Chapter 81: A Refined Man’s Pleasure.
The whites of Vincent’s eyes slowly darkened until both eyes became completely black.
He had finally pinpointed Naomi’s exact location.
Without the slightest hesitation, Vincent drove the base of his cane into the frozen ground.
The ice beneath him exploded.
Several metres underground, Naomi suddenly screamed as the glowing runes collided directly with her body before she could fully emerge. The force was overwhelming. She shot through the frozen ground like a cannonball, tunnelling deep beneath the ice as enormous cracks spread in every direction.
A violent shockwave rippled across the battlefield.
Chunks of ice were thrown into the air while freezing mist burst from the widening fractures, swallowing the surrounding ground in a cloud of white.
Vincent remained exactly where he stood.
The impact sent a powerful gust rushing past him, lifting the ends of his neatly combed black hair before they slowly settled back into place.
His pitch-black eyes never left the enormous crater Naomi had disappeared into.
Vincent calmly peeled off what remained of his ruined suit before tossing it onto the ice. The corrosive sludge had eaten through most of it anyway, leaving little worth salvaging. The freezing temperature immediately washed over his bare upper body, but Vincent didn’t so much as shiver. His attention remained fixed on the shattered ground ahead.
Then he waited patiently.
If there had been even the slightest part of him that still questioned whether Naomi deserved to die, it had long since disappeared. The moment she ruined his suit, whatever hesitation remained had quietly died.
She had made things personal.
"You wield accusations as though they’re weapons," Vincent said with a faint scoff. "Perhaps you believe they will wound my pride... or burden me with guilt."
He stepped calmly across the fractured ice, carefully adjusting his position. After being caught off guard several times already, Vincent had no intention of underestimating Naomi again.
"You speak of innocence as though such a thing exists within the Tower of Mysteries. It doesn’t."
His gaze drifted across the battlefield.
"You parade yourself as morally superior to me because of the pleasures I indulge in... yet the irony is almost amusing. You’re far worse."
Vincent suddenly turned. It wasn’t Naomi, only a small white rodent-like creature nibbling absentmindedly on the ice.
His grip around the cane loosened slightly before he continued walking.
"I will freely admit to my many faults. I am hardly a loyal man where matters of the heart are concerned." His tone remained perfectly calm. "But I have never forced myself upon anyone. I find the very notion distasteful, particularly when the other party is incapable of resisting."
His pitch-black eyes settled on a massive ice boulder in the distance.
"Besides..."
A faint smile appeared on his cold face.
"I derive far greater pleasure from killing."
The bottom of Vincent’s cane collided with the boulder.
The entire formation exploded into countless fragments as the hidden Naomi was violently forced out of concealment. Blood sprayed from her lips as her body was hurled through the air, fresh injuries spreading across her already battered frame.
Before she could hit the ground, Naomi grit her teeth and dissolved once again. Her arms stretched into long black tendrils that wrapped around another nearby boulder. With a violent pull, she tore the massive slab free and hurled it straight at Vincent.
Vincent snorted indifferently, then swung his cane once again.
The boulder burst apart.
But Naomi had hidden herself within the flying ice. The instant the fragments scattered, she burst from the shattered ice like a viper.
Her dissolved arm solidified an instant before impact, the blackened hand driving straight towards Vincent’s throat. Vincent leaned back just enough for her fingers to graze past his neck before the glowing base of his cane shot upwards.
The blow caught Naomi beneath the ribs.
A sickening crack echoed through the frozen landscape as she was launched backwards, skipping across the ice before crashing through a towering block of frozen stone. The entire formation collapsed around her.
"That’s enough!" Naomi roared.
Black sludge erupted from beneath the shattered rubble, racing across the frozen ground before several enormous ice boulders tore free and hurtled towards Vincent one after another.
"No, it isn’t." Vincent replied coldly. "You speak of my faults with such conviction, as though it somehow elevates you... when in truth, you’re every bit as rotten."
When the first boulder reached him, Vincent stepped forward and drove his fist straight through it. The massive block exploded into countless fragments.
"You sent your own sister to murder an innocent man simply because his Dormant Ability threatened your position."
The second boulder came spinning towards him.
The runes beneath Vincent’s cane flared brilliantly as he swung upwards. The impact split the boulder cleanly in half, both pieces crashing to either side while freezing mist surged across the battlefield.
"You’ve spent years envying Andrea. Her strength, her authority, everything she possesses. Not because she wronged you, but because your pride couldn’t bear standing beneath her."
Naomi grit her teeth and tore the final boulder from the frozen ground.
This one was larger than the others, she hurled it with everything she had.
Vincent didn’t bother moving out of the way, nor did he attempt to strike at it, the boulder slammed directly into him.
The impact shattered it apart.
When the cloud of white frost finally settled, Vincent was still standing exactly where he’d been. Tiny fragments of ice slid from his bare shoulders as his pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Naomi.
"And after your sister died because of your own foolish choices... You couldn’t even bring yourself to mourn her."
His grip tightened around the cane.
"You are the filth among us humans."
For the first time, Naomi took an involuntary step backwards.
Then her body dissolved into black sludge, and she fled across the frozen landscape without another word.
He watched her for a moment before turning toward the opposite direction, where a thick cloud of black miasma was tearing across the frozen world at breakneck speed.