SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant-Chapter 370: A Meeting Between Two Powers [II]

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: A Meeting Between Two Powers [II]

Valttair did not follow Elenara as she walked.

He remained where he was, rooted in place in a way that had nothing to do with the garden. When he spoke again, the faint traces of courtesy drained from his voice, leaving behind the tone he used for negotiations, for leverage, for matters that decided outcomes rather than sentiments.

"Let us speak plainly," he said.

The words cut cleanly through the air.

"The Thal’zar are not retreating out of fear. Nor because they lack resources." His gray eyes sharpened, fixed on Elenara’s back. "They have consolidated their forces. They are waiting."

Elenara slowed, though she did not stop.

"For what?" she asked, her voice neutral.

"For stability," Valttair replied. "For the moment when the board settles and they can act without interference."

He took a step forward then, closing just enough distance to make the shift deliberate. "They are not stalling blindly. They are protecting something."

That made her turn.

Valttair met her gaze without hesitation.

"The Thal’zar currently have a Void Creature under their custody," he said. "Alive. Contained. And being experimented on."

The garden reacted before Elenara did.

Leaves trembled. Vines stiffened. A low, almost imperceptible ripple passed through the soil beneath their feet.

Valttair continued, unmoved.

"You did not uncover this through your networks. Nor through your sanctuaries." His voice remained level, each word placed with precision. "It came to light through a fracture within their own bloodline. A betrayal." A pause. "It should have been your house that discovered it."

Elenara’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of something colder passing through the green. "You speak as though this was an oversight."

"It was," Valttair said simply.

The word landed heavier than any accusation.

"For a family that claims guardianship over ancient sites and long-standing balances, allowing such an asset to exist under another house’s control without detection is... concerning."

The shift was unmistakable.

This was no longer a shared discussion between cautious allies. Valttair had seized the initiative, dictating the flow of information, deciding what was revealed and when. Elenara was no longer guiding the exchange through position or terrain.

She was reacting.

And Valttair, as intended, was now in control of the conversation.

Elenara held his gaze for a long moment.

Then she smiled.

It was a controlled expression, elegant and measured, but there was no warmth in it. The garden responded all the same—flowers straightened, colors brightened—unaware that the shift in her demeanor was not one of welcome, but restraint.

"You have always had a talent for presenting conclusions as inevitabilities," she said lightly. "It is almost impressive."

She resumed walking, slow and unhurried, though the ground beneath her steps hardened subtly, roots pressing closer to the surface. "A betrayal within their own bloodline, you say." Her eyes flicked sideways toward Valttair. "How... convenient."

She did not accuse him outright. She did not need to.

"We both know that things do not simply surface at the right time without guidance," Elenara continued. "And while I lack the proof to name the hand involved, I would be lying if I said your influence was not the first to come to mind."

Her gaze sharpened, searching for a reaction.

Valttair offered none.

"That said," she went on, inclining her head slightly, "I will acknowledge the creativity of it. Turning internal fracture into strategic exposure is... efficient."

The faintest pause followed.

"With Morgain now openly involved," Elenara said, her tone sobering, "the Thal’zar have lost any path back to parity. One way or another, their position among the Eight is finished."

The admission hung between them, heavy and unresolved.

They stood amid blooming life and quiet magic, neither yielding ground. Courtesy remained in place, polished and intact, but it had thinned to a fragile veneer.

Respect, forced by power and consequence.

Trust, absent entirely.

Valttair moved at last.

He stepped away from the path and took a seat on a low formation of living wood that rose smoothly from the garden floor in response to his presence. The motion was unhurried, deliberate in its casualness, as though the tension in the air did not concern him in the slightest.

"I do not intend to exterminate the Thal’zar," he said.

The words were calm.

They detonated anyway.

The garden reacted instantly. Roots surged upward, thickening beneath the soil. Vines tightened around nearby trunks, leaves shuddering as mana spiked through the space. The air grew dense, charged, heavy enough to press against the lungs.

Elenara stopped.

She turned sharply, the composed mask she had worn fracturing into open fury. "What did you just say?" Her voice carried authority, and the land answered it. Flowers bowed, stems hardening like coiled steel. "This war is mine. It began under my watch, on my land, and it will end as I decide."

Valttair met her anger without rising from his seat.

"It was yours," he replied evenly. "It no longer is."

The words fell with clinical precision.

"With Morgain’s involvement, this conflict has crossed the threshold from retribution to restructuring," Valttair continued. "You are no longer dealing with a singular offender. You are managing a system."

He folded his hands loosely. "Kaedor will die. On that, we are aligned."

Elenara’s eyes burned, but she did not interrupt.

"However," Valttair went on, "the annihilation of an entire house is neither efficient nor stable. One Thal’zar heir will remain. Bound. Contained. Their house will be reduced to the weakest of the Eight—subordinate in every meaningful capacity."

He lifted his gaze to her then.

"Under shared oversight," he said. "Sylvanel and Morgain."

The garden strained, roots groaning softly beneath the pressure of Elenara’s restrained fury.

"This is not mercy," Valttair added, his tone unchanged. "It is balance. An example. The Thal’zar will pay for what they have done without creating a vacuum that destabilizes the entire structure we both benefit from."

For a moment, only the rustle of leaves filled the space.

It was clear then that Valttair was not arguing from anger, nor from personal grievance.

He was thinking in terms of the world.