Kill The Old Ones!

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He was toying with her...

Anything else used to describe what this fight was would be flattering, but the sad and cold truth is simply just that Ren was toying with Aria. He did not take her seriously at all.

Because why would he? She can’t defeat him?

She lost the contest of strength. That was foolish of her; she’d admit that much. But when that didn’t work, she tried speed instead. Yet even that didn’t work.

In terms of defense? Ren proved his invincibility—be it physical or elemental, he took it all without wincing. He was a looming, immovable wall.

At this point, what else does Aria have that she could use to defeat him?

Aria spent the time she was kneeling in pain to think about that. As her body trembled in pain and she struggled to stand up from receiving a single punch to her stomach, her thoughts churned violently in desperate attempts to figure out how to defeat Ren.

And so far, she came up with nothing.

It’s silly because she even thought about provoking him. She wanted to hurl insults at him. She wanted to search for a crack in his defenses that she could use to provoke a reaction from Ren.

It was a dirty tactic, very lowly and unbecoming, especially for someone of her status. But it was tempting.

That said, she rejected it eventually, for Ren’s composure was plain and obvious.

It wouldn’t work. Aria was convinced of that even before she tried it. She would just make a fool of herself if she tried. She still can’t guess Ren’s intentions using her talent. The only times when she did were when it was plainly obvious, and in those times, death was practically inhaling her scent.

And it vexed her so.

Because she came up here determined to get revenge for her boyfriend. He lay still in the medic bay, eyes unfocused and completely dispirited. Every time she recalled his expression, her heart ached for him.

The culprit was here. He didn’t hide, didn’t cower, and didn’t look away or guilty at all. He took her so-called judgment head-on, and it failed to elicit even the slightest bit of reaction.

He was simply too strong. And Aria never once even thought that she, or Sieg, was the wrong party here. That just made everything taste even bitter for her.

Now, she can’t even stand up straight.

She could still feel his punch. It’s reverberating in her body even after minutes have passed.

And Ren...he just stood there, watching her attempt to stand up like she’s a newborn mare—unstable, weak, and unsure.

The corner of Aria’s eyes misted. She felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She never felt so weak and helpless. Hell, she can’t even hold on to her weapons at all.

And when she tried to step forward through her stubbornness, her body betrayed her. She faltered and fell down, ungraciously, too.

She never tried to stand up again after that. She wanted to, but her body absolutely refused to move.

In the end, Terry announced the conclusion of the fight.

She didn’t even see Ren walking away from her and the dismissive look in his eyes. She just stared blankly as the medics carried her to the med bay to be healed.

So much for the scared-grade talent...

She was beaten by a man with inferior talent and great limitations. How embarrassing. She shamed not only herself, but also her family, and most especially, her boyfriend.

It’s unknown if she, or Sieg, will ever recover from this loss.

**

’Well, there go the ’star-crossed’ lovers, tasting real defeat for the real first time.’

Ren sighed as he sat on his throne.

It still feels surreal for some reason.

He still couldn’t quite believe that this day came—the day where he would fight the very protagonist of a book he used to read about in his previous life and actually defeat them.

It hasn’t even been that long since they were mere fiction to him—characters in a trashy martial arts novel that somehow grabbed his attention and consumed his evenings.

He never thought that there’d come a day where he’d be standing on the same stage as them. He also never thought that he’d be the first person to truly make them taste bitter defeat.

Yet here he was, doing exactly just that.

In the story, Aria and Sieg meet their first true defeat facing somebody from another empire, one that’s just way better than them. But in this story, it was Ren who made them realize that they were far from being adequate to truly stand at the top of this kingdom.

Simply put, they’re not cheating enough.

Aria’s talent was a cheat; Sieg’s master and his true hidden potential were also cheats. And in the canon story, the person who made them taste their first real defeat was an even bigger cheater.

But Ren? He was the biggest cheater of them all because he knows a lot about this world. The things he got so far were only things he had access to right now. There are still plenty for him to grab once he’s out of here.

Ren wasn’t sad, though. He genuinely didn’t regret slapping both Aria and Sieg back to reality.

He may have read their story, but that doesn’t mean that he liked them as people. Among the main cast, Ren only liked a single one, and that was Lily. The rest could go to hell and he wouldn’t lose sleep over them.

Ren wasn’t even worried about what this would do to the plot. At this point, he had changed so much about the timeline and events that he was in awe that the main things were still happening on schedule.

He was expecting the major events to change drastically after everything he did, but for the most part, everything’s still the same.

It was truly unexpected and somewhat funny for him. Nevertheless, he’s still thankful for it and wished that it’d remain that way.

But even if it couldn’t, Ren wouldn’t be bothered too much. He’d keep going forward because that’s what required of him.

’Martial arts is motion.’ This isn’t just some discipline when it comes to practicing martial arts; it’s a way of life. Those who do not move forward stagnate and get buried underground. Ren knew this at the bottom of his heart, and therefore, he knows what he must do.

He cannot stop just because he’s afraid of changing the canon timeline and events. The best he could do was to move steadily forward, ensuring that each step he took was stable and firm so that his foundations would never be shaken.

At some point, Terry announced the conclusion of today’s fights.

Ren has been undefeated so far, and there are only three people for him to defeat to win this whole thing: Darius Stormholt, Aurelia Valentine, and Kael Ashcroft—his fellow seeded participants.

Those matches will happen tomorrow, which will also be the last day of the finals. Ren could tell that this was done on purpose by the organizers to build as much hype as possible.

He didn’t complain; he understood why they had to interfere. And to be honest, he preferred it to be this way. At least, tomorrow will be a bit exciting for him.

After the dismissal, Ren walked out of the stadium and was planning on returning to his room, but on his way there, he heard a familiar voice.

It was Lily...

She was on a video call with her father. Ren saw her fond and exasperated expression as she listened to her father’s rants and proclamations.

Ren recalled Richard Heartveil as a dork of a man, and from what he heard so far, that seemed to be true.

”...Alright, Dad, I get it. I’m fine, okay? Tomorrow’s the last day; I’ll be home after that. I’ll hang up now.”

He saw Lily sigh in fondness after hanging up. Then, she turned around and saw him standing not too far away from her.

Ren saw her gasp, then blush healthily—probably in embarrassment—before schooling her expression.

”How long have you been standing there?” She asked.

Ren wore an amused smile and replied: ”Not too long. I didn’t want to intrude, but this is also the way to my room in here. I reckon I’ll just wait instead of creating a misunderstanding with your father.”

Had he continued walking, the camera would’ve caught his face and figure, and if her father saw that, he would have questions. Lily was completely aware of this, and it seems that Ren was too.

So, his waiting saved him the trouble and the headache of explaining something non-existent...

”...I appreciate that,” she muttered just loud enough for him to hear, and then she averted her eyes.

Lily desperately hoped that, in this close proximity, Ren couldn’t hear her fierce heartbeat.

But oh, he could. He most certainly could.

And for someone who had been single for a very long time, Ren just couldn’t pass up this chance.

”Hey, wanna have dinner with me?”