'Whatever', Given that this would not be the first time, and he was naturally going to be caught again—either today or tomorrow—he just let it slide, lying there while focusing his attention back from Volta to different priorities.
"Master, let me—" Darithi, standing beside the door but still observant, noticed Cruxius on the floor after Volta left him.
She moved to help him stand, but before she could even stretch out her hand, he arched his back and, with a push of his arm, flipped backward—landing squarely on one foot.
"It's fine. Just bring me the drive containing the details of all superheroes above A-rank affiliated with the Hero Association and other organizations," Cruxius stated, standing steadily on his one leg. He balanced with ease before hopping forward, moving towards the room without needing her support.
Yet something in Darithi's expression showed confusion which soon vanished—as if she just now realized that, despite everything, her Master seemed different than yesterday in some way.
For example, he reacted violently even to a single scratch, but now, even with the blood and the condition of his leg, which made it obvious he needed a doctor, he had firmly told her not to call one during their walk through the mansion.
"I understand. Please wait a bit," Darithi nodded, keeping her expression impassive.
She seemed entirely used to him flirting with women and just as unfazed by it—unbothered, sticking to her orders without hesitation.
She turned to leave, prioritizing the task he gave her over offering support.
Cruxius, meanwhile, continued hopping on one leg into the room as entered, focused solely on dealing with furture things, among which the first was information—information that couldn't be accessed online and required pulling some very specific strings.
He was back in time with a memory of all the heroes which would arise in future, but he did not know their exact specific time. So it's like he had the data but not the chronology of when a hero arises.
So until now, how many heroes are classified by the Hero Association was important to know whom he should target next.
Considering rather than going after already established heroes, it would be best to manipulate those who are about to awaken.
'Show me her status', Cruxius while hoping before arrived near furnitures, taking seat on sofa His glance swept that naked woman lying on the bed.
[
Name: Thalia Bernard
Rank: Unranked
Role: Civilian
Ability:
None
– No dormant power detected
– No energy resonance
> Core Stats:
Strength: E
Agility: E
Endurance: D
Intellect: A
Charisma: A+
Libido: C ]
'It's similar to what I thought.'
Cruxius looked at the woman standing in front of him.
To him, she was nothing worthwhile—just an extra in his story.
Someone who held no real use.
He folded his arms, fixing his gaze on her as memories resurfaced.
There's a saying:
When a woman burns with rage, even hell steps back and watches.
According to the story she told him—after destroying the entire Blac Corporation and seating herself at its helm—she claimed that after being forcibly taken by him, she became pregnant.
But Cruxius knew the whole truth, and even she did.
Her stepsister had spiked her drink with drugs and made her approach him while in that state—he was complete trash at that time, so he did what should have been done with a beautiful and gorgeous woman like her.
Maybe even her stepsister knew about his trashy personality; that's why she chose him out of all the males at the party to make Thalia approach him.
Still, Thalia didn't abort the child—she said she wanted to give her child a better life she could never have.
She brought the child into this world and used it as a stepping stone to enter Blac Corporation, aiming to take revenge on him—or at least what he used to think until a long time.
When she first entered, he didn't care.
By that time, he had enough power and had matured enough to realize his responsibility.
The DNA test confirmed it, and he remembered her—she had been a part of the night he awakened his powers. So he let her do whatever she wanted.
She slowly gained favor with the family head, clearly outshining him, while he remained nonchalant—his attention fixed entirely on dealing with superheroes.
In secret, he was walking the path of a supervillain, never letting the world know.
But in doing so, he failed to realize how he was slowly losing his grip over the Blac Corporation.
Then came the day his father—the acting head—died.
That very day, this woman revealed everything to the world:
That Cruxius Blac was a supervillain.
An evil man.
And that she had taken over the Blac family and officially become its new head.
Naturally, his first instinct was simple—he killed her after returning 24 hours back.
But even after doing so, when he looked through the reports, the will, and every document left by his father, he found that his father had willingly transferred everything to her—of his own accord.
No coercion.
As if even his father had accepted this woman now lying on the bed as the rightful heir of the Blac family.
That was when Cruxius experienced the second real realization of his life—
He had never been a good son.
Nor he ever tried to be.
But he had failed at relationships—whether with women, or with his own family.
He had lost the Blac Corporation.
Again, he returned back 24 hours and left, letting the woman expose his identity to the world.
He accepted it.
Embraced it.
From then on, he stopped acting from the shadows. He openly stood against the superheroes.
That was the last day he saw her.
And she never crossed paths with him again.
She didn't need to.
And all of that?
It was simply to give her child a better future....
'What if...'
Resting his head back, eyes fixed on the ceiling—he thought.
She didn't possess any superhero abilities. That made her unfit by default.
But even so, a strange greed stirred within him.
A hunger born from what he knew of this woman—who rose from nothing to that position.
He wondered: if she could do all that for her child,
then what if she loved him that much?
She was competent, no doubt.
She had no powers, but her capabilities alone had carved her path.
Maybe she'd grow stronger in time—intellect isn't just about IQ, it's about knowledge too, and knowledge could be gained.
So—
What if she loved him that much?
'By the way, why does she have equal strength and agility as I do, but she has more endurance?'