As Louise dropped to the floor, Cain held his breath. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he unconsciously released a bit of killing intent, thickening the atmosphere around the group.
Cain glared at the fox senior. It was brief; he caught Adler sneering at Louise’s writhing form. He exhaled a long breath to wash away the anger that welled up in his chest.
"That b*stard!"
Rika’s voice was cold enough to freeze the fla. The two figures beside him clenched their fists and teeth in unison, their anger resonating.
However, as much as Cain wanted to dash toward the arena and twist the foxy senior’s limbs, he swallowed back his intent, then looked toward the other senior present.
First, to the violet-haired girl. She stood behind the crowds so that Cain couldn’t gauge her current expression. He shifted toward the green-haired one, who was covering her open mouth. The situation in the arena rattled her composure.
Cain looked back to the middle, watching Louise on fours. Each ti her chest puffed out, her face contorted in agony. The girl’s face glistened with cold sweat; he couldn’t fathom just how excruciating the injury was.
A thought suddenly popped into his mind. How can Louise get easily trashed one-sidedly like that?
As a martial artist and the one who witnessed Louise’s explosive growth over the ti they spent together, Cain concluded: there was no way she could lose to soone as sloppy as that fox.
From other people’s perspective, the foxy senior spear technique was clear and heavy with intent. But in his eyes, it was nothing but a defective style that relies heavily on the user’s raw power.
His technique was poor; worse, it was mixed with other styles, unlike proper spearmanship. It was an insult to call him a spearman.
’He’s a half-assed guy!’
Cain muttered in his heart. The boy looked toward Louise, who regained her feet while clutching her left side. He glanced to the side and accidentally locked eyes with Dosh. The man stared intently at him, and Cain replied with a shake of his head.
’This is her mont. I’ll not let anyone disrupt her, even you.’
The general shrugged, then exhaled as he focused on the arena. Cain did the sa, hoping to see the fox boy getting knocked out by Louise’s spear.
’Brace yourself, Louise! The boy seems to hold a secret we don’t know about.’
However, if the foxy boy proved to have sothing in him that ssed with Cain’s teammates. At that ti, Cain didn’t care whether the senior was an heir to a wealthy family or the son of a saint; he would beat him half-dead.
As the situation in the arena heated up. Louise, who rose to her feet, gritted her teeth for the throbbing pain still pulsing in her left ribs. She rubbed the spot, her expression contorting in pain.
’The bone is fine.’
Louise regulated her breath, in and out, as she tried to calm her racing heart. The girl glanced forward, witnessing her opponent standing still, showing no sign of attacking.
When their eyes t, she saw the corner of the senior’s lips lifted, sneering as if to mock her situation. Her vision narrowed, and she felt sothing in her chest bubbling. She clicked her tongue and tightened the grip on her shaft.
As she was about to resu her stance, Louise’s eyes widened in shock. In that mont, the storm that was enveloping her heart was gone, giving her mind clarity.
’...Eh, How!?’
That question rose from the depths of her heart, followed by the sound of a rattling chain ’clinking.’ A mont of silence passed in the blink of an eye. Louise shook her head to snap her mind back into the spar. She gulped, then took up her stance.
Her opponent responded in kind. Adler prepared his stance; the boy’s lips parted in pompous joy. He spoke.
"As expected from Louise. But don’t force yourself. You’ve done enough."
"!?"
When the words entered her ears, Louise’s vision flickered like a lantern in the dark. The disappearing darkness returned, bringing a storm that clouded her mind. Light started to fade in her jade-like eyes.
Adler’s lips parted in a hideous smirk. He couldn’t help it because all this ti, the word that ca out of his mouth sotis had the effect of disrupting soone else’s brain signal, which prompted him to plant a deep suggestion in their mind.
Turning them into his plaything that he could exploit, like the girl before him. It wasn’t just cruel words; his voice carried a subtle psychic weight that bypassed conscious thought.
Louise had been his first and most practiced subject. For years, as he nurtured his twisted art during the years he spent nurturing his martial arts there. Thanks to that, the boy managed to co up with several suggestions for Louise, as she must not use her full power in every spar, especially against him, given his average talent.
He also used to belittle the little girl by dragging other children to amplify the effect. And it turned out as he wanted; every ti Adler spoke, Louise’s eyes blanked, putting a grin on his lips.
However, as strong as it may suggest, the power itself had a limitation on its own, like Adler couldn’t put a suggestion into soone stronger or having a ntality more honed than his own.
If he wanted to infiltrate that kind of person, the target must first experience a ntal break. That’s why the boy only joined a circle with people weaker than him, helping him to spread his influence far in the facility.
Seeing Louise’s blurred focus, Adler stepped forward, spear ready in hand. The sound of his stomping feet echoed in the arena, heavy with intent. He thrust his spear straight, aiming at Louise’s left shoulder. Louise’s rigid body was thrown back several steps, her beautiful expression contorted in agony.
The mont Adler saw that, a tingling sensation coursed through his veins. His pounding heart reverberated in his ears, portraying the overflowing joy in his chest.
Adler stared at his opponent ahead of him. A shadow was cast around her expression; the girl’s vacant eyes put a smile that didn’t reach his narrowing eyes.
’Yeah, that’s it, just like that, Louise. You are perfect the way you are now as my puppet that will elevate my reputation as a superior being.’
The boy swallowed his joy, then spoke.
"Let’s stop the spar, right here."
With that as his signal, Adler planned to end the spar, worried that continuing would backfire on him. He loosened the tension in his body, releasing his stance and standing in the centre.
"I don’t want to hurt you anymore, so..."
"I see, so it was like that."
His body flinched when Louise cut off his speech midway. He felt a chill that numbed his fingertips. Adler looked ahead, watching his opponent glare daggers at him; her jade-like eyes shone with clarity.
"What happened...!?"
Before he could finish the words, Louise’s body disappeared like smoke and reappeared before him in lightning-quick movent.
"!?"
Adler felt a gentle touch around his stomach. A mont later, the touch turned into a strong impact that blew away the air in his lungs as his body blasted several ters away from his place.
Louise held her perfect posture, then finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding. The girl raised her palm, seeing the hardened skin with calluses, snapped her out of her daze.
She clenched her fist tight while closing her eyes, feeling a buzz echo in her ears. The sound ca from an invisible chain that sealed her emotion deep; the chain’s rattle was not in her ears; it was in her mind, and for the first ti, she heard it crack.
"All this ti, I was just..."
A loud thump resonated in her chest, spreading warm energy through her veins and strengthening her physique.
Reviews
All reviews (0)