The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 178: Do you belong to any of the Families?

Inside the massive building of the Awakened Association...

People continuously walked toward the reception counters.

Some chatted among themselves, laughed after seeing each other’s recent progress, while others cursed as they complained about one thing or another.

Unlike the civilians outside, who mostly wore ordinary clothes, nearly everyone inside carried themselves like true awakened, dressed in reinforced clothing, leather armour, with sheathed swords and countless other weapons at their sides.

To any ordinary person from before the apocalypse...

The entire place looked like something taken straight out of a fantasy world.

Though...

It wasn’t all smiles and sunshine.

Behind many of those smiles were exhausted faces.

Some wore gloomy expressions after recently losing their teammates...

Or perhaps even their families.

But then...

A strange feeling settled over the lobby.

Almost instinctively, heads began turning one after another.

Two figures had entered through the main entrance.

A young man dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit walked forward with calm, measured steps.

Black sunglasses rested over his eyes, concealing his bright crimson gaze, while the confidence in his posture made it seem as though he were walking into a luxurious restaurant rather than the Awakened Association.

Beside him walked a woman wearing similarly dark clothing decorated with elegant blue patterns, with each of her steps graceful and deliberate.

Many of their eyes unconsciously widened as they looked at the cold beauty, and likewise...

Quite a few women couldn’t help stealing another glance toward the man, who, despite the sunglasses, was striking enough to make him one of the most handsome men they had ever seen.

But...

Neither of them paid the slightest attention to the countless gazes and calmly walked toward the long reception counter, where several receptionists—most of them women—were busy with their work.

One of them, a receptionist named Lily, continued writing across several documents before her, wearing a serious yet visibly tired expression.

The moment she heard footsteps approaching her counter, she let out a small inward sigh.

Immediately, she straightened her posture before lifting her head with a professional, welcoming smile.

"Hello, wha—"

Her words abruptly caught in her throat.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the two people standing before her...

Though her gaze lingered on Lucian for far longer.

Seeing her reaction, the corners of Lucian’s lips curved into a faint smile of amusement.

Only after several long seconds did Lily finally regain her composure.

"I-I’m sorry... what can I help you with, gentleman?"

Lucian raised a brow before silently glancing toward his mother, whose flat eyes were already fixed on the receptionist.

Following his gaze, Lily quickly corrected herself with another polite smile.

"You too, Miss."

Seraphina didn’t respond.

However, watching the receptionist’s eyes repeatedly drift toward Lucian made a slight annoyance quietly rise within her.

Unknown to either woman’s thoughts—

"We want to register here." Lucian finally spoke, instantly drawing Lily’s complete attention.

"Ye—huh?" Her expression instantly shifted.

For a second, she genuinely wondered whether she had misheard him.

"Sir... I’m sorry, but could you repeat that?"

"We want to register here, as awakened."

Lucian repeated in the exact same calm tone.

"You mean... you haven’t registered yet?"

Lucian simply shook his head, making Lily’s eyes widen slightly once again.

Of course, she would be shocked.

Ever since the Awakened Association had been established, nearly every awakened individual had gotten their identification card almost immediately.

Without it, entering official dungeons, accepting missions, receiving benefits, or even proving one’s awakened status became significantly more troublesome.

"Did you awaken recently?" Lily couldn’t help but ask, feeling slightly suspicious.

For a brief moment, she even wondered whether the two of them were bluffing, but judging by their attire and the presence they carried, neither of them looked like the type.

The only reason she could think of was that they had recently awakened, as unlikely as that might be.

"No, it’s been a few months since we both awakened," Lucian answered honestly, making the woman even more shocked.

’How...?’

The question surfaced in her mind, leaving her so puzzled that she even forgot to maintain her professional smile.

"Um... can I ask your name?"

"Lucian Foster."

Lily shifted her gaze toward Seraphina... who remained silent for a brief moment before answering.

"...Seraphina."

She only gave her first name. No surname.

Lily found that slightly strange, but didn’t comment on it.

Instead, she immediately turned toward the computer before her and began searching through the Association’s database, hoping to find anything related to Lucian.

After all, almost every awakened citizen residing within the city’s walls had already been registered with the Awakened Association.

And realistically...

There shouldn’t have been anyone capable of awakening while already living safely inside the walls.

After all, to awaken, one had to kill a monster—something that was practically impossible within the protected zones.

Several moments passed, and gradually... a deeper frown formed between Lily’s brows.

Lucian, who had been patiently waiting, slowly felt his patience beginning to wear thin.

Still...

Rather than becoming irritated, he casually leaned forward, folding his arms over the small glass pane separating them.

"Miss. Is there a problem?"

Lily instinctively looked up.

The moment she realised just how close his face was, a blush immediately spread across her cheeks.

"N-No... I-it’s just that you don’t seem to have anything registered here."

"Oh..." Lucian gave a mildly surprised expression.

"But I already told you..." He tilted his head slightly, somehow causing her heartbeat to quicken.

"We came here recently, so maybe that’s why we aren’t registered."

"Y-You said that?"

Lucian nodded with complete sincerity, making her genuinely wonder whether she simply hadn’t been paying enough attention earlier.

The receptionists sitting beside her quietly snorted, throwing amused—or perhaps jealous—glances in her direction after seeing her stumble through the conversation.

Meanwhile...

The nearby awakened had already begun whispering among themselves.

"That guy has way too much confidence to talk to her like that."

"If I had a face like that, I’d have that confidence too."

"Says the ugly one..."

"What did you say, you fucker?!"

A small argument immediately broke out somewhere behind Lucian.

He ignored it completely, keeping his attention on the receptionist before him.

She had dark brown hair and dark eyes, and even though she was objectively beautiful...

Compared to the unbelievably gorgeous vampire women Lucian had seen in Bloodveil...

Her appearance no longer felt particularly remarkable to him.

If he had spoken those thoughts aloud, the men behind him might have immediately pulled out their weapons and rushed over to kill him—

Though they would’ve been far too weak to actually do so.

"So... can we register now?" Lucian’s question immediately pulled Lily’s attention away from the commotion behind him.

For a brief second, she looked toward the black sunglasses covering his eyes.

For some reason...

A faint chill ran down her spine, and she couldn’t explain why.

"No..." she shook her head slightly.

"It’s not that easy to register without any information.

Most awakened are already registered when they take the Awakening Exam... so there really hasn’t been a case like this before."

A faint crease appeared between Lucian’s brows.

"So what do we do now?"

"Wait. Let me make a call."

Without wasting another second, Lily picked up the office phone and dialed a number.

"Sir... it seems we have a situation."

She immediately began explaining everything to the person on the other end.

About a minute later, she placed the call on hold and looked toward Lucian, who was casually observing his surroundings.

"Mr. Lucian..."

Lucian turned toward her and gave a slight nod, signaling for her to continue.

"Do you belong to any of the Families?"

Lucian fell silent.

His mind instinctively considered whether he should simply use someone’s name, since he knew a few of the hidden awakened families—told to him by Kanna, by the way.

Bluffing his way through wouldn’t have been particularly difficult.

But...

"No, we don’t." He calmly shook his head.

However...

The instant those words left his mouth, Lily’s expression subtly changed.

’He knows about the families.’

The realization flashed through her mind.

Only a few months had passed since the apocalypse, and very few ordinary people—almost none of them—knew about the existence of a few ancient families who possessed knowledge about awakenings and had wielded supernatural abilities long before all of this had begun.

They were the ones who had remained hidden, operating from the shadows while concealing their powers from the world.

Only now had they chosen to reveal themselves—

To seize control...

And to gain even greater power.

The majority only knew about the guilds established by those very families.

Taking another look at Lucian and Seraphina...

Their refined manners, their expensive, perfectly tailored clothing, and their calm demeanor despite standing among so many awakened.

The more she observed them...

The more convinced she became.

They definitely belonged to one of them.

Whether it was the Church—which seemed rather unlikely—or one of the hidden awakened families, she couldn’t tell.

But in her mind, Lucian was simply choosing to keep his identity a secret.