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Chapter 544 - The Morality of War (Part 2)

The eyes of the champion of War’s domain in military uniform were the last ones to land on the Heroic figure of the man in white-gold armor, and yet, it was that very small movement that brought the most severe switch in the mood of the restaurant’s dining hall.

A deafening silence took over the entire hall, leaving only the slightly hastened breath of the dozens of observing cultivators to be heard by those who had a keen hearing. After what was only an hour of peace and quiet from the last brawl, it seemed that the hopes of these several groups of cultivators were finally starting to become reality.. So, unwilling to say or do anything that could prevent that, they observed in silence.

Being aware of the belligerent nature of War’s domain, no one present had expected this encounter to be resolved peacefully, and yet, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the champion of War’s domain smiled politely at the warrior clad in white gold armor, uncovering two rows of slightly neglected teeth, and while pointing his finger at the toothpick-shaped beverage stuck in between his opponent’s fingers, he said, "Do you mind? That’s my drink."

The warrior in shiny armor did not respond. Instead, he stared at the soldier while her companion, the female archer, shouted from her party’s table with indignation, "Do you need me to explain to you how to use your mouth, you dimwit!? You-" What seemed like just the beginning of a long tirade was interrupted by the solemn woman at the end of the table, whose staff was now standing next to her, just like a standing lamp. She quietly placed a hand onto her friend’s shoulder, causing her to fold her arms in anger, push her body against the back of her seat, and quiet down.

Following the woman’s attempt at defusing the situation, the onlookers sighed in disappointment.

After a quick glance at the other table, the soldier turned to look back at the heroic figure that was still standing in front of him, and with an unchanging smile, he said, "I can hear your thoughts bubbling from here.. You should get back to your seat, unless you have anything to say." As he spoke, the full power of his cultivation at the stage of true championship emerged as a layer of invisible mana, which morphed the surroundings similarly to flameless high heat.

Neither his tone, nor his words seemed to have any effect on the young hero, who instead, kept staring in silence..

"This is why I dislike you, champions of Morality.. Always unaware of consequences." Said the soldier before turning to look at the emaciated waitress, who was now mindlessly looking back at him.

Anyone with a developed mind power would have easily been able to see the gratitude this young woman was feeling towards the warrior.. But that was not all. Along with gratitude, was also a hidden desire that this warrior had not interfered, and instead allowed her to have a painless and quick death that, for someone who had led such a horrific life as hers, could have been considered an act of mercy.

Naturally, the soldier did not care for the waitress, and not even once had the thought of killing her out of mercy appeared in his mind.. And yet, he was not unaware of how humans were treated in Horror’s domain. It was clear to him that the Hero’s action would cause more suffering to her than his actions would have-so instead of pressing the matter any further, he said to the waitress, "I have still not gotten my drink yet."

The waitress bowed her head politely towards both the soldier and the heroic figure that was standing next to her, and took off for the kitchen, leaving the two cultivators alone.

For the following couple of minutes, the soldier ignored the presence of the warrior, and instead, turned to look back at his companions, who had resumed sharing their stories and experiences. It was only after the waitress came back while holding a plate with a half filled glass on it, that the warrior in gold armor moved.

His arm rose in between the table and the waitress, stopping her from serving the soldier. With a quick hand and no hesitation, he grabbed the glass, and gently placed it in front of the soldier. His actions courteous to a fault.. almost patronizing. He then turned to look back at the waitress, and dismissed her with a faint nod of his head.

As the waitress walked away, the soldier picked the glass up, and brought it to his lips. With an almost elegant motion of his wrist he tilted it, allowing for only a taste of its content to slide into his mouth, right as he looked at the warrior in white gold walk back to his table. Pleased by the taste, he gulped the rest down, and with his elbow pressed against the table’s surface, he raised the glass up to his eyes-level with the intention of ordering another.

Right before he could call the waitress back, however, the soldier noticed that the rim of his glass was slightly chipped. "Oh.." he uttered in cold disappointment right before slowly placing the glass back on the table. Then, in a motion that seemed to be as fast as the reaction speed of the man in white gold armor, un reached for his waist, drew a handgun, and without even looking, he pointed it at the waitress, and pressed the trigger.

In just an instant, a flash of light formed at the end of the gun’s barrel, which exploded in a thousand tiny strands of essence that carefully avoided any object that stood between the soldier and his target, only to land on the waitresses’ body before anyone could even realize what was happening. The thud created by her body hitting the ground resounded throughout the entire restaurant, bringing both the customers, and the warrior in white-gold armor to a halt.

The hand of the champion of Morality instinctively reached for the handle of his sword, pulling it out of its scabbard just enough to uncover a blade made entirely out of pure starmetal. From the small cracks between the plates that formed his armor oozed an oppressive mixture of emotional aura and essence, which quickly formed a film around his body a few inches thick.

Similarly, the soldier tightened his hold on the handgun he was holding, while reaching for a military-style knife with a half sharpened half serrated edge. It was clear that a clash was unavoidable.

The remaining members of the hero’s and soldier’s parties, as well as the other groups of champions, quietly made their preparation to either take part, or observe fight that was about to start-and yet, right when it seemed that the bubble of pure tension would finally burst, a laugh resounded in the air, and reached the ears of every cultivator in the dining hall, who immediately turned to look at a table in the darkest corner of the venue with confusion.

There, Daniel was having a pleasant conversation with the waitress, who stood next to his table unaware of the corpse, identical to her in every way, that was laying onto the floor just a few tables away. "I really enjoyed your last suggestion. What else would you recommend?" Asked Daniel while resting his head onto his palm, and moving his empty glass closer to the edge of the table.

Enchanted by Daniel’s smile and cheerful behavior, the waitress said, "T-The.. Many clients have praised the Spearmint Dragon.." As she spoke, she ignored that the eyes of every cultivator present were pointed at her-trying to pierce through her body and get a glimpse of Daniel’s appearance and power.

"Oh.. That sounds more like a nickname for a friend of mine, more than a drink.." said Daniel while raising a corner of his lips into a playful grin. Then, just as a hint of disappointment was starting to appear on the face of the waitress, he added, "But you haven’t failed me before, so I’ll trust you! One for each of us, five in total." After hearing Daniel’s words, as if struck by sunlight after a long night of sleep, the young woman straightened her back, and with a warm smile and newfound enthusiasm, she marched towards the kitchen, looking forward to her next interaction with this unusual man and his companions, with whom he resumed his previous conversation as soon as she left.

In the glances that Daniel ignored, was a respectful alertness. For most of the observing cultivators it had been tens of thousands of years since anyone had managed to successfully create an illusion that could trick their senses. And yet, not only had Daniel done just that, he had done it while minding his own business.. effortlessly.

The perfection of the illusion made the observers doubtful of their surroundings and safety.. After all, for all they knew, the restaurant could have been an illusion just like the waitress, and they were just a moment away from having their heads chopped by a blade.

Were they safe? Were they still on Kosmos? Was Daniel a senior they had just annoyed? These were only a few of the many questions that appeared in their minds, distracting them from the still ongoing hostility between the two champions of War and Morality. It was only when the warrior in white gold armor approached once again the table of the champions of War, that the attention moved back on them.

"Do it, or I will." Said the champion of Morality with a stoic tone.

Still shocked about being caught into Daniel’s illusion, the soldier turned to look at him, aware of the possibility that he could have been his opponent’s ally. However, as soon as the door of the restaurant opened, and a dozen more cultivators in soldiers’ uniform entered the dining hall, he placed his hand onto the table.

From the surface of his palm emerged a wisp of essence, which joined the public formations of the restaurant that, once activated, gave the soldier only one option. With no hesitation, the soldier accepted the terms set by the restaurant’s formation.. An action that caused the scenery that could be seen on the other side of the restaurant’s windows and door to disappear, and be replaced by the cold emptiness of space. Anyone with the right amount of knowledge of spatial essence would have realized that the entire restaurant had been teleported far away from Kosmos, and into an empty point of space where the warriors could fight freely without causing any damage to the city..

Once the teleportation was completed, on the restaurant’s entrance appeared a semi-circle of light essence, with one end stable at the top, and the other slowly burning in an anti-clockwise motion. From the speed at which the moving end burned, it was clear that the time limit set before the dining hall would go back to where it originally was, was only twenty minutes.

This kind of formation had been left in each of Polis’s buildings in order to grant a more free alternative to the rules-bound arenas, in which previously agreed terms, bets, and limitations were set by the battling domains. By leaving the dining hall and entering the open space, each champion, be it challenger or observer, was officially giving up the protection of the domains of Law and Order, and agreeing that anything that would happen next would not be a responsibility of the domains of Law, Order, or the organizing domain.

Nevertheless, this degree of danger was not enough to discourage the future inheritors of these massive domains.

The first ones to leave the dining hall were the champions of War, led by the soldier that had attempted to kill the waitress. By the presence of the hero in golden armor, he had already guessed that a fight on even ground was probably a bad idea, but that caution was dispelled the moment he had seen more of his peers enter the restaurant, raising their numbers up to three times those of the hero’s party.. So, after the change of location, he rose to his feet, and left from the restaurant’s entrance along with his companions.

Following the champions of War were the spectators, who sprung up on their feet, and rushed out in smallish groups in hope to claim a good spot to view the battle.

Once alone, the party of the heroic-looking cultivator turned to look at him with uncertainty.

"That probably was not a good idea.." Said the monk from underneath the large brown hood.

Next to him, the giant in massive armor nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with Klaus on this one.. Next time, if you want to act, you need to be more decisive." Said the woman that sat at the end of the table with a stern tone, and while leaning on her staff.

After listening to the opinions of his companions, the warrior in golden armor turned to look back at them, and from underneath his helmet, he asked, "Does that mean you are not coming?"

"Hell no. That guy pissed me off.." said the female archer right before slamming her palm onto the table, which exploded into hundreds of perfectly carved arrows that automatically flew into her bottomless quiver. She then grabbed her bow, and while approaching the warrior in white gold armor, she said with a cheerful tone, "Let’s kick some ass." Behind her, were the other members of the party.

Aware of the numerical disadvantage, and yet devoid of hesitation, the party of five marched bravely through the door, leaving Daniel and his companions alone in the dining hall.

"Yeah.. I do like them." Said Daniel as he rudely grabbed Lilith’s glass, whose content she had not touched yet, and gulped it down.. "Stay here." He then said before casually walking out of the dining hall, like a happy old man on a late afternoon stroll.