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"How the hell did that bastard survive?" he muttered under his breath, clenching and unclenching his fists as he continued to pace. "I did everything. I swapped the portal devices, set the path, made sure his group went through that portal.

So why isn\'t he dead?!" He let out a roar of frustration, grabbing the edge of his desk and flipping it over, scattering papers, ink bottles, and pens across the floor in a violent crash.

"That bastard killed my son," he hissed, voice cracking under the weight of his hatred. "I can\'t stand seeing him breathing, walking around this academy like he\'s untouchable. I tried everything—I even threw him to the mutants, hoping they\'d rip him apart. But somehow… somehow, it didn\'t work."

He stopped his pacing, staring blankly at the overturned desk, and muttered, "Why didn\'t he die in there? How did they survive in a Grade 5 realm?" His voice turned into a low growl as he speculated, "Could it have been Vic? No… no, Vic is just a Grade 4; he couldn\'t have handled it on his own. Something… something fishy must have happened in that realm."

Josh\'s eyes narrowed as a dark thought crept into his mind. "Maybe I was right all along," he whispered. "Maybe Silas did obtain power from the artifact. No one here believes me; they all think he\'s nothing but innocent trash with no mutant ability to speak of. But I see through him." His voice trembled, cold sweat trickling down his face as he realized the extent of his own suspicions.

"If only they\'d look deeper, they\'d understand the truth about Silas Griswold."

His fists clenched tighter, and an aura—blue and ominous—began to glow faintly around his veiny knuckles.

"The academy won\'t act, and my plans to kill him in the mutant realm didn\'t work. I\'ll just have to do it with my own two hands," he muttered, his eyes flickering with dark resolve.

---

In another part of the academy, hurried footsteps echoed down a dimly lit hallway as Sir Dominic and Kara strode purposefully. The silence between them held an unspoken tension as they walked, their path lit by the faint glow of wall sconces casting long shadows along the corridor.

When they finally arrived at Sir Dominic\'s office, he pushed the door open, entered without a word, and made his way to his seat with a heavy sigh. Kara closed the door behind her, glancing at him with a watchful, questioning gaze as he settled in.

Sir Dominic folded his arms, leaning back with an expression of exhausted relief. "I really thought he would die… Vic, I mean," he said aloud, his voice carrying a trace of weariness as he looked across at Kara, who stood opposite him, her face stern and attentive. "If Vic had died in there, it would have been a nightmare for this entire academy… and for me." He leaned forward, his voice dropping.

"Do you know how powerful the Hardcastle family is, Kara?"

Kara gave a firm nod. "I know exactly who they are, sir."

"Then you understand the gravity of the situation." Sir Dominic\'s tone turned somber as he continued. "The Hardcastles aren\'t one of the Ten Eternal Families, but they hold as much power as the highest-ranking family among them. If Vic had lost his life here, the Hardcastles would have burned every single mutant academy on this continent to the ground.

No one crosses the Hardcastles, not even the highest authorities in this academy."

Kara\'s expression remained steady, though she couldn\'t deny the chill that ran down her spine. The weight of the Hardcastles\' reputation was not lost on her; they were feared across the globe, their reach and influence unmatched.

Silence stretched between them before Sir Dominic broke it again, this time with a note of concern in his voice. "But how did they survive?" he asked, more to himself than to Kara. "That realm was a Grade 5 zone, and yet they made it out. All except Ivy Forbes…" His words trailed off, and he leaned back, visibly grappling with his thoughts.

Kara shifted her stance and said, "There were two Grade 4s in the group, sir. Vic and Angelica."

Sir Dominic nodded thoughtfully. "Vic has his powerful family background, and Angelica shows promise… but even so, two Grade 4s alone shouldn\'t have been able to clear a Grade 5 realm. We sent in groups of staff members—strong, well-trained Grade 3s and 4s—and they didn\'t come back alive. But Silas… Silas survived."

At the mention of Silas, Sir Dominic\'s expression darkened, and he leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk. "That boy has come out of a Grade 5 Mutant Realm twice now. Doesn\'t that seem… unusual?"

Kara tensed slightly, masking her apprehension with a neutral expression, though her mind raced. If Sir Dominic connected the dots, her alliance with Silas could come under scrutiny. "What are you implying, Sir?" she asked, maintaining a calm tone.

"The first time Silas entered a Grade 5 realm, the artifact we\'d been hunting for—the Artifact of the Apex Mutant—disappeared without a trace," Sir Dominic explained, his gaze fixed on a distant point in the room as he pieced together his suspicions. "We sensed its power within the realm… but then it vanished. Either someone took it, or it somehow escaped to another realm."

Kara\'s pulse quickened, though she kept her face carefully neutral.

"And now," Sir Dominic continued, "a group of students managed to clear a Grade 5 realm with almost no casualties—aside from Ivy Forbes. Two Grade 4s and a trio of \'weaklings,\' as some might say… shouldn\'t have been capable of such a feat. But then I consider Silas…" His voice trailed off, and a troubled look crossed his face.

"Silas was the only survivor in the first incident, and here he is again in the midst of another improbable victory. It\'s almost as if there\'s an… unnatural element in play."

Kara felt a bead of sweat form at her temple. Her mind raced, formulating responses that might deflect his suspicions without arousing further curiosity. "Are you suggesting that Silas is… hiding something?" she asked, feigning mild surprise.

Sir Dominic\'s brow furrowed, and he spoke in a low, contemplative tone. "When Silas entered the Grade 5 realm the first time, the artifact we were after disappeared… completely. And now, the group he was with has come out alive, with most of the mutant inhabitants within the realm slain." He paused, as if turning over a theory in his mind.

"Someone in that realm had power beyond their rank… and the only consistent factor in both incidents is Silas."

"But… but the Mind Reader inspected Silas\'s mind," Kara stammered, her voice careful. "She confirmed he was innocent, didn\'t she?"

Sir Dominic\'s face darkened further. "At the time, I believed that. But thinking back… the look on her face when she pulled away from Silas… it was almost as if she\'d seen something… something she hadn\'t expected. Something… unsettling."