Free Web NovelChapter 33: The One She Chose
The sudden declaration from Lara, accompanied by Cher silently stepping to her side and approaching Silas, Darius, and Alfred, landed like a bomb in the middle of the stadium.
Students froze where they stood. Conversations died mid-sentence, and every gaze turned toward them. Even Montar’s expression changed.
"Hey, this isn’t a joke. You know that."
It wasn’t Montar who spoke. Leopard strode forward from nearby, unable to restrain himself the moment he heard Lara’s words and saw Cher standing beside her.
"What do you mean?" Lara asked, either feigning ignorance or genuinely confused. Knowing her, Silas suspected it was the latter.
"First of all, I wasn’t talking to you."
For the first time since Silas had met him, Leopard’s arrogance surfaced without restraint. He ignored Lara entirely and fixed his gaze on Cher.
"I was talking to you. You can’t just join a random team like this." freewebnøvel.com
Cher crossed her arms and met his stare without backing down. Silas half expected her staff to appear in her hand, accompanied by those floating spheres of white fire.
"Why not?"
The simple question carried an undeniable edge. And with it, all the students standing in the stadium had the same thought; Cher was about to explode, she was going to confront Leopard.
Then she took several steps forward until she stood beside Silas.
"I could form my own team if I wanted to," she said casually. "Joining someone else’s sounds more entertaining."
Leopard’s fists tightened, and Silas noticed the faint tremble running through his body.
’This is turning out to be far more amusing than I expected.’
Meanwhile, Silas remained calm, acting as though none of this had anything to do with him.
"You know better than this," Leopard pressed on. "If you don’t want to form your own team, you’re welcome to join mine."
"And who gave you the right to decide what I want?"
Cher tilted her head slightly, her voice carrying a dangerous hint of impatience.
"Knowing you and knowing where you come from," Leopard said coldly, "I know this has to be a joke."
His gaze swept across the members of Cher’s chosen team.
"Darius might be a G-Enhancer and rank within the top ten, but he isn’t that impressive. His clan isn’t what it used to be, either. You know about the Graves Clan. Everyone has heard what happened to them. Their strongest member is either missing or dead. They’re in decline."
"Watch your mouth and mind your own business!"
Darius’s easygoing demeanour shattered instantly. Fury flashed across his face with an intensity Silas had never seen before.
’So that’s it.’
The pieces fell into place as he understood why Darius had insisted on calling himself a normal Enhancer, why he disliked other G-Enhancers.
Before Darius could charge forward and escalate the situation, Silas grabbed the back of his shirt and held him in place.
"And Lara is even worse, with her low ranking at fifty," Leopard continued with a sneer.
"You’ve gone too far!"
Lara glared at him fiercely before falling silent at Silas’s meaningful look.
"And him?"
Leopard shifted toward Alfred.
"I don’t even know who the hell he is."
"I’m Alfred."
His answer came immediately, without the slightest trace of anger. Silas almost smiled.
"And finally..."
Leopard’s gaze settled on Silas.
"...the loser who embarrassed all of Lisan Al-Gaia."
He looked Silas up and down with open disdain.
"Every student from Lisan Al-Gaia has ranked within the top ten throughout the academy’s history. Then there’s you, sitting at sixty-ninth place."
His lips curled.
"What a joke."
Silas remained expressionless. Cher, however, looked ready to kill someone.
"Are you done?" she asked through clenched teeth.
"Not yet."
Leopard narrowed his eyes.
"Are you really going to tell your father that this is the team you chose? That you decided to spend your academic years with a group destined to lose?"
"You crossed the line, Leopard."
Cher’s staff appeared instantly, and violet light blazed within her eyes violently. The surrounding students retreated in alarm, quickly creating a wide circle around the confrontation, with only one thought in their minds.
’The two are going to fight, and it’s going to be amazing.’
Yet, unlike what everyone expected, unlike how the situation developed, something entirely surprising happened.
"Stop."
Silas moved before anyone could react. He stepped between Cher and Leopard with surprising speed, placing a hand on Cher’s staff.
At this brief moment, his gaze met hers. His eyes carried A mixture of reassurance, warning, and some hidden empathy and support.
Meeting his eyes, noticing what they conveyed in silence, the fury boiling inside Cher eased, if only slightly. Then Silas turned to face Leopard and the other G-Enhancers who surrounded him.
And he smiled.
"You know what’s funny?"
"You aren’t angry because Cher chose us. You’re angry because she didn’t choose you." Silas said lightly.
"You’re afraid that Cher might push you off your pathetic throne."
He paused, feeling his palms sweating and his heart racing a bit faster. This was the first time he had stood like this. And yet, he had the feeling he had to do it regardless of how he felt.
"And you’ve made three serious mistakes."
Despite the anger simmering beneath the surface, his thoughts remained clear.
"You assumed you could decide someone else’s future."
Silas calmly let go of Cher’s staff entirely.
"You’ve convinced yourself that the world revolves around you because you’ve gathered followers around your side. But it doesn’t. Cher isn’t your subordinate, and she certainly isn’t a child. She can make her own choices."
He tilted his head, nodded towards her. Before returning to face Leopard again.
"And whatever those choices are, I’ll support them."
The moment his words landed, the students looked at each other in disbelief. The confrontation they expected had a sudden twist, and for a reason, it felt more enticing than what they had all imagined.
And Cher stared at his back, caught off guard by his words. For a moment there, she felt something warm passing through her heart.
’Nobody had ever defended my choices before.’
’Everyone only had expectations, never supported what I wanted.’
"The second mistake..."
Silas raised a finger.
"...was greed." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
"You wanted Cher because of what she could do for you. You wanted her strength to maintain your status."
His smile widened.
"But she’s far more ambitious than you think."
He glanced back at her.
"Sooner or later, she’ll become the academy’s number one student. It’s the position she deserves."
And Cher felt more warmth washing her heart.
"And your final mistake..."
Silas showed a wide smile on his face.
"...was underestimating me and belittling my team."
His voice remained calm.
"That may very well be the greatest mistake of your life."
Hearing this made Leopard’s followers burst into laughter. Yet Silas didn’t react, nor did Leopard. The two simply stared at one another, while Leopard sized Silas as if this was the first time seeing him.
’He is causing far too much trouble for someone at 69th rank.’
’He had disrupted everything.’
"You certainly talk big," Leopard finally said, silencing the others.
"I intend to back my words with actions," Silas plainly replied. For several long seconds, neither looked away.
Then Leopard smiled.
Despite his smile, his face didn’t show a pleasant expression; if anything, he appeared more furious than before.
"Fine. Let’s settle this in the upcoming test," he said. "Let’s see which of our teams earns the Ace title in the upcoming test."
Without another word, he turned and walked away. The other G-Enhancers followed behind him, their expressions filled with confusion and uncertainty.
Only after they disappeared into the crowd did the oppressive tension hanging over the stadium begin to ease. And all of a sudden, all students exploded in soft whispers, coalesced into a loud noise.
Hundreds of eyes settled on Silas. By the end of it, few remembered Leopard’s insults and arrogance, but they all saw Silas differently now.
