The Gods' Decree 245 Tribunal

Alders made his presence felt as his feet clattered to the ground. He would show this youth how others felt when oppressed if it is the last thing he did. Such tyranny was uncalled for as obviously by the way the battle unfolded, somehow he was by far superior to s.h.i.+noda.

Seeing his actions Taf only returned a cold gaze as he uttered as means of mercy,

"Make a move and I will show you how ruthless I can really be."

Being the calculative fellow he was Taf knew that by killing s.h.i.+noda things had taken a drastic turn with the Dark Abylis Sect. He only warned Alders out of respect for the grand elder. it was up to him if he would take his kind advice.

At this point, most of the disciples close by had hurriedly rushed over after hearing the commotion. They looked in horror as s.h.i.+noda's lifeless corpse twitched on the ground. Then they heard Taf's words and saw the black hammer covered in blood. It was then the clues became apparent.

Could he have killed #2 ranked s.h.i.+noda a half-step Lord? If this is the case shouldn't the word monster be switched with Sir Mouse? As he was the only ent.i.ty worthy of such a definition.

During this time Jason could be seen sitting on the ground with pieces of s.h.i.+noda's skull still embedded in his attire. As he unblinkingly stared at Taf, he noted that this youth was an existence he never fathomed possibly, and even now when faced with the presence of two elders, Taf still seemed defiant.

When has a lord ever been threatened by someone within the qi realm? What made it worse was that Alders seemed in an enraged and irrational state, still, Taf didn't seem to worry. Jason thought he had an ego, only compared to this youth he was like a toddler before an ancient being. This guy was bordering on being totally insane.

All watched in shock as two teens stared down an enraged Alders. His face became redder every second he stared at Taf's defiant face. No matter what Taf's status was, Alder was an elder to be respected.

The tension could be cut with a knife as the two groups had a standoff. It was then that Qi slowly started to form around Alders having had enough. It was so suffocating that all the disciples became planted headfirst into the ground.

With only Jason being the exception having been on the cusp of ascending realms. Still, even he struggled to keep his footing, yet his psyche took another hit as he saw not only Taf but May seemingly barely affected by Alders's Qi.

Was he hallucinating or in some form of trance. He was not the only one as Alders even in his irrational state found a moment of lucidity. Having been quiet this whole time, close by Elder Mu had a glint in his eyes.

He knew his instincts were right and the two had wonderous hidden on their bodies. How else could they remain conscious, having been in the epicenter of Alders's rage? They couldn't possibly contend with a lord, so this was evidently the only other option.

In his mind, Mu grinned as he wove a layered plot, with Taf's actions he was given a perfect opportunity. If he were to play his cards right, all their treasure was destined to be his. 

"Let's all take a moment and reflect. Tempers are high, however, emotions can sometimes cloud our judgment. Elder Alders, I am sure you would agree?" Mu uttered trying to be the voice of reason. 

With Mu's words, the qi from Alders's body soon dissipated, nevertheless, it could be seen he still shared detest for Taf. Mu then turned his attention to Taf and May and in his capacity as an elder advised,

"By defying the rules of the tournament, you Tafari are hereby barred from further compet.i.tion. Also, May Grace, based on your previous actions and the act of openly defying an elder. You are hereby also ineligible for further partic.i.p.ation."

This shocked all who heard however that was not end as Mu continued,

"You both are to be summoned before a tribunal whereby your disciple statuses will be put into question. The date of the hearing will be advised. With all that has been said please exit the forest."

Taf was not surprised when he heard those words. He didn't reply nor furthered any interaction with any of the elders. In his eyes, there was something off about this Elder Mu. It was the second time meeting him but Taf instincts told him this was a fellow not to be trusted.

Afterward, May tugged him along as they both did as Mu requested with all eyes staring at their backs. Many had lingering thoughts, however one thing was for certain, no matter how the rest of the tournament unfolded. It would forever be known as the one which saw the rise of the power couple, Sir Mouse and his companion, the silver-haired May.

As the two walked along a screech was heard and when the spectators looked above they saw the source of the noise. It was a red-feathered eagle which quickly descended beside the two as they hopped on its back. When leaving the eagle became hidden in the sun mirroring the departure of a phoenix.

This scene resembled so many depictions of tales of old. The handsome resilient hero riding off into the sunset with his love on the back of a mythical creature. Some perhaps would say a fitting exit with what the two had accomplished.

With their exit many below had budding inquires and self-reflection moments. For Jason, his world had been turned upside down, moreover, it could be said that Old Zaro's words lingered in his mind. He knew his limits and by what was seen by the strength Taf exerted, if they were to fight, his only hope of victory was to ascend to the lord realm.

Besides such a victory would be unearned with that fellow being more than ten years his junior. He didn't see much of May's strength, still, he wondered if it was the same case for her. Where did these two come from? What was the secret behind such strength within the qi realm?

In the background, someone gazed upon him. It's quite strange as this was the moment his cousin Batholemu always desired. To see Jason face when he met an adversary that made him seem as inferior as everyone else appeared in his presence.

Yet it felt so hollow as he realized how short-sighted he had been. All along he had been jealous of his cousin thinking that Jason was the ultimate genius. Now he truly realized he was like a frog in a well[1].

Still, they all stared until the red-feathered eagle finally disappeared in the sky. The next time they saw these two, what will their stories be?

??????

In a balcony nearby her study, the grand elder stood barefooted staring in the distance. All the major happening inside the sect was within her view. She had witnessed as Taf killed s.h.i.+noda without any seeming mercy but did not try to stop him. It was not because she thought s.h.i.+noda worthy of death, simply put sometimes the pros outweighed the cons.

There is a need to keep some form of good relations for the benefit of the sect. If they were to s.h.i.+eld s.h.i.+noda from Taf's wrath she doubted he would think favorable of the sect. Yet the grand elder knew the sect had to take a stance on not only s.h.i.+noda's but Darwin's behalf as well.

Before she could have argued Darwin's death was accidental in order to appease his clan slightly. But with Taf killing s.h.i.+noda in the manner he did there was no arguing on his behalf. What made it worse was that the tribunal was an independent body devoid of her influence in order for transparency.

If she was to interfere in their decision making it would only undermine her position. It was comprised of twelve different stakeholders. They ranged from City lords, elders, and representatives from both the Zaro and Arosa clan.

Therefore at the moment, the fates of both Taf and May were outside her sphere of control. She sighed as there were some regrets in having the two partic.i.p.ate, yes they did achieve the goal which she intended, which was to create a desire for the current crop of disciples to aim higher.

However, with all she now knew about the hatred existed between Darwin and the two, it was a certainty the request would never have been made for them to compete. Yet the grand elder couldn't be blamed for this oversight as there wasn't anyone besides Taf, May, and Darwin who knew of Laura's death.

At the time Darwin had buried her corpse beside his mansion in an unmarked grave. He had not revealed the events, not even to the members of his squad. 

As she stared from her balcony her vision was more pierced in the distance. On a red-feathered eagle she saw a youth casually laying back on the eagle's back with his eyes closed. It was as though whatever decision was made did not bother him one bit.

Unedited Version

To be continued

[1] Ha finally used it

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