Chapter 99: The Two Strongest
Greg knew that he didn't know Jonathan so well since they only met with each other for about a few days, but that smile told him everything.
That smile which looked so gentle and warming felt like it was nothing more but a huge lie. Greg somehow felt that under that welcoming grin, there was a hidden ulterior motive. It was such a bizarre feeling that he thought he could throw up at any moment if he continued to watch it even more than a second.
Turning his face in another direction, Greg shook his head and thought, "It seems I totally misunderstood him from the beginning."
On the stage, more and more people got knocked out. Watching as the team's number started to decrease as time went on, Greg felt somewhat strange.
Except for those two guys in the ninja suits, there was no one else who attempted an attack on them.
There was one team who threw an attack at them, but the moment they saw that it was Greg, both of them halted and ran away with terrifying expressions in an instant.
The two just stood on the side and watched the show just like any other spectators in the Arena. They just simply enjoyed the other team's battles before their eyes without even moving an inch.
On the estrade, Kuragari smiled and said loudly, "See? All the others are so afraid of him that they didn't have the guts to approach him."
The skinny guy grimaced slightly hearing Kuragari's comment and said quietly, "Yeah they are afraid, but not because of his power, but clearly because he is a crazy bast-."
But before he could finish his sentence, he stopped talking, because before him Kuragari turned behind and started to look at him with an ice-cold expression while his eyes pierced right through his body.
Seeing those terrifying eyes the skinny guy just simply shut his mouth and decided not to talk anymore. Before Kuragari every word he said could end with his death.
The Saint seeing Kuragari's expression chuckled and asked, "By the way, you didn't tell us why you chose him. What was that made you decide him as your student?"
Hearing the old man's question Kuragari turned back and said, "What aspect of him made me choose him? Hmmm..."
As Kuragari started to think, on the other side of the estrade even though Zane didn't look his way it was visible that his ears were sharpening waiting eagerly for the answer.
And it wasn't just him, but Eliana and the other experts too. All of them were curious about what could have made The Uncrowned King, who disappeared for years, suddenly come back from unknown lands and choose himself a student, which he stated in the past that he will never have.
As Kuragari started to think he looked at Greg and thinking for a while he said, "It's very interesting, because not even I know what made me choose him. Maybe those determined eyes of his with his confident attitude. Even though he knew that he was against a far stronger enemy than him, he didn't start to panic and thought about a way he could survive. Haha! Now that I think about it, I would bet that if we weren't in the city at that time, he would have attacked me right away."
"Just like you when you were young.", said the Saint with a wide smile as he listened to Kuragari's talk.
"Haha! Exactly. Luckily now that I have grown up, I'm not as reckless as I was."
"As...", said Zane quietly after hearing what Kuragari said.
Hearing Zane's comment Kuragari turned his head toward him and with a scary smile he said, "Yeah, I'm not AS reckless as I was. But if you don't like it I can show you just how heedless I can become."
Turning his head to the side, Zane met with Kuragari's sharp glare, and without the slightest expression visible on his face he said, "I would love to see it. At least you give me a reason to teach you another lesson... Just like that time."
*Crack!*
As the two looked at each other, slowly a terrible aura started to appear between the two making the ground below their feet form small cracks one after another.
Knowing if the two continue like this nothing good could happen, Elian sighed and with a strict tone, she said, "Can't you two stop being childish even for a single moment? We are in the middle of an event and we and especially I would like to watch it till the end in peace. So if you want to fight this much, you are free to go somewhere else."
Listening to what Eliana said, Kuragari's expression softened a bit and after looking at Zane for the last time he turned his back toward the stage below.
Zane seeing as Kuragari stopped his act, was a bit surprised, but still, he too stopped acting like that and turned back his head toward the fight.
The Saint next to Eliana smiled and looking at her he said with a nod, "Thank you."
With a wave of her hand, Eliana shook her head and said, "It's nothing. On the other hand, it seems that the fight on the stage reached a very crucial point."
And just as she said, on the platform only three pairs remained, while all the others who were knocked unconscious or put into a miserable position because of their injuries were all teleported away.
Greg and Emma looked at the other two pairs before them, from which one was Jonathan and Laure, while the other one was two unknown guys in a black coat with hoodies on their head, covering their faces fully.
As the three looked at each other, the atmosphere in the Arena reached bigger altitudes in an instant. Louder cheers and shouts could be heard all around, making the wall to tremble slightly just because of the sound.
"Those two are not as simple as they look, so stay behind me.", said Greg with a lowered voice to Emma as he looked at the two hoodies guys before him.
With a nod, Emma stepped back a meter and waited for the fight to begin.
On the other hand Jonathan just simply smiled at Greg, while fully ignoring the two figures on the side.
Seeing his strange behavior Greg didn't know how to react, but just as he was about to think what he should do, the two guys suddenly moved.
One went for Jonathan and Laura, while the other one went for Greg and Emma. Seeing their strange strategy, Greg couldn't think of anything else but one thing.
"They are crazy. One against two is simply a death wi... Huh?"
As he was looking at the guy before him, suddenly he realized that the scenery around him turned into a desert, while the spectators with the Arena vanished without the slightest sign.
However, as he was looking around, he noticed that even though he was standing in the middle of the desert, it wasn't hot at all. Only the scenery around him changed, but that was all.
"So this is just a simple illusion. I almost thought he teleported us for real. But where is Emma?"
Noticing as Emma was nowhere near him, he looked at the guy in the hoodie. When he was about to step forward and ask him about Emma, suddenly the guy before him started to talk.
"You are in danger."
Stopping in his steps, Greg tilted his hand to the side and looked confused.
"What do you mean I'm in danger? What danger? And by the way, where is Emma?"
"You are in danger."
Listening to the same answer Greg became even more confused and asked, "Hey Alice, can you understand this guy?"
After waiting for a moment, Alice's voice finally sounded in his ear, "I have a guess, but the chance that I'm right is almost impossible to happen. Ask him again."
Following what Alice said Greg nodded and asked, "What danger? Can you please tell me clearly?"
However, even after his question, the man just shook his head and after saying that he was in danger he waved his hand.
In an instant, the scenery around him changed back to the Arena. As this happened the guy jumped to the side and raised his hand.
"I surrender!"
As he said that the other guy appeared next to his friend and with the same act as his friend, he said, "Me too!"
Hearing the two to say this, Greg looked even more confused, but he couldn't say anything because the next second Cloud on the side clapped and with a silver light, the two guys vanished from the platform.
Seeing as in the end there remained finally two pairs, the Arena exploded with a wave of cheers and claps.
On the stage, Greg turned around hurriedly, but the moment he saw Emma's questioning look toward him, he sighed with relief and asked, "What happened just now?"
"What... What do you mean what happened just now? If you ask about why the guy suddenly stopped running at us and jumped back to the side, while surrendering, then I don't know the answer."
Hearing what Emma just said, made Greg a bit surprised, so he wanted to ask again, but before he could, Cloud on the side started to talk.
"Ladies and gentlemen! It seems our finalists have been ultimately decided for this event! Let's see which of them will rise to the top and become The Strongest Duo!!"