"And why do you think," he asked calmly, "that I’ll be the only one facing the consequences?"
"Because you would be offending him?" Neptunia asked, genuinely confused now. Her brows knit together as she tried to follow where his words were going. "I an... that’s obvious, isn’t it?"
Razeal shook his head slowly.
The motion was small, dismissive almost lazy but the look in his eyes changed. The indifference that usually cloaked him peeled back just enough to reveal sothing sharper beneath.
"If that’s the logic," he said calmly, "then if he says anything to , wouldn’t that an he’s offending too?" His lips curved upward, not into a smile, but into sothing closer to a sneer. "Shouldn’t it be him who keeps his mouth shut if he doesn’t want consequences?"
Neptunia stared at him, montarily stunned by the sheer audacity of the statent.
"But... he’s the king," she said slowly, as if explaining sothing painfully obvious to a child. "The strongest being in the world."
She said it with absolute certainty. To her, this wasn’t belief it was fact. She had grown up beneath that shadow, had never seen anyone stand above it.
Razeal didn’t even blink.
"I don’t care if he’s your father," he replied, his voice low and even, "or the king, or whatever title you want to stack on his head." He took a step closer, closing the distance between them without hesitation. "He should be the one afraid of offending too."
Neptunia looked at him with her lips twitching.. He doesn’t look like he’s joking.
Razeal lifted a finger and placed it lightly against her shoulder as he leaned in, close enough that she could feel his presence without him exerting any pressure at all.
"So pray," he murmured, his tone soft but edged with sothing dangerous, "that he doesn’t offend . Because if he does... he’ll be the one dealing with the consequences."
For a second, the world around them seed to freeze.
Neptunia just stared at him, her mind struggling to process what she had just heard. It wasn’t arrogance alone.. she had seen plenty of that even so was very arrogant sotis when co to it. But this was sothing else. A logic so warped, yet delivered with such calm conviction, that it left no room for imdiate rebuttal.
She slowly turned her head toward Maria, eyes wide, silently asking the only question she could think of.
Is this real?
Maria looked back at her, expression dull, tired, almost resigned. She gave the smallest shake of her head, a silent warning as if saying.
Don’t say anything. Let it go. His screws are loose.
Neptunia just went speachless..
High above them, inside the secluded VIP spectator chamber, the atmosphere was entirely different.
The King of Atlantis leaned back slightly on his throne, his massive fra relaxed, one hand stroking his long royal-blue beard. A low chuckle escaped him, deep and amused, echoing faintly through the chamber.
"He’s a fun kid," the king said with a grin. "Just as I thought. Anyone who catches your interest, Lady risa, was never going to be boring."
His eyes glimred with sothing close to delight as he watched the scene unfold below. "To say I should be careful not to offend him... I don’t think I’ve ever heard confidence expressed quite like that."
risa, seated beside him, covered part of her face with one hand, fingers pressing lightly against her temple. For a brief mont, she looked utterly exasperated caught between chuckle and a headache.
"...Honestly," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. Then, after a few seconds, she let out a quiet chuckle of her own.
"It seems he wants to participate in the competition," she said at last. Her gaze never left Razeal. "May I ask a favor and allow him to join?"
The king’s eyebrows rose slightly.
"Oh?" he said, amused. "From what I can tell, the kid wants second place hmmm."
He smoothed his beard thoughtfully, eyes narrowing as pieces clicked into place. "From there conversation.. it seems they wants a location too so place.. which only i can give."
"And now that i think about it.. you asked about Ocean Black earlier... I thought it odd. But now it seems to be making sense."
He glanced sideways at risa, his tone warm rather than accusatory. "I presu he’s the reason you ca here. This can’t be coincidence."
risa smiled faintly and shook her head.
"He’s my son," she said simply.
The words landed heavier than any declaration of power.
The king’s expression shifted surprise flickering openly across his face as he looked from risa back down to Razeal.
"...Ah."
He studied Razeal more carefully now, eyes tracing the sharp angles of his face, the posture, the way he carried himself. The hair and eyes were different, yes but there were similarities. Subtle ones in facial features. The kind you only noticed once you knew to look.
"..Ohh this is surprising noww," the king said slowly, then laughed. "But no wonder you’d go so far as to ask for a favor over sothing like this."
He leaned back again, still smiling. "That explains quite a lot now."
"I give my word.. I am serious."
risa’s voice was calm, steady, and carried a weight that bent the air around it. She spoke without raising her tone, yet the authority behind it was unmistakable as her gaze rested gently almost painfully on the distant figure of Razeal below.
"There’s no need to ask for a favor," King said as slightly turning toward the her. "This isn’t a big thing for you to do. And since he seems to be friends with my daughter..." his lips paused for a fraction of a second before he went on. "It’s fine if he participates. Whether he wins or loses will depend entirely on him though. Because I won’t interfere on that."
King was simply studying her this woman whose na alone could shake worlds, who could demand favors without even lowering her head yet had just asked for sothing so small, so personal.
He was truly surprised. At their level, words were heavier than gifts and luxuries. To give one’s word was to bind fate itself. And yet the she had asked and said it as if it were nothing, And request wasn’t even worth it.. Just small thing.
"I’d be thankful then," risa said quietly quite surprised at kings kindness and generosity.. He even rejected to put her in debt to him.
The king laughed softly, a warm, genuine sound that echoed faintly through the chamber.
"Don’t worry about it," he said, waving one large hand dismissively. "It’s obvious you want to do sothing for him. And honestly, I don’t think anyone of our level would ask for such a small thing unless it mattered deeply."
He leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing with quiet understanding. "Though i can see there seems to be a complicated relationship between you two as you even going this farr."
risa blinked.
For the briefest mont, her composure cracked.. Is she this Obious now? She genuinely wondered surprised as usually no one can see what’s going on in her head.. And now so simply being seen through? She thought for so seconds before just shaking her head.. not wanting to think about it as just letting it go.. as a soft smile appeared on her lips small, restrained, but sincere.
"I just want to do so much for him," she admitted, her voice lowering. "But he doesn’t want to accept anything from . I don’t know what else I can do."
The king watched her for a second longer as seeing complicacy but he chose to not directly say anything on on this matter ..before collecting right words and speaking his tone gentler now.
"It’s hard to take care of kids, isn’t it?" he said with a faint chuckle. "Don’t stress yourself too much. Give them ti. They can be complicated.. especially with themselves and us even about our decisions about them. One day, they’ll understand for sure."
He paused, studying her more closely.
"You know," he added, "I don’t know why, but it feels like you’ve lost the spirit you had back then. You’ve matured, yes... but perhaps in a bad way i’d say."
risa lowered her eyes.
"I... I don’t really know," she murmured, shaking her head slightly. The uncertainty in her voice was real, unguarded.
---
Below, everything changed in an instant.
"All right. Let’s see how it goes."
Razeal’s voice was casual..
Before Neptunia could even react, he placed one foot on the low stone wall separating the spectator stands from the arena. The movent was so sudden, so natural, that it took a second for anyone to process what he was doing.
Then he jumped.
Straight down.
"No you dumbassssss!" Neptunia’s breath hitched as she watched him disappear over the edge. "This idiot... why doesn’t he ever listen to anyone?! He’s definitely going to anger my father now!"
Around her, spectators gasped.
People rose to their feet in shock as a lone figure plumted from the stands into the sacred arena right into the heart of the Royal Challenge. The audacity of it left even seasoned Atlantians speechless.
Razeal fell like a teor.
Before he struck the arena floor dead center.
The impact sent a violent ripple through the water soaked stone, cracks spiderwebbing outward as a shallow crater ford beneath his feet. The pressure wave blasted outward, forcing the two combatants who had been fighting to stumble back, their balance shattered by the sheer force of his landing.
Silence followed.
An unnatural, suffocating silence.
Thousands.. no, millions of eyes locked onto the lone figure standing at the center of the arena nos. Soone had just interrupted a royal match. In front of the king. During a sacred tradition.
Impudent didn’t even begin to cover it.
"Oiii, chikky boy."
The voice was lazy, amused.
The handso examiner of the first stage stood with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, head tilted slightly as he looked at Razeal with open curiosity rather than anger.
"This is against the rules," the prince said lightly. "So tell .. did you fell, or did you jump?"
A faint grin tugged at his lips. "Depending on your answer, I might forgive you. Think carefully."
The other participant a large man gripping a massive sword ..Who just just thrown little away due to impact said nothing. He simply stepped aside, expression tight.. Soone interrupted his match.. But still he didn’t act since this wasn’t his concern. The examiner would handle it.
Razeal straightened from his crouch, dust and fine cracks settling around his boots as even sticking since it was wet. He lifted his head and t the prince’s gaze without hesitation, his expression unreadable.
"I want to participate in this competition," he said plainly.
"Oh?" The prince’s brows rose slightly..
----
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