Chapter 223 Ivy Song [4] - Promises Were Made


    Ss stood there, his magnificent aura flowing off his body as if it was a wave of steam that sparkled like an emerald neb.


    Ss controlled his killing intent and surveyed the situation.


    ''The destroyer of worlds... I wonder why she called me that.'' Ss inwardly thought. He had suddenly be curious as to why she would call him that. Of course, hearing ite out of her mouth slightly angered him, but it wasn''t the reason he attacked her.


    ''She didn''t call me that, did she? Gilea did.'' Ss narrowed his eyes in suspicion, yet that action seemed only to make the woman floating above more distressed.


    Ss could feel the fear that boiled within her heart when she looked at him. The expression of affection she held before was long gone.


    ''She looks at me the same way they did...'' Ss breathed as a certain memory shed before his eyes.


    It was a memory from when he was a child. It was from when he lived in the orphanage.


    In that memory, he looked down at his hands covered in blood before his eyes drifted toward the mangled bodies of children around him.


    It wasn''t just children. A few maids could be seen lying on the ground. One of themy on the ground with rivers of blooding out of where their eyes were supposed to be.


    Yet, just like all the atrocities he hadmitted in the past, he felt nothing toward that memory.


    ''Maybe that''s why they worked so quickly to get rid of me...'' Ss thought as the images of the orphanage owners entered his mind.


    Their memory was blurry. He could barely remember them anymore.


    ''For them to cover up such a thing... They must have truly cared for me. They saw my potential... I wonder if I disappointed them.'' He let out a sigh and began to float.


    "That doesn''t matter now, though, does it." He muttered under his breath while sizing up his opponent.


    At the same time, the runes on his armor shone. Not all of them shone, of course. Only a few that allowed him to levitate.


    "Y-You''re okay," Ivy spoke, her voice filled with half relief and half fear.


    "What? Were you expecting me to die that easily?" Ss asked with a soft chuckle.


    "S-Ss... Let''s talk about this. My intention was never to fight you." She let out a strained smile, but Ss saw right through it.


    "You know too much... You should have never asked Gilea about me." Ss muttered while forming his axes out of thin air.


    "Please listen!" She tried to bargain, yet, the emerald-eyed man before he was not listening.


    The aura around him rippled, growing more violent by the second.


    "What was that thing you did again?" Ss cocked his head to the side before letting out another subtle smile.


    silverish-blue runes appeared around him.


    "Let''s end this shall we."


    Suddenly, the clouds circted above him as dozens of silverish-blue runes appeared around him.


    Ss hovered above the ground, his aura swirling around him in a mesmerizing dance of emerald and gold. Ivy''s words fell on deaf ears as he prepared for what wasing. He had been through enough battles to know that words could be deceiving, and actions spoke louder than any promises.


    As Ivy attempted to reason with him, the air crackled with energy, the runes surrounding Ss glowing with an otherworldly intensity. His axes shimmered into existence, their sharp edges catching the ambient light with a deadly glint.


    Ss unleashed a torrent of lightning magic with a flick of his wrist, bolts of electricity arcing through the air toward Ivy. Simultaneously, he tapped into his control over ice magic by creating several light blue runes around them, rapidly causing the temperature to plummet. The moisture in the air froze, creating an intricatettice of ice crystals that shot toward her like deadly shrapnel.


    Ivy''s expression shifted from fear to determination as she called upon her own magic to defend herself—a light barrier formed around her, deflecting the lightning and shattering the ice projectiles. The ground beneath her feet crackled with energy, absorbing the shockwaves of Ss''s attacks.


    However, Ss'' attacks were getting past her defenses. Alone, they weren''t exceedingly powerful, but together, they became a deadly force to be reckoned with.


    ''I can''t form a tier-5 spell in this condition. I can''t talk to him right now since he''s not listening to reason... Both his body and magic are equally as strong as one another. How the hell can someone at the peak of the pristine amethyst core be this strong?! If we fight any more than this, we might wake that damn woman up. Doing that would only ruin our society''s rtionship with the diamond academy.'' Ivy gritted her teeth, but she knew what must be done.


    Plunging her hand into the pouch on her belt, she snatched a talisman from within and began to put her mana into it.


    However, just when she was about to do that, she felt as if hundreds of illusory chains wrapped around her body, making her movements sluggish and her mind slow and somehowpletely stopping her from pouring her mana into the talisman.


    "What is this?" Ivy''s voice trembled as she struggled against the illusory restraints, her panic growing as Ss''s onught continued.


    Above the battlefield, a group of figures had gathered, drawn by the overwhelming sh of power. The headmaster''s portly form exuding an air of authority stood alongside Mr. Faldro, Aka, and the elf with silverish diamond-like eyes. They watched in a mix of awe and concern as the battle unfolded before them.


    "Should we awaken Master Dalia?" Aka spoke from the side with an apprehensive tone.


    They all knew that the only chance that had to stop the battle was to allow either the headmaster to go all out, or to call their strongest fighter simply.


    "I don''t believe it wille to that." The headmaster spoke in a voice as calm as a springke.


    Aka''s gaze remained fixed on Ss, his expression unreadable. The elf''s eyes flickered with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.


    They all watched as Ss flew toward Ivy, who was frozen mid-air. In the next instant, Ss'' fist was burrowed deeply into Ivy''s abdomen.


    The air rippled before him, and in the blink of an eye, Ivy, who was still right next to him, had flown through the air and mmed into the ground.


    *Thud*


    Ss'' figure flickered and appeared above Ivy. Slowly, he descended to the ground, his footnding on Ivy''s chest.


    Due to the weight of his armor, it created an audible thud. At the same time, Ivy could not help but squirm in pain.


    With her options dwindling, Ivy locked eyes with Ss, her voice shaky yet defiant. "Don''t kill me."


    "And why would I listen to you?" Ss asked, his pure-white hair fluttering in the wind.


    "You owe me, remember?" She said with a pained tone.


    "What makes you think that I''ll keep my word?" Ss tilted his head slightly with a sneer.


    "I know you will. But, if that wasn''t enough to persuade you, how about this..." She paused momentarily before continuing with a slightly less strained voice- "My mother has ascended to the ruby recently... With her support, you will be able to attack the Skrk family without having to deal with the aftermath that might fall upon Darkless. The kingdom will be forced to think of it as a fight between family members rather than an organization''s attack." Ivy exined before letting out a strained smile.


    "But you already knew that, didn''t you? You knew who I was the moment you saw me. The only thing that caught you off guard was the fact that I knew about your reincarnation. Though, now I can''t help but feel like feeling into the palm of your hand. As if I was a minuscule part of some kind of master n." She coughed with intensifying strain.


    Ss''s axes hovered just inches from her throat, his gaze unwavering. The air was charged with tension, the world around them holding its breath.


    No one could hear their conversation, but those who could see them could only hope that they would reconcile with one another and seize their battle.


    Ss'' expression, throughout the fight, had returned to a serious one. But when he heard Ivy''sst words, the corner of his lips could not help but crawl upwards.


    "Being connected to Gilea like that is surely useful, huh?" Ss snickered but quickly deepened his foot into her chest as the smile disappeared.


    "A soul contract. If you want to remain alive, form a soul contract with me stating that you will never divulge anything you know about that is not alreadymon knowledge. You will never betray me, hurt anyone I care for, and never seek to deceive me. Is that understood?" Ss asked.


    "You might as well put a cor on my neck and call it a day." Ivy let out a self-deprecatingugh.


    "No. Those are too inconvenient." Ss shrugged and increased the pressure from his foot to her chest.


    "Okay, okay! Damnit, stop pressing on me with your foot so hard. I might break a rib."


    "We both know you don''t have ribs."


    "..."


    "..."


    Ss slowly took his foot to her chest, allowing it to reform into its prior shape, before it had been pressed in like a dented car.


    "With Gilea as my witness, I swear to you that I will never divulge anything I know about you that is not alreadymon knowledge. I will never betray you, hurt anyone you care for, and will never seek to deceive you. If I break any of those use, may Gilea strike me down where I stand."


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