Chapter 241 241: Family reunions?

Words : 1429 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

As with everything, life at the Nexus arena must move on. For some, that involved training for their next matches. For others, it was coming up with ways to foil the plans of an evil anti military organization. For a particular blonde, it was surviving another day of her life. Lila knelt on a cold floor, sweat beading on her forehead, her entire body trembling as she clutched her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks, yet that disturbing smile—that rictus grin that always appeared when she was overwhelmed—remained fixed on her face. Her parents loomed over her. Mr. Rowe adjusted his gold cufflinks with manicured fingers while Mrs. Rowe's heels clicked rhythmically on the tile floor of the private room within the Nexus arena. "Darling," Mrs. Rowe's voice dripped with false sweetness. "We simply need to know where that boy learned that technique. The one he used in the round of 16 match." She tapped her long fingernails against her designer handbag. "You were supposed to be gathering intelligence, not... fraternizing." Lila's smile stretched wider as another jolt of pain surged through her head. "I wasn't—I didn't tell him anything." Mr. Rowe sighed dramatically. "Do you know what your sister is doing right now, Lila? She's completing her mission at Western Academy. Successfully. Efficiently." He bent down, his expensive cologne overwhelming. "Without developing inappropriate attachments." "Noah doesn't know anything," Lila gasped, her knuckles white as she gripped her hair. Her mother scoffed. "Noah Eclipse. A nobody. A worthless cadet playing soldier in the EDF." She spat the words like they tasted foul. "And you chose him as your little... distraction." "Please," Lila whispered, her smile now grotesque against her tear-streaked face. Mr. Rowe circled her, like a predator. "Where did he learn that technique, Lila? It's not taught at the academies. It's not in their training manuals. So where?" "I don't know!" The words tore from her throat. "I find that hard to believe," her father said, his voice eerily calm. "You've been watching him. Getting close to him. Betraying everything we've worked for." Lila's sobs filled the room as another wave of invisible agony washed over her. Mrs. Rowe checked her diamond-encrusted watch. "This is becoming tedious, dear." "Indeed." Mr. Rowe straightened his already-perfect tie. "Perhaps a different approach is needed." "We've been patient with your little... infatuation," her father continued. "Our warnings have clearly fallen on deaf ears. It seems we'll need to handle your precious distraction ourselves." "Don't touch him," Lila whispered, her voice suddenly steady despite her shaking body. Lila's crying suddenly stopped. Her eyes, still wet with tears, locked onto her father's. The smile remained, but something else emerged—a cold, hard stare. "Or what?" Her mother laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Really, Lila. This is beneath you." Mr. Rowe checked his reflection in a nearby mirror. "We'll deal with the scum personally. It's what we do with obstacles." As they prepared to leave, Mrs. Rowe casually tossed a hand towel at Lila. "Clean yourself up. You're a Rowe, for heaven's sake." They walked out without a backward glance, as if they hadn't just broken their daughter. Twenty minutes later, Lila emerged from the room. Her hair was perfect, her uniform immaculate. The smile on her face looked genuinely pleasant to anyone who didn't know better. No trace remained of the girl who had been crumpled on the floor, wracked with pain that left no visible marks. Only her eyes—if anyone had looked closely enough—carried the shadow of what had happened in that room. And the silent promise of what would come next. ---- Later that evening, in a hall where Noah and Lucas had just finished sparring and now they were catching up. The training session had been brutal. Noah's muscles ached as he and Lucas made their way down the corridor, both drenched in sweat. "You're getting better," Lucas said, adjusting the strap of some training gloves he wore. "But that technique you used earlier—" A flash of blonde hair cut through Noah's peripheral vision. Lila appeared as if from nowhere, her academy 12 uniform perfectly pressed despite the late hour. It wasn't a law that everyone wore their school's corresponding uniforms but she did. She moved with purpose, eyes locked on Noah. "Eclipse," she called, her voice honey-sweet. "About that thing later?" Lucas raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The Academy's number one student simply nodded once at Noah and continued walking, clearly uninterested in whatever drama was unfolding. Lila didn't spare him a glance. The moment Lucas turned the corner, Lila's demeanor transformed. She grabbed Noah's wrist with startling strength and pulled him down an empty hallway. Before he could process what was happening, his back slammed against the wall, Lila's face inches from his. "What the HELL were you thinking?" Her whisper was razor-sharp, eyes wild. Gone was the composed, smiling girl from moments before. "Using that chi technique—MY technique—in front of EVERYONE?" "Lila, what—" "Don't 'what' me!" She slammed her palm against the wall beside his head. Her smile—that unnerving, inappropriate smile—began spreading across her face even as tears welled in her eyes. "Do you have ANY idea what you've done? They all saw it. EVERYONE saw it!" Noah tried to steady her with his hands. "Hey, calm down. You taught me that move to help me—" "Oh, PLEASE!" Lila's laugh was manic, tears now freely streaming down her cheeks while that grin remained fixed in place. "We both know that's bullshit, Noah. Such pretty, convenient bullshit." She paced in a tight circle before whirling back to him. "You're NOAH ECLIPSE," she spat, her mood swinging violently between rage and desperation. "If anyone could find another way out of that situation, it would be you! Why THAT technique? WHY?" Her body trembled as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "You could have used that strange power of yours—the one you showed me. That or ANYTHING else!" Noah stared at her, completely astounded. He'd never seen Lila like this—unraveled and terrified. Well not in a while he hadn't. He could see rage and fear battling across her features while that unsettling smile remained plastered on her face. "What are you even doing, Lila?" His voice dropped low. "After I used that technique, Master Anng cornered me. Said it was dangerous. He looked just like you. Like I had done something forbidden," Noah stepped closer, forcing her to tilt her head up to maintain eye contact. "He seemed pretty shocked a student would know it at all." Lila's smile twitched at the corners. "So now I'm wondering," Noah continued, "where exactly you learned it. And what else you're hiding from me." For a moment, Lila's eyes cleared—a flash of the calculating intelligence that had both drawn and scared him when he looked at her. Then just as quickly, panic flooded back in. "Don't use it again," she whispered, her voice suddenly small, fragile. "Please, Noah. Not ever again." "Lila—" "PROMISE ME!" The shout echoed down the corridor. Her hands gripped his sweat drenched shirt, knuckles white. Noah hesitated, studying her face—the tears, the fear, the manic smile that seemed to battle with her true emotions. "I promise," he finally said. "But you need to tell me what's going on." Something shifted in her expression. The wild desperation receded, locked away behind practiced walls. Her breathing steadied as she lifted trembling hands to his collar, methodically straightening it where she had wrinkled the fabric. "Your form was sloppy anyway," she said, voice eerily detached as she smoothed his uniform. "You bend your wrist too much on the entry strike." Noah caught her wrist. "Lila—" She slipped from his grasp with practiced ease. The tears on her face were already drying, her makeup somehow perfect despite everything. That smile—now controlled, deliberate—was back in place. "See you in practice tomorrow, Eclipse." She turned with military precision and walked away, her steps measured and unhurried. Noah watched her go, rubbing his wrist where she'd grabbed him. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just glimpsed something dangerous—not in the technique she'd taught him, but in Lila herself. A fractured mirror with too many reflections to count. And somewhere in those fragments was a truth she was desperate to keep hidden.

Chapter 241 241: Family reunions?

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