Chapter 1312 (1/2)

“Wait!” Theodora Greyman said, folding her arms across her chest as Tatiana made to turn away and speak to a woman that Theodora didn’t recognize beside her. It was a risk to speak out now, but Theodora Greyman didn’t want to leave tonight empty-handed. She needed to gather a bit of goodwill and this seemed like a good way to do it?

When Tatiana turned around, her eyes had something in them that Theodora recognized as pity. “Yes? Is something the matter?”

Even more annoying that this strange woman also looks at me without the faintest hint of respect, Theodora thought as her eyes flicked to the white-haired woman next to Tatiana.

“It’s difficult for me to simply go on enjoying myself at a party right now,” President Greyman said rather matter of factly. “Considering the many threats against Earth. These Corrupted Invaders… I think it would be best if we spent some time right now discussing how we plan on meeting this threat. And meet it as a united Earth. I was thinking-”

“I appreciate your dedication to Earth, President Greyman, but we won’t need to waste our time with that subject right now.” Tatiana cut in.

President Greyman didn’t know whether she should be pleased that Tatiana had reacted as she had expected or annoyed at how dismissive the woman was being. Because even with the shame of the recent attack on Zone 1, President Greyman was a much more influential individual on the world stage. Did Tatiana really think that she was a pushover? “Really? Is that the official stance of Kharon? Because my read of the notification is that there is a hard time limit to the benefits we can receive from the System, but the dangers are permanent. And not to state the obvious, but the rest of us don’t have the luxury of having our entire city run away from a threat. So if we at least don’t divvy up the Danger Zones we need to investigate-”

“This is a bit earlier than expected, but since you are so enthusiastic about this issue… Randidly Ghosthound already informed me that he would talk about the Corrupted Invaders later. He’s already located the Danger Zones that have been corrupted. He will distribute the information once he is prepared.” Tatiana gave Theodora a warm smile. “As I said, such a discussion would currently be a waste of time.”

Without waiting for more of a response, Tatiana turned and ascended the right staircase to the second floor of the ballroom without looking back. Some surrounding people spared Theodora a few glances, but they seemed more interested in the party favors and open bar than even gossiping about the deft rejection Theodora had just received.

Theodora gritted her teeth and spoke quietly to Mark Rowel. “Think there is a chance that they are bluffing?”

“No,” Mark said rather bluntly. “Even Randidly Ghosthound wouldn’t be able to get away with lying to so many people. Nor would I think he cares enough to lie. And that woman wouldn’t have been as ice cold as she was if she was hiding something. No, I think it’s better to wait to make a move later. I really don’t believe that nothing dangerous will happen here. And once the veneer of invulnerability fades away, we will have more leverage.”

Theodora thought about that for a few seconds and was finally going to respond, but she noticed that Richter’s gaze next to them suddenly sharpened. She twisted around to follow the focus of his eyes. A man she recognized from being one of the more powerful individuals from Donnyton, Kayle, had stepped out onto the shimmering black tiles that took up the majority of the ballroom.

Light began to bloom underneath his feet as he moved forward.

It started small enough that it was easy to miss, but by the time that the man had taken three steps outward, the radiance had grown to the point that people were turning and looking at the sudden light source. Kayle stopped abruptly, looking down at the ground and frowning. The light seemed to pulse gently, sending out ripples over the surrounding ground.

And then, radiating slowly outward along with the warm waves of light that his contact with the floor was producing, President Theodora Greyman felt an image that was strong enough to make the hairs on her arm stand on end. A blade seemed to be hovering in the area of the middle of the ballroom, incredibly sharp and wielded with deadly precision. The could feel the cold steel pressed against the soft veins of her neck. If Theodora was to move, she had a strong impression that the blade would descend and bisect her.

“Jesus,” Richter whispered as he frowned over at the Kayle. His favorite coin continued to dance across his knuckles. “The floor is somehow a conduit to images-”

Perhaps reaching a similar conclusion at the exact same time as Richter, another member of Donnyton leapt out to land on the stardust tiles about ten meters away from Kayle. This man, who Theodora believed to be Paolo, grinned over at Kayle then looked down at the tiles beneath his feet with obvious relish. Immediately, his own light began to rapidly grow toward the five-meter orb of brightness that Kayle now possessed.

A new image spread outward in soft ripples. Ripples that contained the sounds of a roaring crowd and a bloody champion standing with his arms raised in victory. The two images pressed against each other but truly seemed to both exist simultaneously in the air. A fascinating layer, but one that placed a lot of mental pressure on the surrounding people.

There was a change in the lights beneath their feet, however. They both continued to grow brighter and spread out until they brushed up against each other and then the lights shrunk to a more manageable size. Finally, they settled at about seven meters in diameter. It looked like the two were standing on balls of white fire. The light they produced wasn’t blinding, just illuminating. With two sources, a balance was soon achieved.

But then Paolo offered Kayle a wide smile. “I hope this isn’t your limit.”

Kayle simply snorted. Then the light beneath them both erupted with all of the violence of an incandescent volcano.

Some of the weaker aides that some of the factions had brought to the party were knocked off their feet by the shockwave of images as the two people of Donnyton intensified their contest. There wasn’t a true physical presence associated with the images, but it was clear that the floor of this place gave the images a grounding they didn’t normally have. Just by releasing their pure image, the two created a clash that everyone could feel and see.

Theodora’s mind was racing as she stared at the floor. Was this material the secret to Randidly Ghosthound’s strength? Perhaps if they could figure out its secrets-