Madeleine laid on Dyon’s chest as they hovered in the air, reclined to enjoy the night sky.
“You’re quite bold for a girl who’s almost been recluse for her whole life you know,” Dyon said chuckling.
“Little sister Delia and Meiying probably thinks so too, but you’ve been in my heart since the opening ceremony. Maybe not exactly in this way… But sometimes a foot in the door for a long time leads to a fully open one, no?”
Dyon smiled, ‘it seems like she’s been watching from afar for a long time… it must be lonely being in that room with Libro all the time.’
Dyon felt a delicate hand playing with his collar, “the truth is that I’m always playing the gentle big sister role, mostly because I have no idea how much longer I’ll have the chance too…”
The vulnerability in her voice made Dyon tremble. Madeleine was so strong, yet it seemed even martial artists have their weaknesses too.
“Forget about me, tell me about your life Dyon,” Madeleine said gently.
Dyon smiled, steadying his heart as Madeleine rested her hands on his neck, ‘don’t get a boner, don’t get a boner. She’s laying her heart bare and you’re thinking about sex. Stop it.’
Madeleine chuckled, almost as though she could hear Dyon’s thoughts.
Dyon took a deep breath, “in the human world, I guess you could say I have high standing, not that that means anything at all here. My dad was a law enforcement officer, but he died when I was 10. My mom was a gentle woman, and she’s actually the one who wanted me to join this academy. Although she died when I was 8, I found some letters from her that my dad left in his will to be given to me when I turned 13.”
Dyon felt Madeleine trembling by his side, but he simply wrapped the arm that was pinned under her around her waist and pulled her closer, causing her to blush, “there’s no need to feel sad. They’re the reason I must stay strong and live a good life. I invented so many things and succeeded in the human world so I could have them look down on me with smiles on their faces. Now, I’ll do the same with the martial world.”
Madeleine stayed silent for a moment, before removing the pin for her hair and letting her beautiful brunette hair fall. She held the fiery golden lily that Dyon had gave her in her hand as she lay on Dyon’s chest, trying to hide her tears.
Dyon gently moved the hair from her eyes and wiped the tears, “now you’ve given me another reason to be strong, right?” Dyon smiled brightly as Madeleine looked up at him.
“mm,” Madeleine nodded while smiling through her tears.
“Forget all that stuff, let’s talk about something else. You’re much stronger than me, what do you think I should choose as a weapon?”
“Well, my big brother always said that swords are the king of all weapons. But, I think he’s a bit biased,” Madeleine said with a chuckle.
“Your will of music is so strong, but finding music techniques, especially ones that resonate with a man’s more innate yang characteristics, is beyond difficult. With your talent, I don’t doubt that any weapon would be mastered if put into your hands. But, since the sword is so popular, it’s the easiest to find techniques in and probably the cheapest to start off with,” Madeleine giggled, “I saw you con The General out of 10,000 profound stones, you’re probably richer than even my father right now.”
“Whooaaa, I only took advantage of a situation shown to me. Anyway, he deserved it,” Dyon said with a smile.
“There’s a bit of a warning though. Since sword techniques are so easy to find, there’s a lot of fluff to it too. Be careful in choosing so you don’t start with a shaky base.”
Dyon nodded in agreement. What Madeleine said made perfect sense.
Hours went by and soon the gentle sound of Madeleine’s breathing let Dyon know it was probably time to bring her back. Just as he was about to retract the thick blanket he had brought out hours earlier, his keen senses noticed that Madeleine was back to imperceptibly trembling. The movements were so minute he hadn’t even felt when she was right up against him. But, what really made Dyon’s heart ache was the smile on her face hadn’t faded.
Tears glistened in his eyes. At the beginning he was captivated by Madeleine’s beauty. He had never in his life seen a girl so beautiful. But, what won his heart was her strength, charisma, the hardships she had gone through. Dyon’s flirting was simply a part of his personality, his mother always taught him to say what he meant and mean what he said… to say whatever you thought because you may never get a chance later… to treat a woman’s confidence like what held you up in the world… to understand that when you found something good, it just fit – there was no change needed.
Madeleine was willing to live a short life the way she wanted rather than a long one she had no control over. She even despised the days she was lauded as a genius, and preferred her more quiet days. Her beauty was only secondary to her strength. She was a right fit that required no change.
Dyon picked Madeleine up gently. She felt like a feather in his arms as he kept the blanket tightly wrapped around her. Madeleine shifted adorably in her sleep, falling perfectly into Dyon’s chest.
Dyon looked down, not letting his tears fall. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, “I won’t let you suffer for long. I promise.”
They soared through the sky towards Patia-Neva Peak. Dyon had never been to Madeleine’s home, so all he could do was bring her to Delia. He was sure she’d have a place to rest there.
After scanning the forest through the air, Dyon finally spotted a small but elegant home. Swooping down, he used his foot to knock lightly.
A few minutes later, Meiying and Delia came to door, surprised to find Dyon.
“You two were still together this late at night? How scandalous,” Meiying said while giggling.
Dyon let off a beaming smile, not the least bit embarrassed, “I wasn’t sure where her house was, so I thought I’d bring her here.”
Delia wiped the sleep from her eyes and nodded, “you can bring her in,” she said with a light smile.
After settling Madeleine down, Meiying and Delia walked Dyon to the door. Before they could bid him good bye, Dyon spoke, “you’ve all been following me for a while, since Madeleine is gone now, you might as well come out.”
Delia and Meiying looked confused. But then, 10s of shadows started popping out of the forest.
“you don’t deserve her,” Akihiko said sinisterly.
“To think a worm like you would think you’d have the right to be with such a goddess. I wonder what you’ll do now that she isn’t here to protect you,” Caddell walked out.
Dyon ignored them, “I can’t be bothered with clowns like you, why don’t you come out too… Oliver.”
“Oliver?…” said Delia softly.
Before she could explain to Dyon that he must be mistaken, Oliver liked him, did he not? A figure they all knew walked out, golden eyes shining behind his crystal framed glasses.
“your senses are keen,” Oliver said faintly.
‘there are about 20 of them… the weakest are at the 3rd layer… Oliver is the strongest at the 9th … How do I get out of this?’
Despite the raging storm of plans forming and deforming in Dyon’s mind, his face was calm and placid.
Turning back to Delia and Meiying who looked worried for him, he said, “no matter what happens tonight, never tell Madeleine her brother was involved.”
“But –“ Delia and Meiying tried to protest.
“No.” Dyon said firmly, ‘she’s suffered through enough pain… how could I make her choose between a brother she loves so dearly and me?’
Oliver trembled when he heard what Dyon said. He was already prepared to be hated by his little sister for life. But, after Dyon and Madeleine left, his father and Pillar Elder Kami, as well as Akihiko had explained the possibility of a cure to him. How could he not give his sister this chance?
‘am I doing the right thing?…’ Oliver shook his head and regained his resolve.
Dyon leaped onto a defensive formation and slowly flew into the air, “well? Let’s go. If you fought here you’d only wake Madeleine. And wouldn’t that ruin all of your waiting?”
“Dyon, I let you and my sister have a night of peace together. But, I needed to make sure her virginity stayed intact. That’s the only reason we did this tonight.”
“I don’t particularly care about your reasons. Save the talk and let’s go.”
“Oliver! Don’t do this!” cried Delia.
“I’ll go and get Madeleine right now!” Meiying harrumphed.
Dyon’s voice rang out, “I’ve put a silencing and defensive array around her room… it won’t disperse until she wakes up on her own. Let her sleep, she’s been through enough.”
Delia had tears streaming down her face, ‘why can’t I protect anyone? My big sister finally found happiness, and it’s going to end before the week is even through?’
Delia was about to charge when 2 6th layer foundation stage boys appeared before her, sneering, “Sorry Princess, but you know your big sister better than anyone. How could a nobody like him be worthy?”
Draco turned into a raven, swooping up Chenglei, Akihiko, Oliver and Caddell.
Delia and Meiying shuddered in despair. From Akihiko’s boiling aura, they could tell he had broken into the 7th layer. 5 peak level foundation stage experts against a 13-year-old boy with no cultivation? Dyon was dead. Even if they could break through the formation that Dyon had set, even if Madeleine wasn’t sick, she wouldn’t be able to deal with them all even with Dyon’s help.
Delia and Meiying watched a proud, unyielding back get further and further away. Once they were out of sight, the figures that were in front of them bowed in apology before disappearing.
**
In the sky above the dark lake, 5 figures and a bird stood in the air.
‘At least by fighting in the air, I’ve reduced the number of enemies.’
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way, Dyon. But, if you love my sister, you have 2 choices. You either leave and never come back, or, I kill you here.”
“Brother in law, that wasn’t the plan. We must kill him,” Akihiko said in agitation.
“SILENCE! The only reason I’m allowing my sister to marry you is because I am sure that your talent is wholly inferior to hers. Once she’s cured, you’ll never be able to bully her. You’ll be husband and wife, but you will never hold a dominant role. Do you understand me? Your goal has already been fulfilled, now stand there quietly,” Oliver’s voice boomed through the night sky.
Akihiko gripped his fists in silence, smiling coldly on the inside.
Dyon snickered, “are you saying that for my sake? Or are you saying that to make yourself feel better because you’re weak and pathetic?”
Oliver turned a cold gaze towards Dyon, “I’ll give you one more chance. Because of my sister, I am willing to allow you to –“
“Let’s get one thing straight, no one “allows” me to do anything. What I do, is what I want to do. And what I want to do is be with Madeleine. If you want to kill me for that, go ahead and try.”
Oliver’s face steeled.
“You see, brother in law? He has no idea what’s good for himself. How could he know what’s good for my fiancée??
“I find this a bit funny honestly. There’s a misguided brother. A wishful thinker. Two bitches who wanted nothing to do with me while I was kicking the shit out of their wishful thinker of a friend. And then there’s the guy who got one shot by a girl. Is this an attempted murder? Or a comedy sketch?”
Their faces turned red with fury. The crow’s call rang out through the night.
“You’ve lost all your chances Dyon. It seems like you don’t want my kindness.”
“How about you kiss my ass, you weak bitch.”
Before Dyon could react, Oliver was already in the air. He pushed off with such force that Draco fell almost 50 meters before regaining his balance.
‘Too fast… You know a girl for less than a week and she’s already getting you killed. Is this what they call femme fatale?’
Before Dyon could even finish his thought, he felt a cold blade pierce through his heart, causing him to cough up blood.
“You could have lived, but you were foolish. I’ll make sure that Madeleine lives a good life.”
Dyon chuckled, looking down at the blade, “oh? *cough cough*” Dyon wheezed in a breath, “you mean like how you’ve been protecting her from suffering until now?”
Oliver shuddered. Two men stood looking at each other with unyielding eyes. Slowly, Dyon’s began to dim. The array beneath started to slowly fade. As they dropped through the sky, Draco circled around and caught Oliver.
Akihiko watched as Dyon fell into the lake with a sinister glow in his eyes, ‘even if the sword through the heart hadn’t killed him already, a fall from that high, even into water, with no cultivation? Would be enough to kill anyone.’
Chenglei looked on at the scene, ‘I guess I was a bit too paranoid before.’
Oliver calmly wiped the blood from his blade, after one last look at Dyon’s sinking figure, he spoke, “let’s go. By the morning he would have sunk down far enough the you wouldn’t be able to see him through the windows of the academy. Plus, we’re far enough away that it wouldn’t matter anyway.”
Back on Patia-Neva peak, Madeleine shuddered in her sleep. Looking out the window, she saw the night sky and realized Dyon had brought her to Delia, ‘hmph, a man should take some initiative you know? I was there all vulnerable and you didn’t even give me a proper kiss?’
Although Madeleine thought this, she felt an dull pain in her heart. But, not knowing what it was, she went back to sleep, thinking of Dyon.