Lucian watched the fight's ending with an intrigued expression.
From Stella's words and the crowd's general reactions, he assumed that the fight would be more of an even match, but evidently, that wasn't the case.
It was more like watching an adult beating up a child.
Lucian tilted his head in Stella's direction.
"It looks like the disparity between the two was far greater than just 'a little'."
Stella nodded, quickly hiding the earlier surprise she had in her eyes.
"Even if Ian was able to overcome the majority of the venom's effects, it still managed to dull his reactions to a noticeable degree. However, the method he used to bite him in the first place was well thought out. Something I wouldn't expect from someone like him."
"This goes to show just how much you have left to learn," A gruff voice called out from behind the two.
Recognizing the voice, Stella quickly turned and bowed.
"Hello, teacher."
Lucian raised an eyebrow at Stella's actions, but instead of following her actions, he took a closer look at the man before him.
The person Stella referred to as her teacher looked to be in his late 40s, but Lucian knew his actual age was nearing his 60s.
The only thing to show for his actual age was the few strands of white hair that peppered his head and the multitude of wrinkles etched onto his skin.
'Geoff Goldman… I've heard a lot about him on the internet. Not only does he have an S-rank ability, but he won countless competitions in mixed martial arts. Someone more than qualified to teach the granddaughter of 'that man'.'
Lucian inwardly frowned as the face of a particular person crossed his mind.
'If I remember correctly, Geoff should be around the same age as him….'
Lucian was in the middle of his thoughts when he felt a hand grab his earlobe and force him into a similar bowing posture.
"Lucian! If you're training here, show the teacher some respect!" Stella hissed into his ear.
Lucian's face contorted in pain.
"Aiyayayaya! Stop pulling my ear, you crazy woman!"
It was then that Lucian realized… He fucked up.
Hurriedly turning his head to the side, he attempted to pacify his fiance, but what he saw…
It was enough to cause him to shiver in fear.
A face that was so terrifying that it would turn grown men into little girls.
As sweat began to drip down his forehead, Lucian swallowed hard before attempting to calm Stella down.
"Did you hear me say 'crazy woman'? I mean 'crazily beautiful woman'! After all, how many people can match your beauty!"
"Hoh? Were my ears playing tricks on me then?"
Lucian nodded his head furiously.
However, something of that calibre wasn't enough to lull Stella over, something that Lucian was unfortunately all too familiar with.
Just as Stella was about to open her mouth to refute it, she heard a hearty laugh come from the man before her.
Someone she'd forgotten about entirely while 'handing' her fiance.
Her face flushed a deep colour of red as she tried explaining herself.
"S-sorry, teacher, I got too distracted."
Geoff flashed a friendly smile and shook his head.
"No need to apologize. Frankly, seeing you two like this reminded me of my youth. My wife and I used to squabble like this all the time. Couples only do these things if they truly care for each other. In fact, I'd like to thank you for letting me relive a portion of my youth. But then again, I'm still quite hale and hearty!"
Geoff hit his chest with his hand as if trying to show how fit he was.
Even though Geoff had told the two he didn't mind their antics, Stella was still far too embarrassed to raise her head.
However, hearing her respected teacher claim that the two were a good couple caused her to feel friendly and warm inside.
Most people she met, including her grandfather, claimed that she and Lucian were far too mismatched to work as a couple.
In fact, they would constantly advise her to just annul their engagement.
They'd even tell her that since Lucian's parents weren't around anymore, there was no value in marrying Lucian, as with Lucian having an F-rank ability, there was no other reason to marry him.
However, Stella didn't even want to consider thinking of that option.
Deep down, she already equated her future husband to Lucian and no one else.
It was to the point where she wouldn't even let Lucian break the engagement, even if he pleaded to her on his knees.
So her teacher's words caused her to feel giddy inside.
While Stella was covering her blushing face with one hand, she heard a cough.
It was evident to anyone that heard it that it was forced.
"Umm… Can you let go of my ear now? At this rate, you might really just rip it off." Lucian complained with a slight grimace.
'This guy…'
Stella internally sighed as she let go of his ear.
Not before she gave it one more hard yank.
"OW! OW! OW!"
***
In a dimly lit room, eight cloaked figures were surrounding a table, eyeing what appeared to be a hologram of a crashed car.
It was a picture recorded by a security camera watching the road where the accident occurred.
"They failed? What happened?" One figure questioned in a shrill voice.
"It seems that their car had a technical malfunction… They swerved off to the right and crashed into the other two." Another responded in a more deep and resounding voice.
The hologram seemingly rewinded the clip and played out the scene of one of the vans crashing into 2 similar vans.
One of the cloaked figures muttered something under their breath before turning to the others.
"It's obvious that someone caused those cars to malfunction. Was it someone with a telekinetic ability? Perhaps hypnosis or mind control?"
Another figure stroked his chin with his fingers in thought.
"It might be, but it could have also been someone who messed with the car itself. Perhaps someone sabotaged it?"
The earlier figure shook its head.
"If they managed to sabotage our cars before we even started the operation, that would mean they're already onto us. If Alford Golden were to catch wind of this plan, none of us would still be alive. That means that someone must have hacked it remotely. A couple of the survivors even attested to seeing a traffic light malfunction while tailing them."
The others in the room nodded at this idea, finding it the most plausible solution.
"That means that someone's watching over them, smart enough to bypass the car's encryptions and freely control it remotely. Not only that, but they managed to hack into the city's infrastructure as well."
"People like that are sometimes more terrifying than a strong ability user."
One of the cloaked figures turned to the person sitting next to them.
"Since this failed, it seems we have no other option but to continue our plans for the sports festival."
"I wanted to avoid this since not only will quite a few kids die, but the cost for one of these is more than just an arm and a leg… But the pay for this job will surely be more than worth it."
At the thought of the fat payment they'd get for this job, the figures in this room salivated while their eyes practically shined with greed.