Chapter 1796: Who was the lucky one?

The fight against Sano and Natta unexpectedly turned into a sparring match against Gladius.

It was hard to call Adam the winner of the second battle, but he certainly didn’t lose.

Crack.

With difficulty, Adam got up from the ground, the pebbles crunching under his boots.

"Agh... Agh... Agh..."

He was breathing heavily, clutching his stomach.

’How strange. Gladius’s attacks... they’re... they’re not what I was prepared for.’

Sano and Natta used everything they had, their abilities and even the Monster Nexuses, which Adam had never heard of before.

However, their battle proved less difficult and stressful for Adam than a few minutes of fighting against Gladius.

Deep down, Adam knew that Natta and Sano wouldn’t be able to kill him or inflict serious damage on him. He realized this right at the start of their fight.

But Gladius’s attacks?

That was something else.

Adam was afraid of missing even a single direct strike, especially when it was a palm strike.

’Huh, if he’d hit me back then, he would’ve just sliced me in two like a blade. Damn, I’m not sure I could do that again. But... I’ve made some progress too, right?’

Step. Step. Step.

Adam stepped away from the wall, slowly moving toward the center.

"You were holding back your power, weren’t you?" he asked, looking at Gladius.

Strangely enough, Gladius shook his head.

"No. I lowered my energy level, yes, but I didn’t do anything else. If you were able to withstand two of my punches, then against a regular Baron, you could have withstood even more direct attacks. Sure, we didn’t use our abilities, but in that case, you wouldn’t have stood a chance."

"Huh... I bet so." Adam smiled bitterly.

This wasn’t the first time Adam had seen Gladius in action, but every time, Gladius had relied solely on his fists or aura. Adam had never seen Gladius use his abilities.

Then, Adam looked at Aiden.

"You said I’m ready to head to the Gray Sea. I’ll work with you, Aiden, but you do realize I still think you’re a piece of shit, right?"

Sano and Natta gasped. They could be bold with anyone, but not with Aiden.

Aiden, in turn, rested his hands on the railing.

"Of course. I’m not going to become your friend, but it seems you no longer hate me."

This response caught Adam off guard.

"No... This is..."

Before Adam could answer, Aiden raised his hand.

"No need to make excuses. The point is, you can be angry at me, but I’m sure you realize that my mistake two years ago turned out to be the greatest gift for you, didn’t it?"

Adam grimaced as he clenched his fists tightly.

"Sure, I’ve thought about it hundreds of times, and I didn’t like that every time there was less and less hatred for you inside me. You were just lucky that I survived and was able to become so strong and change my life and my family’s life for the better!"

"No."

Aiden’s sharp reply made Adam freeze.

"That day, you were the lucky one, not me. If you had died as you were supposed to, I wouldn’t even have remembered you, ever. You would have been one of hundreds of obstacles on my path to my goal.

"Moreover, even if you had survived and become moderately strong, like a K1 or K2 Level, that wouldn’t have been enough for me to pay you any attention. You wouldn’t have been worthy of me wasting my time on you or helping you."

Adam clenched his jaw in anger.

What annoyed him wasn’t what Aiden was saying, but the fact that it was all true.

If he hadn’t reached K4-Level so quickly and gone through dozens of dangerous battles, Gladius simply wouldn’t have come to his home and offered to help him with one of his conditions.

’No, not even that! If my path had been safer, I might not even have needed the blood of Queen Elisa. Every action I took led to me standing here now!’

Even though Adam didn’t answer, Aiden understood everything from his expression before he leaped over the railing, stepping into the arena.

"Still, Adam, you can be proud of yourself. I rarely make mistakes, and even more rarely do I make mistakes that ultimately turn out to be a success, like you. You saw my list. Of all the people on it, only you became an unexpected member."

Adam waved his hand in anger.

"Do you think I don’t care about your list? You didn’t help me with anything! I achieved my power only thanks to myself and Silvana!"

Aiden nodded as his amber eyes grew deeper, staring intently at Adam.

"For the most part, you’re right, but in some ways, you’re wrong. I gave you a start, even though that wasn’t part of my plan. And... right now, I’m helping you complete your path as a First Circle Phantom."

Step.

Suddenly, Adam stepped forward and grabbed Aiden by the collar.

"So what? You’re doing this for yourself, not out of good intentions!"

Aiden’s expression didn’t change at all, remaining just as calm.

"Is that a problem? You’ll get what you want, and I’ll get a powerful fighter for a possible Zero War. You’re still too young. You need to understand that you don’t have to be friends to cooperate and be allies."

Adam lowered his head, thinking about his words, still holding him firmly by the collar.

"What about the blood..."

"Hmm?" Aiden blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Gladius said that there are now only two vials of Queen Elisa’s blood left in the whole world. I used one, so... all three vials were with you. Why? Why, of all the powerful people at the Citadel, did you have her blood?"

For the first time, something in Aiden’s gaze changed.

With a wave of his hand, Aiden pushed Adam’s hands aside, adjusting his collar.

"Her blood was just stored with me, that’s it."

It was a dry and short answer, completely unlike how Aiden usually spoke.

At that moment, Adam realized something:

’I see. So this bastard is hiding something else, right?’