Extra's Ascent-Chapter 84: A Light Scuffle Of The Strong

"What did he say?"

Dante, Camelia, and Ian waited outside, their eyes fixed on the closed door as they anticipated Saldrich’s emergence.

They had chosen her to enter the room and console Aldrich. Her presence, as his sister, would soothe him more than a crowded assembly ever could.

As soon as Saldrich stepped out, Dante was the first to speak, to ask. However, the look on her face betrayed that the events inside had not gone well.

"We should leave him alone for now. I can’t imagine what he’s going through," Camelia suggested softly, her voice trembling with concern.

They agreed that if Aldrich wished to be left undisturbed, they should grant him time to recover.

"Yeah… we sho—…" Dante began hesitantly, but his words trailed off.

"What’s wrong?" Saldrich asked, her tone gentle yet edged with worry as Dante pressed his ear closer to the door.

Then, a sudden realization struck him: "There’s someone inside!"

Dante’s certainty was based on a slight shift in the room’s atmosphere, a subtle change in the air, followed by the faint, almost inaudible whisper of Aldrich, as if he were communicating with another.

He listened intently while the others watched him, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and concern.

At a dissatisfying point in the conversation within, Dante decided to intervene. "Alright, that’s enough of it!" he declared.

Without hesitation, Dante charged into the room, fist raised high.

He banged on the door and stormed straight toward Dwayne, his target. Dante’s fury boiled as he accused Dwayne of spouting nonsense that did not agree with his own understanding of the situation.

Dwayne, however, had anticipated such an attack.

With practised ease, he brushed aside Dante’s clumsy punch by tilting the arm aside, shifting it with a smooth, controlled motion.

Dante had not thrown his full weight behind the blow, but the ease with which Dwayne deflected it startled him and wounded his pride.

Mildly riled up, Dante rolled his body and unleashed a backward blow, his movement intended to obscure his trajectory. Yet, Dwayne saw through the feint effortlessly.

Taking a deliberate step backwards with his right leg, he slipped Dante’s momentum aside, leaving Dante’s swinging hand empty, a sight that drew snickers from those present.

Humiliation burned Dante’s cheeks. In his mind, he seethed at the mockery of it all, especially in front of the assembled group. Dwayne then performed a three-step leap to put distance between them.

"I didn’t come here for a fight. I came to reason," Dwayne stated calmly, his tone measured and even.

Dante’s amusement slowly subsided as Saldrich, Camelia, and Ian rushed into the room to back him up.

"Saying you’d get rid of his eyes. If that isn’t looking for a fight, then what is?" Dante challenged, making it clear he had heard Dwayne’s earlier threat.

"Silver hair…?" Camelia interjected, noticing details that had escaped the others amid the chaos.

"A relative of yours?" she asked, her eyes searching Saldrich for clarification.

"Not a family relative I know of!" came the reply.

Dante picked it up, inducing his knowledge to the others, "That’s because he isn’t a blood relation; he’s a clan relative, Dwayne Aldaman!"

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An exclamatory gasp escaped Camelia’s lips as the revelation sunk in. Ian maintained his composure, though internally he struggled to hide his astonishment.

"You are Dwayne Aldaman… the youngest LORD candidate ever recorded in history," Dante inquired, finally facing the source with a mix of awe and indignation.

Dwayne’s expression remained stern. "I am. And I am here to settle the conflict caused by my yearmate, Kyle Dandada."

At these words, Dante’s mind raced to recall the tumultuous events. "The Dwayne Aldaman I’ve heard of… That explains what just happened."

At that moment, Dante’s tension began to ease. The conflict that had erupted earlier, his missed punches, his embarrassing fumbles. It lost its sting in light of Dwayne’s formidable presence.

The mere acknowledgement of Dwayne as he truly was cleared Dante’s confusion, revealing the true magnitude of his adversary.

Dante no longer harboured animosity toward Dwayne; instead, he began to understand the gravity of the confrontation. The Dwayne Aldaman he had heard so many tales about was not to be taken lightly.

It would be a disappointment, he thought, if an encounter with such a force had been any easier.

Dante chastised himself inwardly for not knowing his opponent better, for underestimating the threat he now faced.

"Conflict? Your year buddy did more than merely quarrel. He plunged his hand into a student’s chest, ripping a gash so deep it nearly claimed her life. And then, Aldrich… he kept slamming him against the wall until he lost consciousness. If it weren’t for the healing Art, four students would have perished!" Ian exclaimed, his voice laced with anger and disbelief.

He tried to list the damages wrought by Kyle’s recklessness, though he omitted to mention Trevor, who had barely survived and had only been saved at the very last moment.

Trevor’s narrow escape, the near-death of multiple students. These harrowing details only compounded the severity of Kyle’s actions.

"To be fair," another voice interjected, "the damage you describe only befell your group. Most other participants escaped unscathed, and the injured were promptly tended to."

Dante snapped back defensively, "Are you saying it’s their fault they let themselves be attacked by that psychopath?!"

"I never said that," Dwayne countered sharply. "But my investigation suggests that Kyle deliberately chose your group as his target for torture. Isn’t that right, Aldrich Aldaman?"

At this, the room’s attention shifted to Aldrich, whose eyes briefly flickered to Fiona before returning to the present as his mind replayed his encounter with Kyle.

"My eyes… He was filled with disappointment that I wasn’t living up to the legacy, my legacy as an Aldaman!" Aldrich murmured, his voice heavy with regret and self-reproach.

That incident in the cave was indelibly etched in his memory, and he was certain of its truth, of why he was picked on by Kyle Dandada.

Aldrich was without a doubt certain, that Kyle’s target wasn’t picked at random, it was deliberate.