Chapter 155: Prelude [I]

Kalon looked at the crying ex-bully, and so did the few people that passed by.

They shot her sideways glances, but she did it anyway. She was so desperate that she was willing to openly plead.

But Kalon didn’t think it was enough.

When he thought back on all the things that she has done to him in the past and weighed it up with what she was doing, it really didn’t seem like enough.

"Manchester?" She repeated through her tears, trying to see if they had worked.

But then she saw a smile on the young man’s face. A scheming smile.

"Kneel."

The words hung in the air for a few moments. Ruby wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly.

"K-kneel?" She repeated.

Kalon nodded his head.

He was no villain, that was for sure. He would do no injustice to those who didn’t deserve it. His radiant soul even told him that what he was doing now was warranted. It was his job as a bearer of light to punish wrong-doers.

And Ruby was one of those people. Kalon wasn’t the only one she had bullied. He could name numerous cases where she had bullied those in positions below her.

For example, her first boyfriend, who was named Tommy Windford. On the first week of school the boy had confessed to her and asked her out on a date.

Ruby accepted, and acted as though she was interested.

When Tommy turned to to the date location, what he found waiting there was her brother Richard, and his click. They mocked him in all ways, questioning him on how he ever thought he could get with a girl like her.

The entire time she was there in the background, recording on her phone.

She posted the video on the internet, and when it spread, Tommy moved fell into a depressive state and dropped out of the academy.

They say he had potential, but it was wasted, all because of her.

Just thinking about the situation filled Kalon with new rage and hatred towards the woman.

"In fact, simply kneeling isn’t even enough. You will kneel so low that your forehead will touch the ground. And even then, I won’t train you. I will only consider forgiving you. Notice how I said consider."

Ruby was left in a stunned state, unable to move or react.

Eventually the tears began to flow faster.

"B-but why?" She asked.

"Well first of all..."

Kalon listed off five different cases where Ruby was a villain, one after the other without pausing for even a second.

The entire time, the weight of her actions settled deep into her heart.

It was then that Kalon realised something...

"D-did I really do all of that?"

She had done so much wrong that she couldn’t even remember.

When he mentioned Tommy Windford, she didn’t even recognise his name.

Kalon left her in the hallway after that, drowning in her own tears.

He didn’t feel like even given her the chance to be forgiven that day. He felt sure that in the future she would try again, and perhaps then, after thinking about her actions, he would consider hearing her out.

Consider.

...

The first day of the Duo Tournament came to an end.

Officials cleared the field. Medical teams completed their checks. Competitors and spectators began filtering out of The Garden Arena in slow groups.

Announcements reminded everyone that the next round of matches would begin the following morning and that all advancing teams were expected to rest and recover properly before then.

Kalon did not stay to watch the remaining fights.

He left the winners’ section early, collected his things, and returned to the small private room assigned to advancing competitors inside the stadium complex.

The room was plain with a narrow bed, a desk, a single window that looked out over the city. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared through the glass at the stars.

All he wanted to do was leave Earth and step onto another planet.

The conversation with Ruby Red had scraped old anger back up to the surface. The continuous attention from the crowd and the constant vibration of his phone only added to the pressure.

He needed to move. He needed to put the noise of the arena behind him and do something that matched the heat still sitting in his chest.

He was too enraged and irrational to follow the original plan.

The original plan was for Kalon collect Josinia and head back to Cupid today to question Daisy further.

That plan now felt too slow and too clean.

Instead of going to Josinia first, Kalon focused on the system and selected a direct jump to War Commander Daisy’s private quarters.

He appeared inside the familiar rectangular room without warning.

Daisy was on the bed, laying down, still in the simple black clothes she had worn earlier. Her pure black eyes snapped open the moment she felt his presence. The pink gems across her scalp flared.

She started to sit up.

Kalon was already at the edge of the mattress.

He put one hand around her throat and pinned her back down against the sheets. The pressure was firm enough to make the threat obvious without cutting off her air completely.

"I came here thinking about killing you. Your army. It would be simple. One clean action and the tyrant planet loses it’s war master."

Daisy’s black eyes stayed locked on his face. She did not struggle immediately. The pink gems pulsed. A soft system notification crossed Kalon’s vision.

「War Commander Daisy Seduction +8」

Seduction Stage One → Stage Two Reached!

The rise registered clearly.

Even under a direct death threat, she couldn’t help but love being dominated.

Kalon looked at her for a second as he held her neck. The urge to end her life calmed down and shifted into something else.

Killing her would be a waste.

Daisy had her uses. She also clearly had developed some sort of strange feelings for him that the system kept revealing.

He released her throat and stepped back half a pace.

Daisy stayed on the bed, breathing heavy, watching him.

Kalon turned to the armour stand and the storage lockers along the wall. He pulled free several lengths of strong cord and a spare equipment strap, then began twisting and knotting them into thicker, more reliable makeshift rope.

His hands worked with steady focus.

The earlier anger had not disappeared, but it now had a clear direction.

Daisy’s black eyes followed every movement as he moved forward to restrain her once again.

She wondered why she was letting it happen, and not calling for the guards.