Chapter 96: I Am A Dangerous Man

Victor's words left Klaus silent for a few moments.

He stared at the man sitting opposite him before he slowly leaned back in his chair and asked, "Dangerous?"

Victor nodded.

"Very."

"Because I have superhuman abilities?"

"No," Victor answered immediately.

Klaus's brows rose slightly.

Victor folded his hands together on the desk and continued, "If that was the only thing that made you dangerous, then I wouldn't have called you dangerous. I would have simply called you powerful."

"Then what makes me dangerous?"

Victor stared at him for a few seconds before he said, "You have power, money, intelligence, ambition, and people willing to follow you, but the most concerning part is that you don't seem to realize what those things make you capable of."

Klaus's expression became serious.

"You are building something."

Victor gestured toward him.

"You created Maker Finance, recruited talented individuals, gathered information about influential people, and began manipulating the financial market. You are also hiding behind different identities while doing all of this."

He paused and asked, "And what do you intend to do once you have gathered enough power?"

"Rule the world."

Victor's eyes narrowed.

"You said that so casually."

"Because I don't see a reason to lie to you."

"I know."

Victor leaned back.

"And that's another reason you are dangerous."

Klaus furrowed his brows.

Victor smiled faintly and said, "Most people who want power spend their entire lives pretending they don't want it. You simply say it."

"I don't think wanting something makes a person dangerous."

"It doesn't."

Victor shook his head.

"But believing you are entitled to it does."

Klaus remained silent.

Victor continued, "Are you?"

"Entitled to rule the world?"

"Yes."

Klaus thought about it.

He could have immediately answered.

He had the strength.

He had the intelligence.

He had already started gathering people who were far more capable than ordinary humans.

He even had the Apocalypse System.

Yet the answer didn't come as easily as it once would have.

"I don't know," Klaus finally said.

Victor's eyes sharpened.

"That's the first honest answer you've given me today."

Klaus gave him a flat look.

"You asked me a difficult question."

"I know."

Victor smiled.

"And I think that's exactly what you needed."

Klaus lowered his gaze.

For the past few days, everyone had been telling him something different, yet all their words seemed to lead toward the same place.

Sarin had forced him to question the way he viewed relationships.

Trina had made him question whether he was pushing away his own emotions.

The system had directly challenged his understanding of love.

Martin had told him to find the source of his uncertainty.

And now Victor was forcing him to question whether he even understood what it meant to rule.

Klaus rubbed his forehead.

"Why do you always do this?"

Victor chuckled.

"Do what?"

"Make me question everything."

"Perhaps because you never questioned anything before."

Klaus looked at him.

Victor's smile faded as he continued, "The first time we met, you were confident. You knew what you wanted, you knew how you wanted to obtain it, and you weren't interested in hearing anything that could interfere with your plans."

"And now?"

"Now you're sitting in front of me asking why you can't make decisions."

Klaus frowned.

Victor glanced toward the mask in Klaus's hand.

"You asked me earlier why I think you are doing things wrong, so I'll tell you."

Klaus nodded.

"Go ahead."

"You are trying to become a king while still thinking like someone who needs to protect himself from the world."

Klaus's brows furrowed.

"What does that mean?"

"Why are you wearing the mask?"

"Because I need to protect my identity."

"From whom?"

"Anyone who might become an enemy."

Victor nodded.

"And do you believe that mask will protect you?"

Klaus glanced at it.

"No."

"Then why wear it?"

Klaus opened his mouth but stopped.

Victor smiled faintly.

"You already know the answer."

Klaus's eyes narrowed.

"I am being careful."

"Being careful and being afraid aren't the same thing."

Klaus's expression hardened.

"I'm not afraid."

"I didn't say you were."

Victor adjusted his glasses before continuing, "But you have started making decisions based on what might happen rather than what you want to happen."

Klaus fell silent.

Victor leaned forward.

"That's why you feel like something is wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"You have been trying to eliminate every possible weakness from yourself."

Klaus's eyes trembled slightly.

"Your emotions, your relationships, your identity, your mistakes, your enemies, everything."

Victor tapped his finger against the desk.

"But a person cannot become stronger by cutting away everything that makes him human."

Klaus looked down.

Victor continued, "You don't need to throw away your emotions to become a king."

"I don't think emotions are necessary."

"Then why did you come here?"

Klaus froze.

Victor smiled.

"You already know the answer."

Klaus stared at him for a long moment before he sighed.

"I don't know."

"You came because you failed."

Klaus's eyes narrowed.

"With you."

Victor nodded.

"You couldn't recruit me, and that was the first time your plans didn't go the way you wanted. Since then, you've been trying to understand why."

Klaus's fingers tightened.

Victor continued, "You weren't prepared for failure, so when you finally experienced it, you started questioning yourself."

Klaus stared at him.

"That is why you came here."

Victor leaned back.

"Not because you wanted my help, but because you wanted to understand why you failed."

Klaus slowly nodded.

"I think you're right."

Victor smiled.

"Then you've already made progress."

Klaus chuckled bitterly.

"You make it sound easy."

"It isn't."

Victor's expression became serious again.

"Especially for someone like you."

Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"Someone like me?"

"Someone who has succeeded too many times."

Klaus remained silent.

Victor continued, "Failure is easier to handle when you've experienced it repeatedly. But when your entire life teaches you that you will eventually get what you want, the first real failure can shake your entire understanding of yourself."

Klaus looked away.

He couldn't deny it.

Victor had been the only person he had truly failed to recruit.

And somehow, that one failure had affected him more than everything else he had accomplished.

Then Victor said something that made Klaus's expression change.

"You said Ryan is safe now, didn't you?"

Klaus looked at him.

"Yes."

"How?"

Klaus smiled faintly.

"I handled it."

Victor stared at him.

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"Then why?"

Klaus raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Why did you help me?"

Klaus stayed silent for a moment.

He could tell Victor was still unaware of the truth.

The Bruma Syndicate was already under his control.

Its people were already following his orders, its resources were already available to him, and its network had become another hidden pillar supporting the future he was building.

Victor didn't know any of that.

And Klaus wasn't going to tell him yet.

Instead, he shrugged.

"Because you asked me to save your son."

Victor's expression softened.

"I appreciate it."

Klaus nodded.

"There's no need."

"There is."

Victor's voice became firm.

"You don't understand what it means to me."

Klaus looked at him for a few seconds before smiling.

"I think I do."

Victor's expression became complicated.

"Then you understand why I cannot simply follow you."

"I never asked you to."

Victor blinked.

Klaus leaned back.

"You have your own reasons to live, your own goals, and your own responsibilities. I don't need everyone around me to become my subordinate."

"Then what do you want from me?"

Klaus thought for a moment before answering.

"Nothing."

Victor frowned.

"Nothing?"

"Not anymore."

Klaus smiled faintly.

"I came here because I wanted to understand myself. Not because I wanted to recruit you."

Victor studied his face.

"Then what will you do now?"

Klaus looked toward the window.

"Keep building."

"Even after everything I told you?"

"Especially after everything you told me."

Victor smiled.

"Then perhaps you really have changed."

Klaus stood up from his chair and picked up his mask and cap.

Victor watched him and asked, "Are you going to keep hiding behind those?"

Klaus looked at the mask.

"Probably."

Victor chuckled.

"Then at least understand why you're wearing it."

Klaus smiled.

"I will."

He put the mask back over his face and pulled the cap down slightly.

Then he reached the doorway before stopping.

"Victor."

"Hmm?"

"If you ever decide you want to know what kind of world I'm trying to create, come find me."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"And if I don't?"

"Then nothing changes."

Klaus turned the handle.

Victor stared at his back before he asked, "One last question."

Klaus glanced over his shoulder.

"What?"

"Do you still want to rule the world?"

Klaus remained silent.

The question should have been easy.

It had once been the dream that made every other goal seem insignificant.

Yet now, after everything he had experienced over the past few days, the answer felt different.

He smiled beneath the mask.

"Yes."

Victor watched him.

"But?"

Klaus's smile widened.

"But now I want to understand what kind of world I actually want to rule."

Victor's eyes narrowed slightly.

Klaus opened the door and stepped outside.

The door slowly closed behind him.

Victor remained seated in silence, his gaze fixed on the doorway.

After several seconds, he leaned back and sighed.

"That man..."

His eyes shifted toward the two holes in his desk.

"He's either going to change the world..."

He touched one of the holes with his finger.

"...or destroy it."

Outside, Klaus walked through the corridor with his hands inside his pockets.

For the first time in several days, his mind felt lighter.

He still didn't have all the answers.

He still didn't know whether he was truly capable of ruling the world.

He still didn't understand what the other superhumans wanted.

And he certainly didn't understand everything about himself.

But perhaps that was the problem.

He had been searching for certainty when he should have been searching for understanding.

His phone suddenly vibrated.

Klaus pulled it out and looked at the screen.

It was a message from Carl.

The market has moved.

Another message appeared.

The fabricated rise has begun.

Klaus's eyes sharpened.

A grin slowly appeared beneath his mask.

"So it begins."

He put the phone away and continued walking.

The questions could wait.

Today, money was going to change hands.

And Klaus intended to make sure that his was the hand receiving it.