Chapter 72: Start of the Grand Final

  Tidus hovered above the arena, closely watching the two boys begin their duel. Damon drew his bow and shot several arrows, and Erik used a defensive artifact specialized for projectiles. He found no irregularities. In fact, Erik’s choice impressed him. It was a clever choice to counter Damon.

  The vortex barrier stopped the first arrow. However, Erik abruptly screamed and collapsed. Tidus hurried to his side as the second arrow was also caught by the fluid wall. Then the swirling barrier fell apart.

  The third arrow arrived alongside Tidus. It shot through the gap formed the moment the vortex collapsed, piercing through all five of the bracers’ barriers. Just before it could puncture Erik’s head, he managed to grab hold of it. He had barely rescued Erik in time.

  Two more arrows whizzed past his head, also heading straight for Erik. Purple lightning erupted from his mouth, shooting straight for the arrows. They struck them mid-air, causing them to spiral away.

  Hmm?

  The air where they collided rippled for a moment before vanishing. There was no sign of anything. Even his arcane sight came up empty.

  That wasn’t a spell…

  He glanced back at Damon, who stood straight with a satisfied smile on his face. It was obvious he knew what had happened to Erik. But Tidus couldn’t prove anything. He had no idea what it was.

  His eyes dropped to the curled-up Erik. His face was pale and covered in sweat. A wet patch had formed on his robes.

  Interesting.

  “Contestant Erik, are you okay?” he asked.

  Erik’s eyes cracked open, and he slowly inspected his surroundings. He trembled and did not reply. A moment later, he looked behind Tidus and immediately began shaking even harder. His mouth finally opened, but incoherent mumbling was all that emerged.

  Jeez, what did the kid even do to this boy?

  With a shake of his head, he called out. “Someone, come take this boy to the infirmary. The match is over. Damon is the victor.”

  After watching the Violet Mist cultivators come and carry Erik away, Tidus glanced at the private room. His lips moved as he sent a message.

  Within the private room, several of the Adepts shot up to their feet. Zeke, especially, had rushed forward to the edge, only to be stopped by Zoltan.

  “What is the meaning of this, Zoltan?” Zeke growled as he placed a hand on the storage pouch on his hip.

  “Control yourself, Zeke,” Zoltan replied with an indifferent voice. He stood still, but the air around him changed. The temperature of the room steadily increased as a sweltering heat radiated from his body.

  “You may be stronger than I am, but you don’t intimidate me. That boy is hiding something. He must be! I need to know what underhanded method he used against Erik!” Zeke hissed.

  Agatha stepped up next to Zeke. “I concur. I think we need to summon the boy here and interrogate him. That was abnormal. Elemental spells shouldn’t be able to bypass the new defensive artifacts you designed. Unless…”

  “What are you saying, Madam Agatha?” Zoltan frowned as he faced her.

  “Nothing much. Just that maybe the Assembly left a path to bypass the defenses like before. And just maybe they revealed that secret to the boy because they were afraid of losing to Violet Mist.”

  Agatha smirked as Zoltan glowered at her. Zeke also turned to look at her with surprise.

  “Is that the case, Agatha? Is that what happened?”

  Zoltan opened his mouth but then paused. After a moment, he closed it and glanced down at Tidus. They met eyes for a heartbeat, and then Zoltan turned back to face the Adepts from the Towers.

  “I can’t confirm or deny that. I don’t know the artifact’s exact specifications.” Zoltan’s robes began to flutter as powerful energy pulsated from his body. “Now, sit. This is Verdant Sigil territory.”

  His hands tightened into fists. “Don’t make me ask twice.”

  Zeke and Agatha’s expressions soured. They couldn’t even retort to such brazen words. They were in foreign territory and faced off against a combat fanatic like Zoltan. They did not have the bravery to act up any further.

  Just then, Gabriel spoke up from his seat. He was the only one who remained seated. “How curious. It appears that you’re trying to protect that boy. Maybe it wasn’t a scheme of the Academy. Perhaps he figured out a way to bypass the barrier himself. He must be quite… precious to the Assembly.”

  The look in Zeke and Agatha’s eyes changed as they looked down at Damon. Listening to Gabriel’s words, they saw the logic behind his conjecture. They needed to imprint his image in their minds.

  Zoltan glared at Gabriel, who just smiled back nonchalantly. He had tried to steer the focus of the other two toward the Assembly, but Gabriel had ruined his plans. Now, all of the Towers were interested in Damon. That was not good.

  Immediately after Tidus had declared Damon’s victory, Wesley exploded into a ruckus.

  “What… Was that? Wow! Is that another one-hit victory for Damon? Against a top seed, no less? Alan! Please, help me make sense of what just happened!” Wesley screamed into the crystal orb, his eyes fixed on the smiling Damon. At this very moment, a ray of sunlight beamed down from between the clouds and crowned him. “Whoa, look at that halo. He’s blessed by the heavens, all right.”

  He had forgotten to remove his hand from the orb. His last words rang through the Colosseum. The shocked crowd had yet to begin cheering or applauding, even though the match had already finished. Now, they were all completely mesmerized by the sight of the glowing Damon.

  “Wesley’s right… Look at him.”

  “If he’s not blessed, he’s a genius at the very least.”

  “He’s the real deal, isn’t he?”

  “And yet, he still lost to Claire. How incredible is she?”

  “He ran out of arcane power. He’s at the mid stage, so it only makes sense. If he were at the late stage like the others, he would definitely place first in this Crucible Convergence!”

  After several seconds of chatter, one person on the northern end began applauding as loudly as he could. He then cupped his hands in front of his mouth and yelled.

  “I knew you could do it, Older Brother Damon!”

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  It was a figure the audience knew. It was Dylan. Everyone had grown quite fond of the boy, especially after he had offered half-price dishes to raise everyone’s spirits during the semi-finals. Not only were they cheap, but they were also incredibly delicious. His words sparked a wave of deafening cheers.

  “Go, Damon!”

  “You did it, son!”

  “Third place is still very good!”

  “I love you, Damon!”

  “In my heart, you’ll always be first!”

  Damon smiled shyly and waved at the crowds, prompting even more furor. Many even threw things down at him, such as flowers, coins, and jewelry. There was even a house key or two, though the reason was unknown.

  Wesley grinned like a proud father as he witnessed the events. It was the scene of a rising hero. He could imagine that Damon would grow to be a pivotal figure in the Assembly’s history, given that he survived until then. He turned to talk to Alan and gasped.

  Alan’s face had reddened so much that his skin was almost purple. He looked like he’d forgotten to breathe, and thick veins stuck out from his neck and temples. He looked ready to burst.

  What the hell?

  After a moment of hesitation, Wesley reached out and tapped on Alan’s shoulder.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Without looking away, he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth. “If he had such power, why didn’t he beat Claire!”

  Then, throwing his head back, he screamed to the heavens. The bestial roar that escaped his throat was unlike anything Wesley had heard before. It was mightier than the second-tier essence beast he had fought, and scarier than the distant howling of a third-tier wolf. The danger existed directly in front of him in this case, after all.

  Shivering in fear, he retreated carefully. Step by step. It was a slow but necessary process to avoid drawing Alan’s attention.

  “That was good!” Claire greeted Damon with a high-five when he stepped down from the platform. After glancing left and right, she leaned closer to him and whispered, “That was that mind thingy, right? The mind spires?”

  Damon nodded, then shook his head. “Mind spikes. They’re called mind spikes.”

  She clicked her finger and pointed at him. “That’s right! Whatever they are, they’re awesome! Why didn’t you show me that yesterday?”

  “...” He didn’t know what to say. She looked too serious to be joking. He met her curious expression with amazement. “You… Just saw what it did, right? How could I use that on you?”

  “Aw, you didn’t show it because you cared for me?”

  “Something like that… Maybe you can have a taste if you annoy me too much.”

  “Don’t say such hurtful things. Use it on a practice dummy, then!”

  “They’re invisible…”

  “I don’t care! Show me anyway!”

  Tidus stood on the stage and watched them with an expressionless face. Inwardly, he was cursing at them. Nox had already ascended the platform and was prepared for the next match. Yet here they were, bickering with each other as though only they existed in the world.

  Tidus cleared his throat and was about to call out when he was interrupted by a savage howl.

  “Arrrrrrrrgh!”

  “A beast?” Tidus frowned as he traced the origin of the cry. His eyes scanned the stands and then landed on Alan kneeling on the commentator’s terrace. Tears dripped ceaselessly from his face as he stooped over and began pounding the floor with his hand tightly balled into a fist.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  Tidus mused as he stroked his beard. The crowd had quieted from the primal fear they felt after hearing the roar. They peeked around with panic-stricken faces. Tidus sighed and flew up to the eye level of the stands.

  “Attention! That sound just now… It was a false alarm. There is no need to fear. Everything is under control.”

  The alarmed audience settled down as they calmed. Though apprehensive, if a mighty Adept of the Assembly said it was fine, who were they to think otherwise?

  “What was that?” Claire asked as she huddled closer to Damon’s side.

  Damon, on the other hand, did not respond. His breathing quickened as his heart pounded against his ribs.

  What was that? Why did it sound like… Senior Alan? Why is my body reacting like this? I have a bad feeling about this…

  No matter what that was, Damon trusted in his instincts. They screamed at him. Run. Hide.

  He prepared to flee when a soft, warm hand grasped his own. He looked down and saw a slender arm holding on to him. He followed it up and saw Claire’s concerned face.

  “Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick? Is it a side effect of the mind trick?”

  “Haa…” A sigh escaped his chapped lips. With a faint smile, he pushed her toward the platform. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me! I just feel a bit sick, but it’s nothing serious… It’s your turn to stand on the stage. Go. Go and get your revenge.”

  “Oh… Okay… I hope you feel better soon.” Claire bit her lip and then turned around. Her voice became cold and serious. “Watch me. I’ll make sure Nox gets what's coming for him.”

  With that, she jumped up onto the platform.

  Damon sat down on the ground. The feeling of imminent danger had not disappeared, but he had calmed down slightly.

  What is it? Senior Tidus said it was nothing, so it shouldn’t be that serious… But why do I feel this way?

  Until the very end, he did not understand what was causing it.

  Claire and Nox confronted each other in front of Tidus. Today, both of them looked more serious than ever. Even Nox had put away his usual smug smile and squinted at Claire with malice.

  “The two of you, listen up. This is the grand final. The last match of the Crucible Convergence. I don’t want to see any underhanded tactics. Especially you, Nox. If I see you take out another one of your grandfather’s Chaosblades again, I will immediately end the duel and put you through even worse torment than during the semi-final.”

  Tidus glared at Nox, causing him to grimace. He glared back, but did not respond in any way. Whether he intended to listen or not, nobody knew.

  Claire glanced at Tidus and then back to Nox.

  Grandfather’s Chaosblade? So that’s where he got the second one. Thomas did mention he shouldn’t be able to create a new one of those so quickly.

  “Now, go back to your respective sides. The duel will begin on my signal.”

  Claire calmly walked back to the edge of the platform. Before turning around, she looked down and saw Damon sitting on the ground just outside. He waved at her, mouthing the words ‘you can do it’.

  She beamed at him. Then she faced Nox. Her smile vanished, and her breathing steadied. This battle wouldn’t be about the tournament. It was the start of her revenge against the Lunarsol Tower.

  For Raymond.

  Her thoughts flickered to her older brother, who constantly doted on her through her childhood. He had always been patient, willing to indulge her every whim. Then she remembered the sight of him lying on the ground, his eyes rolled back into his head after casting a secret technique he hadn’t mastered yet, just to protect her.

  If only I were stronger…

  She knew it was just wishful thinking. They had been ambushed by Disciples and Adepts. Even their guards hadn’t stood a chance. Raymond’s sacrifice was the only thing that saved them.

  In the end, I couldn’t heal his mental injury…

  Damon’s face suddenly popped up in her mind. He was a mind cultivator. Perhaps he knew of a way to heal injuries to the mind? If she had met him earlier, could she have developed a potion to save her brother? But it was too late. Dwelling wouldn’t bring him back.

  Watch me, Brother. I’ll take apart the Lunarsol Tower piece by piece. Starting with him.

  Her gaze settled back on Nox as she clenched her jaw. No matter what, she had to destroy him. Leave him crippled. Even better if she could just kill him, but Tidus would most likely stop that from happening.

  She remembered the shiny golden sword stashed away in her storage pouch. She didn’t want to rely on Damon… But…

  I’ll use it if I have to. Killing Nox is more important than something as pitiful as pride.

  Her eyes gleamed with a cold light. She clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms. She locked eyes with Nox. He appeared quite somber today. Then he sneered and dragged his thumb across his neck. He was as detestable as ever. He needed to suffer.

  Tidus observed the two Initiates staring daggers at each other. It seemed like it wasn’t going to be a clean fight. With a sigh, he pointed his hand to the sky.

  The crowd fell silent. Claire exhaled slowly.

  “Begin.”

  Volume 1!

  Claire and Nox!

  Claire get hurt? Will Nox be killed? You'll find out very soon!

  Thank you for reading!