Chapter 12 Point of Imbalance
1111 Words
Six hours after the Night Domain tunnel collapse.
Raven City entered temporary lockdown.
The Night Domain Node was forcibly sealed.
Three layers of protection lit up across the city’s energy towers.
The news released no details.
But internal channels were already in chaos.
“Student trial encountered a B-class cluster?”
“Damian used illegal enhancement?”
“Evolutionary variable showing loss-of-control risk?”
The Council chamber remained brightly lit through the night.
The gray-haired man gave a cold order:
“Initiate mandatory evaluation.”
“Target — Leon Black.”
—
Academy Medical Wing.
Damian lay restrained inside a treatment pod.
Black energy residue still churned within his body.
A doctor reported quietly:
“The illegal chip originated from the underground market.”
“Short-term enhancement: two tiers.”
“Cost: structural damage to mental pathways.”
The gray-haired man stood outside the observation window.
“Is he conscious?”
“Intermittently.”
The man’s gaze remained cold.
“When he wakes, bring him to me.”
—
Elsewhere.
Special Observation Ward.
Leon sat on the edge of his bed.
His shirt had been changed.
His abdomen was bandaged.
The system interface appeared.
[Failure Catalyst: 30%]
After the Night Domain battle, he hadn’t continued stacking.
Not because he couldn’t.
But because his body had reached its limit.
Every failure carried a real cost.
Bones.
Nerves.
Mental fatigue.
The door opened softly.
Ava stepped in.
She wasn’t wearing her academy uniform.
Just simple clothes.
Less composed.
More human.
“The Council is conducting a mandatory evaluation on you.”
She went straight to the point.
Leon nodded.
“I expected that.”
“It’s not an interview.”
“It’s structural analysis.”
The room fell silent.
That meant—
They would attempt to analyze his evolution mechanism.
Perhaps even—
Replicate it.
Leon asked quietly,
“And if I refuse?”
Ava was silent for several seconds.
“They’ll classify you as unstable.”
“Isolation.”
Possibly elimination.
She didn’t say the last word.
Leon looked out at the night.
“Then I’ll be evaluated.”
Ava frowned.
“Why are you always this calm?”
Leon looked at her.
“Because I don’t have a choice.”
The air tightened.
For the first time, her emotions truly shifted.
“You do!”
“You can hide.”
“You can suppress it.”
“You don’t have to keep farming failure!”
Leon smiled faintly.
“And then?”
“Wait for others to decide when I’m allowed to live?”
She had no answer.
He stood up.
The wound at his abdomen began to bleed again.
“Ava.”
It was the first time he said her name without calm restraint.
“If the rules themselves aren’t fair—”
“Why should I follow them?”
Her heart trembled slightly.
In that moment—
She began to waver.
—
Administrative Building — Evaluation Chamber.
A cold testing platform.
Leon stood at the center.
Dozens of energy scanning lines covered his body.
The gray-haired man observed from above.
“Relax.”
“Structural fluctuations will distort the data.”
Leon closed his eyes.
The system interface flickered faintly.
[Failure Catalyst: 30%]
The evaluation began.
Data surged across the screens.
A technician gasped.
“The growth curve is stable!”
“Every failure leaves structural reinforcement traces!”
“Is this replicable?”
The gray-haired man’s eyes sharpened.
“Not replication.”
“Induction.”
At that moment—
The testing device increased pressure.
The energy field intensified.
Leon’s body jolted.
This was—
Deliberate stimulation.
Limit testing.
Ava stood outside the observation room.
Her pupils contracted.
“What are you doing?!”
A technician responded calmly.
“Simulating A-class suppression.”
“Confirming loss-of-control threshold.”
Leon clenched his teeth.
First release.
Failure.
[31%]
Second.
Failure.
[32%]
The pressure increased again.
He understood.
This was their method.
Force him to break through in a controlled environment.
If he succeeded—
They would obtain the data.
If he failed—
They could suppress him immediately.
Third.
Failure.
[33%]
Blood slid from his nose.
Fourth.
Failure.
[34%]
Ava could no longer endure it.
“Stop!”
The gray-haired man said lightly,
“Continue.”
Leon suddenly understood.
Perhaps his father—
Had once been pushed to the same threshold.
For the first time—
Anger surfaced in his eyes.
Fifth.
Failure.
[35%]
Energy began to overflow.
Alarms rang.
“Structural fluctuation exceeding limit!”
The gray-haired man did not order a stop.
“Record everything.”
Sixth.
Failure.
[36%]
Seventh.
Failure.
[37%]
Pain blurred.
Consciousness trembled at the edge.
Just as he prepared for the eighth—
The device increased pressure again.
Far beyond A-class simulation.
Ava turned pale.
“You’re insane!”
The gray-haired man said quietly,
“I need answers.”
Leon opened his eyes.
True anger burned there now.
“You want to see the limit?”
His voice was low.
“Then watch.”
Eighth.
Failure.
[38%]
Ninth.
Failure.
[39%]
Cracks formed across the testing apparatus.
Technicians panicked.
“Field imbalance!”
The gray-haired man finally frowned.
“Reduce pressure—”
Too late.
Tenth.
Failure.
[40%]
—
The system interface exploded in crimson light.
[Failure Catalyst: 40%]
Red energy erupted from his body.
Not an attack—
A shockwave rebound.
The testing device shattered instantly.
The impact wave shattered the observation glass.
Chaos filled the chamber.
Leon stood at the center.
His aura—
More stable than ever before.
Enhancement wasn’t explosion.
It was accumulation.
For the first time—
The gray-haired man stepped back half a pace.
He realized something.
This growth—
Was no longer within their control.
Ava rushed into the room.
She grabbed Leon’s arm.
“Enough!”
Her hands were trembling.
“Stop letting them push you.”
Leon looked at her.
His breathing slowly steadied.
“They’re not testing me.”
“They’re confirming whether I can be controlled.”
Silence filled the space.
The gray-haired man said coldly,
“The evaluation is concluded.”
But for the first time—
His voice lacked absolute authority.
—
Night fell.
Academy rooftop.
Leon sat at the edge.
The system interface quietly displayed:
[40%]
Ava stood beside him.
After a long silence, she spoke softly.
“I don’t want to become the one who pressures you.”
“Then don’t.”
He replied calmly.
Wind swept across the city lights.
In the distance—
From the direction of the Night Domain—
A true A-class fluctuation emerged again.
Clearer than before.
As if responding.
Leon looked up.
“They’re done testing.”
“Now it’s the real enemy’s turn.”
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