Chapter 18 Life For Life

"Is there anything the teacher can tell me? Who is it?" Number One questioned on the way with his body tensed. "I must warn that I made many enemies in my life. If it's one of them, I won't hesitate to kill."

Darius' eyes widened and he calmed Number One down, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's none of your enemies. A new student is joining the Academy and she requested to meet someone from the top class. I wanted to choose Luna since they are both girls but she asked for the strongest man. I had no choice but to call for you."

Number One rubbed his eyes speechlessly but that relaxed him a bit. One of the reasons he joined the Soul Academy was to receive additional protection. He wanted to grow in strength without worrying about assassins visiting him in his sleep.

"Teacher said she is someone important. Is she strong too?" Number One pried for more information as they almost reached Headmaster Blake's Office but Darius only shrugged.

"All I know is that she could enter the Main Academy right away if she wanted to. For some reason, she decided to take an extra step of joining the Selection process," Darius explained quietly as he knocked on the door. "I have brought him over."

"Alright, come in," Headmaster Blake called out from inside and they walked inside under the gaze of three pairs of eyes. One pair belonged to Headmaster Blake who seemed visually stressed while the other were two young women, both looking like their mother was a Moon Goddess.

Number One assumed they were sisters since their features matched perfectly but it wasn't hard to discern them from each other. One of them wore an innocent smile while the other was ice cold with a sharp gaze that pierced him as soon as he entered the office.

She was the one that gained all of Number One's attention and he looked right at her without trying to hide it. Her body was wrapped in a black leather outfit that exposed her well-trained body but her beauty wasn't what he was interested in.

It was the thick aura of danger she was emitting.

"Is he the one you were talking about?" the cold lady asked Headmaster Blake as she broke their small exchange.

"Yes, Miss Black. He is our current top student," Headmaster Blake nodded eagerly. "Not only did he reach a Soul Grandmaster rank but his strength is top-notch as well. He ranked first in the Selection after he destroyed a training puppet with a single Soul Art."

"Oh, that's actually impressive. Not only cute but also talented. Sounds like a good candidate to me," Miss Black nodded in approval and gazed at the teen in the Academy Uniform. "Nami, what do you think? Is he up to your liking?"

Nami brushed through her golden hair and took a glance at Number One. She was beautiful but something was off about her. She remained silent before she hopped off her chair and walked up to take a closer look.

After taking a spin to see all of his angles, Nami stopped in front of him and asked boldly, "Could you take off your uniform for me?"

That was the last straw for Number One. "Can I know what is going on? You are treating me like some kind of slave you are checking out on the market."

Headmaster Blake sent him an apologetic smile and finally introduced, "Miss Black is one of our Founder's friends and also a candidate to take a seat in the Council. She only recently returned from the Inner World to—"

"That's enough," Miss Black raised her voice to cut Headmaster Blake off. "There is no need for introductions unless Nami likes him. I'm not going to waste my breath explaining multiple times."

Headmaster Blake paled and zipped his mouth immediately but what he said was already enough. There wasn't anyone more familiar with the Council than Number One so he could guess how strong Miss Black was.

She was much stronger than what Number One could currently handle but he couldn't let them walk on him either. He focused on Nami who was the key culprit and slowly reached out to caress her cheek. Miss Black only frowned at that action but she didn't move to stop him.

"You asked if I can take off my uniform and my answer is no," Number One informed calmly. "I don't know what you want from me but humiliating me in front of everyone present is not the right move."

Nami blinked innocently and revealed, "I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to check if our bodies are compatible. How else can I do it besides looking at your body directly?"

Miss Black listened to the explanation and ordered right away, "You two, get out of the Office. Leave just the three of us."

Darius and Headmaster Blake were taken aback but they could only nod in understanding and followed the command. Even though Miss Black had no official authority inside the Soul Academy, her strength was enough to order anyone around.

"Now that we are alone, you shouldn't have any more problems, right?" Miss Black asked in a commanding tone. "My little sister wants to see your physique. Take off your shirt. I won't ask twice."

Number One gazed at her and chuckled with no fear in his eyes. "You think I'm scared of you? I really find it funny how all of you think you are better just cause you Ascended to the Inner World."

The pressure in the Office immediately raised as Miss Black stared daggers at him but Number One only shifted his hand onto Nami's neck and squeezed. "I think someone didn't listen to Headmaster Blake's introduction. If you move another step, I will blow up your sister's head. I doubt it's stronger than the training puppet."

Number One had no other choice but to get aggressive. He couldn't risk losing everything by exposing his Legendary Soul Artifact. So far he killed anyone who came to steal the rumored Soul Artifact that he stole from his master. If the Council learned how powerful it actually is, they would stop sending people and actually come down to Outer World to claim it on their own.

The threat of losing her sister was enough to stop Miss Black's advance, but her Soul Energy still began to leak from her palms. It was black like charcoal which meant her Soul Talent was only one rank below the legendary Gold.

"I will cut off your arm before you can do anything to her," Miss Black commented confidently as multiple black swords formed in the air around her. "Let go now!"

The situation looked really dire for Number One but his smile didn't falter for even a second. He knew he would be dead the moment he showed even a slight weakness.

"You really think you will be quicker?" Number One asked as his fingertips lit up with white light. "How about we test it? Your sister's life against mine. Are you willing to bet?"