Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 1081

Chapter 1081: Chapter 257.2 - Deployed

"You’ve both matured."

Kael gave a snort of amusement. "That’s rich coming from you."

Astron’s gaze didn’t shift immediately.

But his voice did.

Low. Even.

"How did you know I’d be here tonight?"

Lyra’s grin widened, the corners of her mouth curling like she was waiting for that exact question.

"Trade secret," she said, tapping her lips twice with a gloved finger. "Very hush-hush."

"A trade secret," Astron repeated flatly.

"Mmhm." She bounced on her heels. "Guess if you can."

Astron exhaled through his nose—quietly.

Then snorted. Just once.

Not with amusement.

But with inevitability.

His gaze finally moved—slowly settling on both of them in turn. Still, his expression remained unreadable.

"You knew I’d be coming tonight," he began, voice quiet but scalpel-precise. "You knew I’d be speaking with Reina. Which means the information wasn’t ambient. It was scheduled."

Neither of them denied it.

Kael just shrugged.

Astron continued.

"There are only a handful of people who had access to that information. My return wasn’t publicly listed. The system cleared my arrival under Adept designation—encrypted tier. No broadcast."

Lyra gave a soft hum, almost playful. "Oooooh, deduction time~"

Astron ignored her, eyes narrowing slightly in thought.

"And," he said, "the only common point of contact between us is Reina."

Kael inclined his head slightly. "Keep going."

"So," Astron went on, slower now, the pieces locking into place, "assuming Reina informed you herself... there’s only one reason she would. She doesn’t give out information casually. Not unless there’s operational overlap."

He paused.

Then turned toward them fully, arms uncrossing.

"I was originally scheduled to enter a gate with a team."

Kael said nothing.

Lyra tilted her head.

"But I opted for solo deployment," Astron continued. "Reina resisted. Briefly. Then conceded. But the initial setup... must’ve already been finalized."

He gave them both a long, measured look.

"You two were supposed to be part of that team."

This time, Kael didn’t shrug.

He nodded.

Lyra held up both hands in mock applause. "Ding ding. You win the prize."

"I don’t want the prize."

"Too bad. It’s glitter."

Astron’s gaze remained steady. "So. You were preassigned."

"Technically, yeah," Kael said. "Your resonance profile was matched with ours. Field compatibility rating was surprisingly high. I suspect they factored in your discipline."

"And your... inconsistency," Astron added, looking at Lyra.

She gave a beaming, unapologetic smile. "Balanced combat tempo~"

Astron turned slightly, his coat whispering against the corridor wall.

"So Reina told you," he said.

Lyra twirled a strand of her hair around her finger and nodded. "Yup. She didn’t say much, but she definitely told us to keep an eye out tonight."

But Kael... paused.

His brows drew together. Not confusion—just focus. Like he’d caught something in Astron’s phrasing that didn’t quite add up.

"Wait..." he said suddenly, stepping forward half a pace. "You were originally scheduled to enter with a team?"

Astron met his gaze without hesitation.

"Yes."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Present tense. As in—you’re not anymore?"

Astron nodded once. Calm. Unbothered.

"Correct. I’ll be going in solo."

A beat of silence.

Then—

"Eh?" Lyra blinked, the word slipping out with an almost comical delay. "Wait, what?"

Kael straightened. "You refused a team deployment?"

"Yes."

"But—why?" Lyra stepped forward now too, eyes wide with something between curiosity and disbelief. "It was calculated for synergy. You just said it yourself. The team was assembled. Your profile matched with ours. You chose to go alone?"

"But why?" she finally asked. "Don’t get me wrong, you’re great. Scary-great. But going in alone? That’s like—asking for distortion anomalies to eat your liver. You know what Delta gates are like."

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