The Incubus System Chapter 1471. They Have Found You
The Incubus System Chapter 1471. They Have Found You
“Ethan!”
Larry’s voice hit me the second I stepped into class.
And yeah.
That alone was suspicious.
Larry?
This early?
Rare.
Like finding a dragon doing taxes.
He was already sitting near our usual spot, bag on the desk, hair messier than usual. The classroom itself was still half-empty. A few students scattered around, some half-asleep, some scrolling their phones, some pretending they understood the readings before class started.
Morning sunlight spilled through the windows in long pale strips across the desks.
I walked toward him with my bag hanging from one shoulder and forced my face into something easy.
“Hey.”
Larry’s eyes scanned me instantly.
Not casually.
Actually scanned.
Like he expected missing limbs.
“You okay?”
I dropped into the chair beside him. “I’m fine.”
“I know you said that,” he said, leaning closer. “But the kidnapping and stuff…”
“Still fine.”
He stared at me for another second, clearly not buying it but also not pushing too hard yet.
“Thanks for taking my bag home,” I added.
He waved it off. “It’s okay, bud.”
Then his gaze narrowed. “…What happened?”
I blinked. “What?”
Larry pointed subtly at my face. “You’re doing that thing.”
“What thing?”
“The fake calm thing.”
Damn.
He was getting too good at reading me.
I leaned back slowly, then reached into my pocket.
The envelope came out crumpled slightly from my grip. Still sealed. Still plain. Still carrying too much weight for paper.
Larry’s expression shifted immediately.
His eyes dropped to the envelope.
Then to the seal.
Then back to my face.
“…From your mom?”
I nodded grimly.
Larry said nothing after that.
Instead, he just sat there.
Quiet.
Annoyingly decent.
I turned the envelope over in my hand.
For a second, I didn’t open it.
I just stared.
Because part of me already knew what would be inside.
Soft words.
Fake softness.
Carefully arranged regret.
A request.
Maybe some apology-shaped sentence that still somehow made everything about her.
My thumb pressed under the flap.
“Just face it,” I muttered under my breath.
Then I opened it.
The paper inside was folded neatly.
Her handwriting.
Yeah.
Still the same.
That hit first.
Not the words.
The handwriting.
Something about seeing familiar handwriting after so long always felt like getting ambushed by a ghost wearing perfume you used to know.
I unfolded the letter.
Read.
‘Ethan, how are you?’
My jaw tightened.
‘How is Celia?’
My fingers pressed harder against the paper.
‘I miss both of you.’
Bullshit.
‘Please come see me. I want to talk. I want to meet my children again.’
The classroom noise blurred.
Students talking.
Chairs scraping.
Phone sounds.
All faded.
For a few seconds, it was just the letter and the ugly memories underneath it.
I remembered reading her mind.
The way she thought of us.
Not with regret, pain or guilt.
Convenience.
That was the worst part.
She never regretted leaving us.
Never regretted putting the house certificate as collateral for the bank.
Never regretted letting me and Celia struggle while she tried to build some happy little life with my stepdad.
Dad had been gone.
And she…
I stopped.
No.
Nope.
Not going there.
Not in class.
My mouth curled slightly.
“Bullshit.”
Larry’s eyes flicked to me.
I ripped the letter once.
Then again.
Then crumpled it.
The trash can sat near the front corner of the room.
Far.
Honestly, way too far for a normal throw.
I threw it anyway.
The crumpled paper flew in a clean arc across the classroom.
Straight into the bin.
Perfect shot.
For a second, the room went silent.
Then a few students clapped.
Actual applause.
Someone whistled.
I smiled automatically.
Polite.
Forced.
The kind of smile that said ‘thanks’ while meaning absolutely nothing.
Larry didn’t clap.
He just watched me. “You don’t want to meet her?”
I looked back at him.
His tone wasn’t judging.
That helped.
“I mean…” Larry rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe just to say hello? And if things go bad, you can leave.”
“No.”
Immediate.
Flat.
Larry held my gaze. “You’re still sad about it, Ethan.”
I scoffed softly. “Not sad.”
That word didn’t fit.
Sad was losing something you loved and missing it.
This was looking at something rotten that used to be warm.
“Disappointed,” I said finally.
Larry stayed quiet.
“She…” I paused, eyes dropping to my desk. “She once loved us.” The words came out slower than I wanted. “Me. Celia. Dad.”
Then I stopped again.
Too lazy.
Too… done.
I leaned back and looked toward the front of the class. “Forget about it.”
Larry didn’t answer right away. He nodded once. “Okay.”
A pause.
“Let’s talk about something else.”
“Yeah.”
He sat straighter, like he was trying to pull us both out of that mood. “Okay then. I’ll start.”
I glanced at him. “This better not be about your anime waifu.”
“It’s not.”
Suspicious.
He hesitated. Then said, “I had a weird dream last night.”
I raised a brow. “What dream? ‘Nana-chan’ came to life and proposed to you?”
His face twisted. “No.”
“Rejected you?”
“No!”
“Asked for child support?”
“Ethan.”
“Fine. Continue.”
Larry exhaled, but the joke didn’t fully land on him. His face stayed serious. “There was a woman’s voice.”
That made me pause slightly.
Larry continued, eyes lowering toward his desk. “It came like a whisper… or a song.”
My body went still. “A song?”
“Yeah.”
He frowned like he was trying to remember it properly.
“It sounded… holy.”
Cold slid down my spine.
Recognition.
I remembered.
Larry’s blood.
Renart’s blood donation when Larry was a child.
That faint holy signature inside him.
Dormant.
Quiet.
Apparently not hidden enough.
I kept my voice steady. “What did it say?”
Larry swallowed. “It was like a riddle. It said something about… a holy child of the light.”
My fingers tightened under the desk.
“But the light is dim,” Larry continued. “Accept more power. Become stronger.”
His gaze lifted toward me. “And inherit the pure light.”
The world narrowed.
Just for a second.
Larry kept watching me, confused now by my silence.
“…Ethan?”
I looked at him.
No smile.
No joke.
Nothing.
“No.”
He blinked. “What?”
“They have found you.”