"Tell me, arrogant weakling. Would you like to try dying once?"
A pin drop silence descended in the Coliseum as the silver-haired lady made her appearance. Even the Ranker, who had lost both of his arms and was still in pain, found it hard to make any sound in the face of the woman in front of him.
He had a feeling that if he let out even just a single sound, his head would be chopped off from his body, just like what happened to both of his arms.
"What are you doing?!"
"Who are you, and why are you getting in the way of the Trial?!"
The two Rankers, who fought the first two challengers before Lux appeared in the Coliseum, landed beside the Ranker whose blood had dyed the ground red with his blood.
"What am I doing?" Vera asked back. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to end this farce. How about you two? Where were you when your comrade was bullying my grandson? Don't you have any pride as Rankers? It seems like I have overestimated the Rankers of the Vahan Empire. What a joke. The only people you can defeat are mere Apostles."
"You bastard, how dare you!" roared one of the Rankers as he summoned his sword.
The other Ranker summoned a War Axe and held it firmly with his hands.
"Did you think you can barge in on our capital city and do what you want?!" the other Ranker shouted before charging towards Vera with his weapon at the ready. "Do you think we'll allow you to do as you please?!"
His fellow Ranker followed suit as they flanked the silver-haired lady from both sides with the intention to kill her.
"I don't need anyone's permission to do as I please," Vera replied as the fingers in her hands moved, creating faint ripples in the air. "If you want to stop me, you'll need to bring stronger Rankers. Just the two of you alone will not be enough."
The two rankers ignored Vera's words and slashed their weapon towards her with all their might. A moment later, two screams of pain reverberated in the coliseum as both of the Rankers' arms were cut off from their bodies.
But the thing that surprised everyone who was watching the scene was that the one that cut off the arms of the two Rankers wasn't Vera, but each other.
"What is happening?! My body is moving on its own!"
"Damn it! What have you done to us?!"
Vera didn't answer as she once again moved her fingers.
A moment later, the two Rankers punched each other's face repeatedly, until both of their teeth had fallen off. This continued for two minutes before the two Rankers lost their consciousness and collapsed on the ground.
Just like the Ranker that attacked Lux earlier, both of the Rankers who ganged up on Vera were C-Rankers. They were as strong as Vera of the past, and the old lady would have found it difficult to deal with two Rankers at the same time.
But now, things were different.
The silver-haired lady was no longer a C-Ranker, but an A-Ranker.
Due to the powerful effects of the Flower of Death, not only were Vera's injuries fully healed, but her body also regained its vitality. This allowed her to use a fraction of her full power from when she was at her prime.
Now that the two obstacles were gone, Vera once again shifted his attention to the Ranker named Mason, who bullied her grandson. However, before she could cut off the Ranker's legs, a man appeared beside him with his arms behind his back.
"I apologize for the injustice that happened just a moment ago," Aron said. "I know that this isn't much of a compensation, but I declare that Lux Von Kaiser has succeeded in his Trial of Leadership."
Aron then made a slicing gesture of his hand, and the bottle that Lux had failed to break was sliced in half.
An S-Ranker like him felt quite ashamed of what had happened earlier, but since the Emperor didn't say anything, he had only prepared to save Lux at the very last moment.
Vera, who had sensed how strong the Ranker in front of her was, just snorted. She was currently an A-Ranker, and her opponent was an S-Ranker, which was also called a High-Ranker. The difference in their abilities was evident, but the silver-haired lady didn't have any intention of backing down.
Because she had wanted to save Lux earlier, she broke free from Blackfire's control and ended her transformation before it was completed.
If she had remained inside Blackfire for a couple more days then her Rank would be the same as the man that was currently standing in front of her.
—-----
(A/N: The Rank of Rankers are E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. Rank S up to SSS are called High-Rankers. The Ranks above High-Rankers are Saint, and Supreme.)
—------
"That's it?" Vera asked. "Your Rankers attacked my grandson, and the only thing you are going to say is that he passed the Trial of Leadership? Very funny."
"You have already punished him enough," Aron stated. "Please don't forget where you are. This is not your backyard."
Vera eyed Aron coolly, but she no longer said anything. She understood that she was in the Capital of the Vahan Empire, which meant that it was the headquarters of the Rankers, as well as the Saint that protected the Empire.
"Let's go, Lux," Vera said as she walked towards her grandson and helped him stand up. "Making a guild in this Empire is not worth it. You will only stain your record if you register in this place."
"Yes, Grandma," Lux replied as he allowed the silver-haired lady to support him. "I'll do as you say."
Vera smiled before giving Aron a side-long glance. A second later, she jumped up in the air, carrying Lux.
The Half-Elf understood that his grandma was only making a bold front, but as Blackfire's owner, he knew that Vera still hadn't completed her transformation.
Once they were safely out of the capital, the Half-Elf urged Vera to enter the coffin again to recover. Right now, there was a danger that her Rank would regress due to her incomplete transformation, and this was something that Lux didn't want to have happen.
"Be careful," Vera said as he patted Lux's head. "I'll be sleeping again for a while. I will not be able to help you if something bad happens again.
"Leave the Vahan Empire as soon as you can and return to our Faction's territories. Don't worry, once I recover, I will beat up Gerald for you, and make the other Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold agree to allow you to retake your quest."
Lux chuckled when he imagined the leader of Wildgarde Stronghold, Gerald, being beaten up by his Grandma using a broom in order to punish him for bullying her grandson while she was away.
"Don't worry, Grandma," Lux replied. "Everything will be fine. I know what to do."
Vera nodded. "Okay. I trust you. But leave this place as soon as possible. I'm sure that the Rankers of this Kingdom will hold a grudge against you for what happened."
"Understood, Grandma." Lux smiled. "Now please return inside Blackfire."
The Black Coffin appeared beside Lux and opened its lid. Vera didn't resist and allowed herself to be transformed into particles of light that flew towards it. She really needed to rest and complete her transformation.
Although she wouldn't be able to become an S-Ranker because of what happened, she would at least be able to retain her current Rank and get stronger in the future.
Lux sighed before looking at the magnificent city in the distance. After everything that happened, he still failed to create a guild in the Vahan Empire.
"I guess I have no choice but to do it," Lux summoned the Dragon Token in his hand and held it firmly.
Now that his back was pressed against the wall, he had no other choice but to use his last resort.