Lake found himself sitting in the dining room once more with the rest of the Blackheart family, this time with his head lowered.
"I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused."
"No, it isn’t that big of a deal..." Arthur responded dryly to his apology, everyone’s gaze still locked on him.
"Instead, I would appreciate it if you could explain what exactly happened."
Lake smiled wryly at Arthur’s request. He didn’t mind explaining what happened; the problem was that he himself didn’t know what had happened.
One moment, he was gathering mana to launch an all-out attack, but in the next, his body and mind moved on their own. Mana took on the shape of dragons and serpents, coiling around him before fusing into his body.
He felt his thoughts slowly fade away, with only the target in his sight. By the time he regained consciousness, it was already too late.
The punch he threw had released such a powerful shockwave that it sent everything that wasn’t attached to the floor flying.
Unfortunately, what was done was done, and now Lake had to come up with an explanation for what happened.
After a brief pause, Lake exhaled and spoke in an apologetic tone. "It seems that I lost control during that last attack."
Arthur’s frown deepened, but he gave a slow nod. "I see..." he murmured, though it was clear he expected more. His eyes flicked toward his wife, Melissa, recalling the conversation they had moments before the explosion.
Kate, seated nearby and still looking somewhat disheveled from the earlier blast, crossed her arms and tilted her head. "That’s not all, though, is it? The real question is... did you actually advance to the Martial Master realm?"
That question hung heavily in the room. Arthur and Kate both leaned forward, anticipation flickering in their eyes while Melissa watched on with a passive gaze.
The score that had appeared on the machine—that nigh impossible result—was still fresh in the father and daughter’s minds.
Lake met their stares, but his answer came without hesitation. "No. I haven’t reached the Martial Master realm."
Arthur’s brows furrowed. "Then how do you explain the result? The equipment might have been disrupted by the mana wave, but the final calculation was accurate. It even handles my attacks without error."
Lake knew the machine was built to withstand attacks from Martial Grandmasters, its measurements more than reliable. But this... his own result had been anomalous, the product of multiple factors he himself was still trying to grasp.
"The score isn’t a mistake," he acknowledged after a moment. "But that doesn’t mean I’ve broken through." He paused, carefully choosing his words. "What happened during that attack wasn’t purely about realm advancement. I’ve yet to condense my mana enough to form a Mana Field, so technically, I’m still a Martial Warrior."
"So... what is it then?" Kate asked, her gaze still locked on him.
Lake held her gaze, his expression unreadable. "Let’s just say... my fitness index has exceeded the upper limits of the Martial Warrior realm. That, combined with some enhancement techniques I’ve developed, would have led to the result you saw."
It wasn’t the full story, but it was enough for now.
A silence settled over the room, the weight of Lake’s half-baked explanation hanging in the air.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed as he absorbed the vague details, but he seemed to hold back his questions. Kate, however, wasn’t as restrained, her sharp gaze studying Lake with the intent of pressing for more.
But before she could speak again, Arthur leaned back in his chair, exhaling heavily. His gaze drifted as if trying to piece something together. "This isn’t the first time you’ve left me with more questions than answers," he muttered, almost to himself.
Lake tilted his head slightly, confused. He didn’t understand what Arthur meant by his brief statement.
Arthur’s eyes met his again, an expression of frustration appearing on his face. It looked quite similar to Kate’s face whenever Lake did something ridiculous.
"I didn’t realize it until now," he continued, his voice lowering. "But this isn’t the first time we’ve met... back then at the theater. King, was it?"
Lake’s expression changed rapidly as he heard Arthur mention his other persona.
Similarly, it forced Kate to inhale the words she was about to speak, as a stiff expression appeared on her face.
Arthur took a glance at her beside him, whose expression had turned into that of a little girl who had been caught doing something behind her father’s back.
Melissa glanced at everyone, confused, but said nothing.
After a while, Arthur continued. "It took me a while to connect the dots, but with your mana signature from just now and the relation between Kate and you, it reminded me of that night back in the theater."
At this point, both Kate and Lake knew they had been completely exposed and had no way out.
"So then, care to explain what you two have been up to?" Arthur asked calmly as his gaze turned sharp. "Especially you, Kate. I always found it strange when you suddenly asked me to head to the Moonlight Theater that night, but now I know why."
Kate’s head sunk deeper as another wry smile appeared on Lake’s face.
It seemed he had some additional explaining to do.
After a while, Lake finished recapping everything that had happened so far involving his second persona, naturally leaving out any parts involving the system.
"So that night at the Moonlight Theater, you were fighting against Prestige because you noticed something was up from the start." Arthur nodded in understanding.
He had heard the story about Lake all the way from him teaming up with the spiders to his confrontation with Prestige.
"Then what about the demons? Where are they now?" Arthur asked as both Melissa and Kate leaned in.
Melissa was curious after hearing Lake recap everything, while Kate was also curious about the demons, who, from what she knew, were reported to have strength equal to a Martial Master.
"They’re actually a lot closer than you would think," Lake replied vaguely.
"Hmm? Are they hidden in the forest outside the city?" Kate asked, knowing that Lake had visited it during his hunt.
"Hm? Are they hiding in the city?" Arthur frowned, but Lake continued before he could ponder further.
"They are in the city, but they aren’t hiding per se..."
"Then what do you mean?" Kate raised an eyebrow, but seeing Lake’s expression turn strange, she couldn’t help but have a bad feeling.
"Well, about that..."