Kill The Old Ones!

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Lily was, indeed, having a good time.

Although this was the first time she fought Ren in person, she recognized their dance right at the very first clash.

This fight felt no different from the ones they usually had in the VR world.

Lily never thought that she’d feel this way about fighting. Before she met him, she was cowardly, hesitant, and uncertain of herself. The time she spent in the VR world was less about fighting and more of an escape instead.

Escape from her bitter reality and the thorny cage that her family placed her in.

That changed when she met him. He was the unassailable wall without feeling intimidating. He didn’t terrorize her; he just felt solid and present. Striking him feels like hitting a wall, only that the wall could fight back.

As time went on, it became a routine. Then eventually, he stopped being a wall. He turned to a confidant and, finally, her liberator.

Lily owed so much to this man. It scared her at first, but now, not anymore. All she felt was heartfelt gratitude, because Lily never felt alive until she experienced the freedom she has now.

And Ren, be it in the VR world or in real life, felt the same to her.

He was sturdy and still the unassailable wall she met for the first time. He hasn’t changed, but there was a mutual understanding between them, which shows in this fight.

Lily won’t hide. She was, indeed, doing her best to kill him. It’s pointless to pretend otherwise because it was plain and obvious.

The difference is that she knows that it’s not going to work. She will never come close to actually threatening his life. She learned this in their fights in the VR world, and it was proven from the performance that Ren displayed so far before everybody.

Lily stood no chance against him. And somehow, she’s at peace with that.

She didn’t get up here thinking that she’d win anyway.

Lily was also aware that Ren was pulling his punches. She’s not offended by it. It’s a simple fact and only natural, because if he didn’t, she would truly die. This isn’t VR anymore, after all.

Still, despite holding back, Ren’s punches hurt.

So far, Lily had three broken ribs—she could feel at least one of them poking her lungs—and a fracture on her left arm, right thigh, and left sole. She had large bruises on her skin, blood was running from her nose, and she was panting in exertion. Her eyes were blurry; she couldn’t see straight anymore, but she was still standing, and her grip on her weapon was still tight.

Lily was running on pure adrenaline at this point. She was in pain, but she felt so alive. She owed all of it to the man standing before her, and all she wanted was his approval—and she never felt so desperate for someone’s approval this badly.

’Damn. Can’t go on much longer,’ she muttered inwardly.

’So be it. I’ll stake everything I have left in my next move. It probably won’t do much, but it’s fine.’

With a clarion cry, Lily raised her rapier and pointed it at the sky.

Suddenly, a ripple appeared out of nowhere. The cherry blossom petals scattered all over the arena suddenly rose, seemingly picked up by invisible fingers.

Then, under the astonished eyes of the crowd, every single petal turned into swords and daggers, all gleamed with deadly sharpness and all aimed at Ren.

He was completely surrounded. There was no way for him to go or escape from, not even a tiny gap.

With another cry, Lily pointed her sword forward, and the swords and daggers flew towards Ren, aiming to embed themselves deeply into his flesh and pierce his very soul.

But Ren wouldn’t be Ren if this cowed him or made him desperate.

He didn’t waste a brain cell looking for a way to escape this, because one, he couldn’t, and two, there’s no need to.

Ren leaned to the side with his fist loaded and threw a punch to the sky.

The impact was explosive. It’s as if a bomb detonated all of a sudden. The impact broke all the swords and daggers, returning them to mere cherry blossoms. The fierce winds scattered the petals to the sky.

When the fierce winds calmed down, the petals rained down on the arena, creating a cherry blossom shower. It was beautiful and it perfectly represented that deadly beauty that Lily possessed and the absolute dominance that Ren had displayed so far.

But Ren wasn’t standing in the same place anymore.

Now, Lily’s weak, bruised, and exhausted body is on his arms. She had lost the capability to continue fighting, and that was announced. Ren won this match, obviously, but the crowd applauded the spectacle between Ren and Lily.

He carried her down the arena like a princess, and everybody saw him smiling at her with fondness.

"You did really well. I’m proud of you."

That’s all she wanted to hear. Lily passed out after hearing that, safe, secured, and relieved in Ren’s arms.

Ren carefully laid her on the stretcher prepared by the medics, and he followed them with his gaze until they disappeared to the nearby clinic. After that, he walked back to his throne with slow but confident steps, passing through the speechless contenders as if they didn’t exist at all. The smile was no longer present on his face.

It was only after he was seated that Terry moved on to the following match.

**

The amount of times Sieg felt an existential crisis today was more than what he had experienced during the two previous years, combined.

He couldn’t help it. His eyes have truly been opened today. And he’s definitely not alone in this.

What he struggled with the most was the massive gap between him and this strongest person.

You see, Sieg came here knowing that attaining the 1st rank was nigh-impossible. Although his confidence had been restored, he knew that he was still far from reaching the real genius level. That kind of gap wasn’t something that could be breached within a few years.

The difference in their starting point was massive.

That said, Sieg was confident that he would catch up. How can he not? He came this far after being so far behind already. And if he could be this swift, then there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be able to catch up to them or surpass them, eventually.

Sieg had a lot of advantages, and he had an old expert guiding his hand. This is where his confidence comes from.

But then, that guy—Soren Marek Vire—appeared. And he was everything that shouldn’t be but was, is, and will be.

Sieg had already asked his master if Ren also had an old man’s ghost in the ring, but his master confirmed that he had none at all.

His master even told him that everything that Ren had so far was something he gained through his own efforts alone. He didn’t get much help from his clan. He was the one who helped the clan, instead. And massively so, if the stories he heard were true.

What he cannot accept is that the gap in their starting line wasn’t even that great.

Sieg had Common Grade 5 talent, the worst of the worst.

Ren had Common Grade 1 talent, the best of the worst. And he also had an aberrant physique—something that he was born with and most certainly never asked for.

The gap wasn’t that much at all. If anything, Sieg’s got the advantage because he had met a master and didn’t have a curse. While Ren was essentially by himself and had to claw his way to the top through his own efforts.

With everything taken into consideration. They’re about even.

But look at the gap now.

Sieg barely clung to the 10th seat, while Ren was the undisputed 1st rank, and nobody could deny that so far.

Even though Sieg wields a big sword pretty well if he says so himself, it did not give him any confidence to face Ren at all.

Especially when he recalled how Ren moved so skillfully. He was art in motion.

He wasn’t just skilled, though. He’s also incredibly powerful. Even Sieg could tell that he was holding back by a lot against Lily.

Sieg couldn’t understand it. His brain failed to comprehend how this man didn’t succumb to the pressure of the world and his apparent inferiority. He also didn’t understand how Ren managed to get this strong and thus skilled without someone’s guidance.

He couldn’t understand how Ren was capable of these feats despite being inferior.

It looked wrong. It felt wrong to Sieg. It shouldn’t have been this way. Ren shouldn’t be this outrageously strong.

But here he was, silencing every doubt not by words, but with actions. And not even once did Ren look to anybody with hunger in his eyes, one that craves recognition.

He didn’t care about their opinions; he was sure of himself and his strength that he didn’t need anybody’s attention, nor did he want to beg for it.

Ren was just him.

And that made Sieg feel so inferior without even trying.

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