The Extra's Rebellion
Chapter 91: Vermilion clan History

Chapter 91: Vermilion clan History

Tock.

Zephyr’s eyes widened as he hurriedly twisted— Too late.

Camila appeared in front of him mid-spin, her blade sweeping upward in a graceful, fluid arc. It was precise, not lethal—but calculated to disarm. The edge met the scythe’s shaft with a sharp crack, and for a heartbeat, their weapons locked.

Then she vanished again, no wind, no trace. Only that ticking echo—like a countdown.

Tick.

Zephyr narrowed his eyes, breath steady now. He’d been caught off guard, but he wasn’t helpless. Even though his eyes weren’t activated, they were connected to him through his lifeblood, so it enabled him use a watered down version of it’s abilities.

He perceives. He adapt. He elevates.

His body perceived and adapted to the rhythm, the interval of sound. Every tock marked a step in her art. If he couldn’t see her— then he’d predict her.

His fingers twitched around the Shaft of his scythe, his body tensed as he prepared to react to the sound.

Tock.

He spun on his heel and raised the scythe behind him.

Clang!

This time, he caught her.

Her blade glanced off the curve of the scythe’s edge, sparks flaring between them. She landed gracefully, boots skidding along the marble. Her eyes lit up with delight, crimson and wild.

"Finally". She said. "You’re catching on."

’I need to catch her off guard’. Zephyr’s gaze narrowed as he studied her.

Camila twirled her blade lazily, one foot tapping in rhythm with the ticking charm on her ankle. "Want to try something fun?"

Zephyr didn’t answer. His body tensed, and the space around him began to ripple—subtle, silent.

’i will use border jail. That would be sure to catch her off guard’.

Tock.

As soon as he came to a conclusion the sound came again, then she vanished again.

Zephyr pushed his Space sense to it’s limit, the silent ripple stretched far away from him, and even to encompass the figure of Oliver. But he still didn’t caught sight of her.

Tock.

A ripple behind his left shoulder, but Zephyr didn’t react with his body. He shifted space.

Limbo— Hollow Breath Transition.

Clink—

The strike hit empty air as Camila’s sword phased through the distortion, and she stumbled slightly mid-flash-step.

Her eyes widened. "Oh?"

Zephyr turned, scythe sweeping up like a crescent moon, but she danced out of reach before he could land the blow.

But his Scythe wasn’t the main attack. Everywhere his space sense touched was under his justification, so space around him, from his position all over till Oliver’s position was under his will.

Limbo— Border Jail

The moment Camila danced out of reach from his Scythe, his Aether snapped shut like jaws—compressing the surrounding distance into a prison of still air.

Her movement stuttered she blinked thrown off for the first time. It was only for half a breath, but that was enough.

Zephyr turned and placed the scythe’s blunt edge against her throat.

Camila froze.

Silence.

Zephyr stepped back, letting the space around her return to normal. His body sagged slightly—he had called upon the entire force is art, his Aether didn’t drain to the very end, but it snapped halfway through his Aether reserves. If he had lost it gradually, it wouldn’t have such a adverse effect on him, but it was snapped out all at once, his body suddenly felt hollow and it made him stumble.

Camila twirled her sword once before sliding it into the sheath at her back. "You’re fun."

Zephyr let out a little smile, trying to appear polite. "You hit me more times, you are not so bad yourself".

Zephyr cringed inwardly at his own words, taking to girls was never his strong fort, and talking to one as pretty as her was on an entirely other level.

"Sure," she said, tossing him a wink. "But you caught on to my attack under a few exchange, few could have done that".

Zephyr let a smile grace his lips, but inwardly he was reviewing the fight.

’she’s stronger then me’. Her first attack with her art solidified that thought, if it was a real battle he would have been dead by now. And he also knew she held back.

He knew she held back because her attack compared to that of Seralyn was light, as she hesitated a lot. He couldn’t blame her, for all she knows he was a grade 1 Elpison.

Before either could say more, Oliver’s voice rang out from the side.

"Y-you guys were cool". Oliver started to walk over while rubbing the back of his head.

Zephyr sighed, he was sure it took all his confidence to compliment them.

Camila just laughed again. "He’s cute," she said, tilting her head toward Oliver. "Is he yours?"

Oliver, who was on his way tripped on thin air.

Zephyr blinked. "What?"

She shrugged. "You know. Follower? Mascot? Chaos sidekick?"

"Oh," Zephyr breathed. "No."

Camila’s smile softened. "See you later".

She turned, red hair swaying, the ticking of her ankle charm echoing faintly as she walked off.

Zephyr watched her go, then turned toward Oliver—who was muttering something.

"Damn misleading words".

He returned the scythe to the rack, thoughts shifting—replaying the day’s events. And the fight with the princess opened up a lot of questions for him.

’Why did the princess go to Vermilion for cleansing?’. She had her clan, hell the emperor was her father, surely he would have had a way.

The question lingered for longer then it should have. ’I’ll ask Keal’.

Then his gaze flicked to Oliver. ’He’s from Vermilion too... I will just ask him’. But he needed to phrase it carefully, he wasn’t supposed to know anything about the princess pursuit of purity. At least not yet.

"Hey... Oliver. The Vermilion Clan—"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Do they... like offer purity?"

Oliver froze. His head slowly turned, eyes narrowing. His mouth opened then closed, them again before saying in a quiet voice."...Are you mocking me?"

Zephyr blinked. Confused. "What?"

Oliver seems taken aback by Zephyr confused expression and face, he stared at Zephyr face with intensity that it seems he wanted to tear through his face with just his gaze. "You really don’t know?"

Zephyr became even more confused."No. Know what?"

Oliver’s brows furrowed. He looked like he was wrestling with something. Then he exhaled. "Alright come on. Not safe to talk here."

He led Zephyr outside of the combat hall and led him back to the massive tree they’d climbed yesterday. They scaled it again, branch by branch, to the very top—hidden in leaves and wind.

Oliver crouched on the thickest branch, arms resting on his knees, the wind tugging at his hair. For a while, he didn’t speak. Just stared at the purple sky sheltered the world.

Then he exhaled sharply. "You ever heard of the nickname they give us? People who whisper behind our backs?"

Zephyr frowned. "What nickname?"

Oliver didn’t look at him. "Virgins."

The word hung in the air like a curse.

Zephyr blinked, caught off guard. "...That’s supposed to be an insult?"

Oliver’s mouth twisted into a bitter grin. "You’d be surprised how often it comes up. Especially among the noble clans. Every time someone from Vermilion walks into a room, someone’s snickering. ’Careful, don’t touch them—you might catch chastity.’ ’They’re too pure to bleed.’ ’Maybe they’ll die before they ever fuck.’ That sort of thing."

Zephyr didn’t know what to say. He stayed silent.

Oliver’s gaze hardened, his voice lowering.

"But it didn’t start as a joke. It started with one woman."

The wind shifted.

"She lived long before the tearing of the Aether Womb. Before mortals tried to claim divinity. Back when the world was cruel in the open, where slavery was a right of the rich".

"She was nobody. A servant. Property, every men took what they wanted—her mind, her body, her soul. She survived years of it. Twenty-five years. Of being raped, by Fathers, brother, Uncles, nephews, hell even women had their way with her. But she never broke".

Zephyr felt the air chill.

"Until Aether womb torn". The he looked at him. "What gave powers to the first Excorist of this world?".

Zephyr answered before he thought it through. "Cursed celestials".

"Right".

Oliver continued, his voice quieter now. "One of those cursed celestial was dying. Half-conscious. It made her an offer— shelter me, and I’ll give you strength. So she said yes. Maybe she was desperate. Maybe she wanted revenge. Doesn’t matter."

"With the Celestial inside her, she learned to reshape her body. To seal what had been broken. She made herself pure again—at least in flesh."

Zephyr swallowed. "She... turned herself into a virgin?"

Oliver nodded. "Because she was ashamed. Because she wanted to take it back. All of it. Reclaim what had been stolen and bury the past with the ones who made it."

"She hunted the man who first defiled her. Killed him. Erased his bloodline from the world. And when the Celestial recovered and tried to tried to take over, she devoured it too."

"She became the Celestial— The first human Celestial."

A long silence followed.

"That woman," Oliver said, "was the first Vermilion. Our ancestor. That’s where our arts come from—purity and corruption fused into one. Dominion over the body, control over the flesh, rejection of all unwanted touch."

Zephyr sat back against the trunk, processing. "So people mock you... because of that?"

Oliver’s laugh was dry. "People are scared of what they don’t understand. So they rename it. Repackage it. Pretend our legacy is one of ice and untouched innocence."

"But what we carry—what we protect—was born in blood, in violation, and in vengeance. That’s why we don’t talk about it. That’s why we hate the nickname."

He looked over at Zephyr, eyes gleaming with something deeper—something old.

"You asked if Vermilion offers purity. The truth is, we don’t offer it."

He paused.

"We defend it. At any cost."

They was silence, but it was brief.

"And also people also mock us due to a blunder from our part— in ancient war, we waged war against Demios clan".

The Oliver looked at him in the eyes. "And lost— terribly".