Chapter 37 June 22nd, 2032 | The Apocalypse Party
"Hello, Ladies." Kaze said with a charming smile.
"Hey, big shot." Whitney, the blonde from Evalyn's tennis team, said. He narrowed his eyes slightly in response.
"Hey, Kaze." Sage, a beautiful redhead, followed. She was a business major with classic green eyes and light, nearly imperceptible freckles.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, highlighting her one-carat diamond stud earrings.
Kaze glanced at her earrings and then back at her, nonchalantly letting her know he noticed her effort, causing her to smile in interest.
She narrowed her eyes and lifted her heel slightly, increasing her hip's impact on the thigh-length white skirt she wore.
Her curves were sexy and impressive for someone so slender and accentuated her generous bust in her loose green business-acceptable shirt.
"Hi, Kaze." Kylie giggled with a light blush. She was the second most popular amongst the cheerleaders due to her cute looks alone.
She had neck-length feathered bob-cut hair, even at all sides. The haircut was similar to Evalyn's but was wavy with minor curls.
"That blush was charming." Kaze said with a slight smile, "You'll have to teach me how to do it sometime."
"I'm happy to give you [private] lessons." Kylie giggled as cutely as possible.
Sage gave the woman a wry smile before turning back at Kaze, who made eye contact. She narrowed her eyes, satisfied.
"Kaze. We got a problem." Jake called out.
Kaze scoffed silently with his head motion alone. "If there's a problem, announce it. Are the cops here?"
"... Yes, they are." His regent replied, containing his urge to stutter.
"Took them long enough." Kaze scoff-laughed, "I was beginning to think they forgot to do their job."
The women burst into bewildered laughter at his behavior.
"Excuse me, ladies. I'll come find you later." He said with a wink as he followed Jake down the pathway through the park.
He smiled charmingly at countless women who were arriving. Despite the official curfew warning, it was sunset, and there were already 200 people at the park.
Everything about the party was illegal. Public drinking and loud music at 9 pm, one day after an official 7 pm curfew was instated. It was a normal college party in the open; case closed.
Despite that, Kaze strode up to the police officers, interrogating people a third of the way in. The music quieted down, and everyone held their breath.
"Evening, gentlemen." Kaze said with a confident smile.
"We have a smart one, do we?" A police officer gruffed. He had a black military haircut and a wide chest, showcasing his dark blue uniform with an intimidating look.
"I'd like to think so as well." The emperor replied with a smirk.
"Do you think this is funny?" The officer scoff-laughed, "I take it you're the person that was stupid enough to organize this party?"
"I am." Kaze replied, "But that's because there's something to celebrate, gentlemen."
"Okay, you're coming with me." The man replied in annoyance while reaching for his handcuffs.
A wave of pressure assaulted the three men for a split second, making their hearts pulse. They looked up to see Kaze wagging his finger mockingly.
"Come now, gentlemen. Surely you don't think someone would be so brazen as to throw something this blatantly illegal if they didn't have something to provide the police." The emperor smirked.
"Are… you attempting to bribe us?" The police officer laughed in disbelief. The man was throwing the most illegal party imaginable, and now he was attempting bribery!
"Attempt is a rather suggestive word." Kaze charmingly replied while pulling out a sheet of paper with his technique drawn on it, "Illuminescent Breathing, surely you've heard of this, yes?"
The men confusedly looked at the paper, unsure whether to laugh or scoff.
"Of course we do. It's posted on the internet, and you're attempting to bribe us with a drawing of it?" The man laughed, "Can you believe this kid, Ken?"
"Hah. No, I can't, Wade. This joker's a first." Ken, a police officer with curly, light-brown hair, laughed breathlessly.
Kaze closed his eyes, and a red vortex shot out of his body, illuminating the nighttime sky. Everyone at the party immediately freaked out.
"That's the emperor's technique!" Someone screamed.
"Is that what it's supposed to look like? Everyone else barely glows!" A woman yelled.
"Leave it to Scrawn Fu. My man!" A drunk man yelled out, drinking in front of the police.
The officers didn't notice, however. There were only 2083 video postings of the skill online, and none of them looked remotely close to Kaze, who looked like a flickering candle.
The emperor picked the cultivation technique for that reason. It was a poor cultivation technique that was difficult to learn, but it proved if someone could cultivate and their skill level.
"W-What…." Ken stuttered in disbelief.
Kaze lifted the paper again and gave them a mocking smile.
"This technique is difficult to learn because it's missing an element." He smirked, "I fixed it and can teach it to the officers here if they change direction and protect this party instead."
"You're asking us to break the law when we can arrest you and seize it?" Wade gruffed.
Kaze scoffed in exasperation. "Do you think you need only look at a drawing enscribed in another language and learn how to cultivate?"
Wade's chiseled face contorted, flushed red with shame and indignation.
"I lack the time and words necessary to label such ignorance." The emperor scoffed while holding up the paper and snapping his fingers.
A blue flame engulfed the cultivation technique, converting it to ashes, gently drifting in the summer breeze.
While everyone watched their hope for a future in Immortal Skye disappear in shock, Kaze reached into his pocket and pulled out another sheet of paper.
"Let's try this again. Your face says you understand the value of this, yes?" He asked with an arrogant smile.
"Don't play games with us!" Wade snapped with trembling eyes.
The emperor scoffed in disbelief and lifted his fingers again, preparing to snap.
"W-Wait!" Ken yelled, "Wade doesn't mean anything by it. Let's talk."
"Hoh? It seems one of you has the faculty think." Kaze replied with a mocking smile.
Wade sent him a wry smile mixed with anger. "Look, I can't just abandon my duty when you're breaking a dozen laws in the open in a wealthy neighborhood."
"Sure you can!" Kaze replied with a wide smile, "That's a choice. However, you mustn't do it haphazardly, just as I haven't. Do you understand?"
The officers looked at him with strange expressions.
"You've done this with this technique. Are you suggesting you'll do the same for our supervisors?" Ken asked shrewdly.
"Hoh? Of course not." Kaze smirked.
"However, I happen to be in a rather fixed location, a location I ask you, gentlemen, to protect.
So if a police chief arrived at this location, I imagine I'd be here making such an offer again."
Wade, Ken, and the other officer stared at the emperor in disbelief.
"You would go so far as to bribe the police chief?" Wade asked with narrowed eyes.
"But of course." Kaze replied arrogantly, "From what I hear, the going rate for an earth-grade technique from the Emperor is going for 12 Billion, and the stock market's crashing to buy them. How much is a ticket to Immortal Skye worth, I wonder?"
The men fell silent with conflicted eyes.
"You needn't agonize over it." The emperor laugh-scoffed, "You act as though the military will indict you for not shutting down a college party. It's not like there's evidence or a paper trail."
Their eyes lit up in understanding.
"Hoh? It seems you've grasped the value of my offer." Kaze chuckled breathlessly, "So tell me, gentlemen. Do you see a party behind me?"
As if by fate, a stumbling man puked on the ground behind him, leading women to scream and complain. However, Kaze's sharp gaze and smile didn't fade.
Ken looked at the scene with the eyes of a dead fish. "I don't see a party."
Wade's lips pursed into a wry smile. "Me either."
"I suppose we better call the police chief and tell her to check out the area, to confirm no one's here." The third said nervously.
Kaze chuckled. "I suppose you should."
Ken got onto his dispatch and asked for the police chief for an emergency and gave a code. Then he spoke to someone over the receiver and returned.
"Please wait here. She'll be here in fifteen minutes." He said after he finished.
The emperor gave them all mocking glances, pointing out their chief understood the value far faster than they did.
"Are you going to teach us this technique, or what?" Wade gruffed with narrowed eyes.
"Hoh? I thought you'd never ask." Kaze chuckled while pulling out the paper.
"Breath in and say the syllable [Ska] as a mantra as you stare at it. Then imagine there's a third eye on your forehead."
Wade looked around at the dozens of college students watching them with anticipation. He sighed and looked at the paper. "Ska, Ska, Ska, Ska, Ska—"
"Third eye." Kaze scoffed, "Here start again and focus on this point of your forehead."
When he touched Wade's forehead, he waited for the man to restart and then transferred the technique.
Wade's eyes widened in shock, dropping the piece of paper as he stared into the void, processing the profound information that flooded his mind.
"Well?" Kaze asked with a smile.
"I-I understand it. I understand Illuminescent Breathing!" Wade stuttered in disbelief.
"Well? Try it out so we can move on from this farce and enjoy this non-existent party." The emperor said dryly.
Wade didn't care about the man's arrogance and sat on the ground, awkwardly stretching into the lotus position. He took a few deep breaths and let himself get into a trance-like state.
Two minutes later, his body closed with a faint red aura.
The entire park erupted in shock and pandemonium.
"Scrawn Fuuuuuuuuuu!" A drunk man yelled with both arms pumped back, releasing a battle cry to the sky.
Everyone burst into wild cheers after that, and everyone waited with anticipation, hoping to talk to Kaze next.
The emperor turned around and gave a light bow, waiting for the final act to arrive.
Evalyn watched the scene from a distance with an amused smile, a stark contrast to the worried expression she held during the rest of the day.
When Kaze finished teaching Ken and the other officer, Pratt, the police chief, showed up.
"Carmen Skeer. Meridian City police chief." Carmen declared while flashing her badge, "Are you the person stupid enough to bribe my officers and have them send a bribe invitation to a police chief?"
The police chief had light brown skin and lush, curly hair in a tight ponytail.
"Your recount of my talents is making me blush." Kaze replied in a hypnotic voice, flashing her a charming smile.
Her eyes filled with wrath, contrasting his arrogant smirk against the snickering students holding alcohol cups in front of her.
An awkward silence ensued. Carmen didn't want to say anything to initiate a conversation, but she didn't want to cuff him either.
"Hoh? Are you waiting for me to initiate this bribe?" Kaze mused, "My apologies. I'm sure your officers have already—"
"I'm not here to accept a bribe." Carmen snapped.
"And I'm not at a party that isn't happening." The emperor replied with a charming smile.
"Your arrogance is appalling." She scoffed in disbelief.
"There's someone that tells me that often." Kaze chuckled, glancing at Evalyn from the corner of his eye with a smirk. He looked back at the police chief.
"It's a talent." He mocked, "It tends to happen when you have something to be arrogant to be over."
Carmen scoffed and shook her head. She couldn't believe she was even humoring the man before her.
However, her attitude instantly shifted when she saw his body illuminate, flickering like a ten-foot candle.
"The Emperor says money can't buy your way into Immortal Skye." Kaze said with an arrogant smirk.
"But that's not true. I bet I could buy out the highest levels of the judicial system with one client."
The police chief's eyes widened in shock at his words.
"Tell me, Carmen." The emperor requested, "Do you want to waste my time, or do you want a ticket to Immortal Skye?"
Carmen laughed in disbelief, and her eyes became sharp. "Bribery and threatening the police chief of Meridian City. Do you know what you're facing? If you don't—"
Kaze's eyes flashed with murderous intent and the piece of paper in his hands burst into blue flames.
Her eyes trembled in horror at the sight. She looked at the emperor with a pleading expression, staring in disbelief.
Kaze casually pulled out another piece of paper.
"Twenty billion dollar technique to turn a blind eye to a harmless party, versus leaving empty-handed after arresting a vindictive soon-to-be billionaire with established international fame." Kaze scoffed.
"You're here to negotiate a bribe, and you had the audacity to try to abuse your power to get the bribe. You're despicable."
Her eyes trembled in shock, fear, and shame.
"When people play with power, they must be able to back it up." The emperor said coldly, "So stop playing games. Pretending like you're reluctant to accept a bribe doesn't change its legality."
Carmen turned away with a despondent expression.
"However, a bribe without evidence makes it legal in the eyes of the law." Kaze said, throwing her a lifeline, "So as long as there's no witnesses, I suppose there was no crime."
He turned around and called out to hundreds of people in the park. The numbers grew when word spread that Kaze was bribing police officers—and winning.
"Did anyone see this woman show up?" Kaze asked.
"What woman?" A college woman giggled.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Scrawn." Another man chuckled.
Everyone threw in their two cents. Then Kaze turned around to face Carmen.
"Unlike me, these folks don't have legal teams on tap." He chuckled while pointing his thumb behind his shoulder.
"So people will believe the police chief. So you only have to worry about me if you don't uphold your word."
Carmen chuckled bitterly. "Teach it to me, and then fuck off."
"It'd be my pleasure." Kaze replied with a charming smile. He taught her the technique in record time, imprinting helpful supplemental cultivation knowledge into her mind.
Within five minutes, she got into position and began glowing with vibrant red light.
"Well, I'm gonna fuck off now." Kaze chuckled while walking away, "So make sure to uphold your end of the deal, or I'll tell the Emperor to deny your entrances when my legal team interviews these college students."
Carmen smiled wryly, watching the arrogant walk away casually as if it were only natural. She couldn't help but find him fascinating.
Kaze was a man whose flame burnt so hot it sucked in all the oxygen, putting out other flames and leaving people without air to breathe.
She got up and glared at the officers. "You three are staying here to ensure this idiot doesn't cause serious problems. Understand?"
"Yes, mam. " Ken replied.
"Understood." Wade said.
"Of course, Chief." Pratt replied.
"Good. I'm going to finish eating my sandwich in the break room." Carmen said with narrowed eyes.
"Understood." Ken nodded, triggering the same from the others.
Carmen shot one more glance at Kaze before turning around and walking away.
The three officers walked over to the emperor, who was already talking to a group of ladies.
"We're here to watch over the party. To you know… help keep order." Ken said hesitantly.
"Excellent." Kaze said with a wide grin, "Welcome to the Apocalypse Party!"
The students were stunned-silent from the development. However, the same drunk man broke everyone out of their haze.
"Scrawn Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" He yelled, releasing a louder battle cry to the sky.
Everyone in the area abruptly burst into raging cheers. The music returned, and the conservative volume instantly disappeared.
College students started jumping in the air celebrating Kaze at full volume, and some students started grinding with drinks in their hands.
The officers could only stare wryly, watching the scene with bittersweet expressions.
They made a deal with the devil, and the price was inconsequential. So they stood in shame, adeptly ignoring the complaints from the neighbors as four hundred students partied at full volume before them.