Chapter 138
"So about what you just agreed to?" Jack's gaze settled on Mira, his eyes calm and unreadable.
"As you wish."
Mira's jaw tightened, but she forced the words out. "For the next five years, Seraphina will be your servant. She'll obey your every command."
"Good."
Jack's lips curved into a faint smile.
Without sparing Mira another glance, he turned and walked out of her residence.
The moment Jack left, Mira's composure shattered.
Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
She stared down at her trembling hands.
Blood.
A thin line of crimson traced down her wrist.
At the base of her palm, a wound—not deep, not shallow—split her skin. It looked like something sharp had sliced through flesh.
But they'd only used wooden swords during their match. There was no reason for this.
Unless...
Unless Jack's swordsmanship had reached a terrifying level.
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Mira's eyes locked on the wound as blood continued to seep from it, her pupils dilating with barely concealed shock.
The edges weren't clean. They looked torn—ripped apart by some horrifying force that had compressed and shredded the skin.
Which meant that when Jack swung that blunt oak practice sword, he hadn't just moved faster than her eyes could track. He'd somehow channeled a razor-sharp internal force along the wooden blade itself.
In that single exchange, that wooden sword had been no different from a real blade that could cut through steel.
"He... generated a sword wave... with a wooden sword?" Mira's voice came out as a trembling whisper.
It defied everything she understood about swordsmanship.
She'd always thought Jack's so-called "mastery of Kogara techniques" was just exaggerated gossip circulating in their circles.
But now, feeling the throbbing pain radiating from her wrist, she finally understood what kind of monster she'd provoked.
If Jack had wanted to, that strike wouldn't have just grazed her wrist. It would have opened her throat. Or pierced straight through her heart.
He'd held back.
That realization sent ice through her veins.
His composure, his calm—none of it had been an act. It came from absolute, crushing superiority.
From start to finish, he'd just been humoring her in a pointless game.
If Jack hadn't held back just now, her entire hand would have been severed by that wooden sword.
This level of mastery exceeded anyone in either the Igaru or Kogara schools.
No wonder... no wonder that old bastard Nolan had bet the entire future of the Kogara school on him.
He really was a monster.
As that thought crystallized, Mira's eyes suddenly gleamed with calculation, and her lips curved into a smile.
Maybe... maybe this situation wasn't such a bad thing after all.
A moment later, her expression went blank as she ordered her servants to clean up the training room.
Then she retreated alone to her bedroom.
Once inside, Mira pulled out her phone and dialed.
"Yes?"
The voice on the other end was steady and authoritative.
The current head of the Igaru school. Mira's older brother. Seraphina's father.
Miguel Lawson.
"Miguel." Mira's voice dropped low. "It's me."
"What is it?" His tone remained measured, unhurried.
"I met with Jack." Mira's words came out flat, emotionless.
"And?" Miguel prompted.
"He made a demand. He wants Seraphina to serve him as a servant for five years."
"Arrogant bastard!" Miguel's voice turned razor-sharp with cold fury.
No matter what, Seraphina was his daughter. The future of the Igaru school. For Jack to demand she serve as his servant was a blatant dismissal of Miguel's authority.
Sure, Jack might have the skill to back up that arrogance.
But Miguel's anger still flared white-hot.
"I agreed to it." Mira added the words casually, with a hint of amusement threading through her voice.
Miguel's voice shot up several octaves, carrying unmistakable authority. "You agreed? Mira, do you hear yourself right now? Seraphina is the future head of the Igaru school, not some plaything for Jack to toy with! You're sending her off to be his servant? When word gets out, where does that leave the Igaru school's dignity?"
"Miguel."
Mira's voice remained calm, almost philosophical.
"The Igaru and Kogara schools have been locked in conflict for over a hundred years. We've traded victories and defeats, but neither side has truly won."
"We're like two beasts trapped in the same mud pit, tearing at each other's throats, bleeding each other dry—but neither of us can climb out."
Mira leaned against the cold wall, her gaze drifting through the half-closed blinds to the deepening twilight in the courtyard. A trace of exhaustion—and clarity—crept into her tone.
"The path of the ninja has reached its limit. The assassination techniques and swordsmanship we're so proud of? In the modern world, they're just dirty tricks we have to keep in the shadows. We cling to our ancestors' glory, but we can't find a single person capable of actually breaking this stalemate."
"Nolan has been our rival for years, but I have to admit—he's a smart man."
"He saw potential in Jack."
"He's betting the entire future of the Kogara school on him. I think we should do the same."
"After all, Jack's ship is big enough. If it can carry the Kogara school, it can carry the Igaru school too."
As Mira spoke, Miguel's anger gradually subsided into silence.
"You want us to pledge loyalty to Jack?"
"But if the Illuminati finds out, they won't let us off easily. And we've tried to assassinate Jack before. Will he even accept us?"
Miguel's question was measured and careful.
As the head of the Igaru school, its future was his highest priority.
He couldn't afford to gamble the school's fate on one person so recklessly.
That was the fundamental difference between him and Nolan.
"Pledge loyalty?"
Mira rolled the words around in her mouth, her lips curving upward.
She walked to the table and picked up a clean strip of gauze, slowly wrapping it around her wounded wrist. Blood soaked through the white fabric, leaving vivid dark red stains.
"Not loyalty. A... test."
"Because his adoptive father William—and Jack himself now—they've already positioned themselves in direct opposition to the Illuminati."
"It's going to be a fight to the death between them."
"What we need to do is observe. That's why I'm sending Seraphina to stay close to him—to signal goodwill."
"At the same time, we can't sever our ties with the Illuminati."
"Whichever side wins, we'll back the victor."
Miguel's frown deepened. "Mira, you're dancing on a knife's edge."
"One wrong step, and we'll face retaliation from both Jack and the Illuminati. When that happens, the entire Igaru school will be destroyed beyond recovery."
Mira didn't argue. Her crimson lips curved into a sharper smile. "Do you have a better plan?"
Miguel fell silent for a long moment.
"My health has been declining lately. Handle this however you see fit."
Mira's smile widened slightly. She knew what this meant—Miguel was giving her full authority.
"Then take care of yourself. Leave the rest to me..."
As Mira spoke, something dark and calculating flickered in her eyes. The truth was, back in the day, she'd been the most talented one. But the Igaru school's leadership passed from father to son, never to daughters.
That's why Miguel had become the head instead.
But now?
Now Mira thought it might be time to change that old rule...