The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 138: I-I k-killed someone

“How did you kill them?”

Lucian’s cold voice echoed throughout the entire chamber, instinctively making Kanna freeze momentarily.

The atmosphere inside the room shifted heavily, and the temperature increased, making the space around him hotter—as if the fury inside him had begun leaking into the surroundings themselves.

Feeling Lucian’s hollow crimson eyes upon her, Kanna’s heartbeat unconsciously quickened.

But instantly, she regained her composure.

Her expression flattened once more as she calmly repeated everything—how she had killed them, how the D-Rank human had been riddled with holes, and how the other E-Rank human had been crushed within the shadow tentacles until he became a gruesome mixture of flesh, shattered bones, and blood.

Her voice remained flat while explaining it all—like a cold doctor explaining the operation or their failure to rescue the patient.

Lucian heard each word clearly, but his anger did not lessen—not even slightly.

It just worsened.

His free hand clenched tighter and tighter until his nails nearly dug into his own palm. Meanwhile, his other hand gently lay atop Seraphina’s head.

They had tried to take advantage of her.

Of whom…?

His mother.

HIS MOTHER!

A violent surge of fury exploded within his chest, almost blinding him—and only her touch managed to calm him, even if only slightly.

Lucian wanted to tear them apart himself, not to kill them but… but to torture them until they would scream, beg, cry for death.

But he couldn’t.

Because they were already dead.

Nothing could be done now, and that only made the rage inside him feel worse.

He took a deep breath, trying to restrain the overwhelming surge of fury burning within him, a rage intensified even further by the Scarlet Bloodline.

Kanna simply watched him quietly, not interrupting in between.

And honestly, part of her felt slightly amused, while another part felt satisfied seeing that he still hadn’t destroyed anything despite the temperature in the room steadily rising.

What she didn’t know was that Lucian was already doing everything he could to suppress the urge to burn the entire room to ashes.

Eventually, Lucian managed to somewhat suppress the destructive impulse burning inside him. He lifted his gaze toward Kanna once again.

“Come here.”

His voice remained low and firm, which made Kanna frown inwardly.

Still, after a brief pause, she obeyed and stepped forward.

Her footsteps remained silent against the floor as she approached the bedside, and the closer she got, the clearer she could feel his gaze resting upon her, making her slightly cautious.

But even so, she did not stop walking, and eventually, she reached his side.

And as she did, Lucian raised his free hand, and before she could think any further, his palm rested atop her head.

“…?”

Kanna froze completely as Lucian softly patted her head, his fingers moving through her black hair.

“Thank you.”

His words carried a genuine gentleness and gratitude, stunning the emotionless maid.

Her body stilled while his hand stroked her hair, a strange, unfamiliar feeling stirring inside her chest.

But just then—

“Uhh…”

A soft, disoriented sound came from the bed beside them.

Lucian’s attention instantly snapped away.

His hand immediately withdrew from Kanna’s head as he turned toward Seraphina.

Kanna stood there motionless for another second before slowly shifting her gaze toward them, her fingers unconsciously touching the top of her head where he had patted her.

“Mom,”

Lucian’s voice softened immediately as he saw her move, a faint frown appearing on her sleeping face.

Her eyelashes trembled before she opened her eyes, then tilted her head toward him.

“Lucian…?” she asked weakly, narrowing her eyes.

And the moment she saw him properly, her entire expression changed.

Instantly, Seraphina pushed herself upward from the bed and pulled Lucian tightly against her.

Lucian was momentarily stunned by the sudden hug, but then reciprocated gently.

“Y-You are fine…”

Seraphina’s trembling voice broke apart.

“You are fine… you are fine… you are…”

Her arms tightened around him desperately, her fingers wrinkling the fabric along his back.

Even after just waking up, her body was already trembling faintly.

“Mom… I’m fine.” Lucian said with a gentle, careful voice.

He slowly patted her back comfortably, not trying to move her until she herself pulled away slightly.

But the moment Lucian properly saw her face, his expression froze.

Her beautiful icy-blue eyes had turned watery and red, tears streaming continuously down her cheeks.

Yet despite that, a small, fragile smile trembled faintly upon her lips—as though she had just found something that she thought she had lost forever.

“Nothing… nothing happened to you, right?” she asked again weakly, as if she still needed reassurance.

Her trembling fingers held both his cheeks, softly rubbing against his skin.

“I’m fine… it’s alright.”

Lucian pulled her closer once more, his hand stroking her hair soothingly, calming her little by little.

Behind them, Kanna remained silently standing where she was, watching the mother and son embrace each other

After nearly a minute had passed, Seraphina’s body relaxed slightly.

Her breathing was still uneven, but it was calmer, much calmer.

Eventually, she pulled back and got a proper look at Lucian’s face again.

Then, a subtle frown appeared between her brows.

“Dear… what happened to you?”

Her fingers traced along his cheek again, skin that felt unnaturally pale, almost resembling her own complexion.

His previously black eyes had become crimson red, his face sharper, more… beautiful.

And even the aura surrounding him felt different too.

Lucian gently stroked Seraphina’s head, his fingers moving through her soft black hair.

“I’ll tell you later. Don’t worry about that for now.”

Slowly, she nodded, but then, remembering what had happened before she lost consciousness, her body suddenly began trembling even harder.

Lucian’s brows furrowed.

“Lu-Lucian…” Her brittle voice shook weakly.

“I-I k-killed someone.”

For a second, she almost convinced herself it was merely a nightmare, but it wasn’t.

She clearly remembered herself stabbing the ice stake into that man’s throat.

And even though she had done what was important, it was difficult to digest that.

Yet instead of seeing any shock… or disgust, her son’s expression softened even further.

“You don’t need to think much about it,” he said gently.

“Huh?”

The soft, confused mumble escaped her slightly bitten lips.

“Mom, you did nothing wrong.”

Seraphina suddenly stilled.𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Those simple words made something deep within her chest loosen, as though the crushing guilt pressing down on her had finally been lifted.

And feeling Lucian’s fingers gently brushing through her hair, she quietly lowered her forehead against his chest, allowing herself to forget everything else for the moment.

The moment Seraphina lowered her gaze and stopped looking directly at him, Lucian’s expression darkened.

He bit hard against the inside of his lip, trying to suppress the violent bloodlust clawing its way upward inside him.

Seeing Seraphina pressed so closely against him, the softness of her body clutching onto him tightly, and especially seeing the pale skin of her exposed neck so close before him—

Lucian’s crimson eyes darkened further, the red glow shimmering within them.

His fingers twitched around her head, and he could even hear her heartbeat too clearly.

Could smell the warm blood flowing beneath her skin.

But Lucian gritted his teeth, using every bit of willpower to suppress the urge.

The moment his mother raised her head again, Lucian abruptly pulled himself backward, creating distance between them, making her confused.

But she wasn’t the only one confused.

Kanna felt a bit weird seeing their unusual closeness. It was clearly a fragile emotional moment, yet the way they held each other felt oddly intimate somehow.

Neither Lucian nor Seraphina seemed remotely aware of it, as though being this close to each other was something completely natural between them.

“Lucian?”

Seraphina called softly after seeing him suddenly move away.

Lucian lowered his gaze toward the bedsheet while breathing heavily.

“It’s n-nothing,” he tried turning his head away subtly.

His gaze shifted toward Kanna, and the instant she saw his eyes glowing crimson beneath the dim bedroom lights—

She immediately understood.

Bloodlust.

“Young Master Lucian,” Kanna suddenly spoke, causing Seraphina to finally notice her standing there.

And the moment she looked at the maid, she immediately remembered her—the black-haired woman who mercilessly butchered the men before her eyes.

Her eyes narrowed faintly, while Kanna continued.

“If you continue trying to suppress your hunger, it will only worsen.”

[It’s useless trying to explain it to him. This man won’t listen to you either.] Akasha’s annoyed voice echoed inside Lucian’s head. But naturally, none of them could hear him except for him.

She had been warning him from the moment he had entered the room, the moment the bloodlust had intensified after approaching his mother.

It was almost as though the thirst had intensified even further after being near the people he loved—because he hadn’t felt the same overwhelming intensity while standing beside Kanna earlier, despite being close to her the entire time.

“What?”

Naturally, Seraphina didn’t understand what Kanna was talking about.

Kanna shifted her gaze toward Seraphina quietly, noticing that she wasn’t reacting despite having witnessed the humans being killed right in front of her.

Still, she began to answer—

Or at least tried to, before Lucian suddenly spoke.

“I’m fine.” Lucian’s voice cut through the room, instantly sending a cold shiver down Seraphina’s spine.

“Lu—”

Seraphina, confused, was about to speak again, but just then—

“BROTHERRRRR!!!!!!”

A sharp, loud voice echoed throughout the castle, almost alerting everyone within it.