Chapter 278: Chapter 277: The Weight of a Duel
Kairo’s nails dug into his palms. "Why? Why is he always in the way?"
For a moment, doubt crept in, memories of that crushing aura, of how easily Lumberling had humiliated him in the manor. He remembered kneeling, powerless, his pride ground into the floor.
But then he remembered the battlefield. The Berserker Warden’s eyes. The weight of the axe about to end him. And the strength that had surged inside him at that desperate moment, lifting him higher, burning hotter than he had ever felt before.
His lips curled into a shaky grin. "No... I felt it. I can grow stronger. The closer I was to death, the stronger I became. I’ll surpass him. I’ll surpass all of them."
The grin twisted into something darker. He whispered, almost to himself.
"Lireath will look at me... not him. Just wait. One day, I’ll stand above him. And when that day comes..." He slammed his fist into his chest, eyes burning with stubborn fire. "they’ll all see who truly deserves their respect."
Unbeknownst to him, Agathis had been standing just beyond the door. She said nothing, only turned away with a faint, unreadable smile.
.....
The next few days, Kairo finally made up his mind.
He had barely slept. The night before, he tossed and turned, eyes wide in the dark as Lumberling’s calm face replayed again and again in his thoughts.
Every memory was the same, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he struggled, he had always been a step behind. Lumberling stood taller, commanded more respect, crushed enemies as though it was nothing.
’Why him? Why not me?’
His fists had bruised from punching the stone walls of his quarters. His body screamed for rest, but his mind refused to quiet. The obsession gnawed at him. If he couldn’t surpass Lumberling in skill, then maybe... maybe if he risked everything, if he stared death in the face, he would break through his limits again, just like the old days when he first rose from weakness to strength.
By dawn, his decision was set.
Now, standing in the courtyard, his chest heaved, his face flushed red with fury. His voice cracked the air, sharp and desperate.
"I’ve had enough of this!"
Gasps rippled through the soldiers and knights resting nearby. Heads turned, conversations stopped.
Kairo’s eyes blazed, veins standing out on his neck as he thrust a finger straight at Lumberling. His voice carried the madness of a man cornered, yet convinced of his own path.
"You think you’re untouchable, don’t you? Always calm, always looking down on me! Well, I won’t be your shadow anymore!"
His words hung in the air like sparks before an explosion.
"I challenge you..." his voice dropped low, trembling with rage and a twisted sort of hope. "...to a death duel!"
Lumberling’s captains exchanged glances, their faces hardening. Scowls deepened as hands drifted toward hilts. They didn’t need words, the insult had been enough. One by one, their boots scraped against the stone as they prepared to step forward.
Agathis’s sharp eyes caught the shift. A faint crease touched her brow, but she said nothing yet.
Then Skitz moved first. He snorted and swaggered a step closer, lips curling into a predator’s grin. "Finally lost it, eh? Want me to rip him apart for you, my Lord?"
The captains bristled even harder, their intent plain, if Skitz lunged, they would not stand idle. Lireath’s subordinates, noticing this, tensed in turn, the courtyard splitting in two currents of barely restrained violence.
But before Skitz could take another step, Agathis moved. She didn’t raise her voice, didn’t draw a weapon. She simply lifted her hand, and the world seemed to still.
It wasn’t the crushing weight of a knight’s aura that descended, it was the opposite. A void. A divine stillness, like the space between heartbeats.
Skitz froze mid-step. His claws twitched uselessly at his side. "What the hell..."
Agathis’s cold eyes rested on him. "Not a step further." Her words were like a whisper and a command at the same time.
Around them, Lumberling’s captains stood taut, Lireath’s soldiers mirroring them. To most, Kairo’s outburst and Agathis’s sudden intervention were no different from an enemy provocation. The air thickened, seconds from erupting into a storm.
And then...
The world suddenly fell into silence. The shouts, the tension, even the clash of wills that had nearly broken into violence... all of it stilled. It wasn’t silence born of fear, but a pause, as though something greater had stepped into the space between heartbeats.
A new presence entered.
Light, steady footsteps echoed against the courtyard stone. A young man walked through the crowd, each step carrying neither haste nor hesitation.
His golden hair caught the light, and his piercing blue eyes swept the gathering with calm authority.
His aura was not the suffocating weight of a Knight’s killing intent, nor the divine void Agathis had cast moments before. Instead, it was something... purer. A noble radiance that pressed down without cruelty, warm yet unyielding.
Lucian Ardent. The Successor of House Ardent. Grandson of Grand Duke Lucan Ardent. The very man Lumberling had once crossed paths with in the capital.
Whispers stirred at the edges of the silence. "It’s him... Lord Lucian... the Ardent heir..."
"What’s happening here?" His voice rang out, commanding, yet devoid of anger.
Kairo’s expression shifted instantly. His rage melted into something desperate and eager, his eyes lighting up as if salvation had arrived. He hurried forward, voice trembling just enough to seem pitiful.
"Lord Lucian, thank you for coming! They were ganging up on me and my master. If you hadn’t come... We’d be dead already!"
His words carried the weight of practiced victimhood, dripping with false sincerity.
From the back, Gobo2’s voice rang out, indignant. "Woah, this bastard’s really spouting lies now!"
A ripple of uneasy laughter broke from some of the goblins nearby, though quickly silenced when Lireath’s men glared.
Lumberling, calm as ever, didn’t respond. His eyes rested on Kairo with the same quiet patience as a man watching a child throw stones at a wall.