Chapter 92 - 91:Before the Madness

Within an expansive throne room, a man sat on a gilded throne, the golden gemstones embedded within glistening softly whenever the sunlight hit the surface of the throne...

The man’s golden hair shimmered softly in the dim lighting of the room’s atmosphere, his presence calm, regal, authoritative..

By his side, seated on an equally elevated chair, an old man with white hair, his advanced age not diminishing the glow of vitality radiating from his skin..

Helios Calder,

the current emperor of the

Calder Imperial Dynasty,

undisputed overlord of the entire eastern domain sat with his eyes closed as he listened to his attendant give out his latest report on the mission he was sent..

"And that’s all he said, you majesty" the attendant concluded..

"Sigh.... I guess it was presumptuous of me to assume that

HE

would grace me with his presence" Helios’ magnetic voice held not a twinge of dissatisfaction, only disappointment at being denied to chance to host such a guest..

"Hahaha.. your majesty, surely you know that man’s reputation by now, the fact that he deigned to personally supervise the eastern domain, despite being the overseer, should already be an honor worth celebrating" the old man sitting by the side spoke up in consolation..

"I guess the magister is right" Helios replied..

"The tests should be starting anytime soon." And right on cue, a projection immediately lit up within the dim room..

The screen splitting into multiple images, capturing the various candidates and their current positions..

"Who should we be looking out for, who do you think poses a challenge to my son’s title as champion" Helios questioned no one in particular..

The attendant knew this was his cue..

"Not many of notice remain, your majesty, most had already accepted the academy’s bypassing of the tests, those that remain a challenge are few and far between" the attendant answered..

"Yet the number is not zero, so who are they" the emperor asked once more..

A holographic screen popped up before him, the image of a blond haired youth popping up..

"The young prince from

Hornraven

has also relinquished his bypass, choosing to take the tests, his intentions were made very clear".. the attendant began his report..

"Ahh, young

solstice,

it seems his rivalry with

Blaze

hasn’t changed" the emperor smiled fondly, looking at his young nephew..

"There’s also Duke Shadeborn, his youngest son has also been tasked with taking the test" the display chnaged just in time to show a young man with black hair a bored expression on his face, his hands were tucked into his pockets, as his army of undead razed whatever they come across to the ground, their advance steady as they made a beeline for the central region..

"Hahaha.. it seems the Duke is still trying to get his nonchalant son to be more active" the emperor laughed loudly..

"Truly, the young generation of the eastern domain this time around will become a force to be reckoned with, unlike previous generations" the white haired old man, known as the

magister,

praised lightly..

The emperor’s spirits soared even more..

One after the other, the atttendant revealed names and faces to be on the lookout for..

"What about that young man from...from where was it again?" The emperor asked..

"Does your majesty mean the one from the first rate bright sun city? The one his highness had given a task?" The attendant answered..

"Yes.. him.. what happened to him?"

"He’s arrived safely and is currently taking the tests as well, according to reports received, he ranked third during th first phase in

Helios city,

climbing up to the 75th floor..

"

"

Only third?" The emperor asked..

"The first is the young prince of Helios, Thaddeus and the second is a young lady by the name Michell Rosalind" the attendant answered..

"Ahh I see... seems the bloodline upgrade stone wasn’t wasted then, alright, send them both here when they get out of the trial realm" the emperor said..

"As you will" the attendant bowed..

Before he could continue with his report, a new face appeared on one of the screens on the projection..

"Isn’t that?" The emperor raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"My..my.. what’s got the little lass so agitated" the white haired magister stroked his beard in amusement..

On the projection, Cara’s image could be seen clearly as she continued venting, her attacks shaking the entirety of the cavern...

"Shit!!!!!"

Her frustrated voice could be heard clearly from the projection..

"Why is he here???"

"He should only have an

E-rank

talent, why and how is that idiot here goddamn it!!!..."

"Hmm, what is she talking about, magister?" The emperor asked, his expression puzzled..

"I...do not know" was the magister’s reply..

Before their confusion could deepen further, a new face appeared within the projection..

"Ouch, an idiot, and here I thought you’d be happy to actually see me, Cara.."

The voice was cocky, prideful, arrogant.. but worst of all, it addressed Cara with an uncanny familiarity..

"Magister, who’s that?" The emperor asked, voice curious, as he observed Cara’s frozen expression...

"I’m still not clear your majesty.."

The display zoomed in, clearly indicating a focused attention..

The voices within played out softly..

The emperor and the magister’s expressions twisting slowly the more they heard..

They watched as Cara tried in vain to stop her "attacker" only for her to be backed up against the wall..

Her body pressed firmly beneath the youth’s towering frame..

They watched her struggle in a flimsy attempt at freedom, only for the handsome young man to immobilize her easily..

But nothing, absolutely nothing made their rage spill over more than what happened next..

They watched, in mounting anger, as Cara grabbed hold of the young man and kissed him voraciously..

And then..

"Fuck me.."

Her voice rang like Thunder in their ears...

They stood as stunned as the young man himself, who seemed shocked...

"Fuck me..NOW!!!"

Her yell brought them out of their shocked states, yet before they could focus on anything, the display switched to another candidate...

"Magister..." the emperor’s voice was no longer cordial..

"Just what the fuck was that...?"....

************

Raven’s Office....

Crasshhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

"That conniving little wench!!!!!!"

Crasshhhhhhh!!!!!

Clarissa watched in mild amusement as raven demolished her entire office in a fit of rage...

The reason? She’d just watched Cara tell Dante..

HER DANTE!!!!

To fuck her...

What right did she have?

The only person Dante should be fucking senseless right now should be her...

"DAMNITTTT"...

"I’ll kill her..not just her, I’ll kill him too.. yes that’s what I’ll do, if I can’t have him all to myself, then no one can!!" Her eyes had gone black, akin to black holes as they devoured the surrounding space, causing tears in reality..

"Fufufufu... Dante, poor Dante, you’re in trouble~~~" Clarissa merely watched on, her emerald green eyes sparkling in amusement, not bothering to calm her friend down, although she was well aware of how futile it would’ve been...

***********

The reactions all over the eastern domain were the same..

People were shocked at the audacity..

Some were outraged that the scene cut just when it was about to get juicy..

But one thing everyone was in agreement about, was that the two candidates currently having "fun" were undoubtedly insane...

For the entirety of the test from then on, the entire audience’s minds were fixed on what was happening within that cave, especially since none of the two had appeared onscreen for hours now...

********

Back within the hall the candidates had teleported from, the gathered supervisors looked to valen who’s expression hadn’t budged since the beginning..

Only one person had the authority to control the projection, and it was the overseer...

The intent focus on their conversation and then the changing of it could all have only be done by him, yet did they dare question him? Of course not, and so, they focused back on the participants currently on display, minds inevitably straying to untoward thoughts about what could possibly be going on within that cave right now....

Meanwhile..

"Stupid child will be the end of me...."

Valen thought with a bitter smile hidden at the corner of his lips..

He hadn’t expected that himself, he merely wanted to focus on Dante a bit more, but what did he get in return?

"I swear, it’s like you got all your father’s bad habits and multiplied it, this time without someone to put a leash on you"

he shook his head wryly...

Yet the fond smile that appeared on his face told an entirely different story of how he must’ve been feeling...

*********

A/N: I have a dream.. a very ambitious one..

But I’ll let you guys know in the next Chapter, after Cara finally gives us our answers...

***********

Thanks for reading....