Chapter 117 (1/2)

Chapter 117

Ch. 117: Battle after Appearance

“To think that you would come out yourself. I’m honestly surprised.”

Stoos laughed at Dia’s words.

When she did so, Lapis took a step back, her expression stiffening, and Loren stepped up, with his great sword ready, to be the front line.

“Are we doing this? This isn’t in our favor at all.”

Although Lapis had said something downbeat, Loren couldn’t help but agree.

After all, even though their opponent was unarmed while he had a great sword, his hands were sweaty, and a cold chill was going up his spine ever since he saw Stoos.

Even to Loren, who was battle hardened, the pressure he felt from her was so great, he thought that his knees would buckle.

“To think that an Elder that isn’t hiding her animosity would be this much…”

Lapis as well, who was able to go toe to toe with ease against a True, was being pressured like Loren, with cold sweat running down her cheek and neck.

Although a bead of sweat ran down Lapis’ white, glossy skin, she didn’t bother to wipe it.

It was because if she did so and lost focus for even a moment, there was a chance she could be killed before she could even finish wiping it.

“I guess it was true that there is an unscalable wall separating Elders and Trues…I’d rather punch through a hundred Trues than face her.”

“You think only a hundred or so would balance it out? You’re cute.”

Stoos smiled, as if she had heard a funny joke.

She was completely looking down on them, but it was with good grounds, and since Loren knew that as well, he couldn’t say anything back.

Although the woman was just standing there, he couldn’t see an opportunity to rush in and attack.

No matter how he attacked, he only saw himself being killed immediately, so naturally his hands, which were holding onto the grip of his sword, was moist with sweat.

“No good Lapis?”

“If I at least had all my limbs…but there’s nothing I can currently do.”

“As expected of an Elder, I guess.”

“It would be different if Dia could join us.”

Loren glanced at Dia at Lapis’ words.

She was biting her lips and looking at Stoos in frustration, but when she noticed Loren’s gaze, she managed to shake her head slightly.

Race wise, the two of them were equal, but there was a definite difference between the them.

“I’m sure you know already, but I know her True Name.”

As Stoos said so playfully, two things became apparent.

One was that Dia’s master, Sierra, was siding with Stoos to disrupt Dia’s exam.

The other was that if a fight broke out, Dia couldn’t be counted as any help.

“I don’t need to tell you where I got that information, right?”

“I didn’t realize that I was so hated.”

When Dia managed to moan out, for some reason, Stoos’ eyes widened slightly, as if she was surprised.

“Dia, you’re misunderstanding something.”

“What?”

When Dia questioned the word misunderstanding, Stoos, still smiling, started to explain what she meant.

“Sierra didn’t plan on killing you or anything. She doesn’t hate you at all, in fact, she loves you so much it disgusts me.”

“Huh?”

This time Loren was the one who let out a stupid voice.

Since Sierra had leaked Dia’s True Name, as well as sent hordes of undead, anyone who heard that she loved Dia would have the same response as Loren did.

“To put it simply, what she didn’t like was that the topic of Dia going on her own came from other Elders, not her.”

According to Stoos, when it came to Dia becoming a full fledged Elder, Sierra had planned everything carefully, and was going to do it when she thought the time was right.

But the other Elders caught wind that Dia’s skill in magic surpassed that of Sierra’s and decided that it was a waste for such a powerful Elder to not be on her own.

Sierra had been against giving Dia the exam, but since majority ruled, the exam was to be held.

Stoos then went on to explain that Sierra wasn’t satisfied, so she did all those things.

“I thought it was stupid as well, but if I went along with her plans, I could absorb her into my side, so I decided that it was worth a shot.”

“What the hell…So what would happen after.”

“If Dia fails the test, it would mean the reputations of the Elders who recommended her to take the exam would crumble, and the exam would completely be under the management of Sierra, wouldn’t it? If that happens, it means that things would go back to how she planned everything to be.”