Chapter 277: Onyx is in Ashvale, Vabraria.
Karl was at a loss.
By the time he could react, the cab had already driven away from Sanctuary Heights.
Adelyn was gone, leaving him standing there in complete confusion.
He had received the permission now ...
But was it even valid?
His brows furrowed as he scratched the back of his neck.
Going there was important.
But going without a clear, valid permission from Adelyn felt far too dangerous ...
If his brother found out, he would definitely be doomed.
Without his sister-in-law’s protection, would he even survive the Old Demon’s punishment this time?
Just as he was lost in thought, his phone suddenly rang.
Pulling it out, he glanced at the screen.
Pier.
He didn’t even need to answer to know why Pier was calling.
It had to be about the same thing. But the real question was ...
Should he go?
"Well ..." he mumbled to himself. "Sister-in-law did give me permission. Since she said I can go ... I should be able to, right?"
But there was still one problem.
He hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her what that permission was actually for.
If something went wrong later ...
Would she ...
Before the thought could even fully form, he immediately shook his head, rejecting it outright.
"Karl Warren," he muttered to himself, "why are you already thinking about messing up? This isn’t even your first face-off with them, nor would it be the first time you’ve defeated them."
He puffed out his chest.
"So don’t think too much. It was easy the last time. It’ll be the same this time too. You’ve just been out of practice these past few months, and that’s making you hesitate."
The more he convinced himself, the more confident he became.
Soon, the hesitation completely disappeared.
After all ...
His sister-in-law had already given him permission.
That was enough.
Without wasting another second, he opened the message and quickly sent Pier a reply.
[Karl: I’m coming. Wait for me.]
After sending it, he slowly lifted his head and looked once more in the direction Adelyn’s cab had disappeared.
Although he hadn’t managed to explain everything to his sister-in-law ...
He firmly believed she wouldn’t be so heartless as to abandon him. If he truly needed her, she would definitely protect him.
She surely wouldn’t let his brother deal with him.
"Sister-in-law, just wait for me," he muttered confidently. "I definitely won’t cause you any trouble."
——————————————————
Meanwhile—
After finishing her training, Adelyn headed into the changing room to get changed. By the time she stepped back out, she had already booked another cab to ZX Media.
Usually, Amelia would accompany her.
But today, Amelia had other matters to attend to, so Adelyn was on her own.
Soon, the cab-hailing app showed that her booking had been confirmed, and the driver only a few meters away.
Not wanting to keep the driver waiting, she immediately headed outside.
Her training period was almost over.
Just one more week ...
And she wouldn’t need to come here for practice anymore.
Just as she stepped out of the arena—
Someone else happened to be walking in from the opposite direction.
Samuel.
If Adelyn hadn’t caught sight of him at the very last moment and instinctively shifted aside, the two of them would have collided.
Fortunately ...
She had always possessed exceptional reflexes.
To her, situations like this never really counted as coincidences. Every single time something like this happened ...
She avoided it naturally.
Swiftly.
Effortlessly.
As though it were second nature.
She didn’t pay much attention to the man she had just passed.
Nor did she even realize who he was.
However ...
Samuel did notice her.
The moment his eyes caught sight of that fleeting figure ...
He froze. His footsteps came to an abrupt halt. And for several seconds, he simply stood there, staring ahead blankly as if trying to decide if he had seen it right.
"... Onyx."
The name slipped unconsciously from his lips.
Almost in disbelief, he quickly turned around to look again.
And just as he had thought—
That familiar figure was still there —walking farther and farther away.
She hadn’t been an illusion.
It really was her.
Although all he could see was her back, even that alone was enough.
He had only crossed paths with her once. Yet her presence had carved itself so deeply into his memory that even after all these years, he had never truly forgotten her.
His eyes instantly lit up with excitement.
He was just about to run over and greet her—
When he saw her getting into the cab that had already been waiting outside the arena.
Before he could even take a few steps ...
The vehicle drove away, leaving behind not even the slightest trace.
Samuel stopped where he was. Yet there wasn’t much disappointment on his face.
Because simply seeing her again—
Even if it was only from behind—
Was already enough.
"Onyx is in Ashvale, Vabraria..." he murmured quietly, trying to process the revelation. "But why hasn’t there been any news about it?"
Onyx wasn’t merely a name. She was a phenomenon. Very little information about her true identity existed online.
Yet people all over the world constantly searched for her, hoping to uncover even the smallest clue about who she really was ...
Or what she had been doing all these years away from the spotlight.
But despite countless efforts. ..
No one had succeeded.
To this day, netizens across the world still didn’t even know whether Onyx was a man or a woman.
And yet ...
That mystery only made everyone even more fascinated.
Within an incredibly short period of time, she had built a fanbase that many celebrities couldn’t gather even after decades in the industry.
But despite having such an enormous global following, no one had ever managed to trace her whereabouts.
Her sudden disappearance had sparked countless rumors over the years.
None of them, however, had ever been confirmed.
Some even feared ...
That something terrible had happened to her.
Even Samuel had secretly worried about the same thing.
But today ...
After finally seeing her with his own eyes ...
For real ...
The weight he had unknowingly carried all these years finally eased.
As a fan himself, knowing she was alive and well was enough.
More than enough.
But then ...
Another question suddenly surfaced in his mind.
One filled with genuine curiosity.
"... What is Onyx doing here?" His gaze instinctively swept across the entire training ground.
A flicker of anticipation slowly appeared in his eyes. He didn’t voice it out, but the question only became more and more obvious to him.
Could she be here to train? To prepare for the upcoming championship?
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