System Mission: Seduce the Strongest S-Class Hunters or Die Trying!-Chapter 212: [WE GOT ABILITIES PT. 1]

Chapter 212: [WE GOT ABILITIES PT. 1]
"It’s been years, Midas."
Caelen was six when it all began.
He held tightly onto his little brother’s hand—Kairo’s fingers were small and cold against his own.
Just a year younger than him.
Too small to really understand what was happening.
In front of them stood their father, Midas, dressed in his usual white lab coat.
Beside him waited several others—men and women dressed the same, faces lined with concern, all of them people Caelen recognized only as "Papa’s friends."
Scientists. Researchers.
Adults who talked in hushed voices when kids were around.
Behind them stood their mother.
Kairie.
She looked worried.
Always worried.
"We still don’t know if they’re among the ones affected," Kairie said, stepping forward as if trying to close the distance. "We don’t know if they’ll ever awaken abilities."
Caelen felt Kairo squeeze his hand nervously.
"I told you, Kairie," Midas replied calmly, his tone clinical rather than comforting. "One of the Kim daughters awakened at thirteen. Whatever grants these abilities... it doesn’t follow a fixed schedule."
He paused, glancing toward her.
"People are still awakening to this day, Kairie. Let’s not lose hope yet. Our sons will get abilities. I know it."
Kairie folded inward slightly. "But should we really... want our sons to have abilities?" she murmured. "It’s terrifying. Even I’m still—"
"Kairie."
Midas’ single word cut her off.
"Let’s talk outside."
Then he turned to Caelen and Kairo.
"You two stay here."
Caelen straightened instinctively.
"Yes, Papa," he said softly.
Midas gestured for Kairie and the researchers to follow him toward the adjoining corridor.
But Kairie stopped before going after him, walking back to kneel in front of her sons first.
"Stay here, okay?" she said gently, placing a warm hand on each of their heads. "We’ll be right back... and then I’ll take you both home."
She brushed Caelen’s hair back softly.
"Caelen?"
"Yes, Mommy?" he asked, tilting his head up at her.
"Take care of your little brother," she whispered. "As the older one... that’s your duty."
She pressed a kiss to his hair.
Caelen’s face lit up immediately.
"Of course, Mommy!" he answered proudly, tightening his grip on Kairo’s hand. "I’ll keep Kai safe!"
Kairo only tilted his head slightly.
Confused.
He always was.
Quiet.
Fragile.
Always sick.
’I’ll protect him.’
Kairie smiled wider at Caelen’s proud declaration.
Her expression softened—relieved, grateful—as she turned back toward Midas, who waited just a few steps away.
Without another word to the boys, she joined him, the two of them disappearing down the corridor in hushed conversation.
And just like that...
Caelen and Kairo were alone.
Still sitting side by side on the cold bench.
Still holding hands.
The room felt bigger without their parents’ presence—too wide, too quiet.
Caelen swung his feet slightly, humming to himself, still riding the small thrill of his mother’s trust.
’I’ll take care of him.’
Beside him, Kairo shifted.
He huffed softly, eyes dropping to the floor.
"I don’t need protection," he whispered, barely loud enough to hear.
Caelen turned to him immediately. "Yes you do."
Kairo frowned. "Nuh uh!"
Caelen puffed out his chest, clearly offended. "Uh huh, you do! It’s because you’re so tiny."
Kairo scowled harder, cheeks puffing a little as he glared at his brother.
"I’m not tiny," he protested.
Caelen snorted. "You are too. Look at you."
He brought their hands up slightly to compare sizes.
"One of my hands could be two of yours."
Kairo stared at the comparison, then yanked his hand away with a huff.
"I’ll grow big."
"I know," Caelen said easily. "But until then, you’re stuck with me protecting you."
Kairo stayed silent for a moment, clearly wrestling with that idea.
Then muttered, quieter—
"...That’s dumb."
But he didn’t move away.
And when Caelen reached out again, Kairo let him take his hand once more.
They sat for a moment in quiet stillness.
Once the nervous energy settled, Caelen finally let his curiosity win.
He lifted his gaze and really looked around the room they had been brought into.
Their father had always poked and prodded at them during visits—checking vitals, running tests, telling them to sit still—so Caelen had never taken the chance to look around properly before.
Now that he did...
The room was incredible.
Glowing glass tubes lined the tall walls, filled with slow-swirling liquids in shades of blue, green, and gold that sparkled like trapped starlight.
Some bubbled softly, thin curls of steam rising from their tops like tiny clouds sealed behind glass.
Massive machines dominated the floor—panels blinking in steady rhythms, metal dials ticking endlessly, long jointed arms stretched outward like robot limbs mid-reach.
Everything hummed, clicked, and vibrated faintly, creating the illusion that the room itself was alive... breathing.
Caelen’s eyes widened.
"Woaaah..."
He leaned forward on the bench, nearly sliding off as he took it all in.
"Kairo, this is how Papa studies the dungeons."
He knew what dungeons were.
Papa talked about them constantly—places filled with monsters and traps and treasures. Places where impossible things existed.
But this wasn’t like the drawings in storybooks.
This felt like—
A magic science castle.
Beside him, Kairo shifted uneasily, feet dangling above the floor as his fingers tightened around the hem of Caelen’s sleeve.
"Cae, don’t move..." Kairo whispered anxiously. "Mama said stay here."
Caelen glanced down at him, confidence bright in his eyes.
"I’m just gonna look," he said. "I’ll be quick."
Before Kairo could grab onto him, Caelen hopped down from the cold bench.
"Hey—wait!" Kairo squeaked.
But Caelen was already walking.
His shoes tapped softly across the glossy floor as he wandered deeper into the glowing maze of machines. Everything felt massive from his height—panels towering overhead, cables thicker than his wrist, lights glowing brighter than anything he’d seen at home.
He stretched his hands out like he was walking through a museum exhibit.
"So cool..."
Behind him, Kairo raised his voice.
"Cae! What’re you doing? Come back!"
"I just wanna see!" Caelen called over his shoulder. "There’s so much stuff!"
"But Papa’s gonna get mad!" Kairo cried nervously. "You’re not s’posed to walk off—"
"It’s fine!" Caelen answered quickly. "I’ll be fast!"
Then something at the center of the room made him stop.
A massive circle of light floated suspended above the floor.
It was like a glowing hoop made of glass and energy, edges rippling as though heat distorted the air around it. Strange symbols—tiny, sharp, unfamiliar—raced along its circumference like a rotating arcane script.
Caelen’s breath caught.
"Whoa..."
He crept closer, feet slow and careful.
The light spilled across his hands, painting his skin gold.
’What is this thing...?’
"What is thiiis...?"
Behind him, Kairo’s voice sharpened—edging toward panic.
"Cae! Don’t touch it! Come back—!"
Caelen turned halfway around.
"Kai, don’t come down here!" he said quickly. "You’re too small! You’ll fall and get hur—"
Thud.
The sound cut him off.
Heavy.
Not the clatter of a toy.
Not the light thump of feet.
It was the brutal sound of a small body hitting the ground.
Caelen froze.
Everything inside him locked up at once.
Behind him—
A sharp, broken wail sliced through the room.
"C–Cae...!"
Caelen spun around.
Kairo was on the floor.
Face-down.
Still.
For one horrifying, endless heartbeat, Caelen thought he wasn’t breathing at all.
’No—no, no, no...’
Then—
Kairo cried.
Loud and raw and full of pain.
Caelen sucked in a shaking breath as blood came into view, bright red against the sterile shine of the white floor.
Too bright.
Too much.
Caelen didn’t even remember running.
One second he was standing beside the glowing ring of light—
The next he was kneeling beside his brother, hands trembling helplessly over Kairo’s small body, unsure where to touch, afraid to make it worse.
"K–Kai?! Kai!"
Kairo’s face was scraped and already swelling, blood slipping from his nose and lip, dripping across his chin as he sobbed weakly.
"I—I fell... it hurts..."
Something ruptured inside Caelen’s chest.
His throat burned as if he’d swallowed fire.
His voice cracked.
"I—I told you not to—!"
He’d told him to stay.
He was supposed to protect him.
’I said I’d keep him safe... I promised...’
"What happened here—KAIRO?!"
The shout burst through the chaos.
Caelen looked up.
Both of their parents were rushing toward them—Kairie’s face pale with fear, Midas’s expression tight and furious beneath the laboratory lights.
"I—it was an accident, Mama, Papa—" Caelen stammered desperately.
Midas reached them first.
"Caelen, what happened?!" he demanded.
Before Caelen could even finish his explanation, Midas seized his arm and pulled him forcibly away from Kairo.
Caelen stumbled backward, fingers clawing uselessly toward his brother.
"Kai—!"
Kairie dropped to her knees beside Kairo immediately, gathering him into trembling arms.
"We—we need a medic! Someone call the medic!" she cried out to the room.
Kairo whimpered faintly, clutching weakly at her sleeve.
"M-Mama..." he whispered.
Caelen could barely think.
Everything hurt—but not on his skin. It hurt inside his chest, too tight to breathe right.
Mama was crying.
Kairo was crying.
Everyone was yelling and running around.
And Caelen was just standing there—his small hands shaking, his fingers stretched uselessly toward his baby brother while Papa’s grip locked around his arm like iron.
"Kai—! Let me go—!" Caelen cried, trying to pull away.
But Midas didn’t release him.
Instead, he yanked Caelen farther back from the scene, his voice sharp and angry.
"Caelen!" he snapped. "I told you to stay where you were! You should have known better than to wander off like that!"
Caelen’s vision blurred as tears spilled down his cheeks.
"I—I was just looking!" he sobbed. "I didn’t mean to— I was gonna be fast— I was gonna come back, I promise—"
Midas tightened his hold.
"You’re the older brother," he said coldly. "Your mother told you to take care of him. And you didn’t."
Caelen shook his head violently.
"I tried! I did! I told him not to come— I told him he was too small— I— I wanted to protect him—!"
His voice cracked into helpless crying.
"I— I’m sorry, Papa... I’m sorry..."
Across the room, Kairie cradled Kairo, rocking him as blood stained her sleeves.
Kairo was sobbing weakly, his little hands gripping into her coat.
"N-No... Papa..." Kairo cried shakily. "C-Cae didn’t— it wasn’t Cae’s fault—!"
His voice was tiny.
Broken.
Barely loud enough to reach across the room.
Caelen tried to twist toward him.
"Papa, listen— Kai’s saying—"
But Midas didn’t look at Kairo.
He didn’t look at Kairie.
He only stared down at Caelen, eyes hard and disappointed.
"You were careless," he said. "And now your brother is hurt because of it."
Caelen shrank back under the words, his small body trembling.
"I didn’t mean to..." he whispered.
The tears wouldn’t stop.
The guilt crushed him until he felt dizzy.
Papa released his arm only to raise his hand.
Caelen froze.
Instant understanding surged through him—terrifying and absolute.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
’I’m gonna get hit.’
He braced himself.
Then—
"NO!!!"
The scream tore through the room.
Kairo’s scream.
Raw.
Desperate.
Pain-laced.
A sound that didn’t feel like it should come out of a five-year-old’s throat.
Caelen opened his eyes just in time to see something red flash through the air.
Not a toy.
Not a spill.
Not a shadow.
Something liquid.
Something alive.
Something moving on its own.
SPLAT
.
It struck Midas across the side of his chest.
Everything stopped.
The room went dead quiet.
Midas stiffened.
Caelen gasped.
They both turned slowly toward Kairo.
Blood.
The blood that had pooled beneath Kairo on the floor... was moving.
It crept unnaturally across the tiles.
Thin tendrils of crimson stretched outward like grasping fingers.
The drop that struck Midas had separated from the rest—shaped, aimed, thrown—not by hands...
But by will.
Kairo was staring at his father with wide, terrified eyes, one trembling hand lifted instinctively toward Caelen like he was trying to shield him.
"I—it was my fault..." Kairo sobbed. "Don’t hit Cae... please..."
Caelen couldn’t breathe.
His legs trembled.
The blood continued to writhe faintly, shimmering as though responding to Kairo’s emotions.
Midas stared down at the red smear soaking into his pristine lab coat.
Then slowly—
Slowly—
He began to smile.
Not relieved.
Not shocked.
Not afraid.
Smiling.
A sharp, gleaming smile that made Caelen’s stomach twist.
He lifted his gaze back to Kairo.
"Kai," Midas murmured softly.
He sounded almost amazed.
Almost proud.
Then his eyes gleamed as he finished the thought—
"...You have awakened."