Chapter 124: Victor attracted a lot of attention.
The monstrous silence that had taken over the arena remained heavy even several seconds after the absurd destruction caused by Victor. The colossal wall had simply ceased to exist, along with a good part of the structures behind it. Technicians from Headquarters were already beginning to appear at specific points using blood magic to prevent the damage from continuing to spread throughout the main arena.
Even so, no one could really take their eyes off Victor.
He remained standing before the enormous hole created by his own punch while the wind slowly swept through the perfect opening left in the structure. There was no visible arrogance in his posture. No provocation. No exaggerated pride.
And that, somehow, made everything worse.
On the upper floor reserved for the monsters who truly commanded the Vampire Kingdom, several eyes remained fixed on the main arena.
Kayn Valentine observed all this in absolute silence.
The current leader of the Valentine Family remained seated in a relaxed manner in the enormous black chair adorned with silver details, resting his face on his hand as he analyzed Victor below.
His long white hair cascaded down his shoulders in an almost supernatural way under the cold stadium lighting. Even seated without displaying any aura, the man’s presence was absurd enough to make the entire environment uncomfortable.
Because Kayn Valentine wasn’t just the head of the family.
He was one of the Destroyers.
One of the ten strongest monsters alive in that world.
And at that moment... he seemed genuinely interested.
"It’s been a while..." Kayn commented calmly while observing Victor’s back. "A very long time since someone like this appeared."
His voice didn’t need to be raised.
Even speaking softly, everyone nearby could hear him perfectly.
The Celestial Demon remained seated beside him, observing the arena with much more visible interest. Unlike Kayn, Yu Jin-Cheon seemed much more casual in his posture. The man rested his arm on the chair as he looked down at Victor, a small, amused smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Young Jake should be the most powerful of this generation," Kayn continued calmly. "But it seems Serafall’s son has finally woken up to life."
The Celestial Demon let out a small nasal laugh before partially turning his face toward Rakshasa.
"It seems my daughter had something to do with this."
Rakshasa’s expression immediately hardened.
"I didn’t teach him anything," she replied without hesitating for a second. "Before you ask."
Yu Jin-Cheon slowly raised an eyebrow as he observed his own daughter.
The quick response practically gave something away immediately.
But before he could continue teasing, Kayn spoke again.
"Rakshasa can’t teach techniques to anyone," he commented calmly while continuing to look down at Victor. "She knows what would happen."
Rakshasa remained silent for a few seconds before responding with absurd nonchalance:
"Death."
The word came out simply.
Directly.
Without dramatic exaggeration.
Because it wasn’t a threat.
It was literally a rule.
The Ascension Ritual had absurdly rigid laws involving interference from higher generations. Veteran vampires, Destroyers, and especially figures close to the absolute pinnacle could not directly teach techniques to participants before the Ritual.
And the reason was simple.
If monsters of that level decided to freely prepare personal successors, the Ritual would cease to be a competitive process and would become merely a dispute between heirs chosen by the most dangerous figures in the world.
That’s why extreme punishments existed.
Even Rakshasa would be executed if he directly broke certain rules.
Yu Jin-Cheon let out another small, amused laugh.
"What a pity. You finally found an interesting boy."
Rakshasa immediately looked away.
"...Father."
"What?" he replied casually. "You spent centuries isolated in that cursed castle. Now you show up leaving the house because of a boy and you expect me not to be curious?"
Rakshasa clenched his teeth.
Kayn simply ignored the entire conversation while continuing to stare at Victor.
But another person in that upper area was definitely not comfortable.
Edgar Valentine obsessively gnawed his own nails while observing the enormous hole created in the arena.
His face had lost some of its color a long time ago.
Because it didn’t make sense.
It didn’t make any sense at all.
Edgar knew Victor.
Or at least he believed he did.
The isolated boy.
Serafall’s troubled son.
The irrelevant vampire who practically never appeared in public.
But what had just happened down there completely shattered that image.
Victor wasn’t just strong.
He was monstrously strong.
Strong enough to make even the Great Prodigies seem inferior.
And that created a gigantic problem.
Because Edgar remembered the bet perfectly.
Jake needed to win.
He needed to crush Victor in the Ritual.
Or Rakshasa would kill him.
At the time it seemed like just excessive pressure.
Now it didn’t seem that way anymore.
Now it seemed like an inevitable disaster waiting to happen.
Edgar continued nervously biting his nails when he noticed movement behind the main chairs.
Three figures emerged, walking calmly through the area reserved for senior observers.
Serafall Valentine came in front, wearing a black dress too elegant for a military setting. Her smile was small, but there was extremely evident amusement in her eyes as she partially surveyed the destroyed arena.
Beside her walked Chysis Valentine with her usual rigid posture, tired expression, and eyes scanning the entire stadium as if expecting trouble to arise at any moment.
Behind them came Natasha.
The woman walked in absolute silence, wearing dark military clothing, observing everything around her like a personal guard prepared to kill anyone who came too close.
The mere presence of the three made several nearby vampires immediately straighten their posture.
Not because they were important aristocrats.
But because those three women were absurdly dangerous.
Serafall smiled slightly as she finally saw the destruction caused by Victor down below.
"How sad..." she commented calmly as she walked to the main seats. "I didn’t have a chance to see Victor’s debut because I was busy dealing with old people’s problems."
Chysis let out an irritated grumble beside her.
"Grace will complain to me later too," she replied dryly. "She’s probably annoyed because I didn’t show up before her performance."
"You trained her for centuries," Serafall replied with a small, amused smile. "She surpasses herself."
"That doesn’t improve her mood."
The two finally stopped near the main chairs.
Then they gave a respectful bow in Kayn Valentine’s direction.
"Family Head," Serafall said calmly.
"Serafall."
Kayn replied simply, partially glancing at her.
Chysis also slightly inclined her head.
Then both looked at Yu Jin-Cheon.
"Celestial Demon," Chysis said dryly.
The man immediately broke into an amused smile.
"Chysis." He then looked at Serafall. "And the overprotective mother finally showed up."
Serafall smiled dangerously.
"If you keep calling my son interesting around the Rakshasa, I’ll start a diplomatic incident."
Yu Jin-Cheon immediately started laughing loudly.
Rakshasa partially covered her face with one hand at that moment.
"...Father, please shut up."
"You really blushed because of that boy?" the Celestial Demon asked, looking genuinely impressed. "My God, this is historic."
Rakshasa seemed increasingly close to committing homicide.
Natasha remained standing behind Serafall in absolute silence throughout the entire conversation.
But her eyes momentarily drifted down to Victor below.
And even while maintaining a professional expression...
There was a small, visible pride there.
Because the boy had truly entered that arena as the target of idiotic rumors.
And now...
Everyone was looking at him like monsters watching another monster being born.
Meanwhile, down below, Victor remained standing before the destruction caused by his own blow.
The surrounding participants still seemed unable to fully process what they had just witnessed.
Jake Valentine watched Victor in absolute silence now.
For the first time since the beginning of the Ritual...
His gaze conveyed more than just arrogance.
It conveyed tension.
Because Jake finally realized.
This was no longer a matter of humiliating a boy protected by his mother.
Now there was a real possibility of him losing.
And perhaps dying afterward.
...
Victor continued walking calmly through the center of the arena while thousands of eyes remained fixed on him. Some of the participants seemed genuinely unable to decide if what had just happened was physical strength, blood manipulation, or some kind of unknown, absurd technique.
Because simply wiping out a colossal wall in that way didn’t seem like something a new-generation vampire could do.
The ground itself still trembled slightly in some places due to the impact.
Victor kept his hands in his pockets while completely ignoring the murmurs around him. He could already hear new rumors starting to surface instantly among the participants.
He honestly didn’t care.
Then someone stopped in front of him.
Victor naturally slowed his pace before slightly raising his gaze.
Grace Valentine was there.
The silence around them seemed to increase immediately.
Because several nearby participants instantly perceived the situation.
The two greatest monsters of that generation were now face to face in the center of the arena.
Grace stood before him with her absurdly refined posture. Her long silver hair fell below her waist, while small crystallized fragments of ice still occasionally appeared around her body due to the residual blood energy from the previous attack.
She was small.
Much smaller than Victor imagined observing from afar.
Especially considering the monstrous presence she carried.
Even so, her blue eyes remained absurdly cold as they stared directly at Victor.
Without fear.
Without hesitation.
Without exaggerated admiration.
Just analysis.
Grace remained silent for a few seconds before finally speaking:
"...You are impressive."
Her voice was extremely calm.
Cold.
Controlled.
It sounded like someone commenting on the weather.
Victor looked at her for a few seconds before responding naturally:
"...You’re smaller than I expected."
Grace blinked slowly.
That clearly wasn’t the answer she expected to hear.
Victor continued observing her without altering his expression.
"Not in a bad way," he added calmly. "You’re even kind of cute."
The silence around them immediately became heavy.
Some nearby participants widened their eyes.
Because nobody.
Absolutely nobody.
Called Grace Valentine cute.
Especially after she froze part of the entire arena a few minutes ago.
But Victor seemed genuinely sincere.
He really thought so.
Grace remained completely still, looking at him.
No immediate reaction.
No response.
Her brain apparently simply froze for a few seconds.
"...Cute?" she repeated slowly, as if trying to confirm she’d heard correctly.
Victor nodded naturally.
"Despite looking like a walking glacier."
The silence deepened.
Even some veteran vampires observing from afar began to pay closer attention to that particular conversation now.
Because it was all too surreal.
Grace Valentine normally made people freeze emotionally just by looking at them.
But Victor was treating her like a strangely serious girl who needed to relax a little.
And then—
Victor raised his hand.
Grace noticed the movement immediately.
But she didn’t look away.
In fact...
She simply stared.
His hand landed on her head.
The instant of contact, Victor felt an absurd chill pierce his skin immediately. It wasn’t normal temperature. Her hair literally carried freezing energy naturally, as if her entire body were constantly producing refined ice.
Even so, Victor only smiled slightly.
Then he began to slowly stroke her head.
"You did a good job."
Grace Valentine’s world simply stopped.
Literally.
Her eyes widened instantly.
Her entire body froze in place.
Because that...
That didn’t make sense.
Grace had spent her entire life being treated like a monstrous prodigy. A living weapon. Chysis Valentine’s perfect disciple. An absolute genius destined to become a walking disaster.
People were afraid of her.
They respected her.
They avoided her.
They tried to use her.
But nobody...
Nobody had ever simply stroked her head like that.
Much less a man.
Much less after she demonstrated strength.
And the worst part...
Victor seemed completely natural doing it.
As if he were genuinely praising a younger girl who had done something impressive.
Grace felt her face immediately heat up.
The thought crossed her mind before she could even stop it.
...This is the first man who has touched me.
The realization hit her like a truck.
Her eyes trembled slightly.
The temperature around her began to drop even more uncontrollably.
Small ice crystals began to form on the ground around her feet as her brain desperately tried to process the absurd situation.
Victor noticed immediately.
"...Hm?"
He tilted his head slightly, observing her reaction.
Grace remained completely frozen.
Her face slowly began to take on an extremely light reddish hue.
Almost imperceptible.
But it was definitely there.
Victor then realized something.
"...Ah."
He slowly removed his hand from her head.
Grace almost looked disappointed for a split second before her own brain collapsed trying to understand why on earth she thought that.
Victor then lowered himself slightly to be closer to her height.
The gesture alone made Grace’s mental state absurdly worse.
Because now she could see his face much closer.
"My grandmother must be very proud of her disciple," Victor said calmly.
Grace blinked slowly.
"...Your grandmother?"
"Chysis."
Victor answered naturally.
Her eyes widened slightly again.
Then she finally understood.
Victor Valentine.
Her master’s grandson.
Grace knew this theoretically, of course. But hearing it directly from him created a strange feeling in her head.
Victor continued speaking normally:
"She probably didn’t show up sooner because she’s too busy solving problems." He shrugged slightly. "Don’t be upset."
Grace remained silent, looking at him.
Because this was even worse.
Victor truly noticed.
He immediately realized she was bothered by Chysis’s absence.
And that irritated Grace somewhat.
Because she hated the fact that he had succeeded.
Grace Valentine was truly upset.
Not emotionally in a childish way.
But she wanted Chysis to be present to witness her strike.
She wanted recognition.
Even knowing perfectly well that the woman was busy.
Victor looked at her for a few seconds before smiling slightly again.
"But honestly?" he commented calmly. "Your technique was absurd."
Grace felt her chest tighten strangely.
Because Victor didn’t seem to be praising her out of political politeness.
He genuinely seemed impressed.
And coming from the very man who had just erased a colossal wall from existence...
That carried an absurd weight.
Grace glanced slightly away for the first time since the beginning of the conversation.
"...Your attack was superior."
Victor let out a small, nasal laugh.
"Yeah, but yours looked much prettier."
She froze again.
Pretty.
No one described her attacks that way.
People called her techniques terrifying. Monstrous. Inhuman.
But Victor called it pretty.
Grace felt her face grow a little hotter.
The situation was becoming dangerously strange inside her head.
Around her, several participants watched the conversation in complete silence.
Especially Jake Valentine.
His face slowly began to look worse and worse as he watched the interaction.
Because Grace Valentine.
The woman who practically ignored the entire new generation.
She stood listening to Victor speak while seeming completely unable to react normally.
Emma Valentine watched with narrowed eyes while holding her own book.
Leon simply watched in absolute silence.
Even Rakshasa, high up in the upper stands, was now watching the scene with a dangerously blank expression.
The Celestial Demon noticed immediately.
Then he slowly looked at his own daughter.
"...Are you going to kill the ice girl?"
Rakshasa replied without even taking his eyes off the arena:
"...I’m still deciding."
Yu Jin-Cheon immediately started laughing.
