บท 45: Initiative

Dyon leaped onto a defensive formation and slowly flew into the air.

"Well? Let's go. If we fought here, you'd only wake Madeleine. And wouldn't that ruin all of your waiting?"

"Dyon, I let you and my sister have a night of peace together. I needed to make sure her virginity stayed intact. That's the only reason we did this tonight."

"I don't particularly care about your reasons." Dyon said coldly. "Save the bullshit and let's go."

"Oliver! Don't do this!" Cried Delia.

"I'll go and get Madeleine right now!" Meiying harrumphed.

Dyon's voice rang out, "I've put a silencing and defensive array around her room… it won't disperse until she wakes up on her own. Let her sleep, she's been through enough."

Delia had tears streaming down her face.

'Why can't I protect anyone? My big sister finally found happiness, and it's going to be snatched away just like that?'

Delia was about to charge when two 6th layer foundation stage boys appeared before her, sneering.

"Sorry Princess, but you know your big sister better than anyone. How could a nobody like him be worthy?"

Draco turned into a raven, swooping up Chenglei, Akihiko, Oliver and Caddell.

Delia and Meiying shuddered in despair. From Akihiko's boiling aura, they could tell he had broken into the 7th layer.

Five peak level foundation stage experts against a 16-year-old boy with no cultivation? Dyon was dead. Even if they could break through the formation that Dyon had set, even if Madeleine wasn't sick, she wouldn't be able to deal with them all even with Dyon's help.

Delia and Meiying watched a proud, unyielding back get further and further away. Once they were out of sight, the figures that were in front of them bowed in apology before disappearing.

In the sky above the dark lake, five figures and a bird stood in the air.

'At least by fighting in the air, I'll have reduced the number of enemies.'

"I wish it didn't have to be this way, Dyon. But, if you love my sister, you have two choices. You either leave and never come back, or, I kill you here."

"Brother-in-law, that wasn't the plan. We must kill him," Akihiko said in agitation. Clearly, they hadn't discussed the possibility of letting Dyon go.

"SILENCE! The only reason I'm allowing my sister to marry you is because I am sure that your talent is wholly inferior to hers. Once she's cured, you'll never be able to bully her. You'll be husband and wife, but you will never hold a dominant role. Do you understand me? Your goal has already been fulfilled, now stand there quietly," Oliver's voice boomed through the night sky.

Akihiko gripped his fists in silence, smiling coldly on the inside.

Dyon snickered, "Are you saying that for my sake? Or are you saying that to make yourself feel better because you're weak and pathetic? You trust the word of sewer rat that wants your little sister as nothing more than a trophy in his case yet you want to appear noble. Save me the spiel."

Oliver turned a cold gaze towards Dyon, "I'll give you one more chance. Because of my sister, I am willing to allow you to –"

"Let's get one thing straight, no one "allows" me to do anything. What I do, is what I want to do. And what I want to do is be with Madeleine. If you want to kill me for that, go ahead and try." Dyon said coldly.

At that moment, his back was straight and his stance unyielding. His momentum dwarfed them all.

Oliver's face steeled.

"You see, brother-in-law? He has no idea what's good for himself. How could he know what's good for my fiancée??

"I find this a bit funny honestly. There's a misguided brother. A wishful thinker. Two bitches who wanted nothing to do with me while I was kicking the shit out of their wishful thinker of a friend. And then there's the guy who got one shot by a girl. Is this an attempted murder? Or a comedy sketch?"

Dyon's deriding comments only became more and more venom laced.

Their faces turned red with fury. The crow's call rang out through the night.

"You've lost all your chances Dyon. It seems like you don't want my kindness."

"How about you kiss my ass, you weak bitch." Dyon's sneer deepened, his gaze never leaving Oliver.

Before Dyon could react, Oliver was already in the air. He pushed off with such force that Draco fell almost 50 meters before regaining his balance.

'Too fast...' Dyon sighed inwardly. His senses could keep up and even made Oliver seem somewhat slow. But, his body had no chance. If he tried to amplify himself to this level, he would liquify his bones. He could only shake his head.

'… You know a girl for less than a year and she's already getting you killed. Is this what they call femme fatale?' Dyon chuckled to himself

Before Dyon could even finish his thought, he felt a cold blade pierce through his heart, causing him to cough up blood.

He looked down, seeing a sword pierce hilt deep right through his chest.

"You could have lived, but you were foolish. I'll make sure that Madeleine lives a good life." Oliver said coldly.

Dyon chuckled, looking down at the blade.

"Oh?" Dyon wheezed in a breath, coughing violently. "You mean like how you've been protecting her from suffering until now?"

Oliver shuddered. Two men stood looking at each other with unyielding eyes. Slowly, Dyon's began to dim. The array beneath started to slowly fade.

As they dropped through the sky, Draco circled around and caught Oliver.

Akihiko watched as Dyon fell into the lake with a sinister glow in his eyes.

'Even if the sword through the heart hadn't killed him already, a fall from that high, even into water, with no cultivation? Would be enough to kill anyone.'

Chenglei looked on at the scene. He was the only one who seemed truly unaffected by what was happening around him.

'I guess I was a bit too paranoid before.'

Oliver calmly wiped the blood from his blade, after one last look at Dyon's sinking figure, he spoke.

"Let's go."

…

Back on Patia-Neva peak, Madeleine shuddered awake. Looking out the window, she saw the night sky and realized Dyon had brought her to Delia's.

'Humph, a man should take some initiative you know? I was there all vulnerable and you didn't even give me a proper kiss?'

Although Madeleine thought this, she suddenly felt an dull pain in her heart for reasons she couldn't quite understand. But, not understanding what it was, she went back to sleep, thinking of Dyon.