Chapter 51: Powerful Leader
A young man and his branch were the only things that seemed to exist for the people in that arena.
Everyone stared at Priam in complete silence, then looked at the Elder who had gotten back to his feet...
"!"
To everyone’s shock, a ridiculously clear black mark could be seen on his face. You could even make out the leaves on the branch!
That Elder almost coughed up blood from sheer rage.
He had never imagined that a young man vastly, vastly weaker than himself could offer even the slightest resistance.
Although his senses understood that Priam had used the wind element, his evasive movement had been unbelievable. Then, the strike with that branch had seemed as natural as breathing, as smooth and overwhelming as a bolt of lightning falling from the heavens.
Priam took a deep breath, feeling an intense dizziness.
His life force was weak; he had no Power Runes left to use, and now his Ether was completely exhausted. At the moment, he barely had the strength to remain standing.
But internally, he was quite excited.
Now he was certain: this unknown wind Magic Art was something absolutely shocking!
Even though he had to adapt it and use it differently from the original version, it was as if he had a machine gun while everyone else only had a simple knife. Even this Elder couldn’t understand what had just happened.
As for the branch, the cursed power inside it was slightly under his control. That was power originating from the seven deities together. How could a mere Mage ever dream of properly sensing and reacting to something like that?
If it had been a real weapon capable of killing him, perhaps the survival instincts of an experienced warrior would have allowed him to react.
But at most, this branch would only knock out a few teeth.
Since it wasn’t a genuine life-threatening danger, his instincts would hardly notice it.
Psychologically, however...
The branch was definitely more lethal than any divine weapon.
"DIE!"
The Elder roared and charged again, completely consumed by frenzy.
"STOP!!!!"
Everything happened in an instant, and only now did everyone finally react.
A thunderous roar echoed out as the Grand Elder shot forward alongside a group of eight figures.
The nine figures appeared like lightning in front of Priam, creating a barrier around him and completely blocking the attempted attack.
The aggressive Elder halted mid-step. With a twisted expression, he roared:
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Elder Ghisen, I should be the one asking if you’ve gone mad," the Grand Elder replied coldly. "How dare you attack a junior of the clan without reason?!"
At that moment, nearly twenty other Elders in the audience moved, surrounding the group of nine that had formed a circle around Priam. The gazes of these newcomers were dark and filled with fury.
Since things had already reached this point, Elder Ghisen allowed his rage to completely take over and practically ignored all consequences.
The reason was simple: he had previously chosen to bet absolutely everything on Gangrel.
He had purchased countless favors in many different places, promising that once Gangrel became the clan leader, everything would be repaid and everyone would benefit.
Shione and Lumiere were clearly more talented and capable than Gangrel. That was as obvious as daylight to every Elder.
And now, after this endless humiliation, the entire perfect structure built around Gangrel had collapsed.
Before long, countless important figures from outside would discover this tremendous failure. Once they realized that his previous promises had become impossible to fulfill, they would retaliate furiously.
Most likely, all the schemes and shady things this Elder had done over the years to benefit Gangrel would be exposed.
When that happened, neither he nor those other Elders would live much longer.
Running away wasn’t an option.
He was merely an Elder of a clan from the mortal plane and would have nothing to protect himself. The people who would want him dead were wealthy and influential. Some would even hire assassins from the divine plane to hunt him down.
He wouldn’t survive even a year on the run.
Because of all this, Elder Ghisen no longer cared about his own life.
He at least wanted revenge by killing Priam.
Afterward, he would immediately kill himself, preventing his family from being implicated, or even darker secrets from being revealed.
He clenched his fists and roared in Priam’s direction.
"Ignorant youngster! Do you think you’ll walk away freely after seriously injuring the clan heir?!"
Elder Ghisen shouted those words loudly and looked toward a high platform in the arena stands.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
When they noticed this, everyone in the arena became tense.
The reason was obvious.
Gangrel’s mother, the clan leader, was present.
Since the dark things he had done had not yet been exposed, the Elder was certain he could at least obtain a small measure of revenge now.
After all, what mother wouldn’t protect her own son?
In her eyes, Gangrel should still be an innocent young man.
"You clearly had the ability to simply dodge that weak attack from the Young Master’s saber. You managed to escape from me just moments ago, didn’t you? Yet you maliciously chose to injure him!"
Everyone understood that Elder’s intention.
The clan leader was known for being absurdly cold and merciless. His previous argument at least had a tiny bit of reasoning behind it. Therefore, if the leader wanted to punish Priam, even if it wasn’t truly fair, no one could stop her or accuse her of acting without any justification.
"Elder Ghisen, stop wasting time and give Young Gangrel an emergency pill," the Grand Elder said solemnly, trying to buy time.
Ghisen exchanged glances with another Elder, who immediately stepped forward and placed a pill into Gangrel’s mouth.
Seconds after Gangrel was forced to swallow the pill, the blood stopped flowing from his wounds and his condition stabilized.
At that moment, Priam still appeared quite calm. He looked toward the stands and met the eyes of Shione and Lumiere.
"..."
The two understood his look and swallowed nervously.
Earlier, Priam had made them promise not to say anything about what happened during the Trial until the coming-of-age ceremony was over. But now, it could be said that everything had already come to an end.
The two were quite clever and, knowing about the connection between those three dead youths and the clan’s upper leadership, they somewhat understood why he had chosen to wait.
After taking a deep breath, neither of them hesitated as they stood up.
"We have something to report!"
Lumiere’s voice rang loudly, and everyone immediately turned toward him.
Now, he and his sister were the only remaining candidates for the position of clan leader, so no one would dare ignore them.
Shione focused on the elevated platform in the arena and shouted:
"Mother! Those bastards tried to kill us!"
The moment her voice echoed through the arena, the expressions of absolutely everyone changed.
*BUZZ*
Suddenly, the space above them began to vibrate.
As if emerging from the void itself, a female figure appeared, floating more than ten meters above the martial stage.
She descended gently to the ground in front of everyone.
With her arrival, the atmosphere of the entire place changed completely, as though a subtle black mist had spread across the arena.
"Greetings, Clan Leader!!"
Everyone bowed in unison and lowered their heads.
Priam stared at the figure.
She had long black hair that flowed like a nighttime waterfall, framing a beautiful face and physique remarkably similar to Shione’s. However, her eyes radiated a coldness and power that felt overwhelmingly oppressive.
She wore a black outfit decorated with intricate golden patterns that seemed to move and pulse with energy.
On the surface, she appeared to be a human woman, with nothing particularly unusual about her aside from her powerful aura.
[Name: Orlaith Ylisse]
[Race: Vanculari / Quints]
[Magic Title: Arcanist Mage Disciple, Ninth Level]
[Karmic Title: Iron Lady]
[Bloodline: 45]
[Anima: 85]
[Fate Wheel: 20]
[Loyalty: Terrible]
The moment they saw her, Shione and Lumiere began trembling and clenched their fists tightly, filled with emotion.
"Mother... It’s been more than two years..." Lumiere stammered.
The woman didn’t change her expression.
"What did you just say, girl?" Her voice was calm and melodious as she addressed Shione.
But...
Her eyes were fixed on Priam.
And as for him...
After reading her status, he became tense. Very tense.
’Terrible Loyalty...’
This powerful leader certainly knew her son. If even after seeing him act like a complete bastard during this fight, her loyalty rating was still that bad...
Priam had a feeling he might be completely screwed.
