Journey to Become the Zenith

Find Out Who Sent Him

She swallowed quietly.

”Then, what is it do you want from me?”

When Victor heard Evelyne’s question, he approached her without saying a word.

The strange pressure that had filled the surroundings moments ago had already begun to fade. The materialized Spirit Bodies still stood nearby, their forms flickering faintly like reflections disturbed by rippling water. The strange orb that had sustained their existence remained in Victor’s hand.

He glanced at it once.

Then, without hesitation, his fingers tightened.

Crack.

The odd-shaped orb shattered beneath his grip.

There was no grand explosion.

No flash of light.

The artifact simply broke apart, its fragments turning into fine particles of light before disappearing into the air. The moment its foundation was destroyed, the materialized Spirit Bodies also began to fade.

One after another, they vanished.

The last traces of their figures dissolved into nothingness.

The world became quiet again.

Victor lowered his hand.

Evelyne, who had returned completely to her own body, stared at the approaching man in confusion.

Why did he need to do that?

She couldn’t help wondering about it.

If he had only wanted to speak with her, couldn’t he have simply told her what he wanted while they were still in that strange form?

Her thoughts remained unanswered.

Victor continued walking toward her.

His black hair shifted gently in the night breeze, while his golden eyes remained calm and impossible to read. The golden jacket over his black shirt caught the faint light from above, giving him an almost unreal appearance against the dark surroundings.

Yet there was something different.

Evelyne felt it the moment he came closer.

Her expression subtly changed.

’...Oh.’

She finally understood.

His aura had changed again.

It was no longer the strange, almost nonexistent presence she had experienced during the battle.

It had returned to what it was before she had activated the artifact.

Evelyne’s fingers tightened slightly.

’His aura changed again...’

She had noticed it during their confrontation.

When Victor fought through his soul, his presence had been so faint that it was almost impossible to perceive. He hadn’t merely hidden his aura. It had felt as though he had become part of the surrounding world itself.

There had been no overwhelming pressure.

No murderous intent.

No sensation of power.

Nothing.

It was as if the world itself had simply accepted his existence and refused to acknowledge him as something separate.

But his physical body was completely different.

The moment his physical aura returned, Evelyne felt an invisible weight pressing against her chest.

It wasn’t even intentional.

Victor wasn’t trying to intimidate her.

That was what made it worse.

His mere existence carried an oppressive presence.

Someone weaker could probably suffocate beneath it without Victor even realizing what was happening.

Evelyne stared at him.

’How can the two auras be so different?’

They should have belonged to the same person.

The materialized soul and the physical body were supposed to be connected.

Yet the difference was enormous.

The aura of Victor’s materialized soul had been like nothingness.

His physical body, however, was like an abyss.

The deeper Evelyne thought about it, the less sense it made.

She couldn’t understand him.

And that uncertainty made her even more cautious.

Victor finally stopped in front of her.

For several breaths, neither of them spoke.

The night wind passed between them, carrying away the final traces of the shattered artifact.

Then Victor’s golden eyes settled directly on Evelyne.

”So tell me, Evelyne, who sent that assassin to kill the Kirche family?”

His voice was calm.

Almost too calm.

There was no anger in it.

No threat.

But Evelyne immediately understood that this wasn’t a question she could casually avoid.

She lowered her gaze slightly.

”I don’t know.”

The answer came quickly.

Perhaps too quickly.

Victor watched her silently.

Evelyne could feel his gaze on her, and despite having just witnessed the overwhelming difference between them, she forced herself to remain composed.

She genuinely didn’t know.

At least, she didn’t know the person behind it.

Victor didn’t immediately respond.

For a moment, only the faint sound of the wind could be heard.

Then his expression softened.

”Then find out.”

A smile appeared on his face.

It was not an intimidating smile.

If anything, it looked reassuring.

He was smiling because he wanted to calm Evelyne down.

But the effect was the exact opposite.

Evelyne’s body stiffened.

Her pupils contracted slightly.

That smile...

She remembered it.

It had already been carved into her memory.

Whenever Victor smiled like that, she felt more pressure than when he displayed his overwhelming strength.

It wasn’t the smile itself that frightened her.

It was what she had learned to associate with it.

Victor’s calmness.

His certainty.

The absolute confidence of someone who already knew that resistance was meaningless.

Evelyne swallowed.

”I will find out who did it, but you’ve got to give me some time.”

Her voice became slightly hurried.

”The Elmhart Family is pretty large. Even though the royal family takes most of the children, the number of people left is still a great amount.”

She paused to gather her thoughts.

The situation was far more complicated than simply identifying an assassin.

The Elmhart Family had existed for generations. Its members were scattered across different positions, branches, territories, and organizations. Many of its younger members had been taken into the royal family’s service, while countless others remained within the family itself.

Trying to investigate something like this without alerting the culprit would not be easy.

”Not to mention, I need to find out how they were able to hire someone behind my back.”

Evelyne raised her eyes toward Victor.

There was genuine helplessness in them now.

”So please... just give me a bit of time.”

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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Journey to Become the Zenith* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!

With love,

Scorpio_saturn777

Creator of Journey to Become the Zenith

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