Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 858: No Longer Hidden [GT Ranking Bonus Chapter]

At one of the Luxury Viewing Boxes, Azaron, Azazel, and Malrik could be seen sitting together.

“Sigh… these are the top sixteen students. I’m sure they don’t need a whole ten hours to recover their Astra Energy in an Astra Energy-rich location, right?” Azazel spoke as he was already eager for the final round to begin.

Azaron didn’t reply. He simply remained silent, his eyes shifting toward the odds of Asher winning the Inter-Empire Competition. At that moment, his odds had dropped to a staggering 0.1. Even Arianna’s odds held the same number, as anyone betting on either of them at this stage wasn’t going to make any meaningful profit.

People were already cursing their luck for placing bets on individuals like Isaac Wrath Chillstorm. They had watched him flee from a Rank 7 Shadow Assassin Clone. Although they didn’t know whether he could defeat it head-on or not, that alone had convinced them that the money they had wagered on him was practically gone.

“Ten hours isn’t too long, and you know it. By the time you blink, the time will already be gone,” Azaron finally replied as the heads-up display before him vanished.

Azazel sighed as he shook his head. Personally, he simply wanted to see his daughter fight Asher. He could already tell it was going to be a legendary battle, a clash between the children of two best friends. The thought alone thrilled him.

“It seems your daughter was dealt a bad hand during the second round, Lord Azazel,” Malrik, who had barely interrupted the discussion between his father and Azazel until now, finally spoke.

“Indeed,” Azazel replied with a sigh. “If I were in her shoes, I would’ve eliminated every student just as she did,” he said calmly. “At least Asher was fortunate enough to have a strong teammate from your own Empire.”

Malrik nodded, a faint smile appearing on his lips as he felt genuinely proud of his younger brother. His eyes then shifted toward his father, Azaron, who appeared lost in thought.

‘It seems Father sensed it as well,’ Malrik thought to himself. He would’ve been far more surprised had the opposite been true.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Azazel spoke.

“Your son seems to have more and more cards up his sleeve,” Azazel’s voice rang out. “I wonder what that energy was… Although he disguised it as Astra Energy, it certainly wasn’t Astra Energy,” he said curiously, his eyes remaining fixed on Asher.

Azaron and Malrik had been wondering the exact same thing. They had both sensed that whatever energy Asher had cloaked Teo Swig with was anything but Astra Energy. They hadn’t noticed it earlier because they hadn’t projected their senses toward the battlefield. They had only detected it after Teo was teleported back to the Coliseum, where they could observe him with their own eyes.

They could also sense the sheer potency contained within that mysterious Energy.

‘What is the youngest’s true affinity?’ Azaron couldn’t help but ask himself.

He had already come to understand that Asher possessed multiple affinities, something he had never questioned. Asher had also displayed a Fire Affinity, which hadn’t shocked him much. However, the appearance of an entirely different form of Energy suggested that all those elemental affinities were merely sub-affinities.

“Just as you don’t want to tell me about your daughter’s abilities, I won’t tell you what my son has hidden up his sleeve either. You’ll simply have to watch and find out for yourself,” Azaron replied calmly. “It’s just like you said… why spoil the fun?”

Although he said those words with confidence, deep down he knew he was simply bluffing his way through the conversation because he genuinely had no idea what was happening. But obviously… he couldn’t admit that.

‘Maybe it’s similar to how my Sun Affinity grants me Solar Energy, while Wuthenya’s Moon Affinity grants her Lunar Energy,’ Malrik thought to himself, carefully maintaining an expressionless face so as not to reveal anything.

‘But if I possess the Sun and Sister possesses the Moon… what other celestial body could possibly grant a unique form of Energy?’ Malrik wondered inwardly.

‘A Star?’ he guessed, but that immediately seemed redundant to him, considering the stars were what granted Astra Energy in the first place.

The more he thought about it, the further the answer seemed to drift beyond his reach. Of course, Malrik had considered possibilities like Comet Energy and other celestial phenomena, but he quickly dismissed them. To him, such forms of Energy seemed… too insignificant.

Malrik’s mind was the only one traveling in that direction. Azaron’s thoughts were racing elsewhere as he formed one theory after another. He personally hadn’t received any unique form of Energy from his Nebula Affinity. Even those crimson Crown-class birds even possessed his Plasma Affinity.

After a while, Azaron simply decided to stop overthinking it. He would just ask Asher the next time they met. At the same time, he decided to watch all of Asher’s remaining battles with his own eyes instead of relying on the heads-up display.

However, he wasn’t the only one who reached that decision. Malrik and Azazel had arrived at the exact same conclusion. They wanted to personally witness this mysterious Energy that Asher could disguise as Astra Energy.

And most importantly… why was he hiding it?

Malrik and Wuthenya had never hidden theirs.

—

At the Wargrave Viewing Box, those at the Crownstar Life Rank sat in silence. They had all picked up on Asher’s Star Energy.

“Great Elder Morthen, it seems your guess was right… the youngest truly does possess an affinity he has been hiding,” Wuthenya, the Second Moon, spoke as she sat with her legs crossed.

“Brother is hiding an affinity?” Thalric, who had only just joined them, asked, as he wasn’t fully up to date on everything surrounding Asher.

“Yes. He has already displayed multiple elemental affinities, and now, although you can’t sense it yourself, that energy he wrapped around Teo Swig isn’t Astra Energy,” Wuthenya stated as she continued staring at Asher. “Even I would’ve remained clueless had it not been for my own Lunar Energy,” she added.

Her Lunar Energy had reacted the instant Asher’s Star Energy appeared, although she still had no idea why. With that, Wuthenya quickly brought Thalric up to speed on everything that had happened.

The very same discussion was taking place across almost every Luxury Viewing Box, as Asher’s disguise had failed to deceive the absurd perception possessed by Crownstar Life Rankers.

The principals of the various Academies were discussing it as well. Cindralis, much like Azaron, had no choice but to pretend she already knew about it, simply so she could earn herself a few points.

Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor merely rubbed his forehead as a headache slowly formed. To him, Asher seemed to be becoming more and more overpowered with every passing round.

Everyone believed that Solar Energy was one of the primary reasons behind Malrik Wargrave’s absurd level of talent. Although his sister also possessed a unique form of Energy, she wasn’t nearly as gifted. Most people simply attributed that difference to the belief that the Moon was weaker than the Sun, as it relied upon the Sun and couldn’t produce either light or power on its own.

But now, with the Tenth Sun having shattered every single record previously set by his elder brother while revealing yet another uniquely disguised form of Energy, the Crownstar Life Rankers couldn’t help but make countless guesses as unease quietly stirred within their hearts.

With that, numerous Crownstar Life Rankers abandoned the live feed altogether. They would watch with their own eyes and personally witness exactly what the Tenth Sun had been hiding.