The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 156: Witchcraft, right?

“Pft.”

Vivienne immediately scoffed the moment Lucian finished speaking.

“You just trained for two months…”

A faint, disbelieving smirk appeared on her lips.

“And now you want to test your strength?”

Her voice was laced with mockery that she didn’t even try to hide.

Yes, he had gotten stronger, and even she could feel it.

The aura around him had changed drastically from before, but that didn’t mean Lucian was capable of fighting elder vampires or the Church’s high-ranking members.

However, contrary to her expectations, Lucian barely reacted to her ridicule.

“I know I’m not strong enough to fight all of them,” he admitted honestly, causing Vivienne to blink in surprise.

She had genuinely expected him to become arrogant after his training—perhaps even believing himself to be invincible simply because he had trained under the strongest vampire alive.

But…

Apparently, she had been wrong.

“But… who said I was going to fight every single one of them myself?” Lucian asked, a smile creeping onto his lips.

His crimson eyes gleamed faintly.

“I can just stay behind, right?”

“…”

Maybe she hadn’t been that wrong after all.

The bastard was just as shameless as before, and if anything, he had become even worse.

A deep frown appeared on Vivienne’s face, and she instantly turned toward Valentina, hoping she would reject such a ridiculous idea.

“You… you will stay behind?” Valentina asked, almost sounding incredulous.

Lucian gave her an innocent, reassuring smile, revealing his sharp white teeth.

And just looking at that expression, both of them knew he was already thinking of something crazy.

Vivienne wasn’t liking whatever kind of mind-reading the two of them seemed to be having, and from her mother’s words, it almost felt like she had already agreed to Lucian’s idea without a second thought.

‘Or maybe she just wants to test him,’ she suddenly thought, knowing her mother’s usual way of thinking.

And to some extent, she was right.

After a while, both Lucian and Valentina shifted their attention back toward Silas, who was still sitting before them with blank, crimson eyes.

Lucian quietly rubbed his temple.

Though the Charm skill seemed ridiculously overpowered—as he was capable of immobilizing an A-rank noble vampire, someone two ranks above him—it was still taking a mental toll on him.

Something he was beginning to feel right now.

Not wanting another headache, he immediately asked how they communicated with each other.

Without hesitation, Silas reached into his coat, pulled out a small rectangular object, and extended it toward Lucian.

“They contact me through this.”

Lucian accepted it and looked at the object in his hand.

It looked very similar to a mobile—like a medieval fantasy version of a smartphone, making him chuckle inwardly.

“Do you even know what that is?” Vivienne’s mocking voice reached his ears as she watched him stare at it for a few seconds, like a newborn seeing a toy from another world.

“Heh.”

Lucian merely raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly annoyed by her tone.

He glanced at her briefly before answering,

“Witchcraft, right? Something like a phone used to communicate between worlds.”

“You know that too…” Vivienne muttered, glancing toward her mother, who merely shrugged.

“I just told him a few things about witches and those kitties.”

“Then how did he know it was an artifact…?”

Ignoring their banter, Lucian lowered his gaze to the artifact once more, and instantly, the familiar blue interface appeared before his vision.

[Mana Phone]

Rank: B

Rarity: Rare

Description:

A mass-produced communication artifact created by the Witch of Distant Voices, designed for widespread civilian use.

The Mana Phone allows stable voice transmission across only planets without the need for external towers or relay systems.

This one is connected to only two planets: Bloodveil and Earth.

— — —

‘Mana Phone.’

Lucian almost laughed at the naming sense. It made it obvious that the artifact was essentially a mobile phone—but one capable of communicating across two worlds separated by an immense distance.

As for the rarity section, he had added that part with the help of his dear system.

As he had discovered long before, he could put any section on his analysis and ask for any specific thing about the target.

And after talking to Akasha, even she agreed and turned the skill into something like this—as she was the real controller of the skill.

As for how the rarity went…

[Rarity Section — Made by your lovely Akasha.]

Common Tier — Something that can be replicated very easily.

Uncommon Tier — Something slightly unique, but not enough for people to swoon over.

Rare Tier — From here onward, many would go crazy over items of these tiers.

Epic Tier — Something that stands above the Rare Tier.

Legendary Tier — If you find one while you’re still weak, make sure nobody else finds out… because they’ll tear you apart just to take it.

Mythical Tier — Something truly mythical… nearly impossible to find unless fate itself favors you.

— — —

Despite what the title said, this wasn’t exactly created by her, since most artifacts were already graded in this manner.

It was just that Lucian didn’t know that yet.

“Do you know who this Witch of Distant Voices is?”

Hearing his sudden question, Vivienne’s eyes widened.

“That… is a witch’s title,” she answered absentmindedly, but then her eyes suddenly widened even further.

“Wait! How do you know about her?”

“She’s the one who made this smartphone,” Lucian answered casually, very much enjoying the stupefied expression on her face.

“And how do you know that?!”

Complete confusion covered her face, and for a fleeting second, suspicion flashed through her mind.

Her eyes narrowed, wondering if he was somehow working with those bitches.

But then, if that were true, her mother wouldn’t have been this attached to him…

Or maybe she would be. There was no knowing—since it was Valentina she was talking about—someone who could do irrational things without any regret.

But rather than being completely shocked, Valentina merely raised an interested brow.

“You can see that too?” she muttered quietly, her voice barely audible, surprised by his Analysis skill.

“Mother? Did you tell him?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then how does he know about a witch’s titled name?!” she almost snapped, looking between the two of them.

But rather than answering, both Lucian and Valentina merely shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Their voices synchronised perfectly, and neither of them seemed even remotely surprised by it.

The young redhead, on the other hand, felt like she was losing her mind.

Ignoring Vivienne’s shocked expression, Lucian glanced toward Valentina.

“Valentina, should we keep this?” he asked, raising the Mana Phone.

Valentina barely spared it a glance before shaking her head.

“No. That would only make him more suspicious.”

By him, she was referring to the blank-faced nobleman sitting before them.

Lucian hummed softly before handing the artifact back to Silas, who accepted it at his command and quietly slipped it back into his pocket.

After that, Lucian stretched his arms before tilting his neck from side to side.

“Okay, now I’m out of here.”

He rose from the couch.

His gaze swept across the room before settling on the two women watching him—Valentina’s expression unreadable, as if she already understood what—or where—he intended to go.

As for Vivienne, he didn’t care enough to look at her properly.

“Where are you going?” Valentina asked, despite already knowing the answer herself.

For almost a fraction of a second, Vivienne could have sworn she heard something different in her voice.

She didn’t even understand what it was, but she had a bad feeling about it.

Her head immediately snapped toward her mother, but there was no emotion on her face—it had turned completely expressionless.

Lucian, hearing her question, smiled faintly.

“Well, first I’ll meet Lia, then my Mom.”

His vision immediately changed, and the entire world was instantly drowned in countless shades of crimson.

Ignoring the many red silhouettes within the castle, his gaze shifted toward the pull he felt through his blood—and within a second, he found her.

“She’s training?” he muttered softly, his tone so warm and different that it was almost visible to both women.

Lucian turned back to them.

“See you soon, Master… and you too, hothead.”

His second line came out almost dismissive.

Vivienne’s eyebrow twitched violently.

“Who the fuck are you—”

Before she could even complete her retort—

Lucian’s body slowly dissolved into crimson mist—far different from a normal vampire’s white mist form—as though it had been formed from blood itself.

Before leaving, his eyes landed on Silas, and the glow in the man’s eyes flickered—slowly returning to its usual hue.

Only after fully releasing the Charm did Lucian’s body disappear from the chamber.

For a few seconds, silence returned as Vivienne stared at her mother.

And she could clearly feel something different in the atmosphere around her as soon as Lucian left.

But the brief moment was instantly shattered by a confused voice.

“Lady Vivienne? Lady Duchess?”

Their attention immediately turned toward Silas, who had finally regained his consciousness.

His eyes widened instantly.

“Where did that newbo—Master Lucian go?”

He immediately corrected himself, since the Duchess seemed to be favouring the newborn for some reason—and there was no telling what she might do if he disrespected him.

His eyes flickered with confusion as he met their gazes, sensing something different from a moment ago.

For a fraction of a second, Vivienne’s eyes flashed with killing intent, sending a chill down his spine. But the moment he turned toward her, it vanished completely.

“Explain more about this plan of yours,” Valentina asked, shifting the topic.𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

And at her words, Silas immediately stopped thinking and began speaking, unaware that neither woman was truly listening to a single word.

They were simply thinking about the best—and worst—possible methods of torture before they killed him.