"A fresh peak rank 1?" Disappointment was apparent on the princess' face.
Varian fused the paths of the clone, pushing it to a peak rank 1 state.
But of course, the clone was too weak to sustain any real fighting. If the clone could do everything, he didn't need to risk everything to come here.
Once again, Eshala only saw what he wanted her to see.
"You can't win against them, but inflicting soul injury…"
A powerful soul force fluctuated around Varian, causing Eshala's eyes to widen.
The attack was honestly too weak for her. But the quality of the attack…
"It's very exquisite."
Of course, it would be. It's created from the mini-slivers of life and death themselves!
"It's not like I'm losing anything with your presence." Eshala muttered. "But who are you and why are you doing this?"
Varian took a deep breath and turned his gaze to the highest pavilion, focusing on a handsome man's silhouette.
His eyes glowed for a moment and he spoke in a cold tone. "Revenge."
"Ah? You're one of those?" Eshala rolled her eyes. "Well at least you aren't saying you'll sneak upon Samael like the idiots before, are you? Even my finest assassins fail and I'm in charge of the empire's assassins."
"No." Varian shook his head without any hesitation. "That's beyond my reach. If he wants to dethrone you, it's enough as long as you remain on the throne. I truly believe you can kill him one day." "If you can succeed, I'll have a chance." Eshala said.
"I'm ready to throw away my life for winning." Varian bowed his head.
"Very well, I'll arrange an identity for you. You're…hm, the survivor of a extinct race?" With a few taps on her bracelet, Eshala already obtained the information Krystal Arts encrypted.
"Your true identity will be a trump card of my faction to be deployed in unexpected situations, just like these."
Varian nodded.
{The duels end in thirty minutes}
"Now get out there and win a spot for the next competition." Eshala flickered her finger and an insignia printed itself on his forehead, marking him as her property.
He was blasted out of the doors which quickly closed as if nothing happened.
'Fuck.'
In a minute, the clone reached the private room and merged with the main body.
Rubbing the insignia, Varian first verified that it had no malicious function.
And then, he hesitated.
'Should I really take a risk here? Coming into Jai Empire, fighting against other ranked princes in the presence of three faction leaders…it's really very risky.'
[Wh-Whaat? Host, what happened to you? You're suddenly speaking sense!]
'…' Varian took a few breaths to calm himself but the consequence he'd have to face if something went wrong played in his mind unceasingly like a broken record.
He told them he'd just come and hunt the princes. And here he was, participating in a fricking duel, putting himself in a very, very dangerous spot.
Of course, he's confident in his stealth reinforced by the slivers themselves.
Even if these were divine rankers, these people had never seen him before to look through his disguise.
The closest encounter he had was with Eshala's clone but that was completely annihilated. So, no information was actually exchanged between them.
Moreover, his aura changed drastically thanks to the exposure to life-death slivers.
Even if someone saw him as a celestial, they wouldn't be able to identify him now.
'Unless I get killed in the duel itself, I shouldn't be suspected. The biggest hurdle was Eshala. She gave me the pass.
Now I only need to get far enough and get knocked out at an appropriate time. Once the ranking duels start, she should have to sit with those two. Any intervention by leaders in such duels is strictly forbidden.
I can escape once I'm brought for treatment.'
The plan was perfect. 'If there is ever a risk of getting caught, then I'd rather lose. Killing ranked princes in duels like these isn't encouraged anyway. So, I should be fine.'
Slapping himself, Varian walked out of the room. "Hand'sum! Where have you been?" Adsher appeared at the end of the corridor, his eyes spitting fire.
Ten minutes. He vanished for ten minutes and this man was already feeling like hell.
"Fuck off, I don't have time to play games." Varian said in a cold tone.
"What the?!" His eyes widened and he clenched his fists. The mark on his hand glowed and Cyris rushed to his side in a moment, hand on her sword sheath.
"Take him into an isolated room and kick some sense into his arrogant hea—"
Varian leaned forward and lightly kicked the ground.
The invisible space in front of him split like a river and the vaccuum pulled him in.
With a flash, Varian vanished, landing on the stage a few light years away.
Adsher stood frozen in place, only realizing that the man in front of him vanished a few seconds later.
"Wh-What was th…"
His voice grew weak and his legs wobbled. Before he even knew why, he collapsed to the ground and trembled violently.
"Cy-Cyris…m-my bo-body is..shaking! It's shivering! S-Stop it! Please stop it!" Cyris came to her senses only when she heard his voice. She glanced at the stop where Varian stood blankly for a moment before checking her slave mark.
It's subtle but she could feel it.
'The mark is fading. In a few days, it'll be gone.'
"Cyris! Ahhh, cyris, m-my body…stop it…it's…it's…"
Adsher curled up, tears spilling out of his eyes like there's no tomorrow.
The scariest part?
"I…Stop my body!"
He didn't even know why.
"Master," Cyris glanced at the position where Adsher previously stood and checked it with the fine line carved by Varian's space leap.
With a slight calculation, she checked his shoulder.
She was right!
"Your shoulder…" Cyris instinctively took a step back and pointed to the tiny, tiny silver spot on him.
It wasn't even a single droplet of aura. Heck, not even a thousandth of it.
And yet.
"A spot of divine aura touched you and your body is paying respects."
Cyris' voice was filled with complicated emotions.
"And it's asking for forgiveness."
Adsher's eyes widened and his scared mind was finally able to think of the situation he's in.
"H-He…He…"
Cyris nodded with a bitter face. "Even before your mind, your body recognized him for who he is."
"W-What is he...?"
"A divine ranker."
Adsher fainted.