NOVEL NEXT Chapter 85: A Facade
Everything happened so quickly that it didn't even feel real. Cali was still fighting with the bandaged man, and the other two siblings were occupied, so none of them even realized when Aegon had been attacked.
By the time they turned toward him, the battle was already over, a man clad in black clothes lay motionless before Aegon, blood dripping steadily from the back of his head.
"Are you alright?" Xavier asked, though his tone lacked any real concern, almost as if he already knew the answer.
"Yes, but we've got to finish this quickly," Aegon replied, pocketing his gun. "They're both clones."
"Both?" Luna caught on immediately, her sharp mind processing his words as she turned toward the restrained enemies. "Then they…"
"Let's check them later," Aegon interrupted, turning his gaze elsewhere. "We need to help Cali—"
Before he could finish, something slammed into the ground beside him with a thunderous crash. He turned his head to look and realized it was the bandaged man himself.
The man's body was battered and broken, his bandages soaked red with blood. His face was a mangled mess, his nose shattered, leaving him nearly unrecognizable.
'Right. She loves fighting too much,' Aegon thought, his expression flat. 'And with her nonsensical Affinity, this must've been a piece of cake.'
His gaze shifted toward the perpetrator of the man's current condition.
Cali walked toward them, her steps slow and unhurried. Her voice was filled with disappointment as she spoke, "I thought you were strong."
"I am strong!" the bandaged man barked in anger despite his pitiful state. "It's you who's a monster. What kind of Affinity is that?"
Aegon could only shake his head helplessly. Cali's Affinity truly was nonsensical, an Affinity with the concept of Boost. It was a bizarre and complex Affinity, difficult to control and even harder to master, but Cali had somehow done it.
Now, she could amplify her physical attributes multiple times over, making her one of the strongest Knights of her Rank. There were limits, of course, but she had a habit of breaking them.
It was clear who the victor would be when she fought someone of the same level.
"Quit pretending!" Aegon kicked the bandaged man lightly and asked coldly, "Did you come here just to probe us, or is there someone waiting outside the barrier?"
"Haha! It was nice meeting you, dragon boy," the man laughed, his blood pooling beneath him, staining the grass crimson. "You're certainly better than I imagined."
"What are you talking about?" Xavier asked, frowning in confusion. "Is he really a clone?"
Aegon nodded.
"I'm curious, how did you find out?" the man asked, sounding genuinely intrigued. "I don't recall letting anything slip."
"Blood," Aegon pointed at the red grass beneath them. "It's too fake. And when I actually shot your other clone, the hit didn't feel right. You failed to replicate the reaction and damage properly."
"Small details… but you catch on fast," the bandaged man said, sounding somewhat impressed. "Still, I didn't expect an Augustus to fight so crudely."
Aegon instantly understood his meaning. The only reason he managed to dodge that assassination attempt at the last moment was because of Hecte, his loyal shadow and his refined sixth sense.
So, in truth, he didn't fight alone.
"What can I say? I was raised by people who were polar opposites," Aegon said with a grin, crouching down. "And you seem to have a few misconceptions about my family. But that's fine. You'll meet them soon enough anyway."
"Haha! Am I supposed to be scared?" The bandaged man let out a broken laugh, his body trembling. "Your family isn't all-powerful, dragon boy. Even House Valeria isn't. So what are you so arrogant about?"
"It's more than enough to deal with the likes of you," Aegon replied calmly, standing up straight. "I hope we don't meet again anytime soon."
"Oh, we will," the man sneered, his tone chilling. "I'll be waiting for your precious life."
Before Aegon could respond, the man's head suddenly detached from his body and rolled to the side. Yet, even in supposed death, his eyes moved and glanced at the barrier.
"Hmm? What's this? Interesting… You're really more fascinating than I thought," the head muttered eerily.
"Why do you want to kill me anyway?" Aegon asked, his tone filled with curiosity. "Why me, in particular?"
"And why should I tell you that?" the man's separated head sneered. "You only need to know that I'll kill you."
Aegon was left speechless by the absurdity of the statement. He stared at the head, which had begun dissolving into mist, and finally said, "Farewell."
"We will meet again, dragon boy."
"We won't."
With that, the head, along with the blood and body, disintegrated completely into the wind. The other clone that had attacked Aegon vanished as well.
Only the remaining subordinates, still bound by Luna's spell, remained on the battlefield.
"This was a mess," Xavier muttered, rubbing his temple. "So, he just came to check on us?"
"Pretty much," Aegon nodded.
"What about them?" Luna asked, shifting her gaze toward the men still trapped within her Water Prison. "If this was just an experiment, then…"
Unlike the clones, these subordinates hadn't disappeared, which meant the bandaged man had deliberately abandoned them, which was quite suspicious to Aegon and others.
Aegon frowned slightly before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his right eyeball was glowing faintly, swirling with countless minute symbols that seemed to stretch into infinity.
His gaze fell upon the unconscious subordinates, and a deep sigh escaped his lips. He closed his eyes once more, and when he reopened them, his irises had returned to normal.
"They were under mind control until a moment ago," Aegon explained, a faint chill rising around him. "The sudden cutoff from the source knocked them unconscious. That guy had planned to use them as scapegoats most likely."
"Despicable!" Luna spat, disgust written across her face. "He can't possibly be from the Karfaya Group."
"You know about them?" Xavier asked curiously.
"They're took upon that name because of a burial tradition in the Karfaya Kingdom," Luna nodded. "They wrap their deceased family members in sacred bandages before burial, it's meant to protect their souls in the afterlife."
"So he's using that to conceal his real identity," Aegon said, being confident in Luna's reasoning. "Then I'll really have to rely on Xiu's tracking abilities for this one."
[You can entrust it to us, Boss. Everyone's getting too agitated, so if you hand this over to Chief, they'll be disheartened. Let them prove their capabilities for once.]