Chapter 78: Breaking Chains: Forging Chaos [II]
"Huh? Who the fuck just yelled as if he owns the damn place already?"
"Look! It’s that spoiled brat from the Silvermoon family! I say we go fuck him up and teach him a thing or two about manners."
"Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea... see those old geezers standing behind him? I think it’s his family elders."
"Oh, so that’s where he got the guts. Then why’s he barking like a rabid dog? What does he want this time?"
A commotion stirred at the Graeogor family residence. At the center of it all stood a lanky youth sporting curly brown hair and dark eyes, draped in a golden robe, Darius Silvermoon, young lord of the Silvermoon family.
His eyes narrowed as his target came into view. For a moment, his gaze shrank subconsciously, a whisper slipping out instinctively, voicing his thoughts out loud.
"Why the fuck is he so handsome?"
He growled, clenching his fists, an evil smirk stretching across his face. "Not for long," he drawled. "When I crush your face beneath my foot, let’s see how you’ll look then."
He snickered before spewing, "You’ve finally decided to show yourself, good! The Silvermoon family’s young master is dead on account of you. For this, I challenge you to a death match!"
"Huh?" Aurelian muttered, closing in on the youth in front of him. His eyes narrowed as a question formed at the back of his mind. But before he could speak, the youth blurted out more nonsense.
"You should be honored! I will be the last person you fight! I will be your greatest nemesis!"
The stupid smirk spread wider across his face, before Aurelian couldn’t take it anymore. His figure blurred, vanishing from sight, before reappearing in front of the youth. His eyes locked on him as he breathed, "And who the fuck might you be?"
"Uh?" Darius inhaled sharply, stumbling back. His words froze in his throat. How was he this fast? Even as an E-rank, he should’ve severely outclassed him, yet his eyes couldn’t even keep track of his movements.
Multiple thoughts flashed at the back of his mind before one stuck, must’ve been a one-time burst skill to scare him. But that was the least of his concerns.
As his lips twitched, rage boiled deep within him. What did he mean he didn’t know him? Had he been making a fool of him this whole time, or was he just saying it to humiliate him? Either way, the crowd’s reaction wasn’t helping.
***
"Holy fucking shit, he did not just say that, right?"
"Suppose the young master’s been frying bigger fish, he forgot the toads waddling around."
"Serves his cocky ass right!"
"Greatest nemesis my ass! The only nemesis he has is his thick skull! A last-year awakened challenging a recently awakened?"
"Isn’t he an E-rank? Does he have no fucking shame?"
"Well, I can’t blame him either. If I was as much a loser as he was, I’d be going around doing the same thing. Guess it runs in the family..."
***
"Enough!" Darius roared, his face turning red as the crowd’s murmurs cut into his ears. "Fight me already!"
"Hmm." Aurelian mused, catching pieces of information from the crowd, the full picture painting itself at the back of his mind. A good fight was always welcome, but he didn’t have time for an arrogant brat’s tantrum.
His smile darkened as he breathed, "Or what?"
"Huh?" Darius’s eyes widened. This wasn’t going as planned. Things were slipping out of his control.
"O-or else the Silvermoon family declares war against the Graeogor family!"
The crowd erupted louder, rage boiling among them.
"Big words," Aurelian muttered, unfazed. "But not my problem."
"What?" Darius blanched, the light fading from his eyes. If he left the Graeogor residence without a fight, his reputation would be ruined. His position as young lord was already on the line. With him failing the academy selections, the title was bound to be handed to someone more talented. This fight would determine his standing in the clan. Defeat wasn’t an option.
Trying again, he snickered shamelessly. "Wait, you don’t have any honor?"
"Honor?" Aurelian smirked before whispering, "Can it help me grow stronger? If not, shove it up your ass."
"What do you want at this point?!" Darius growled, almost losing hope at this point. Words were useless now.
***
"Crawl back to the hole you came from, you shameless bastard!"
"He’s not going to fall for your stupid trick!"
"Wait... why did he stop? He’s not seriously considering the offer, is he?" murmurs rippled through the crowd as Aurelian suddenly halted.
***
"Anything?" Aurelian asked, tilting his head back with a devilish smirk stretching across his face.
"Yes!" Darius snapped, jumping at the chance without a second thought.
"That interspatial ring of yours... how much gold is in it?" Aurelian breathed.
"A thousand gold and a few items," Darius replied, his creepy smile surfacing back on his face. "What, you want it? If you win, it’s yours."
"Deal." Aurelian smirked, turning as his eyes lit with appraisal.
"Level 37, huh?" he mused. "Weaker than expected. But if you want to die so badly, fine by me."
"Great," Darius nodded, pulling out a life-and-death contract from his ring. He smirked, muttering beneath his breath, "Birds die in pursuit of food, humans for wealth. Couldn’t be truer."
***
"Patriarch, aren’t you going to do something?" an elder at the back growled, eyes fixed on the brewing fight.
"No," Artorias breathed. "It’s about time he learned personal power isn’t everything. He needs to learn he needs his family."
"But the death contract..."
"He... won’t sign it. He’s bluffing. He can’t sign it. I don’t know how he’s concealing his level, but he knows the gap between F-rank and E-rank. That should be enough to deter him."
"Wait—look, he’s going back... are you sure about this?"
"As certain as I’ll ever be..."
"He looks like he’s about to sign it... he’s signing... he did it! He signed it!"
"WHAT?!?"