Chapter 121: Can Ares Walk the Walk?

It took Ares a second to spot Enyo and he had to control himself. He was ever so close to activating Voidwalk, taking Enyo away from the venue, and ravishing her at home. She was utterly splendid and he was well and truly enamoured. Not to mention Bellona was incredible too. It wasn't her day today but Ares still appreciated her efforts as he could tell at a glance why she'd even bothered. To have two amazing women go to such lengths for him made his heart beat uncontrollably but he kept himself together because he couldn't embarrass himself, not today. It was hard. Everyone was looking his way just as he'd intended but the unintended consequence of the mounting pressure to perform consistently was heavy. He needed to make it clear he was the only man in the room that could stand beside Enyo and Bellona and that he deserved it. No one else's opinion mattered, and it was overkill, but he felt he had to do it so he steadied himself and steeled his nerves. The number of amorous glances he received from other women was perturbing though. Obviously he didn't care in the slightest but the idea that he was sexually attractive was a bizarre feeling. He'd never been ugly or anything but if anyone was ever going to look lustfully in his direction it was probably because Aejaz was nearby. For him to be the apple of everyone's eye was enlightening and embarrassing. It did feel good but he wished it would end already. It was the kind of thing you would enjoy for five seconds before it became annoying and troublesome and he was just now realising how difficult Enyo must have had it up until he arrived. Hell even before that and just in general. It was suffocating but onwards he soldiered. His primary concern was not being detained by anyone as then he would have to skilfully weave his way through the ensuing conversation while everyone watched on. Walking to the table was simple, coming up with smooth moves on the fly so as not to damage his prestige was a nightmare. His luck wouldn't be so forgiving, however, as someone was already coming towards him... Someone he really wished wasn't but someone he could never blame nor fault. Deep in his heart he was beyond happy to see Appa floating merrily towards him but this was still a huge problem! How do I handle this with everyone staring me down? Ares' brief panic was squashed when his daughter arrived in front of him and naturally calmed his nerves. Such a soothing presence was a relief and suddenly the task at hand didn't seem so daunting. Or rather his perspective of it changed. He wasn't going to try and impress everyone else, he was going to have a nice conversation with his precious daughter. Everyone else could kick rocks!

Appa floated over and paused in front of Ares, looking him up and down as tiny triangular indents indicated Appa was happy. "Hey dad! You look cool!"

Ares chuckled heartily as he knelt down and stroked Appa's head with his gloved hand. "That's awfully sweet of you, but aren't you looking quite fancy yourself? That bow tie suits you."

Appa wiggled happily but played hard to get. "Hehe, It's just a bow tie! You're exaggerating!"

Ares gently shook his head and picked Appa up, cradling it in his arms as he looked down and spoke softly. "No, sweetie. The beautiful thing about perfection is that the less you add to it, the better."

Appa sniffled and hugged Ares. It nuzzled his chest as he patted its head and started walking to the table again. Massive success! His brain had worked overtime, nearly even short-circuited, but it had come up with a response that brought tears to the eyes of the onlookers. Seeing Ares interact with his daughter in such a heart-warming manner awakened all sorts of maternal instincts in the women and the men had to bite their tongues and quit cursing Ares because how could they justify it? The man had just displayed the fact that he was basically a saint reincarnated in the flesh! Realistically, Ares was the farthest living creature from a saint you could imagine, but that didn't matter if no one else knew that! Let them have their misunderstandings, it only benefitted Ares anyway. Plus it was the impression he wanted to give. If Enyo came here today as a flawless woman, then he would raise himself up until he was a flawless man. Daunting though it was, Enyo was worth the effort.

Ares was in the homestretch now but there was still trouble brewing on the horizon... Seriously, why the fuck was a normal walk from one side of the room to the other this taxing?! Why was it an obstacle course?! What kind of cruel torture was this? At this rate, Ares was surprised he wasn't being made to do the walk with bare feet over hot coal! The next issue was one he was acutely aware of. In hindsight, he should have seen this coming... His fellow fundamental pillar champion Mako was storming towards him... Oh boy, here we go.

Mako looked Ares up and down maybe ten or so times, biting his lip in frustration as he accepted the loss in the looks department and finished rolling up on him. "YOU! Are you the man I'm looking for?! Are you the destruction pillar champion!? It's you, isn't it?! I can tell!"

Ares could tell too, he could tell this was the creation pillar champion and Ares was already half dreading and half looking forward to their co-worker relationship. On one hand, this guy was a twerp, on the other, messing with twerps was fun. So much so that Ares came up with the perfect solution to this problem on the spot. It was a temporary one but it would get this fool out of his hair for long enough while also being an incredibly satisfying method of toying with him. See, there was something Ares had learnt upon seeing Mako. Actually, he'd learnt it upon seeing Eagerton to be precise. The ability to detect other fundamental champions was inaccurate and heavily flawed. The presence of the creation pillar was still lingering on Eagerton even though he himself wasn't the wielder of it. Long story short, even interacting with a champion left their mark on you and that gave Ares a plausible excuse! "Apologies, but I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I ran into the destruction champion not even a minute ago outside the venue. I believe he mentioned something about leaving the sect briefly in search of an acquaintance. If you hurry, you may be able to catch up to him yet." 

Mako was stunned. He'd gotten the wrong guy! He lowered his head slightly and apologised before thanking the very man he was looking for and leaving the venue in a hurry. Terros considered correcting the record, as he wasn't as stupid as Mako was, but chose not to. The destruction pillar champion was clearly in the middle of something and didn't want to be bothered right now so Terros did him a solid and remained quiet for the time being. He would give Mako hints later so that he could return to the party and not search endlessly to no avail but for now this level of humiliation was acceptable. Mako needed to be humbled every now and then and this was far too perfect to ruin. 

Off to the side, Eagerton was struggling to scribble some notes properly as he barely contained his laughter. This scene would be burned into his memory so he could leverage this moment against the punk Mako by putting him in a book! His dunce moment would be available for all to see for the low low price of twenty low grade stardust! Immortalising stupidity, and Mako's none-the-less, did indeed bring a smile to Eagerton's face. It's not like he was the only one laughing or attempting not too though, a good few other people in the hall who were in the know chuckled to themselves too. Even Serene couldn't help but titter somewhat. She felt bad for her son but he was also being a colossal nuisance so he had it coming. Serene could appreciate the struggles Ares was currently undergoing for the sake of love so she made no effort to make things harder than they already were for him. Her son could do with some fresh air anyway! Plus this was a good learning opportunity. Understanding first hand just how stupid revenants were was an invaluable lesson to learn early.

As for Ares, he subtly took a deep breath through his nose and begun his march again! This time, not bursting out into a fit of laughter was the challenge as he wasn't entirely convinced his dumb plan would work. Seeing Mako so eagerly thank him and sprint off was very nearly enough to make Ares shed tears and laugh from the bottom of his soul. To make matters worse, Appa was giggling away in his arms which just made him want to join in. But NO! He had an appearance to uphold and he would do it if it killed him!... Though that being said, at the rate things were going wrong, he might actually die of exhaustion before making it to the table... His next obstacle had already started approaching him en masse and he could feel two violent stares digging into him. The Legion sisters, more than anyone else in the room, were particularly interested to see how Ares would handle the clique of women that were approaching him. Double standards much? Ares had nothing to say about when it happened to them earlier! Only because he wasn't here for it though otherwise he probably would have...

Ares kept a cordial smile on his face but spoke with distance in his voice. It was friendly but apologetic, thus making his intention clear from the get go. "Apologies, ladies, but I can't be keeping my date waiting on a fine night such as this. Time waits for no man, after all."

The gaggle of geese giggled and tittered with various coy gestures performed theatrically amongst them, undeterred by his dismissal. He was going to have to fight harder... But before he could speak up again, the frontmost lady spoke to him. "Oh? And which lucky lady is it? I would be remiss if I couldn't talk to her and figure out just how she managed to attract a man such as yourself. I'm looking for some friendly advice on a similar matter, you see." This attack was threefold. Firstly, she got to probe him. Are you telling the truth? Is there actually a date waiting for you? Prove it! Second, if it were true, what was the competition looking like? Uglier or prettier than me? Do I have a chance at making this work? And finally, if there is a chance, I would like to talk to the woman and rub it in. I want to step on her toes in public and make it clear her man will be mine soon. All of this was wrapped up in a polite bundle that only indicated such thoughts but didn't have the audacity to commit to them if things went horribly wrong. Ares could see this but he really didn't have to do anything about it. His response would naturally drive away these women unless they had a death wish.

"The lucky lady, or rather lucky ladies in question, are those two over there." Ares gestured with an upturned palm toward the Legion table and everyone craned their neck. When they saw who the 'lucky ladies' were, explosions went off in their brains as connections were made! Yeah, no wonder Rhea had said the situation was 'complicated'! Complicated was an understatement! Two sisters! There were some people in the hall hoping that Pele was one of them and either Bellona or Enyo were still in the cards but, deep down, they knew better. Unreasonable levels of jealousy surged through the room as the three standouts were all taken, and by each other no less! The men hated Ares' guts for having not one, but two beautiful women in the bag. The women were spiteful towards the sisters because Ares was H.O.T. Also, the chances of some no-name cultivator being allowed anywhere near the Legion main family was unlikely. This guy probably had some kind of status that made him 'worthy' so the idea that Enyo and Bellona were clinging to some secret big shot spread quickly. Technically, everyone was right. Ares' status was incomparable to literally anyone else. Although not currently, he even outranked the Gods themselves. If that titbit was known the women here may have very well deemed Rhea's wrath a worthwhile risk in a bid to become his third wife. They were all cowards though and they stood zero chance to begin with. Ares wouldn't be swayed by these people and Enyo was the final arbiter regardless. And of course the men were right too. 'Luck' really was the reason Ares was in this situation. If he didn't have the destruction pillar it was debateable whether or not he would be in this position. He would have lived a very different life and struggled a lot more. Plus Bellona had been originally attracted to that specific magic to begin with. Enyo may have still been in the cards but Bellona likely wouldn't have happened at all. Any attraction she felt would have been pushed down by the whole 'sister's husband' problem and never become a serious issue after the Perish Wheel because that art wouldn't have existed. So yes, Ares was lucky and he was thankful to his core for it. Still, luck was only one factor of many. In a way he'd earned this too. His relationship with Enyo was hard-won and he'd put in the effort to get her to tolerate him. He was rarely immodest enough to bring up what he'd accomplished with Enyo but it was undeniably his most prideful achievement to date... Even if it had been rough here and there. Anyway, today was the culmination of everything between them so he pulled out all the stops and broke through every obstacle. The women had to leave because they didn't stack up against either sister and Rhea was leaking a deathly aura that screamed 'leave my daughters' man alone you hussies'.

Once more, Ares was on the path to victory. This ordeal had been harrowing and he was this close to being at wit's end. He felt drained and wanted nothing more than to sit the fuck down for a minute. He was so close. Oh so close. It really looked like he was going to make it this time....

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUCK!

Ares yelled internally with a pained cry. Of course the universe wouldn't be so kind to him as arguably his greatest trial yet reared its ugly head... Aejaz' family... They had briefly stopped troubling his brother when he walked in but they went back to it shortly after and were currently probing him. Ares could have abandoned Aejaz if he were a garbage human being but, despite what some people might think, he really wasn't. He would have helped out here regardless but he had explicitly promised to bail Aejaz out if things went south anyway. Things were visibly going south so Ares next trial was unavoidable. Ares put Appa on the floor near the Legion table and his path was altered. This brought everyone's attention back on him just as it was about to fade. They thought he would sit at the table and be at peace... Yet something was clearly wrong if the frown on his face was any indication.

Aejaz and his family were unaware of the person heading in their direction so they kept bickering back and forth undisturbed. It became apparent to everyone watching Ares where he was heading and now their interest was piqued! Drama was afoot! As Ares passed by the Legion table, he glanced at Enyo and Bellona with an apologetic gaze but they smiled and shook their heads. Things might get messy here but one of the big reasons they loved him was because he was a family man through and through. They would rather see him toss aside the prim and proper pretence he'd built up and be violent than watch him leave Aejaz to suffer alone. Unfortunately this just spurred on Ares to do things properly. It was looking increasingly likely he would have to fight but if he could win overwhelmingly he might be able to keep his image, if not outright bolster it. He had Dominus but refused to rely on that particular wild card so he would have to do it himself. He busily formulated a means of attack as he approached but also made sure to sneak a glance at the next table along after the Legion clan... This was his family, his siblings. He memorised all of their features just as they looked back at him and did the same. Ares didn't have time to go over everything right now or talk to them but he would come back for them after. First Aejaz, then Enyo and Bellona, and finally them. After that it was anyone's guess. Calla would arrive at some point and Mako would return too. The night was still young and Ares' list of things to do hadn't even been half checked off yet...

On Aejaz' side of things, rewinding back to when the conversation started, the first person to speak to him was surprisingly the silk stabber. The weirdo that wanted to put holes in people and bothered Ares back in the tomb. He also really stood out here because everyone else was wearing some variation of plain black attire. This guy was the only one wearing white and he stood out like a sore thumb. "Where's you brother, runt?"

Aejaz realised this guy still didn't know what truly happened otherwise he would have been a lot more aggressive to Aejaz himself. He was still annoyed with him, but only because he had to go through Aejaz to get details about Ares' location. Knowing that these people would all just walk over him if he remained passive, Aejaz took a stand here and braced himself to be a bit more verbally aggressive than usual throughout the encounter. "Where's your manners, half and half?" Aejaz rudely poked fun at the guy's burned face and the man's temper flared but he held back for now.

"Someone's gotten a little too cocky for their own good it seems. Are you really in a position to be messing around? I don't want anything to do with a failure like you, your brother is the reason I'm here. I won't be satisfied until I put at least a hundred holes in him, you hear me runt?!"

"No, I don't. I tend not to listen to background characters. I don't even know your name let alone why I should respond to you. You're a sideshow so get lost."

"My name is Rag you ignorant moron. I was one of the most notable branch members and, compared to you, I was a prodigy. You have no business not knowing my name considering your position you worthless trash."

"What position? Did you stab a hole in your brain? I'm not in the clan anymore so your make-believe hierarchy doesn't mean shit to me. Also, for a prodigy to get blown up because of the antics of worthless trash... Isn't that kinda pathetic? What, you think that Shock Bead jumped into your pocket by itself? Tell me how it tasted, why don't you?"

"YOU BASTARD!" Rag tried to launch himself at Ares but a single hand blocked him as the owner of it glared down at him. Rag may have been a prodigy but everyone else here was a member of the main branch or, in Trixie's case, close to it. Rag was bottom of the barrel and stepping out of line because he'd been verbally trounced was, as Aejaz had said earlier, pathetic. He wasn't even supposed to have come along to hassle Aejaz. This man really didn't know his place. That or he was just so blinded by his injury that he was starting to act out. Either way it was unsightly behaviour and a few clan members all had the brief thought of killing him on the spot. Unfortunately this clown was their team's backup member in case something happened to one of the main five. Backups didn't have to be from the same country provided they were from the same clan or sect as another member so he was an acceptable substitute in an emergency. This display however had sealed his fate and he was going to 'disappear' after the tournament without fail, Aejaz' uncle would see to it himself. 

As for the person that stopped him, Scowl was the second oldest of the four brothers. Three technically as Aejaz had been disowned but they were still blood related regardless of how much none of them wanted to be. Scowl was all business, all the time. He didn't care about anything other than the job at hand and chose not to speak often. The less you spoke, the less you could slip up. He hadn't quite taken a vow of silence but he had considered it; he still needed to relay information every now and then otherwise he just well may have done it. Scowl was one of the two brothers that just treated Aejaz like air and didn't care about him in the slightest. Whether he lived, died, was disowned, or even kept as a slave. None of it mattered to Scowl unless it would affect him and his work in any way. The fact that he came along to Aejaz' table must have meant he viewed what was about to happen as some kind of assigned task. If there was no goal or mission in mind he would have stayed behind at the other table and not interfered. As for what that goal was, Trixie had already said it... They were looking for a fight. They wanted to annoy Aejaz until he lashed out, at which point they would escalate it and claim they were just defending themselves. Aejaz knew it and yet he was still worried. Normally he would just walk away but he couldn't here for other reasons. In fact the fight was basically guaranteed because all they would have to do is say one very specific thing and he would attack them on the spot. If all the brothers were going to poke at him in different ways, the chances of one of them hitting that reverse scale was high... Scowl took the first shot. "Why are you competing in the tournament? Should someone as useless as you be dragging down those around you who've actually worked hard? Show some basic human decency and quit." Scowl went for the 'you're inferior' approach in an attempt to see if Aejaz still cared about being disowned because he was considered garbage by his own family.

"What would you know? I've earned my place here so you and your opinion can fuck off. I don't know what you think I've been up to since I left the family but I haven't been idling away this whole time, I'll tell you that free of charge. Why don't you do what you're so damn good at and shut your mouth?"

Scowl narrowed his gaze at Aejaz but didn't retort. His mission was just to prod and he'd done his job already. As much as he personally wanted to have a word or two more with Aejaz he was obedient and didn't stray off the path his uncle had made for him. The worst part about all of this was that Aejaz knew he wouldn't be able to respond and had hit him where it hurt. This runt had been practicing his insults if nothing else. Still, things were just getting started. There were seven other people here and one of them was bound to set him off eventually. The only question was 'what does Aejaz truly value?' Or in other words, 'Where can we hit him that would really hurt?'