Alicia and I managed to dig Cecilia out of the rubble. The daughter of the Stuart family was unconscious, failing to rouse even when Alicia gently shook her.
"Cecilia…"
"She's hurt," I explained. "Yuan Dao hit her really hard."
"We have to get her out of here!" Alicia was desperately fighting her panic. She looked at me pleadingly, tears in her eyes. "Before the whole building collapses!"
"I know. Let's go." Pulling her arm over my shoulder, I began to drag her away from the broken wall. Before we left the reception room, however, I staggered toward a corner of the room. "Alicia, help me a bit."
"Hmm?" Alicia nodded obediently as I passed Cecilia to her. Bending down, I slapped Adrian as hard as possible.
"AAAAH!" Adrian jolted upright, regaining consciousness. He broke into cold sweat and began trembling. "W…what…what happened?"
His jaw dropped when he saw the battle occurring over my shoulder. Wood had blotted out our view of the two combatants, a dense forest of trees growing rapidly to engulf the vast space of the reception room. Tremors shook the floor as the two masters within the artificially created forest clashed. Occasionally, I caught a glimpse of Yuan Dao smashing his way out of the wood, splinters raining harmlessly on him as he emerged, only for him to punch his way through a solid barrier of trees to get to his employer.
"The whole building's going to blow," I informed him as I took over assisting Cecilia from a stunned Alicia, only to wince. Damn, it looked like my own injuries weren't light either. "It's not going to survive their fight. We have best get out of here before those two bring the entire building crashing down on top of us."
"We won't survive that," Alicia agreed.
"Sure thing," Adrian mumbled groggily, still in shock from the massive killing intent that Yuan Dao Yue Guang continued to emanate, but he was somehow able to follow us out of the reception room.
"What the hell did you tell Yuan Dao?" I demanded as we raced down the corridor and toward the elevator.
"Huh? Mr. Yuan Dao?" Adrian looked confused. "I didn't tell him anything."
"Don't fucking lie to me!" I yelled, my nerves having frayed from the stress that resulted after all that happened. "Do you really expect me to believe that it was a coincidence that Yuan Dao went fucking ballistic right after you talked to him?"
"You mean that time before he did…did that thing?" Adrian shuddered. "I only told him to read the letter my father wrote to him. Earlier, during your match with Shawn Franklin, Father called me to press the issue. He wanted me to tell Mr. Yuan Dao to read the letter as soon as possible, so when I had the chance to approach him, that's what I told him."
I remembered Adrian talking on the phone during a pause in my match with Franklin. So that must be what the call was about. So I nodded, relaxing a little.
"What was in the letter?" Alicia asked curiously. "Do you know?"
Adrian looked a little guilty. "Well…I peeked into it, so…"
At that moment, we managed to reach the elevator. Fortunately for us, the doors were open and the elevator was already waiting for us. Whether by design or pure coincidence, I didn't know, but I didn't pause to consider my fortune. Pulling Cecilia in, I waited for the other two to file in before I quickly hit the button for the lobby.
Placing Cecilia in a comfortable position in the corner of the elevator, I glanced at the lights above, which indicated our slow journey down almost two hundred stories. Exhausted, I slumped down next to Adrian, while Alicia took care of Cecilia.
"You were saying that you peeked into Yuan Dao's letter?" I pressed. Adrian looked a little guilty.
"I couldn't help it! Father said that the letter had something to do with Mr. Yuan Dao's wife! That's what convinced him to read it immediately!"
"What was in the letter?" Alicia repeated her question, returning her attention back to the guilty-looking kid. As for me, I could already guess what this whole farce was about the moment Adrian mentioned Yuan Dao's wife.
"Don't tell me…"
"Somehow, Father managed to gather evidence that Lord Stuart was having an affair with Mr. Yuan Dao's wife," Adrian explained sheepishly, his cheeks a little red. "So he placed all those photographs in that envelope, together with a note."
"An affair?!" Alicia's hands flew to her mouth, a horrified expression taking over her pretty face.
"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered, recalling how Stuart actively encouraged me to take Alicia as my mistress even though he was supposedly forcing me to marry his daughter. That guy was absolute scum. Okay, maybe not, but his treatment of women was…ugh.
Speaking of which, didn't he forcibly kiss Cecilia's mother before they finally dated and got married? To think that he went after other women after the death of his wife…well, I mean, he was free to move on with his life, but come on…to go after another man's woman? Especially if that man was a loyal subordinate who had dedicated so many years of life to serve him? Wow…I was speechless with his audacity.
No wonder Yuan Dao was so mad.
I couldn't help but chuckle, despite the grave situation. Both Alicia and Adrian stared at me in surprise.
"I probably should thank your dad, Adrian." I shook my head in amusement. "Thanks to him, I was able to avoid Stuart's grasp and a forced marriage. At least we got to see one epic clash between absolute masters before escaping from right under Stuart's nose! Ha ha ha! I can't imagine what kind of expression he will have when he finds out that I'm long gone from here!"
"I wonder who will win." Adrian stared at the ceiling of the elevator, intrigued. "Both of them are so powerful."
"Well, whatever the case, they'll be busy for a while." I was grinning gleefully. "By the time they conclude their battle, we will have disappeared to safety."
After that, we fell silent, allowing the humming of the elevator to take over our conversation. As giddy as I felt from successfully escaping Stuart's grasp, it still wasn't over yet.
*
The three of us stumbled out of the Stuart Corporation Building, pulling the unconscious Cecilia along with us. I panted as I heaved her body along. It wasn't that she was heavy, but I was losing a lot of blood and strength.
"Are you okay, Brother?" Adrian asked me, concerned. He reached out to help me, but recoiled in shock. "Brother, you're losing a lot of blood! We've to stop the bleeding!"
"It's too late for that," I replied dismissively. "I'll live. Let me get as far away from here as possible, then I'll check my injuries."
"Leave Cecilia to me." Alicia gently pushed me away and tightened her grip on Cecilia's arm, dragging her along. Despite her deceptively frail appearance, Alicia was still a combat mage of the highest rank in our academy. She had a lot of strength to spare, in contrast to me, who practically had one foot in the grave.
"Yes, ma'am."
I had no idea where to go, my mind growing dizzier from the loss of blood. I vaguely followed Alicia, who led the way out of the commercial district. Yeah, Alicia was the most clear-headed out of us. She would figure something out. She should know where to go.
"A…Alicia?"
Cecilia stirred and coughed. Alicia stopped in her tracks and lowered her friend to the ground.
"Cecilia! You've regained consciousness! Are you all right?!"
"…I've been better." Cecilia gasped as she clutched her chest. Grimacing, she rubbed her midriff gingerly and groaned. "Damn it…I've suffered heavy internal injuries. Uncle Yuan Dao is too strong. The only one who can handle him now is Father."
"They are fighting right now," Alicia informed her grimly.
"I have to go back." Cecilia tried to get up, but she fell over. Alicia quickly caught her. Behind them, the Stuart Corporation Building shook, an entire segment exploding to bits. "I have to help Father."
Was she insane?
"You can't!" Alicia objected, arriving to the same conclusion as me, but having a lot more tact. "Even if you went back, there's nothing you can do! You won't be able to intervene in such a fierce fight between masters!"
"You'll only get in the way of your father," I agreed, backing my girlfriend up. "Your father will be distracted, trying to protect you from your Uncle Yuan Dao. That guy has gone berserk. He doesn't care who you are. As long as you get in his way, he'll attack you."
"That's right!" Alicia nodded. "You should leave that security chief uncle to your father."
"But…" Cecilia gritted her teeth. "I can't leave Father alone in there!"
"You are seriously injured," Alicia told her firmly. "What can you do? You can't even stand up straight. There's no way you can help your father." She sighed. "You need emergency treatment. I'll call an ambulance, and…"
"There's no need for that," Cecilia hissed through gritted teeth. "I don't want to blow this up any larger than it already is."
"I think it's a bit too late for that." I jabbed a thumb toward the violently shuddering building, which was now raining debris down on the ground. "I don't think anyone is going to fail to notice the destruction of an entire skyscraper."
"Besides, I already contacted the hospital," Adrian added, lowering his phone. "They'll be sending an ambulance here in a few minutes."
Cecilia glared at him. "Don't do anything unnecessary!"
"Hey," I snapped when I saw my young friend flinch. "Adrian is only doing the right thing. You have no right to yell at him."
"Whatever." Cecilia ignored me and struggled to stand. She stumbled, only for Alicia to quickly catch her. Pushing my girlfriend aside, the daughter of the Stuart Clan stubbornly proceeded toward the shaking skyscraper.
And then she collapsed, falling unconscious into a stunned Alicia's arms.
"You…" Alicia began when she caught sight of my hand. I had evidently chopped the back of Cecilia's neck to knock her out.
"Sorry." I shook my head. "It was the only way. Otherwise she would have literally crawled toward the Stuart Corporation Building if she had to, no matter our objections."
"I kind of understand how Sister Cecilia feels, though." Adrian looked up at the trembling skyscraper, his eyes worried. "I hope Uncle Lionel will be all right."
"Yeah, well…he can take care of himself. But Cecilia needs emergency treatment, and I need to get the hell out of here."
A massive noise from behind caused me to turn around. Stunned, I could only watch as the Stuart Corporation Building exploded one final time before collapsing completely. The once proud and grand building was imploding, crumbling away into nothing more than huge chunks of rubble and dust.
Gulping, I turned back to Adrian and Alicia, both of whom were also watching the amazing spectacle with wide eyes.
"We have to go," I told them, my voice filled with a sense of urgency.