Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

Chapter 187: A Challenge

Many pairs of eyes turned to look at Gerald who was the source of the conflict. He stood there with an expressionless face, feeling another headache coming his way.

He sighed and massaged his eyes, "Why does it all have to happen today? Is the world taking a piss or what?"

"Hey, you!" Tabbris shouted at Gerald, "Were you the one that attacked my sister? It's best if you admit it willingly and apologize!"

Gerald lifted his eyebrow and slapped the guy's finger away from his face. "Apologize? For your information, she was the one that attacked me first! I was basically just defending myself," he rebuked the accusation without actually denying it.

"So you really were the one!" Tabbris said in a stern voice.

"I told you he was! Aren't you listening?!" Aster said to her brother in disbelief.

"I had to hear it from him," the latter replied simply.

Sera tugged Gerald by the corner of his sleeve to get his attention, "What are they talking about? What did you do?"

"Eh," Gerald shrugged his shoulders, "We had a little scuffle, nothing worth mentioning"

"You spied on me when I was naked!" Aster hissed through gritted teeth, it was just loud enough so that Gerald and people closest to him could hear it.

Needless to say that the girls were surprised, but not shocked. They have experienced too many unusual things coming from Gerald.

Arthur, on the other hand, started sweating profusely. "Y-You spied on hernaked?! She's the daughter of general Razor Northendark!" he nervously whispered to Gerald.

His breathing quickened and he started feeling a great deal of stress. As far as he knew, Gerald was entrusted in his care by his master, and angering one of the four King's generals was basically a death wish!

How could he explain this if anything happened to Gerald before his master returned? 'I need to somehow get this matter under control! I can't let anything happen to him!'

"That's right, you dishonored my sister! For that you deserve punishment!" Tabbris Northendark said and a few of his comrades from the Phoenix Knights stood at his sides, blocking the exit.

It was quite clear that they were ready to fight at the moment's notice.

Arthur gathered his courage and stepped forward, "Young master Tabbris, please let me speak with your father about-"

Lifting his hand, the man stopped him in his tracks, saying, "My father doesn't need to get involved in this, I here am enough!"

Gerald, bored of the constant bickering spoke loudly, "So What sort of punishment are we talking about? What do you suggest?"

"Kill him! Skin him alive!" Aster immediately shouted.

"Hey! Don't get too full of yourself!" As Sera and Xilia shouted back at Aster, the latter became even more enraged after seeing the goods those two carried in comparison to herself.

Tabbris placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and calmly said, "I don't think we need to go that far I suppose losing a hand will be enough!"

Those that knew Gerald looked at him in disbelief, almost as if unsure if they heard him right. Then they looked at Gerald whose eye was twitching and who now carried a weird smile on his face.

"So, you want me to lose a hand, is that right?" he asked in an icy voice and with a cold smile.

Tabbris nodded.

"Heh," Gerald chuckled thinly and removed his cloak. His bare upper body was revealed for everyone to see and his clear muscle lines and scars created a sort of mesmerizing art on his body.

Clank!

He twisted off his silver arm and threw it at their feet with a mocking smile, "There you go! Anything else?"

Tabbris looked at the hand on the floor in surprise and then frowned, "I guess you think my request was a joke? You think this is funny?"

"Why, yes! I think it's hilarious actually!" Gerald roared in laughter.

"Seems like you don't value our honor that much"

"Nope," Gerald replied and shrugged his shoulders. If they came here with ridiculous requests, then, of course, he wouldn't be nice and would instead make fun of them.

Swish!

Tabbris pulled out his sword and pointed it at Gerald, all in one swift motion. "In that case, I challenge you to a duel!" he said sternly.

"No thanks," Gerald replied. "I'll also be taking back my hand since you don't want it." He took a step closer to grab his hand, only to be stopped when the tip of a sword poked his neck.

"It is not a request!" Tabbris spoke with a serious tone. His friends from the Phoenix Knights also took a step closer, circling Gerald from all sides.

"Oh, no This is bad," Arthur quietly groaned. Unlike Gerald who didn't think much of the situation, he knew exactly what this challenge implied.

"Why is it bad? Why are they ganging up on Gerald all of a sudden?" Xilia questioned in confusion.

Arthur sighed and said, "You might not know it, but those of higher social standing value their reputation and honor highly."

"Regardless if Gerald really did anything to lady Aster Northendark, her honor and reputation have been tarnished, and making a mockery of Tabbris' demand was an even stronger blow. If this isn't mended quickly it could develop into something much more serious than a simple duel. At least the capital forbids killing, so even if Gerald loses he won't suffer too severely."

"It's that serious?" Sera gasped in disbelief. A simple dispute could turn sour so quickly?

Arthur leaner closed and whispered, "I'm sure you know Elves are known for their arrogance and pridefulness, but the nobles can be just as bad, if not worse. No offense," he added, turning to Xilia.

The latter simply shook her head, "None taken, I completely understand what you mean."

"Duels for honor are actually quite common among the nobles. Declining a duel is often seen as an extra insult and many of those end with someone dead. There was no lack of assassinations after an unresolved dispute."

Arthur turned to Gerald and said in a pleading voice, "Gerald, I know you might not be worried for your safety since you have a powerful master behind you, but what about your friends here? What about me? I don't know about the rest, but we seriously can't make the King wait much longer, and getting on a bad side with general Razor would also be a bad idea"

Ka-cha!

Gerald pulled his silver hand up with Telekinesis and snapped it back in place. He then calmly moved the tip of the sword away from his throat and snorted, "Psh, whatever I just hope you will stop bothering me after this!"

Tabbris Northendark grinned confidently and placed the hand over his chest, "I swear on my family's name that, if you beat me, I'll forget we ever had any conflict with each other. I'm a man of my word!"

"Good! Then if you beat me, I'll willingly accept your punishment. But if you mention taking one of my limbs again, I swear to god, I'll kill you even at the cost of my own life!" Gerald stated in response.

"Ah I see, fair enough," Tabbris answered, gaining a better understanding as to why Gerald reacted so aggressively.

They left the Auction House with a ceremony of around thirty people. Some were Northendark servants, a few guards, and some Phoenix Knights members. There was also Arthur and the girls, with Gerald and Tabbris at the front.

They went to the Warrior's Guild since they had a place where warriors could train and fight. As they entered the combat arena, Tabbris' servants quickly ran to him and helped him put on his famous Mithril armor.

He truly appeared otherworldly with that sky-blue ornamented armor of his.