**Chapter 14: The Wolf’s True Killer**

  The rooftop wind carried the scent of burnt ozone and the distant, metallic tang of blood. Below, the battlefield had fallen into stunned silence, the two Tower Masters frozen mid-strike by Joker’s sudden intervention.

  But my attention wasn’t on them.

  It was on Darien’s eyes.

  Those glacial blue irises, sharp enough to flay skin from bone, had flickered—just for an instant—toward the rooftop. Toward *me*.

  **[Kael, Internal Monologue]** *Oh?*

  He shouldn’t have been able to sense me. Not from that distance, not through the layered concealment charms I’d woven into the tower’s architecture. And yet—

  His gaze lingered.

  Then, as if dismissing a trivial thought, he turned back to Joker.

  **[Darien]** “Explain.”

  A single word, colder than the blizzard still swirling at his feet.

  Joker’s painted smile didn’t waver. He tapped a gloved finger against his mask’s chin, mock-thoughtful.

  **[Joker]** “Now, now. Spoiling the game so soon? Where’s the fun in that?”

  Corvin’s skeletal fingers twitched around his scythe. Shadows coiled at his feet like serpents ready to strike.

  **[Corvin]** “You’re saying someone *else* butchered that mutt and framed me?” His voice dripped with venom. “How *convenient*.”

  Joker sighed, long-suffering, as if dealing with unruly children.

  **[Joker]** “Tsk. Such *distrust* among colleagues.” He spread his arms wide. “But fine. A hint, then—the wolf didn’t die to ice *or* necrotic energy.” A deliberate pause. “Its head was *twisted*.”

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  Darien’s breath hitched. Almost imperceptible.

  But I saw it.

  **[Kael, Internal Monologue]** *Ah.*

  That changed things.

  Darien’s signature was frost—slow, relentless, a death by inches. Corvin’s was decay—rotting flesh from the inside out. A twisted head? That spoke of brute force. Overwhelming, instantaneous pressure.

  There were only a handful of people in the city capable of that.

  And Darien knew it.

  His fingers curled into fists, the air around him crystallizing into jagged shards.

  **[Darien]** “Lucian.”

  The name was a death sentence.

  Joker clapped his hands, delighted.

  **[Joker]** “Ding ding ding! The ice prince *finally* puts the pieces together!” He leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. “Though I wonder… why would the ‘Blade Titan’ bother with a stray wolf?”

  A beat of silence.

  Then—

  Darien’s head snapped up.

  Directly at me.

  **[Kael, Internal Monologue]** *…Hm.*

  This wasn’t suspicion.

  This was *certainty*.

  ---

  **Glorious Tower – Observation Chamber**

  The moment Darien’s gaze locked onto mine, I knew the game had shifted.

  He didn’t *understand*—not the loops, not the grand design—but he’d connected enough dots to be dangerous.

  **[Kael, Internal Monologue]** *Lucian didn’t kill that wolf.*

  Because *I* had.

  Not directly, of course. That would’ve been sloppy. But a nudge here, a whispered rumor there—Lucian had a temper, and Darien’s wolf had a habit of wandering into restricted sectors.

  A staged tragedy.

  A perfect spark.

  Or so I’d thought.

  **[Kael, Internal Monologue]** *Joker just threw a wrench into the gears.*

  The masked Tower Master had as good as *told* Darien this was a setup. Worse, he’d implied the true culprit had a motive.

  And Darien wasn’t stupid.

  He’d backtrack.

  He’d investigate.

  And eventually, he’d trace the strings back to *me*.

  **[Kael]** “Annoying.”

  I crumpled the empty popcorn bag in my fist.

  Time to accelerate the plan.

  ---

  **City Outskirts – Abandoned Chapel**

  Darien moved like a ghost through the ruins, his breath frosting in the moonlight. The chapel’s shattered stained glass cast fractured colors across his face, painting him in hues of crimson and cobalt.

  He knelt, pressing a palm to the bloodstained floor.

  **[Darien]** “Show me.”

  His aura flared.

  Ice spread from his fingertips, weaving into intricate patterns—reconstructing the scene.

  A massive wolf, fur matted with blood. A single, brutal impact to the neck. No struggle. No fight.

  *Instant death.*

  And then—

  A flicker. A distortion in the ice’s memory.

  Someone *else* had been here. After.

  Darien’s eyes narrowed.

  **[Darien]** “Who…?”

  A voice answered from the shadows.

  **[Kael]** “Looking for me?”

  Darien whirled, ice spear materializing in his grip.

  I stepped into the light, hands in my pockets, smiling.

  **[Kael]** “Though, really, you should be asking *why*.”

  His grip tightened. The temperature plummeted.

  **[Darien]** “You.”

  Not a question. An accusation.

  I sighed.

  **[Kael]** “Yes, me. But before you skewer me—” I held up a finger. “Consider this: if I *wanted* you dead, I’d have let you and Corvin rip each other apart.”

  The spear didn’t waver.

  **[Darien]** “You orchestrated this.”

  **[Kael]** “Obviously.” I shrugged. “But not for the reason you think.”

  A lie.

  But a useful one.

  Darien’s eyes flickered to the reconstructed corpse of his wolf, then back to me.

  **[Darien]** “Explain. *Now*.”

  I grinned.

  **[Kael]** “Gladly.”

  And then—

  I snapped my fingers.

  The chapel *exploded*.

  ---

  **TO BE CONTINUED**