Chapter 70: Reasons

  Whoosh.

  Claire’s wind drill brushed past Damon’s chest, rustling his robes. He had dodged it by a hair's breadth. After Claire passed him, she stumbled before collapsing onto the polished tiles of the platform.

  That’s it. She’s finally out of power.

  Even as he thought this, he prepared himself to evade any sudden attack she might have hidden. He was not so naive as to fall for a ploy like that. The duel would be finished cleanly, and he would emerge as the victor.

  Searing heat erupted from his eyes, and they became bloodshot. A grin tugged at his lips before he even realized it was there. A blazing ball of fire materialized in his right hand, the flames hot enough to make the air shimmer.

  He took a step toward the fallen Claire. Then another. It was time to deal the final blow.

  Claire got up onto her shaking legs and then looked away while covering her face with her hands. Before she looked away, Damon briefly caught her expression.

  Shame. Helplessness. Regret.

  Why did she look so sad and defeated? Weren’t they just having a fun, friendly duel?

  Wait.

  His steps faltered, and he came to a halt. His mind felt fuzzy.

  What am I doing? Why am I trying so hard to defeat her? Is this an aftereffect of the mind acceleration? Or…

  Withdrawing his Mindsense, he directed his concentration toward his Mind Node. There, attached to the side, the blood seed pulsated with a bright red light. Crimson, blood-like tendrils were attempting to seep into his Mind Node.

  With a mighty roar, his mental power crashed into the gleaming jewel-like parasite. He formed a few mind spikes and sent them hurtling through the space inside his mind, stabbing at the intruding foreign matter.

  Clang.

  The mind spikes barely left a scratch on the surface of the seed.

  This won’t do.

  He controlled the spikes to target the invading tendrils instead, piercing through them with ease. The pulsating red mass withdrew the remaining tendrils back into itself and turned back into the dull red jewel from before.

  That was close. I didn’t even notice it was influencing me this time. I need to keep a closer eye on it in the future… Hmm?

  As he inspected the now dormant blood seed, the strands he had cut off earlier began breaking apart and dissipating into pure white motes of energy. It wasn’t just any energy, but condensed spheres of powerful mental energy. The ownerless energy filled his mind with such strength, it felt like he would be able to wield twice the strength he previously could. This meant controlling double the number of projectiles or images, perhaps even crippling Initiates with his mind spikes.

  Damon grew excited. This energy had been formed by only a small section of the seed. If he could break apart the entire seed… The thought exhilarated him.

  Wait, can I absorb this?

  His Mind Node opened up on the opposite side from where the red jewel had latched on. But the moment he tried to absorb the excess mental energy, the seed began glowing with intense radiance, and thick roots shot out as it tried to get inside.

  Before it could, he closed off his Mind Node once more. It seemed he could use this seed for replenishing his mental power, but could not use it to cultivate. At least, until he could destroy it completely.

  The roots retracted into the seed, and it grew still again. Though the threat remained, he now had anticipation for the day he managed to break it down and absorb the mental energy within. His previous annoyance at being unable to cultivate his mind path vanished and was replaced with the eagerness to throw spikes at the seed as often as he could manage.

  Back on the platform, Damon came back to himself. Though the battle within his mind had seemed intense and extensive, only a few seconds had passed outside. Even so, sweat beaded his brows and trickled down his neck. His face had become paler, and his breathing grew heavy. Using mind spikes on himself was never pleasant. He would take some damage and pain whenever he attacked the jewel.

  As he breathed out a sigh, his clear eyes landed on Claire, who still had her face covered by both hands.

  Drip. Drip.

  Tears fell from the bottom of her chin. The sight caused a pang to stab into his chest.

  Silly girl, why are you so upset? You did your best, and so did I. Is it because you want to face Nox?

  He did not want to watch her cry any longer. He walked forward as the Fireball in his hand dissipated. He stopped right in front of her. Glancing up at the silent audience, and then the private box, and then finally Tidus flying above, he opened his mouth.

  “I concede.”

  Claire’s head snapped up as she stared at him with wide eyes. Her expression was completely different from before.

  Shock. Hope. Elation.

  Damon smiled at the change. He did not like seeing her cry. He wanted her to remain in high spirits, jumping around like a kid and running around while laughing.

  At that moment, the relief on her face twisted into something else as new emotions erupted from within her.

  “What do you mean? How dare you! Are you looking down on me?”

  Shuffling backward from the sudden outburst, Damon tripped on his own foot and fell onto his backside. He looked up at the fuming Claire. Her eyes were ablaze with anger, her face flushed with embarrassment, and her hair floating up as though she had reactivated her ability.

  “N… No… It’s not like that…” He muttered, frozen stiff by Claire’s furious reaction. He had conceded for her sake, so why was this her response?

  “Hah… Do you seriously expect me to believe that? You think you’re better than me now, don’t you? How dare you disrespect me like this! I refuse to accept it!”

  As Claire rushed forward with her left arm raised, fingers extended like claws, Tidus landed gracefully between the two of them.

  “Stop, Claire. The match is over. Damon has already conceded.” Tidus looked back at the fallen Damon with shining eyes. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

  “Yes, Senior Tidus.” Damon nodded and then faced Claire, who was still growling at him with a reddened face. “Claire, I’m not conceding because of any of that. I tried to finish the fight, but I ran out of arcane power. I couldn't even sustain my last Fireball.”

  Claire’s fierce countenance softened slightly as she looked closely at Damon. His body was drenched in sweat. The pallor on his face was similar to that of a sick patient.

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  “Are you… Telling the truth?”

  “Yes. I’m completely burnt out. I barely have the strength to pick myself up. Mind lending me a hand?” Damon held out his hand as he grinned at Claire.

  She walked past Tidus and reached down to clasp his hand. She pulled hard, bringing him up to his feet. With their hands still connected, Damon shook his arm up and down.

  “That was a great match. Next time, I’ll beat you for sure. I hope you don’t cry this much when I actually win.”

  Claire’s face had returned to normal as they shook hands, but she became flushed once more at his words. However, it vanished quickly as a radiant smile formed on her lips. “Yeah! It was a fun duel. Let’s do it again!”

  At this moment, the surprised crowd broke out into thunderous applause, followed by chaotic cheering. The deafening roar filled the entire Colosseum.

  At the commentator’s terrace, Wesley embraced the crystal orb in front of him as he cried out with joy alongside the audience. It truly had been a breathtaking and close duel. The best one of the tournament so far. But strangely, he thought he heard someone yelling in pain and loss. He glanced to his left and saw Alan slumped down on the ground, a wooden slip shattered into countless pieces in front of him.

  “Tsk. Tsk. That’s why you don’t gamble.” Wesley gloated just loud enough that it would be drowned out by the celebration. He wasn’t brave enough to actually say that to Alan’s face. Especially not when he was at his lowest.

  The hubbub from the spectators gradually died off, but the excitement in the air lingered. Nobody rushed to leave as they continued to snack and finish their meals while discussing Damon and Claire’s duel.

  On the platform, Tidus grasped Damon’s shoulder and gave him a gentle smile.

  “Good job, son. I’m proud of you.”

  Shivers ran down Damon’s spine at Tidus’s tone and words. He could never get used to Tidus’s acting. Even so, he still smiled back at him, albeit only slightly. But it faded immediately when he caught sight of Claire’s limp right hand. He pointed toward it.

  “Don’t you need to get that checked?”

  Claire smiled reassuringly and shook her head. “It’s fine.”

  “I know what your ability does to your body, Claire. You should head to the infirmary immediately. Or go pay your grandfather a visit. There are two weeks until the Finals, so you should have time to heal.”

  Tidus instructed her as though he were an empathetic teacher. Claire just nodded in response while watching Damon pick up the bow he had thrown aside when he cast his first Lesser Shardburst.

  Damon took the chance to ask more about Wind God’s Fury. “Hey Claire, that ability of yours was truly formidable. Can you tell me more about it? Also, why is it called Wind God’s Fury? Can you actually harness the power of a god?”

  Claire blushed deeply as she fidgeted with her robes. She drew circles on the ground with the tip of her boots before she replied, “Actually… I discovered the ability when I was very young. I just… I thought the name was really cool back then…”

  Damon looked at her with a blank expression for a second. Then, he doubled over, his laughter ringing across the arena.

  “Pfft! Hahaha!” While clutching his stomach, Damon tried to hold back his laughter. After all, Claire’s face was as red as a ripened tomato. “It’s… A very cool name. Really. I’m not lying.”

  Glaring daggers at Damon, who was struggling to keep a straight face, Claire harrumphed and turned around to leave. Tidus followed her to make sure she was safe.

  Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes, Damon saw the two figures swiftly disappear through the archway entrance. He quickly gathered the arrows he had used during the duel and ran after them. He still had more questions to ask, and he also needed to arrange a private meeting with Claire after she had recovered.

  “Hey, Claire! Wait for me!”

  Over the next few days, Damon had numerous visitors. First, Lilith had brought along Nolan to barge into his villa and choke him by his collar while demanding answers. It took several hours of explanation and bribery with sweets before she finally calmed down and left. However, she had made a mess in the room, so it took a couple of hours more to clean that up.

  Next came Dylan. He came to console Damon about his loss and asked some very strange questions. Constantly muttering something about a sister-in-law. Perhaps he had a brother back at his mortal home who was getting married? Damon did not understand, but he just smiled and nodded to everything Dylan said. This caused him to become certain of his presumption. He left in a daze, his thoughts filled with imaginary wedding ideas.

  Finally, Damon was visited by Alan. Initially, he had planned on inviting Alan in. However, the ominous feeling seeping in through the cracks of his door caused him to pause and retreat into his bedroom. He stayed quietly hidden for hours as Alan ceaselessly knocked and called out.

  His premonition proved correct because he had seen Alan’s figure creeping around and peeking through the windows as well. The grim expression on Alan’s face showed that he had a grudge to settle. Why? Damon had no idea. He had not even seen Alan since the meeting several months before the tournament began. When had he offended Alan? It was a mystery.

  This actually persisted for three whole days before Alan stopped showing up. However, Damon continuously glanced over his shoulder whenever he left his villa. He had been frightened into jumping at the smallest flickering shadow. Once, he had even run away at full speed when a cat jumped out from some nearby bushes. He knew he should just meet Alan to deal with whatever problem there was, but he was too scared at the moment. He resolved to meet him once the Crucible Convergence was over.

  At long last, the day before the finals had arrived. Tomorrow, he would face Erik, and Claire would fight Nox. Damon had arranged to meet Claire at the training grounds he usually occupied.

  Damon stood in the center of the dirt field, gazing up at the passing clouds. The breeze was cool, and the clouds provided shade against the harsh sunlight. The musty scent of dirt and sweat lingered in his nose, but it did not disgust him. Instead, it was a pleasant reminder of the countless days he had spent laboring away on this block of land, training for the tournament.

  He withdrew Dawn’s Edge and played with it in his hands. In the past few days, he had been attempting to create a new ability using his mental power. He had actually taken inspiration from Nox’s Chaosblade. Though it couldn’t be said to be mastered, his idea definitely had merit. He could potentially use it during the finals.

  “Hey, Damon! I’m hereeeee!” The soft but energetic voice he knew all too well resounded from the edge of the training grounds. Damon turned around and saw Claire sprinting towards him, her loose blonde hair fluttering in the air.

  “Hey, Claire!” Damon smiled and waved. Then he looked down at her bandaged right hand. “Is your hand still not healed?”

  “Phew!” Claire leaped the last few dozen feet and landed lightly on her heels. Grinning, she shook her head. “Nope!”

  “Then what are you going to do for tomorrow’s match?”

  “It will be fine! The physicians told me that it should be healed by tomorrow once I take my final dose of healing potions.”

  “Ah, I see. That’s good then. I was worried.”

  Claire buzzed with excitement, even more so than usual.

  “Hehe. Thanks for worrying about me! Now, why did you call me here? You even arranged this meeting right after our semi-finals match.”

  “I have something to give you.”

  Happiness bubbled inside her, and her eyes gleamed with anticipation. However, she deflated a little when she saw the weapon in Damon’s hand. He held out the golden sword. It was so small, it wouldn’t even be called a shortsword. It was closer to a dagger in size, but the shape was undoubtedly a sword.

  “Oh… What’s this? A dagger?”

  “It’s my strongest weapon. It’s called Dawn’s Edge. I wanted to give it to you to use as a trump card against Nox tomorrow.”

  “I see.”

  Claire seemed a little down all of a sudden. Damon had no idea why. After all, he had given her his Dawn’s Edge. Shouldn’t she be elated?

  “Here, take it.” Damon shook Dawn’s Edge.

  “Fine.” Claire begrudgingly grabbed it. “What do I do with it? How do I use it?”

  “You just have to throw it at Nox. You don’t have to do anything else.”

  Claire glared at Damon. “What does that mean? Is it so powerful that a mere throw will be enough to defeat someone? Even if it’s a high-tier artifact, it will be hard to manipulate it with something like wind control. Perhaps an innate metal affinity might be able to. Do you expect me to control it myself?”

  Damon glanced around and then faced Claire. His face was filled with a strange determination. “No, I’ll be controlling it.”

  “What? How? If you try to use wind control, that old fogey Tidus will definitely catch you. Every Disciple and above will be able to see through it. What’s the real reason you’re giving this to me? Do you think I can only win by relying on your cheating?”

  “No. I know you can defeat him by yourself. This is for the final attack. We need to teach him a lesson he won’t forget, right?”

  After saying that, Damon took a deep breath and braced himself. This was the first time he was trusting someone with his biggest secret.

  “As for the control… I won’t be using wind. Or metal. Or any element at that. I will be using… My mind.”

  Claire’s eyes sprang wide open as she scrutinized his face to ascertain if he was lying. Seeing the serious expression on his face, she gasped as she covered her mouth.

  “Then… That means… You’re a mind path cultivator?”

  “That’s right. I am a Psion.”

  Damon finally revealed his mind cultivation for the first time!