CHAPTER 160: AFTER THIS MATCH
Everyone saw the Rank A group enter the break room.
“Congratulations!”
“That was awesome!”
“Wonderful!”
Aurora watched as the others exclaimed for their group’s victory, and it was deeper in those who didn’t know Alice’s true strength.
Lucas, Alexey, Dalia, and even Marc, all they saw was a splendid strategy that carried Alice to victory.
“Alice is to be praised. Without her, we could not have focused on our opponents,” Gregorio said, giving a smile.
“I knew it was a good idea to bring her along,” Niels muttered, nodding several times.
Alice just opened her bag of chips and said nothing at such exclamations, but no one was bothered.
In fact, she looked as if she didn’t care about the win, but Aurora could tell she was dodging her gaze.
Like a little girl who knew, she did something wrong...
After some small talk, Edward came over with a smile and gave the typical congratulations, before focusing on the main topic.
“You guys have done an excellent job so far. You’ve given your all to win, and even though there were mishaps, I’m glad we’ve managed to ‘avenge’ our partner,” Edward said, smiling slightly teasingly.
Was it okay for a hero to say that?
Everyone laughed at Edward’s comment, and Aurora gave a smile as well.
The revenge he was talking about wasn’t beating their opponents by breaking the rules, it was proving their superiority to them and that they did.
While some revealed their cards, like Leslie, who used her exoskeleton armor, the victory was worth it.
“And not to mention our partner who defeated an S-Rank and made him fall on his own ass,” Edward said, looking at Alice without hiding the amusement on his face.
There was a huge difference between a student who was in the academy with a veteran mercenary who took on warlords.
It wasn’t just at the level of battle experience; it was about what they lived through and everything they did.
Neither of them were saints or heroines, Aurora knew that better than anyone, so she knew how fierce someone like Alice could be.
And more so when her acquaintances were affected.
“Now it’s my turn to show my strength and then we’ll have to prepare for the challenges the day after tomorrow,” Edward said, and as always, warned. “Don’t let victory go to your head. We surprised our opponents this time. Next time, it won’t be the same.”
The burst of strength after Clémentine’s defeat surprised their opponents, and that’s why they won, then in the A-rank match, Alice did the biggest job.
However, it had to be marked that Xu Long was reckless and got carried away by the situation, being surprised by Alice’s actions.
Next time, they could not perform the same, and that extended to other academies.
They all nodded, understanding Edward’s seriousness and after he dismissed them, they moved to watch the other academy’s fights.
For her part, Aurora approached Alice, who was sitting on the couch, away from everyone.
“Do you want some?” Alice asked with a sincere look as she shared her chips.
Aurora’s lips quivered as she realized that basically Alice was trying to bribe her and hesitating a few seconds, she accepted it.
“I won’t scold you, don’t worry,” Aurora said with an amused smile.
It didn’t bother her that Alice entered the tournament for fun, since that glutton always controlled her abilities.
She would win, it was true, but she also took her time to fight her opponent.
Without arrogance and without showing enormous superiority.
While she played with her opponent, there was no doubt that sometimes she even helped them.
This time was different, as Alice had let out her killing intent, basically showing that she wished to murder her opponent.
Someone strong and powerful enough generated a frightening pressure and when the desire to murder was added, it simply became an overwhelming mental pressure.
For such a reason, among the challenges was the ‘Fear Challenge’ which was to withstand the pressure of the emperor himself.
“Besides... I know you did it because you were angry,” Aurora pointed out, smiling at her and discreetly watched Clémentine, who was watching another academy’s combat.
It didn’t matter if Alice seemed indifferent and detached, Aurora knew her well.
She was someone who valued the bonds of friendship and companionship, at least in her own way, but she did.
As Clémentine was attacked in such a way, Alice retaliated in her own way.
“I thought about ‘devouring’ him, but I refrained,” Alice muttered and without looking at Aurora’s quivering expression, she revealed. “It would be too much trouble if something happened to him inside.”
Aurora didn’t know how to react.
She still remembered the demon being swallowed by Alice’s shadow and taken to Director Vincent when they accepted the job.
If one thought it terrified a demon, it was normal that it could do so with a human and more so with a student.
No matter how much Alice would mention that her shadow was harmless and no matter how many times Aurora went into it, it was hard to say it was harmless when it was from that place that the arms came from.
Adding that literally, that shadow had a ‘space’ of its own where the ‘swallowed’ people went and where anything could happen, no doubt Alice’s ability was too frightening.
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Aurora couldn’t say she knew Alice’s ability completely either, as all abilities progressed, the stronger the person became.
Still...
“You did a good job,” Aurora commented, nodding with a smile.
As long as she didn’t go completely overboard, it was good to encourage this kind of action.
After all, if she had participated, she would have done the same as well.
******
In the private box, Emperor Victor took a swig of beer and smiled.
“I think I did well to advance this group,” Emperor Victor muttered with an amused smile and, seeing those present looking at him, he commented. “An A-Rank beat an S-Rank, that’s impressive.”
His tone was amused, even though he knew the truth.
The young woman practically toyed with her opponent, using her murderous intent as a weapon... That was certainly interesting to the emperor.
“It was a remarkable match, but I am surprised about the young lady. She doesn’t seem to be a freshman,” Elder Harris said, and frowning, he asked. “Even if she is said to be a mercenary... How can she act in such a way?”
Someone who let her bloodlust show to the point of affecting an S-Rank meant that she was no ordinary person.
It meant.
“She has too much blood on her hands. Is that a problem?” Ersin asked curiously.
Emperor Victor smiled in amusement at hearing that question.
In Terra nova, it would be normal that a young woman in her twenties could emanate a terrifying, murderous intent, and more so if it was someone of a high level.
After all, to reach such a level, she surely had to murder creatures as well as humans or any other race.
The young woman named Alice showed that murderous intent of someone who had soiled her hands with blood and controlled it so well that she stunned her opponent and frightened him.
However, the difference was that on Terra nova one had to kill to become strong and here on earth it was different.
An example was some of the students in which some of them reached S-Rank without killing any person or facing any death combat.
Reaching S-Rank without knowing it meant that someone wanted to kill them and had the intention to do so.
Among so many students who were barely out in the world, someone like Alice stood out and was remarkable.
“They were in Africa for a while. It’s normal to have to get their hands dirty,” Victor said and when both archmages looked at him, he gave a smile and commented. “I just looked into it a bit out of curiosity.”
Aurora and Alice Campbell are known in Africa as the Protectors of Zerzura.
He had been driven by his curiosity to learn a bit about the people close to his acquaintance, but he had heard their title in his time before he became emperor and understood the work they did.
“Anyway, her ability is interesting, and it’s entertaining that she hid her strength that way.” Emperor Victor commented, changing the subject.
“She made it in such a way that she defeated her opponent by hiding her true strength. It’s quite impressive,” replied Elder Harris, nodding gently.
They couldn’t see her strength completely before, but that didn’t mean they could continue that way.
At the level the three of them were at, they could perceive the changes in strength and managed to grasp the power behind the punch.
“I hope student Xu Long can learn from this defeat,” Director Vincent said.
Xu Long was defeated not because of the opponent’s strength, but because of his own recklessness.
Deadly blows were restricted and as long as they were inside the barrier, neither could kill each other.
Although that fear was what caused Xu Long to hesitate, what caused him to lose was his lack of caution and his failure to realize that his opponent had S-rank strength.
He showed contempt and acted arrogantly and recklessly, being caught by surprise and that surprise cost him victory and reputation.
Correcting the recklessness, trying to fix his attitude and see how to improve, was what Director Vincent hoped Xu Long would do.
Victor shook his head without saying how idealistic Director Vincent sounded.
“By the way, the ‘cleaning’ preparations are ready,” Victor warned, changing the subject.
Cécile had retired, so now they were the only ones in the room.
“So, when will it start?” Asked Elder Harris, who knew of the plan.
“I’m just waiting for the right time,” Victor replied and, looking at the tournament, added. “I’d like to clean up the remains of the city and also outside, but it’s difficult.”
“The intelligence department has been keeping an eye on local security, tracking down all the suspects, but it’s too much work because of the influx of tourists. However, we hope that the intelligence networks will manage to pick up something these days,” Ersin reported like a professional secretary.
They needed to get rid of those cartel members who entered the city hidden before they started moving.
That was the best-case scenario for Victor.
“The calm before the storm,” Director Vincent murmured, nodding gently.
That was the most direct way to call it... A continental-scale storm.
******
Climbing the arena, Edward waited for his opponent.
This was the last duel of the day and all the other students had shown their strength and, at the same time, had let off steam against their opponents.
No one could deny that they felt angry at the way Xu Long attacked Clémentine and they also felt annoyed at the arrogant way that man spoke.
Edward was reminded of his past.
He couldn’t blame Xu Long, he too had a time where he felt he was powerful and unique.
He had an enormous source of magical energy capable of allowing him to cast spells more powerful than other mages of his own rank, and his affinity for lightning magic was undoubtedly impressive.
Feeling powerful and becoming arrogant with that ability was ‘normal’ and Edward had already gone through that stage.
Reaching a high rank at such a young age led some people to question the future potential one could achieve and believe oneself to be unmatched.
However, now that Edward looked back on his past, he realized how naïve and childish he was.
Even if he said he understood, it didn’t mean he wasn’t upset.
Like the others, he was upset about what happened to Clémentine.
It wasn’t about knowing Clémentine; it was about her being his partner and about, above all, him being the leader of the academy.
Edward watched his opponent coming up to the arena.
Ryu Sujin was frowning as she watched him.
Although she was psionic, she could feel how the magical energy surrounded his body in not at all normal amounts and Edward didn’t do it intentionally.
His emotions caused it.
The magical energy was naturally transformed into lightning, showing the discomfort she was feeling.
At such a level was Edward’s elemental affinity, a level where his emotions could change his surroundings unconsciously.
“I would like to apologize before we start the fight,” Ryu Sujin said suddenly, and seeing Edward looking at her, she revealed. “My partner got carried away with the situation and caused unnecessary rancor between us.”
She was apologizing for her partner’s actions by taking over as the leader of their group.
There was no doubt that it was a remarkable thing to be done at this time, where all the spectators were watching.
Adding that Xu Long had his fans who loved the image of someone powerful and domineering, most certainly Ryu Sujin would earn some criticism.
For some, the apology wasn’t necessary and even more so when it was all a tournament, but if she let it go, the personal grudge would spill over into other areas such as the challenges.
And Edward had been planning to extend it to the challenges.
Provoking Xu Long to challenge them to a duel was going to be easy enough.
As for victory, they were going to be challenged, so they could choose a mode that would guarantee them victory.
Either S-ranked single combat or B-ranked single combat.
He was confident of winning and, on the other hand, the students Aurora had trained were strong, and some of them hid superior skills than they appeared.
Ryu Sujin knew her partner and understood that they were on the unfavorable side, and now she didn’t want to have a rancorous group targeting them.
“I understand. We’ll put the grudges away after this fight,” Edward announced, nodding with a smile.
Going after another academy would only be an act of revenge, but in reality, it wouldn’t make much sense when Alice already accomplished more than enough.
As a leader, he didn’t have to pay attention to one member and had to focus on the big picture and the goal.
Gaining that elixir so that everyone could improve quickly was of greater use than satisfying personal grudges.
“After this fight?” Ryu Sujin muttered, as her expression trembled for a moment as she watched the sky turn dark.
Lightning and thunder resounded as Edward’s magical energy changed not only his surroundings, but the weather as well.
This ability would be something that SS-ranked Grand Archmages could do, but Edward had an enormous amount of magical energy and this was possible for him.
Maybe he didn’t have the true strength of an SS Rank, but mimicking some abilities was a simple thing and while the weather change made it so that it was only in the colosseum, it was still eye-catching to see.
“Yes, after this fight,” Edward replied in a simple tone.
His companions vented, but he was still missing.
Lightning resounded and when the host gave the start of the battle, Edward caused lightning to strike the arena.
Ryu Sujin could only create a powerful barrier, as was her specialty.
However, Edward did not stop and raised his hand and caused dozens of lightning bolts to form, illuminating the surroundings as they flashed.
Flailing all around, the lightning strikes from the small storm above the colosseum caused total destruction and a sight as magnificent as it was terrifying.
He needed to show his strength so that the other S-Rankers from the various academies would realize who his true opponent was.
And unfortunately for Ryu Sujin, she was a means to his end.