The room went silent. All turned their attention toward Leonard and Lillian. Lillian looked at Leonard, her gaze hard to read. Leonard looked at Lillian, his gaze holding hatred for his sister; his smile represented hatred as well. Both siblings looked at each other, none speaking.
"Tsk. So, you're going to bring disrespect to your family's name?" Richard said, then smiled and added, "How would your mommy and daddy feel about this, huh? Letting a precious corpse go to waste because of your powerlessness."
"If you agree to handing over the bo—"
"Shut up. You talk too much."
Once Leonard said this, the room's quietness increased, if it could; all were looking at Leonard and Richard. Leonard looked unbothered by what he had said. Richard, on the other hand, wasn't so calm about what was said about him; his eyelids twitched, and his expression shifted to that of rage.
"You're finished," he muttered as he was about to move, but a hand grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
'Garrett.'
Richard's brother had stopped him from attacking. Looking at him, Richard noticed that Garrett wasn't looking at him, but at Morgana, who was close to Leonard. Richard was confident in his speed, but he wasn't willing to go against Morgana; after all, it was only right that Morgana return the hospitality Leonard showed by defending him.
"Garrett, you seem energetic," Morgana said, then stared at him, a faint smile finding its way onto her face. "Would you want to have a friendly spar with me?"
Hearing this, everyone in the room was shocked at the turn of events. Morgana, a Rank Two, versus Garrett, a Rank Three. If it were any other person, they would have considered the fight unfair, but it so happened that this person was Morgana—the girl with the highest Qi output recorded. They were also looking at the two in anticipation; after all, it was a way to gauge their strength, and it was their first time fighting.
Morgana had a tremendous Qi output that gave her an advantage against Garrett who, compared to her, was a normal Rank Three. Garrett glanced at Morgana, then Leonard; he kept quiet for some time, then finally opened his mouth with a faint smile.
"Sure. I'll accept your friendly spar request."
Hearing him accept the challenge, the people in the room weren't disappointed with his decision. There was one person who wasn't happy with the turn of events the most: Leonard.
First, they keep a corpse belonging to his family, and now they defend him. It was like they were planning on causing Leonard to rely on them, then merge the two families to increase the status of the Astra family. The so-called act of kindness performed by defending Leonard was nothing but a way for him to be exploited.
'I do wonder who will win this fight.'
Although Morgana had a high Qi output, she couldn't use it for long; she would eventually exhaust her Qi and be at a disadvantage. Garrett could drag out the fight to guarantee a win.
"Heh, heh. Well, if you youths want to spar, the stage is all yours," Morgana's father said as he extended his hand, gesturing for the open space below him.
People close by made way, leaving space for the two to fight. Leonard glanced at Morgana one last time and left with Melissa. Richard seemed to mutter something to Garrett, but he didn't do anything else. Lillian just watched the events unfold. Elizabeth was also just watching the events unfold, not wanting to involve herself. Alexander, on the other hand, could be seen chuckling.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps could be heard. Morgana walked diligently to the stage given to them with a slight smile which filled one with fear; her brown eyes shined with a sharp light.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Garrett also made his way to the stage; he loosened his tie. His eyes held a dark glee in them; just like Morgana, he had a slight smile on his face. Soon, the two were a short distance from each other, each reflecting their opponent in their eyes.
"Shall we begin?" Garrett asked.
"Sure," Morgana replied.
Morgana noticed that white lines moved rapidly on her body. These lines danced around like ballerinas, dislocated from her skin, and moved in the air. These lines moved far and wide as if unstable, but also stable. The lines soon joined, forming something like a flame around Morgana—a flame of white. Morgana looked at Garrett; her eyes shined with white light.
Garrett noticed that brown lines started to move around his body. They moved with precision and accuracy, occupying most of his body. The remaining lines dislocated from his body and moved in the air, creating a flame-like illusion—a flame of brown.
'Such Qi output... truly is monstrous.'
Despite being a distance away, Morgana's Qi was considerably close to Garrett. To him, unlike Morgana, her Qi was also brown, but it didn't feel like his; he could differentiate between the two somehow. Garrett's Qi was mostly in his body; those in the air that belonged to him were close to moving past four inches.
'His Qi is precise,'
Morgana thought while looking at Garrett's Qi. Unlike hers, which was everywhere due to its high amount, Garrett's Qi was occupying his body. Although her huge amount of Qi gave her an advantage, this was only temporary; once it was exhausted, she would be as good as lost. Unlike Garrett, her Qi wasn't organized or precise; it was just because of how large it was that it occupied most of her body and the surroundings.
Both of them concentrated on their legs, their eyes locked on each other. Morgana's smile widened; her Qi in the surroundings started to move towards her legs and arms. Like melting wax, it melted on her hands, leaving them pure white; this went for her legs as well.
'Qi hardening.'
Garrett extended his hand. Some brown Qi left his body and moved in the air. Once in the air, like cotton interweaving, the Qi moved around, forming a medium-sized brown sphere in front of him.
'Qi manifestation.'
The battle between the two had begun.