Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 939: Victory Speech

Asher turned his gaze away from Arianna Haellight as he could sense her burning determination, his purple eyes landing on the people scattered before him. His Emotion Perception was still activated, as all of his newly awakened soul-related abilities were passive abilities, meaning they didn’t require Astra energy to use, allowing him to keep them activated at all times. At the same time, he could also turn them off whenever he wanted.

Asher could still sense the emotions they all felt, but after staring at them for a moment, he turned towards the First Sun, Malrik, and nodded at him before turning to his father, Azaron, and the rest of the Elders and Wargraves, nodding at them as well. He then turned away to walk down from the elevated platform. But before he could take more than a single step, Overlord Cynthia spoke.

“As the winner of the four hundred and fifth Inter-Empire Tournament, you are required to give a speech, Asher Wargrave,” Cynthia stated as she stared at Asher with a calm expression, as she too wondered what changes Asher had experienced.

Asher sighed before turning towards the middle of the platform. There was no standing microphone waiting for him or anything of the sort, as all he needed to do was amplify his voice with Astra energy, and everyone would hear him just fine.

‘Should I give some arrogant statement?’ Asher stood in silence for a moment as he stared at the crowd.

With that, he opened his mouth and spoke ever so calmly.

“I want to thank every student who crossed blades with me for showing me their own strength, talent, and abilities, and to those who reached the final stages, I thank them even more for such entertaining battles,” he stated, his eyes moving from one student to another.

He didn’t bother giving some motivational speech about how everyone had looked down on him and now he was standing here, nor did he speak about how even those who awakened on their third try could one day stand upon the very stage he now occupied. No, he simply thanked the students he had fought against, as that was how he truly felt.

With that, he stopped looking at the students and focused on the countless individuals spread throughout the hall as his Emotion Perception ability silently read them all.

“And I know that with the sheer talent and abilities I’ve shown within this Inter-Empire Tournament, everyone will be gunning for my head,” Asher stated, a smile appearing on his lips.

At Asher’s words, the eyes of many people flickered as though Asher was speaking directly to them. Yes, they would make a move, but they had never expected Asher to openly address it during his victory speech.

“And all I can say to that is… I and the rest of the Wargraves look forward to taking your lives.” His smile slowly widened into a full grin as he stared down at everyone like an arrogant monarch welcoming every single attempt on his life.

With that, he turned and walked away without a change in expression, his footsteps echoing as he descended the small flight of stairs. As he walked, everyone instinctively gave him space as though they were looking at a madman who had just dared to openly challenge every powerhouse on the planet.

The atmosphere turned strangely heavy after that final statement. Everyone knew something was definitely going to happen, and they all knew the Wargraves seemed more than happy to welcome it with open arms.

Cynthia’s eyes remained on Asher. She couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of nostalgia as she remembered her younger days of standing against the entirety of the Thalvorn Empire before eventually ascending to the position of Overlord. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away from the elevated platform, as to her, that had been both the shortest and the best speech she had ever heard since she first began watching the Inter-Empire Tournament.

The Wargraves looked at Asher as though they were witnessing the birth of the powerhouse the boy was steadily transforming into. If people intended to make a move on your life, then why not make a move on theirs as well? Run? Hide? What were those?

Malrik remained silent, but one could clearly see the enormous smile plastered across his face as he watched his departing brother. At his side, Azaron wore that same expression that seemed to have been carved from stone.

Asher returned to his former seat, the place where he had been sitting beside Arianna Haellight, and sat down with a faint smile on his face.

Asher had simply spoken what was on his mind. He knew he would be attacked, and he welcomed it. If he was going to die, then he would simply teleport away. No big deal. Only an idiot remained on a battlefield while knowingly fighting a battle they couldn’t win.

But he wouldn’t lie… he looked forward to the carnage that would inevitably come from what was about to unfold.

Asher could still feel the eyes of countless people fixed upon him, but he simply ignored them all, as he had nothing to say to anyone.

Arianna also stared at Asher with her amber-gold eyes before letting out a quiet sigh.

“It seems the gap between the two of us has grown even larger,” she said, her tone low as she gently shook her head.

Asher turned his attention towards her before replying, “Well, given the explanation of the Fruit Of Dawn, that is only natural.” There wasn’t the slightest trace of hubris or arrogance in his voice.

Arianna smiled, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Fruit Of Dawn or the Fruit Of Morning, I will win next time,” she declared, her tone filled with certainty, as though she had complete confidence in the extent of her own talent.

Asher let out a soft chuckle before replying, “You say ‘next time’ as though we’re going to participate in the next Inter-Empire Tournament or something.”

Arianna paused, finding herself with nothing to say in response before sighing and shaking her head. There were no more words to exchange, as in the end, only results truly mattered.

Although she didn’t voice it aloud, Arianna Haellight knew that, just as Asher had said, an attack was almost certainly going to happen. And although he had won the competition, it certainly didn’t mean she herself was exempt from becoming a target. She wasn’t naive.

She knew an attempt would be made on her life. Although she had absolute confidence in her father’s strength, she also knew that whoever orchestrated such an attack would undoubtedly deploy someone capable of holding him back. She couldn’t help but smile slightly as she stared into the empty space before her.

After losing to Asher, she needed someone upon whom she could vent her frustration. Just like Asher, she too was looking forward to the carnage that would erupt the very moment the journey back to the Velkarin Empire officially began.

With that, she rose to her feet. There was no time to waste. She needed to resume her training, and since the reward had already been distributed, there was nothing else left for her to do or see here. She had only remained out of curiosity regarding the tournament’s reward.

“Leaving already?” Asher asked.

Arianna turned towards him and replied, “Need to return to my room. There is nothing more to see here.”

Asher nodded at her words before asking, “Are you free tomorrow?”

“No. I’ll be training,” Arianna Haellight replied flatly.

Asher remained silent for a brief moment before adding, “It seems we might never see each other again, considering we only met because of the Inter-Empire Tournament,” his tone calm as he too rose to his feet.

“For some reason, I doubt that,” Arianna Haellight stated as her eyes shifted towards her father for a brief moment. “It was nice meeting you, Dominator,” she added finally before walking away with graceful, unhurried steps.

But as she walked, the ambient Astra energy suddenly warped as a phone number materialized before her, floating gently through the air as she continued walking. Beside the phone number was a simple message.

‘Whenever you are free, give me a text or a call.’

The message read.

Arianna didn’t need to think very hard to know that it was Asher’s phone number. She turned towards the direction where Asher had been sitting, only to discover that he was already gone.

She smiled and continued walking as the phone number gradually vanished. Although she neither wrote it down nor entered it into her phone, she had already committed every digit to memory. While her memory wasn’t as absurd as Asher’s, it still far surpassed that of any genius.