Chapter 542: The Standoff
After dispatching every opponent who had dared step into his path, Moon’s name and his words had taken on considerable weight.
Despite being away from his pillar, despite leaving his defensive position completely exposed to the entire bracket, very few competitors thought about attacking him. The ones who had tried had already been removed from the tournament. The pyromancer’s elimination had been a public lesson, and the rest of the bracket had learnt it instantly.
The competitors that did have such thoughts, were the cream of the crop. The strongest in the tournament with immense skill, and power.
They were also smart.
None of them were foolish enough to attack Moon while he was still in peak condition. The runes guarding his pillar had absorbed a Four-Star Pyromancer’s fireball without registering a scratch.
Engaging Moon right now was not a strategic move. It was a death sentence dressed up as bravery.
So the competitors held their positions and watched Moon stop directly across from Ace Morgan, the No. 2 on yesterday’s leaderboard.
A confrontation between two of the bracket’s biggest names, conducted at the center of the arena floor with millions of people watching with their breaths held.
The strongest competitors began to adjust their strategies.
None wanted to strike since that meant placing the attention of Moon and Ace Morgan on them.
It was better to wait until Moon and Ace clashed, exhausting their mana, skills and trump cards.
Whoever survived the exchange would be weakened.
Then, when the dust settled and one or both of them stood depleted, the rest of the bracket could strike.
Like serpents waiting for the right moment to uncoil.
Across the arena, the strongest competitors held their positions. They focused on minor harassment to conserve energy.
The Four-Star earth mage who had silently agreed to a treaty with Moon now stood quietly on her pillar. Her own arms were folded, her gaze fixed on the two figures at the center of the arena. The treaty would hold until Moon’s fight with Ace concluded. After that, she would reassess.
Selene watched from the western edge, her hand tight on her staff.
She wasn’t planning to attack, Moon had told her to not get involved in his fights before the tournament started. As much as she wanted to help, Selene trusted Moon’s judgement.
Kael remained on his pillar, his breathing slowly returning to its calm state, his eyes locked on the the figure who had effectively saved his life.
The atmosphere in the entire arena had changed considerably.
The round was technically still in progress. The pillars were technically still the objective. The eliminations were technically still being counted.
But everyone in the venue, every competitor, every spectator, every camera, every faction representative seated in the VIP sections, had narrowed their focus to a single point in the arena.
Moon Outlaw and Ace Morgan stood across each other.
"Long time no see." A small smile crossed Moon’s face.
Ace returned the smile with one of his own. The expression was light, almost friendly, as if the two of them were exchanging pleasantries.
"I don’t think we’ve met in the first stage."
Moon kept his smile steady. He took a single, casual step forward, closing the distance between them by another small fraction.
"I never said we did. We met months before that."
Ace tilted his head slightly, visibly puzzled by Moon’s words.
"We did? How come I don’t remember?" Ace’s brows drew together,
Moon shrugged, "Perhaps you have a weak memory."
The two of them held their smiles.
Ace remained silent for a long moment before he nodded slowly, his smile still in place. "You might be right. My memory has been a little hazy lately. I’ve been through a lot."
’He’s good at hiding his thoughts.’
Moon studied Ace’s face carefully. He did not see any of the subtle signs he was looking for; changes in pupils, micro expressions or posture. None of them appeared.
Ace’s face was as smooth and unreadable as glass.
Moon tried two more probes through the conversation, each one designed to catch a reaction.
Both slid past Ace without an issue.
Moon sighed internally. Forcing Ace to confirm or deny that he was Jonathan would not be an easy task. The man knew exactly how to control his face. Pursuing it now would only waste time he didn’t have.
He shifted to the other thing he wanted answered.
"Why did you try to kill him?" The smile on Moon’s face was gone.
Yet, Ace’s smile remained.
"Who?"
"Your attack a moment ago. It would have killed him."
Ace blinked once. He turned his head slightly, glancing toward Kael’s distant pillar as if he had only just remembered the previous exchange. His expression took on a mildly curious quality,
"Hmm. Do you really think so? An Ascender is watching the arena. Klein wouldn’t let something like that happen."
"Things happen." Moon’s voice was quiet. "A moment of carelessness. A delayed reaction. Sometimes the people protecting us are the ones who fail to act in time. The people we trust to keep us safe can sometimes be the very reason we don’t go home."
Ace’s smile widened a fraction but his expression didn’t change.
"You aren’t wrong, some of us learn that lesson the hard way."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Moon’s instincts were screaming at him. Every line Ace had spoken so far had been carefully chosen, carefully delivered, carefully calibrated to give nothing away while still hinting at something far below the surface.
The man was a vault, but the vault had a personality, and the personality was enjoying this conversation more than it should be.
Moon decided to push one final probe.
"Why him specifically?"
Ace’s head tilted again.
"Why anyone? It’s a tournament. People get attacked. Some survive. Some don’t. The bracket is supposed to narrow." A small pause. "Why does it matter who I chose?"
"Because Kael isn’t a top contender for the first place. There were more dangerous opponents in your striking range. Picking him was deliberate."
Ace didn’t answer. Instead, he reached up and brushed a strand of his white hair away from his face.
"I would love to keep talking with you." He said quietly. "You’re more interesting than anyone in this tournament. But I don’t think now is the wisest moment for a conversation. We are, after all, in the middle of a stage. I’m sure we will have time to speak later..."
His smile widened again, returning to its earlier brightness.
"So I have to ask. Do you perhaps want to fight me? Or did you just come over to say hi?"
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