Lost Origins: SS Ranked Awakening-Chapter 148: Phantom

"You’ve got some courage appearing right in front of me, Valister!"

The air around Ruby was violent, her green eyes gleaming with hate as she stared at the senior second year recruit who had blocked her path with a smile.

"You really did come for revenge. I had no idea there was still a member of the Gale family that remained alive!"

Orion’s voice was free and unbothered by the death stare from Ruby.

He waved his hands leisurely and his demeanor suddenly changed, his narrowed eyes containing something beyond ordinary amusement.

"Why don’t I give you an offer. The best you could ever get..."

Ruby could see that he had other intentions, but her mind wavered hearing the offer he had just made.

Something only a mad man like him could do. Just because he looked down upon her. That was going to be his ending, she was going to make sure of it!

"Sure, let’s do it!"

Ruby thought accepting his offer as they both waked in the direction of a particular place in the camp.

...

<You might want to make your way down to the arena. I dont know how she did it, but she got in a fight with one of them>

Kieran looked down to his watch and read through.

He didn’t know who the "them" Jake had mentioned was, but he was guessing it was one of the ones they had been trying to lure out and that Ruby getting into a fight this early wasn’t in their plans.

He dropped what he was doing and made his way down to the arena. Hopefully, the fight hadn’t been concluded before he arrived there.

’Who knew I would be going back there so soon!’

Kieran thought back to Dain who had been discharged from the infirmary, haven recovered his top form.

A few minutes later, Kieran arrived at the arena, making his way to the closest seat to the stage. He had also sighted Jake who was watching the fight that was about to commence with a nervous expression.

Unlike in his fight, there were no Nobles here to spectate and play the roles of audiences. Seemed like her opponent had some measure of sense.

"Who is that?"

Kieran asked, taking a seat beside Jake.

"Orion Valister"

"The leading descendant of the Valister family, one of the families who gained the most from the destruction of the Gale family. They also too part in the attack, just second to those filthy bastards."

Kieran didn’t ask further, it was evident that those who he had yet to identify were the final target, the real master minds behind the attack on the Gale family.

"So, what do you know?"

"She didn’t say much, just that he made her a proposal that she couldn’t say no to."

Kieran looked up to the stage hearing that.

"Death match?"

"No, I thought so at first, but I don’t know what it is either.

"It’s about to start!"

Jake said, nodding towards the countdown that had already reached zero.

<Fight!>

The signal was given and Ruby didn’t waste a single moment.

Her muscles had been tensed and battle ready since the moment he blocked her path in the camp. All they needed was the signal to burst out, and she had gotten that signal.

Two linked red bladed Kusarigamas with with blood red handles appeared at her side, on her starched out palms.

"She followed the advice"

Jake muttered seeing how fast she had manged to take out her weapons.

Her chains were already drawing a line through the air as one of the blades went straight as Orion, sending the greetings of its master.

Orion’s eyes moved lazily seeing the attack and moments just before it hit, the weapon was sent flying to the side.

It had been blocked!

’But how?!’

Kieran thought, replaying the scene in his mind.

It was impossible for him to block that attack at that range. It was just inches away from hitting him. Kieran’s eyes had been unable to track how he did it.

’Mental ability?’

Kieran considered a possibility as his eyes flashed, small star like dots appearing as he used a part of his ’Absolute Insight’

"What rank is he?"

Kieran asked Jake, his eyes trained on the figure of Orion that had yet to take a single step.

"43!"

Jake’s voice was low.

He knew what Kieran was thinking. He didn’t understand why Ruby had agreed to the fight either. What exactly did he offer for her to take such a risky move? There was a reason why they had waited this long before executing their plans.

They lacked what was needed to face them head on.

"She has a chance though! It’s not a nice one, but it’s a chance!"

’And she’s betting on that!’

Jake completed within his mind, his eyes hadn’t left Ruby’s figure as she flashed across the stage attacking him with her weapons.

Yet not one of those attacks had landed as Orion stood in the same spot.

Kieran could see something else though when he looked at Orion.

He had never once used his eyes on Asher, despite having interacted with him a couple of times.

Using it on Orion now, he was seeing one of the largest energy reserves he ever seen. It paled in comparison to the largest he had actually seen—August’s, but it was immense.

Ruby had lost this fight if she thought she could tire him out with how much he blocked her attacks.

’What exactly is that?’

Kieran thought, trying to understand the busrts of energy which came in a flash whenever Ruby’s blade was about to land an attack.

"She’s figured it out too!"

Kieran muttered, seeing as Ruby changed ger tactics.

Orion couldn’t be faced head on by just attacking, so she sought to restrain him completely, the spiked chain linking both bladed, clanking as they wrapped around him.

"That was fast!"

Orion said, making a move visble to them for the first time.

’I take that back!’

Kieran thought.

That move could barely be taken as visble.

All Jake and Ruby saw was his body vibrate very hard, before his figure suddenly flashed, appearing directly at Ruby’s back.

"!!!"

She might have been unable to track him accurately with her eyes, but she still had the sixth sense that every awakened warrior had, some more developed than others, just like Richard.

And she just happened to be one of them.

Her body screamed in alert as she felt Orion’s presence appear suddenly at her back.

She could feel the wind brushing against her back too.

’He’s attacking!’

Her green eyes gleamed. She couldn’t dodge the attack in time, nor could she turn around and block it, yet she smiled.

"Hmmm?"

Orion let out a confused sound as he watched his fist go through Ruby’s body like air.

He couldn’t feel a thing, despite seeing her right in front of him. It was like she had suddenly turned into a ghost.

Not wasting that small window of opportunity, Ruby turned around and smashed the chained butt of her weapon on the side of his head.

’Chance!’

Her body flashed, following the retreating body of Orion to land a couple more strikes with her blade.

"Sigh!"

Kieran sighed and Jake looked at him confused.

Why did he sigh? She finally found a chance to make a break through.

His question was answered in the next second when Orion recovered from the strike to the head as he caught Ruby’s attack by the hand.

Unlike them, Kieran had finally broken it down. The way Orion moved and blocked her strikes.

He couldn’t tell if it was his unique ability or just a level of manipulation of internal energy he had never seen before or hoped to achieve in his current state.

BANG!

Holding her hand in place, he struck a fist at her gut, the strike was even faster than before, faster than she could react or phase.

The punch was heavy. Driving itself into her gut as she was forced to arch her back in pain.

"I wasn’t done!"

Orion’s voice was light, with the same smile he bore from the beginning.

BANG! BANG!!

Just like he Ruby, he didn’t let his opponent recover as he let out a series of punches. All one could see with the naked eyes were the after images caused my the speed he moved.

"Ugh!"

Ruby grunted as he threw her to the side of the stage.

"Come on. Don’t tell me you planned on getting revenge like this, did you?"

"Besides, I’m curious. I over looked the appearance and body structure, but I’m sure now after seeing that ability of yours"

"You aren’t from the Gale family. So why do you take up their name, their weapons, their style? Why do fight a war that’s not yours"

Orion asked, bending down to look her at eye level.

Ruby looked up to him, her face livid as she muttered a couple of words that made him frown.

"You don’t know shit about us! Now, shut up and fight!"

"Hmm.. if that’s what you will...fine!"

Orion said, resuming his attacks