Surviving the Death Hunt-Chapter 59: Willingness
It struck Scar as strange. Purple had always ignored him; at one point, he’d been sure she despised him.
Her sudden interest was bizarre.
But the old saying held true: the enemy of my enemy is a friend. Between Dain’s pursuit and Luccy’s surveillance, violence was inevitable. But first, Adisa had to die.
Something nagged at him, though. Luccy hadn’t appeared since he’d come back from his penalty. Not that he minded the freedom, but wasn’t she supposed to be monitoring him?
...
Purple was honest with him, to a degree. Scar rarely believed what she said, but one thing was certain: Purple never joked about her family’s reputation. So he accepted it without hesitation.
When they formed their alliance two days ago, Purple explained how V’s arrival in the coming weeks could affect her family under certain circumstances.
The Kugo clan’s Four Wings were formidable. In fact, they reportedly could rival Scar’s cousin Amber in some aspects, even when she wore Heaven’s Garment.
But Adisa was another story entirely. His wind slashes were drawn from hell itself, living up to his Inheritance’s name: Breath of Hell. A single strike could annihilate them all.
At first, Purple hadn’t intended to get directly involved. She’d planned to help the Kugo clan destroy the Zheng clan from the shadows. But she’d underestimated Aina Zheng.
As a Supreme Council member, her influence had led them to disregard Purple’s advice completely. Now the Council was monitoring the Kugo clan directly, keeping them under tight surveillance.
Worse still, the Kugo clan wanted to restore their reputation while watching the Zheng clan crumble. Cooperating with the Supreme Council was their best move, so they rushed into the decision without Purple’s approval.
Purple felt trapped. Recognition from the Supreme Council awaited her once V was eliminated, but between the Kugo clan’s alliance and Aina’s maneuvering, both sides would eventually discover her double-dealing.
Worse yet would be the Supreme Council discovering her alliance with the Kugo clan.
More daunting still, the Kugo clan’s decision to face V and his allies head-on could end in their destruction. That would render all her efforts meaningless, since she’d already promised them survival and victory.
Aside from V, Adisa was their biggest problem. Since Scar was already hunting him, Purple wanted to assist, they needed to eliminate him before he wiped out the Kugo clan’s forces.
Currently, Scar and Julien remained with Purple in the infirmary, listening as she detailed her beliefs and strategies.
"We’ve lost 15 students, they’re missing. Countless others, twisted by V, ended their own lives during or after duels. But these 15... I have every reason to suspect they’ve allied themselves with him."
Purple exhaled and rested on her bed.
"I went over all the missing names. None of them should be that dangerous... yet something about this still feels off."
She stroked her chin.
"Amell didn’t escape alone; a Moon Killer definitely helped. We don’t know who, but I’m certain it wasn’t a solo act. They wouldn’t have dared something that bold without at least three backing it."
Hmph.
"They’ll cause problems, no doubt. I only pray none of them is an Executor. An Outlaw, we could handle."
All Inheritances classified as Executors enjoyed a freedom that the other classifications lacked. They could serve others while simultaneously pursuing their own agendas and freely adapt other abilities into their own. This made them quite formidable.
Unlike Outlaws, who attracted Enforcers and Architects the moment they rebelled, Executors had no natural enemies. In situations like this, they were dangerous and nearly impossible to stop.
Scar exhaled deeply.
This was getting more interesting than expected. When V broke free, he’d control countless others, forcing them to fight or kill themselves for him.
In that unprecedented army, only one person mattered to Scar: Adisa. But reaching him meant cutting through the entire force, since the bastard clearly commanded from the top.
"What choice did we have now? You pledged survival and victory to the Kugo Clan. I was confused, but I assumed you’d calculated everything. Had you not said that, they might have sacrificed their entire army to destroy the Zheng Clan. Instead, we’re the ones staring down at Moon Killers."
Julien said with clear irritation.
He’d signed up for this to protect Purple, but at the moment, her reckless actions weren’t sitting right with him.
Purple snorted.
"You’ve forgotten why this matters to me. I need to elevate the Vey family’s name and build a legend our enemies dread. While I was away, the Heart family slaughtered three of my own.
"Their screams, their regrets, their curses thrown at me... they follow me even now. If I’m to oppose forces that ruthless, then I must become just as fearsome. We can’t defeat the Heart family by ourselves. And with the Voss family’s meddling and overwhelming resources, we’d be as good as dead."
Julien reeled. This was the first time Purple had been honest with him, and truthfully, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see this side of her.
Scar, however, understood little of this. He knew each Vey family member’s soul became a thread in Purple’s Inheritance upon death, bringing their memories along. That explained her vast knowledge. But it didn’t clarify everything.
Who was the Heart family? Lovis, head of the Voss family, had recently sent them to their deaths. Why? Scar had no clue, but frankly, he had enough on his plate already.
"How do we make a move? We can’t just vanish like everyone else; that’s a death sentence. The Supreme Council won’t give a damn why we did it. They’ll immediately assume we’re with V."
Scar asked with a skeptical tone.
Purple turned to him with a smile.
"You knew Adisa since you were kids, right?"
Scar nodded positively.
"Considering he trailed after you constantly like a lost puppy, it seems unlikely he had the capacity to track your father and murder him."
Scar’s eyes narrowed slightly.
A scar ran across Adisa’s chin, one that Scar had given him. Whenever he thought about it, he couldn’t help assuming Adisa had done this as payback for how poorly Scar treated him when they were younger.
’But it doesn’t make sense.’
Why target Isaac specifically? Stranger still, Adisa had never minded Scar’s poor treatment. The bastard had actually enjoyed it. And he still didn’t know Scar was alive.
While his mind wandered, Purple spoke again.
"There’s no need to rack your brain over his intentions. Everything is tied to you, that much is certain. So we’ll give him what he wants. We’ll make him believe Scar Rover wishes to see him."
It made sense. Without a doubt, if Adisa learned that Scar Rover was alive, he’d be desperate to see him. They were practically best friends, after all.
"Alright... but how? We’d still need a messenger, right?"
Purple’s smile grew slightly menacing.
"There is someone who might help. To be precise, Haven knows of them."
Scar frowned. Haven?
Before they could say more, Mingle burst into the room, panting. His face was drenched in sweat, and his voice was hoarse.
"Have any of you seen Emma?"
"Emma?"
He swallowed bile.
"She’s been missing since yesterday morning. She left to dig up more information on Scar’s Inheritance... and hasn’t returned."
Scar scowled.
Dark thoughts immediately flooded his mind. Emma could be in danger.
