"This feeling..." Pida felt a chill. He quickly rushed to the bar. "Damn it, Seraphina!!"
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"Hmph." Matilda glared at Phina as she released her own Battle Intent.
"W-What?!" Irene was quite shocked when she saw that her mother couldn't break this woman's Battle Intent. She could only hold her back at best.
"You've made your point." Matilda sighed as she stopped her Battle Intent.
Phina did the same and sheathed her dagger with a simple smile. "I trust this means I passed your test."
"I suppose you aren't completely wasting his time. I suppose he can have some fun if he's benefiting on the side." Matilda sneered as she sat back down.
Phina sat down. When she sat down, she stopped the act as she smiled lightly. "So."
"So?" Matilda looked at her coldly.
"How was Pida when he was a kid? Got any embarrassing stories I could use against him?" Phina chuckled.
"...?" Irene stared with her jaw dropped. If anyone witnessed the scene from ten seconds ago, they'd say that a bloodbath was about to occur. What kind of development is this?
"There was this one time where he peed his pants while fighting his first beast." Matilda smiled as she recalled the story.
"M-Mother???" Irene looked at her mother with astonishment. The last time she saw her mother smile was well over a year ago.
"You reminded me of the time we found you and Pida fighting all out in the bath when you were five!" Matilda chuckled slightly.
"That's hilarious!" Phina could picture a young Pida fighting dramatically while butt-naked.
"Mother!!" Irene's face reddened.
"STOP!!" Pida walked in on Matilda and Phina laughing while Irene was red in the face. "Huh?"
"Pida! Come get your stupid girlfriend!" Irene stood from her chair, causing it to screech slightly on the ground.
"W-What?" Pida was taken aback.
Phina lightly tapped Matilda's shoulder and whispered. "Maybe they'll fight again. At least they're fully clothed this time."
The two then burst into laughter.
"What the fuck is going on...?" Pida was shocked beyond belief. He didn't remember the last time he saw his mother smile, let alone laugh aloud.
Irene got up and grabbed Pida by the shoulder and took him to another table. She whispered to him with a red face. "Get her away from Mother! It's like Mother is drunk!!"
"What?" Pida was still quite confused.
Irene facepalmed as she glared at Pida. "She's telling her all our embarrassing stories, you dumbass!"
"Is she...?" Pida looked at Phina and his mother whispering to each other and laughing heartily. He weakly smiled. "I don't remember the last time I've seen her laugh."
"..." Irene received yet another shock. Her anger subsided as she sighed and looked to the side. "Since when have you paid any attention to Mother?"
"I've always paid attention. She's my mother. But she changed ever since Dad left." Pida sighed.
"Dad..." Irene sighed. She didn't really know her father. The last time she saw him was when she was 2 years old. That was 14 years ago.
"So...how has business been?" Pida changed the topic.
"..." Irene smiled bitterly then sighed. She looked at her elder brother and genuinely smiled. She hadn't seen him in months. She wasn't there when Pida left. She was out for business. She expected to come back home to the usual chat with her mother, grandfather and brother. All she found was her mother, all alone.
"How've you been?" Pida asked a different question. This time with a sigh.
"I've been great." Irene chuckled at Pida's nervousness. "Business is booming. Especially with Seraphina Ender on the loose. The Monarchs want as much supplies as they can."
"I see." Pida smiled lightly. "Any news of Calliope?"
"None." Irene responded.
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence enveloped their table.
"So...what's her story?" Irene asked as she saw Phina slapping the table as she laughed with Matilda. Tekker was awkwardly trying to find a time to leave the table.
"Hehe." Pida chuckled. "God damn, where do I begin?"
Pida then started to tell Irene of how he met Phina, omitting the fact that she's Seraphina Ender. He gave her his honest opinion of Phina. He was quite impressed with her strength. Although it wasn't quite a 1v1, she did fight an Intermediate-rank Lord with a Domain Skill to a standstill as an Advanced-ranker.
After a few drinks, most of the people in the bar gathered around a single table. Currently, Phina was with Matilda laughing, while Tala, Nevin, Marten, Tekker, Irene and Pida sat at another table chatting lightly.
"What's with this scene?" Axel walked in with Dave.
"Axel Lourdes." Irene's face was slightly red from what little alcohol she drank. She didn't have many occasions to drink. "It's a pleasure to meet you again."
"I-Irene Kano?!" Axel was quite shocked. This woman basically had all six Monarchs on speed dial. 'I can't believe she's personally here.'
"Please, sit." Irene pulled a chair from another table and put it next her own.
"May I know what made Miss Irene honor my Crossers City with a visit?" Axel said as he sat down. He snapped his finger to Dave who quickly got him some Purified Underground Viper Venom, his favorite drink.
"I wished to get a status report from Tekker as well as discuss a deal with you." Irene smiled lightly as she swirled the wine in her glass.
"May I know what this deal is?" Axel narrowed his eyes. 'A deal that makes her want to personally meet with me? It must be a big one.'
"I wish to discuss it more when I'm sober." Irene chuckled as she took another sip. "For now, I wish to share a drink with my brother and his friends. Would you care to join us?"
"..." Axel watched the table laugh as Pida and Tala were arm-wrestling. He lightly chuckled and smiled. "Why not? Dave! Come sit too! We should celebrate today!"
Smack!
"Cheers!!" Tala raised her glass in laughter after smacking Pida's hand on the table.
"CHEERS!!" everyone raised their own glass as they drank throughout the night.
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"What an interesting development." a Human man with blonde hair and a beautiful white mask turned to the man beside him, who wore a black mask that matched his pitch black hair. "What do you think about this, Nightmare?"
"I've made contact with Seraphina Ender before. She's made quite the progress, yet I can't say I'm not disappointed." Nightmare sighed. "What about you? You finally became a Law-ranker, aren't you going to go protect your father like you always wanted?"
"Hahaha!" the man laughed, then sighed. "My father's gone now...I haven't seen him in a while. He probably left to search for me. I think we can recruit her if we managed to convince her."
"I see. I'm sorry for your loss." Nightmare bowed slightly. "Now how do we get to Seraphina Ender?"
"Do you want to assault the city while you rush in and kidnap her?" the masked man asked.
"Aren't you acquainted with Irene Kano? Ask here to grant you an audience with Axel Lourdes, then we can simply tell him we're taking her. I wasn't lying when I said I'd help her leave." Nightmare turned to his comrade.
"I thought you'd be more acquainted with Irene. Afterall, you were with the Demibeast-Orc-Demon faction for a while." the blonde man laughed.
"Those bastards only think of themselves." Nightmare sneered.
"..." the man was deep in thought. "You know what? I heard that there was a meeting of the Underworld's gangs soon."
"There is. All gang heads are going to be there." Nightmare confirmed.
"Let's crash the meeting and take over the Underworld." the man chuckled sinisterly.
"What about Mysie?" Nightmare was quite concerned.
"I spent two decades training my Law. I can beat him." the man laughed.
"Apparently, he's learning four Laws and can master one of them at any moment. He's just waiting until the end of his lifespan before he becomes a Lord-ranker." Nightmare sighed. "We simply won't be able to beat him. They say that the bastard's more powerful than a General from the Exodia."
"According to the old stories, I'm sure I'm as powerful as a General. I am more than confident in taking down five Law-rankers on my own. If push comes to shove, we can launch a surprise attack on the Monarchs and kill them together." the masked man said coldly. "I swear on my name of Danilo that I will do it. I can convince him."
"You're that confident?" Nightmare turned to Danilo.
"I'm not confident that I'll win." Danilo smirked. "I'm confident that they'll lose."
"Careful." Nightmare glared at him from behind his mask. "The Law of Death is powerful, but our goal isn't for you to take them down with you. If you can survive, then that's the most favorable situation."
"Alright!" Danilo punched his palm. His confidence obvious to anyone with any kind of awareness. His Aura alone oozed an air of a god with everything dancing in the palm of his hand. "We'll infiltrate their meeting and get Seraphina Ender to join us! After that, we'll make her a Law-ranker and kill all the Monarchs!"
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After 5 days, Phina was thoroughly drained. She left Axel's room while leaning on Pida's shoulder.
"Thanks for waiting." Phina looked at Pida with her blurry vision. "Where's Matilda right now?"
"Mother is out with Irene and Tala." Pida sighed as he looked at Phina. "Are you sure you want to keep going?"
"Of course." Phina sighed. "If I can get out of here, we'll all be safe."
"Alright." Pida glanced back at Axel's door.
Axel never left his room either. Apparently, he was almost just as drained as Phina was. It was no easy task to slowly drain her World Energy with his own, then cover her Core while she recovers her entire World Energy reserves naturally.
"I'll go rest in our room." Phina said, almost in a whisper from her exhaustion. "Axel said to not wonder off or start any troubles. The meeting is tonight."
"I understand. I'll relay the message." Pida nodded as he help Phina to their room. "So...how's the process going?"
"I'm already at the High stage." Phina smiled. The High stage of the Expert-rank was starting the World Energy transformation. The Peak stage was simply completing the process. "I should reach the Peak stage within a few months at most."
"Months of this?" Pida looked at Phina who had bags under her eyes.
"Axel says that if we don't finish within a month, we'll take a full month break." Phina smiled weakly as Pida opened the door to their room.
Pida gently let her sit on the bed. "Just...Just don't push yourself too hard, okay? The Killers' Arena has existed for hundreds of years, what's one or two more?"
"I wanna go back home, Pida!" Phina whined like a child wanting candy. "I miss the Exodia's showers!"
"It seems the Exodia is all you have on the outside world." Pida smiled bitterly.
"I..." Phina's eyes widened in realization. "Jack! I completely forgot about that kid!"
"Jack? Who's that?" Pida raised an eyebrow. When Phina told him her story, she just said that she was found in a forest, then joined the Exodia. The week or so she spent with Jack, Fardo and Kara was nothing compared to the nine months since then.
"I completely forgot about Jack!" Phina gasped lightly. "I wonder how he's doing..."
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"ALRIGHT, CADETS!! DISMISSED!" Instructor Kaiden yelled at the Exodia's Cadets as usual.
All the new Cadets groaned in pain, while the Senior Cadets and old Junior Cadets sighed in relief.
"Hey, Heather. Wanna spar again?" Ian Matnuck, a Junior Cadet, smiled as his orange eyes conveyed his excitement.
"Not today, Ian." Heather Knight, a Senior Cadet, sighed as she held her shoulder.
"Isn't Matnuck too casual with Knight?" some of the new Junior Cadets, who had just joined two days ago, whispered among each other.
"They're good friends." Nora Vaccro smiled. Nora was known as the friendliest and gentlest of the Cadets. She then tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "I'd say there were more than good friends if I didn't know any better."
"So...Vaccro." a voice called out to Nora.
"Hm? You can call me Nora." Nora smiled at the young man. She then tilted her head. "And your name was...?"
"Jack." the young man introduced himself as he looked at Nora. "Junior Cadet Jack Crinz."
"Crinz?" Nora raised an eyebrow. "I thought your family was wiped out."
"House Wilkinson will need more than a little fire to wipe out my bloodline." Jack smirked.
"Are you allowed to join?" Nora asked.
"I was barely born, so I'm fuzzy on the timeline, but it would appear that my family lost their nobility before I was born." Jack shrugged. "By the way, Nora..."
"What is it? If there's anything you need, do not hesitate to ask." Nora smiled gently, her straight black hair gently swaying as she tilted her head slightly.
"How long have you been a Cadet for?" Jack asked with a sense of foreboding.
"Let's see...around ten months I believe." Nora held her chin as she tried to recall. "The people who joined around my time will be taking the Senior Cadet exam soon."
"Do you remember a woman by the name of Seraphina Ender?" Jack asked.
"E-Ender?" Nora stuttered slightly as she recalled last month's incident where all four Generals arrived in front of the Cadets. "Seraphina...is dead."