Chapter 206: Talk With Seraphina II

Damian waved his hand dismissively.

"But you know what? I don’t want to waste time thinking too much about internal military politics.

I don’t like using my brain for that kind of analysis nowadays – it’s reserved for figuring out my skills and weapon arts."

His eyes became sharp again.

"Then suddenly they also realized something else: my entire Mafia organization’s data was hidden by Gia. Everything removed or blocked at SS rank classification. They couldn’t gather intelligence on my operations at all."

He stood again, his presence filling the room.

"So now you come to recruit me. After all, what’s the best way to manage an anomaly you can’t understand or control? Keep them close... Bind them with military structure and regulations. Make them part of the system."

Damian looked down at Seraphina with an expression mixing disappointment and understanding.

"So tell me, Professor – why would I join the military when there are so many confusing and distrusting elements? When they only reached out when it became convenient for them?

When they let innocent people suffer because helping them wasn’t worth political capital?"

"..."

Suffocating silence spread across the room!

Seraphina sat completely still, her mind reeling.

’Is this the true capability of Damian’s mind? I always knew he was smart – the way he uses tactics in combat, the way he built his organization from nothing. But this...

He took two data points – us giving him a warning and attempting recruitment – and connected every dot to form the complete picture of what’s happening behind the scenes.’

Indeed... Everything Damian said was true!

There were factions in the military. Nobles did have indirect influence despite the military’s supposed independence.

And even though Seraphina’s faction wanted to help Damian, they hadn’t thought he was worth fighting the other faction over.

He was talented, yes. Interesting, certainly. But worth burning political capital and creating internal conflict? Not at the time.

And they genuinely couldn’t understand what was happening with him.

Why was his information hidden? Who was supporting him? Military intelligence was supposed to be the best in the Federation, yet they couldn’t penetrate Gia’s protection.

So... recruitment became the obvious solution. Bring the anomaly into the fold.

Seraphina sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping.

"Damian, you have to realize we aren’t your enemies–"

"You aren’t allies either."

His interruption was immediate and absolute.

Seraphina’s face went pale, wanting to argue but finding no solid ground to stand on.

Finally she just sighed again.

"You’re right. My superiors didn’t see your value before. But you have to understand, there are some things I can’t say. The military isn’t bad. Sure, there are factions involved that are corrupting our organization as well, but–"

Her voice carried genuine regret.

Damian’s expression softened slightly, his voice losing some of its edge.

"Let’s drop this matter. I respect you personally, and I trust only you. That trust doesn’t extend to the military as an institution. I’m sorry, but that’s just reality."

Seraphina nodded slowly, accepting the boundary he was drawing.

But as she started to speak, Damian added something that made her freeze.

"You guys don’t even know my parents’ true background. Clearly your faction isn’t strong enough to access that information."

Seraphina looked up, confusion replacing resignation.

"I know your father is a trainer in the military. Your mother is a housewife. We have their basic files–"

"Wrong."

Damian’s single word cut through her explanation.

"Go check their actual background. Not the surface-level information in standard databases. Their real background."

He walked toward the door.

"When you find out who they actually are, you’ll understand why I don’t need military protection or structure. I already have backing that makes your General’s recruitment offer irrelevant."

He opened the door and looked back one last time.

"I value our relationship, Professor. You’ve been good to me. But I won’t join an organization that thinks of people as assets to be managed rather than individuals to be protected...

Zav lost his entire family due to your politics. Ariana and Ronan would have lost theirs as well if I hadn’t reached on time!"

Bang

The door closed behind him, leaving Seraphina sitting alone in her messy house, her mind spinning.

She grabbed her communication device immediately and called her superior, the Senior General who’d ordered her to recruit Damian.

The call connected after two rings, an old but strong voice emerging.

"Seraphina. Report. Did the student accept?"

"No, sir. He declined. And... he asked me to check his parents’ actual background, claiming we don’t have accurate information."

There was pause on the other end, the sound of typing.

"...Wait. Let me access deeper files."

Several seconds of silence.

Then the typing stopped.

"..."

When the voice came back, it was heavy with something Seraphina had never heard from her superior before: genuine concern bordering on fear.

"Do not attempt to recruit him again. Do not pressure him and do not take any action that could be interpreted as coercion."

Seraphina’s eyes widened.

"Sir, I wasn’t going to force him – he’s my student. But what did you find? What’s in his background that–"

Her superior’s sigh carried through the connection.

"His adopted parents are... the Twin Terrors."

Silence!

Complete, absolute and horrified silence!

"What the fuck!"

Seraphina’s whisper was barely audible, her violet eyes going wide with shock.

The Twin Terrors!

Legendary names spoken with fear even among S rank veterans!

Awakeners who’d disappeared from active service years ago after accumulating a reputation so terrifying that entire Monster divisions would surrender rather than face them.

’Damian’s parents aren’t just military trainers! They’re legends! Monsters who made the Federation’s enemies consider suicide preferable to capture!’

Her superior continued, his voice grave.

"Now you understand why we won’t push this. The Twin Terrors may be retired, but antagonizing their adopted son would be... unwise. Extremely unwise."

He paused.

"Maintain your relationship with the student. Be a mentor. But recruitment is off the table permanently. I don’t want Lyandra Valcor at my doorstep. Make sure your subordinates who monitor him understand this as well."

The call ended.

Seraphina sat in the darkness of her messy house, processing everything.

Damian had outmaneuvered the military without even trying. Had seen through their political games with casual brilliance. And had backing that made military protection irrelevant.

’Sigh... that’s why he is such a freak! He is the son of the twin terrors.

So... the Kestrel Family branch massacre was done by them....’