The cafeteria had mostly returned to its normal noise after Paigos left, though the tension lingered in the air like smoke. Cain sat back down at the table, observing Zara. She had collapsed into her chair, trembling slightly as if she had run a marathon rather than simply confronting a bully.

Cain's gaze moved to Jayden. She had not said a single word since the confrontation. Her expression was unreadable, though the faint furrow of her brows suggested she was thinking deeply about something.

"You are awfully quiet," Cain said, leaning slightly forward.

Jayden's fingers brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked toward him for a moment, then down at the table again. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "The thing you gave me last night… I sensed something similar on Paigos."

Cain's eyes narrowed. He knew immediately what she meant. The Fragmented Skill of Pride he had entrusted to her.

Zara, who had been slumped over her tray and recovering from her earlier adrenaline rush, sat up straight. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement.

"Ohhh," she said loudly. "So that is what this is. Relationship drama. You two have been keeping secrets, huh? Is this about a love confession? A forbidden romance? I knew it!"

Cain pinched the bridge of his nose. "It is not what you think."

Zara's grin widened. "Come on, you can trust me. I will not tell a soul. Your boss and his lover can rely on me to keep all the scandal under wraps."

Cain's jaw tightened, his patience beginning to fray. "Zara, it is nothing like that. Stop imagining things."

She leaned closer with a mischievous glint. "I can keep secrets. Really. Nothing will leave this room. You two lovebirds can trust me completely."

Cain felt his blood pressure rise. He could already feel the headache forming behind his eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single gold coin. He flicked it into the air and said, "Go buy yourself a dessert or something."

The instant the word dessert left his mouth, Zara froze. Her eyes locked onto the coin as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. Dessert. Real dessert. Not soup or instant noodles. Real food that could make her forget hunger for a while. Her entire body tensed, and then she launched herself into the air like a creature who had been starved for months.

She caught the coin with both hands before it could hit the floor, landing with a triumphant thud in her chair. "Dessert," she whispered in awe, her voice trembling with reverence. "Real dessert. Not sugar packets in hot water. Not crushed biscuits in soup. Actual dessert."

Without another word, she bolted from the cafeteria, heading straight for the counter. The other students watched her go, some smirking, some confused, but none dared interrupt her quest.

Cain exhaled slowly through his nose. The room felt quieter now, the tension finally easing as Zara disappeared from view.

He turned to Jayden. "You are certain?" he asked quietly. "You really sensed a Fragment of Pride in him?"

Jayden remained silent for several moments, her fingers tracing faint patterns on the edge of her tray. Finally, she nodded. "Yes. It was faint, but it was there. The same energy you gave me. Paigos has it too."

Cain's gaze drifted toward the doors Paigos had left through. The memory of that confident stride, sharper than he had ever seen, returned in vivid detail. That strange aura, the sense of someone who believed they were untouchable. Now it made sense.

"How?" Cain asked finally, keeping his voice calm.

Cain's stomach tightened as Gaius' voice whispered in his mind. "There is one person I can think of who might try something like this," the voice said.

Cain felt a chill. "Who?" he asked silently.

"One of my disciples," Gaius answered. "The one who called himself the Hero of Knowledge. Weak on the surface, but dangerous in ways I could never have foreseen. One of my biggest mistakes."

Cain frowned. "Why him?"

"Because he is a sociopath," Gaius replied calmly. "He views human lives as toys at best, as guinea pigs at worst. If he has access to the right materials, he can create Pseudo skills."

Cain's stomach sank. "Pseudo skills?"

"They are parasitic," Gaius said. "They latch onto a host, consuming not just power, but personality, thought, impulse. At first, the host feels strength, control, even pride. But eventually the skill feeds entirely on the person, leaving only instinct and hunger for dominance. The human will fades. Only the skill remains, acting through the host, not with the host."

Cain's teeth clenched. Paigos. That arrogant, cruel, disgusting man could be carrying one of these. "If Paigos has a Pseudo skill with a fragment of Pride…"

"Yes," Gaius whispered. "Then he is a ticking time bomb. Every act of cruelty, every display of strength, every insult feeds the parasite. The more he feeds it, the faster the man disappears, replaced by a creature driven entirely by the skill."

Cain leaned back, feeling bile rise but forcing it down. He had never liked Paigos. Never. And now the man had become a threat far beyond his usual arrogance.

"If the Hero of Knowledge is behind this," Gaius continued, "then it was deliberate. Paigos was chosen because he is violent, reckless, arrogant. Perfect as a vessel. His actions now are no longer his own. Every blow, every display of dominance strengthens the parasite."

Cain's mind went cold. "Then he must be stopped. Before it is too late."

"Exactly," Gaius said. "Delay will allow the skill to grow. It will feed on pride, impulse, and violence. Containment will be impossible once it fully awakens. Only lethal force can end it at that point."

Cain's eyes narrowed, resolve hardening. Paigos had been a bully, a brute, a nuisance in his life, but now he was nothing more than a threat. Cain did not hesitate. He had fought men and monsters who thought themselves untouchable. He would deal with this the same way.

"Then I will end it," Cain said aloud, his voice calm and hard. "Before the Pseudo skill finishes consuming him."

Gaius' voice was quiet now, almost approving. "You understand the risk. Hesitation will let the parasite claim him. Act decisively."

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