Chapter 98 - Anger and Calmness

At the moment of the attack, Nerun used his great reflects that were being enhanced from the previous practice, as well as his ocular meridians, and all his remaining energy to defend himself from Cynthia's attack and actually jumped backwards in the midst of her strike, effectively mitigating its might by more than 95%. Still, he was hurt somewhat, since as Cynthia had thought, he was quite tired, however, he managed to withstand her surprise attack.

Cynthia also noticed that the damage done to Nerun, while not completely negated, was greatly diminished. She then understood that she might have made a mistake before. A huge mistake at that. However, it was already too late, since it was difficult to get down from a tiger once you mounted it, so she decided to strike a second time and ask later. She accumulated her Qi, and was about to attack Nerun once again.

The main examiner was prepared this time, and was about to interfere. Karel also sent a signal to Toby who was also about to meddle. Nerun himself was about to defend with his full power and a taboo technique, however, it was unnecessary.

"I dare you to hit him one more time."

- STEP, STEP, STEP -

A great bloodlust engulfed the room, as Cynthia was suddenly paralized as she felt a great monster looking at her. Steps sounded in the room, as a cold looking young adult, with leonine and heroic features entered. It was Elijah, who was in the office of the Headmaster of the Military School, Berial Dao Soltana. When Nerun used the Qi Revolution, it was not only Karel and company who felt the attack, but Elijah and Berial who are masters in their own right, felt it as well. They came since Elijah wanted to check on Nerun, and Berial decided to join him to give him face, and also meet the brother of this young Dragon General. They arrived right when Cynthia had attacked Nerun by surprise.

Cynthia turned back, as her countenance went pale. However, she managed to control herself, since she was certain that everything would go alright for her. After all, this was her homeground, and Headmaster Berial was right next to Elijah. Berial was a Qi Saint, and stronger than Elijah, so she had nothing to fear, and simply looked coldly towards Elijah as if everything she had done was completely justified.

Elijah turned towards Nerun and saw the blood in his mouth, as well as the mark in his face, and he could not help but feel the rage almost consume him. Berial had an ugly grimace on his face, and he was regretting putting Cynthia in charge of testing Elijah's brother. After all, even if Nerun was more of a waste, he was still the brother of a Dragon General, and if he did not treat this carefully, thing could escalate quite quickly. Military discipline was of paramount importance, however, disciplining the brother of a Dragon General right in front of him, was tantamount to completely slapping his face. He was trying to come with a solution quickly.

When Karel and his attendants looked at Elijah and Berial, they immediately noticed their power, and Toby even assumed a defensive posture right next to Karel. After all, the bloodlust being emanated from Elijah was quite tangible. He could feel a horrible sensation all over his body, and it was trying to suffocate him and his companions. This was actually just a misconception, since this was just a small loss of control of Elijah's emotions, which made his Will impose upon the world. This was a natural mecanism that most Qi Emperors used prior to using their Will Domain.

Toby was quite surprised, since he noticed that just the bloodlust emitted by this young man was actually quite close to a Will Domain, and he could not simply imagine how much power would Elijah actually be able to release, were he to fight with his full power.

Cynthia then straightened herself and said: "This was just a small punishment for insubordination. I was teach…".

- SLAAAAAAP -

Her words were cut short by a slap hurled by Elijah which sent her right onto the ground, making cracks appear on the floor. Cynthia had her eyes wide opened, since she never even believed for a second that Elijah would dare to hit her with Berial being present. The side of her face was mildly distorted, and there was a great amount of blood flowing from her mouth. Reno who saw her sister being slapped clenched his teeth and was about to yell when Berial sent him a look to remain quiet.

Berial had also not thought that Elijah would dare attack with him present, and he got infuriated. That being said, he was also surprised, since he was a level 86 Saint, however he had not felt Elijah's moves till they had already happened, which made his pupils constrict. This meant that Elijah's speed when attacking right now was actually a little bit beyond his reaction. He could not help but reevaluate this Dragon General Elijah in front of him.

Berial quickly went to the side of Cynthia and was about to rebuke Elijah

"Talking in front of a superior officer without permission. Is that not insubordination, retired General Berial?" said Elijah with the same cold countenance, as if he had done nothing improper.

Berial's words were held right in his throat. Cynthia's excuse for attacking Nerun was talking without permission, and she had actually addressed two superior officers without asking for permission first. She was accustomed to doing so in front of Vega, who had her full support and confidence, and Headmaster Berial, who was a retired General, stopped paying attention to such norms long ago. So Cynthia was used to enforcing rules, while forgetting to obey some of them herself.

Elijah then looked at Nerun and simply asked, "Are you ok?". Nerun just nodded while looking towards his brother. Nerun knew that the only reason Cynthia was still alive was because he had not suffered much from her previous attack. Otherwise, rules or whatnot, Elijah would have killed her on the spot, no matter the repercussions.

Elijah then turned once more towards Cynthia and Berial, and without asking any questions started to release his power. His domain extended in the area, which made breathing difficult for everyone, so Toby used his mana to isolate the area where Karel and the rest were standing. The examiners that had tested Nerun were actually trembling, and about to go on their knees. They now understood whose brother was the one they were testing.

Berial quickly asked the examiners what had transpired, to which the main examiner said that when the second round of testing was over, Nerun was a bit exhausted, and as they were about to continue with the third round, Vice Dean Cynthia came and later things seemed to spiral out of control. The main examiner tried to soften Cynthia's words a bit, however the fact that she wanted to expel and humiliate Nerun was something that could not be hidden that easily. However, the examiner had not told about Nerun's result of the testing, since this was considered a secret only available to those that would later take the decision over the Seed and no one else could be present. So Berial actually thought that Nerun had failed the second round of testing and Cynthia had overstepped when trying to reject him.

"Lord Elijah, my attendant was a bit overzelaous with the rules right now, so I apologize for her. However, the fact remains that she was still within the rules, so I ask, that on account of this Military School, please let bygone be bygones". Berial was simply trying to appease Elijah right now to not make a big thing out of this.

However, Elijah's response disappointed him. "I will punish this soldier named Cynthia, according to the military law, and I would like to see if you will do something about it, Lord "Retired" General."

Berial started to get mad, and shouted, "Don't think that because a tiger does not growl it has become a soft kitten, Lord Dragon General. Your brother, broke the military code and he was punished. So was Cynthia. There is nothing you can do about that."

Berial was bent on defending Cynthia, which made both Cynthia and Reno breath with ease. Things seemed to be on a stalemate, when they heard a voice that said, "I'm sorry. But I'm neither a member of this school, nor a part of the military, since I have joined neither. I was taken first into the test area, before enrolling in the school, so I am a free citizen of Ansem, a subject of his Majesty, not bound by Military Law yet."

As Nerun's voice sounded in the room, Berial and Cynthia's eyes constricted sharply. Cynthia could not help but tremble. She had hit a citizen of Ansem as a Military without proper reason, whatmore the brother of a Dragon General, ergo a person in the new nobility. In the military, were Rules and Law were the prerogative, she had actually attacked a citizen without a proper excuse. This would usually be overlooked and no one could say nothing about it, since most of the military were tight as a whole in protecting each other, which allowed some of them to actually take advantage of some citizens.

But Nerun had Elijah as a brother and he would not let this matter go like this. She had made a hue mistake and she was regretting her impulsiveness. When Elijah heard Nerun's words, he simply drew his sword.

Berial said once again, "Please Elijah, give me some face. I will answer to you properly about this matter. Let's do this, we will make your borther a core disciple of the Military School. He will be given plenty of resources, and I will personally make sure that he will be given the best of treatments."

"Face? Did you give me face when dealing with this matter? I did not bring my brother to this School so he could be humiliated with a freebie like position, like being named a core disciple or whatever." said Elijah with cold eyes as he started to get closer and closer to Cynthia. She had discovered that Elijah wanted to make something quite big out of this. He did not care for Berial, nor Vega, nor the Military Academy. Cynthia understood right there and then, when looking at Elijah's eyes, that he was about to kill her no matter the consequences. 'A madman'.

Berial thought that Elijah wanted the post of Super Soldier from Elijah's words, so he said, "Elijah, step back. If your brother was inferior and failed the tests, there is nothing we can do about that. It is true that Cynthia overstepped her boundaries earlier, but if your brother is inferior, we can not give him the position of Seed of The Super Soldier."

Elijah's face darkened. Not because Nerun had been denied the post of Seed of the Supersoldier, but because Berial was hell bent on defending Cynthia. The fact that Berial was also accusing him of nepotism also made him madder. A grand beast had started to materialize next to Elijah which made the people present tremble, while Berial got serious when facing the enraged Dragon General. He understood that even though Elijah was just a Qi Emperor, while he was a Saint, Elijah's momentum and strength seemed not to be inferior to his own.

A fight was about to break, when Nerun approached his brother and looking at him, simply said, "Big Brother, let's go home. I don't think that this Military School is the right one for me." Nerun smiled at his brother and put his hand in Elijah's word arm. Elijah looked at Nerun, and seeing his resolution and demeanor, he understood Nerun's intentions. He did not want to make this problem something that could affect his future and his standing in the Kingdom. However, while it was true that this would allow a way for Elijah to back down, Nerun would have shown weakness and make people think that he stood down because he was truly inferior.

When the people heard Nerun's words, some actually felt great relief. Some, like Reno and Cynthia felt that Nerun was actually aware of his standing, and felt that he had shown weakness, which made them feel disdain towards Nerun. Karel, on the other hand, looked towards the examination room, the main examiner's face, and Nerun's resolution, and could not help but sigh in admiration. 'Such wisdom to try and make things better for his brother. For he care not for humiliation. Interesting indeed.'

Berial thought that this was for the best, however, he knew that this matter was still far from over. There would be further repercussion down the line, but for now, the main crisis had been solved, which made him not know what to think about Nerun.

Elijah, seeing Nerun's resolution and smile, sighed and put down his sword. The beast never materialized completely and it was gone with the wind. He then simply started to walk out of the Testing Area and the Military School with Nerun without taking a second look towards anyone in the room. Nerun simply followed, when he was interrupted by a voice which gave an ethereal feeling.

"Might I know your name, boy?". Karel's voice caused the same trance to the listeners than before and the examiners present in the room were a bit lost when they heard it. Elijah frowned a bit but was not affected whatsoever, neither was Berial. However, to Karel and his companions' surprise, the one that seemed to be the weakest present in the room, Nerun, simply looked towards Karel as if he had felt nothing, however Nerun seemed to be smiling while looking at Karel with some interest. It was quite clear that he was not affected in the least by Karel's voice, something which made Cynthia and Reno look a bit flabbergasted, since they had actually been affected before.

"We are both boys, are we not? You can call me Nerun." said Nerun.

"My name is Karel. I think we will see each other in the future."

"Probably. I also have the same feeling."

The two teen's conversation ended and Elijah finally left with Nerun. Berial looked towards Karel and said, "I apologize young lord Karel for this conundrum you have witnessed. I'm afraid we have made fools out of ourselves. I'm Berial Dai Soltana, the Headmaster of this School."

"It's ok Lord Berial. I was just thinking, that you might come to regret this." said Karel while still looking towards the exit where Nerun had gone before. Reno and Cynthia had an ugly grimace on their face.

"Regret? You mean, getting in trouble with the Dragon General. Please, pay no mind to that, this is just.."

However his words were cut short by Karel who said, while turning to look towards the silent examiners, "No. Not that. Not choosing him for the Seed of the Super Soldier, is what you will regret. I apologize, I want to retire to my quarters, it has been a long journey. Later we can be told about our arrangements. Uncle Toby, let's go."