Spencer looked at Seth with disgust. "Apologize to Alex. Now," he demanded. He knew exactly how strong he was, so his voice rang with confidence, as if he had no doubt Seth would obey.
Seth's face grew ashen, and he stared down at his hands, hesitating. His hands were trembling uncontrollably, and he couldn't stop it. Within minutes, the tremors had spread, and his entire body shook. He had seen what Spencer was capable of, so he was terrified.
Spencer ran out of patience. He stepped forward and struck hard at Seth, knocking him off his feet.
"Go back and tell your people what happened here," Spencer said, looming over Seth. "In six months, Alex and I will come to visit you."
Seth nodded, too afraid to speak. He wiped at his split lip as he looked around, searching for a way out, desperate to escape before Spencer hit him again.
Besides, he also wanted to report back to the Ghosts and warn them that in six months, Alex and Spencer would be challenging them. He wasn't sure what form the challenge would take, but he suspected the outcome would be the destruction of the Ghosts' younger martial artists.
If the Ghosts agreed to the challenge, it would involve their younger members, and if they were killed, it might spell the end of their organization. After all, these young people were their successors, and it would take a long time to replace them.
They had already lost Jacob, which had been a terrible blow, so they couldn't afford to lose anyone else. It was vital that Seth go back and discuss countermeasures as soon as possible.
A dozen cars drove into the arena. Men got out and dealt with the wounded, taking them away, and Jacob's body was removed. Within minutes, the scene had been restored to its former glory, leaving no trace of what had happened.
Before long, Will and Edward arrived. They greeted Alex enthusiastically, happy to see he was still alive. They hugged and slapped each other's back, celebrating the victory.
Kenneth watched the young men, aware the real battle had only just begun. Spencer's presence and his challenge to the Ghosts had shown that Alex was a much more significant threat than he had realized.
It had become clear that Alex was no longer simply the president of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association but was now also Spencer's right-hand man. This meant Alex was in a superior position of power to Kenneth, so Kenneth could no longer bully him.
Spencer turned to face Kenneth and Hugo. "Jacob is dead, but we're not done here," he said. "There are three more things I need from you. First, inform the American Martial Arts Association that I don't want to see Hugo again. As long as Hugo remains vice president, the Baltimore chapter will refuse to cooperate with any requests."
"Spencer, you can't do this," Hugo responded, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't do anything wrong. You can't tell them to fire me like this." He knew Spencer's demand would put an end to his power, and there would be no way to recover.
"Your conduct here has made it clear whose side you are on," Spencer said, his tone indifferent. "As the vice president of the American Martial Arts Association, you're responsible for the welfare of all the chapters, and you're failing at your job. You have ignored your duties to side with the Ghosts to humiliate Alex. I will not allow you to continue in such a way."
"I was looking at the bigger picture!" he exclaimed. "That's more important than anyone's hurt feelings."
Spencer snorted. "Answer this, if Alex had lost to Jacob today, would you still be concerned with the bigger picture?" He shook his head. "You cannot focus on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. The Ghosts should not be allowed to do whatever they please with no accountability."
"That's not what I meant," Hugo protested, his face growing red. "We're not as powerful as the Ghosts, so we have to be careful in our dealings with them."
"Are you blind?" Spencer asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "Jacob is dead, and Alex is alive, so how superior do you think the Ghosts are?"
"But Alex wasn't winning in the beginning," Hugo pointed out. "In fact, he even hid from Jacob at one point! We didn't expect him to turn things around."
Alex laughed. He had been toying with Jacob, and he could have defeated him much quicker if he had wanted to.
"Hugo, you have no idea of the extent of Alex's skills," Spencer said. "If you and I tried to defeat Alex together, we wouldn't win. As for Jacob, he didn't stand a chance. His cloud trick wasn't enough to withstand Alex, whose abilities are far beyond what you could imagine." He shook his head. "Just be glad Alex didn't come after you."
Hugo opened his mouth to continue to argue, but Spencer cut him off. "You have three days to step down, or I'll destroy the American Martial Arts Association."
Hugo lowered his eyes, speechless.
"Now for the second thing," Spencer said, turning to Kenneth. "You abused your power for personal gain, and you permitted your son to bully other fighters."
He took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped his hands. "You ignored the interests of the American Martial Arts Association and belittled the president of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association. Such crimes are unforgivable, and you should have been removed from your position some time ago. I will leave your fate to your successor. I'm sure they'll deal with you fairly."
Kenneth sighed with relief. He had been anxiously waiting to hear his fate, assuming it would be something awful, but it seemed he had gotten off lightly.
After all, the arbitrator would be chosen by Kenneth's subordinates, and he had been the one to award them their positions, so they were bound to be lenient with him.