NOVEL WEB Chapter 8: Evident Disparity
Fights after fight kept going on, until from the Main Descendant's side only Darius remained standing, whereas, from the Branch Descendant's side, none remained, making Darius the final winner of this Monthly Assessment.
Those from the Main Descendant's side showed expressions of pride, even Aurelia's countenance was gleaming with delight, knowing that it was someone from her faction who was the final winner, which gave them a great boost in power and resources.
Aurelia had already decided to gift Darius more resources from her side, for keeping their face and maintaining their dignity. In contrast, those from the Branch Descendant's side had embarrassment written on their faces.
Jonan was happy and a bit upset at the same time, now that no one had any suspicions about him regarding the disappearance of his friends and questioning him with an iron fist, which nearly made him piss in fear, but now no one even bothered to look at him, he felt crestfallen at the fact that he wasn't able to stand and fight on the stage, like his brothers and sisters.
Looking at Darius who stood on the stage with all the glory, and praise from everyone present, Jonan felt a tinge of envy, he shook his head instantly withdrawing his thoughts, and becoming aware that it's useless to dwell on feelings of envy, after all he has no way to cultivate.
Even then Jonan hid one thought in the back of his head, that while it's nearly impossible for him to cultivate, he will not give up and try to find some other ways to progress towards the path of power with a hardened expression, "Jonan, why the long face, your brother Darius is the final winner, we should congratulate him later for his victory", said Jonan's mother with a joyful expression.
"Nothing Mother, I was just thinking about something else entirely, of course, we will congratulate him right away", said Jonan, after all, he had no problem interacting with Darius, while Darius was somewhat arrogant, he still held those of the Main Descendants dear to him, no matter their talent, that's why Jonan was even looking forward to congratulate this highly talented brother of his.
As if contemplating something, Elara pondered with worry that, "If my Jonan had the similar talent to Darius, or even a low-grade talent, then my family would have poured all their resources into Jonan, and I am sure, after all investing in the Hero's son never fails, unfortunately, sigh".
thud, thud, thud,... the main door of the Hall of Strife opened, and a female figure could be seen walking with measured steps towards the Hero Draven, each of her steps was resounding in the Hall, everyone's attention moved towards the female who suddenly intruded during the joyous atmosphere, and turned it solemn, with just her presence.
The reason behind her presence affecting the atmosphere was that she was someone of great importance in the Starfall family, even the Hero Draven smiled slightly acknowledging her presence, while the Branch Descendants had gleeful faces, the Main Descendant's faces turned sour, after noticing the girl.
The girl was tall and of a healthy stature, with cherry lips, open black hair, and pearl black eyes, her face was devoid of any emotion, carrying a long sword covered in white bandages, she looked more like a queen of war, than a simple beauty.
Jonan was astonished by her presence, after all, it had been quite a long time since he saw her, and she was also someone of his age, the worst part was that among all the descendants, be it from Main or Branch, she was a complete nightmare to everyone, how could he forget her, or how could anyone forget her, after all, she was none other than the great Freya Starfall.
The number one prodigy of the Starfall family, the biggest and worst monster of them all, her strength and talent were far leagues apart from others, along with her temperament being that of a stone-cold killer, she never showed mercy for anyone, not even towards her immediate family members, many feared her.
Even Darius's expression twisted with resentment when he spotted her, unlike others he had no advantage towards Freya, be it family background, talent, or strength, no one knows for sure, but based on Freya's temperament and aura, he was sure, it would be hard to defeat her, he felt ashamed at the fact that someone younger than him had caught up to him, and was a major hindrance to his ascension to greatness in the Starfall family.
He knew that he had to do something, or else all the momentum he created for himself by defeating all the members of his age group would go to waste, but before he could approach Freya, he was ignored by her, as she simply moved towards the Hero Draven, and bowed towards him with respect, leaving him baffled.
"Grand-Father, I have completed the quest that you entrusted me with, I have slain the commander of the beast horde this time as you instructed me to do", said Freya with a nonchalant expression, taking out a severed head of what looked like a Polar bear from her space pouch.
Looking at the severed head, everyone was dumbfounded because it wasn't just the severed head of any beast, it was the head of someone from the abomination family, and not just any abomination but a royal one at that.
The crowd gasped at Freya's bravery, but especially her strength, which was now more incomprehensible to everyone than ever before, an abomination is not a mere beast and is not someone can easily deal with, they are intelligent and far stronger at using their strength to their advantage.
The worst part is that humans can't even hope to fight them at the same level, after all the presence of a core gives them too much of an advantage, while humans use their weapon itself as a core, which is detrimental to them in some ways, they also don't have stronger energy essence to begin with, after all both the races have special energy essences, which gives them a huge advantage compared to the humans.
That's why it was quite shocking to take notice of the fact that Freya, a young child of the Starfall family was capable of not only defeating but also killing someone from the abomination family of the beasts.
Draven The Hero smiled with satisfaction and praised, "My sweet Grand-Daughter, you have always excelled beyond reason, but this time you have outdone yourself, in light of your recent accomplishments and for the killing of the enemy commander, which deserves great recognition, you will be awarded generously, nevertheless the rewards will be sent to your chambers".
Freya nodded in an expressionless manner, meanwhile, Darius was seething with rage at how he was overlooked by someone younger than him, he felt as if his pride was crushed into pieces, he wanted to challenge her with all his might.
Standing amidst the aftermath of the battle, Darius's gaze was fixed upon the severed head of the Royal, a harsh reminder, as a seasoned warrior known for his brashness and prowess, he felt a mixture of awe and realization settling within him.
As he watched Freya, who was younger than him , and was almost reaching him in strength had now surpassed him which created conflicting emotions within him.
He was ready to challenge her, his pride was urging him to move forward and go for the challenge, yet staring at the evidence of her achievement, he understood his futile attempt.
With great shame, he had to bow down his head in silence with gritted teeth and clenched fists, he had to swallow his pride and keep quiet, as Freya got up and simply left the hall with the same measured steps, resounding within the hall.
She didn't even look at her family members, not even interacting with them for an unknown reason, which made Greedwyn sigh with a tinge of disappointment, he thought to himself, while everyone thinks that Freya stands for them and will fight for them, Greedwyn knew that wouldn't be the case due to a mistake done by him in the past out of stubbornness, which has cost him dearly.
Greedwyn knows that Freya stood with no one, she is on her own, a force of nature just like those Great Heroes.
Meanwhile, Jonan's eyes were dazzled by her magnificence and strength, while it hurt him a bit knowing that there was someone far more powerful at his age, he got an epiphany of sorts, was that one day, sooner or later, which might take time, but he would confront her in future and challenge her as her rival, and he would stand shoulder to shoulder with her and make his family the Great Starfall family proud of him.
Jonan felt the urgency after witnessing Freya and decided not to waste time, and start finding a way for himself in this world anyhow to at least get him started on his path to power.