Apocalyse: Marked by Chaos
Chapter 89 - 88 Manipulation

Chapter 89: Chapter 88 Manipulation

The room buzzed with tension. Whispers laced the air like poison, darting from mouth to mouth.

"Who could’ve said something like that?" one girl muttered, eyes shifting nervously around the corridor.

Alexa stood in the center, back straight, but her knuckles were white from how tightly she gripped her book. Her expression was blank, but her burning ears betrayed her. She had heard every word. Substitute. Whore. S*x toy. The words clung to her skin like filth she couldn’t scrub off.

But she didn’t flinch, not in front of them. But she was dying to know who.

Just as she turned to leave, a sharp voice cut through the air behind her.

"Honestly, I’m not surprised," Lydia said lazily to her group, her voice low but not low enough. "People like her always end up exposed."

Alexa froze mid-step. The hallway quieted further, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.

She turned, slowly, deliberately, her blue eyes locking on Lydia. "Say that again," she said, her tone calm, but the storm behind her voice was deafening.

Lydia smirked, clearly enjoying the attention. "Oh? Did I touch a nerve?" She stepped forward, tossing her curls over her shoulder with mock innocence. "I just think it’s sad how hard some girls try to act noble when we all know how they got their positions."

Gasps filled the hall, before it fell into stunned silence.

Alexa’s book dropped from her hand with a dull thud, landing flat against the marble floor. The sound echoed like a warning.

She stepped forward. One step. Then two.

"Still pretending to be better than you are?" Lydia taunted, but her voice faltered slightly when Alexa didn’t stop.

The punch came faster than anyone expected.

Alexa’s fist connected with Lydia’s jaw, sending her stumbling back against the lockers with a sickening crack. Gasps erupted all around them.

"Alexa!" someone shouted, but she didn’t care.

Lydia tried to stand straight, wiping the blood from her lip with trembling fingers. "You’re insane!"

"No," Alexa said, her voice sharp as a blade. "You’re just finally dealing with the consequences of your mouth." Blue flames covered her fist.

She grabbed Lydia by the collar and slammed her back against the lockers again. The entire row shook.

"You think it’s okay to humiliate people in public? You think you can spit filth and hide behind your fake little smile?" Her voice trembled now, but not from fear—from barely-contained rage.

Lydia tried to twist away, but Alexa’s grip was steel.

"You don’t know me," Alexa hissed. "You don’t know what I’ve survived. But you? You just made yourself very easy to break."

She let go just for a second, then swung her again.

Lydia dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, groaning as she hit the floor. A few students screamed. Others backed away, too afraid to breathe.

There was a reason Alexa was respected in the school and beyond. It was her strength and powers that had brought those chills into everyone that have laid their eyes on her. Those words she heard were her worst nightmare.

Something she had tried to run from all this while but was trapped like a fly in a spider’s web. The painful part was the rumour was all true, a fact that she can never deny. But who was so heartless to broadcast this shameful part of her life?

Alexa stood over her, chest rising and falling. "Next time you want to use my name to entertain yourself, make sure you’re strong enough to deal with me first."

She bent down, calmly picked up her book, and without another glance, turned and walked off. Her boots thudded rhythmically against the marble floor, leaving a trail of silence in her wake.

Within minutes, Lydia was being carried to the infirmary, blood dripping from her nose, a bruise forming across her cheek, and her pride in absolute tatters.

Nobody asked what happened, because all knew. And more importantly, they now knew something else... Alexa wasn’t the girl to mess with even with a big scandal hanging over her head.

...

In the far corner, away from the drama, Olivia leisurely sat on a tree branch. Her bruised face angled toward the school. Her eyes looked blank, but a smirk formed on her lips as she watched the drama unfold.

[MISSION COMPLETE.]

[Information has spread successfully. Alexa’s reputation has taken a significant hit.]

[Time Remaining: 44 minutes.]

[Reward: System Core Fragment Unlocked. One random ability enhancement granted.]

[Penalty for falsifying truth: None detected.]

[Olivia stared at the screen, chest rising and falling.]

She had done it. No system penalty. No instant backlash. Just the clean thrill of watching something dangerous and important burn into the world like a secret turned into a wildfire.

But why did it feel... heavy?

She had her revenge against Lydia, and she had saved herself for the first time without getting burned. Why does she still feel sad, and empty? She should be happy about accomplishing her mission, but she is not. She felt like she had lost a piece of who she was.

Her fingers twitched. "A core fragment?" she muttered aloud, drawing a confused glance from a passing student.

The screen glitched once, then expanded.

[Core ability unlock: Infernal genesis (Passive/ Evoluntary)]

[New: Hellforged Embers (Offensive/ Tactical)]

[Level upgraded: Level 7]

[Note: Your actions have shifted Alexa’s trajectory. Side mission unlocked. Warning: Host proximity to Alexa may trigger backlash. Proceed with caution.]

"Hellforged Embers?" Olivia whispered under her breath. But she already felt it—something new awakening in her blood. Her body shivered, as she felt the burning mark on her head again.

Before she could say anything, the system screen vanished. And for a second, just a second, she could swear she heard it laughing.

She breathed out in relief when the pain began to simmer down. Now she had gotten her reward, but the guilt etched in her chest.

Just as she tilted her head up, a scream escaped her throat. She lost balance and began to descend fast. She could feel the whipping of the wind against her face, as the ground appeared closer and closer.

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