Greta was floored by the happening - or rather the opposite. When the dreaded Psi rope latched onto her airborne figure, she was sure that she’d be flung towards the ground. But contrary to this notion, the rope hurled her in the opposite direction.
*Boom*
She crashed into the stony ceiling. The tiles cracked and the large light panels nearby flickered at the hefty impact.
‘Ah, dam-’
Greta was given no respite. Ray’s still attached Fated String flashed blue and brought another monstrous tug, sending her downward.
Swoosh!
‘Damn it!’
The female fighter exploded in agitation at her helplessness. Not caring for what came next, she conjured a blade and slashed, freeing herself from Fated String’s clutches. But at that exact moment, Ray appeared before her; his left fist cocked back. Greta reacted in the nick of time, quickly raising and strengthening her guard.
Still...
Bam!
The accelerated punch imparted a devastating force. Receiving it, Greta zoomed diagonally downwards with the grace of a swatted fly, no doubt in for a rough landing.
A Psi string emerged from Ray’s fingertips again, this time extending well beyond its usual length.
Greta, who had just crashed landed found herself cursing internally as she felt its unique Psi signature. Already sick of being dragged around by it, she had her Psi prepare an omnidirectional attack. But this decision would be her undoing.
*Latch*
Unlike other times, the Psi string hadn’t latched onto her. Instead, the tip curled itself around the ring pommel of one particular sword, which then became smothered in a layer of blue.
Then…
Swoosh!
Committing all his Psi to the task, the ten-metre long string accelerated the sword to supersonic speeds. Drawing a wicked arc through the air, it raced towards his opponent. Still unbalanced as she was, Greta was unable to avoid the blade’s trajectory or its devastating might.
‘Ah?’
Greta eyed the blade just centimetres away from her neck. Without the protective Psi tanking the blow, she would be headless. The fact caused her to break into a cold sweat. ‘So…strong.’
[What a move! So that’s why that sword was different from the others. Ralf isn’t the only one good with swords, let it be known…]
With Vostel’s voice playing in his head, Ray headed to his gate. In the corridor, he switched places with Ralf.
[[You should at least wait till Vostel finishes his speech,]] Ralf lightly rebuked.
[[Mm, I’ll do so next time.]]
[[I’ll hold you to i- oh?]]
Ralf was pulled out of his thoughts as two figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
His first thought was teleportation but upon catching sight of the pair, he quickly corrected himself.
‘That man on the left is Nikolas Advanti…so that should be Lawrence then.’ At the former name, Ralf’s face tensed up slightly.
To know where one stands, one needed to know both the bottom and top. The topic of Zudrad’s strongest had naturally crossed the duo’s mind. When Ralf inquired about it, he came to learn about Nikolas, and then Lawrence. The duo didn’t like what they heard.
The former was on a decade long power-trip and was rumoured to have committed many despicable acts, while the latter had a warped and destructive worldview regarding nobles and non-nobles. Hearing this description from both Greg and Samuel coloured the duo’s mental images of the two figures.
[[They look like they’re here to talk but ready yourself just in case.]]
[[Already on it,]] Ray responded seriously. [[They’re probably here to recruit us.]]
[[Most likely.]]
Ralf refocused on the pair up ahead before resuming his stride. “That was a neat trick but I’m pretty sure you two aren’t allowed to be back here. You two should leave.”
The pair’s faces scrunched up at the suggestion.
[Should I-]
[No, relax.] Lawrence quickly reined in his son’s punitive nature. Taking a breath, he refocused his sights on Ralf. Doing so caused a dense disdain to bloom in the nobleman’s gaze.
With his enhanced senses, Ralf caught everything there was to capture. The pair’s expressions told him everything he needed to know about who they were as people. Samuel's words about them squared perfectly with the sight he was currently capturing.
“Ralf Fawkes, we’ve come to talk.” Lawrence delivered the words in a light, friendly and welcoming tone. However, with said look still in his eyes, his true nature and feelings toward the youth were unmistakable.
To Lawrence, one’s lineage, what blood flowed through one’s veins was of primal importance. To him, the world was separated into those of noble birth and commoners, with the former being vastly superior to the latter. Due to this worldview, he took great pride in the fact that he was from a noble bloodline and held disdain and scorn for those who weren’t.
His disdain wasn’t just limited to commoners though. He hated nobles like Vincent who didn’t behave in ways befitting of his mental model, almost as much as commoners. Yes, no matter how terrible they were, in Lawrence’s mind, a noble could never be worse than a commoner. His worldview was just that unshakable.
Now, just as there were differences among nobles, there were also differences among commoners.
On Lawrence’s scale, Ralf was the lowest of the lowest, the most detestable type of commoner. The reason for this placement was his surname.
Fawkes, Kai Fawkes. During the ‘Burning of Brenton’ event, he had snuffed the Brenton noble household, one of the twenty-four Great Noble Bloodlines, out of existence.
This fact pained Lawrence genuinely, and to no end. So, even as he tried to act, his anger, hatred and disdain for Ralf and his bloodline leaked through the cracks.
With this being the case, why had Duke Reynolds chosen him for this task?
The answer; Nikolas.
The old duke knew well of Lawrence’s worldview and behaviour towards commoners, he was famous for it after all. Duke Reynolds didn’t bank on Lawrence’s non-existent charm to get the job done but rather Nikolas’sTelepathic prowess.
With his powers, it would be easy to string up Ralf like a puppet and extract any information they wanted from him.
This was what the Duke wished. However, he didn’t outright order Lawrence or Nikolas to carry it out. No, that would be too daring. The Duke greatly feared Nikolas’ power. The same could be said of the other nobles.
Nikolas had been influenced a lot by Lawrence’s teaching and also bought into the idea that nobles were a special breed. Still, while this was the case, he hated the Reynold Dukedom nobles. Just as he didn’t forget the one who helped him when he was down, he also didn’t forget those who chose to avert their gazes, which was pretty much every other noble.
This created a lot of friction. The old duke suspected that if Lawrence wasn’t holding him back, Nikolas would have long ago killed them all. With this kind of relationship, the Duke didn’t dare give any orders to Nikolas and instead used this indirect route.
He expected Lawrence to fail and fail and fail, and then hoped that Nikolas would step in and do as he wished.
As the old duke expected, a failure was upon Lawrence.
“Talk? I have nothing I wish to talk to you two about.”
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Lawrence’s brows furrowed as his anger flared up. Remembering his mission, he forced it down his throat, allowing more pleasant air to leave his lips. “I’m Lawrence Collins,” he introduced with a dignified look. “I’m here on behalf of Duke Reynolds. I’ve come to trade words with you, Ralf Fawkes.”
“Again, I have nothing to say to you. If you have something interesting to say, now’s the time to spill it. Also, keep it short, I’m in a hurry.” Ralf halted his steps.
*Clench*
‘What a temper, he’s gone berserk,’ Ralf thought as he caught the now red-faced Lawrence.
“Your time is ticking.”
Ralf’s reminder didn’t help one bit, fumes continued to expel out from Lawrence’s head as he desperately tried to hold himself back from unleashing a tirade of curses and insults.
Only after a deep breath could the middle-aged nobleman manage to regain enough composure to once again form words. “Duke Reynolds has shown great interest in you and your faction and wishes to meet you. We’re hoping to forg-.”
“Not interested,” Ralf cut in, much to the displeasure of the pair. He shrugged seeing it and repeated, “I’m not interested. To be your soldier, your advisor, your friend, your anything…I’m not interested. And my faction shares this sentiment. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be off.”
Saying this with a devil may attitude, Ralf, resumed his stride, giving the pair a wide berth.
Only once he was past them did Lawrence finally snap out of the incredulous daze Ralf’s words had put him in. Once out, his fiery anger erupted as well.
“Stop! Where do you think you’re going! We’re not done here you filthy worm!”
Ralf walked on, not caring about the other’s insults.
“Damn you! Get back here...” Veins flaring up, Lawrence’s world turned blurry from the surge of anger. He sought a release and as he always did, glanced towards Nikolas who could make that happen. His lips moved to command his ever-eager son into action but at the sound of a new voice, he quickly stopped himself.
“Ralf, I came to pick you up,” Chloe said, as she turned the corner.
Lawrence clicked his tongue as he spotted her. He was well aware of her and her relationship with Vincent. Needless to say, he loathed her existence.
[Father?] Nikolas asked in query.
Lawrence shook his head as he read the dangerous thoughts floating in his son’s mind. [Now’s not the right time.]
[Understood.]
Nikolas didn’t question the decision, his father’s words were law to him.
“Lawrence,” Chloe’s face immediately scrunched up with displeasure as she locked onto his existence.
She wasn’t the type to hate, but these two were exceptions in her mind. The friendly aura from a moment ago vanished and was replaced by a thorny one as she spoke her next words. “You’re not supposed to be back here. Leave at once.”
The pair’s faces twisted at her authoritative tone. Lawrence’s lips quivered a moment before settling. His clenched fist relaxed, and with it, he began his stride.
“Hmph, let’s go. Nikolas.”
The hard lines on Chloe’s forehead loosened as she saw Lawrence cooperate. Still, she kept her guard up and stared him down with her hawk-like gaze.
“We’ll talk another time Ralf,” Lawrence said as he passed by.
Ralf stayed silent, letting the middle-aged nobleman believe what he wanted.
“Ralf.” Nikolas stopped his steps. “Don’t misunderstand your place in this world. You’re just a weakling, don’t forget that. Your victories in this arena mean nothing. You’re a weakling beating even weaker weaklings, that’s all it is. You’ve got other weaklings fooled, but to someone genuinely strong like myself, your illusions are pitiful things.”
“You…” Chloe clenched her fists. The words had stroked her anger.
“You what!”
Nikolas responded sharply as irritation surged in him. To the Mental Master, Chloe, someone he regarded as far below him, shouldn’t dare utter a word in his presence. His body turned slightly and he sent a glare toward the female bodyguard. His Telepathic Psi began swirling with ill intentions.
Seeing it, Chloe’s moxie took a hit, but not Ralf’s. He moved to her side and patted her shoulder.
“It’s alright. Let’s not make a mountain of a molehill.”
“...Okay.”
“Hmph, wise choice, weaklings should know their place.”
Where Chloe’s face faltered at the words, Ralf’s lips tugged up.
“...Should know their place,” repeating, Ralf took a moment to trade words with his other self. Ray was a step ahead though and had already begun playing the ‘fish’.
With this ‘assurance’, Ralf continued. “You know, the last person who said those words to me had their head blown off...make sure you don’t end up like him.”
“You…”
Nikolas’s eyes bulged at the words. Anger surged like a rocket but at the same time, so did incredulity. While he was stunlocked by these emotions, Ralf’s words continued to flow out.
“You speak of weakling this and weakling that, but to me, you’re no different. From my point of view, everyone is so unbelievably weak. I can barely detect anyone without straining myself.”
The duo couldn’t control the sensations their mental signal’s inspired, only the strength. Usually, Ralf had a warm aura, however as he delivered these words, his aura was identical to Silver’s.
“Nikolas, you’re the same. That invisible spell you did earlier was redundant. Even without it, someone like you will never register in my gaze.”
A deep silence followed before...
*Clench*
[Nik!]
NIkolas’ Psi tethers hovered inches away from Ralf; its speedy advance being stopped by his foster father’s words. Ralf didn’t bat an eye at the golden blades, even showing a slight smirk.
[Nik, not here, not now.]
Hearing these subsequent words, the Mental Master reined in both his anger and Psi.
“Tsk, you got lucky trash.”
Nikolas sent one last glare before turning and walking off. Lawrence mirrored his son’s action and the pair of nobles hurriedly left.
Once the pair was out of sight, Chloe turned to her young companion. Her face was one coloured in both admiration and bafflement. Her eyes sought answers to explain his daring but Ralf didn’t deliver and instead sighed.
“How unpleasant, I’ll need a hug to get rid of this feeling.”
“...Me too.”
“Then, let’s hurry along.”