Chapter 362: Need to stop this

Silence settled over the car after Kyle’s words.

Veronica’s eyes remained wide as she slowly shook her head.

"Kyle... I don’t..."

"I’m sorry. Let me rephrase that." He interrupted gently before continuing. "You unknowingly helped the people who were targeting Blake."

Veronica stared at him in stunned silence. She knew Kyle well enough to understand that he would never joke about something like this. That knowledge only made the revelation more difficult to process.

"But how...? And who even attacked him?"

Kyle gave her a moment to compose herself, though it quickly became apparent that she was nowhere close to calming down. Eventually, he decided there was little point in delaying the truth.

"Back when he nearly died, and it was publicly announced that he’d been involved in an unfortunate accident, those people were involved in that incident too."

Veronica’s expression hardened as the memory resurfaced.

"I remember that. The incident was widely known even among the Ten Petal clans."

Kyle nodded. "Yes. Both then and now, their objective was the same. They wanted to extract Blake’s eyes."

Veronica’s expression shifted to disbelief.

"His eyes...? You mean Judgement? But why?"

She knew exactly how powerful that ocular ability was. An ability capable of discerning truth from lies alone would make Blake an invaluable asset to any association, or even to the central authority itself. The ability to distinguish deception from truth was extraordinarily useful, particularly in matters where a single lie could have far-reaching consequences.

And that was only the most obvious application.

Blake possessed advanced abilities tied to foreseeing as well, making his eyes far more valuable than an ordinary ocular skill.

A moment later, Kyle muttered, "His eyes are a necessity to those people, but the man they’re targeting is too influential for them to simply leave alive after an attack. That’s why they tried to kill him first."

His voice wavered slightly as he spoke, a subtle change that might have gone unnoticed by anyone else. Veronica noticed it immediately.

Under different circumstances, she might have felt some relief knowing that Kyle was still so deeply concerned about his brother. But right now, her mind was consumed by the implications of everything he had just revealed.

She continued trying to piece together who could be behind it all until Kyle finally asked, "How much do you know about the secret experiment conducted by Headmaster Christopher?"

Veronica flinched and turned toward him.

Her eyes widened as realization struck her, only to be followed by an even greater wave of doubt.

"Those clones? Sir Christopher assured me they were meant to be the first line of defense against the Nightmares. I’ve personally checked on them."

Kyle tilted his head slightly.

"And you never questioned why something supposedly so beneficial to humanity was kept secret from everyone?" he asked. "He manipulated you well enough that you even hid details about it from me when we were in the hospital."

Veronica’s lips parted instantly, ready to refute him, but no words came. As much as she felt displeased to admit it, Kyle was right, at least to some extent.

She had told him not to pry into the matter because,

"The higher-ups are involved," she confessed. "They were hell-bent on keeping it under the radar."

Her expression faltered as she lowered her gaze.

"I trusted the headmaster above everyone else... I never thought he would..."

The rest of her words died in her throat. Anger and regret were evident in her eyes as she clenched her fist, her hand trembling with restrained fury.

Kyle exhaled softly before reaching over and taking her hand.

"Easy," he said gently. "You did nothing wrong. You trusted a man who took care of you. And I could tell that Christopher genuinely cares about you."

He shook his head, disappointment settling across his features.

"It’s just that he’s too consumed by his desperation to become humanity’s savior. Somewhere along the way, he’s forgotten the line we should never cross."

Turning toward Veronica, Kyle said, "Christopher has somehow discovered a way to bestow his clones with the powers of other Nightwalkers. And that basic physical enhancement they possess? I believe they got it from you."

Veronica flinched at his words.

Her eyes widened as the implications slowly sank in. Now she understood why Kyle had said that Blake’s potential death was, in some indirect way, connected to her.

Her voice trembled as she muttered, "He... never told me about that. He said he would only be using the DNA of deceased Nightwalkers to modify those machines."

Kyle shook his head.

"I believe he told you only what your morals would allow you to accept. He is undoubtedly using living Nightwalkers in ways he couldn’t afford to let the authorities know about... until..."

He paused, his gaze hardening.

"Until they acquire the one thing that could make their experiment perfect."

"Judgement," Veronica concluded.

She closed her eyes to calm her nerves.

What had seemed like a secret experiment intended to protect humanity was beginning to reveal itself as something far more sinister.

And somehow, she had unknowingly been a part of it.

Silence descended upon the car after that.

Neither of them spoke. Veronica took the time she needed to pull herself together while Kyle remained beside her, patiently allowing her the space to process everything he had revealed.

Only after she had finally calmed down did he speak.

"We need to stop this, Veronica. We can’t ask Blake to remain hidden for the rest of his life. And this experiment has no deadline because no one is expecting Christopher to deliver the clones for any particular purpose. So, the only thing we can do is try to convince the one man Christopher couldn’t defy."

"Arthur," Veronica muttered.

She fell silent for a moment before adding, "He’s funding the entire experiment."

Turning toward Kyle, she asked, "But how are you going to meet him?"

Kyle nodded reassuringly.

"I have a way. I’m just waiting for my new identity to be woven into the system. Once that’s done, I’ll show my face to the world once again."

His time in secrecy didn’t last long, but now he couldn’t remain hidden anymore.