The Absolute: Humanity's Second Chance

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom

"Sixteen, if I remember correctly." Damien replied, and Adonis sighed once more. "Well... at least there are other perks of having a domain, right?" He bitterly added.

Nobody cheered him up, and they just enjoyed the temporary silence brought forth. Until when, a shout could be heard from outside their current room.

"I refuse!! I refuse to agree to these settings!! I absolutely refuse!!" A rather young sounding voice rang out in anger throughout the whole castle. And by the sound of it, it was getting closer and closer.

"Any... matters at hand?" Damien asked, and though embarrassed, Adonis forced a smile, "None that I am aware of. Please, allow me to resolve it."

"No, it's fine. You can resolve the matters here, if you don't mind." Damien added, and Adonis nodded. Then signaled to Sixth to open the door.

"..."

And Sixth obediently did so, opening the door, only to reveal a young man adorned in a purple noble attire, with his long blonde hair, and a sword at hand.

Behind him were guards that were knocked out cold. "Huh..?" The young man froze in motion of opening the door, as it opened way before he could do it himself.

Then he looked up, and was pressured briefly by the many eyes staring at him. Some of apathy, some of curiosity, some of uninterest, some of bitterness, a chorus of varying gazes.

'Wh–What's going on...? Why does it seem like they were expecting me?' He thought, wary and cautious. 'What now..? All their presence... supersedes my own!!'

"Please, be it ease and make yourself at home, young master Lanzelet." Adonis said, showing the young man an empty sofa not far away from Harold's position.

"..."

The new entrant called Lanzelet, remained frozen and carefully appraised the room. He felt danger from everyone, but threat from a select few. 'The two overly beautiful couple there, the guard before me, the maid behind the prince... I should not–'

"We don't have much time. If you cannot enter, let us know of your purpose right there, then." Damien said, slightly scaring Lanzelet, "Or perhaps, you want us to see you as an enemy instead?" He added.

...!!!

And with those words, the four greatest threats within the room, became even more dangerous to his senses. 'I'll die... I'll really die!!!' He thought, holding his breathe.

"Now now, let's not be hasty here." Harold said, and smiled at Lanzelet. "What is your purpose of visiting us today, young master? Take your time, relax, and breathe in."

"..."

Lanzelet did as he was told, and that helped calm his nerves by a bit. Then he said, "...I cannot allow this to happen. I... I won't allow you to take what my family has spent years building, just because you can... I won't!!"

He grit his teeth, his Mana being subconsciously riled up, and manifesting as red aura around his body. 'A master profession? A swordsmaster to boot. How interesting.' Thought Damien.

Adonis kept his bitter smile, and said, "...I see. And I understand, but unfortunately, it's a royal decree, young master Lanzelet. Not something–"

"To the deepest pits of hell with that!! I challenge you for the position of city lord!! Now!!" He roared, his eyes blazing with rage and frustration, as his aura burst out.

Bang~

The platform below his legs, and the door frames abruptly shattered into web-like cracks due to the pressure he let out.

'Now isn't this interesting? Sword aura, huh?' Damien mumbled to himself, a hint of smile creeping up onto his face. Sixth also had the same thoughts, 'About time something interesting took place around here.'

Meanwhile, Juliette and Fiona sighed, feeling pity for Adonis. Harold and his peers were not bothered, as they showed only a hint of interest.

"Look here, young master Lanzelet, you can't just come here and challenge a royal decree. You can't do–"

"It's alright, miss Fiona. I accept." Adonis interrupted Fiona's words, surprising her a bit. "Adonis..." "It's fine. There's no need for you to worry, miss Fiona. I know what I'm doing."

He assured her, standing up and facing Lanzelet. "I agree to your challenge. If I lose, you can obtain rights to the city as usual, and if I win, you are to serve under me as a knight. How does that sound, young master Lanzelet?"

He boldly added, picking up a sword as well. 'I understand how you feel, but that... does not mean I am willing to back down on my goals and ambitions. I apologize.'

"Agreed. But... how am I to trust you that you will keep your word after you lose?" Lanzelet accepted with a query of doubt.

"I'll forge a legal contract for you two. How does that sound?" Damien said, and though Lanzelet wanted to ask who he was, he held himself back.

'If I did, I'd die.' He thought, side eyeing the guard that stood besides the door. 'I'd definitely die!!' And he was very much sure about that. The senses of a swordsman were potent.

"Many thanks, sir Damien." Adonis lightly bowed in gratitude, convincing Lanzelet that Damien was of a higher status. 'Strange, who is this man..? This situation is too cryptic, but I have no other choice.'

"Alright, I accept. When do we duel?"

"Today. Right now." Adonis answered, taking the lead and leaving the the room first. Lanzelet glanced back at the room one last time, and followed after him.

"Let's go." Damien stood up, and Juliette followed after. Then likewise, the rest also did so, Ninth being the last member to leave the room... right after cleaning up.

Soon, everyone stood around the training ground of the estate, watching Adonis standing off against Lanzelet. "Is this really okay?" Fiona sighed. "...Guys." She added in disappointment.

"Nothing we can do about it, they are brutes." Juliette shrugged with her response.

"..."

Ninth did not say anything, but nodded in agreement. "You're right. They are just so senseless, and rash." Added Kiara.

All the women had a single agreement pertaining to the men around them. Yet the same men around them, were more than shameless enough to ignore them.

"Who do you think will win?" Damien asked, none of the words from the other side registering to him. "I'd say the one I personally trained, but then again, that boy is a born genius in terms of the sword." Sixth replied.

He then concluded, "So it'll be hard. The boy Adonis isn't half bad himself with the sword. But as for the winner, it is already given." He snickered.

"I agree. Even from an intellectual standpoint point, I have to agree that the winner is already determined here." Harold added from his standpoint.

'You guys...' Meanwhile, Lloyd sighed at the corner by himself. He was incapable of being shameless to this point. 'How are you not affected by those words.' He felt pained.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Lanzelet had a look of reminisce on his face. 'I remember practicing swordsmanship here, everyday, with master. Yet, here I am... fighting for my family's honor, right on this very piece of land.'

"Shall we?" Adonis stood at attention and held his sword ready. His stance was steady, graceful and majestic. The Adam household's royal swordsmanship.

"..."

Lanzelet did not speak, and instead also stood at attention with his own sword stance. 'I will win, and once I do... I'll send you crawling back to the capital city!!'

He kicked off the ground and rushed towards the opponent like a gale of wind. He then swung his sword from an acute angle, straight towards Adonis' neck.

'Straight for the kill..?' Adonid thought, yet to his surprise, he was not as worried as he thought he would be. Not one bit. Nor was he agitated, or nervous.

He heard about Lanzelet's reputation as a sword genius, and the fact that he also had a swordsmaster as a teacher from a very young age to accompany him.

While he, on the other hand, was born frail and weak, and dumped himself in books. He only began swordsmanship two months ago, when his class enhanced his physical condition greatly.

Yet... right now, he felt like the latter was too slow!! 'Compared to senior Sixth, young master Lanzelet is a bit too slow. I can easily read his movements.' He thought, raising his sword to block the strike.

...!!!

But to more of his surprise, he saw the sword from Lanzelet swiftly change direction from his neck, and towards his waist, like a snake twisting itself in a dance.

'A fluke..?!' He finally panicked, and clumsily blocked the strike with fast reflexes. An instinctive response thanks to Sixth's usual beatings. 'He blocked it?!' Lanzelet frowned and retreated.

'He's not bad, no, he's actually good.' He assessed, charging over for yet another strike. And this time, Adonis was more than ready and aware.

Lanzelet threw a flurry of sword strikes at him, and he did an amazing job at blocking each and everyone of them, albeit on the retreat at every strike blocked.

Their stance and sword postures making them resemble elegant dancers, and the ringing sounds echoing out as their swords clashed, creating the perfect melody for them.