Too bad no one noticed how outrageously cool Zayn was, or he would have taken the world by storm. He looked so much like the king of a mountain named after kingship!All but one did notice. Paxton “Ares” Brooks saw how it played from his hiding spot on the peak of another mountain. He gazed upon Zayn’s erect back and exclaimed sincerely, “God, this youngster is only gonna keep showing us old-timers up from now onward! Zayn Larson is insane!”Antony was stunned by his friend’s remark. He turned back to Zayn, wide-eyed, and could not stop himself from looking at him differently from before. A star, bright and unstoppable as the morning, had arisen from Rheasian soil.Would this be a good omen, or would it bode ill for the country? Antony had no way of telling just yet.From the depths of the crater, Raiden sputtered out a fit of painful coughs.If there was anyone whose world felt the most shattered, it would be him. He could not even accurately assess the torrent of emotions in his
As one might have suspected, the man that seemingly materialized from the shower of leaves as he gracefully leaped down from a tree branch was Ezra Sword.He never looked as intimidating as his reputation suggested. He looked no different from a high school boy in a white tee and track pants, and with that sunshine smile and disposition, he could walk in public view and most people would think he was nothing more than a teenage sweetheart. Who would believe that he was nearing his sixties?Zayn was honestly puzzled as to why Ezra would look so youthful—hell, “young” would have been a better word. It was just illogical for a sixty-year-old to look almost babyish.Some of the bystanders took notice of Ezra, even if most of them had no idea who he was or had gone through their lives not knowing his name. Fighters, however, knew all about him enough that the name sent shivers down their skin. Ezra was not just a big name with nothing behind it; he was the Saint’s premier retainer whose
He eyed Zayn with a rather complicated look. There was certainly an element of surprise in it mixed with questioning and admiration.Ezra had thought that his appointment as the one to secure the ambrosia fruit back at Mount Leo meant that failure was an impossibility. And yet, Zayn managed to secure the fruit before he did and slipped away from his pursuit. It was unprecedented.Ezra would admit that Zayn meant little in his eyes back then because he was inferior to Ezra himself power-wise. Two months later, though, what used to be a pesky fly had turned into a legitimately powerful player who could stand toe-to-toe with premier fighters. The evolution was so jarring that he could not help but dwell on the strangeness of it all.He had been around since the beginning, watching the duel between Raiden and Zayn without missing a beat. He, too, had been fooled by Zayn’s apparent affectation belying the fact that he possessed the power to completely overwhelm Raiden.And now, Raiden w
The mood shifted subtly. The crowd suddenly felt nervous as their hearts were pounding.Lysithea froze mid-track before glaring at Zayn in surprise. She was more than disappointed and exasperated combined. How could Zayn say something so braindead? He just had to let Raiden go! It was all he had to do for all the conflicts between himself and Sicut In Caelo to go up in smoke. It was the best kind of bargain he could ever get!Any person with more than half a wit would have made that choice. But Zayn just had to choose the alternative—did that make him a half-wit?Lysithea knew just how powerful the organization she served as a high-ranking member was. She had first-hand accounts of just how godlike the Saint was. If Zayn’s stupid hubris ever caused him to offend the Saint, the consequences would be so dire that Zayn wished he was never born.Ezra narrowed his eyes. “All right, punk. Your achievements are nothing to sneer at, but this world is much larger than what you can see,” he
The debate was set alight. Rhetoric and postulations flew. Would Zayn kill Raiden?Far from a distance, Antony Hoffman spied through a pair of military-used binoculars, frowning. “Why the hell is that Ezra present, too? Is Zayn really going to let Raiden go?”As Rheasia’s military top dog, Denali’s stance toward Sicut In Caelo had always been antagonistic. The only reason why he never attempted any action from it was that the organization was literally too powerful to take on. It would be rather disappointing if Zayn let Raiden go.“What do you say?” he asked again, turning to Ares.“He’s not gonna let him live, man.”“Huh. That takes quite some courage. It’s not an easy feat to dare declare a war against Sicut In Caelo,” Antony remarked in sincere respect.Paxton shook his head. “Nah, it’s not that. I’m pretty sure he probably figured all of this has something to do with the fact that I’m here watching. He’s guessed that I’m not going to just sit here and watch.”Antony cocked
Raiden never finished his sentence because Zayn snapped his throat.Nevertheless, he did not die right away. He just stared at Zayn in horror, his eyes widened in fear and despair as unintelligible death rattles escaped his lips. He writhed like a headless chicken.Everyone fell into still silence. They gawked at Zayn in disbelief, shocked that he would have the audacity to break Raiden’s neck while being threatened by Sicut In Caelo. This was a declaration of war!Even Ezra’s pupils constricted before he bellowed in fury, “Zayn Larson!”Zayn had just killed Raiden in front of him. Of course, it made his blood boil. This was unforgivable! Zayn did not just kill a man—he took away the esteemed Southern Highlord who contributed to the expansion of Sicut In Caelo. He was one of the most important figures in the organization. His death denoted a huge, irreversible cost to them!The crowd was just as startled. They had no idea that Zayn would really kill Raiden. He must be insane or so
In the span of a millisecond, Zayn felt a crushing tidal wave of powerful aura squeezing against his chest so hard that he started breathing harder.Ezra was leagues and bounds more potent than Raiden—or Zayn’s estimation. There was no moment when Zayn could ease up even a little in fear of a sliver of his opening being seized by a nonpareil veteran. Even the slightest mistake could cost him more than an arm and a leg. Asking for space to breathe became a luxury.Ezra was a tough enemy to beat, but Zayn was more raring to fight than scared. Just two months ago, he was but a spider to Ezra’s boot. Today, though, he was sure he possessed enough power to go toe-to-toe with him.Ezra’s fighting style was as divorced from Raiden’s as one could get—the former was, as his name suggested, the avatar of a sword. Every punch and kick he unleashed were as sharp as an edge, as nipping as cold steel, and as candid as the silvery glint reflecting off its blade. A few direct clashes with him later
Zayn lost.As it turned out, he was still weaker than Ezra—though the margin was slight. Zayn was fast enough to put up a foolproof defense with his arms holding against Ezra’s punch. Had it connected with his body, Zayn would have suffered a grievous injury that could render him completely incapacitated.And that would be the moment when he became his enemy’s chew toy.Ezra was also quite shocked. That punch was his coup de grâce—the ultimate move meant to put Zayn out of commission—and he never would have thought Zayn would be able to block it.It only served to fan the tempest in his temperament. It made him want to kill Zayn even more. Everything today had proven this young man a bona fide threat to Sicut In Caelo. He had not even reached his thirtieth birthday yet and already he achieved this much. Given a few years, he could very well be an unbeatable fighter himself, and the organization would face the biggest peril it had ever seen.To prune that possibility from ever happ