Mad God – Reborn

Outside of the palace, Leinor patiently waited for Astair to catch up to him. He was standing opposite him, with dark clouds above his head, clearly enraged and furious from what he had been called a moment before.

"In what way do you want to compete with me?" Leinor asked with a smile.

"I'll beat you down so you can't stand back up!" Astair snorted, letting his newfound powers flare up, following his anger. His hair and clothing began to dance around him, not because of the wind, but because his aura was released in full.

"Oh, so it is going to be the most basic version of competition, fighting." Leinor nodded, just standing there, hands crossed behind his back. "Got it; at least it won't burden your simple mind."

"No wonder they are married." Toobu chuckled while Ariana stood beside him, watching Astair with furrowed brows.

"That guy emits such a vile aura…" She whispered while the rest of the disciples turned towards her, switching to voice transmissions.

"What do you feel, sister Ariana?" Sylvett asked, not looking away from the fight.

"Rage. Mixed with deep, repressed sadistic thoughts… and a whole lot of desire for possession." Ariana tried to explain what she was feeling to the rest. "His mind is focused on crippling Elder Leinor and making Master kneel before him."

"Hah… good luck with that!" Lulu laughed, "I think the only one who can make Master kneel before him is his opponent right now!"

"Oh, stuff it…" Yanda nudged her, making the rest blush, or at least those who got her reference.

"I… don't understand it," Heldi said while Kirch reassured her, patting her back.

"Just don't. Senior Sister is asking for a beating if Elder Ren hears about it."

“Hauh… s-sorry…” Heldi muttered, lowering her head in embarrassment.

“I-i-its s-s-starting!” Wyland tensed up, warning them to concentrate.

The first to make a move was Astair. He stomped on the ground as the tiles below them ruptured and floated up to the air, flying out towards Leinor while spinning in the air. He was not bothered by it, easily dodging them, keeping his eye on Astair alone. Seeing the ranged attack he used as an opening fail, he produced an iron-like rod from his left sleeve, waving it once. It quickly expanded to around 1,5 meters long, and he began rushing at Leinor. To his surprise, Leinor refused to produce any kind of weapon as his own was coming down from an overhead strike. Leinor simply stepped back at the last second, allowing it to go past his face by millimeters, landing on the ground, shaking everything, and blasting pieces of the hard marble tiles apart, but as for Leinor, he was uninjured.

"It had that much force behind it… or is it made out of something special?" Sylvett asked as she furrowed her brows.

"The first." Yanda said, "Watch his hands as he swings."

As the disciples looked on, after a few other swings, they could finally see. The moment Astair struck down, his hands gripped it harder every time. When he did so, the weapon suddenly accelerated way too fast for its supposed weight, and Astair had to exert much more strength to hold the weapon on course.

"It's… changing… its weight?" Heldi speculated.

"Seems like it." Ariana agreed, crossing her arms. "Sylvett? You are the one with earth affinity amongst us. Do you feel anything?"

"No." She shook her head. "He is way above me. I can barely follow their exchanges..." She replied quickly, straining her eyes to keep watching and capture everything.

On the 'battlefield,' Leinor was only moving when necessary, never making a counter-strike, just dodging with a half smile, clearly taunting Astair.

"Fuck you!" Astair shouted in the end, slamming his metal rod into the ground so hard that the remainder of the marble just shattered into dozens of pieces.

Letting go of his weapon, he pushed out his hands, and the air somewhat got distorted around both of them. The metallic shards, the broken tiles, and everything that wasn't nailed down started to float, losing their full weight. More precisely, gravity was no longer affecting them. The same happened to Leinor, who also lost his balance and began to float upwards. It surprised everybody, even Leinor. Then, Astair quickly produced another shorter and thicker rod from his right sleeve, and he jumped up and swung it down at Leinor. He was focusing everything on his attack while the floating pieces in the air came crashing down hard.

"Go to hell!" He roared as the weapon descended, turning red from the friction of the air, like a meteor crashing through the atmosphere.

Leinor only crossed his arms before his head as it struck him down, sending him to the ground. Literally, loud cracking sounds echoed through the garden, making many disciples shiver, while those on Heaven's Gate's side cheered, their guests looking on without a change in expression. They were worried at first, but then they realized their elders were still looking on, focused on the battle, watching as the cloud of smoke and dust slowly cleared.

When it finally settled, and Astair stepped a few meters back, tossing away his now deformed weapon, Leinor was getting up from the hole he had left in the ground. Both of his arms were disfigured, bones sticking out of them and bending in the wrong way. His head was missing a large patch of skin and showed his fractured skull where the rod had indeed reached it. Although it looked really gnarly, he just cracked his neck... still smiling. Before everyone could react, he shook his body as a shockwave burst out in every direction. He was sapping the surrounding area of all its energy in just a second. The grass turned yellow, the bushes wilted and dried up, and the ground hardened and cracked. Astair faltered as he felt his energy grow chaotic, and then dragged out of his body. He quickly stepped back even farther, watching with horror as the wounds on Leinor's head healed in less than two seconds. He looked as if those injuries were never there in the first place... His broken arms corrected themselves with loud cracks, and not long after, he just snapped his fingers, stretching himself lazily without any injuries.

"Fuck…" Frenir whispered, standing next to Ren and Aerthus. "Someone can do that…?"

"Wait until you get stronger." Aerthus smiled as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"You joke, Master…" Frenir sighed, not taking his words seriously, but Aerthus just smiled, not elaborating on it further.

"It is always frightening seeing your gift at work, old friend," Zelig commented, standing not far from them. "He even looks more adept at it than you were at his stage, no?"

"Yes," Aerthus answered proudly.

"He got used to it early." Ren chuckled. "When we were kids, we always had a 'no bar brawl' every afternoon."

"Poor Senior…" Frenir whispered, shivering a little.

On the field, Leinor just rolled up his sleeves, dusting off his uniform, not even bothering to look at Astair. Only after he was satisfied with his own looks did he pull back the rapid energy consumption around him.

"That is all?" Leinor asked, tilting his head, asking with an almost disappointed voice. "I won't lie; you surprised me with that trick. You can manipulate gravity, yes? Interesting, but I can feel it. You are still not in complete control of it… Or you could've just slowed me down, making me lose balance, individually raising or lowering the gravity around my limbs, etc.… In that case, you could have struck at least a few fatal blows. But alas, you are useless. You just reached Harmony, yes? At least, that is my guess! Not bad, not bad, but nowhere near our level! If you have anything left to show, do it. I am waiting." He gestured politely, wearing a small smile.

"Don't be so cocky!" Astair ground his teeth, looking into Leinor's eyes.

His violet irises grew brighter as he tried to invade Leinor's mind and stop him from moving before his next attack. As soon as he felt in control, Leinor just flashed a much wider smile.

"You already forgot who my wife is?" He whispered, and his eyes also turned purple, and lightning emerged from them, fully visible to everyone present.

They traveled quickly and right into Astair's eyes, making him scream out agonizingly. He was stumbling backward, grabbing onto his own face, finally falling to his knees, continuing to howl with pain. He started to claw at his own eyes, trying to pluck them out from their sockets. Rudrick immediately appeared beside Astair, placing his hand on his head, infusing his energy, and drawing out the strand of electricity, still flashing between his fingers... Then he just crushed it, turning towards Ren with a dark look.

"Why did you interfere? We need an explanation for this!" Rudrick bellowed.

"Easy there, murder-grandpa! I did not." She said, crossing her arms. "It's just some leftover energy from our previous full-contact spar in our bedroom," Ren answered with a clearly happy sigh. "Was it me who cast it? When? How? It came from LeiLei's eyes, not mine. Or was it really me?" She tilted her head as her disciples held back their laughter. "Hey, Sect Master granddad of murder-granddad, you are a super-duper cultivator! Old as fuck with ample experience!" She looked sideways at Zelig, "I am standing almost next to you. Did you really let me interfere with the match, letting your own elder loose before everyone? What a shame! Whoa, I didn't know you favored your never-before-seen offspring like that, to let me go wild. You want me back that bad? Are you in love with me? That's embarrassing... But still, what a great man you are, Gramps! I love you to death! But not like that, please understand. I'm already married."

"Enough," Zelig snorted, opening his mouth. His voice was laced with irritation as he ignored Ren and strictly looked at Rudrick. "There was no interference in the spar. He challenged someone stronger than him. Clearly, he needs more discipline, but we can't fault someone for being young."

"Heh…" Ren just chuckled, not saying more, while Leinor walked back to them. He won without even moving, defeating his opponent by simply standing there.

"You were awesome, Master!" Toobu sent over his voice, flashing his thumbs at him, while Wyland just nodded heavily.

"Ahaha, don't flatter me! But thanks." He smiled at them while Ren just grinned, patting his back as he stood beside her.

"It was an exciting showcase!" Zelig turned around, wearing a smile, clapping his hands. "We are going to have such exciting days ahead of us. It was a perfect ending to the banquet, but I can tell our guests are eager to rest for the night. It had to be a long journey getting here!"

"True." Aerthus nodded before continuing. "I presume we are going to have a tour of your magnificent city tomorrow?"

"Of course! We are also prepared to showcase our strengths and inventions. I hope you all look forward to it!"

"Sure." Aerthus smiled a little before they were shown to their rooms inside the palace's left wing.

Soon, they were put into luxurious two-person bedrooms each. Even though they were clearly in a more hostile than friendly environment, most of the disciples were relaxed as they tried out the soft, massive beds.

"Why am I with you here?" Yanda asked, with a deadpan look, watching Lulu undress in the room, ready to take a bath.

"I don't mind! Care to come in with me?" She asked, throwing her clothes on the bed.

"No, thank you." He answered in a snap.

"Ice cold." She shook her head. "Then I go first! If you are tired of waiting, just come and join me." Lulu waved her hands and went inside the bathroom without closing the door behind her.

In another room, Ariana and Heldi were amazed by what they saw. The expensive rugs on the floor, the hand-carved decorations on the giant, double-sized bed's frame, and the bathroom, with the biggest possible bathtub, made of marble.

"So this is how royalty lives…?" Ariana gawked as she stood in the middle of the room.

"I'm afraid to touch anything here; what if I break it?" Heldi gulped, playing anxiously, keeping her hand behind her back.

"Yeah, I totally know what you mean!" Ariana nodded. "We should… be careful... Do you want to come in with me?" She held Heldi's hand, nodding towards the bathroom. "That way, we can watch each other and not break something accidentally!"

"Good idea! Sure!" Heldi nodded happily.

While they were being extra careful, in another room, Toobu was already tearing down the curtains, ripping them clean off, and starting to do pull-ups on the empty railings.

"Come, get a good workout before showering, and you're going to sleep well, trust me." He said to Wyland, who was watching him with twitching eyes.

“A-a-are y-y-you s-s-sure?” He gulped as he looked at the curtains on the floor.

"Relax! Fancy places like this replace them when they have a slight mood change. It's nothing. Come!"

“I-i-if y-y-you s-s-say s-s-so…” He murmured, trying to reach up to it, but he needed Toobu to pick him up so he could grab onto it.

"That's the spirit! Ahaha! Let's do 500!" Toobu laughed, completely fired up.

Inside the room opposite them, Sylvett was lying on the bed next to Kirch as both of them were reading a book in silence. It was then that they heard a crash from the outside… It was when Toobu and Wyland's bodies crashed down as their combined weight was more than the railing could support.

"I hope they can calm down soon," Sylvett murmured, returning to her book with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah... I had enough stress already. So many eyes looking at me… I'll get a stroke by the end of this all just from anxiety!"

"Then you should steel your nerves, Kirch; tomorrow, we are going on a tour, it seems. I bet we are going to be followed and looked on by a sea of people."

"Shit…" He whispered, flipping a page, drawing a small smile on Sylvett's face. She reached out, patting his head, calming down her friend like someone would do with a nervous puppy.

At the same time, in Leinor and Ren's room, they were sitting at the coffee table, drinking tea, while Eisen put a small crystal onto the table. Their room was sealed by the powers of Leinor, preventing anyone from easily spying on them. Any outside energy trying to come in would first come into contact with his aura and then be consumed, alerting him to prying ears or thoughts.

"I recorded everything, as per your instructions, boss!" Eisen smiled playfully.

"Good job. The letter Kitten delivered specified the possible cases when they may make a move on us." Ren nodded, tapping the table with a finger. The letter was… damning. It seemed King Rudrick was more ambitious than anyone else thought. He was not just aiming at her… he was aiming at the same position as Zelig. She was just a resource in his eyes to push himself to the Perfect Harmony realm and to take on Zelig himself. He was not satisfied with being the second in command... He was aiming to replace his forefather. "The first tip-off was correct." She added, because the letter warned them about Astair, containing a detailed report of his affinity, "If the rest of it holds true, some of our disciples will face trouble tomorrow, too. If there is more chaos in the world, he can move and act more freely, without Zelig's watchful eyes on his back…"

"Are we going to record those attempts, too?" Eisen tilted her head. "What if the kids lose?"

"It is part of their training," Leinor answered with a strict voice. "Defeat is not the end; you can learn from it. It is good for them to experience some setbacks, too."

"You are the boss, I was just asking!" She put up her hands, rolling her eyes, knowing full well that Leinor did not like her at all. "I'll follow them with Kitten and record everything then. Should I step in if they go too far?"

"Do as you see fit." Ren nodded.

"Really?" Her eyes lit up immediately. "Awesome!"

"You can go now! You were put into the same room with Kitten."

"Don't worry, Boss!" Eisen laughed. "I can track that pussycat by smell!"

"I'm surprised you have any sense of smell after snorting that many drugs," Leinor whispered, but Eisen just ignored him before leaving with a grin.

"Relax!" Ren chuckled, climbing into his lap after Eisen left as she began massaging his chest while purring. "You were awesome~! Come, let me reward you a little..." She whispered, kissing him, slowly undressing Leinor when they heard the same crash that disturbed Sylvett's and Kirch's reading session.

"Eh…" Leinor furrowed his brows, wanting to stand up and see what his disciples were doing, but Ren just pressed him back onto his chair, sitting in his lap.

"A-a~!" She wagged her index finger at him. "Leave them be!"

"But-!"

"Nooo~!" Ren giggled. "We are having fun now. Let them have some, too! Also, Sect Head is here; no harm can come to them." She whispered, holding his head with two hands. "Just focus on us~! I need to make you relax, fufufu~! If you go out tomorrow like this… this pent up, you are going to explode..."

"Are we trusting my Uncle's letter now?" Leinor blinked his eyes slowly, placing his hands on Ren's waist.

"No. But if everything he wrote comes true, then we may trust him in the future. That is why I am going to make you melt right now!" She whispered into his ear. "You need a relaxed mind to deal with the upcoming days..."