Lyon POV:

The Watchers were about to intervene, but I waved them away. I could tell Lissandra didn’t have bad intentions, so I walked towards her and went to shake her hand again.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me in; her body spun as mine lurched forward while her foot raced towards my temple from the outside.

I followed through with the momentum, breaking free from her grip and rolling across the floor as her foot struck the empty space.

She stood on one leg, showcasing her impeccable balance while retracting her extended foot. Her leg cut through the air, leaving faint afterimages behind her explosive kicks. I moved back in, parrying away her attacks, but each blow was stronger than I had expected.

‘!’

The side of her heel grazed past my face, causing drops of blood to hit the floor. Gasps from all around the room entered my ears.

I replayed that last kick again in my head. I was confident I had dodged it, but her leg changed trajectory mid-air and sliced the skin off my cheek.

I looked at Lissandra, who wasn’t the slightest bit apologetic for what had just happened. She put her leg down and stretched out her hand once more.

“I want to see what you can do with my own eyes.”

Lissandra examined me carefully as the fingers on her outstretched hand narrowed. It shot forward like a spear, aimed directly at my chest. I spun on the inside of her strike and placed the palm of my hand on her stomach. Diverting the force back towards her, but...

‘??’

She stomped the ground with her foot, sending the initial shockwave below as cracks formed on the floor beneath us. We broke apart, and the distance between us opened.

“Foo.”

I let out a slow breath and decided to take this more seriously. I truly couldn't underestimate her.

‘Ghost.’

Violet lines permeated my vision, and Lissandra's smile instantly widened. She stretched her arms out, slamming both her hands together as a column of fire exploded towards me.

The Watchers around the room immediately put their hands up as their Ki spread out, forming a thin barrier that separated us from them.

My intent shot through her flames, leaving a giant hole in the middle as it reached her face. She cocked her head to the side, effortlessly avoiding my high-speed attack as the flames gradually dispersed.

‘What the...?’

I looked at her in awe. It may have just been one attack using Ghost, but it wasn’t blocked; it wasn’t endured—she had dodged it purely with her reflexes alone. I watched her lips form a cute smile as our eyes met. a

At the end of the day, it was only one attack. I grasped the violet paths in front of me, and my intent shot forward once more.

‘Face, chest and stomach.’

“!!”

She swung her hand in a downward motion the moment I had projected my intent. A wave of flames crashed into my attack, stopping it from going any further, which surprised me even more.

Lissandra dashed forward as I abruptly raised my guard, still in shock by her battle prowess. Her foot hooked around it, lowering it while instantly flicking forward.

‘?!?!’

Time compressed as I watched my guard lower against my will. I saw her foot temporarily leave my vision, only for it to snap backwards; her heel collided against my jaw as the world around me spun violently.

“For your age, you’re very impressive.”

‘Pantheon Style: Awakening.’

I recognized it—Lissandra was on another level.

It’s true that I had other attacks I could use, but there was a message I wanted to make clear here.

I felt the Mark of a Pantheon wrap around my arm as the tail reached the palm of my hand.

‘Ghost.’

I reactivated Ghost, and the violet lines became thicker. My eyes flashed as I grasped the openings I wanted to use. I watched her eyes narrow slightly while summoning a storm of flames around herself.

“...”

My attack ripped through the flames and snapped her head back. It launched her into the wall behind, dispelling her flames, but before the dust could even clear; I heard her voice.

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“Seung: Huryeo.”

She bolted forward. Her body leaving behind different coloured afterimages as her irregular pathing made it harder to grasp her position. Her feet skidded to a halt, her leg transitioning into one long movement.

‘!’

Her foot vanished, and I instinctively jumped back. It reappeared again, followed by the sound of the air snapping above where my head once was, while the force alone pushed me further backwards. She wiped the blood away from the small cut on her lip and smiled at me.

I changed my stance and charged in.

“Seung: Meereo.”

The strange afterimages appeared again. She hopped forward, and her foot flew out. I spun on the inside, dodging her pushing kick, but she chained her movement and spun downwards. I jumped, avoiding her leg sweep, only to find her foot heading towards my face.

I raised my guard, and a sea of flames exploded out of the beautiful arc her kick made. Even with my Ki Armour, I could still feel the heat. It hurt a lot.

‘This is not ideal.’

We exchanged blows, no one pushing back the other. I switched to Ghost seamlessly, and her head snapped back, only for her to use the force of my own attack to land a more powerful kick.

The Defensive stance reduced the damage I took, but her flames were chipping away at me slowly.

My eyes flashed, and I grasped as many of the violet lines as I could. My intent shot forward and lit her body up with a barrage of attacks.

“Seung: Jeondo.”

Her speed dramatically increased as she kicked my projected attacks away, along with countless afterimages causing the air to explode around us.

‘What the...???’

I stared at her in shock and disbelief.

“Pantheon Style: Omniscience.”

I had enough of this.

My stance changed, and my Ki detonated around me viciously. A bright golden light spread out around us as my eyes took on the same colour while the world around me began to alter.

To think I’d meet a martial artist on her level here—I couldn’t lose face here. I couldn't bring shame to the Pantheon name.

I watched her long eyelashes flutter as she suddenly stopped moving. Her Ki subsided, and she stretched out her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Leader.”

Lissandra's lips formed a wide smile as I immediately deactivated the Mark of a Pantheon. The golden brown light disappearing just as fast as it came.

“Likewise, Lissandra.”

I felt the corners of my mouth rise as I shook her hand. Cheers and shouts erupted all around us from the thrilling spar they had just witnessed. My gaze shifted to her hand, which was soft, while she grinned cutely.

The barrier that the Watchers had conjured was destroyed quickly after we began exchanging blows. Fortunately, the Vices had heard the commotion. They formed a much stronger barrier, but even that began to break apart towards the end of our spar.

“Lissandra, why were you a part of the Organization?”

It didn’t suit someone like her to be deeply involved in an organization that was responsible for sex trafficking, drug dealing, and other cruel things.

“I was waiting. Waiting for someone like you to come along.”

She let out a cute sigh and sat down on the floor.

‘So, that’s how it is. She didn’t want to make a move until the time was right.’

I turned around and headed towards the doorway. There was still a lot of work to do, but it just became significantly easier.

***

Two months later.

“Ven, I told you already. You need to step in faster on your initial attack.”

“Understood, District Leader! It’s just a little difficult getting the timing right.”

Her ash-brown hair was tied in a ponytail, and she pouted slightly while catching her breath.

“Hm. Remember to take a break, Ven.”

Gunnar had his top off and was drenched in sweat. His growth was quite remarkable, and it showed on his tanned skin, which revealed his newly honed physique.

“Don’t worry so much, Gunnar.”

A faint blush flickered across Ven’s face as I let the two of them catch their breath. I was going to move on to Triste and Denise, but they were both sprawled out in the middle of the room, fast asleep.

“Frida, I’ll leave them to you.”

A mature woman with dark blond hair bowed slightly. She held towels, beverages and food in her arms.

“Of course, Master Lyon.”

“Ah. Frida, you don’t nee—“

She looked back at me, and I instantly closed my mouth. Her stern gaze rested firmly on me, leaving me no choice but to nod my head before she continued on with her tasks.

Frida had what I liked to call ‘Mum authority.’ She stood out from the first day she arrived here. Clothing, cooking, washing, cleaning—she was incredible at all of it.

The saying ‘a jack of all trades and a master of none’ didn’t apply to Frida. Though I referred to her as a mature woman, she looked very young and incredibly attractive.

She was a lovely woman who had suffered against her will, so I was glad that she was here because she wanted to be.

Thanks to her, Ness hardly had to come over and help out. Speaking of which, the two of them got along very well.

I reached the 4th floor and opened one of the rooms. Lissandra had just finished training another batch of members when she waved at me.

“Is everything going well?”

“As well as can be. They’ve all completely adapted to the gruelling training now and their progress is more noticeable every day.”

I examined Lissandra and noticed that she hadn’t broken a sweat even though she had been teaching for 18 hours straight.

“Lissandra, come with me.”

“Oh, sure.”

We left the room and walked down the stairs together. The 3rd floor had seen substantial growth. Out of the original 70 members, 50 of them had broken through to Uso, and a further 75 members had joined this floor after reaching Nagi.

The 2nd floor also saw massive improvements. The number here had dropped all the way down to 40 members, and since everyone could always see each other’s progress, it helped create a healthy, competitive atmosphere regarding who could reach the higher floors.

Finally, on the 1st floor, there were only 15 members left, but their progress was promising. It seemed like a month or two from now; no one would be practising here anymore.

We reached the ground floor and saw various workers bustling about. When they passed by, they would greet us both with an energetic bow. I watched them talk amongst each other, laughing while attending to their tasks at hand.

“You are incredible, Leader. Most people would have turned them away, or continued to use them for their own sexual desires.”

Lissandra looked at me with impressed eyes. She was moved by my choice and the way I had handled this situation.

The money that was slowly decreasing from the drug distribution being cut off; was resupplied to them as a salary.

Surprisingly, the Ruler of the South didn’t make a move despite not receiving his monthly tributes. Either he was preoccupied with something else, or he didn’t care enough. Regardless of what the reason was, I knew he didn’t need it.

“I’m just doing what I think is right.”

“Mhm. That’s the beauty of it though.”

I smiled to myself as we walked towards the exit. The doors suddenly flung open, and Marina glared at me with fierce eyes.

“You and I need to talk.”