In a section of the arena that housed the Cavositas and the Ragnor God Clans, the reaction to Dyon’s deed wasn’t being received well.

Patriarch Cavositas sat on a throne, his dark hair and eyes frozen in anger. That was his elder. An elder of his family. That was just disrespected and then swatted away by a child!

The dark destruction intent radiating from him threatened to shatter the entire sky box.

Everyone remained silent until a hand found a way to his shoulder.

“That child knows what’s best for him, dear friend. Elder Er isn’t dead, only a bit dirtied. And, it’s clear that this child has some backing as well. Those two white haired guards of his are not normal. Sapientia or not, an elder shouldn’t be so easily handled.” A man with short flowing blond hair and striking blue eyes spoke words of calm to his friend.

Well, he said friend… But, if anyone paid attention, you would immediately notice that the throne of Patriarch Cavositas was just a few inches lower than the chair of his so-called friend. What kind of friendship was that?…

This person was of course the head of the Ragnor God Clan. Patriarch Ragnor.

Under the touch of this person, Patriarch Cavositas immediately calmed himself. Often times, the words of a Ragnor, especially one so powerful, weren’t to be taken as suggestions.

Back on the arena stage, Dyon watched with a small smile playing his features as his sentinel almost comedically picked Elder Er up and dusted him off.

“That was just a warning. If there’s a second time, it means death, no matter what clan is backing you.” Dyon said offhandedly.

Elder Er didn’t know how to respond. In that instant, he really felt himself at death’s door. He was fully aware that this … whatever it was, wasn’t something he could match.

Puppets were incredibly rare. In fact, there was not a single puppet master in this universe and often times whatever puppets there were, were dormant and unsalvageable. The display Dyon had just showed everyone was the likes of which they had never seen.

Madeleine’s eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Dyon’s large back. It had been so long since she had someone she could stand behind… Someone strong enough to protect her. ‘I guess you really meant it…’

Ri immediately saw the look in Madeleine’s eyes as she looked at Dyon. It was a look she was all too familiar with. Maybe if it had been a few months ago, seeing someone else look at Dyon like this would have made her feel protective and reserved. But, when it was Madeleine… It just felt right.

Dyon refocused his gaze onto Madeleine’s master.

Suddenly, Connery Sapientia appeared in the air. He arrogantly looked down on the proceedings, his hands clasped behind his back. His black hair, streaking with lines of white, shifted ever so slightly in the air. But, his face remained completely neutral. In fact, a small smile played on his lips.

“Friend, what exactly is your purpose in taking our esteemed elder and First in line genius as hostages?”

Connery’s celestial energy branched out, looking to lock down Madeleine and stop her from speaking. What he didn’t notice was the smile playing on Dyon’s face.

Madeleine’s previous tears had been because she was moved by Ri’s words. But, knowing that her little sister was safe and that Dyon was here, there was no longer a reason to cry. Her purple flames burned her tears away and, in an instant, it was as though she hadn’t ever been crying at all. Left behind, was a beauty of near unmatched perfection, and a determined expression.

Dyon’s eyes flashed, counter acting the array that automatically amplified his voice to the crowd. As much as he wanted to embarrass Connery publicly, if he pushed it too far, even the Sapientia might forget all thoughts of image to attack him. And while his puppets could handle Connery, what if other celestials deemed it right to fight as well? Could Dyon handle the patriarchs of the Sapientia, Ragnor, Cavositas and whomever else thought it was a good opportunity to take advantage of? He didn’t want to take the risk, especially since he didn’t have a good gauge on the most powerful experts he was dealing with.

“Consider this the small bit of face I’ll give you.” Dyon spoke nonchalantly, but Connery immediately picked up on the fact his voice wasn’t being projected outwards anymore.

‘How did he decipher the array so quickly…’ Connery didn’t have a chance to speak before Dyon continued.

“Don’t think of locking down and controlling the movements of Madeleine. If you had paid any semblance of attention at all, you would realize that my puppet is not only stronger than that elder over there, it’s also stronger than you.”

Connery’s eyes flashed at these words, his gaze shifting toward the large puppet. He didn’t know how to feel. Was it really possible to have a creation be so powerful?

“Now, you’re more than free to test it out if you’d like. But, I would advise that. You Sapientia have an image to uphold, no? If you start fighting a child like me, where would that image go? You’d go from amiable researchers, to tyrants who’d do anything for a research subject.”

Connery, having finally analyzed the array himself, began to speak. “So, what do you propose?” He didn’t seem too perturbed. In fact, this scheming seemed to fall right down his alley.

“Simple. I’ll make you look good. Well, not good, but at least decent.”

“And Madeleine?”

“Why are you asking about my wife? She’s no longer a Sapientia. She’s a Sacharro. The only reason she stayed with you is because I’ve been away.”

Connery’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not entirely sure what you expected.” Dyon said faintly. “My wife isn’t an item to be bought and traded. If it was her wish to go back with you, I wouldn’t stop her because I don’t control her. You see people as items with usage rates and expiry dates. I see them as people.”

“Let me hear this compromise of yours.”

“Simple really. I’ll even help out Elder Er a bit.”

Elder Er looked up from his position. He had been standing still ever since Dyon’s puppet had helped him up. He hadn’t known what to do. He had embarrassed his clan, could he really go back?

“I’m sure you both were part of this elaborate plan to make my family suffer. So, let’s say I forget about that… For now.” Dyon’s eyes flashed. It was clear he had no intention of letting things go indefinitely. But, he had to compromise for now. “The first thing is I’ll let your elder go. The second thing is that I’ll allow you to say I backed out of our set competition.”

Connery laughed, “Why would it be you allowing me to do that?”

“Because you know as well as I do that you’d lose. Which is why you helped that woman attack me.”

Connery’s laughter stopped abruptly. This was serious.

Ri and Madeleine stood silently, each to either side of Dyon. The crowd was trying its best to see what was going on by reading their body language, but they couldn’t make out anything.

The reason Connery went silent was because he noticed that Dyon hadn’t only shut off the function of the array, he reversed its action. Instead of projecting voices, the array was now acting as a sound wall. The leap in difficulty made Connery painfully aware that Dyon was right. He would lose…

But, how did he know that Connery was involved in his attack? Could it be?…

“I’m glad we don’t have to do the whole back and forth ‘I didn’t do it’ thing. Truth is, I not only know you were involved, I also know which clan the person who attacked me is from. After all, there’s only one that makes use of red crystals that also has motive to hurt me.”

Connery’s lip twitched. Was he really having such difficulty dealing with a child?

Dyon couldn’t have been more right. The reason the Madeleine impersonator had disappeared even under Thadius’ eyes was because Connery had used a concealment array.

Originally, Dyon had been fatigued after spending the day curing the Viridi. He had overexerted his soul, so when he saw Madeleine, he didn’t even bother to scan before he hugged her. He missed her too much.

But, after being stabbed, Dyon was on full alert. He immediately picked up the fluctuations of a created away. After that, it being obvious that his attacker had the help of an exceptionally skilled formation specialist.

“That said, I don’t think it’s too important right now, right? I’ll be paying this person back in the coming stages of the tournament.”

Connery frowned, “You still haven’t explained how allowing you freedom from this battle helps me.”

“It should be obvious. I’ve already said that you would lose. But, aside from that, there’s the fact you get to have the moral high-ground of a senior. You can say you allowed me off the hook after reprimanding me as a senior.” Dyon shrugged.

This was definitely not Dyon’s only reason. There was something else he was worried about other than offending the celestial experts, and that was the mystery behind the suppression of array alchemy.

Even Dyon wasn’t 100% certain in defeating Connery Sapientia if he held himself to one discipline. But, if he combined the disciplines, it would likely alert the wrong people – especially since Connery was the highest authority the guilds had in this universe. It was likely that he was the connect to other universes’ guilds.

And, this was of course something that Dyon couldn’t afford to lose. If it came down to it, he would combine the two disciplines, because if he didn’t, he would become a slave. Something he refused to allow.

In the end, it was best for both parties that this event be canceled. But, Dyon had to make sure that Connery thought this was an olive leaf he was extending to avoid confrontation and lay low. At the same time, Connery couldn’t be allowed to know the true reason why Dyon had to lay low, or else he could take advantage.

Dyon was apprehensive about the celestial experts who were here, yes. But, he was even more wary of those moving in the shadows. It was too early for them to set their sights on Dyon.

After promising himself to take better account of his actions in the future, this was the best course of action. In fact, Dyon had already planned this the day he challenged Connery. After all, he had to say something to earn the Viridi family’s freedom. But, at the same time, he couldn’t afford to win this contest.

“Is that all?” Connery asked. There was something missing here.

“No. There’s one more thing. This is where Elder Er comes in. He’s likely already removed my candidacy for the top ten. And, because I’m withdrawing from out battle, it’s almost like I admit to cheating. Well, not really, considering beating you shouldn’t be what clears my name, but that’s how fools will take it. That’s fine.

The point I’m getting is that I can’t simply be reinserted into the top ten. But, at the same time, I have no intention of skipping out on this tournament. This’ll give you more chances to kill me, don’t you think?”

Connery and Elder Er’s lips twitched. Was this boy still trying to toy with them?

“The compromise here is that you’ll directly insert me into the final round of this as a chance to ‘prove myself’.” Dyon smiled, waiting for their response.

Madeleine tried to refrain from giggling. She had seen that smile too often. Sure, she could tell that this compromise would lead to some scorn for Dyon, but how long would that last? And in all the years she had know Dyon… How often did he take a loss?

Dyon began to walk away. It was clear they had accepted, there was no need for him to hear anything else. With a flash of his eyes, Dyon his a smirk as he undid his changes to the array.

“Oh. And for the record,” Dyon sent a direct message to Connery and Elder Er using wind will, “I recorded the conversation. Tread lightly.”

The veins in Connery’s forehead threatened to pop at these words. He soon realized that he had underestimated Dyon yet again. He hadn’t only reversed the role of the array, he had completely changed its function!

Connery was thoroughly convinced of his loss. But, that didn’t stop him from smiling to the crowd and leisurely heading back to the Sapientia sky box with Ester by his side, leaving Elder Er to explain.

However, Elder Er never got the chance to. When Dyon and his entourage receded, the Cavositas immediately sent in a replacement elder. That was the last anyone heard of Elder Er.

Dyon held onto Ri and Madeleine’s small hands as he walked away. The smile on his face was so large that Ri couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Pervert.”

Madeleine giggled, shifting her hand to wrap her arms around Dyon’s and laying her head on his shoulder. She finally felt happy.

Elder Er’s replacement, Elder Den Cavositas, was weary about how his predecessor was replaced. But, that feeling was overrun with disdain and anger when he heard about what happened.

“In true form,” He began, “The Sapientia family has been magnanimous and have performed their role as peacemakers. Understanding that sometimes the young make mistakes, Patriarch Sapientia has allowed for the youthful demon sage to bow out of his engagements.”

The crowd was stunned for but an instant before they started raining down boos. But, when they noticed that Dyon simply waved his hand and disappeared from view, their anger only increased. He dared use his array alchemy to escape their ire? Their booing only grew louder, naively trying to bypass Dyon’s silencing array.

“The young Sapientia first in line genius is likely making a mistake of her own by choosing this coward as her partner. This caused the anger of her master, leading to an characteristically un-Sapientia like act. But, please understand that she acted out of love, and not hate. She only wanted the best for her disciple.”

The crowd nodded in acknowledgement, siding with the elder immediately – much too easily swayed.

“In the end, Patriarch Sapientia has decided to allow their first in line genius to make her own decisions. He cares for her like he would a daughter and hates to see her make such mistakes. But, he also wants her to be happy. As such, under the strict requirements that she maintain a close guard on her virginity, he has decided to allow this.”

Boos rained down toward the direction of where many assumed Dyon was walking.

They saw him as a manipulator. Someone who stole the heart of two of their six beauties. A man who was highly undeserving.

“As you can tell, because of this event, it is no longer possible to keep names anonymous. So, we are doing away with this system.

However, fear not. This coward hasn’t earned his spot in the top ten again. Instead, he will be forced to fight and earn his spot in the final round, where I have no doubt that the anger of our final contestants will expose him as the fraud he is!”

Cheers shook the arena, threatening to crack the very earth. They wanted blood, guts and gore.

The remaining participants turned sharp gazes toward Dyon’s hiding figure. They each had had their own reactions to the idea of Dyon cheating, but maybe none more violent than the response of the current number eleven ranker, Femi Geb.

He was a member of Eboni and Uta’s Geb clan, and a master of Earth will. Not only did he have to watch a member of his clan suffer defeat to Dyon, in Uta. He also then found out that this same person he already had a burning rage for had been the reason he wasn’t in the top ten.

He wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Many of the participants were from small families who had worked half their lives to earn their rankings and make their way to the world tournament. And yet, some child had done it with little to no effort? And worse yet, he had made himself number one?

No one thought about how difficult array alchemy was. Many found the soul to be completely useless. It was too impractical. Many saw the elves as an anomaly, and even more pointed to the strength of Elvin bodies as the true source of their power. After all, even Ri had said the body of an ordinary elf was already comparable to an Earth level constitution.

The ire of 2300 participants turned on Dyon. They were determined to not allow him to pass. But even worse? Those rankers that had already made it passed all each placed their own target on Dyon’s back. He was public enemy number one.

“Take a good rest, noble warriors! The final round starts in but an hour!”

Dyon however, refused to lose the massive grin on his face even as he made his way to his Demon Sage exclusive area.

Removing his concealment array, he took a good look at the massive sign and scanned through the broken area.

Seeing Dyon reveal himself, the ire of the crowd came down in full swing. But, he couldn’t be bothered.

Ri and Madeleine looked at Dyon oddly almost as if to ask why he had led them here. But, Dyon only gave them each a wink before his eyes flashed a deep purple gold color.

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Dyon seemed to work an act of magic.

The farm animals were lifted up and taken away to the center of the arena where Dyon didn’t bother with them anymore. But then, something even more unreasonable happened.

Dyon’s sword will cut through the air with sharp precision, cutting into the ground and the sitting area.

The crowd couldn’t help but stifle a laugh as those close enough noticed that Dyon’s sword will was only of the 1st level. But, those intelligent enough saw that 1st level sword will shouldn’t have been able to cut into the arena’s tough exterior so easily – if at all. Just what was going on?

The crowd could only watch in shock as Dyon’s wind will tore up a tempest of gales, tearing the part of the stadium that housed his seating area out of the ground.

A 15 meter by 15-meter area, weighing tens of thousands of pounds… lifted with first level wind will?…

Dyon smiled, “I assume you don’t want this back. So, I’ll just burn it.”

A blaze of flames erupted before the eyes of everyone. Those paying attention, immediately noticed that Dyon had used three wills. This was already more than at least half of those present… And that was just the contestants. Those in the crowd were on average much worse than that.

But, what was more surprising was how powerful his wills were…. That wasn’t normal…

Even worse? The blaze of red flames turned the large area to ashes in a mere moment, leaving a massive pile of ash directly in the center of the stadium – again leaving it for other to deal with.

Seeing the now empty area, many didn’t know what Dyon’s plan was. Did he want to sit in the dirt? However, that idea didn’t last long.

The purple-gold in Dyon’s eyes became stronger and stronger as an area much more luxurious than any of the other prepared area, sprang to life.

Couches of lush reds and purple, cushions and plants of lavender. Lavishly arranged food and a glass cage that held flying golden birds and butterflies. It was simply a paradise.

But, what upset the crowd was the sign above it.

Boos rained down as Dyon winked at the crowd, enjoying the result of his labor.

“Number One in the Universe: Demon Sage AKA Dyon Sacharro.”