Kill The Old Ones!

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The last day of the finals was up.

All of the finalists gathered near the arena for the last time to conclude their records; the stadium was just as loud and boisterous as before, the hype was real, and this day was turning to be action-packed.

That said, the noise and the clamor of the surrounding environment didn’t register quite right with Lily.

Although she wore her placid expression, neither happy, angry, or indifferent, her mind wasn’t truly focused here. Something else was bothering her.

Well, to be more specific, it’s someone.

And that someone sat just a few feet away from her, in one of the four thrones that set him apart from the other finalists.

It’s none other than Soren Marek Vire.

’You’re being ridiculous, Lily. It was just a dinner, not a big deal at all. Stop acting like he proposed marriage! ’ She scolded herself, biting her inner cheek to stifle any change in her expression.

She was doing her best not to look, or stare, at him, despite her overwhelming desire to do so. She had to physically fight the urge because if she didn’t, she’d make a fool of herself.

Nothing special happened. Ren just invited her to dinner. Just the two of them.

Except Lily recalled herself accepting the invitation a little too eagerly, which made her feel embarrassed. She also stressed herself out too much when picking what dress to wear to the ’casual dinner.’ She also recalled the shame she felt when she felt overdressed, because when she got to Ren’s room, he wasn’t wearing anything as fancy as hers. Hell, he barely robed himself with silk! Not that she’s offended, of course. It just made it difficult for her not to stare at his exposed skin.

But more importantly...she remembered his eyes.

Oh, those eyes...

Although she was dressed finely and appropriately—overdressed, even, because she might as well have been wearing a gown at a swimming party—Ren’s eyes expressed just how much he appreciated her efforts of making herself pretty for him with his burning gaze.

Oh, those eyes bothered her...

She recalled him complimenting her looks once, and never again for the rest of the night, but his eyes did more than that.

And isn’t that just strange? Because for some reason, Lily had this impression even though she knew, and was completely aware, that Ren’s eye never wandered to her body. He held her gaze straight and sincere as they talked. He didn’t ogle or leer at her.

But she still felt the heat of his gaze leaving burning trails on her body, and she recalled herself shivering whenever she felt it with her knees turning weak.

Hell, she can’t even recall half of the things they talked about last night. She recalled laughing at his jokes; she recalled being inspired, shocked, and surprised and being serious about their topic. But if she were to ask what exactly they talked about, she wouldn’t be able to tell half of it at all.

Strange, isn’t it?

What made her feel even more embarrassed was she knew, she knew, he was topless beneath his silken robes because she remembered staring at the section of his exposed chest and upper abdomen a little too long to recall their definition.

She couldn’t forget that because Ren had to snap her out of her trance.

Gods, she was just completely hopeless and embarrassing last night...and that’s why she couldn’t bring herself to look at him today even though she wants to.

’What happened to the Lily who’s afraid of men, I wonder? ’

’What happened to the Lily who’s afraid of people? ’

’What happened to being aloof, dignified, and graceful, Lily? Hmm? ’

Why are you suddenly drooling—ugh, what am I saying!? ’

Lily wanted to jump into a hole and disappear because of her thoughts.

Where was the demure, shy, and gentle Lily? What happened to her? How did she change so much just because of one dinner invitation from him?

’Am I really this easy, or is this something else? ’

Lily shook her head to clear it from distraction. This isn’t the time, nor the place, to be like this.

She then heard her name being called up to the stage. With a sigh, she stood up and summoned her weapon.

’Focus, Lily. Strive for a higher rank now and pine for a man later. Easy! ’

**

Lily had her final match of the day.

Her final record was 4 wins out of 9. She lost against the seeded participants and Aria but won the rest.

She was done and just waiting for the final rankings.

Right now, she’s watching the last matches of the finals.

To be more precise, it’s the match between Ren and his fellow seeded participants.

Right now, Ren was on the stage fighting against Darius Stormholt.

Well, calling it a fight was generous.

It played out just like Ren’s previous matches where he doesn’t take the initiative and doesn’t attack first. It’s always his enemies who do, and he just took what they dished out.

And just like his previous matches, Ren doesn’t falter.

At this point, Ren’s invincibility against his peers had been tried and tested and proven to be true.

Darius was good; Lily could whole-heartedly admit that. She fought him, after all, and he defeated her even though she did her best.

’But he’s not as strong as Aria. Aria defeated him in their match, and Ren practically turned Aria into a joke,’ Lily thought to himself.

Epic-grade talent or no, it doesn’t matter to him. Ren was peerless.

The real highlight of his fight against Darius was the moment he snatched him out of the sky while he was in this lightning form.

It looked like Ren threw out a punch, but in truth, he created a vacuum that snatched Darius out of the air, grabbing his face with his big hands much to the guy’s shock and horror.

Darius was in his lightning form; he should’ve been impervious against physical attacks, yet Ren was able to touch him like this.

Ren’s clutch was like a vice grip, and it tightened the longer Darius held out.

Eventually, he surrendered, and Ren let him go.

After their match, Ren didn’t bother getting down. He stayed in the arena and looked at Aurelia Valentine. His gaze sent a clear message.

’Get up here and be beaten; stop wasting my time.’

It was Terry who helpfully translated the message for everybody.

Lily almost laughed when she saw Aurelia’s foul expression. She knew that this lady hated to be underestimated; she learned that much during their fight.

Alas, Ren was just a completely different monster altogether.

Aurelia had the bloodline of an Ice Phoenix; it’s of high concentration, too. She was undisputed queen of her city, the strongest in there, and her gait expresses as much.

When it comes to ice-based martial arts, rarely anybody in this kingdom could say that they’re just as good, or better, than her. She doesn’t even need to do anything to freeze something.

But the ice and cold never bothered Ren.

She tried to freeze the wall that he was and discovered that her attempts were adorable in his eyes.

Aurelia tried to encase him inside a glacial tomb, only to realize that he broke her restriction just by clutching his hands. She tried to freeze his flesh and his chakra, but she failed. She tried every trick, skill, and ability she got, but nothing fazed him.

Ren’s breath never fogged up, not even once, during the fight despite the biting cold that encased the arena. He didn’t even shiver from it at all. It’s as if he doesn’t feel this cold.

After Aurelia emptied her bag of tricks, Ren ended the match with a single punch on her stomach that made her eyes roll at the back of her head.

She was then carried off the stage. And once again, Ren didn’t bother stepping down.

His eyes went to Kael Ashcroft, the last person he had to fight to truly establish his legend.

Kael didn’t wait for Terry’s invitation. The moment Ren’s eyes were on him, the heavily armored knight stood up from his throne and marched to the arena.

The crowd was at a fever pitch in that moment. And it practically exploded the moment the final match began.

Kael wasted no time. He swung his greatsword at Ren like he was definitely trying to hack him into pieces.

But just like before, all it did was to emit sparks. Kael’s sword was heavy, sharp, and durable; his strength was no joke, too. But Ren was just a completely different being, it seems.

Ren didn’t wince when he received Kael’s attack or the ones following that.

Kael fought like a wild beast. You can hardly call him skilled, more like a killer, really. But that’s what made him effective.

That, and his ridiculous stamina.

Kael fought like a tireless beast from legends. He even used the power of his bloodline to gain more edge and strength.

But alas, he was facing Ren, who’s even more of a monster than him.

One punch was all it took for Kael to lose his ability to continue fighting. He dropped like a puppet whose strings were cut off.

And just like that, the finals concluded. And Ren’s legend solidified.

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