"What... just happened?" Black Mountain blurted, bewildered.
Not only he, but all the Viceroys also had similar expressions of doubt, shock, and puzzle on their faces.
Shadow Origin looked at the empty chair in the distance, befuddled.
anwhile, the rest of the Viceroys stared at him from the sides, furrowing their brows.
"Explain... yourself..." Jade Beauty demanded, grounding her jaw.
She had thought the battle was done and won already.
What could hope to counter her offer?
A Multiverse Interdependency between the Primordial Laws!
Who didn't want it? Not even all Kings and Queens had it! Much less needed to be said about anyone below the 6th Set.
"You... better... explain..."
Shadow Origin drew a sharp breath, reigning his tumultuous thoughts. "Fuck off."
"You!!" Jade Beauty shot to her feet, her stature taller than all except Ravana.
"I said," Shadow Origin said, looking up into her pearl-like eyes, "Fuck Off!"
Crack!!!
Space shattered between the two with the faintest hint of annoyance.
On the other side, Black Mountain had also stood up, the relationship between the Kings of Purple Castle and the Golden Castle was already complicated.
"I want an answer, too," he demanded, dense black-colored scales appearing on his skin. "And I dare you to say that to , Shadow Origin."
The Viceroy of King Purple Mist slowly stood up, his back tall and straight.
He was wearing a formal black suit and pants with a pristine white shirt underneath.
His black hair was short, and there was a youthful charm about his face that could make the girls' hearts flutter like butterflies.
Shadow Origin's right hand went into his pocket, and he pulled out a lighter.
His left hand took out a cigarette case.
Under the growing tension and rippling space, Shadow Origin threw a cigarette in his mouth, lit it up, and drew a deep breath, making its tip glow like tiny embers.
And then he pulled the cigarette off his mouth and blew out the smoke, a long, smoky trail coiling midair like a Chinese dragon. "... Fuck off."
BOOM!
A massive, scaled fist struck midair with Shadow Origin's tiny one, both of their hands glowing glossy black.
In the next instant, Shadow Origin's entire body rippled as if he were billions of shadows.
His suit and pants were churning, his skin and eyes were cracking, and his entire body was becoming more fluid, shadows originating from every cell of his body.
Rumble!!!
Both Shadow Origin and Black Mountain flew opposite and skidded on the floor before coming to rest.
Shadow Origin's cigarette had gotten obliterated to smithereens and Black Mountain's scaled fist had lost a few of its scales.
The worst was the table and chairs.
All were gone as if a maw had opened in the space, devouring them.
Black Mountain raised his eyebrows, utterly stunned. "You progressed with Advanced Color of Arms even more?!!"
Shadow Origin looked at the perfectly fine cigarette missing between his fingers and tsked. "Tch!"
Three pops occurred a few feet away from them, and Ravana, Aphrodite, and Jade Beauty appeared there, eying the two.
Ravana's eyes were opened as wide as one would need them to see. He was still stroking his beard.
"I wonder," the old man sighed, his aged voice bringing attention toward him. "I wonder... if there is so truth to those rumors."
"What rumors?" Black Mountain demanded, looking at his trembling fist.
Shadow Origin frowned.
Jade Beauty stepped in, anger dancing at the tip of her nose.
"The rumor that the Five-crowned Prince and the King of Purple Castle knew each other even before the start of Tournant of Worth!" she spat, her eyes burning as she looked at the formally dressed viceroy. "The rumor... that this was nothing but a filthy ga of..."
Shadow Origin's face had gone incredibly still, a trail of shadows rising from his shoulders like black smoke.
"Be careful..." he warned, putting his hands in his pockets. "Be very careful... of the na you are trying to utter."
Jade Beauty paused as if iron shackles had grabbed her throat.
She hesitated. Yes. She... dare not utter that na.
It was then a giggle echoed in the Grand Hall like a bright flower blooming at midnight.
"Ara-Ara!" Aphrodite exclaid, her enchanting legs shifting to make her appear between all of them. "It doesn't matter now, does it? Red has accepted, right? Perhaps we can share him among ourselves in the future." She licked her lips.
The way Aphrodite ntioned sharing Red made everyone wince.
It was especially so for Jade Beauty who began considering this matter seriously for the King of Black Castle, her cheeks going red and pink in sha.
Clap!
Aphrodite clapped cheerfully, her large bosom jiggling up and down.
"Now, we all scarcely get together like this, no? Co on! Big Sis really wants to hear what's going on in the Tower these days. Oi, kid!" she looked at Ravana. "Go arrange for a new table and chairs!"
Ravana's fingers, caressing his long, white beard, tightened, the corners of his lips twitching.
How old was he? Who could call him a kid and live to tell the tale?
But none presented in the Grand Hall complained or mocked Ravana for not rebuking Contestant Aphrodite.
None dared to refute her claim of being the Big Sis of everyone, for — for she was indeed the oldest Contestant.
The oldest Contestant of the entire 18th floor!
So even said that the rise of the Red God of Shinobi wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for the imnse help of Contestant Aphrodite and her rich experience.
But that was a debate for different tis.
A table soon appeared where the last one had vanished, but it was round this ti.
Five Grand Chairs appeared as well, each color-coded to match the Castle they served.
Lady Aphrodite took a seat and others helped themselves soon after, Black Mountain still eying Shadow Origin with a frown.
Silence.
...
"Ara-Ara!" Aphrodite winked at them. "Go on! Empty your Inventories, kids! You know how Big Sis has a liking for food, don't you?"
Their hearts sank.
Who were they? Contestants from the 18th floor! Viceroys of Kings! And Aphrodite was going to loot their resources so openly?!
How could any food or dish they carried on themselves be of inferior quality?
Gritting their teeth, the rest of the viceroys began taking out dishes, for they knew if Aphrodite were to get happy, they just might get to hear sothing good out of her.
The entire Grand Hall soon began boiling with a thick aroma.
Ravana stood up and pushed a plate toward Aphrodite.
"Kyogre Sashimi!" he introduced the Water-type Legendary Pokemon of Grade B- as if it was an ordinary Tuna. "It's garnished with wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce."
Aphrodite bead, taking a deep whiff of the flesh. "Wonderful!"
Though his heart was paining, Ravana's chest swelled up, and his white beard seed to beco even longer.
Now, that incited others, hurrying them to present dishes of their own.
Shadow Origin took out his dish, then.
"Boudin Blanc!" he introduced, pushing the plate of creamy white sausages toward the lady. "Drogon and Rhaegal flesh, both B Grade, paired with glazed turnips, apple mostarda, and a red wine reduction."
Jade Beauty's eyes widened.
Aphrodite almost shrieked in happiness, her cheeks lifting with a widening smile.
"Dragons!" she exclaid, slurping.
"Shady! You rembered I like Dragons the best, didn't you? Good kid! But..." She frowned, looking at the sausages. "They are thicker and bigger than what this Big Sis can fit..."
"Aphrodite!" Jade Beauty grounded her jaw.
Soon the table got laden with rare dishes made of the rarest magical beasts one could find across the Multiverse.
"I did want Red, you know," Aphrodite said after so ti, drinking rich arbor wine, mixed with thirteen different magical blood. "He was so handso, Ara!"
Everyone's ears perked up.
Lady Aphrodite had blabbered.
The ti has co, finally. She would definitely share so good info.
"Cough!" Ravana coughed, making Black Mountain, Jade Beauty, and Shadow Origin look at him annoyingly.
"Lady Aphrodite," he said, his hand reaching for his beard. "Do you think he has so chance of clearing the 3rd Stage?"
A total of 333 Candidates had cleared the 2nd Stage, but to get a final Rank, they needn't clear the 3rd Stage as well.
The Contestants could give up midway and based on various criteria, centered around their unique scenarios, the Systems would award them points which would be normalized for the final list of the Rankings.
Not all... had got the Warning as Kai had.
Of course, neither Kai nor the Sponsors knew about this particular Warning.
Giving up on their annoyance with Ravana, the other three Contestants sighed, knowing they too wanted to hear about Aphrodite's comnts on this.
Aphrodite chewed the at, drank the wine, and dabbed her lips with a cloth.
She smiled before pumling her fork into another bite-sized piece of sausage.
"If it was any other The, then he had chances," she blurted, licking her lips. "But — not with Survival."
***************
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