Chapter 528: He Knows

The Chairman stood at the window, his reflection showing in the glass, his expression unreadable.

Finally, he spoke again.

"Does he know the truth?"

Gia’s voice emerged from the speakers, carrying no hesitation whatsoever.

"He knows."

The Chairman’s eyes closed again, his head dropping forward until his forehead touched the cold glass.

His breath escaped in a long sigh that fogged the window.

’Of course he knows.’

The thought came bitter and resigned.

’Just great. As if there weren’t enough problems already burning across the Federation, as if keeping everything balanced wasn’t difficult enough...’

His hands clenched against the glass.

’Now even the greatest genius our younger generation has produced turns out to be a walking timebomb.’

His eyes opened, finding his own reflection staring back.

"With his personality..."

He spoke the question aloud, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What do you think he’ll do once he gets powerful enough?"

The question sat between them, heavy with implications.

Would Damian seek revenge against the Imperials who’d slaughtered his family?

Would he try to restore the Bloodworth name despite the political consequences that would follow?

Would he burn down the entire Federation structure that had watched his family’s genocide?

Gia’s voice emerged soft, carrying a question that cut deeper.

"If the day ever comes when everything is revealed..." She paused. "What will you do?"

The Chairman’s jaw clenched, his teeth grinding together.

"I’m the Chairman of the Federation."

His voice came out flat and absolute.

"I’m the balance between everything. The only true neutral party that keeps the entire system from collapsing into chaos."

He pushed off the window, turning to face the empty office.

"I can’t choose sides."

"And whose sacrifices have made sure the Federation lives?"

Gia’s voice emerged harder now, carrying edges that rarely appeared.

"Who was the one who saved everyone time and time again when extinction loomed? Who protected humanity when nobody else could?"

She paused, letting the questions settle.

"Who is the reason you stand here alive, having this conversation instead of lying dead in some forgotten battlefield?"

The Chairman remained silent, his hands returning to his pockets.

But his face showed cracks in its composure, emotions bleeding through that he usually kept buried.

Tap Tap Tap

He started walking toward the door, his footsteps echoing against marble.

Gia’s voice followed him, carrying one final reminder.

"And don’t you forget, you aren’t just the Chairman anymore."

He paused with his hand on the door handle.

"You’re Luna’s master as well. She’s your responsibility now, unless you sever your relationship with her."

Gia’s tone shifted, becoming almost conversational.

"Which you probably won’t do."

A pause, deliberate and weighted.

"And her side–"

’This damn manipulative AI!’

The Chairman’s hand tightened on the handle until his knuckles went white, the metal creaking under pressure.

"–is already decided."

The words landed with finality, implications sitting heavy in the air between them.

Then he pulled the door open and stepped through, leaving the questions and implications behind in the empty office.

****

[Chairman’s Private Training Facility]

The Chairman walked through corridors that existed off every official blueprint, his boots clicking against reinforced flooring.

It had only been a few days since he’d accepted Luna Valcor as his disciple.

At first, he’d been extremely unwilling, the obligations that came with taking a student sitting heavy against his desire to remain unattached.

’It feels like adopting a kid...’

But her growth had been as ridiculous as Damian’s, progressing at speeds that defied normal progression curves.

’No wonder those birds wanted to take her away. Their Oracle recognised what she could become.’

The thought came unbidden as he walked.

He’d put her through training conditions that would break most A rank awakeners, exercises designed to push mental and physical limits simultaneously.

But she never complained, not once, never asked for breaks or easier alternatives.

And he had to admit, against his better judgment, he was starting to grow fond of her.

’Not to mention, her innate skill makes her the best candidate for being the next Chairman if something happens to me.’

The thought settled with weight that surprised him.

’But it also makes her the most dangerous.’

Another thought followed immediately, carrying implication.

’Someone who could rewrite how people felt, who could turn allies into enemies or enemies into allies with just a touch and a thought...’

Before he could finish processing that implication, sound reached his ears.

BAM BAM BAM BAM

The impacts came rhythmic and heavy, echoing through the corridor.

The Chairman paused mid-step, his senses spreading outward.

And what he saw made his expression become completely unreadable.

’She–’

He moved forward, his hand settling on the training room door and pushed it open.

The room was massive, designed for high-rank combat training with reinforced walls and Aura-dampening fields.

But right now, bodies littered the floor.

Giants, all of them, ranging from ten to twenty meters tall.

Their armor was torn apart, limbs separated from torsos, heads crushed into unrecognizable masses.

Blood pooled across reinforced stone, so much blood that it had started flowing toward the drainage channels in thick streams.

And in the center, standing over a fifteen-meter B rank giant’s corpse, Luna Valcor continued her work.

BAM

Her fist came down on the giant’s head, the skull already caved in completely, brain matter scattered across stone.

Blood covered her from head to toe completely.

Her black hair had turned crimson from gore, strands plastered to her face and neck.

BAM

The giant had been dead for some time.

But her fists kept falling, each strike landing with force.

The Chairman’s eyes tracked across the other bodies.

Dozens of giants, all dead, all torn apart with bare hands rather than weapons or skills.

’This is her first time killing someone, isn’t it?’

The thought settled cold and certain.

’I gave her captured enemies to practice combat on, expecting her to use her skills and her training...’

His gaze found her blood-soaked form again.

’Not... this.’

He cleared his throat, his voice emerging measured and calm.

"Disciple."

BAM

"The giant is dead."

BAM

"You can stop now."

BAM

The sounds continued without pause, her fists rising and falling in perfect rhythm.

The Chairman’s eyes narrowed fractionally, his mind racing.

’Why is she–’

Before he could think further, realization struck him.

’Ah, she probably lost control after seeing him enter Lufen Portal through the emergency broadcast.’

Then he spoke again, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

"He has come out of the portal safely."

BAM–

The sound stopped mid-motion, Luna’s fist frozen inches from the giant’s destroyed head.

Silence crashed through the training room like someone had cut all sound.

Pant... pant... pant...

Luna’s breathing came heavy and ragged, her chest heaving beneath blood-soaked fabric.

Her fist remained raised, trembling slightly, gore dripping from her knuckles.

Then her voice emerged, soft and controlled.

"Understood."

The Chairman watched her remain standing over the corpse, her bloody fists still raised.

"You should try to control your emotions better."

His voice carried concern despite his attempt at clinical observation.

"This level of violence, this loss of control, it’s–"

"I’m completely in control, teacher."

Luna’s interruption came soft but absolute, her voice remaining perfectly level.

She finally turned to face him, her movements deliberate and calm.

Her training uniform was soaked through, gore clinging to every inch of fabric.

But her expression showed perfect serenity, unbothered and composed.

Her silver eyes met his gaze directly, showing clarity that made his words die.

"I was just checking their armor’s strength."

The Chairman’s mouth twitched, his expression becoming complex.

’That’s...’

He opened his mouth to respond, to call out the obvious deflection.

But before he could speak–

"Gia."

Luna’s voice cut through his forming words.

"Can you find a way for me to talk with him?"