Inside a fancy cafe, Alden and his friends sat together, sipping coffee now that most of their matches were over. Only Alden still had his left, scheduled for the afternoon slot.
Zephyr and Amyra weren’t there... for obvious reasons.
Aziel and Cecilia were cheerfully gossiping, their voices lively as they talked about how so people had won unexpectedly, how others had lost in shocking ways, and who might turn out to be a tough opponent later on.
anwhile, Nyx sat in front of them with a soft blush on her cheek, awkwardly sipping her coffee in silence, clearly unsure how to join the conversation especially since she hadn’t gotten over the previous incident with Alden.
Right next to her, Alden sat calmly, listening to everything without really listening at all. His mind was still stuck in the arena... on Amyra’s match.
How did she even do that...?
Alden’s thoughts kept circling back to the sa question.
Does she have an ability similar to my Eyes of Supre?
Or maybe sothing even more terrifying... sothing that didn’t need mana fluctuations, pressure or intent to manifest.
Whatever it was, one thing was certain. In this entire competition, there were only a few people he truly considered tough and Amyra was definitely one of them.
Although he hadn’t witnessed Lucien’s match, he was sure the protagonist of the world might have grown much in this ti as well.
Then there was Nyx, who was currently sipping on her coffee calmly as if it was just another day but the strength she had shown during her match was undeniable. She crushed her opponent within seconds with just a single attack.
And finally, there was this mysterious guy, Ryou, who seed to have so feud with Alden and also was far stronger than Adept rank.
A smirk appeared unknowingly on Alden’s usually neutral face.
The tournant won’t be as boring as I thought it would be, huh?
"Hey, Alden, when is your match?" Just then he heard Nyx’s soft voice. This was the first ti she had spoken to him since they had gathered in this cafe.
He looked at her as she turned around towards her coffee imdiately.
"Well, it’s in an hour." He replied calmly, narrowing his eyes.
Why is she acting so strangely ever since that incident in my apartnt?
Don’t tell she has also fallen for my undeniable charm?
A narcissistic thought made its way in his mind almost imdiately but he dismissed it imdiately with a sigh.
Who am I kidding?
She is probably just nervous and awkward because of that incident.
—
anwhile, what was happening within Nyx’s mind was another storm.
She wanted to talk to Alden more, she wanted to stay beside him longer, she wanted to share even the smallest monts with him and almost every thought she had sohow drifted back to him and yet... At the sa ti, she unconsciously held herself back.
She didn’t want to do anything too direct and cross a line because deep down, she knew better than anyone that this peace was temporary.
She had decided to confess everything about her feelings, her father, about her mission and the truth about her origin to him after the tournant but before that... she just wanted to enjoy these small monts with him. These quiet coffees, these stolen glances and these simple, fragile monts that felt far too precious to rush but she didn’t know how.
So, for once, she decided to do sothing reckless... sothing direct even when her mind told her not to.
She looked at him straight in the eyes, the crimson eyes which always made her feel steady whenever she felt lost recently.
"Hey Alden, I know a good restaurant do... you want to have dinner at night with—?" She finally made up her courage but before she could complete, she stopped as Alden’s eyes had turned cold and he wasn’t even looking at her anymore, instead his eyes were focused on a group of boys sitting a few tables laughing.
What is happening?
Nyx questioned as Alden had already got up from his seat before walking towards the group of boys with calm rage.
Aziel and Cecilia noticed it too, their expressions shifting into surprise as they followed him with their eyes.
—
Alden walked toward the group of boys.
He wasn’t even trying to listen to their conversation, but with his sharp senses, a few familiar nas slipped into his ears anyway.
Amyra, Nyx and even Cecilia.
So, he was curious to see what they were talking about but their talk had been anything but decent.
As he continued walking toward them, more of their words slipped into his ears, each one uglier than the last, making his expression only grow colder.
One of the boys, a blonde with green eyes muttered. "Huh? What princess? That bitch Amyra is just a whore. I had heard countless rumours about what she does at ni—"
He never got to finish as his body suddenly went stiff and an uncontrollable tremor started running through him as a shadow fell over their table.
All three of them turned their heads slowly towards Alden who had arrived but none of them could even utter a single word.
Alden knew how rumors worked. They always found their way to people’s ears, especially when the ones being talked about were famous and Amyra, Nyx and Cecilia were perfect targets for that kind of filth.
He should have ignored it as he couldn’t silence every mouth in the world but hearing them speak like this... again and again... for the past five minutes... was sothing he simply couldn’t tolerate.
Before anyone could react, Alden moved. He grabbed the blond boy by his hair and slamd his face straight into the pastry on the table. Cream and crumbs scattered as the tallic surface of the table dented under the force.
There was no hesitation in his movent as the whole cafe had fallen silent as well.
"What did you say?" He asked coldly.
The boy barely spoke. "Do you know who am—"
Before he could finish, Alden slamd his face once again as the dent deepened even more.
"What did you say?" He asked again.
The boy’s face was bloodied by now with one of his teeth missing. He was a second year student who had arrived specifically to see the tournant but he was being overpowered by a re first year student. He felt humiliated but he couldn’t say anything due to the fear gripping his heart.
"What... do you wan—" He tried speaking again but Alden once again slamd his face on the table.
No person within the cafe tried interfering as most of them were students and the unawakened staff steered clear as well but he was sure guards would arrive soon.
So, Alden activated his [Eyes of Supre], staring deep into the green eyes of the boy. The boy’s trembling body started shaking even more as tears started rolling down his eyes.
"Please... I am sorry. Please spare ."
"Please..."
He begged, his voice breaking, as Alden finally released his grip and let his head go.
He turned around and walked away without sparing a single glance at the boy... or at the two lackeys beside him, who were just as terrified after witnessing what had happened.
As he reached back to his friends he smiled faintly and took his seat without a word before looking at Nyx. "You were saying sothing, Nyx?"
Before she could even open her mouth, Aziel cut in. "What the hell was that about, bro?"
Even Cecilia and Nyx perked up their ears to listen.
Alden shrugged casually. "Nothing, that guy just had a really annoying face."
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