Liam’s fingers twitched, but he forced himself to stay still.
"Could’ve fooled ."
He muttered.
Victor laughed, the sound annoyingly genuine.
"Relax, kid. Let’s grab so coffee. I promise I won’t bite."
Liam narrowed his eyes.
"I don’t drink coffee."
Victor tsked.
"Tea, then. Water. Whatever makes you feel safe."
Before Liam could reject the offer, a groggy growl rumbled near his ear.
Asger, who had been peacefully asleep on Liam’s shoulder up until now, stirred. His reptilian eyes blinked open slowly, groggy at first—until he saw Victor.
The mont he registered who was standing in front of them, Asger let out a low, irritated hiss and imdiately tried to bite Victor’s arm.
Victor laughed, sidestepping effortlessly.
"Still so feisty. You really don’t like , huh?"
Asger glared at him, his tail flicking in irritation.
"Hate you,"
He muttered, still groggy from sleep.
Victor chuckled, completely unfazed.
"You wound , little dragon."
Liam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Asger clearly still didn’t trust Victor, and frankly, neither did Liam. But sothing about Victor’s deanor today felt different—less pushy, less calculating.
It was suspicious.
And yet, Liam found himself saying.
"Fine. One drink. And then you tell why you’re really here."
Victor’s smirk widened.
"Glad we’re on the sa page."
The café was surprisingly quiet for this ti of day. Liam sat across from Victor, arms crossed, his drink untouched. Asger sat curled up on his shoulder, still glaring daggers at Victor.
Victor, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease, sipping his coffee with the slow satisfaction of soone who had all the ti in the world.
Liam wasn’t fooled.
"You didn’t drag here just for a drink."
Liam finally said, breaking the silence.
Victor humd, setting his cup down.
"No, I didn’t."
Liam waited. But Victor said nothing.
Liam sighed.
"So? What do you want?"
Victor studied him for a mont before finally speaking.
"I heard about what happened with Ethan."
Liam’s eyes narrowed.
"News travels fast."
Victor smirked.
"It does when you know where to listen."
Liam wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.
Victor leaned forward slightly, his expression shifting from amused to serious.
"Tell , Nico—what did he say to you before you left?"
Liam hesitated. He had no reason to tell Victor anything. But sothing about the way Victor asked—like he already knew the answer but wanted confirmation—made Liam uneasy.
"He asked how I could do what I did. And when I told him the truth, he acted like he’d lost everything"
Liam finally answered.
Victor exhaled, shaking his head.
"So he finally realized it, huh?"
Liam frowned.
"Realized what?"
Victor tapped a finger against his cup, thinking. Then, he smirked.
"That he was never special. That no matter how much he tried, he was always going to be second place to people like you."
Liam stiffened.
Victor chuckled at his reaction.
"It’s funny, really. People like Ethan spend their whole lives chasing power, believing they’re ant for sothing greater—only to realize that the real monsters were born that way."
Liam didn’t like the way Victor phrased that.
Victor leaned back, finishing the last sip of his coffee.
"Well, thanks for indulging , kid. It was fun."
Liam scowled.
"That’s it? You drag here, ask cryptic questions, and then just leave?"
Victor grinned.
"Pretty much."
Liam clenched his jaw.
Victor stood, adjusting his coat.
"Don’t think too hard about it, Nico. So things are better left alone."
With that, he turned and strolled out of the café like he had all the ti in the world.
Liam sat there, gripping his cup a little too tightly.
Asger let out a low grumble.
"I really hate that guy."
Liam exhaled sharply.
"Yeah. too."
And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Victor knew sothing—sothing Liam didn’t.
And that thought unsettled him more than anything Ethan had said.
______
Elder Erin strode through the hallway, his pace steady but filled with purpose. He had given Liam so ti after the interrogation, assuming the boy would step out and find him soon.
But now, sothing felt wrong.
As he neared the designated eting point, a group of officers whispered among themselves, their expressions uneasy. The mont they saw Elder Erin, they stiffened.
"Where is he?"
Elder Erin asked, his voice calm but demanding.
The officer closest to him hesitated.
"Sir... we don’t know."
Elder Erin’s eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
The officer swallowed hard before gesturing toward the corridor.
"Nico Vale left the interrogation room about twenty minutes ago. We had soone monitoring his movents, but the mont he stepped into the hallway, we lost all signals. He’s... vanished."
Elder Erin’s jaw clenched.
"Vanished?"
Another mage stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Yes, Elder. We tried tracking him through his mana signature, but it’s like he doesn’t exist anymore. One second, he was there, and the next—gone."
Elder Erin exhaled sharply, his fingers twitching at his side. Liam wasn’t the type to disappear without reason. If he had erased his presence, it ant he didn’t want to be found. The question was—why?
"Did anyone see him leave?"
Elder Erin asked.
One of the officers quickly checked his notes.
"Not exactly. We have reports of him walking out of the room, but no one saw him leave the building. There’s no trace of teleportation magic either. It’s as if he walked into thin air."
Elder Erin’s eyes flickered with frustration, but he remained composed.
"Keep searching. I don’t care what thods you use—find him."
The officers exchanged glances before nodding.
"Yes, Elder Erin."
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