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"I wonder who will win this ti."
"Last year, young lady Christina won the match for her team!!"
"Of course, her team will win this ti too!"
"Isn't the Dukedom's son-in-law also participating?"
"Yeah! Have you heard the rumors about him?"
"Shhh! Don't say that!!"
The air around the stadium buzzed with anticipation.
People talked among themselves, their doubts and excitent echoed as they slowly filled the stadium.
Within the buzzing stadium, a man with dark chocolate hair and matching eyes in his late thirties sat with his legs resting on the seat in front of him, a pack of popcorn in his hand.
...Bradyn Shannon.
The renowned scientist of the Hysteria organization, known for his intelligence and combat experience.
...And the head scientist who watched over all the experints done on Azariah.
"Are you not going to take a seat, Mikhail?" he asked, munching on the popcorn as he glanced behind him to his left.
"...I am fine, sir." The man with light auburn hair replied quietly without eting his eyes.
"...You are going to make them suspicious." Glancing at the soldiers moving through the crowd, he ordered, "Sit down."
"...Yes, sir." Mikhail nodded softly before taking the seat beside him.
And even then, he kept his distance out of fear for him.
"Any problems?" Bradyn asked, glancing at him while munching.
"No, sir. Everything is going according to plan." Shaking his head, Mikhail replied firmly, "...But sir, is it a wise decision?"
Despite the firmness in his voice, he couldn't contain his doubts.
"...What is?" Bradyn asked, narrowing his eyes.
"...I an going after that woman's son." He sputtered, uneasiness creeping into his voice, "....Didn't mother tell everyone not to cross paths with her again?"
"...Tell , Mikhail, what does mother want?" Instead of clearing his doubts, Bradyn asked.
"...To make a new vessel for herself." Mikhail replied instantly, as everyone in the organization knew about it.
Bradyn gave him a knowing smile, hiding the actual reason to himself before he replied,
"...Our mother is the oldest vessel of [Primordial Evils] in this world. You still know nothing about her."
"...But why target him?" Frowning, Mikhail asked.
"...You know the fascinating thing about souls—you can't see or feel them, but you always know they are present within you." Grinning widely, Bradyn explained, his eyes hazily looking up, "...Sa for the spirits."
He glanced back at Mikhail as he questioned, "...Do you know how spirits form a contract?"
"I don't, sir." Shaking his head, Mikhail replied honestly.
"It's the soul...They use the soul as the dium for the contract." Bradyn replied, his voice lively, "...And the only reason one can't have more than one spirit is because their soul can't handle the burden."
Realization dawned upon Mikhail, his eyes widening, "...Then how could h—."
"Exactly!" Clapping his hands, Bradyn exclaid, "...How could he? What makes him so special that his soul can handle contracts with three spirits that even Ragnar couldn't achieve?"
"...That's quite sothing." Mikhail mumbled, deep in thought.
"And even though mother respects that woman...That doesn't an she would leave such a specin alone." Bradyn explained, "All we have to do is make sure he doesn't die. Mother will handle the rest."
"...Is mother also interested in him?" Mikhail gasped.
"Even for a mother who has thousands of years...She hasn't heard or seen anything like this." Bradyn inford, his gaze roaming on the field, "...But there are old rumors about soone like him living during the Akasha Holy War."
"Huh!?" He frowned, "...Who?"
"Mother didn't tell." Bradyn replied quietly.
His mind wandered back to when he asked the sa question, and all he got was the enraged pressure of the oldest vessel that nearly killed him.
"...He should be better off forgotten." He repeated her words, but that only made the curiosity within him increase.
"But what about that girl?" Voicing his concern, Mikhail asked, "The one with a contract with two spirits...Are we going to just let her be?"
"No." Shaking his head, Bradyn replied, "...Roen will take care of her when the ti is right."
"...I see." Mikhail nodded his head in agreent, "...But how are you going to experint on sothing like a soul?"
"...I will not do that." Shrugging, Bradyn replied, "...This ti, mother will be the one to look into him."
"Huh!?" Panic etched on his face as he groaned in disbelief, "...What? Won't he die if mother—."
"He won't die." Bradyn replied firmly, his lips curling up, "...I can say for sure he won't die."
"...Why?" Frowning, Mikhail asked, "...Why are you so sure?"
"That boy didn't break down even after getting experinted on for three whole months."
With a bright smile, Bradyn replied, "...Even after getting his inner muscles burned, frozen until he was half dead, and even after getting forcefully infused with the Ring of Andarnaur, he still lives. He should easily survive mother's curiosity."
His words made Mikhail shiver slightly.
He kept forgetting that even though Bradyn acts normally...He is still the mad scientist who killed his own family for knowledge of their bloodline.
"..I should check our escape routes." Mikhail inford, standing up and walking away.
"Which part are the explosions placed again?" Bradyn asked, making him turn back.
"Northern part." Mikhail answered, "Why do you ask?"
Bradyn remained silent for a while as he looked around the stadium until his gaze landed on the place where Duke David and his son sat in the special area reserved for them in the eastern part.
At last, his lips parted, "...Blow up the eastern part as well."
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Within the hallway of the stadium, a girl walked hastily, her caral hair bouncing around, her golden eyes looking forward anxiously.
Turning sharply, she arrived at the opening to the stadium ground.
She shielded her eyes from the sunlight.
"Sister!!"
A young girl with Balck hair exclaid, running towards her before wrapping her hands around Ashlyn.
"...What are you doing here, Tiffy?" Ashlyn asked softly, patting her back before glancing at the mature woman standing beside them.
The woman nodded her head slightly, "It's good to see you, Ashlyn."
"Sister Mina." She whispered, leaving her sister's embrace.
"...Ashlyn." She turned around, hearing her na as two more girls ca into view.
"Is she your sister?" Miley asked with a smile, glancing at Tiffany, while Aaliyah walked close to her.
"Yeah." Patting her back to make her step forward, Ashlyn replied.
"Hello." With a light bow, Tiffany greeted them, her teal eyes filled with curiosity.
"Aww, she is cute." Smiling blissfully, Miley pinched her cheeks.
"What happened?" On the other side, Ashlyn asked quietly, looking at Mina.
"Soone is definitely keeping an eye on Tiffany." Grabbing her hand, Mina replied, her voice distressful, "...And I don't feel good about this....I just brought her here to et with you."
"Why?" Frowning, Ashlyn asked, "...What did we do?"
"I don't know." Shaking her head, Mina replied, "...But we should do sothing about it....Can't any of your noble friends help her?"
At her words, an image of a purple-haired boy flashed in Ashlyn's mind.
Maybe he can help?
But she quickly bit her lips, dispersing those thoughts.
Maybe he can help her, but...Why would he?
...They have only known each other for a few months.
"Who is he?" Her trail of thoughts halted as she looked at her sister pointing at soone.
She followed her gaze until it landed on the purple-haired boy bickering with a silver-haired girl.
"Why do you ask?" Miley asked, frowning.
"...He seems familiar." Tiffany mumbled, her voice uncertain.
"No, he is a bad guy." Grabbing her hand, Miley scolded her, "...Stay away from him. If you go too close, he will kidnap you and do sothing really, really bad."
"Really?" Narrowing her eyes, Tiffany replied.
"Yeah." Miley nodded aggressively, "Wait, let give you sothing for self-protection."
"Can you stop tarnishing his na?" Ashlyn asked with an annoyed look on her face.
"..Can you stop believing in him too much." Miley rebuked, taking out a ring with a small yet sharp tip covered with thin glass, "...Stab anyone with this, and they will be paralyzed for a few minutes."
"Welco, ladies and gentlen, to the 34th Club House Competition of Pargoina Academy!" A voice echoed throughout the stadium, grabbing everyone's attention.
"We should go, Ashlyn." Aaliyah inford, looking at her.
"et after the competition." Looking at Mina, Ashlyn said before walking back.
"The tournant will be divided into two main parts."
The voice continued as the three moved back.
"The first part of the tournant will be a series of 2v2 matches. The victors of these matches will earn 10 points for their team!!"
"By the way, where are you guys sitting?" Turning back, Ashlyn asked, looking at them as they moved towards the audience.
"And now, for the second part of the compitition," the announcer said, his voice dropping slightly for dramatic effect.
"Teams of four will compete against each other for 50 points. But there's a twist – the location of this battle will remain a surprise until the mont it begins!"
"Why?" Tiffany asked, looking at her.
"Just tell ."
"And without further delay, the first two teams to compete in 2v2 are Team green led by sir Ivan and Team Red led by Lady Athela!!"
Cheers erupted throughout the stadium, masking Tiffany's words, but Ashlyn read her lips before repeating them.
"...Eastern part."
"Let the compitition begin!!"
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