System: Inherited - Chapter 174

By asking the man’s name, she had acknowledged him a worthy opponent. She nodded her head in approval and revealed her name to him.

“I am Maxine Heart”, she said. The man’s eyes widened when he heard the name, as the surname was something that made him shocked.

“Heart? As in the Royal family, Heart?”, he asked. She nodded her head and the man smiled back at her. She didn’t expect such a response, and she was wondering what she should do in such a situation.

“It is an honor to meet the Princess of the Heart Family. Bear no grudges against us, as we have no choice but to do this”, he said as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

Maxine did the same and they were both standing there, not making a move. Lynda was confused as to why the both of them were standing there, waiting for the other to make a move.

She was about to talk when she felt a hand over her mouth, and it stifled her voice that was about to come out. Nothing but a muffle was heard, and she looked back at the person that was having their hands over her mouth.

It was Vanessa, and Lynda wanted to break free from her. She had a finger over her mouth, and it was a signal as to remain silent right after she had removed her hand.

She nodded her head in response and felt the hand that was covering her mouth slowly slither away. She turned around to her and saw her looking at Maxine with great intent, and it was confusing her as to why all of them were silent.

“This is a mental battle. Though we are seeing them standing there, they are making hundreds of moves in their minds, to find the right move to attack their opponent. This is the most dangerous battle that will be fought. Keep watching”, she said.

She looked closer to Roland’s face and saw a bead of sweat trickle down his face. His eyes were wandering around, but his grip on the sword was not faltering.

Both of their swords quivered slightly, and their eyes were now out of concentration mode. A smirk was on both of their lips, and they slid their legs to a stance.

Roland was standing with his feet wide apart, and his sword was right above his right shoulder, glimmering in the sun rays that were shining around them.

Maxine on the other hand had both of her legs close to each other, and with her left hand behind her back and the right hand extended with the sword, it was a stance that was composed of balance.

Roland looked at her and smiled, as he jumped from the place and ran towards her. His wings flapped which further increased his speed in reaching towards her.

For Maxine and the others, it was something they could trace with their eyes. While for the others, this was the first time they had seen their leader move at such a speed. Lynda was astonished at the movement speed.

“This… but how?”, she muttered as she had her hands over her mouth. Vanessa who was still next to her smiled as she grabbed her hand.

“That is something that not everyone can attain. It seems like he has finally surpassed the wall that has been blocking his growth all this while”, she said as she looked at the fight intently.

Roland’s smile widened as he saw the move that she made. It was a perfect counter to the move which he was going to make, but he didn’t care about that.

“I will fight to my heart’s content. If this is going to be my last fight, then let me make sure it is a battle worthy to remember”, he thought as he reached right next to her. The moment the two swords collided, there was a slight shockwave.

“That is… Aura?”, thought everyone as they looked at the color that was enveloping Roland. There was a green hue around Maxine, while there was a golden hue around Roland. The shockwaves were something that neither of them expected, and thus they braced themselves for the impact.

“That man has the Holy Aura? But how?”, thought Zephyr. He was racking his brain for a solution, as it was something that was bestowed by the Royal Family to the most honorable knights in the Kingdom.

“If this name is something that was there before I left, then it means that Maxine must know. But looking at her reaction seems like she doesn’t know either. Did he say his surname was Fletcher?”, he thought.

He racked his brain as the both of them stood there without making a move. Their swords were still clashing, and the shockwaves had begun to subside. Something clicked inside his mind as he quickly asked his question to him.

“Is your father’s name Draco Fletcher?”, he asked. The man turned his head towards Zephyr and smiled. It was a smile that was filled with loneliness, and sadness.

“Yes, he was my father. Our family was abducted while he was on leave, and I grew up in The Omega. When he was dying, he passed down this Holy Aura to me, saying that I will be reunited with the people that had given this Aura to him. Seems like he did speak the truth”, he said.

Zephyr was shocked when he heard his father’s name, Draco Fletcher. It was a name that he knew very well, due to him being one of the people that had trained him when he was little. His knees gave way as he plopped to the ground.

“No way, my first teacher was taken and killed? Just how much are you going to take away from me, Omega?”, he muttered as he looked at the man that was standing in front of him.

For a second, he saw another face overlap Roland’s, and it was Draco’s. A voice echoed in his ears as he looked at him.

“Little one, take care of yourself”, said the voice as he saw Draco fade away. A hand was on his shoulder, and a voice woke him up.

“Are you alright?”, asked Roland, and it was evident that their fight had paused due to the mentioning of his father’s name. Although he wanted to fight more, he wanted to learn how this man knew his father’s name.

Zephyr had immense respect for his first teacher, as he was someone who had taught him everything that he had known until now. Draco was a father figure to him, and he could not believe that such a man was killed by Omega.

He got back up and looked Roland in the eye. The look in his eyes had changed, and he was now holding back his sorrow.

Maxine threw his Ninjato back at him, and he caught it mid-air. Roland jumped a few steps back, and he withdrew his transformation. He did the same stance again.

“Come at me. Let me see what my father had taught you, and see who the better one is”, he said. Zephyr pulled out his blade and stood in the same stance as him, and made his move quickly.

Swords clashed, but there were no shockwaves this time. The moves were fluid as the both of them exchanged moves again and again, and Zephyr felt his mood improving once again.

The both of them saw their moves being read, and Roland stopped for his ultimate move. He smiled as he looked at Zephyr do the same.

“Senior Brother, please guide me”, he said in a slightly sarcastic voice. Zephyr nodded his head in response and readied his sword. Both of them released their Aura, which they had been holding back for quite some time.

“It was nice seeing you”, said Roland as he jumped and had his sword at his waist. Meanwhile, Zephyr sheathed his sword and ran towards him. A click was heard, and the movement of Roland was stopped by his hilt.

“Rule number one. Always restrict the movement of your opponent”, he said with a smile. Roland sighed out loud as he raised his hands in defeat.

“You are right indeed. Seems like father has taught you well. So, what are you going to do?”, he asked as he looked around.  Some of his strongest subordinates had fallen, and there were fewer people than they had come here with.

Most of them had had their Lifeforce sucked out of them by Maxine in her rage, and the rest of them were people who could self heal, though it was quite slow when compared to Maxine’s ability to heal.

“What do you say about a proposal that I might have?”, said Zephyr with a smirk on his face. Roland was amused with what his Senior was thinking and wanted to hear it.

Everyone turned their heads towards Zephyr, some confused and some stunned at the remark that he had just made.