Old Mistress Holy Wing was indeed valiant. Although she had retired from her position of Priest Saintess, handing it down to her daughter – Elena's mother's half-sister and Ryu's half-aunt – she was no older or less powerful than Ryu's grandmothers.
Her beauty was clear. Despite looking about fifty or so years old, her skin was soft and supple, not to mention healthy. Her hair still swayed with a shimmering crystal light and her pink eyes pierced through the very air itself.
Seeing her rival walk in, Mistress Kunan's eyes flashed with anger while Priest Saint Kunan's became filled with a complicated light. At one point in time, he had loved this woman as well, but he chose his Vorena instead. However, instead of respecting that decision, Old Mistress Holy Wing forgot all boundaries and realms of etiquette to forcibly take his seed. As a result, he had a daughter in this world he could count on a single hand the number of times he had seen… A daughter he had never even held in his arms.
This sort of pain bore a hatred for this woman deep in Priest Saint Kunan's heart. All tethers of love had been shattered by her eons ago. If it wasn't for that fact she was still a mother of his child, Priest Saint Kunan would have drawn his weapon and cleaved her in two!
As for Mistress Kunan, she understood the feelings of her husband well. Although she gave him a hard time, these were wounds she would never tread on. She despised this woman to the depths of her soul. If it wasn't for her love's sake, she too would have cleaved this wench in half!
Titus showed no obvious reaction to Old Mistress Holy Wing's entrance. His eyes were calm, but the slight swaying of his flaming red hair told anyone who knew him that he was truly angered.
"Valeska, what brings you here?" Titus asked apathetically.
Old Mistress Holy Wing tilted her head. "Little boy, you're still ten billion years too young to address me in such a way."
"Grandmother!" Elena stood with a rage deep in her eyes. "Must you do things this way?!"
"Grandmother? You still have the face to call me by that title when you've spit in the face of everything I've built?! You're no granddaughter of mine!"
Who didn't know the teachings of the Holy Wing Clan? Marriage was forbidden. Men were to be used, not fallen in love with. Their doctrines were so simple to remember that only a fool would forget. Yet, one of their Saintesses ignored these rules entirely, rules that had been in place for several Eras!
If it was up to Old Mistress Holy Wing, she would have tied Elena up and locked her away until that little bastard cripple Ryu died a rotten death. But, Elena was too intelligent and the Tatusya and Kunan Clans were too powerful. Since Elena decided to stay of her own accord, would Mistress and Priest Saint Kunan allow Valeska to do as she pleased? Would Titus and Himari allow their son's lover to be taken right before their eyes? Of course not!
No matter how valiant Old Mistress Holy Wing seemed, she was simply a cornered chicken with barely the ability to squawk.
A normal granddaughter would have been hurt to hear these words, but Elena had heard them too often. Even the greatest of insults fell on deaf ears when used to impunity. Elena only felt a deep seeded disgust for her grandmother's ways.
The truth of the matter was that this was more serious than it was made out to be. When a Clan was formed there were a few things it needed. The first was a Holy Land, the second were Founding Members, and the third were Clan Texts.
The Holy Land was simply a place adequate enough to birth a prestigious Clan. They were usually areas of resounding Feng Shui or markers of auspicious events.
The Founding Members were even simpler to explain. They were the core members of the soon to be formed Clan. The more powerful they were, the more binding the Clan Texts would be.
Then, there were the so-called Clan Texts. These were ancient rules put in place by the Clan's founders and a proxy by which the standards of the future generations were measured. They were also the means by with Core Teachings or techniques of a Clan could be stored.
What did the act of Elena's defiance mean? It was no less than slapping the faces of these Founding Members.
If it was a small clan or if Elena was an insignificant branch member, this would hardly matter. But, the fact that the Holy Wing Clan was a Founding Clan of the Shrine Planes and Elena was a Saintess of their ranks made this problem massive!
When the Clan Texts are disobeyed, the Fate that the Founding Members provided takes a hit. If these rules continue to be violated, there will be a time that this Ancient Fate will cease to recognize its current generation members entirely! If this were to happen, the ability for the Holy Wing Clan to protect itself and birth future talents would take a major hit, one substantial enough to cripple and even destroy them!
Simply put, while Elena found these rules barbaric and disgusting, Old Mistress Holy Wing saw them as necessary for the survival of their Clan!
One could debate about what fools the Founding Members were all they liked, but the Clan Texts were set in stone several Eras ago. It was then the obligation of the current generation to either fall in line like Old Mistress Holy Wing or destroy it all and start from scratch.
It might sound valiant and noble to choose the latter, but how many could really afford to do so? It simply couldn't be helped that the values of the past generations wouldn't be in line with that of those today… But, without the protection of these past generations, a Clan's only option was to become a subordinate to others or risk destruction.
Seeing that her granddaughter only sneered at her comments, Old Mistress Holy Wing's gaze turned cold before snapping away entirely.
"I've simply come to partake in the festivities, you wouldn't turn this old woman away, would you?"