The fight against Sano and Natta unexpectedly turned into a sparring match against Gladius.
It was hard to call Adam the winner of the second battle, but he certainly didn’t lose.
Crack.
With difficulty, Adam got up from the ground, the pebbles crunching under his boots.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..."
He was breathing heavily, clutching his stomach.
’How strange. Gladius’s attacks... they’re... they’re not what I was prepared for.’
Sano and Natta used everything they had, their abilities and even the Monster Nexuses, which Adam had never heard of before.
However, their battle proved less difficult and stressful for Adam than a few minutes of fighting against Gladius.
Deep down, Adam knew that Natta and Sano wouldn’t be able to kill him or inflict serious damage on him. He realized this right at the start of their fight.
But Gladius’s attacks?
That was sothing else.
Adam was afraid of missing even a single direct strike, especially when it was a palm strike.
’Huh, if he’d hit back then, he would’ve just sliced in two like a blade. Damn, I’m not sure I could do that again. But... I’ve made so progress too, right?’
Step. Step. Step.
Adam stepped away from the wall, slowly moving toward the center.
"You were holding back your power, weren’t you?" he asked, looking at Gladius.
Strangely enough, Gladius shook his head.
"No. I lowered my energy level, yes, but I didn’t do anything else. If you were able to withstand two of my punches, then against a regular Baron, you could have withstood even more direct attacks. Sure, we didn’t use our abilities, but in that case, you wouldn’t have stood a chance."
"Huh... I bet so." Adam smiled bitterly.
This wasn’t the first ti Adam had seen Gladius in action, but every ti, Gladius had relied solely on his fists or aura. Adam had never seen Gladius use his abilities.
Then, Adam looked at Aiden.
"You said I’m ready to head to the Gray Sea. I’ll work with you, Aiden, but you do realize I still think you’re a piece of shit, right?"
Sano and Natta gasped. They could be bold with anyone, but not with Aiden.
Aiden, in turn, rested his hands on the railing.
"Of course. I’m not going to beco your friend, but it seems you no longer hate ."
This response caught Adam off guard.
"No... This is..."
Before Adam could answer, Aiden raised his hand.
"No need to make excuses. The point is, you can be angry at , but I’m sure you realize that my mistake two years ago turned out to be the greatest gift for you, didn’t it?"
Adam grimaced as he clenched his fists tightly.
"Sure, I’ve thought about it hundreds of tis, and I didn’t like that every ti there was less and less hatred for you inside . You were just lucky that I survived and was able to beco so strong and change my life and my family’s life for the better!"
"No."
Aiden’s sharp reply made Adam freeze.
"That day, you were the lucky one, not . If you had died as you were supposed to, I wouldn’t even have rembered you, ever. You would have been one of hundreds of obstacles on my path to my goal.
"Moreover, even if you had survived and beco moderately strong, like a K1 or K2 Level, that wouldn’t have been enough for to pay you any attention. You wouldn’t have been worthy of wasting my ti on you or helping you."
Adam clenched his jaw in anger.
What annoyed him wasn’t what Aiden was saying, but the fact that it was all true.
If he hadn’t reached K4-Level so quickly and gone through dozens of dangerous battles, Gladius simply wouldn’t have co to his ho and offered to help him with one of his conditions.
’No, not even that! If my path had been safer, I might not even have needed the blood of Queen Elisa. Every action I took led to standing here now!’
Even though Adam didn’t answer, Aiden understood everything from his expression before he leaped over the railing, stepping into the arena.
"Still, Adam, you can be proud of yourself. I rarely make mistakes, and even more rarely do I make mistakes that ultimately turn out to be a success, like you. You saw my list. Of all the people on it, only you beca an unexpected mber."
Adam waved his hand in anger.
"Do you think I don’t care about your list? You didn’t help with anything! I achieved my power only thanks to myself and Silvana!"
Aiden nodded as his amber eyes grew deeper, staring intently at Adam.
"For the most part, you’re right, but in so ways, you’re wrong. I gave you a start, even though that wasn’t part of my plan. And... right now, I’m helping you complete your path as a First Circle Phantom."
Step.
Suddenly, Adam stepped forward and grabbed Aiden by the collar.
"So what? You’re doing this for yourself, not out of good intentions!"
Aiden’s expression didn’t change at all, remaining just as calm.
"Is that a problem? You’ll get what you want, and I’ll get a powerful fighter for a possible Zero War. You’re still too young. You need to understand that you don’t have to be friends to cooperate and be allies."
Adam lowered his head, thinking about his words, still holding him firmly by the collar.
"What about the blood..."
"Hmm?" Aiden blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Gladius said that there are now only two vials of Queen Elisa’s blood left in the whole world. I used one, so... all three vials were with you. Why? Why, of all the powerful people at the Citadel, did you have her blood?"
For the first ti, sothing in Aiden’s gaze changed.
With a wave of his hand, Aiden pushed Adam’s hands aside, adjusting his collar.
"Her blood was just stored with , that’s it."
It was a dry and short answer, completely unlike how Aiden usually spoke.
At that mont, Adam realized sothing:
’I see. So this bastard is hiding sothing else, right?’
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