Chapter 97 Sibling Bonding [2]

97 Sibling Bonding [2]

"Woah, the Young Masters are going at it."

"How well do you think Sir Brandon would fare against Lady Belle?"

"That's an unfair comparison, don't you think? Lady Belle's number one among her peers."

"Ah, right. I forgot about that."

"Yeah, and you know just how Sir Brandon was before attending the Academy."

"..."

Brandon's face scrunched up as he overheard the crowd's conversation.

The original Brandon Locke...

Just how incompetent was he...?

When Belle had told Omar that they were about to spar, Omar looked as if he was in disbelief.

As if he didn't expect the current Brandon to accept the sparring session.

—Go!

Breaking him out of his thoughts, the referee's voice boomed and the match had started.

"Wooooh!"

The screams and cheers of the crowd followed shortly after.

'Right, Belle told me to show them everything.'

Why?

What was the purpose?

Regardless, he had to pay attention towards the opponent in front of him.

Belle Locke.

Just how large was the gap between the first year and the second year's strongest?

***

Tzz—!

As soon as Belle blinked her eyes, Brandon disappeared all of a sudden, and blue sparks rippled in the air from where he once stood.

Closing her eyes, Belle tried to feel the mana around the atmosphere.

"...There."

Crack! n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

With her superb reflexes, she was able to react to Brandon's attack. Turning sideways, a single swing of her sword had managed to parry Brandon's quick swing.

As the two wooden swords clashed, blue sparks coiled around.

Foooo!

Overpowering Brandon, a gale of wind pushed him, as he skidded back several meters.

"Eh..?"

She tried to follow up with a counter attack, but found herself unable to move.

Looking down, a layer of ice encapsulated her entire feet as it rooted her in place.

"Wooooh!"

"The Young Master is a Deviant?!"

Astonished, the crowd's screams echoed, reaching Belle's ears.

'That's right, my little Brother is amazing.'

Beaming with pride, Belle nodded her head.

Ever since they'd arrived at the house, Belle had only ever heard compliments about her from the staff.

But never about Brandon.

And just the way their parents reacted when Brandon clumsily gave the excuse of changing his room's layout had irked her even further.

Her little brother...

He was amazing too.

Even more so than her.

She took pride in him.

Which is why she had asked him to spar in their arena.

Locke Family.

They were a family of military personnels.

A company that specifically trains and fosters Rankers. It was kind of like an Academy, but on the military side.

And her Father, Omar Locke, was none other than its General.

The shiftporter didn't lead to the basement, nor anywhere around the house.

No, it immediately led to the military base.

An expensive shiftporter that could travel long distances.

Such was the financial power of the Locke Family.

It was only introduced lately in the market. But as soon as it did, Omar bought it without question just to try out the new gadget.

14:20

Omar had introduced it to her a couple of hours ago, which is why Belle knew its secret location.

Tzz—!

As Brandon disappeared, Belle closed her eyes yet again.

"There."

Swoosh—!

But instead of parrying his strike, a gale of wind blocked the attack for her.

It didn't seem like he hated her.

And that was enough assurance for Belle.

Kracka!

Bolts of blue lightning headed towards her.

Empowering herself with wind, Belle easily dodged it.

But the moment she did, Brandon had already appeared in front of her.

Swoosh—!

And yet again, a ripple of wind had managed to block his attack.

"Show them everything Brandon. Don't hold back against me."

Brandon's eyes widened at her words. But contorted to a smile as he nodded.

"Alright, Sis."

Belle nodded as well with a smile.

'Ah, so he really doesn't hate me.'

His smile.

He was able to give her a warm smile.

Crackle!

All of a sudden, the ground beneath her began to shake.

Looking at Brandon, she gave him a stupefied look.

"Earth?"

"Yup."

How?

When?

"What the..."

An earth pillar protruded from the ground and lunged towards Belle's face.

Crack!

But it immediately shattered from her wind before it made contact.

Her peripheral view was blocked from the earth dust. And as the dust settled, water bullets pierced through the air towards her.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Supporting her wind defense with her swinging, the water bullets splashed around and drenched her slightly.

But Belle wasn't anxious.

She was smiling.

Show them everything. Your strength. Prove them wrong. Let's become the strongest together.

Such were her thoughts.

"Five affinities!?"

And the crowd went wild.

'One more. He has one more.'

And as if her thoughts were seemingly read, fire started cascading around Brandon's palms.

"Six?!"

Belle nodded as the crowd's roars reverberated throughout the entire arena.

The sheer sight of Brandon's affinities had made them go wild.

Penta Elem—

No, for some reason, Brandon was now a Hexa-Elemental Mage.

Of course, Belle was taken aback as well. But she decided to put her question on hold.

Brandon would tell her sooner or later.

She was counting on that.

She continued nodding as she smiled.

As soon as he sends the torrent of flames, Belle would end the sparring session.

"...!"

But that was when...

"Huaaaaaaaa....!"

The flames dissipated, and Brandon had started screaming.

Thud!

He fell on both knees and started ruffling his hair into a mess.

His eyes were wide open as tears had started to form.

"Haaa.... Haaa...!"

He started breathing heavily, to the point where even Belle could hear it.

Thwack!

And he started smacking his head on the ground.

"Brandon!"

She screamed but it all went to deaf ears.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Her younger brother...

He was losing it.