Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 60: Intent

"So you knew. When did you realize it? Had it been a while?"

Ysabella asked, her eyes staring at him without any joy.

Unfazed by her sudden change in demeanor, Kaiser stared into the distance with a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

"From the start, your mask was imperfect. Something too deliberate that it had become unnatural. Do you think I wouldn’t see through that?"

Ysabella’s body trembled from his words, a feeling of anger and hatred rising within. Imperfect? Her mask? Her personality as a sweet angel? That was something she had been steadily crafting, enduring, and perfecting for years! How dare he call it imperfect like it were to some joke?!

Filled with cold wrath, she walked up to him and threw a straight punch towards his jaw.

"Kneel."

Her body lost control, and she obediently fell to her knees. Looking down at her, Kaiser’s neutral smile disappeared, replaced by a cold expression.

"Oh? You’re approaching me?"

Ysabella felt humiliated as she was forced to her knees, and her body refused to listen to her.

’I... I can’t move!’

She quickly realized, her inner panic and struggle growing. Something about the way Kaiser looked at her was unsettling. As if her life was about to be gambled on or something.

"Hmm..." Kaiser hummed, then brought out a golden coin from his pocket. This was one of the coins he had bought a few days ago.

As soon as she saw the coin, Ysabella felt an inexplicable sense of danger. As if something that could cost her life was about to occur, her hair stood on end, and she felt the urge to flee to a far away place—as far as possible from Kaiser.

Unaware of her thoughts, he held the coin perfectly in position on his thumb, then under Ysabella’s panicked gaze, he flipped it.

Time seemed to move slowly, and the coin slowly fell under the law of gravity.

It landed on the back of Kaiser’s palm, resting calmly without any shaking.

"Heads. You’re quite lucky." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He gave a neutral smile, then released his hold on Ysabella. Instantly, the girl regained her ability to move, but she didn’t dare move, too terrified.

’What did he mean I’m lucky? Would he have done something crazy if it was tails?’

The thought alone made her shudder, and she realized Kaiser was crazier than she thought.

Looking into the eyes of the stunned girl, Kaiser shrugged.

"You don’t want me to disclose information about you to others, right? After all, it’d damage and totally destroy your angelic persona the academy is accustomed with."

He gave her an unimpressed look, then turned away.

"You can be rest assured though, I won’t disclose your secret to anyone. I have no intention of involving myself in your business."

Ysabella watched him carefully, her earlier terror replaced by apprehension and caution.

’He claims he won’t, but I absolutely can’t trust him.’

Her eyes regained their light, and her angelic smile bloomed once again.

"You regained your senses pretty quickly." Kaiser laughed. "In that case, I’ll be off. However, you should know that your true face is infinitely prettier than this mask."

He turned away from her, then left the shore.

’Perhaps she might be a Fake Article like all others, but it might be worth paying attention to for any changes.’

...

Over thmhe next few days, school continued as usual—classes, training, and other miscellaneous activities. Being an Awakened meant they had more to do than normal humans, but they weren’t without free time. Even though all the first-years had realized the truth about the academy, it didn’t make them insta-serious or something.

Girls still hung out after classes, while boys still visited each other to play games or watch movies.

Nevertheless, nothing much had changed except a few things. Ysabella now came to school every morning with Kaiser, accompanying him like a good friend. At first, it was normal, but then people started suspecting. Whenever she was asked probing questions by her friends, she would simply brush it off with a laugh.

At some point, a few boys in Class-E couldn’t hold back and approached Kaiser during lunch break.

Eric, Jose, and Logan—the regular trio surrounded him, their curiosity evident in their expressions.

Kaiser looked at them, an amused glint in his eyes.

’Is this Ysabella’s game? Using her devoted fans to pressure me? Quite childish.’

Holding the edges of Kaiser’s table, Eric leaned forward.

"Hey, Kaiser. Is there really something between you and Ysabella?"

Although his voice wasn’t loud, the whole class could hear because everyone was paying attention.

Kaiser slowly raised his head, his face devoid of any particular expression.

"Why are you interested in this?"

He asked innocently, though it seemed like he was dodging the question. Eric snorted in his mind, but pulled up a smile.

"Come on, don’t be like that! We’re all boys, aren’t we? We’re just curious."

Jose and Logan nodded, though they remained impassive.

"Oh..."

Kaiser blinked in realization, then ignored them. He brought out his phone, then began reading a novelkiss.

"Huh?"

Logan, who had remained silent until now, was offended by this blatant disregard for his friend.

Eric’s expression turned ugly, and he felt a urge to grab Kaiser’s collar. However, that was wrong and he couldn’t guarantee that Class Rank Points wouldn’t be deducted.

Unfortunately, Logan didn’t think that deep. He pushed Eric aside and directly grabbed Kaiser’s shoulder.

’...!!!’

At that moment of contact, the whole class felt it—unrestrained, lethal, and cold killing intent.

It felt like the whole world turned red for a moment, and everyone felt their hair stand on end. Ariel sprang from his seat, staying as far as he could from Kaiser..

’As expected... He’s really dangerous.’

From the first day he had met Kaiser, he had already labelled him as a dangerous individual, though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.

Hazel turned her head, bewildered by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

At the far front, Sebastian’s narcissistic expression turned grim, and he immediately turned to look at the back.

’Huh... I knew something was wrong with this guy. Murderous intent of such quality is very rare.’

Just as it seemed like a bloodbath might happen, the door opened, and Instructor Rina walked in.

Like a switch turned off, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared like a lie, leaving most people confused.

"What... just happened?"

Chris muttered, his fat cheeks quivering slightly.

Jose, Eric, and Logan were covered in sweat, their expressions a mix of unease and confusion. Even they themselves hadn’t understood what had just transpired.

"Why are you all standing around? Get back to your seats. Lunch break is over."

Instructor Rina said coldly, then walked up to the podium. As if on cue, the bell rang, signalling the end of the break.

The three boys quickly returned to their seats, while Ariel cautiously sat in his own. He kept casting wary glances at Kaiser, unsure of what his next move would be.

’He’s very dangerous. But not just that.’ There was something else that Ariel noticed. ’The timing...’

Why was it that this happened just a few minutes from the end of lunch break? Why was it that Instructor Rina appeared in the class even before the bell rang? Although she was a punctual person, she wasn’t the type to come before schedule.

’Did he... did he predict all these?’

Manipulative as he was, Ariel felt a hint of awe towards Kaiser. Even though it felt like something he could also do, he still felt awed.

’He intentionally released his killing intent, knowing fully well that Instructor Rina would intervene to stop him. Logically, this might be a warning. Both to us and the Instructor. He can’t be trifled with...’

Looking at Kaiser, who seemed to have no idea of what happened, Ariel sighed tiredly.

’All I want is a simple school life.’

...

After the class ended, Instructor Rina called Kaiser to her office for a private talk. Thankfully, her friend; Natalie, wasn’t around to tease her about bringing a handsome boy into the office.

Rina took her seat behind the desk, and gestured for Kaiser to sit on the sofa.

The blue-haired student sat quietly, staring at the woman with interest.

Feeling his gaze, Rina’s brows furrowed. "You wouldn’t be happening to lust after me, are you?"

Kaiser raised his eyes to look at her face, then smiled. "A pile of bones and flesh, lacking color. What is there to lust after?"

Rina snorted, packed a few papers on her table, then faced him solemnly.

"Kaiser, you were willing to injure your classmate today. Is that right?"

Although it hadn’t shown on her face, she was relieved when she discovered the ominous atmosphere disappeared as soon as she entered.

"Indeed." Kaiser nodded calmly, "They were getting too unpleasant. And I have little patience for anything unpleasant."

Rina was unamused by his answer, "And you think that’s justified? Killing because someone they were unpleasant?"

Kaiser regarded her darkly, then shook his head.

"You can’t compare your psychology to mine, teacher."

Locking his fingers beneath his chin, he confidently said.

"A have promised Chairman Jonathan to not deliberately find trouble. You don’t think I would want to break that promise, no?"