Chapter 64 | The Exiled before The Council
[3rd Person POV]
Just as Aiden entered the room and Verrisa’s eyes fell upon him, everything clicked in place as she abruptly said, "Aiden?"
This brought everyone’s attention to her. "Do you truly know him?" Malachi asked; he hoped it would be true, giving them some ways to gain leverage over him.
"I do, but I think I should let him speak for himself," Verrisa replied.
"Who are you, kid?" Solkar asked, his patience already wearing out.
"I am Aiden Origin; he is Damien Valen von Nightshade. We greet the Chancellor and lords of the Council," he greeted; however, neither he nor Damien bowed.
"What’s with the half-hearted greeting, and do you truly know Verrisa?" Solkar questioned in a stern voice.
"I apologize if I wasn’t loud enough. I am Aiden...." Before he could complete, he was interrupted.
"We heard that the first time..." This time Solkar was interrupted; irritation was visible in his eyes.
"Okay, enough, Solkar, go easy on him. Aiden, they want to know about your past and your reason to be in Kronesthion and participate in the tournament. I too am interested in the latter," Verrisa reiterated, more politely this time.
"I was Aiden Arclight; however, I am exiled from that clan and currently have no ties to it," he shared.
"What!" ×5, a few exclaimed, while some raised their brows. Everyone gave a reaction except Verrisa.
"I came here to simply participate in the tournament and win," he added.
"Haha... You are Raglan’s kid; this was unexpected," Irelia commented.
"I had heard that Arclights expelled a young boy from the main family; I guess it’s you," Silen stated.
"So when are you going back to your family?" Solkar asked.
"As I shared before, I have no connection to that family anymore, so hopefully never," Aiden answered.
"That’s not the important question. How did you cultivate such formidable strength even after having F-rank ability and Origin Heart?" Irelia asked.
"So that’s the reason they expelled you?" Mara Ironmaw added.
"Don’t you think it’s a bit rude to ask about the Cultivator’s secret?" Aiden retorted.
"Is that why you brought your own bodyguard?" Solkar pressed further.
"Okay, enough; we will get nowhere like this. He gave us a hint to his past, so we know his identity."
"There’s no need to interrogate a kid about his cultivation; you should act better than that," Malachi finally spoke in a reprimanding tone.
"Thank you, Chancellor," Aiden responded.
"Now, you are the finalist of this tournament, so why don’t you share your demand with us in case you win? Looking at your strength, you have a decent chance," the Chancellor questioned.
"Thank you for your praise, Chancellor. But I think it will be presumptuous of me to already be assured of my win. I should respect my opponent; he may be hiding something up his sleeve," Aiden answered, glancing at Solkar as he finished his sentence.
Solkar was slightly alarmed at this gesture, but he kept his mind focused for now, not letting this rattle him.
"You certainly know how to give political answers," Silen commented.
"You are quite humble, Young Aiden," Malachi responded with a smile.
"Okay, that’s enough of the interrogation. Let the kid rest; he has been in fights for 24 hours straight," Verrisa interjected as she moved faster than the wind and appeared next to Aiden.
Damien, noticing the sudden presence, moved his hands instinctively towards his weapon, but he stopped as he remembered Aiden’s warning.
"That’s gutsy; you got a capable bodyguard here. Where does your family belong to?" Asked Verrisa, noticing the movement of Damien.
"I have no family," Damien simply answered without flinching as Verrisa stood near him, radiating her aura.
"C’mon, nephew, let’s leave these old ones here; you come with me to rest and recuperate while you wait for the final match," Verrisa shared her thoughts.
"Yeah, you should rest. We don’t want to ruin the fun of finals if you lose too early," Solkar taunted.
"Let’s ignore that wolf and walk with me, okay?" Verrisa insisted.
"Okay, aunt. Thank you, Chancellor and lords of the council, for hearing me out," Aiden responded as he agreed to Verrisa’s proposal.
"I hope you win the tournament, kid; it would be fun to have you around," Fenris Greyclaw commented for first time as Aiden was leaving the room.
"Thank you, Lord Fenris, for your kind words," Aiden replied back as he, Damien, and Verrisa left the room.
After a few seconds the trio left; Solkar was first to speak.
"How insolent was his behavior? Chancellor, I think we should question him strictly as to how he was able to cultivate even after being an F-rank," Solkar shared his inner desires.
"What do you mean by strict, Solkar? Should we put him into detention or torture him and sully the name of the whole demon race? What happened to you?" Mara Ironmaw questioned.
"Lighten up a bit; it’s just a tournament. You are behaving like it’s the end of the world or something," she further added.
"Ohh...it seems I forgot to tell you earlier. He is a dual ability user. That’s the reason he is able to cultivate."
"Chancellor, I think we should rightly nurture him as a soldier of the council if he wins against Marion," Silen dropped a bombshell on them.
Before anybody could react to this new piece of information, Malachi raised his hand.
"It’s enough for now, as he mentioned earlier, we should show him the basic courtesy of being a cultivator."
"While also making sure not to isolate and alienate such bright potential. Not unless he is a threat to the council and Kronesthion," Malachi stated his thoughts.
"Everybody should rest a bit too; the final match may be an interesting one," he added as he stood to leave the room.
The rest of the lords also stood up as Malachi left; a few followed after him to their own temporary residence.
Solkar approached Silen and stated, "Why don’t you hand over the information about that brat to me?"
Silen looked around; there were only two of them left in the room.
"What are you looking at? I am asking you," Solkar spoke in an irritated tone.
"Oh, I thought you were addressing your subordinate. Go to your stay and rest, Solkar. You are frustrated; I know you put a lot of work into putting that Marion child on a pedestal." Silen answered.
"But I don’t care, and I certainly won’t hand over anything just because you said so. Let’s not do something that would cause friction between our clans and our regions to be at odds," Silen finished and left the room, leaving behind Solkar standing there alone.
However, as opposed to his silent surroundings, Solkar’s mind was a total mess.
He was one of the weakest lords in the council, a position he got after backstabbing and sacrifice.
He still didn’t have the same respect as other lords, so he thought of introducing a prodigy and champion from his clan to prop up his position.
But some exiled and discarded kid is messing up all his planning.
He clenched his fist as black as night wolf eyes shone with murderous intent. "I won’t let some human come in the way of my plans," he vowed, thinking of ways to increase the chances of his and Marion’s victory.