"Eh?" Gavin was confused.
'What does he want with me?' Gavin's heart was beating too fast.
His mind was so clouded with fear that he was unable to understand what Asher might be implying.
Gavin, who was on his knees, saw Asher come closer and speak again.
"Keep doing what you do," Asher said.
"But you will not work for Leonard now," Asher's indifferent eyes looked straight at Gavin, who was trembling a bit.
"I-I don't work for him," Gavin replied.
Apart from his family, nobody knew that Gavin was supposed to maintain friendly relations with Leonard inside the World Academy. It was the Neville Family Head, Gavin's Father, who told him to make sure he worked together with Leonard Tarvian.
It was obvious that most Elite Families stayed away from interacting with Associations, especially the World Association.
The World Association was created solely so that the rules of the High Council were obeyed and the structure of the entire world was maintained.
The Association was established to work for the public masses and to ensure that no one from the Elite Families abused their power.
The World Association alone had three seats in the High Council, which was the highest among all other Associations.
"Don't test my patience, Gavin Neville," Asher grabbed Gavin by his throat and lifted him up.
BAM
Asher threw Gavin to the side, causing him to crash into the wall.
Gavin, who was coughing from pain, saw Asher walking towards him once again.
"Please listen, if it's about rumors about you, it was just me being a bit jealous," Gavin hurriedly spoke as Asher came even closer.
"Do you think the Neville family would protect you the moment this video goes public?" Asher said, causing Gavin's eyes to widen.
Asher knew that the current head of the Neville family would cut off his own son if the damage to their reputation was too significant.
They had always controlled Gavin's behavior so it didn't become a big deal outside the World Academy. Apart from the servants who served him, Gavin didn't mess with any other people, knowing that he might get caught.
Although his father ignored his behavior, Gavin knew how he would react if his actions were to tarnish the name of their family.
"Don't think too hard. It's either you betray Leonard or get abandoned by your own family," Asher said.
'No, Father would not abandon me,' Gavin thought in his mind.
'But,' Gavin knew that the video Asher had was enough to ensure that he at least got expelled from the World Academy.
"W-What do I need to do?" Gavin asked, looking up at Asher.
Asher saw Gavin's eyes, which were full of fear at the moment.
"Leonard asked you to increase his influence, right?" Asher asked, making Gavin even more nervous.
This information was not something that people other than the top members of the Blood Faction knew.
"Yes," Gavin replied to Asher.
"Keep interacting with students just like you do now," Asher said as he looked at Gavin.
"Keep targeting students as a Blood Faction member," he continued.
"Make sure they know it was the Blood Faction that targeted them," Asher said, making Gavin even more nervous.
"B-But then they-" Gavin tried to negotiate with Asher, but he could feel that saying anything more was dangerous.
'He is a monster,' Gavin looked into Asher's indifferent eyes.
He could not see any emotions inside those eyes, and the killing intent surrounding Asher prevented Gavin from thinking clearly.
"That's all for now," Asher said as he looked at Gavin.
"What?" Gavin spoke out of confusion.
Was that all?
Was this the whole reason he was beaten so badly?
But right now, Gavin couldn't feel anything except fear for Asher.
Even though he knew that Asher was basically forcing him, all he wanted to do at the moment was get away from him somehow.
"You can go," Asher stepped aside as Gavin looked at the door behind Asher.
"R-Really?" Gavin asked for Asher's confirmation.
Seeing no response, Gavin stood up while his legs were still shaking. He took one step after another slowly, watching to see if Asher made any movements.
'I can leave,' Gavin thought as he neared the door.
As freedom seemed closer, Gavin regained the ability to think more clearly since Asher had removed his killing intent for now.
Many thoughts came into his mind, but first, he needed to get out of this room.
"And don't try to act smart and report anything to someone else," Asher's voice made Gavin stop immediately.
He turned back and looked at Asher once again.
"No, no, I will not do so," Gavin tried to assure Asher.
Even if he had any thoughts about that, they vanished completely, and Gavin immediately replied.
"Trust me," Gavin forced a smile onto his face.
"I have sent you a message about everything that you need to do," Asher said.
"Read it once you get back to your room," Asher told Gavin.
"O-Okay," Gavin replied.
Asher watched Gavin leave and a smirk appeared on his face.
He was looking forward to seeing if Gavin would behave like he told him to.
He wasn't anxious about Gavin telling all this to Leonard because he knew Gavin would never do so.
He remembered how much of a coward Gavin was while he bullied multiple students throughout his stay at the World Academy.
And it was because he was a coward that he felt the need to harm others to prove that he was stronger and more powerful than them.
Right now, Asher had only told him to do a small task, that was to behave normally and mess with Leonard's plan a little.
Even if Gavin bullied a few students, the impact on the reputation wasn't too big.
He wanted to control Gavin slowly, as the pride of a person from an Elite family was significant. Unlike people from normal families, even a coward like Gavin might gain enough confidence to betray Asher and disobey his orders.
And that's why Asher didn't tell him the things that he actually wanted him to do.
Right now, Gavin was thinking that Asher was only controlling and blackmailing him because he was against Leonard.
But in reality, Asher's current target was not Leonard, but the Neville family itself.
"Kalvas Gala should happen soon," Asher muttered.
"It will be interesting," Asher left the training room.
At the VIP Dorm, Gavin was sitting in his room, looking through the text that Asher had sent him.
"So I just need to act like an unruly member of the Blood Faction," Gavin read through the first lines.
He just needed to act like a bully but, unlike previous times, instead of his own personal enjoyment, he needed to portray that it was the Blood Faction that made him do so.
"Should I contact Leon about this?" Gavin thought out loud while biting his fingers.
As he read more lines, he read the warning that Asher had put in the text.
'If you think anyone can help you, you are free to try,'
'But make sure you are prepared for the consequences,'
'Next time, it will not be hands around your neck but my sword,'
Gavin's face grew paler the more he read the warnings that Asher had put in the text.
"No, I should follow him until I can be free of him," Gavin said.
Most of the orders were not extreme, and so it made Gavin think Asher was just trying to make things difficult for Leonard, just like Leonard was doing for Asher.
"So I just need to target these people," Gavin looked at the new list that Asher had given him.
There were many students, and most of them were in the Top 200 of the First Years. They were people that Gavin normally would have avoided but he didn't need to do anything extreme with them.
The instructions were clear; he just needed to act as he did with others while not going extreme like he did with the Class 1 boy.
***
In a room with eight large screens, an old man stood in the middle.
"I am against postponing the Gala too much," the person in the first screen spoke.
This was a meeting of the Seven Heads of the Kalvas Gala, and the old man standing in the middle was coordinating the meeting.
"Postponing it means that we acknowledge the threat of this unknown group," the person in the first screen said.
"I agree with him. Even though the Whiteheart failed in their duty, it doesn't mean we all are like that," the woman in the third screen spoke.
"Don't go too far," the man in the fourth screen spoke in favor of Kamden, who had been silent until now.
"We can't blame the Whiteheart for that; the Vault was breached," he said.
"Okay, by the judgement of the Seven Heads, the Kalvas Gala will happen two months from now," the old man standing alone in the room concluded the meeting before it grew heated.
Kamden Whiteheart was silent during the entire meeting. When the meeting was over and the connection was turned off, he stood up.
"Zephyr," Kamden repeated the name that had caused his reputation to plummet to rock bottom.
"I will kill them all," he muttered, his eyes shining and his aura causing cracks in the room.
