The closer they got to Vincent's office, the stronger the anger returned. For a brief moment, Noctis had managed to push it aside and give his mind some peace, but Isaac still couldn't come to terms with the fact that the boss was actually dead.
He wanted to know who was behind it.
Even more than that, he had a strong urge to destroy something.
He couldn't remember a single moment in his life when he had been so angry that he wanted to throw something against a wall. Noctis's hand in his was the only thing still anchoring his sanity in the here and now.
Especially in front of Ashe, he had kept himself under control. She, of all people, was someone he didn't want to show this newly discovered side of himself to.
He really needed a distraction.
More than anything, he wanted to completely exhaust himself until his muscles burned and his mind finally went quiet. After that, he only wanted to sleep. For hours. Maybe even days. Simply catch up on all the sleep he had lost over the past few weeks.
Isaac had worked hard and completely lost himself in his task. The boss had been his goal. There had been so many questions he had wanted to ask him. How many times had he imagined him crawling through the dirt at his feet?
But none of those fantasies would ever become reality.
And only because someone else had the audacity to beat him to it.
A bitter laugh almost escaped his throat.
The luck Isaac lacked seemed to belong entirely to the boss. Because this quick death was more mercy than Isaac ever would have granted him. He might be dead, but he could truly count himself lucky that neither Isaac, nor Noctis, nor Vincent had gotten their hands on him.
Isaac clenched his jaw so tightly that it hurt.
Calm down, Isaac. Noctis is right. In the end, all that matters is that he's dead.
But even that thought brought no relief.
He needed peace and a vacation. He didn't like his current living situation inside the Webster Clan hideout at all. He didn't like living with so many people crammed into one place. He hated the fact that he couldn't even walk into the kitchen with messy hair and sweatpants just to make himself a coffee.
He didn't even think anyone would care. But he had standards for himself.
And besides, this place didn't feel like home anyway.
He might have been part of the Webster Clan, but he still needed time to get used to that thought.
Noctis opened the door to his brother's office without knocking and entered together with Isaac.
Everyone was already gathered inside; apparently, they had been the last ones missing. Not that Isaac cared. He had needed that moment alone with Noctis, and he was pretty sure Noctis had felt the same way.
His gaze fell on Vincent, who was sitting calmly in his usual spot, though Isaac could sense the simmering anger beneath his composed facade. Unlike Isaac, who had only been planning his revenge for barely a week, Vincent and the clan had spent an entire seventeen years working toward this moment.
Isaac didn't even want to imagine how immense the disappointment and frustration of the others had to be. After all that time, someone had simply stolen the most important moment from them.
He wanted even less to imagine what would happen next. If someone had killed the boss this openly, then chaos could only follow.
"So there you are at last," Vincent said calmly. "Sit down. We have a lot to discuss."
Isaac gave him a brief nod and sat down on the couch together with Noctis.
"The cops weren't able to arrest any suspects," Vincent began before Isaac had even fully sat down. He briefly gestured toward Moz. "Moz didn't see anyone either. So I'm assuming someone used a sniper. Our favorite cop also said it must've been a smaller caliber. That means the shooter probably wasn't too far away."
Isaac could feel the tension in the room immediately thicken.
Vincent turned his gaze toward Ashe.
"What do the cameras show?"
"Nothing," she scoffed in annoyance. "Whoever it was knew exactly where the cameras were and which areas were being monitored."
Vincent exhaled slowly. He seemed to be struggling to keep himself under control.
"Fine. It doesn't change the end result," he finally said. "The boss is dead, and together with the police, we completely dismantled three of his main operations. Is there anything any of you still want to tell me about the matter?"
"Everything went smoothly for Madison and me," Lucy spoke up. "We only opened a few doors and made things easier for the cops so nothing would be overlooked. Nobody saw us."
Noctis gave a slight shrug. "Nothing unusual on our end either. Everything went according to plan."
"So the only thing that didn't go according to plan was the boss's death," Vincent concluded. He dragged a hand over his face in irritation, and the expression on it sent an icy chill down Isaac's spine. "At least everything else went as planned."
His gaze shifted back to Ashe.
"I want you to keep an eye on the police database, and on everything the news agencies upload to their cloud."
"Already on it," Ashe replied.
She didn't even look up from her screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard at a speed that made Isaac nervous just watching her. The cold glow of the monitor reflected in her eyes while she already seemed to be thinking several steps ahead of everyone else in the room.
Noctis slightly raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Afraid your beloved cop is keeping information from you?" he asked, his provocative tone unmistakable.
Vincent dismissed the remark with a wave of his hand. "You know perfectly well that I only trust people who work under me. You only win a game if you always maintain oversight and keep all the players under control."
"Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time," Noctis replied. Leaning back, he continued, "So? What are our next steps? Who do you have your eye on? The sooner we develop a battle plan, the better."
Vincent sighed.
"There are quite a few possibilities. Just look at all the smaller clans spread across this city alone. Every single one of them had a reason to kill the boss."
"But why were they there last night of all nights? Did someone talk?" Lucy interjected. "Only our people and the cops knew when the boss was supposed to be arrested. Right now, I can't think of anyone whose information network comes close to ours."
Lucy's words sent an icy shiver down Isaac's spine.
It was just as strange as the fact that Levi had known about Isaac's powers and wanted him brought to him. He still hadn't figured out who had casually revealed Isaac's secret and turned him into the target of his greatest tormentor.
What if Levi had a hand in this too?
The thought alone made his stomach twist unpleasantly.
Had they somehow exposed themselves while smuggling the documents out of the villa? Or had Levi even planted a spy among Vincent's people? His mind raced as he tried to remember everyone who had seen him. Before and after he had been taken in by the Webster Clan. Had he seen any of them before?
Desperately, he tried to remember faces. But the harder he tried to recall specific people, the more everything blurred together. He could have met any of them in the café and forgotten their faces afterward.
Damn.
Some days at the café had been so busy that he couldn't even remember who he had spoken to. Besides, he had never cared much about other people to begin with.
Subtly, he let his gaze wander through the office.
No.
He didn't want to suspect anyone. He might not have been thrilled about Vincent or Moz, but everyone in this room had taken care of him when his life had been hanging by a thread. The thought of distrusting any of them left a bitter taste in his mouth.
So lost in his thoughts, Isaac barely noticed the others continuing their discussion.
"Darling, why are you so quiet?" Noctis finally asked softly beside him.
Isaac blinked faintly before lowering his gaze.
"…Levi," he murmured, barely audible.
Noctis's grip around his hand tightened slightly.
"What about him?"
"It was exactly the same back then," Isaac said quietly enough that only Noctis could hear him. In the background, Vincent, Madison, and Lucy continued discussing things while the others listened attentively. "How did he know about my abilities? Hardly anyone even knew about them. And then suddenly he knew enough to become interested in me and order Nico to bring me to him."
The memory alone made his chest tighten. What unsettled him even more was the threat Levi had made only a few days earlier: that he would hurt every person Isaac cared about — piece by piece — until Isaac eventually returned to him willingly.
Only now did Isaac realize that his fingers had unconsciously tightened around Noctis's hand.
Noctis lifted their intertwined hands slightly and soothingly brushed his thumb over the back of Isaac's hand.
"Let's talk about it later, Darling," he said calmly.
Isaac nodded briefly. He had no interest in letting anyone overhear this conversation either.
"Listen to me one more time before you all finally get the sleep we all desperately need," Vincent said loudly enough to regain the attention of the entire room. "The next few days are going to be chaotic. Someone will try to exploit the power vacuum and step into the boss's shoes."
Noctis snorted quietly.
"So you want us to kill anyone who even reaches for his inheritance?"
"Exactly," Vincent replied coldly. "We will kill every damn idiot who thinks they can become the next queen bee. A few of the guys will keep an eye on those I consider the biggest threat. But none of them are a match for us."
His gaze shifted back to Ashe. "Have you found anything else?"
Ashe shook her head. "No. Nothing."
For the first time, even she looked frustrated.
Vincent exhaled. "Fine. Then get some rest. I want you all back here tomorrow at nine sharp. By then, we should have more information. If anything useful comes in meanwhile, I'll call you back here. Understood?"
"Understood!" they replied almost in unison.
"Then go. Use the time to sleep. You all have the day off," Vincent said. Just as Isaac was about to stand up, Vincent's gaze locked onto him. "I would like a word with you, my dear brother-in-law."
Isaac nodded and stayed seated while everyone else left the room. Everyone except Noctis and Vincent. As soon as the door closed, Vincent addressed him again.
"Isaac, I think it's time you told me what you've done with your magic so far. Maybe you can develop something that will help us?"
Isaac snorted.
So that was why he had sent everyone else out.
"There isn't much. I can create portals by painting two identical pictures and linking them through a magical path," he explained.
"Noctis already told me about that. It's quite a useful ability. Can anyone enter the portal?" Vincent asked.
Isaac shook his head. "Only those I give permission to. The fewer, the better."
Vincent studied him closely.
"It works just like your mother's did back then. What else can you do?"
"I enchanted Noah's sketchbook and gave him permission to bring his drawings to life."
"What were the conditions?" Vincent asked, clearly interested.
Isaac then explained in precise detail how he had enchanted the sketchbook and what Noah had been able to do with it. He also described the properties he had given the sketch monsters.
Only when Vincent finally nodded in satisfaction did Isaac get a brief pause.
He really wants to know everything down to the smallest detail, Isaac thought irritably.
"How many spells can you maintain at the same time?" Vincent asked without delay.
"Three."
For the first time, Vincent looked genuinely surprised.
Isaac leaned back slightly.
"I once made Noah a talisman," he continued. "It was supposed to protect him from hostile attacks on his life, but unfortunately, in the end, it didn't help him." He shot Vincent an angry glance. "The talisman was always linked to me, so at least I knew he was okay."
Vincent completely ignored the accusation in his look.
"So the talisman was active day and night?"
Isaac nodded.
"And when you were on a raid, your portal was active as well, and also the sketch monsters?"
Isaac nodded again.
Noctis, who had remained quietly in the background until now, finally interjected.
"Don't forget the cards you made for me," he said. "With them, I can direct my illusions at specific individuals and amplify them at the same time. The cards themselves aren't permanently linked to Isaac, but I can let my own magic flow into them and trap someone in an illusion without having to maintain it myself."
Vincent fell silent for a moment.
Isaac could practically see his mind working.
"Your potential is truly impressive," Vincent murmured thoughtfully. "Your parents would certainly have been proud of your abilities."
Isaac snorted. "That compliment would probably please me more if I even knew who they were."
For a moment, silence settled over the room.
Vincent looked at him for another second, then stood up and opened his safe. He searched for a moment and finally pulled out two old leather-bound books and a picture frame.
"You need to learn how to use your magic effectively, Isaac," Vincent said. "I don't expect you to become a killer like all the others. Instead, I would appreciate it if you read your mother's records."
Vincent handed Isaac the leather-bound books and the photo he was holding.
"This here is your parents. The picture was taken a few weeks after your birth. You'll probably recognize yourself in the baby's red eyes," he said quietly.
Isaac took the books mechanically.
Then his gaze drifted to the photograph.
For a brief moment, everything else blurred out. For the first time in his life, he saw his parents' faces. He didn't even know what he was supposed to feel.
The woman in the picture was smiling warmly at the camera while holding a small baby in her arms. Beside her stood a man with dark hair and an expression in his eyes that felt strangely familiar to Isaac.
And indeed.
The child's red eyes were unmistakably his own.
Something tightened painfully in his chest. They looked so warm in that photo, and yet Isaac had always believed they had hated him. At least until he had learned about their tragic death.
Vincent's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"As you know, I can heal. However, my ability is limited to stimulating the body's own cells. I can't regrow body parts, and I can't save someone who is already dying. Even you had to make it on your own before I could heal you. If you had been even slightly weaker, the process would likely have killed you," Vincent explained calmly. "So you can probably imagine that I can't perform miraculous healing like in video games. However, I can influence every cell, every hormone, and every secretion in a person's body. My specialty is torture. Just imagine a human being unable to produce any endorphins at all."
The mere thought made Isaac shiver inwardly.
Vincent then gestured toward Noctis.
"Noctis, on the other hand, can pull his victims into illusions and deceive multiple opponents within a certain radius at the same time," he continued calmly. "In addition, he is capable of entering dreams and imposing nightmares on his targets. Some of them have been psychologically completely broken."
Noctis didn't even look remotely affected by the description. Apart from that, Isaac had already had a rough idea of Noctis's ability.
"And Moz's ability is most comparable to telekinesis," Vincent went on. "He doesn't have a particularly large amount of magical energy, but his control is exceptionally precise. He can influence his bullets."
A thin smile appeared on Vincent's lips.
"He never misses."
Isaac frowned in irritation.
"Why are you telling me all this anyway?"
"So you get an idea of what you might be able to do with your magic," Vincent replied. "You are a Crafter, which means your magic is not, like mine, tied to existing processes in the human body, nor is it, like Noctis's, bound to a specific radius, and also not like Moz's, who can only influence individual objects."
Vincent tapped his head.
"Your magic begins in your mind. You have to think very precisely about what you want to achieve, and then develop a suitable tool for it. Like a pen for writing, and your portals are connected through a path. The most important thing is that you store your magic in your tools separately from yourself. A talisman should not be continuously fueled by your magic. It should be enough to recharge it from time to time, at longer intervals. I am fairly certain you will find some answers in your mother's records."
Isaac looked uncertainly at the books, then back up at him.
"What exactly do you expect from me?" he asked cautiously. "What am I supposed to develop?"
"Nothing for now. You first need to learn how to properly use your magic. I only expect us to meet once a week so I can review your progress," Vincent replied. "Once you understand how your magic works, you will likely develop one thing or another that will help our people avoid dying in the field."
Isaac nodded.
He didn't like the idea of being alone with Vincent once a week, but he wanted to understand how his magic worked and what he could create with it. The way Vincent spoke about his mother made it sound like she had truly been an exceptional Crafter. The books in his hands felt impossibly heavy.
Somehow, his ambition had been sparked.
Whatever was in those records, he wanted to learn it.
"Fine by me," he said. "So you don't want me to help you?"
Vincent waved a dismissive hand. "You're a good fighter, but not a killer. Besides, I'll get more use out of you if you focus on your studies. I'll provide everything you need."
Isaac tilted his head slightly.
"Regardless of cost?"
Vincent now grinned openly.
"Money is the least of my problems."
"Kind of you to cover the bill," Noctis said, getting to his feet as well.
Isaac stood up. "I'll send you a list by email," he added.
Vincent chuckled softly. "I like your drive. Get some rest. We'll meet again tomorrow. Isaac, you don't have to attend the briefing if you don't want to."
Isaac studied him briefly. "I'll be there."
For a moment, Vincent looked at him in silence before finally nodding.
"Then see you tomorrow. Sleep well."
"Tomorrow," Isaac replied curtly before leaving the office together with Noctis.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Isaac still heard Vincent's faint chuckle.
"Sharp as a thistle, hm?"
Isaac rolled his eyes in annoyance while Noctis laughed quietly beside him.