The coliseum froze. Air seemed to stop moving and no sounds could be heard. It was almost as though time had stopped, suspending everyone in disbelief.
Dyon’s eyes sparkled hearing Mithrandir’s words, but, she could only frown as she noticed Dyon’s lower regions weren’t showing any reaction no matter how she stroked.
“you!” it wasn’t clear you said it first, but an eruption of baleful auras blanketed the lounging area.
Dyon didn’t seem to notice, deciding to instead calmly remove Mithrandir’s hand and stop circulating his celestial and demonic will.
Dyon chuckled, looking into Mithrandir’s still cloudy eyes, “you should be careful with you who play with beautiful. Taking you wouldn’t be difficult for me,” Dyon’s hand, still resting on Mithrandir’s treasured place, flicked up with a last bit of his aurora.
“mmm, oh god,” Mithrandir grasped Dyon’s shirt tightly from her seated position, breathing heavily.
Although Mithrandir was an outrageous beauty, Dyon felt no remorse in toying with her. He had little patience for those who sought to control him, and a beauty was no exception.
It was only after Dyon completely pulled away that Mithrandir realized what happened. Her emotions fluctuated wildly. Sometimes she was embarrassed, other times angry beyond belief, and even still, among all of this, still pining for more.
She could only grit her teeth in anger, turning away from Dyon as her chest heaved violently.
Primrose snapped out of the stupor, “you’ve got a lot of nerve doing this to a member of the Norville family,” she sneered.
Dyon shrugged, not caring too much, “I can be punished for helping a lady experience her first climax? Why don’t you let me try it on you so we can see how much you hate it, hmm?”
Primrose trembled, looking away from Dyon and slamming her legs closed tightly. But, Dyon could tell there was still a lingering passion in her eyes, which made him chuckle, “don’t think too much on it, I just happened to find it funny that a virgin was going around seducing men.”
Although this didn’t mean much to the younger geniuses who assumed Dyon just made a guess, or was just making fun of Mithrandir, this one sentence of Dyon’s was quite profound for the elders. To have the sense to tell whether one was a virgin or not, seemed trivial, but it was actually an ability only those with the most sensitive of 6th senses could have. It wasn’t normal to be able to distinguish something like that until the celestial stage was surpassed.
Suddenly, they thought back to the chair Dyon materialized earlier, their eyes flashing with realization: ‘he has an innate aurora!’
Ri couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer, “HAHAHAHAHA,” she wiped the tears from her face, clenching her stomach with her free arm. But, the geniuses didn’t take this too well.
“It only makes sense for a human to come here with such an ugly girl,” sneered Ores, “I’ve seen you two together before. You must have settled for fucking a sow, it’s about what you deserve.”
Dyon froze, his face darkening.
BOOM!
There was no time to react, even for Dyon. A graceful figure fell from the terrace, crushing the table the male geniuses sat at.
Dyon looked at her elegant back. Her hair fluttered in the air, a layer of ice lowered the temperature drastically as a sword pressed against Ores’ throat.
Ri’s hair seemed to have a life of its own, Dyon looked on in anticipation, curious as to what her manifestation was. But, it never came, instead, a voice filled with a pure dense killing intent rang out, “you have a lot of nerve… did you think I’d need someone else to stand up for me? To protect me? Go on, say it again. Let’s see if you can get the words out this time.”
Ri’s gentle lake like eyes had iced over, a layer of frost coating everything.
The elders looked on in astonishment, ‘9th level ice will… at barely 15… a true genius’
It was clear that Ri had no energy cultivation, and yet, Ores’ words couldn’t help but be caught in his throat.
Dyon slowly walked over and lightly stroked Ri’s head, seemingly unbothered by the bone chilling ice, “you don’t need my help,” he said softly, “but, let me do it anyway.”
Ri looked over to Dyon, her eyes becoming decidedly gentler. Dyon hadn’t said anything flowery about how it was a man’s job to protect a woman, neither did he pretend as though Ri needed his help. He simply let her know that he wanted to do it. Ri smiled, and she suddenly outshone everything.
People looked at her, dazed. They couldn’t help but think about what the difference was. Wasn’t she a girl of normal appearance? So, why did she look so beautiful right now?
Of everyone, Ri was probably the most confused, but, not about her beauty. She had never asked anyone for help in her life, even when they themselves offered. But, for some reason, Dyon’s voice seemed to hold a command that she couldn’t refuse.
Near the edge of the lounge, Aeson couldn’t help but look at his master’s daughter with a sad expression. The expression of someone who had lost something precious. He himself had always wanted to help Ri. In fact, he probably stood to attack Ores before even Dyon.
He never cared that her appearance could even count as ugly in a society of such beautiful people. But, she had never accepted him like she accepted Dyon now. The anger in him wanted to yell that she was a hypocrite. That she looked so plain and yet fell for a man so attractive. But, he knew Ri better than that. His looks lost out to Dyon in no way, and yet he still felt that he had lost.
To Ri and Dyon, they had a simple and innocent friendship; there was nothing romantic about it. Dyon wanted to protect her much like he wanted to protect all of his friends. Ri accepted his protection because he was the first to make her feel so comfortable. Nothing more, nothing less. But, to those who watched, the undertones of their dynamic were decidedly special.
A platform of ice lifted Ri back to the above terrace where she seemed like she couldn’t be bothered with anything else. She happily sat beside her father who looked at her lovingly.
Ores had barely snapped out of his shock. But, the rest of the geniuses looked on at this scene calmly, eyeing Dyon who now stood in the midst of the broken table, between them all.
Dyon’s voice was faint, but unyielding, laced with a demonic will that caused shivers to run down everyone’s spine, “I didn’t mind taking you all down one by one. In fact, I would have found it to be quite fun. But, it seems like some people have quite perverse mouths.”
Ores stood, towering over Dyon by almost two heads, “did you think I was afraid of you and that little slut? Surprise attacks must be all you humans are capable of.”
Dyon’s pinky came up to his ear, wiggling in it a bit before he blew a bit of dust away, “I’m a little confused as to why the weakest bitch here thinks he can talk to nonchalantly. Did you think that just because you walked along side them,” Dyon’s head shifted towards the geniuses around them, “that you were their equal? If you weren’t part of a major family, would they even bother with you?”
Ores’ face bulged with veins, matching the striking red of his hair.
“I’m pretty sure I already told you what would happen if you appeared before me again. It seems you didn’t run far enough last time.”
Dyon’s words caused silence to reign. Had Dyon already had a confrontation with Ores?
Suddenly Sebastian stepped out, “you talk big, but you’ve yet to do anything. Everyone was waiting in anticipation for the start of the assessments, just to find out that it was all held up for a human who only knows how to say things that sound cool? Meet me on the stage if you dare. I’ll show everyone here why I’m worthy to be the champion of the first years.”
Dyon’s gaze shifted, looking up to find a boy around 15 to 16 years old. He was a half head shorter than Dyon, but he dripped with over-confidence. His black hair and green eyes were his only stand out features, aside from that, you wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a crowd of moderately attractive elves.
“you think that I have no right to speak because I’m a first year who isn’t even champion, correct?”
“Obviously. I earned my spot. You’ve done nothing but speak of cheap things and bloviate. Why should anyone pay attention to you? It’s best that I defeat you handily now, so you can stop having thoughts of staying in our academy.”
“And I presume you also think you have the right to stand in an arena with me, right?”
WHOOSH
Dyon hadn’t waited for a response, his figure flashed, appearing before Sebastian in an instant.
Sebastian staggered, catching himself before he fell backwards. But, he couldn’t help but shiver as he looked into Dyon’s eyes.
A blood thirsty aura started dripping from Dyon, causing Sebastian’s knees to buckle, shaking under the pressure.
“can you even stand with me here? Can you take my attacks? My hate? My anger?”
Sebastian fell to his knees, looking down at the ground in shame.
Jonas twitched, looking at his brother’s reaction. He wasn’t certain of Sebastian’s victory, but he hadn’t thought he was lose to handily.
“You’re not qualified to stand on the same stage as me,” although Dyon’s words were seemingly pointed at Sebastian… every genius there felt his unyielding arrogance… as though he wouldn’t hesitate to say these same exact words to them…
With that, Dyon walked away and towards much to Mithrandir’s dismay, sat at the table of beauties. But then he looked back with a facial expression that baffled everyone.
His smile was bright, as though the demonic will he had just exuded had nothing to do with him. Dyon rubbed his head awkwardly, “ah, Uncle Acacia, I got too excited. I don’t know how you plan to do this assessment, please advise.”
Uncle Acacia chuckled, “the assessment will consist of two parts. As you all know, campaigns are a part of the cultivation world, inextricably connected to the lives of all. While it is a great honor, it is also a heavy task given to the youths of the world. As such, while combat prowess is important, so is intelligence and tactics. As such, one part will test how intelligent you are while the second will test your strength. Since the academies have decided to hold this year’s assessments together, everyone will be participating.
For those of you who believe you aren’t qualified to lead your own armies, don’t forget that performing well still allows you to be placed under the best of campaign leaders. So, even if you’ve lost hope, always try your best! Let’s Begi – “
Suddenly, Dyon interrupted Headmaster Acacia, “um, sorry Uncle Acacia… but, what are campaigns? And what are we fighting for? I’ve never heard about any of this.”
The crowd looked at Dyon as though they were looking at an idiot. Who didn’t know about these things?
“Dyon? Did you not come from the human martial world? This isn’t somethings exclusive to the Elvin kingdom.”
Dyon scratched his head awkwardly, “I did come from the human martial realm, but, I came from the human mortal realm first… I’ve only be here for a little over a year.”
BOOM!
Silence reigned over all. Even Ri who had lost interest in everything suddenly looked at Dyon as though she were looking at a freak, ‘a little over a year… and he’s this powerful?…’
If Ri had remembered that Dyon spent 7 months incapacitated, her reaction may have very well been even more fantastic.
“This…” headmaster Acacia had no idea about this. But, he, elder Flyleaf and Erunonidan, smiled soon after. Dyon being from the mortal realm meant that he definitely had no backing. Which meant that it was be even easier for him to campaign under the Elvin Kingdom.
“If you don’t know about it… it’s too long of a story and explanation to give now. For a cursory understanding, campaigns are essentially what a universe’s strength hinges on. You may not have met this concept yet, or maybe you have, but wills are finite. The only way to increase a world’s hold on wills is by conquering other worlds with different laws, daos, wills and so on.
As for why this is hinged on the younger generation… our universe is ranked fairly low. Therefore, the gates that connect us to other universes aren’t stable and can’t support cultivation higher than essence gathering. When power exceeds that limit, the gate would collapse, killing everyone inside. So, the ancestors that created the gates directly blocked cultivation levels higher than the gates’ limits.”
Dyon’s eyes shone. He had come across this concept of finite wills before. During Focus Academy’s opening ceremony, while he was standing behind the door, he heard the pillar family heads talk about how Meiying had carved out a piece for herself in the will of her compass. Dyon hadn’t spent much time thinking about non-elemental type wills since then, but this was a good wakeup call for him.
Suddenly Dyon remembered something, ‘didn’t those elders also say I was gaining a monopoly on music will? Is that possible for something so wide spread? Maybe music isn’t that common of a will? I never thought about it since Madeleine had it, so I assumed it wasn’t rare. But… Jade wasn’t using music will while she was playing the other day. Or, maybe, the music will I have access to is only from this universe, so it’s comparatively easier to gain a monopoly on it?’
Dyon was once again lost in his thoughts. This world was truly a lot more complex than he gave it credit for.
“So, Uncle Acacia, what do I need to do to be able to participate?”
To Dyon, his only goal was to leave the biggest impact he could on the martial world. What could be bigger than becoming a general known throughout multiple universes?
Before Uncle Acacia could respond, a cold voice came from below the terrace, “what makes you think you’d have a right to participate as a campaign leader? That would require you using Elvin troops and representing the Elvin Kingdom. Did you think we need a human like you to do this? If you’d really like to show your sincerity, you can compete to be a foot soldier,” Zaltarish spoke calmly, no emotions could be seen on his face. His demeanor was completely different when he wasn’t interacting with his friends.
Dyon smiled, not minding, “ah, you do make a good point. I can’t possibly ask for Elvin troops without having contributed anything to the Elvin Kingdom. Since I assume you speak with nothing but the best interest of your kingdom in mind, then I won’t take needless offense.”
Dyon was calm. There was no need to get angry over something as inconsequential as this. He was indeed not a member of the Elvin Kingdom, it would be odd if he was allowed lead their troops just because he was a talent.
Ores sneered, “since you understand, you can fuck off now. There’s no need for you to be here.”
Dyon chuckled, “you all misunderstand. I understand that I haven’t earned the right to represent the Elvin Kingdom… yet.”
The geniuses frowned.
“what makes you think you could ever earn such a right?” Ores was really unwilling to allow Dyon any leeway.
Dyon smiled, “wouldn’t you know the answer after the assessment is finished?”
Seemingly understanding Dyon’s intentions, Uncle Acacia began to speak, “The addition of Mathilde Academy and Florence Academy is a bit unexpected. However, I believe that it’s clear that these two academies have long since chosen their campaign leaders,” a faint smile grew on Uncle Acacia’s face, “as such, I’ve decided to use my judgement to select 3 candidates to represent our school. In consideration of the Sigebryht young master’s worries, 1 candidacy will be shared between my daughter and Dyon. The others will be filled by Jonas Benes and my adoptive son, Aeson Acacia.”
Dyon smirked, ‘Uncle Acacia sure is cunning.’
The truth was, ever since the message he received the previous night, Headmaster Acacia had realized that something was wrong. It was clear that this assessment was for nothing else other than to either undermine the legitimacy of the geniuses of his academy. It was all the more obvious with the late arrivals of their academies’ 6 geniuses. Headmaster Acacia was well aware that something like this wouldn’t be planned or approved by Grand Elder Deryth. However, the arrival was coordinated by Zaltarish. The male geniuses would follow such a simple request without much thought. On the side of the female geniuses, the upper experts of the Elvin Kingdom were well aware of the subtle relationship between the Norville and Sigebryht families. And Primrose, being Mithrandir’s best friend, would listen to a request like that as well.
In the end, their plan was to have their comparatively regular students participate with Acacia Academy, then embarrass them with their true geniuses afterwards. What they didn’t count on was the late start and Dyon’s talent.
Elder Cormyth didn’t seem too bothered by his scheme having been found out, “this isn’t too good, is it Headmaster Acacia? We’ve gathered so many people, yet there won’t be a show? Also, Florence and Mathilde Academy only chose two candidates each. Mithrandir of my academy, and Primrose of Florence Academy aren’t participating. So, why would Acacia Academy use up three spots? There are a finite number of soldiers, you know. In addition, one of those spots is filled by your daughter and a young man I can only assume is betrothed to her? This nepotism is too obvious, no?”
Dyon raised an eyebrow. It was clear that Elder Cormyth was set on making an example of Uncle Acacia, but, because Dyon’s understanding of the Elvin Kingdom was too shallow, he had no idea why. But, as he pondered, he suddenly thought of something. He wasn’t sure if the Benes family was a major family or not, but what he was clear on was the fact that neither Aeson, himself, or Ri were part of such a family. After he thought of this and coupled it with the disdainful looks he was constantly receiving from the male geniuses, he pieced together that this had something to do with status wars.
However, Headmaster Acacia was well prepared for this, “haha, Elder Cormyth’s concerns are duly noted, however, you haven’t allowed me to finish. In the spirit of friendly competition, I allow any of the chosen of my academy to decide whether or not to accept challenges from Mathilde and Florence Academy. Everyone may only be challenged twice. Once for a show of strength. And the other for a show of intelligence. We can’t very well allow a single person to tire themselves to death because of an endless amount of challenges, no?”
The crowd cheered, excited that they’d get a show.
Grand Elder Cormyth could only clench his teeth in anger. Not only did headmaster Acacia not use the proper honorifics by dropping the Grand from his title, he also implied that his school would do something as shameful as tiring out an opponent before defeating them. However, there was nothing he could do about the rules set. They were in Acacia Academy territory.
Suddenly, Zaltarish’s emotionless voice rang out again, “We will honor Headmaster Acacia’s arrangements. We are happy to know that you are not afraid of your decisions being questioned. We’ll all bare witness to the grandeur of your candidates. As for choosing 3 instead of 2, the original mandate was for 3, with a cap of 4, should a particular year have enough talents. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”
Dyon looked towards Zaltarish, his eyes as calm as could be, ‘this guy is quite arrogant to pretend as though things will only proceed as such because he agrees. Too bad Uncle Acacia only wants me to fight one of you. I’ve already promised a pretty lady to deal with something for her…’
Ores was already standing up, staring daggers at Dyon, but, unexpectedly, Dyon wasn’t paying attention.
“Silver Fairy,” he said with a gentle smile, “can you tell me who the major families are?”
Jade seemed to snap out of a train of thought she’d been on for quite a while to see Dyon’s pure eyes looking towards her, “uh, yes. Our school has the Eostre, aka me, Conventine, aka Opal, and Ingram major families,” she said, finally looking towards Celine, “The Mathilde Academy has the Sigebryht, Grimbold and Norville major families. And Florence Academy has the Nodin, Aedre,” she looked towards Primrose, “and finally Fletcher major families.”
‘hmm, so Benes isn’t part of the major families either… it seems this is why our school is looked down upon… none of this generation’s major family members want to participate in campaigns, and since they’re all female, no one looks down on them for it. Instead, they use it as an excuse to look down upon Acacia Academy.’
“And what about the sub-families?”
Jade smiled, finally feeling as though she was talking to the same young man as the previous night, “there are too many to name. But, there are 21 sub divided into 3 parts depending on which of the guilds they support. The Benes family is actually a sub-family responsible for the blacksmithing guild. In fact, they’re the most powerful sub-family within that faction because of the advantage their manifestations give them.”
Jade’s last sentence made Dyon realize something. Singularity type manifestation techniques ensure a particular kind of manifestation, however, so does the bloodline of families. Ri already made it clear to him that only major families have Singularity type techniques. Yet, Jade just said that the Benes family gained an advantage because of their manifestation. This meant, that while the technique plays a role, so does a person’s bloodline, which is probably why the major families were the most powerful.
When Dyon thought of Mithrandir, from talks around him, he knew that her manifestation was as a result of the unique type manifestation technique. However, he also heard that her manifestation was identical to the founder of the Norville family. Which meant that her manifestation probably didn’t stray too far from what was provided by the Singularity type technique. This made Dyon wonder what the point of the singularity type technique was. Suddenly, a thought flashed in Dyon’s mind: the singularity type technique was there to ensure that the bloodline never faded.
Imagine if the Norville family, as an example, went generations without birthing a genius like Mithrandir. This would mean that the bloodline’s strength would dwindle again and again. Making it less and less likely that another Mithrandir would appear. However, what if that bloodline was rejuvenated with a technique? Almost like stimulating it with whatever made the bloodline great to begin with. Wouldn’t that keep the family going?
Unknowingly, Dyon had deduced a tightly kept secret of the major families… And he also had an interesting thought to go along with it… if Singularity Type technique rejuvenate bloodlines, wouldn’t it be a high level body cultivation technique as well as a soul cultivation technique? Wouldn’t that mean that the Elves, who were so hung up on soul cultivation, owed much of their power to a form they neglected? Wouldn’t that also mean that should Dyon ever get his hands on any singularity type techniques, that he’d gain the body of an elf?
‘oh my, I can get more handsome?’ Dyon thought chuckling to himself, ‘clearly the beauty of elves isn’t as simple as being descendants of gods… or maybe… it’s exactly because of that reason…’
“I see… thank you fairy,” Dyon smiled lightly.
Ignoring Mithrandir’s hateful glance and Primrose’s conflicted expression, Dyon suddenly got up.
“Uncle Acacia, sorry for not being a very tactful person, but I think it’s actually quite pathetic for the two academies to come here and flaunt their nonsense. So, how about I send them on their way for you? They must be wondering how good your judgement is right? I’ll make it clear. Grimbold scum, you can bring your ass here first. Grimbold is quite the warrior’s name, no? Let’s see how much of a warrior you are.”
BOOM!
The surroundings erupted, the crowd couldn’t withhold their sneers anymore.
“does this kid not know that he’s only lucky to have been chosen as a candidate?
“without a doubt. If his generation had any major family males from Acacia Academy in it, it would never be his turn”
“To call the Grimbold family scum… how arrogant!”
Dyon couldn’t be bothered with the whispers, instead flashing and appearing on the center arena under the sparkling eyes of Jade and her friends.
However, not all of them looked on in interest.
Mithrandir turned her cold gaze towards Dyon’s figure with a look that could kill, ‘you’re ignorant. You have no idea how Elves battle, you know next to nothing about martial arts, and yet you have the audacity to be so cocky after only training for a year? And now you want to beat the member of a major family? Enjoy your early death. No one will save you. Your life means nothing to us.’
Ores feet were heavy as he slowly walked towards the stage. His aura was stifling, the sky seemingly darkened with his every step.
His muscles rippled, sending his simple linen shirt into the wind. The battle axe on his back seemed to vibrate with anticipation.
Every step was like an attempt to crush Dyon’s heart, to crush his arrogance, to crush any means of resistance.
Weaker students shivered. The pungent smell of piss filled the area under the terrace and even reached the regular audience.
Grabbing his axe from his back, Ores swung it leisurely, but the air seemed to slice willingly. Bowing down to his skill and his power.
Ores leaped.
BOOM!
He landed 3 meters from Dyon. To him, this distance was enough for an instant kill.
He loomed above, staring down at Dyon with disdain. A Dyon who didn’t seem to have any intention of moving despite the danger.
Ores’ voice rang out, carrying a domineering will, “I’ll only give you one chance. Take out a weapon and defend yourself, or else you won’t know how you died.”
Dyon’s arm trembled, causing Ores to sneer, “it’s too late to be afraid now. You’ve blasphemed the Grimbold name. Today you won’t leave without becoming a cripple. Either that. Or you won’t leave at all.”
Suddenly, Dyon yawned, “what are you talking about,” Dyon brought his hand over, he scratched an itch, “I just felt so disgusted by your presence that I gained the irresistible urge to scratch myself all over.”
The crowd froze as Ores’ face darkened.
“It’s clear you won’t cry until the coffin’s being lowered. Since that’s the case, you can be on your way now,” Ores raised his axe, a gleam of hot and raging fire gracing the blade.
Dyon looked up with an interested expression, ‘4th level meridian formation… 34 opened meridians… not bad. At such a young age, considering he must have only recently begun cultivating, he definitely has a good chance of stepping into the saint stage.’
BOOM!
Ores’ axe stopped inches from Dyon’s face, a dazzling array swirled with complex gold, not showing a hint of wavering to Ores’ power.
Ores’ eyebrows furrowed, “is this how Acacia Academy does battle? Array Plates? How pitiful.”
The crowd booed, disgusted with Dyon’s actions.
Elder Cormyth sneered along with the geniuses brought from the other academies, “is this your so-called genius?”
Uncle Acacia said nothing, instead lightly smiling. He sent a look over to Ri who was smirking. Clearly, she knew something.
Dyons sighed, “you know, I’m tired of my genius getting mistaken for the work of others…”
“You dare to still say that this is your genius? If I wanted to use a practitioner level plate, you think my family wouldn’t be able to buy hundreds, if not thousands for me? You disgust me. Not only is your lineage subpar, your character is even worse. You don’t have the spirit of a warrior. You aren’t worthy of dying by my axe,” Ores put his battle axe away, intent on walking away.
Suddenly, the air changed around Dyon. A Demonic will permeated the air. The anger was clear in his eyes.
“My lineage? Subpar? Open your dog eyes.”
The wind raged, tens of formations spun violently behind Dyon, their formation slowed so that everyone could witness their construction.
Ores looked back, a serious expression surfacing on his face.
“You’ve done a lot of things to piss me off. First you try to take a 5-year-old as your concubine. Then you insult my friend’s beauty. And now you have the face to insult my lineage?”
BOOM!
A weapon’s hell array completed, immediately firing a spear of unparalleled speed towards Ores.
Ores Roared, brandishing his axe and swinging to block.
BOOM!
Ores flex backwards, sliding across the stage to finally stop at its edge.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve. Is the Grimbold family so great?”
BOOM!
A spear sped forward again, tossing Ores cleanly off the main stage and tumbling into the neutral areas of the coliseum. But, Dyon didn’t have any intentions of stopping.
“Wasn’t I weak? Wasn’t I subpar? Wasn’t I unworthy? Give me your axe oh great one”
BOOM!
Grimbold flew backwards again. But, this time, a defense array appeared behind him, causing him to cough up blood as it jarred him forward.
The crowd could only look on in awe. Dyon’s spears were laced with so many wills, even the experts were having trouble picking out what was going on.
However, there was one gaze that wasn’t worried about how powerful Dyon’s spear were, she was only worried about his reaction to Ores’ insults, ‘it’s not like you to get so angry so easily…’ thought Ri.
Ores had had enough. A tempest of aura violently raged behind him.
BOOM!
Dyon’s defensive array shattered under the pressure, leaving Ores’ manifestation leering in the skies.
A battle axe wreathed in flames seemed to want to burn everything in its path.
Ores said no words, but his red eyes deepened. His fiery red hair raged with wind, wildly fluttering in the air.
A warrior’s cry resounded through the arena as Ores pounced forward, landing before Dyon and swinging his battle axe with deadly intent.
The elders all held serious expressions, ‘7th level battle axe will… 5th level fire will… both boosted to the 9th level as soon as his manifestation appeared…’
However, Dyon had no reaction. His eyes still reddened with rage. His shirt sliced apart under his storm of sword qi.
“he’s a sword master!” Jade’s eyes sparkled. What was a better mix than a domineering yet elegant man? Nothing could compare to the sword in her eyes.
“you’re not worthy of my sword. You’re not worthy of me moving from this single spot. You’re not worthy to carry the title of warriors. GET OUT OF MY FACE!”
BOOM!
Tens of Weapon’s hell arrays released all at once. Shearing the air and careening towards Ores.
Despair colored his eyes as he watched the end of his life.
Suddenly, Headmaster Grimbold moved. Uncle Acacia made no move to stop him, fully aware that it wasn’t in Dyon’s best interest to kill a young master of the Grimbold family.
With a wave of his arm, the spears shattered.
The crowd sucked in a collective breath as the gold and shattered lights finally dissipated.
There, before Dyon, Headmaster Grimbold bowed with his hand across his chest, “it isn’t noble of me to interrupt your duel, especially when I wouldn’t step in should it have been your life in danger, but, unfortunately, I must. Ores is an important member of our Grimbold family and cannot die under my watch. The Grimbold family holds strength above all and no one finds this act more shameful than we do. However, even with that said, I must do it. If one day you become strong enough to eradicate our family, no one of Grimbold blood will blame you.”
Dyon’s eyes still held rage, but he calmed it. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to take Ores’ life. And, what Ores’ senior had said was correct – and it’s underlying meaning… even more so. Strength above all else. He couldn’t kill Ores today, because he didn’t have the strength to fight the Grimbold family. It was just that simple.
“Since the Grimbold family is so honorable, I think it would be a simple matter that can be resolved with an apology just as simple, no?”
Headmaster Grimbold lifted his head and looked back towards a pale Ores, “apologize.”
His tone left no room for discussion. As such, Ores stood to apologize to Dyon. However, what Dyon said next surprised him.
“Not me. The beautiful girl over there,” Dyon pointed towards Ri who had a gentle smile on her face.
‘it seems like the Dyon I like is back.’