Liam instantly took out his Rank 2 Jade that Samuel had given him, imbuing it with ‘Ora’.
///
It was well past midnight, and the night was soon to recede.
Clouds started to form and grow in the sky, churning up a thunderstorm.
“It’s time for the rain to start pouring again.”
Outside the colosseum, Samuel and a few other head guards sat across from each other, discussing the events of the tournament.
“I have to say, I never expected a peasant to win this year…” a burly, tall, stern man said – donning a violet robe associated with Rizt – taking a sip from his mug.
“I bet we’ll start seeing some changes around these regions.”
“One thing is for sure, peasants will no doubt grow ambitious and hungry for power.”
“We’ll see strengthened regulations for techniques now too. Damn rascal, made it difficult for us all.”
Samuel chuckled, but some bitterness could be seen in his eyes.
“That kid is just something else. The demon mask does well to represent him.”
Samuel himself was quite proud of Liam’s achievement, especially since he did it with a pair of blades and a few low ranked spells.
Cultivators had respect for power, no matter how brutal and scum-like they were.
‘He’ll have more than one target on his back, though,’ Samuel thought, taking a sip from his mug.
Abruptly, his Jade started to glow.
His eyes widening, Samuel instantly answered it.
“Help! Plea—” Liam’s weak and desperate voice rang out from the Jade, abruptly cutting off.
“Everyone inside, now!” Samuel bellowed, his thunderous voice echoing past the other families.
Condensed wind gathered behind the head-guard to form two streamlined wings, whirring as it fluttered him across the celebratory hall.
The Royce family soldiers followed closely behind – the remaining head-guards seeing that reaction turned stern, shooting towards the commotion.
Seeing their familial soldiers entering their space, the nobles grew confused and panicked.
Samuel was the first to arrive at the victor’s chambers, his senses stretching to their limits – his mental waves were dulled considerably by the privacy inscriptions, and he couldn’t properly assess the space.
Samuel punched once through the large doors, his eyes widening in shock.
The Royce guards arrived shortly after, their mouths opening incredulously, unable to hide the shock in their eyes and the hurling of their stomachs.
Ian was lying dead on the floor, his body desecrated beyond recognition. Elsa’s head was separated from her body, her neck spurting blood.
Jacob was lying limp with a see-through gap in his head.
“What… what is this?” uttered Samuel, mortified.
His eyes fell on the window.
The pane of glass was shattered, indicating a break-in.
“I want this place secure. Notify Miss Lisa, I’m heading towards the western forest!” Samuel commanded, before his wings fluttered, sending him shooting outside with incredible speed.
Unbeknownst to everyone there, a servant was heading in the opposite direction, slipping past the focused, marching guards and exiting the corridors.
There was no way Liam could leave through the main entrance, which is why he left through the back gate.
It was a small spot the servants used to discard their trash, and there was nothing but trees up ahead.
Liam picked up his speed, hiding his presence and turning into a streak.
‘Fleeting Foot!’
Before long, he was dashing through the tree line like a Shadow Panther, pushing his limits with the Fleeting Foot spell to get as far away as possible.
Liam felt multiple emotions welling up. Nearly twelve years in the same city, countless memories and losses. He hadn’t even said goodbye to Rogan and Lloyd.
By the end, Liam’s lips turned to a resolute smile.
‘I’m finally free!’
///
Within the grand hall, a churning anxiousness started to gain intensity.
Lisa Royce had a tense scowl on her face as she followed the trail of guards heading towards Liam’s room, her brothers following closely behind.
“Move!” she shouted, shoving away the apologetic soldiers blocking her view to the room. 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
Her eyes widened with disbelief as she stared at the scene before her.
Her niece decapitated, her nephew mutilated, her half-blooded nephew without a core in his abdomen – all were mummified, their rings looted.
Lisa covered her mouth in shock, a knot curled in her stomach as she felt like puking.
Adrian entered the room a moment later, his trembling brows furrowed before his stomach emptied its contents.
Richard was the first to enter the room, his eyes flickering with hard anger.
He wasn’t too disturbed by the mutilated bodies. As the eldest, Richard was subjected to harsh training by Edwin. He was even stronger than Samuel.
All eyes converged on Liam’s corpse.
Liam’s hands were wrapped tightly around a pair of black blades, bloodstained and riddled with cracks on its surface.
‘At least he won’t be a problem anymore,’ Richard thought, inspecting Liam’s body further.
There was no doubt about it… the peasant was dead.
A moment later, a pair of Ovlar family nobles – along with other ruling families – arrived at the scene, followed closely by hundreds of soldiers.
“The Blood Demon has returned!” Jacob’s mother shrieked, afraid to even approach her son’s desecrated corpse. “That cursed devil!”
Kevil Ovlar, Jacob’s father, shifted his incredulous gaze from the scene and looked towards Richard and his siblings.
Anger grew on his face, and his eyes narrowed.
“Our Patriarch will require answers,” his voice cracked, a poor attempt at hiding his grief and fear.
Richard coldly scoffed and spoke with a stern tone:
“You think ours won’t?”
Kevil gestured for the guards to leave, promptly turning around himself.
“This won’t end well for your city. Our feud was never one of vicious hostility,” Kevil stated, before turning around to leave. “Expect that to change.”
Richard scoffed and shook his head as Adrian approached Elsa’s and Ian’s body, kneeling and crying on their corpses.
‘I doubt father gives a damn about those two,’ Richard shifted his eyes to Liam’s. ‘It’s him he’ll get angry for.’
‘No use worrying about it now. There will be some political backlash, but we’re safer off with the boy dead.’