"It would be best in choosing Claudia, master Luke." She said flatly. Luke contemplated this for a while before asking ,"Why Claudia and not Kevin?" He took would have chosen Claudia but he didn't think that Elspeth would choose her as well. The two guests seated next to each other were dumbfounded by the outcome and wanted to hear to the explanation. "Knowing your tendencies, I'm sure you would have come to such a result. Besides,it would seem that Claudia has more potential than Kevin overall." She explained. Seeing how Luke,or Aldritch was,she knew that he didn't like people who were already high so choosing someone lower would be more preferable. Besides,it felt somehow familiar to her instance but voicing this would seem illogical.
"You know me well Elspeth. As for Claudia, I've chosen to do this at no fee whatsoever. Kevin,you may see yourself out." He said gesturing at the door with a small smile. Naturally treating an heir to the throne in such a manner would automatically guarantee repercussions but he could only grit his teeth. He tried to come up with enticing offers that would make anyone reconsider but Luke remained adamant in his decision,his mind made up with his choice. "You're going to regret this Luke Yashmoore. Because you have a proper backing makes you think that you're invicible. We'll see how this ends."
He stormed off crashing the door entirely off it's hinges causing a lot of noise and attention. Luke gave a small sigh before standing up and Claudia followed as well. He took a couple of steps forward closing the distance between the two before casting his enchanting blue eyes locking in with her sapphire red eyes. She could feel as if she was getting probed by an entity she could not fathom piercing deep into her soul, discerning her worth. An underlying sense of fear started wrapping around her body as her hands started to unconsciously tremble,she tried to move but her body betrayed her wishes as she was locked in place. It felt like an eternity before Luke withdrew.
"Elspeth, I'll leave her in your hands. Just don't push her too much." He said as he started leaving. "What was that? Was it a skill or what when you were looking at me?" Claudia asked. It was rather off how she felt. Compared to the monstrous auras she had ever faced, that one felt different. It wasn't overpowering rather it was discerning and calculative to unprecedented levels that made her felt stark,her secrets stripped. "It was a skill. It helps me assess my opponents and know how to counter them." He said calmly though he knew that wasn't it. There was no skill rather he was intentionally slowly losing his grip on his guise to give her a little scare and it proved successful.
"I thought you would be training me." She added with a tinge of fear laced in her voice. She had yet to fully recover though it wouldn't take that much time,a couple of minutes or possibly an hour. "Ever heard of an expression that goes beggars can't be choosers." He gave a small laugh before leaving repairing the door as he left. There were some who had started to accumulate wondering what the source of the loud bang was but seeing Luke,they quickly retracted scurrying off to their own affairs. He ignored them as he went outside to enjoy the sun's rays. The day had yet to come to a close so he chose to waste it here. A small secluded part of the school with a small garden and breathtaking view. Under the shade of a tree with a cool breeze cooling him off against the heat, unknowingly,he fell fast asleep leaning on the trunk of a sturdy tree.
He knew that not many came all the way out here and those who would realising who he was would be hesitant to provoke him. Before he was swept away by his slumber,he recalled the saying he had issued to Claudia. It was from the scrawny hairy man at the pawn shop who said it with a laugh but looking closer,he could feel pain beneath it.
...
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
He was softly tapped by Elspeth who had a small smile on her face. He jolted his eyes before Elspeth's figure came to his vision. He stood up before straightened himself before letting out a small yawn. "How did it go with Claudia?" Asking as he was cracking his neck side to side. "She made impressive progress considering your limit you had me put on her." She understood what he meant back then by not going too hard on her. It would attract too much attention if another master combatant was birthed at the hands of Luke. Not only would he have to be constantly swarmed by other students of his league,but also the teachers would convince him to put a stop to it not because his work was too good,but because it would make them look like absolute fools to rest of the higher echelon of society.
"Stetson is waiting for us." She said and shortly after,they made their way back. They were the last ones to leave as Luke did not hesitate to savour his slumber. 'I've always been a heavy sleeper.' he said as they made their way back. But other than that,he wondered what Kevin would do as the test came to it's end. He knew that once Darwarke intervened,he couldn't fulfil his scheme so he had to do it before then with that being a day away. 'Or he could do it while they were here making it less conspicuous as nobody would execute such an act. And with a lot of heads present,he would appear the least suspicious making James take the fall.'
He was aware that James didn't have the best output of Aldritch as one of his surbodinates practically killed his personal commander not to mention a lot of students from his kingdom. 'It could be accidentally seen that he did such an act out of revenge.' As he made his arrival,he made himself at home before collapsing on his comfortable bed. 'Also,after the test is over,Eva would require my present at the congratulatory ceremony. It could work in my favour as I could easily get rid of this guise.' Tired with what he would have to face,he closed his eyes as a faint green aura enveloped him and snapping his fingers.
He decided to skip all the menial spars that he had to face against Mordant deeming it a waste of his time and Darwarke as expected all the way to the last contestant. For him,it all happened in the duration on snapping his fingers but for the rest,they lived these days normally. During his skip,his body was controlled by his system filling his place perfectly as he couldn't bother doing the detailed works himself landing him on the day he was to face Eveyln.
...
It was morning with the casual mundane routine with nothing out of the norm. Though the system acted treating Elspeth with a little bit of space as he instructed, nothing was out of place. "Are you ready to face Eveyln?" Velair asked seeing Luke and Elspeth out. "It shouldn't turn out too bad. And since the ceremony is tonight, I'll have you and Liam transported to Darwarke after the event. Aldritch will clarify the matter to James so don't worry." He said giving Velair a soft and tender kiss. Her face was a little flushed before bidding them goodbye. The two boarded the carriage and only silence spoke in volumes before being interrupted by Luke.
"I'm going to die tonight, Elspeth." Elspeth who was passive was taken aback by what she heard. "What do you mean you are going to die? How can you die?" Luke soaking in her flustered expression. "An assassination will be plotted against me and I'll die. During this,you should properly transfer to Aldritch." Elspeth now piecing it together calmed down a little. "But who would plot an assassination against you?" He gave a small smile. "It's not me rather who would plot against Luke Yashmoore." Realizing what he meant,she quickly realized who would do such a thing.
After they made their arrival, along with other students,they took their seats. Unbeknownst to them, carriages of all the heads from other kingdoms made their arrival at the school. Each adorned with intricate designs while having a heavy air of royalty symbolizing power, royalty and wealth. All of them made their entrance as they made their way to their specially reserved seats. The scenery of this fight was held somewhere else not far from the school grounds for this event. The collesium was a beauty,truly a work of art with it's spacious field coupled with all-round peak designership. The heads were each allotted their own room way above the rest giving a definite view of the fight in a semicircular pattern.
The huge windows would amplify the closeness of the arena with hidden features as well such as ensuring security to those within. With King James and his kin taking the center,each were allotted in respective of power and influence they held. To some extent,this task had to consider the standings perfectly otherwise there would be future complications realising this method couldn't satisfy everyone. James taking the center,to his right was the head of Darwarke furthest being the queen of Mordant. To his left was the head Elsya and furthest was the head of Cordon.
...
With every head making their arrival,for Mordant,Moira took on that position perfectly making it clear that she still held power in Mordant though most didn't expect to see her. As for Darwarke,Eva along with Aldritch made their appearance attracting the most attention before the duel began. The announcer quickly got over the preliminaries ensuing the duels to begin. The place was packed to the brim with people of different statuses no doubt to see the epic proportions in store this year as it stood out from the rest. To get the fight of,other than the heir of Cordon,the rest were able to hold their own till this stage with the black sheep present being Elspeth which further rallied the spirits of the audience.
To have a person of a common origin to make it this far had never occurred in the history of the academies so it was a pleasant twist to the commonfolk,not so much to the higher ups of society. They were all aware of her development but even though she was meant to be Luke's servant,the undeniable truth remained that she was able to best some of the best students present due to what, training for two days. It was beyond absurd but the truth was right infront of their eyes and with Aldritch present,they couldn't make any funny moves as they all knew the relationship between him and Luke along with Elspeth.
The first match was between the heir of Mordant,a male blond hair seemingly weak frame adonered in blue and white clothing faced Darwarke's horror, Eveyln. Though most anticipated a heated battle,what they witnessed was something else. Right from the beginning,the blonde kid was already being thrown all over the place by Evelyn's attacks. They were all mana based and even though he tried his best,he couldn't keep up as she gave him no time to rest bringing the fight to an end barely had it begun. The blonde kid was forced to look at the young miss with her hands behind her back with no speck of dirt in sight compared to him who seemed bedridden.
'She didn't hold back when it came to being being ruthless.' A deduction made by all despite making no moves whatsoever. With her victory claimed,she walked off and the next fight began. It was a series which were long lived compared to Evelyn's fight though Elspeth tried the same tactics easily claiming victory while Luke took his time savouring beating the absolute shit out of his opponents till there were only four left. Eveyln, Elspeth, Luke and Connor. Elaine was eliminated by Elspeth in swift but brutal fashion as she opted for close combat with the daggers she was given by Luke slicing through her Ytterbium sword putting her at a quick disadvantage. Elspeth was paired with Eveyln which lasted the longest but Eveyln managed to top it.
Unlike Elspeth who had undergone training for a few days, Eveyln's was for a month and during then Luke didn't hesitate to use the best for her development along with Eva. It was a showcase of new yet deadly moves to this world which made everyone watch it with zeal. Their speed higher than their ranks allowed them to be did take them all by surprise but the more powerful individuals were still able to watch with keen interest fascinated by the show. As for Connor and Luke,it ended with Connor's blood painting nearly half the arena while Luke continued to ruthlessly make his advances breaking a lot of bones, rapturing his blood vessels and fracturing his organs. It was a miracle that he hadn't dropped yet but the outcome was already decided in Luke's favor.
With the last fight being Eveyln's and Luke's. One being a cold but swift with an overpowering trait while the other being a predator who savoured the pain and agony of his opponents ever so slowly till they couldn't proceed any further. Truly it was anticipated by all.