Chapter 144: Yves vs Twins [3]

The hall had been rather lively for the time being, especially after Yves had suddenly decided to sleep right in the middle of nowhere.

The family members commented on how carefree he was, casually sleeping through the day without seeming worried about getting attacked.

Some called him dumb, while others praised his seemingly careless attitude.

Though, there was more to it than that.

Several monsters had actually tried attacking him while he slept, but none of them ever managed to reach him. The moment they stepped into his darkness, deadly spikes erupted from the ground and impaled them.

That made some of the people who had called him careless reconsider their words.

He wasn’t careless.

He had simply laid traps around himself before going to sleep.

Moreover, some of the elders were studying Yves’ abilities carefully because of how versatile they appeared to be.

So far, they had seen that Yves could create darkness constructs and command them as if they were extensions of his own body, almost like telekinesis.

In addition to that, he could spread his darkness around him and command it at will, turning the surrounding area into a massive living landmine. Anyone who stepped into it without caution would not have a good ending.

That made the elders wonder just how far his construction ability could go.

Could he create anything he could imagine?

And if so, how much could he create at once?

Of course, the old geezers were no ordinary people. They had already made their own assumptions.

They believed Yves probably had to understand and visualize whatever he wanted to create before he could construct it.

Yves’ image had completely changed.

The trash of the family had become someone with genuine potential.

Perhaps even a prodigy.

His performance during the Rite of Passage had been nothing short of impressive.

He had entered as an underdog.

Hell, some would even say he had been considered beneath an underdog.

Yet somehow, he had become one of the best performers in the entire Rite of Passage.

To many of them, the thought of Yves being useless had already been erased.

Sure, a few people still didn’t like him.

But regardless of their personal feelings, he was a member of the Laurent family, and he had just shown everyone that he wasn’t finished simply because he had failed to awaken twice.

He had awakened for the third time.

He had never given up.

And his efforts had finally paid off.

The Laurent family respected strength and perseverance, not weakness.

Even if you were weak, you had to learn how to use that weakness to your advantage.

Otherwise, you were nothing but a fool.

The hologram above them now displayed only two screens.

One showed Yves sitting beside a fire, casually eating.

The other showed the twins cutting through the forest like silent knives.

And judging by their direction...

They were heading straight toward Yves.

Everyone else had already been eliminated.

Only three contestants remained.

And those three contestants didn’t exactly have a good history with one another.

That fact made the final showdown even more interesting.

The twins were strong.

Very strong.

Especially when they worked together.

They weren’t twins for no reason.

Every opponent they had faced throughout the Rite of Passage had been completely overwhelmed by their coordination.

It had gotten so bad that some members of the Laurent family actually felt pity for the weaker children who had encountered them.

The twins had been teleported alongside some of the weaker contestants, so eliminating them hadn’t been particularly difficult.

And so far, they hadn’t encountered anyone truly troublesome.

They hadn’t fought Josh.

They hadn’t fought Siegfried.

And they hadn’t fought Yves.

But now, they were heading toward someone who would be far more troublesome than the opponents they had faced before.

If someone had to describe Yves’ abilities using a single word, it would be:

Unfair.

Not only could he launch long-range attacks and protect himself with his darkness constructs, but he could also teleport through shadows.

Yves had stealth.

Attack.

Defense.

Mobility.

And, to make matters worse, he had enormous mana reserves.

There was very little he lacked.

However, Yves was about to meet someone who could counter one of his greatest advantages.

Arnold.

And that’s exactly what happened.

When the twins finally encountered Yves, the three immediately clashed.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The twins attacked from both sides, giving Yves almost no room to breathe, let alone think.

Their attacks were coordinated and precise.

Some of the people watching actually wondered if the twins had their brains connected.

Anyone facing those two would feel like they had stepped into a nightmare.

However, Yves didn’t show the slightest sign of discomfort or fear.

He fought back.

Every stunt they attempted was stopped.

He was simply too fast.

Whenever the twins increased their speed, Yves matched them.

He parried and blocked their attacks as if it were nothing more than breakfast.

He wasn’t even sweating.

His swordsmanship was phenomenal for someone his age.

There were no wasted movements.

No hesitation.

Every movement was precise.

Despite fighting two opponents who knew each other extremely well, Yves didn’t allow them to land a single hit.

It was impressive.

But there was one problem.

Yves couldn’t hit them either.

Whenever he found an opening to strike one twin, the other was already there to cover it.

Whenever one of them was in danger, the other immediately moved to protect them.

They constantly switched positions, covering each other’s weaknesses and making it extremely difficult to catch either of them off guard.

If one was exposed, the other was already aware of it.

Their battle was nothing short of entertaining.

Especially considering how different it was from the previous Rite of Passage, where the eldest daughter of Van Der Vaal had simply obliterated anyone who crossed her path.

Now, after clashing for several moments, both sides finally began using their abilities.

Yves activated Shadow Step.

His body disappeared into the darkness.

He reappeared from another shadow and attacked from the twins’ blind spot.

Then he disappeared again.

And again.

He moved around them, appearing from different directions and attacking from unexpected angles.

But the twins’ senses were extremely sharp.

They couldn’t sense Yves’ presence whenever he disappeared into the darkness, but they didn’t need to.

They watched each other’s backs.

If Yves disappeared, one twin protected the other.

If he appeared behind one of them, the other was already moving to intercept him.

For a while, it worked perfectly.

But eventually, Yves managed to separate them.

He appeared behind Ana.

His katana was already swinging toward her.

Ana’s eyes widened.

She was inches away from receiving a deep wound when—

BOOM!

A massive fireball flew toward Yves.

The heat alone was enough to make the surrounding air distort.

Yves immediately pulled back.

The fireball passed dangerously close to his head before exploding behind him.

Arnold had intervened.

His flames weren’t ordinary.

Wherever they landed, an explosion followed.

Yves narrowed his eyes before disappearing into the shadows again.

More fireballs came flying toward him.

They were fast.

Very fast.

But Yves simply used Shadow Step to avoid them.

He disappeared.

Reappeared.

Disappeared again.

Arnold watched carefully.

Then his eyes narrowed.

He had figured it out.

He understood how Yves’ teleportation worked.

Arnold raised his hand.

A massive sphere of fire appeared above the battlefield.

It grew larger and larger until it resembled a miniature sun floating above the forest.

The darkness vanished.

Every shadow within the area was swallowed by the intense light.

The environment became as bright as noon.

Yves’ expression changed.

No shadows.

No darkness.

No Shadow Step.

Arnold had perfectly countered him.

Yves attempted to reach a shadow farther away from the light.

But Arnold had already anticipated it.

The miniature sun expanded.

The distant shadow disappeared beneath the overwhelming light.

At the same time, Arnold launched another massive fireball.

It tore through the forest at incredible speed.

One second.

That was all it took.

The fireball reached Yves.

There was nowhere to escape.

No shadow to travel through.

No time to dodge.

BOOM!!

A massive explosion engulfed the forest.

Smoke covered the holographic screen.

The entire hall fell silent.

"He relied too much on Shadow Step," someone finally said. "That was his downfall."

"And Arnold’s Authority was the perfect counter," Andromeda added with a nod. "Destroying all the shadows around them was a smart move."

Because of the Laurent family’s long relationship with the Schatten family, everyone knew what could counter Shadow Step.

Light.

If there were no shadows, there was nowhere to teleport.

That was why most Schatten assassins preferred operating at night.

At night, shadows were everywhere.

And that made them incredibly dangerous.

However, that lethality could disappear completely when they encountered someone capable of manipulating light.

Or, in Arnold’s case, fire powerful enough to create it.

That was exactly what had happened between Yves and Arnold.

"Hah... I really had great expectations for him," Joan said with disappointment.

"Did you actually think he would win against the twins?"

An old woman with long white hair, red eyes, and wrinkles covering her face glanced at him as if he had just said something absurd.

She was Natalia Hansi Laurent, an elder of the house.

"If it were a one-on-one fight, maybe," Joan continued. "He could probably beat Ana, though it wouldn’t be easy because of her tricky ability. But Arnold actually counters him? I strongly doubt it."

Several others nodded in agreement.

"Old hag."

Natalia’s head slowly turned toward Joan.

A dangerous glare entered her eyes.

"Yves has been pulling miracles left and right. It’s not my fault for having some expectations after his amazing performance."

Joan smiled.

"I doubt I’m the only one here who had a little ’what if’ running through my head after watching him."

Natalia turned toward him.

The pressure around her suddenly became heavy.

"What did you just call me, you brat?"

The floor beneath her cracked.

"I’m thirty-eight now. I’m a father of two children."

Joan rolled his eyes.

"I’m not a brat."

He paused.

Then his smile became mischievous.

"I called you an old hag. What are you going to do about it?"

"It seems you need to be taught a lesson about respecting your elders."

Natalia released her aura.

The floor cracked even further beneath her.

Joan’s aura erupted in response.

"I’ve actually been quite bored lately. Fighting an elder would surely decrease my boredom."

BOOM!

The hall shook as their auras collided.

Tap.

A single sound echoed throughout the entire hall.

Both Natalia’s and Joan’s auras vanished instantly.

They both started sweating.

They knew exactly who had made that sound.

Neither of them needed to look.

Sitting casually on his throne, Van Der Vaal rested his head against his closed fist.

His left finger had tapped against the armrest.

He didn’t look at either of them.

He didn’t say a word.

He didn’t even release his aura.

His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

He didn’t need to say anything.

His presence spoke for him.

They both understood the message.

Shut up.

"Forgive me for my rudeness, Family Head," Elder Natalia said immediately, bowing her head.

"Tsk. I apologize too, cousin."

Joan crossed his arms.

Van Der Vaal didn’t respond.

Instead, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

His gaze remained fixed on the screen.

Everyone else followed his gaze.

The smoke had finally begun to settle.

The battlefield slowly came into view.

And right at the spot where Yves had been struck by the fireball...

A figure stood completely still.

Obsidian armor covered his entire body.

The hall fell silent.

Someone swallowed.

"...What?"

A small smile appeared on Ezio’s face.

He crossed his arms while looking at the screen.

It isn’t that easy to defeat Yves.

Ezio chuckled internally.

You bastards really thought that would be enough?