10

About three weeks have passed since Neville and I fought against Byron and Nick, my older brother. At that time, both Neville and I thought that our fates had come to an end, but fate had other plans. That was when Sunny Everdeen, a disciple of Master Joe, came to our rescue. The loud bell-like sound I heard actually came from the power of her Sphinx Beast.

Slowly, I approached a girl with long flowing hair, none other than Sunny Everdeen. I don't know why, but she didn't immediately leave us after we regained consciousness; instead, she took care of us diligently until our wounds were completely healed.

"Sunny, thank you for taking care of us until now," I said as I stood right beside her.

Sunny shook her head and replied, "It's no problem. Besides, I didn't expect to run into you in that condition."

"Yes, and thanks to that, you managed to save us." I paused for a moment. "But I'm curious, why were you there at that time? Was it just a mere coincidence, or was there something else?"

"I wish it were a coincidence. Unfortunately, it wasn't." Sunny shook her head. "At that time, I was spying on Nick Salazar. I didn't expect you to fight him there."

"Spying? Why?"

Sunny looked at me with a blank expression, then averted her gaze. "I actually didn't want to discuss this with anyone, but since you are also Master Joe's disciple, I'll tell you that Master Joe didn't die of old age, but of poison! He was poisoned!"

"Poisoned?!" Honestly, it shocked me; I had never even considered the possibility that Master Joe could be poisoned by someone. "How do you know that, and who poisoned him?"

A gentle breeze blew as Sunny tidied her flowing hair. "Do you think it was a coincidence that I arrived shortly after Master Joe's death? That's far from the truth. I came there because I received information that Nick Salazar had poisoned Master Joe, considering him a threat to the government."

"You mean..."

"I'm investigating the truth of that information. But one thing is clear: Master Joe's death was a reality."

Nick Salazar... my brother, killed Master Joe? Why?

I clenched my right hand tightly. It wasn't hard for me to imagine that my elder brother would poison Master Joe for power and control. However, from Sunny's statement, I never imagined that Master Joe held enough influence in the government. I thought he was just an old master with no real power.

"I think the information I've told you is enough, and both of you have fully recovered." Sunny turned around, starting to walk away. "I'll go do what I need to do."

"Wait!" I tried to stop Sunny. "I'll go with you!"

Not paying much attention to my words, Sunny waved her hand and replied, "Just do what you have to do."

Appearing indifferent, Sunny finally left, entering the forest, and disappeared from my sight. However, now I have many questions and even more reasons to stop Nick Salazar! It's not about revenge, but about doing what's necessary to fix the world.

After a while, Naville came and asked, "Were you with Sunny just now, Ars?"

I shook my head. "She's gone."

"Ah, I see... I thought we had gained another friend—"

"Naville," I interrupted. "How about we have a fight?"

"Huh? Why so sudden?"

"There's nothing wrong. I just want to know how strong I am now after that fight. Did I become stronger or weaker?"

"Well then." Naville immediately activated his right eye. "I won't hold back! Come on, Ars!" Naville leaped backward, attacking me with his Beast Thestral.

"I won't hold back either!" I jumped forward, attempting to strike Naville's Thestral with my bare hands. However, the Beast leaped high, avoiding my attack.

"Sorry, Ars, but I'm not that foolish!"

My vision suddenly darkened, and a hard punch hit my stomach. It seemed I was too boastful of my strength and neglected the strategy in the fight.

***

Evening arrived, and I was catching my breath after the intense battle with Naville. There was no winner or loser; we just stood there, with our bodies in a mess, maintaining distance and looking at each other. I didn't understand why, but having such fights occasionally didn't seem so bad.

"That was quite enjoyable, Naville." I exhaled deeply, stood upright, and adjusted my breathing. "I never thought you'd be able to fight me on equal terms. Haha!"

"Don't rush to conclusions!" Naville tried to catch his breath. "We've only fought with all our strength for the first time. Though I admit I was afraid of your intimidating abilities before, now I'm not."

"Haha! You're right." I looked up and shifted my gaze towards the setting sun. We were standing on the edge of a cliff, so I could clearly see the golden light gradually fading. "I think we should do it more often, before the second round begins!"

"Whatever, I don't really care." Naville approached slowly, standing beside me, gazing at the setting sun too. "As long as I can get revenge on the Nevaeh family, I'll be satisfied!"

"You're not a hypocrite, that's for sure. But why didn't you fight Byron Nevaeh yourself at that time?"

"It was just to prevent you from getting beaten up by your brother right away." Naville exhaled deeply. "You must know that your power doesn't work that well against him. But I'll become stronger and defeat him for you, while you break down the detestable noble family!"

"Alright. You are someone who keeps their promises and words!"

I thought our conversation was over, but Naville then brought up a different topic from our previous one. "By the way, Sunny Everdeen—that girl, she also has a unique and powerful Beast, right? Why didn't you recruit her?"

I glanced at Naville for a moment, answering, "She's my fellow disciple. She said she has other things to take care of, so she does what she believes is necessary, and I do what I have to do."

"That's a shame. Having someone who can use a Beast that can hypnotize someone with their voice would make us an even stronger team."

"Are you starting to doubt your abilities? Haha...."

"Of course not!"

In the end, Naville and I exchanged jokes and then went off to find dinner—or rather, go hunting. Although what we caught wasn't as delicious as what Sunny had given us yesterday, as long as it was edible, it was good enough.