Chapter 5: The Split-Second Gambit
The courtyard air went solid.
Lilith gliding forward, rapier crackling, crimson eyes locked on Neil with that sickeningly sweet warmth. Celine rigid on the opposite side, four armored enforcers flanking her, their combined aura crushing the breath out of every commoner in the circle. Kaede above, perched on the pagoda roof like a silent crow, logbook open.
Neil stood at the center with his head bowed and his mind running at full speed.
[ System: Multi-Scenario Matrix — Active ]
Scenario A: Let Lilith engage Celine’s
enforcers. → Disciplinary Hall executes Host’s family for instigating faction war.
Death probability: 98%.
Scenario B: Let Celine take Host for questioning. → Lilith enters full homicidal frenzy. Loss of freedom: 100%.
Scenario C: Execute the Split-Second Gambit. Phantom Veil cooldown — ready.
Scenario C, Neil thought, lips twitching behind his downcast face. Time to play apex predators like cheap violins.
"Neil~" Lilith’s voice dripped with lethal affection, pale hand reaching for his cheek. "Tell me who scared my sweet little toy. Was it this stuck-up Vice-President?"
Celine’s patience snapped. Her Tier-3 cultivation pressure erupted outward — several weak disciples in the crowd doubled over. "Lilith Vespera! This janitor is under active Disciplinary Hall investigation. Intercepting an enforcement squad violates the Academy charter. Step back, or I report the Vespera clan for insubordination."
"A dead dog cannot file a report, Celine."
Lilith’s beautiful face went vacant. Her sword-Qi turned to razor needles hissing through the air.
Enforcers drew blades. The metallic ring echoed across the courtyard like a death toll.
One more breath and this became a slaughterhouse.
They both forgot one thing. The mouse was holding the fuse.
Now. Phantom Veil — activate.
In the microsecond before the factions clashed, Neil’s heartbeat, warmth, and physical presence dropped to absolute zero. To every spiritual sense in the courtyard, Neil Harlan simply ceased to exist.
Before either of them could process the anomaly, he buckled his knees — not backward, forward — throwing himself directly into the path of Lilith’s rising sword-Qi. He angled his body so only the upper shoulder caught the edge.
"Ahhh—!"
He hit the dirt hard, clutching his shoulder.
Blood soaked through the grey vest. The Phantom Veil dropped, slamming his presence back with a violent spike.
"Neil!" Lilith’s angelic calm shattered. She stared at her own hands — at the blood her Qi had drawn — and something in her face broke entirely.
Neil didn’t look at her. He rolled, crawled forward through the dirt, and grabbed the hem of Celine’s pristine white robes with bloody fingers. He looked up at her with tear-filled, horrified eyes.
"L-Lady Celine — please, protect me!" His voice hit the exact frequency of a commoner staring into the jaws of death. "Lady Lilith — she came because she heard me talking to you last night! She thinks I betrayed her! If you let her take me she’ll kill me — I’ll give the Disciplinary Hall everything, I swear — just don’t let her—"
Celine’s mind, still processing his brief disappearance, locked onto his words like a vice.
The satisfaction that moved across her face was immediate and complete. Neil’s public groveling proved the Disciplinary Hall’s supremacy in front of the entire outer court. And Lilith had just assaulted a witness on record.
"Stand behind me," Celine commanded. She stepped over his kneeling body, shielding him from Lilith completely, and raised her blade. "You heard him, Vespera.
The boy has officially requested asylum under Disciplinary Hall jurisdiction. One more step is an act of war against the entire enforcement infrastructure of Akuto Academy."
Lilith stood frozen.
Her rapier trembled. Not from rage at Celine — from Neil’s words still echoing.
She’s insane... she will kill me... protect me, Lady Celine...
Her clean, sweet toy was afraid of her. Had run to another woman because her love had terrified him.
"No..." she whispered, silver hair falling over her eyes. Her murderous aura collapsed inward, dropping into something dark and unstable. "No, Neil... I came to clean the trash... why are you hiding behind her... why are you looking at me like I’m a monster...?"
Above, Kaede’s pen moved without pause.
Subject intentionally threw himself into the Qi trajectory. Used a presence-concealment technique to control timing precisely. Traded a minor flesh wound for a total strategic reset — forced Celine into a shield position while collapsing Lilith’s offensive momentum. Efficiency: Extraordinary.
She closed the logbook quietly. "A mouse who knows exactly how to make the cat feel guilty," she murmured. "Fascinating."
"Take him to the inner infirmary," Celine ordered, not taking her eyes off Lilith’s crumbling figure. "Direct custody. Anyone who approaches without written permission gets executed on the spot."
Two enforcers lifted Neil. He let them carry his weight, head hanging as they led him toward the inner court corridor.
At the edge of the commoner dorms, he risked one glance back through his hair.
Lilith stood alone in the cracked courtyard, her rapier on the ground, staring at nothing, murmuring his name like a broken record.
Celine stood tall behind her like a conqueror.
Enjoy it, Celine, he thought, eyes going cold. The moment my Dantian heals, your Disciplinary Hall is the first thing I dismantle.
His system flashed purple.
[ Notice: Target ’Kaede’ has updated your file in the Crimson Lotus ledger. ]
[ Current Status: She has analyzed 90% of your counter-move. Blueprint to isolate Host from Disciplinary Hall protection — in progress. Estimated execution window: 24 hours. ]
Neil’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
The physical predators were handled.
The intellectual machine was already computing his next move.
Comments