A murmur swept through the crowd while Zeke considered how to deal with this sudden misfortune. To his further dismay, Mordred's suggestion seemed very popular among the other guests. As a figure of public interest, it was only natural that people wanted to know more about him.
Zeke grimaced. He had only himself to blame for this turn of events. Hiding away for so long had done nothing but inflame the curiosity of the people.
Suddenly, his thoughts changed as his recent epiphany came to mind. Hadn't he promised himself to live a life full of extraordinary experiences, full of risk and danger? Who else could claim to have dueled a Thunderclaw under the eyes of Tradespire's elites?
After one final, deep breath, Zeke stood. His back was ramrod straight as he made his declaration. "I, Ezekiel von Hohenheim, have never shrunk back from a fight, and this won't change today. I am ready to face anyone who dares challenge me."
Aurelia's black eyes focused on Zeke, taking his measure from head to toe. Meanwhile, Celine was also studying him. However, her expression was one of dissatisfaction. "Aren't you a bit young to speak so grandly?"
Zeke could barely believe his ears. Had that little girl just talked down to him like he was just some kid? For a moment, he was so gobsmacked by this arrogance that he didn't even know how to respond.
The girl apparently saw his reaction as a victory and continued. "I'd rather fight somebody with more experience and of higher status, like Mordred. I believe that would be more interesting to watch."
Zeke clenched his fist, his heartbeat already speeding up. It had been a while since he had been so blatantly disrespected.
"How true!" he called out, silencing the girl's tirade with his volume alone. "After all, the Thorsten family is so powerful that even their weakest mage can easily defeat any champion. That must also be the reason why Arkanheim is cowering in fear, dreading the invasion of mighty Invocatia."
Every word from Zeke's mouth was dripping with sarcasm. He knew that it was not a smart move to insult the Thorsten family and by extension the country of Invocatia, but he didn't care. He would not be humiliated.
Aurelia's brows furrowed, but before she could intervene, Celine spoke once more. "You dare?! Do you think your pitiful household is on the same level as my Thorsten family? Your pathetic achievements are nothing in the grand scheme of things!"
Zeke was not phased in the slightest by this insult. "At least my achievements are my own, little girl. What great feats can be attributed to you?"
Celine's mouth opened, but no words came out. Instead, it was Aurelia who responded. "Enough," she said, but this word alone sufficed to silence everyone in the room. Even Zeke's racing heart skipped a beat as he was hit with the force of her intent.
However, in the next moment, his heart redoubled its efforts, lighting the flames of his rage once more. "You are quite right, lady Thorsten. It is indeed enough. I might be young, but I am the patriarch of my household and I will not be spoken to in such a manner — by anybody. Least of all by a 14-year-old girl with not a single victory to her name. If your aim here today was to prove the supreme arrogance of your house, then I can confidently state that this event was a smashing success."
After Zeke ended his declaration, a hush fell over the scene. Even the beating of his own heart sounded like a drum in this silence. Lara who was sitting next to him, was staring at his profile with a weird expression. It seemed to be a combination of utter disbelief mixed with grudging respect.
Eventually, all eyes gathered on Aurelia, interested in what the matriarch would do next. Zeke also looked at her, his nerves taut. He didn't regret his words, but still dreaded the consequences of his actions.
The woman's expression had gone blank. There was not a trace of the earlier warmth left on her face. For a long moment, she remained motionless. Eventually, she turned toward her niece and only said a single word. "Apologize."
"Aunty, why? I didn't even—"
"I said… apologize!" Aurelia repeated, the words instantly cutting off anything else Celine wanted to say.
The girl looked at Zeke, pure hatred radiating from her eyes. Several times, she opened her mouth and closed it again. However, after one last sidelong glance at her aunt, she finally managed to force the word out. "Apologies…"
Zeke nodded. "I have to apologize as well. In my anger, I spoke too harshly. Please forgive my words, lady Thorsten."
Aurelia eyed him for a long moment, before nodding as well. "Making mistakes… is the privilege of the young. Your words are forgiven."
Zeke released a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Despite his earlier bravado, this could have ended horribly. He really needed to get his temper under control. This was getting out of hand.
Aurelia clapped her hands, dispelling the remaining tension. "Now, how about that demonstration? I am sure the young Bloodsword could be convinced to fight, despite his earlier words."
However, to everyone's surprise, Celine shook her head. She extended a single finger and pointed right at Zeke. "I changed my mind, Aunty. I want to fight that guy."
Zeke's brows furrowed. What was it with this girl? Why was she so adamant about causing trouble? Apparently, Aurelia shared Zeke's views on this, as her gaze hardened. She had just managed to reestablish control over the situation, only for her niece to undermine her efforts a moment later.
Celine, who could undoubtedly feel her aunt's displeasure, rushed to explain herself. "After carefully considering his achievements, I have come to the conclusion that this guy would make for an even better opponent than Mordred."
Nobody, not even the most witless person in attendance, would believe even a single word of that statement. It was blatantly obvious that Celine was trying to get back at Zeke for publicly humiliating her, but nobody gave word to their thoughts. After all, this was the fight that everybody had wanted to see in the first place.
The matriarch sighed. She seemed almost apologetic as she turned toward Zeke once more. "Ezekiel?"
Zeke stood up and smiled warmly. This was his chance to make up for his earlier behavior by giving the matriarch some face. "Since lady Thorsten was magnanimous enough to overlook my foolishness earlier, I would not dare to turn down such a small request. I am at your service."
Aurelia nodded. The moment her head dipped, the edges of her lips twitched, momentarily forming a smile. "So be it," the matriarch pronounced. "Please follow me to the training room, where we will see who emerges victorious, Ezekiel von Hohenheim or Celine Thorsten."
With an excited murmur, everyone followed the matriarch out the back door. Meanwhile, Mordred had approached, a guilty expression on his face. "My bad, Zeke! If I had known this would blow up in your face like that, I would just have fought her myself."
Zeke shook his head. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. You didn't force me to lose my temper and blow the situation way out of proportion. I managed that all on my own."
Mordred grinned. "When I first saw you walking off your airship with that stiff little uniform, I expected you to be some princeling. But you had the dog in you all along, you crazy bastard. Where do you get off telling Aurelia Eternexus Thorsten to shut her mouth?"
"I never told her to shut her mouth," Zeke exclaimed. "I have nothing but respect for her."
Mordred scoffed. "That's not what it sounded like when you were talking smack right to her face. Honestly, I don't think even my dad would ever dare do that — I know I wouldn't. My balls shrunk to the size of peanuts at her first word, but you just went right back to it."
"Yep, not my smartest move," Zeke confessed. Now that Mordred laid it out, this must have been one of the stupidest things he had ever done. Wasn't it said that Mind Mages were calm and collected? Why did he have to have such a big mouth? This was the same thing as during the tournament, when he just had to provoke the other families any chance he got.
'I bet that's your fault,' Zeke thought. However, as usual, the Dragon didn't deign to respond.
"Talking about moves that aren't smart… are you certain about this duel?" Mordred asked.
Now, it was Zeke's time to scoff. "What? You think this newly hatched apprentice has a chance?"
Mordred shook his head. "She's not an apprentice anymore."
Confused, Zeke checked on Celine. The girl was walking only a couple of steps in front of him. At this very moment, she was animatedly promising her aunt a glorious victory. Zeke rolled his eyes and proceeded to check the girl's core.
What was this? Mordred had been right; she indeed had advanced from Apprentice and was a True Mage now. Zeke studied her engraving. It was not any spell he recognized and looked altogether different from anything he had ever seen on the inside of a core. It was far larger and more elaborate than any other spell Zeke had ever seen. There was only one explanation for this…
"Don't tell me… Did she engrave her summon just now?"
Mordred nodded. "Got it in one. I don't know much about how it works, either, but apparently, there are two different types of Summons. One type that is engraved on your core, and one type that isn't. As you can imagine, the former is way stronger."
Zeke waved him off. "So what? She is just a newly advanced mage either way."
Mordred punched him, hard. "Are you dense? Why would that even matter?"
Zeke rubbed his shoulder, looking wronged. "…Because she doesn't know any spells and her core is tiny?"
"Doesn't know any spells, you dense fuck? What spells? Didn't you hear, she just sacrificed her core to that Thunderclaw? She won't need to learn any spells! As for the size of her core, did you forget that she has a perfect affinity? The girl has plenty of juice!"
"What do you mean, sacrificed her core?" Zeke asked. He had a bad feeling about this.
"Ohh man, you have some weird gaps in your knowledge — How did it go again... Those who engrave a Summon onto their core lose access to all forms of attuned mana. The girl will never be able to cast a Lightning spell in her life. That's all in the hands of her Summon now."
"Sounds like a horrible choice," Zeke commented. He could not imagine giving up Blood affinity for anything.
"It's really not," Mordred said with a shake of his head. "An engraved Summon is like an immortal guardian. It is your eternal protector, ever vigilant, even when you sleep. As an engraved spell, it can summon itself when needed, and return back to spirit form when not. I have seen it many times on the battlefield. Those summons are a menace, I don't even want to know what that Thunderclaw can do. There was a reason I didn't want to fight, man."
Zeke's heart dropped. After his earlier words, he couldn't imagine how embarrassing it would be if he got torn to shreds by that spirit. But there was still hope. "Well, either way, it's just a new Summon. How strong can it be?"
Mordred was already shaking his head. "That's not how it works. A summoned being always fights at their peak. It will remain exactly the same until Celine advances to Grand Mage, at which point, it will evolve as well. You should be ready to fight a peak True Mage."
Zeke gaped at the other boy. "Isn't that like… cheating?"
Mordred shrugged. "It is what it is. Get ready. We're here."
As he spoke the word, the two entered a giant indoor training field. The guests didn't wait before taking up their preferred spots around the field. Leaving only Zeke, Celine, and Aurelia behind.
A few steps from him, Celine had turned to face him. She was grinning smugly, nothing but contempt radiating from her eyes.
Her lips silently mouthed a series of words. Using his Spatial awareness, Zeke clearly caught the whispered words. "Payback's a bitch…"