Chapter 20: Three Fraction Bound: He Is Under My Protection!
Levi locked his gaze on Clara’s trembling lips as the panel appeared before his eyes.
[Clara Fontaine fully conquered.]
[Sovereign Mark forming on Clara Fontaine.]
[Aether Level: 700/1000.]
[Third Breakthrough Imminent.]
A cunning laugh escaped Levi as he stood up slowly. He looked toward the VIP pavilion, where the judges, the Saintess, and the Senior Battle Mage sat, frozen in their seats. ’Now that everyone has seen my power, there is no more hiding!’
Clara’s ragged breathing pushed dust into the air as she lay flat on the sand. Her broken silver plate armor twitched slightly as the lingering waves of her newfound, unwanted submission energy snaked through her.
All the heads of the ladies sitting by the judges turned toward the senior judge, Elder Juliet. A cloth-tearing sound echoed as she tore her veil off and frowned.
She clutched the arms of her chair so tightly that her knuckles whitened. ’This is not just a defeat. That unarmed male servant can’t go scot-free. He utterly broke Clara’s soul in front of us.’
She loosened her grip and smacked the arms of the chair. "This is... impossible."
Her robes billowed as she stood up and walked toward the barrier. "A male cannot hold that much Aether without a core collapse. Guards! Arrest him!"
Saintess Lilith and Lyra the Battle Mage all stood with pleading faces, but Elder Juliet’s brow wrinkled as she hissed. "He is using a forbidden demonic art!"
Sweat trailed down Lyra’s neck as she watched dozens of high-tier guards with elegant body shapes drop from the walls into the arena.
Their spears glowed with the distinct color of their power and crackled with lightning magic as they swung them through the fast-rising dust.
Levi’s head snapped back as he evaluated the aggressive squad, then looked back at the VIP pavilion. ’What is happening? Was this just beyond what they expected from me and Clara?’
He walked to the side of the arena, where Clara lay trembling, and tucked his hands back into his pockets. ’Well, whatever they do won’t hurt me.’
He scanned through the raised chests and dangling breasts of the surrounding women, then licked his lips. ’They will rather end up doubling my pace.’
An invisible pool of his high-quality Aether swirled gently around his skin and easily deflected the lightning sparks that were radiating from the guards’ weapons as they surrounded him in a tight circle.
A metal-creaking sound echoed as Lyra slammed her clenched fist on the metal bar. She shot a sharp glare toward Elder Juliet before zeroing back in on the combat zone. "STAND DOWN!"
A wide smile tore across Levi’s face when he heard the shout. ’That’s why I cherish her and will always make her feel welcomed.’
A cold essence lashed out of Lyra’s blue eyes and she squinted at the troops surrounding Levi. "The duel was conducted under the rules of the Sovereign Council."
She structuralized her expression into a cold, no-nonsense mask and descended the steps. "The stakes were clear. Clara Fontaine has lost."
Two sharp glows dashed out of her armor and wrapped themselves around one guard who tried to move her spear toward Levi’s back. An electrical current flashed into the guard’s body as her own lightning sparks ended up touching the top of her breast. "AAHHHH!"
"Levi Sirius is under my protection." The tips of Lyra’s robes whipped in the wind as she jumped into the arena, soaking her boots in the sand.
"Instructor Lyra!" Elder Juliet brushed her sleeves to the side and walked toward the metal gate. "Are you defying the high judges of Aethermoor for the sake of a slave?"
Lyra’s eyes blazed harshly as she confronted the elder directly. "I am enforcing the law."
The Sovereign sigil Levi had left on her inner thighs hummed as if calling for her to kneel, but she stood rigid. "If you break the rules of the arena today, I will make sure the academy’s credibility also dies."
Sharp air bounced in the stadium as all the remaining audience inhaled with pale faces. Their attention remained fixed on Instructor Lyra while a question formulated in their minds. ’Who is she to the slave?’
A cunning laughter gushed out of Elder Juliet as she pushed the three-foot metal door open and stepped onto the arena. "You dare not want to be banished back into the slums, do you?"
"HMPH!" A wide, unnatural smile tore across Lyra’s face as she moved a step closer to the elder. "Even if you send me there, the academy’s credibility will still die when you do what you’re not supposed to do with the one you call a slave."
A soft but sharp clicking sound echoed, followed by a golden beam as Saintess Lilith walked toward the gate. "What Instructor Lyra is saying is true."
All the restless faces of the crowd calmed as her voice waved through their ears.
"The light of Aethermoor has never blinded itself to the truth." She pointed her sweet, soft right arm toward Levi, then squinted at Elder Juliet. "The boy won fairly. But..."
She descended from the audience and stepped onto the sand with a smile. "Let the council review his status in private, unless you want to find yourself dealing with an outrage you aren’t ready for."
Levi stood between the glorious-looking guards, who were now standing completely frozen like useless statues, with an unstoppable smile on his face. ’That’s why my dad always used to say: one cup isn’t enough for a guy to plant his seeds in.’
He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet scent that was drifting from the elegant, curvy bodies of the guards.
Clara’s boot touched Levi’s leg and caused his eyes to open as she planted her palms on the ground, trying to push herself up.
Levi looked down at her, then frowned slightly. ’I thought I would be doing you right here. But I guess the gods of Aethermoor have other plans.’
The panel reeled before him as he target-locked the Battle Mage, the Saintess, and the Elder judge.
[Clara Fontaine’s Sovereign Mark: Finalized.]
[System Alert: The Sovereign Court is expanding.]
[You have successfully bound three major factions within the academy.]
Levi targeted the remaining elders still standing at the VIP pavilion and smirked. ’They thought they were granting me a temporary reprieve. No, no... they were simply giving me time to prepare my next feast.’