Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 289: Chapter 289: A Bet Between Palatines

Chapter 289 – A Bet between Palatines

Meadow winced inwardly after her words. She wasn’t truly the type to threaten someone using her wealth, but she simply couldn’t accept being threatened either.

If Jeanne wanted to play this game, she’d better be ready.

’After all, I learned from the best.’ Meadow added inwardly, watching Jeanne’s face darken further and further.

She expected some retort, some counter-threat, or something along those lines. But Jeanne did none of that.

"D-Don’t do that." Jeanne whispered under her breath, her voice so faint and frail that Meadow had to lean closer just to catch it.

"What?" Meadow blurted out, thrown off by such a sudden shift into meekness.

"Don’t touch my family. Please, don’t do anything to them because of me." Jeanne’s voice turned desperate now, and she was shaking.

She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood that welled up and trickled down.

She tried to use the pain to stave off another episode. It was neither the time nor the place to publicly show the world how broken she was.

But it proved harder than Jeanne expected. Her body wouldn’t stop trembling, her eyes blurring, tears threatening to fall.

Meadow saw all of this and immediately panicked.

"Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong with you?!" She hissed, keeping her voice low, careful not to draw attention.

She stepped closer to Jeanne, positioning herself to shield her from view.

"T-Take me away." Jeanne begged, her body on the verge of giving out, "Take...me away from here, fast. Please!"

Meadow was at a loss for words. Jeanne was crying now, her eyes dilating as though she were staring straight at a monster.

She began mumbling under her breath, gripping tightly at Meadow’s shirt, slowly sinking to the ground.

"F-Father....forgive me. Forgive me...I’ll be better...don’t kill me. Don’t...don’t...don’t..."

Her body began convulsing, twitching uncontrollably, her face a mixture of pain, horror, and a fear so deep it broke Meadow’s heart.

Yet the tycoon stood frozen, rooted in place, this situation nothing like she’d expected.

"H-How can I help—!"

"Is everything okay, Miss?" Omm’s voice suddenly rang out as he approached, and in that moment it sounded like an angel’s to Meadow’s ears.

But the man himself froze the instant he saw Jeanne’s condition.

"Help her!" Meadow hissed at him, afraid and thoroughly confused, "Help her get out of here! No, let’s take her to the Health Center!"

Omm didn’t need telling twice. He moved with swift efficiency, scooping Jeanne into his arms.

Then, paying no mind to Teacher Mustang or the other students, he stormed out of the classroom, Meadow close behind him.

Teacher Mustang watched the scene unfold and, without fully understanding what happened, immediately began to cry, sniffling like a young boy abandoned by his best friend.

"They left my class. My students hate me."

He grew instantly more depressed, sinking to the ground and drawing shapes in the dirt with his thick finger, sniffling every so often.

The sight of such a giant man acting like a child sent shivers through the remaining students, their faces twisted in disbelief.

"What in Vorn’s name is wrong with him?"

That was the question the whole Academy had been asking ever since the Dean brought Mustang in from some unknown place.

Who exactly was this giant, bald man?

Well...

"I’m so sad." Teacher Mustang muttered, his voice rumbling like an earthquake.

...just a sad little giant, it seemed.

...

"I’m not sad at all!" Copycat screamed at Cassandra, who stared back at him blankly.

"You look sad. So you are sad." She said simply, expression unchanged.

"Then you’re fucking dead, because I’ve never seen eyes as lifeless as yours. And damn it, Widow, you reek of death too, since you’re always in that graveyard."

"Do you want me to dig you a grave?"

"For me to bury your depressed ass in? Yes, absolutely. I’d love to put an end to your life."

"I’m your elder. Show some respect."

"Fuck you."

"I’ll bury you with—!"

"Guys, please?" Cassius cut into their endless bickering, his voice tired, "I don’t think we have time for leisurely chats, do we? Can you not see the monsters around us?"

Not only the monsters, but also the sound of civilians fleeing, fire crackling and spreading through the nearby buildings.

Copycat and Widow finally turned their attention to their surroundings.

They stood in a wide clearing, a huge gate twisting with purple light looming in the distance.

The nearby houses had been destroyed by the monsters, set ablaze with purple fire, black smoke tinged purple billowing skyward, casting a haze over the whole area.

The scent of smoke, iron, sweat, and something putrid hung heavy in the air, mostly emanating from the monsters surrounding them.

The monsters were spider-like, but with dozens of legs each and no eyes or facial features at all. Everything smooth. Their bodies were pitch black, and one didn’t need to touch them to guess just how hard their exteriors were.

Some were small, others large. And the large ones — seven in total — were clustered near the gate, their bodies streaked with purple that made them look even more fearsome.

From what the three Palatines could tell, each leg was capable of producing its own poison. The large ones, Tier 5 monsters, could wield purple flame, a poisonous fire.

None of the three had yet seen a Tier 5 monster’s Unique Skill, a Skill roughly as lethal as the Ultimate Skills humans wielded at the Third Rank.

Essentially, the three Palatines were up against beings above their own rank. And yet none of them were particularly nervous.

Widow looked almost bored. Copycat was mostly focused on not letting his blind eye throb from irritation.

And still, the monsters advanced, held back only by Cassius’s wall of crimson fire, which he’d raised after confining the monsters to their current area, sparing the rest of the city.

"So, how do we proceed?" Cassius asked, tilting his head.

"First, bloody sucker, let me ask you something." Copycat said to Cassius, draping his arm over his shoulders, fixing him with his blind eye as though it wasn’t blind at all.

"I heard you beat up one of my useless classmates. Did you really?"

Cassius smiled, "I’m a peace lover. How could I possibly do that? Might just be slander."

"Is that so?" Copycat smiled too, "You’re not lying to me now, are you?"

"Do I look like a liar to you?"

"You look exactly like a bloody liar." Copycat nodded.

"That’s rude, senior."

"I don’t give a fuck."

"I can tell."

"Rude child." Widow chimed in.

"Can your depressed ass stay quiet while two people are talking?" Copycat said to her, while Cassius eyed his barrier, sensing it wouldn’t hold much longer.

"I’ll start right after we get back." Cassandra said coldly, still shrouded in her hood.

"Start what?"

"Digging your grave."

Copycat scoffed, unimpressed. He ignored her and turned back to Cassius, "You know, if you want, I could tell you exactly what’s going to happen tomorrow at the Opening Ceremony, Sucker. We’ll—!"

"Let’s make a bet." Cassius said, instantly drawing the attention of both Copycat and Cassandra.

He’d realized these two didn’t care at all about the mission itself. They’d stand around all day and only start whenever the mood struck them.

Cassius didn’t want to waste any more time. He could handle this alone, sure, but he’d rather see what these two Palatines were capable of first.

"A bet?" Copycat said, his blind eye twitching.

"Yes, a bet." Cassius said, "Whoever kills the most monsters wins. If I come first, both of you have to do whatever I say. If Copycat comes second, then you, Widow, have to do whatever he says. Just once, and it has to be reasonable."

The three Palatines exchanged glances, then slowly Copycat’s smile spread while Cassandra’s eyes began glowing with an eerie light.

"I like it." Copycat said, finally releasing Cassius and stepping forward, "But can I order Widow to kill herself?"

"I said reasonable." Cassius’s lips twitched.

"I think that’s pretty reasonable." Copycat shrugged.

Cassandra didn’t comment. She simply walked forward and stopped level with Copycat.

Cassius did the same, positioning himself between the two of them.

"So we’re all on the same page?" Cassius asked.

"Just drop this weak-ass barrier already, sucker."

"Less talking, more doing."

Cassius’s lips twitched heavily, ’These motherfuckers...’

[Pfft!] Ananke suppressed a laugh.

Cassius said nothing more, dispelling his barrier while detonating it at the same time, creating a shockwave that shoved the spiders back.

But they were relentless, and there were far too many of them.

Not even a second later, a sea of spiders closed in around all three from every direction, poison hissing atop their legs, ready to strike.

But they were up against three Palatines of Elysia Academy.

"Poison isn’t exactly my favorite, but oh well." Copycat murmured, cracking his neck.

"What kind of spirits are lurking here?" Drunken Widow whispered, scanning the area with hungry yellow eyes.

"Hm, let’s try 30% of my strength first." Cassius followed, loosening the tie of his uniform.

And then the world seemed to pause as each of them activated their Skill:

"First Skill..." Copycat’s blind eye glowed, fixing on one of the Tier 5 spiders, "Copy."

Purple fire burned within his blind eye, then spread across his entire body.

"First Skill:" Widow followed, opening her mouth to swallow a wandering spirit trying to slip past her lips, "SpiritEater."

A golden light burst from her mouth and eyes, pushing her hood back. She swiftly mastered the power of the Light Spirit and summoned her weapons: two scimitars.

"First Skill..."

Cassius’s left eye glowed with a draconic hue, his mouth stretching wide open. Deep within it, a ball of crimson flame tinged with white swirled endlessly upon itself.

"...Bloodflame."

Then he roared. And the world turned crimson.

—End of Chapter 289—