Your Not So Ordinary Villain

Linius and Astro tried to enter the arena but they were repelled and were pushed back. They looked at each other and tried again but no matter how they attacked the barrier, they couldn\'t create an opening. Celes also tried to break the barrier but for some reason his magic couldn\'t pierce through it.

Cygnus narrowed his eyes and threw Celestine on the ground with a little bit of force which made her cough blood again. He slowly walked up to her and crouched down to look at her. He tilted his head to the side and hummed.

"Who taught you that technique?" He asked again, this time he looked calm but in Celestine\'s eyes, he was nothing but calm.

It was as if she was looking at the devil himself. She could see blood in his eyes. The coldness in those eyes regarded her as nothing. She felt like she was the lowest of the lowest that she did not deserve to live.

Cygnus leaned closer until his face was only a few inches away from hers, "I am asking you, who taught you that technique?" His voice brought a deadly cold feeling into her. It was like the hands of death were caressing her.

Celestine quaked in fear. She did not want to die. "No-no one taught me. I just learned it from a book and practiced it." Her voice was badly trembling but she still managed to answer the man.

The master hummed. He did not feel any lie coming from her but the knowledge that a book who contained that technique exists made his blood boil. Something like that should have not existed so why was it in this world? Was it a coincidence or it was already there from the beginning.

While he was still deliberating inside the barrier, the people outside were at a loss on what they should do. They couldn\'t break the barrier and the people inside were not listening to them. They could only watch helplessly.

"Ari, status?" Astro asked. He couldn\'t tell if the master was already sane or not because he was only crouching in there.

"Insanity state is at 35%, immediate action is needed. Possibility of it rising to 50% has been confirmed." This answer made Astro curse out loud. He couldn\'t believe that they would be facing something like this.

"How can we break the barrier?" He asked again. They needed a way to breach the barrier because before the master would reach his 50% breaking point.

"An S-rank equipment can destroy the barrier," was Ari\'s simple answer.

"S-rank," Astro mumbled. He looked at the major and at the sword on his waist. "Is your sword an S-rank major?"

Linius was taken aback by the sudden question, "Unfortunately not. It is only an ordinary sword similar to the ones I always carry."

Astro looked around and saw Elder Celes who was also trying to break through the barrier. He ran towards him and asked if he had any weapon of the S-rank or above and told him that it was the only way they could break the barrier.

Celes reached out from his back and pulled out a dagger. "This is an S-rank weapon that I have with me." He was still unsure but since the man was Rigel\'s aide, he could at least give him the benefit of the doubt.

Meanwhile inside, Cygnus was having a debate with himself. He was weighing the pros and cons of what he heard. A part of him doesn\'t believe that all this was only a coincidence while the other part of him was telling him that it was a possibility. His mind couldn\'t reconcile the fact that something like that really existed.

"It is impossible, how did a book with that technique exist in this world? No, no, no that must have been a coincidence, it must be one of the techniques in this world. I can\'t just jump into conclusions. But, what if that book contains all of the techniques those people use, then what will that imply?" His head was tilting from side to side then he looked up and stared at the sky.

\'What should I do? Should I just destroy the tower now?\' These thoughts suddenly popped in his mind. He closed his eyes as his mind slowly calmed down. \'I can\'t. I still have something I need to confirm. if those people appear again, he can just destroy them without letting anyone live.\'

The moment that the dagger touched the barrier, it broke and when they approached Cygnus and Celestine, everything looked calm. But they still remained cautious just in case the master had not calmed down yet.

"Insanity state is at 20% and is slowly decreasing. Destruction has been stopped for now." Ari suddenly spoke inside Astro\'s mind. The mage took a deep breath and he was finally able to relax.

"Master," he tentatively called out to see if the master would reply to him.

Cygnus hummed, "What is it? Did something happen?" He stood up and turned around with a confused look on his face. "What happened?"

All the people who came to see what was happening had frowns on their faces. They looked at Rigel and came to a consensus that he was alright. There was no trace of him going berserk that could be seen.

"The barrier suddenly became unbreachable so we have to break it forcefully." It was Celes who answered. He looked behind Rigel and confirmed that his apprentice was still alive.

Cygnus looked shocked when he heard what happened, "How can that be? Is the battle cancelled then? There will be no winner?" He asked a little bit, panicked and disappointed. "I defeated Celestine, won\'t that be counted?"

Several physicians came to help carry Celestine away after they made sure that she was fine and that she was only unconscious. Linius also checked his brother and saw that he sealed the wound using ice to stop the bleeding. Celes also left to consult with the other elders and they agreed to declare the master as the winner.

After the decision was relayed, the host did not waste time and declared Cygnus as the winner. The crowd clapped and the tension a while ago disappeared because the situation was immediately explained to all of them.

Since the atmosphere had returned, the host could finally ask the question that everyone was waiting for. The host looked at the master and gave him a nod.

"Now that you have won, as always the winner can choose who he wants to be his master, have you decided already?" The host asked his usual question but the master\'s next words made them all speechless.

"Yes, I\'ve already decided. Since he is also an elder there\'s nothing wrong if I asked him to become my master," Cygnus was ginned before he continued his statement. "I want the Magus Maximus to be my master."

The host\'s jaw almost dropped to the floor when he heard the man\'s words. Never had they have a winner who requested for the highest authority of the tower to take them in as a disciple. The Magus Maximus was also not a person who would just pick his disciple just because someone volunteered.

"Are you sure about that? It\'s not a good joke though." The host asked again just to confirm the man\'s statement because he might have heard it wrong.

Cygnus looked at him and grinned, "Sadly I am not joking though."

The master raised his right hand and let his palm face the sky. A dark magic circle appeared over his palm followed by the manifestation of a lightning that turned red from its original golden color. The host took a step back because of the searing heat coming from the lightning.

Before the host could react, the red lightning suddenly turned into black lightning. He saw up close how that small ball of lightning grew and he could hear the crackling coming from that lightning. Even the crowd that was left, looked in awe at the master\'s lightning.

"Aren\'t you curious enough? Or you really don\'t want me to become your disciple. I can just leave the tower though if you don\'t show yourself." The end-to-end grin of the master did not disappear as he issued a challenge directly at the Magus Maximus.

"What a bold move."