Chapter 83: A Duel of Truth
Ren was startled when he saw Axel and his lackeys in Aria’s office. He thought they would never see each other again after the quest, but he was wrong.
He was utterly wrong!
Not only did they meet again, but they even brought an instructor and a young female mage with them.
And from their expressions, he could tell right away that they wanted to cause trouble once more.
’It seems like they are asking for another beating.’
He said in his head.
Like Ren, Lily, and the others were also shocked.
Of course, they knew the reason for their arrival. They had just never expected that Axel’s group had the guts to come to their place.
Axel and his lackeys’ expressions turned angry the moment they saw Ren’s group.
But even so, they didn’t trash-talk like they usually did, as Ryven had told them to control their behavior.
While they were suppressing their anger, Alice paid attention to Ren’s group carefully.
Even though Ren was the most attractive man she had ever met, she didn’t blush or show any signs of being affected by his good looks.
In her eyes, strength was above appearance, so he was no more than just another man to her.
’I can tell they are not ordinary shifters, especially him.’
She began to doubt Ryven’s words as they seemed strong enough to defeat Axel’s group without using dirty means.
David and the others quickly shifted their gaze to Aria.
They had heard many rumors about their leader, so they took the opportunity to look at her properly.
’She truly deserves the nickname of Silver Queen.’
In their eyes, she suited her title perfectly.
"Leader, I’ve brought them," Cassandra said.
Aria gave a small nod before looking at Ren’s group.
"They said you took their space rings. Is that true?" she went straight to the point.
"Yes." Ren didn’t deny it.
"See! I’m not lying to you. They took our space rings. They are thieves!" Axel was thrilled when Ren admitted it.
Aria instantly shot him a cold glare.
She hated his words because they made her organization sound like a group of thieves.
"H-h...!" An overwhelming fear rose within him the moment Axel’s eyes met hers.
His body trembled uncontrollably, and his legs lost their strength.
At that moment, Aria no longer looked like a gorgeous, mature lady in his eyes, but like a predator eyeing her prey.
Ryven immediately stood in front of Axel.
He was unhappy with her intimidation, but he didn’t say anything and only protected his disciple.
Aria returned her attention to Ren. "Why did you do it?"
Actually, she already knew the reason.
She asked that question so that he could explain everything himself.
"Leader, they were the ones who started it first." Ren began revealing their actions in detail.
He told them how Axel’s group trapped Virelia and what they did during the battle between the villagers and magical creatures.
Ryven’s face darkened as he listened to the story.
It was completely different from what Axel’s group had said to him, so he assumed Ren was lying.
"Lies!" Axel denied. "We did fight during the battle between Northvale Village and the magical beasts, but it was not my fault. They started it. They attacked me while I was facing hobgoblins."
"That’s right," Jax added. "As for that incident, there is no proof we were behind it. They just want to blame us for her carelessness and stupidity."
"How dare you twist the facts!" Anger welled up in David’s chest. "Leader, we are not lying. I swear on my beast form."
"They said you used a dirty method to beat them. Is that true?" Aria still pretended as if she knew nothing.
She would not reveal it unless she had no other choice, as she didn’t want them to know what she had done for them.
"No! We fought them fairly." Lily cut in before David could speak. "It was three versus five. Elara, Ren and I faced them a hundred meters away from the village."
"Three against five? Don’t make me laugh! I alone can defeat both of you. If you are going to lie, at least make it believable." There were no witnesses, so Axel kept denying it.
"Did you forget what happened in our fight? Want me to help you remember it?" Lily’s eyes gleamed with terrifying sharpness as she stared at him.
She almost could not suppress her anger anymore since they kept twisting the facts.
Cassandra’s lips curled up into a grin.
She liked where the conversation was going. This way, they could humiliate Ryven and the others in front of everyone.
"Ryven, you said they used dirty means to beat your disciples, right? Then how about letting them spar?" Cassandra asked. "This way, we will know who is lying."
"Give me back their space rings first." Ryven didn’t reject the idea since that was also his purpose in coming to their place.
Cassandra and Aria turned their heads toward Ren and his group. The duo didn’t ask them to return their space rings.
They would let them decide.
Ryven shifted his gaze to Ren’s group and repeated his words.
"Give me back their space rings." Ryven raised his voice to scare them.
"I refuse!" Ren didn’t care who Ryven was.
Axel and his group had caused trouble for them twice, so their belongings were taken as the price for their actions.
"Yeah! We refuse!" Lily and David added.
Like Ren, they were also not afraid of Ryven.
It was their spoils of war, so they would not return it.
"How dare you!" An aura of anger burst out of Ryven’s body.
He was enraged because a junior dared to disrespect him.
Cassandra moved closer to them. "Ryven, have you forgotten where you are?"
"They refused to give back my disciples’ belongings. I have to teach them how to respect their seniors." Ryven replied.
"Then, why don’t you play with me instead?" Cassandra challenged him. "They are still at 1-star. That would not be fair to them. Unless you are the kind of shameless mage who bullies juniors."
"Grr!" Ryven was not sure he could defeat her, so he didn’t accept it immediately.
"How about this?" Aria offered a solution. "If your disciples can defeat them in a spar, I will tell them to return the space rings. But if your disciples lose, they can keep them. Do you agree?"
Instead of answering immediately, Ryven asked, "How many matches?"
"Five." Aria raised her right palm. "Whoever wins the most matches is the winner."
"I agree." Ryven had Axel and Alice in his group.
He believed they could win three matches easily.
"Then let’s go to the arena." Aria rose from her seat and led the way.
Curiosity arose within them when the other members caught sight of them. The moment they realized the destination was the arena, they began to follow without hesitation.
At first, it was only ten people, but within seconds, that small group had grown rapidly as more and more people joined in.
"I didn’t know there would be a match with the Nexus Organization today." the blue-haired man spoke abruptly.
"Me too." The red-haired man added. "Normally, there is always an announcement for something like this, but today, there was not one at all."
"Does that mean the fight happened out of the blue?" the brown-haired man asked.
"Most likely." The red-haired man replied. "But who are our representatives? Why haven’t I seen them before?"
"Look at their ages," The black-haired man said. "It seems like this is a fight between the new members."
"Ah, you’re right," the blue-haired man answered. "I hope our juniors will win the battle."
"Let’s hope so," The red-haired man said.
Ryven skimmed his surroundings when more members joined in.
But instead of feeling worried, a happy smirk formed on his lips. He wanted to humiliate them, so the bigger the audience, the better.
Shortly after that, they arrived.
The design of the arena was similar to the one used for the test, but it was bigger and much grander.
The interior was also slightly different.
The tiered seats were only on the north, east, and south sections, while the west side only had fifteen high-backed chairs.
Anyone who saw it would immediately know that area was meant for important people.
After they sat down, Aria immediately said, "Let’s start the battle now."
Ryven turned to his disciples and said, "Axel, go down to the arena. Show them how powerful someone from the Nexus Organization is."
"Understood, instructor," Axel replied.
Once he was in the center of the fight zone, he pointed his right index finger at Lily.
"You arrogant woman! I challenge you to a duel. You said we were weaker than you earlier. Come here. I will show you the reality." Even though he remembered what happened after they completed the mission clearly, he was not afraid of her.
She could knock him out because of Ren. If it were one versus one, he was sure he would not lose to her.
Lily rose from her seat immediately. "Do you think I’m afraid of you?"
"Lily, go down and beat him again," David said. "Make him regret coming to our place."
"Be careful," Ren said.
"Be...be careful, Lily," Elara added.
"Lily, if you win the fight, we will have dinner at a luxurious restaurant again." Virelia tried to cheer her up.
Lily’s eyes shone brightly. "Then, I will win this fight."
Once they stood facing each other, Aria said again, "There will be no referee in this match. Whoever leaves the arena or can’t continue fighting loses."
Lily and Axel stared at each other.
"You can fight now," Aria said.
