Conquering Ladies With My 10x Rebate System
Chapter 52: A threat

Chapter 52: A threat

Caleb stepped into the VIP box—and froze.

Naya was there... kissing someone.

Someone who looked exactly like him.

"What the fuck is going on?" he muttered, stunned. But his shock quickly turned to alarm as he noticed a blazing orb of flame forming behind Naya.

Before he could react, Naya moved.

The moment she heard Caleb’s voice, she didn’t hesitate. She didn’t check.

She just acted.

Her fist shot forward with terrifying speed.

Boom!

A loud crack rang through the room as she slammed her knuckles into the imposter’s face.

"Disgusting piece of shit!" she spat, furiously wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

Her eyes blazed with fury.

The figure crashed into the wall with a sickening thud, the sound of something snapping upon impact.

Caleb’s gaze snapped to the golden light building behind her.

"Naya, behind you!" he shouted.

She instantly ducked, just in time to avoid the fireball that shot past her head.

Caleb and Julia burst into the room, rushing to her side as the three of them squared off against the rising figure.

"And here we were thinking you went on a break... Seems you’ve finished your preparation," Julia said, her voice dripping with disdain. "X, we can just give you the card—no need for any fight."

The figure straightened, cracking its neck as it stood tall.

Then came a short, chilling burst of laughter.

"Do not refer to me as X," he said, his voice calm but laced with menace. "That name belongs to the Master alone. I am Hakate, merely a servant of Lord X."

He wiped the thin trail of blood running from the corner of his lips before turning his gaze to Caleb.

"I’m surprised you somehow retained the power of a card... even when it didn’t bond with you. Your body is impressive—but it lacks endurance."

He sighed, almost disappointed.

"I spent so much time extracting as much as I could from your blood... Still not good enough."

He tilted his head.

"Well, now that you’ve found me, I suppose there’s no need to keep this face."

Without warning, his skin began to peel away—thick layers sloughing off like melting jelly.

Caleb and the others recoiled in disgust as the transformation unfolded before them.

As the jelly-like skin touched the ground, a sizzling sound was heard... it disappeared instantly,

leaving behind a small silver jelly-like substance.

As the skin peeled away, Nathan’s lifeless body was revealed.

His eyes were dull, void of life.

His skin was sickly pale... no—white. It had gone beyond paleness.

The gaping hole in his forehead remained,

like a large drill had been driven into his skull—though Caleb knew all too well it wasn’t a drill.

"I guess we know where his body disappeared to now," Naya muttered.

The sight only deepened her revulsion, knowing she had kissed that thing.

The urge to throw up surged, but she forced it back down.

Caleb said nothing, watching the grotesque transformation unfold.

A blend of awe and disgust painted his face.

Then, the silver jelly substance twitched—and began to move.

It slithered toward the corpse,

climbing from the tip of Nathan’s toes and worming its way through his body.

It spread like fluid fire, threading through every vein.

As it traveled, color returned to the lifeless flesh.

The body began to twitch.

Muscles shifted. Limbs stirred.

And slowly... it began to move.

The substance reached the head—and the eyes snapped open, glowing with unnatural life.

Hakate glanced at the trio’s disgusted expressions.

"I get that a lot... it’s become normal," he said with a wicked smile,

finally taking full control of the body.

He rolled his shoulders, flexing the limbs like a man testing out a new toy.

"It’s a pity I lost all the abilities from your body," he said to Caleb.

"But this"—he clenched his fists, bones cracking—"...feels much better."

"Naya, give him the card," Julia said, already exhausted by the dragged-out exchange.

Naya didn’t hesitate. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the card, and extended a hand to offer it.

"Oh, no, no, no..." Hakate said, shaking his head with a smug smile. "It doesn’t work that way.

Maybe you should’ve done a little more research before linking the card. We can’t break the connection—

’not without killing the cardholder.’"

His eyes gleamed with a dangerous glint.

Naya already knew that much.

That was why she hadn’t panicked when she gave Caleb the card earlier.

Even if he couldn’t use the card’s full power, some benefits would still remain—

like healing, though slower, and a modest boost in strength.

She had assumed, given it was ’X’, that they’d find a way around the connection.

Apparently, they hadn’t.

’So they really don’t have a way to bypass it,’ she thought, her brows tightening.

Hakate’s one sentence had said it all.

There was no way out.

The only options: ’kill Naya’... or ’kill Hakate.’

A fight was inevitable.

The three exchanged looks, a silent understanding passing between them.

Julia exhaled heavily.

"Well then... if that’s how it is, there’s no point holding back," she said, her eyes narrowing with resolve.

Caleb cracked his knuckles. A small grin crept onto his face.

Julia and Naya exchanged a glance, unsure what brought the smile on.

Even Hakate looked taken aback.

"Well," Caleb said with a light laugh, "I would’ve hated punching my own face. Too handsome for that.

But punching this asshole again? ’Now that,’ I’ve been looking forward to."

Hakate sneered.

"You retained a fragment of the card’s power—that’s good. Impressive, even.

But with only that much... what threat could you possibly—"

He never finished the sentence.

In a flash, Caleb was in front of him, fist pulled back and ready.

Green eyes blazed with deadly purpose.

Hakate froze for a fraction of a second, a chill crawling down his spine as he looked into those burning eyes.

’Who is this human?’ Henry thought, but it was too late.

Caleb’s fist collided with his face, a brutal, crushing impact.

"’What threat will I be?’" Caleb growled.

"The kind that kills you."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.