Chapter 50: Feel Honored
Gangrel’s sacrificial ability, the pinnacle of that Magic Art, had been completely blocked. Priam had used nothing but his bare hands to extinguish the terrifying Celestial Python.
To those watching, it looked as though the thunderous beast had been nothing more than a newborn snake that had overestimated its own strength. Priam had put it down with almost insulting ease, emerging from the clash without a single scratch.
With a dull, muffled sound, Gangrel dropped to his knees.
His face was pale as paper, his eyes widened to the extreme.
It was as if his soul had left his body, shattered by the shock of defeat. In the stands, the Elders who had bet everything on Gangrel wore exactly the same expression.
It was unacceptable.
To see the most powerful lightning-element attack in the entire clan neutralized in such a manner... it was an affront to logic itself. And worse still, the opponent remained completely unharmed.
Even the Grand Elder stood frozen.
Just seconds earlier, he had been preparing to charge onto the martial stage and save a life. Now, he looked at Priam with a mixture of fear and reverence. It was as though he were staring at a monster from beyond the heavens.
’How did the clan manage to produce a figure like this?’
From beginning to end, without mercy or hesitation, this young man had overturned every rule.
Priam looked at the fallen clan heir, whose beliefs had collapsed together with his lightning, and allowed himself an indifferent smile.
Three seconds...
Four seconds...
Five seconds...
The Grand Elder finally regained his senses. He forced air into his lungs and, with a voice that gradually recovered its authority, declared:
"Gangrel failed to stand up within five seconds! Priam is the winner!"
The announcement acted like a trigger.
"YES!" Flaris shouted, making no effort whatsoever to maintain her composure.
The deathly silence was shattered by a single roar of celebration.
"How... how did he do that?" an Elder muttered, still unable to believe it.
"I don’t know..." another replied, his voice shaky. "From all appearances, Priam is an anomaly. He must have been born with a latent mutation, just like the Sage with the Quints Bloodline. On top of that, he’s cunning; he’s been hiding his true trump card this entire time. If he’s already this much of a monster at the fifth level... just thinking about his future makes me feel like I’m going insane."
A collective sigh spread through the circle of Elders. Among the Ylisse Clan’s Vanculari humanoids, mixing Bloodlines was common, precisely because they hoped unusual mutations would emerge. But something of this magnitude was legendary, equal to that Ancestor Sage.
Interest in Priam’s ancestry skyrocketed.
For the clan, Priam’s mother’s race would likely become the most sought-after target for marriages in future generations. Everyone wanted to try to replicate that "miracle."
While heated discussions filled the arena, attention returned to the center of the martial stage.
Under the gaze of thousands, Priam’s posture changed. His breathing suddenly became labored, and his life force seemed to evaporate. Within moments, he once again looked like a young man whose vitality had been exhausted, or an old man with only a few years of life left.
The mask of weakness had returned, but now no one dared to fully believe it.
That was the harsh consequence of using a Magic Art originating from the Sorcerers. Most likely, all of Priam’s future battles would carry this burden: extreme exhaustion at the end.
Even after winning a fight, he would need time to recover. Even if he were forced to fight again and pushed his Nexus Seed to accelerate his regeneration, his power would barely reach a third of its normal level.
He had to remember that at all times so he wouldn’t accidentally get himself into serious trouble.
’Well... I still have the Power Runes, and in the future, I’ll have more Bloodlines and Magic Arts at my disposal. For now, the Blood-Feast Fists are more than enough.’
Another important point, and something Priam had realized while fighting that Sorcerer, was that the golden aura that appeared when using pure Ether seemed to be something extremely frightening. That woman had changed dramatically after seeing it, becoming obsessed with obtaining Priam’s body at any cost.
Therefore, during this fight, Priam had only used the Blood-Feast Fists and had not emitted that aura. It was a good way to hide that thing until he figured out what the hell it actually meant to be a Celestial Mage.
He wasn’t some foolish young man who liked showing off for no reason.
Of course, if he could do it without any risk, he would gladly do so with a smile on his face. But right now, he was still weak, and if someone truly powerful wanted to kill him, he might not be able to survive.
Therefore, acting cautiously was the smartest choice.
The protective barrier began to tremble, slowly dispersing.
Priam turned around, preparing to leave the martial stage, but...
"?"
At that moment, Gangrel sprang up from the ground.
With eyes bloodshot from hatred and an almost demonic expression, he charged at Priam’s back in an act of pure desperation.
His black saber shone with an intense Yin energy flame. It was his final trump card, not something that belonged to him. The saber itself had been storing that power for an absolute emergency.
"I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" Gangrel screamed, his voice cracking with madness.
His mind was too weak to accept defeat. This loss wasn’t just a fight; it was the end of his reputation, his future, and his pride. He no longer cared about rules or honor. He only wanted to see Priam reduced to pieces.
The entire audience narrowed their eyes in contempt. Attacking from behind after the verdict had been declared was the lowest level an heir could possibly sink to.
Priam stopped.
A cold murmur escaped his lips:
"So... this is what they call courting death?"
He spun around with frightening fluidity, throwing a punch infused with what remained of the Blood-Feast Fists.
Without mercy.
Without hesitation.
In a direct confrontation, even a healthy Gangrel was no longer a match for Priam.
Now, weakened and relying on Yin power coming from his weapon, which he could barely control, he was an easy target.
**BANG!**
The energy from the saber was annihilated by the impact of Priam’s fist, and the heir felt as though a multi-ton hammer had slammed into his chest.
Gangrel’s vision instantly went dark.
A fountain of blood burst from his mouth as he was hurled backward like a sack of sand struck by a hurricane.
When he finally landed and stopped rolling, he was lying on his back. At that moment, everyone saw that his chest had been torn open into a gruesome mass of blood and bone.
"GANGREL!! HOW DARE YOU?!"
A furious roar shook the arena.
A powerful Elder shot forward like a flash, activating a wind technique to pass through the barrier that was still dispersing.
He appeared beside Gangrel and, after spending a single second checking the young man’s miserable condition, turned toward Priam with eyes overflowing with malice.
"Your heart is evil! The duel is already over, yet you still dared to seriously injure the clan’s heir?!"
"Oh?" Priam laughed, the sound dripping with mockery. "Are you blind? It was obvious he tried to assassinate me from behind. Was I supposed to stand still and wait for the attack?"
"You’re courting death!"
Blinded by rage, or perhaps by the opportunity to eliminate a threat to the clan’s status quo, the Elder charged forward.
His right hand took the shape of an eagle’s claw, aiming to crush Priam’s head.
The Grand Elder and the audience jumped from their seats.
No one could have imagined that another Elder would openly attack a victorious disciple in front of everyone. He moved with all his power in a hurry, but he was one second too late.
Fortunately...
Priam wasn’t a helpless prey.
His life force was exhausted, but he still had plenty of Ether left to use.
*Wooooosh!*
Thanks to his Anima, the Elder’s movements seemed to slow down.
Priam activated his wind technique, disappearing from his spot like a gray blur, leaving the Elder’s attack to strike nothing but air.
The Elder hit empty space, but...
It didn’t end there.
A black shadow appeared, flying toward his face.
**POW!**
A dry, violent impact echoed through the arena.
Hearts stopped all across the arena when they saw the Elder rolling across the stage floor, struck by something nobody had seen coming.
Priam stood at the point of impact.
His expression was icy, and he held a peculiar object in his hands.
It was...
A black branch!
"Feel honored," Priam’s voice echoed through every corner of the arena. "You have just received the teachings of the Heaven-Wrecker, World-Ender Branch!"
