Chapter 77
The silence in the penthouse stretched like a wire pulled taut, ready to snap.
Daniel Blackwater stood with his fists clenched at his sides, his honey-colored eyes locked onto Elijah's red ones.
The gang members along the walls had their hands on their weapons, their Ki flickering with barely restrained violence.
Tristan's hand rested on the blade at his hip.
Aurora's silver hair caught the dim light, her blue eyes sharp, her body coiled like a spring.
Sylvia sat on the couch, her wine glass forgotten in her hand, her honey-colored eyes moving between her brother and Elijah with an expression that was impossible to read.
Daniel spoke first.
"You want a war, Azura?" His voice was low, rough, the voice of a man who had spent years building something and was not about to let it be taken from him.
"Is that what you came here for? Because if you're looking for a war, you'll get one. The Blackwater Syndicate has been in the 9th District longer than yours. We've survived worse than you."
Elijah didn't answer immediately. He leaned back in the chair, his red eyes holding Daniel's gaze, and let the silence stretch between them.
If the south side gang had attacked with the Blackwater Syndicate, they would have won tonight.
The thought settled into his mind like a stone dropping into still water.
Fifty attackers from the south side. Another twenty from the north side. Seventy people, armed and trained and ready to kill.
Against thirty Azura gang members, most of whom had only been training for a few weeks.
We would have lost. Not completely—we would have taken some of them with us—but we would have lost. The warehouse would have fallen. The bar would have been destroyed. Our people would be dead.
He thought about Henry, bleeding in the warehouse, his green aura flickering, his body covered in wounds.
He thought about Tristan, fighting off two Peak fighters at once, his purple eyes cold, his blade moving in arcs of silver light.
He thought about the gang members, the ones who had held the line, the ones who had fought and bled and somehow survived.
If the Blackwater Syndicate had attacked tonight, they would have won. And I wouldn't be sitting here right now. I'd be standing over the bodies of my people, wondering what I could have done differently.
The thought made his chest tighten.
But they didn't attack. Sylvia called them off. And now I'm sitting in her brother's penthouse, and he's asking me if I want a war.
He looked at Daniel again.
At the hard set of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands remained clenched at his sides.
The man was angry. He had every right to be.
Elijah had walked into his territory, into his building, into his home, and sat in his chair like he owned the place.
But I can't kneel to what happened tonight. If I let this slide if I walk away without demanding something the Blackwater Syndicate will see themselves as stronger than the Azura gang.
And if they see themselves as stronger, they'll attack again. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But someday. And next time, Sylvia might not be there to call them off.
His jaw tightened.
And if we fight now—if I start a war tonight—it won't end until one of us is dead. Me or Daniel. And even if I win, even if I kill him and take over his territory, the war won't stop. His people will fight back. Other gangs will see us bleeding and move in to take what we have. The fighting will spread to the streets where my mother and Amy live. It will spread to the bar where Mai works, to the club where Aurora's girls dance, to the warehouse where Henry trains our people.
People will die, Good people, Loyal people, People who trusted me to protect them.
And I don't want that. Not when our foundation isn't solid yet. Not when we're still building, still growing, still trying to become something that can survive.
He let out a slow breath.
So I need another way.
"System," Elijah said quietly in his mind. "Show me Daniel Blackwater's stats. Everything. Physical limit, cultivation stage, raw stats, Ki enhancement."
The screen flickered in the corner of his vision.
Status: Daniel Blackwater
Physical Limit: 120
Cultivation: Advanced Knight Stage (Initial)
Raw Stats (Base):
Strength: 60
Agility: 62
Endurance: 63
Defense: 59
Ki Enhancement: 50% (Inner Breathing Technique)
Effective Stats (with Enhancement):
Strength: 90
Agility: 93
Endurance: 95
Defense: 89
Elijah stared at the numbers. His own stats, at 100% Zenith with Flash Step and Iron Body active, were:
Strength: 90
Agility: 103
Endurance: 88
Defense: 101
In terms of pure stats, I'm stronger than him. My Agility and Defense are higher. His Endurance is higher. Our Strength is equal.
He looked at the numbers again, turning them over in his mind.
The chance of me winning in a straight fight, based purely on stats, is around sixty-five percent. Maybe a little higher. But stats aren't everything. He's been fighting longer than me. His technique is cleaner, his experience deeper. He's been at the Advanced Knight Stage for years while I'm still at Beginner Peak.
I don't know if I can beat him. Not for certain. Not the way I knew I could beat the fighters in the death matches.
But he wanted to try.
The thought surprised him.
It wasn't the cold calculation of a leader weighing risks and rewards.
Something that had been growing inside him since the night he had fought Marcus in the lower underground, since the night he had put Tristan on the mat, since the night he had walked into the death matches and killed eight people.
I want to test myself against him. I want to see if I'm strong enough. I want to know where I stand.
A screen flashed in the corner of his vision.
Quest: A King Tests His Strength
You have grown strong, and now it is time to test your strength and skill against a worthy opponent. Defeat Daniel Blackwater in single combat.
Reward: 2,000 System Points | 2,000 EXP
Punishment: None stated. The loss itself is punishment enough.
Elijah read the screen. Then he closed it.
"Yes," he said.
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Yes? Yes to what?"
Elijah stood up from the chair.
"To testing my strength against you."
The room went still.
The gang members along the walls shifted, their hands tightening on their weapons, their Ki flickering with anticipation.
Aurora took a step forward, her blue eyes sharp, her body ready to move. Tristan's hand moved to the blade at his hip.
One of the Azura gang members—a young man with short black hair and cold eyes—reached for his gun.
Another followed.
The Blackwater Syndicate members responded in kind, weapons appearing from jackets, from waistbands, from the shadows where they had been hiding.
The tension in the room spiked.
Daniel raised his hand.
"Stop."
His voice was calm, commanding.
The Blackwater Syndicate members froze.
Their weapons remained raised, but they didn't fire. They waited.
Daniel's honey-colored eyes moved to Elijah.
"You came here looking for a fight," Daniel said. "Fine. But not like this. Not with my people and yours caught in the middle."
He gestured, and his men lowered their weapons. After a moment, Elijah nodded at Aurora and Tristan. The Azura gang members lowered theirs.