Passing through the grand and majestic gate situated near the Combat Institute's arena, the group made their way to Lord Izta's palace, the place where they spent days training before the second Magus Game.
Walking past the familiar courtyard and usual pathways, the group reached the palace and began walking up the stairs until they finally arrived at the magnificent grand hall, where one of the 5 guardians of Combat Institute could be seen waiting for them.
As they walked into the familiar hall, the short bearded man in golden armor, Lord Izta, once again sent his guards away. Emery and his friends quickly made their way through the hall and gave Lord Izta their respects.
Currently, Lord Izta was closing his eyes in silence. He didn't even open his mouth when Emery and the others gave their respect. The strange attitude Lord Izta showed made them nervous.
When Emery was about to open his mouth, Lord Izta finally moved. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and said, "My dear friend Enkidu said I should congratulate you all and not be emotional..."
Lord Izta then turned his gaze towards Emery and continued, "You… did extremely well. Emery. Well done… well done… and also you, Klea... not too bad. Good.. good..."
Lord Izta took another deep breath and released a very profound sigh. Before Emery could ask what was wrong to the sighing lord, he suddenly stood up from his throne and shouted loudly to the sky.
"#^*@ Son of a MOnkey poop on a Thundercunt!! Why!! Why!!"
The abrupt booming shout contained countless indescribable curses shocked the entire group, without exception. Emery and his friends could only stand there frozen, as they watched Lord Izta walking left and right around the throne, cursing non stop.
A few seconds later, Lord Izta finally stopped his series of curses and instantly calmed himself down, after noticing Emery and the others stood there frozen stiff with their mouth wide open, clearly dumbfounded.
"Ah, I am sorry, everyone. Pardon my sudden rage… y-you guys did well.. really well... it just.. only a little bit more and all of you could get in… ARGH!!! I was so angry when I watched the game!"
Understanding the situation, Julian swiftly voiced his thought out, "I am sorry, lord. It was my mistake."
"No, no, no, you all did really well… really well. You all are talented... Yes!" Lord Izta then walked over to the group and approached them one by one.
In front of Chumo, "Yes, you definitely have the necessary talent to be in the elite class..."
Thrax, "You… although you are dumb… you are full of bravery."
Klea, "And you… you are a very special girl. You surely don't understand how lucky these boys are to have you with them…"
And finally, Emery, "You… you.. Arrghh!! I really don't know how to deal with you!"
Upon hearing Lord Izta's sort of compliments to them, Julian was unsure on how to respond. But then, he slowly said, "Lord, we know we have failed you and disappointed you. But we still received a lot of rewards from the game, and.. I am sure we can manage ourselves, even without entering the elite class."
"Ahh, you have no idea..." Lord Izta then talked to the empty space next to him, doing his usual practice of talking alone. "We thought the same as them, didn't we?"
Lord Izta then returned his gaze towards the group again, "Listen... It's not just the class you're missing… But also what the title of elite class is entitled to!"
Suddenly, Lord Izta turned his body facing towards one side of the palace, causing Emery and the other to turn their head too. There, a figure was flying in, crossing through the hall. It was a young magus in all black clothes. His unexpected presence made Emery startled.
"Master Xion!?"
Magus Xion landed inside the majestic hall, a few feet away from Lord Izta and gave him his respect. "My utmost respect for the Senior. I am Xion, a magus of the Darkness Institute."
Lord Izta was tense for a moment when he saw Magus Xion enter the hall. But when he heard Xion's name, he immediately calmed down.
"You are the magus who has been helping Emery while I was away for my mission. Hence, there's no need for such formality. Moreover, I have heard of you, young magus Xion. What is your purpose in coming here?"
"Here's the thing, Magus Izta. I am here to offer my aid for your plan."
Upon hearing that, Lord Izta's face quickly changed for a split second before turning straight again, making it almost unnoticeable. Then, as if he didn't hear anything, Lord Izta responded calmly, "What do you mean with 'my plan', Magus Xion?! Don't talk nonsense."
"Magus Izta, I already know all of you came from the same origin. Therefore, it was easy for me to connect the dots and guess what you planned to do."
Lord Izta swiftly shifted his eye to Emery and gave him a sharp gaze. Returning his gaze back to Magus Xion, Lord Izta said, "Huh! Just tell me what do you want…"
As he said that, Lord Izta suddenly took out his massive golden ax from his ring and rested it horizontally on the ground. The sudden appearance of a weapon made everyone uncomfortable.
"Calm down, Magus Izta! I came here as a friend… I-"
Before Magus Xion could finish his words, Lord Izta cut him off, "Friend..? I… hahaha, I have no friends! Never had for a while and I definitely don't need one now!" Lord Izta said, gripping his ax.
Realizing the situation would turn bad if these kept going, Magus Xion immediately turned serious and released his card, "Senior! You need one if you want to succeed on your plan! At least, I can help you with Emery's case!"
Emery startled when he heard his name was mentioned.
Lord Izta slowly loosen his grip on the ax and calmed down. He then walked back and sat on the throne again. "Emery… Yes, If you can help out Emery, the plan will have more chances to succeed."
Annoyed for being spoken of, but not being included in the conversation, as if he didn't exist, Emery quickly interrupted them, "Master Xion, Lord Izta. Please tell us what is going on? What plan?"
Turning his gaze towards Lord Izta, Emery noticed the senior magus didn't seem willing to say anything and only lowered his head to the floor. But then, Magus Xion said, "I believe you should explain it to them now, Magus Izta."
Lifting his head, Lord Izta gazed at all of them one by one. Seeing their confused expressions, Lord Izta took a deep breath for the umpteenth time, he then opened his mouth.
"We are going to take back our home!"