Chapter 58: Bria’s Last Mistake
Bria was already deep in the forest. Her breath came fast, but she was smiling.
"Feron, Dario, Alonzo... Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to take care of your sects but fusing them with mine, and turn my little sect into something greater."
She laughed hard as she continued to run, her fear slowly turning into ambition.
But then...
A lazy voice echoed above her.
"Wow. To think you’re already planning to steal from your dead friends. You’re pretty good, huh?"
Bria froze mid-step, her head turned up. Her eyes widened when she saw the figure perched on a tree branch.
It was none other than the source of all this trouble and, at the same time, Garion’s sole disciple, Dahlia.
Bria’s jaw clenched.
"You... how can you be here?"
Dahlia smirked, jumping down lightly. She landed without a sound, stretching her shoulders as if she’d just woken up.
"I’m bored, waiting at the God Gym while Master had all the fun. I didn’t think that anyone you would slip away, but..."
She tilted her head, smiling.
"Lucky me."
Bria’s face twisted before she broke into laughter, thinking how dumb Dahlia was.
"Lucky you? Are you stupid? You’re not Garion. Without him, you’re nothing."
Her grin widened.
"And now that you’re here, I’ll make you pay for mocking my disciples and turning you into a gift for your Master."
She drew her sword in one smooth motion before rushing toward Dahlia.
"Die!"
She lunged forward, thrusting straight for Dahlia’s chest, but Dahlia only smirked.
She didn’t even step back and just sidestepped at the last moment, driving her knee straight into Bria’s gut.
THUD!
Air rushed out of Bria’s lungs as her body folded instantly, her eyes bulging.
Before Bria could recover, Dahlia raised both fists and brought them down like a hammer across Bria’s back.
BAM!
Bria crashed into the dirt, choking and coughing, her sword slipping from her hand.
"You..." Bria wheezed, trying to push herself up.
"How can you be this strong? You’re only fourteen years old! You’re not that monster, Garion!"
Dahlia tilted her head, grinning.
"Yeah, I’m only fourteen and not a monster like my master. But I’m not exactly ordinary, either."
She reached into her robe and pulled out a small emblem, shaped like a dragon’s head, gleaming faintly.
She held it casually between her fingers, showing it to Bria, making her pupils shrink the moment she saw it.
"You... you... It can’t be..."
Dahlia only smiled as she kept the emblem hidden behind her robe and lifted one leg.
"So you know it, huh? Good. It’ll let you know that your death is a glorious one."
Bria frowned as she tried to run, but too bad that Dahlia was using all of her power right now.
But before Bria could run, Dahlia’s leg already stomped down hard on Bria’s neck.
CRACK!
The sound echoed through the forest. Bria’s body jerked once, then went limp. Her eyes stayed wide, frozen in fear.
From the start, Dahlia had already entered her serious mode.
Her dragon trait mana wasn’t just for show. It instantly makes all her attacks fierce and strong like a dragon.
Bria never stood a chance the moment she underestimated Dahlia.
Dahlia then began to drag Bria’s body back toward the God Gym, where Garion was already waiting.
She laughed, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"We really are troublemakers, huh, Master?"
---
Dahlia walked back into the God Gym and stopped cold.
Three corpses lay in a row near the gate, but what shocked Dahlia was Garion’s current condition.
Garion’s robe was ripped and soaked in red blood. There were also numerous cuts, deep and shallow, all across his body.
Dahlia quickly rushed to him, checking each of his master’s injuries.
"Master! What the hell happened to you?!"
Garion just laughed, waving her off.
"I just underestimated them. I thought I could handle them when I was still a First Realm Cultivator. I thought my body alone was enough."
He stared at the three corpses again before bursting out laughing.
"Turns out Second Realm with tratis were stronger than I thought. They really hit different."
Dahlia’s face changed. Her mouth opened, then shut, thinking just how crazy the current situation was.
What the hell, Master? How can you say that easily?
Her thoughts spun like crazy, realizing just how crazy her master was.
They were fucking Second Realm Cultivators! Do you know what that means?
First Realm Cultivators get killed by them easily, like ants, and you’re telling me now you almost died just because of underestimating them?
She bit her lip, eyes wide. Her mind jumped back to the moment when she ambushed and killed Bria.
I only survived because I threw everything I had in one strike, and her mana was already low thanks to Master.
That was luck. Pure luck.
She looked at Garion again, standing there with blood dripping from his arms, but still smiling like this was another workout.
This isn’t normal. Master isn’t human. He can’t be.
She felt a laughing bubbling in her chest, but it wasn’t joy. It was the kind that scared even her.
Monster... no, not a monster. A demon? No... even demons wouldn’t be that strong to defeat three people way stronger than them.
Master must be a god. Yes... That’s it. That’s why this was the God Gym.
Dahlia began to smile, her eyes gleaming strangely. She smirked, whispering under her breath.
"My Master isn’t like the rest of this world. He’s just something else."
Garion, on the other hand, just stared at Dahlia. Her face had shifted too fast.
First, shock, then fear, and finally a strange flicker of excitement, frowning him slihglty.
What’s going on in that girl’s head? Did I hit her head too hard before?
"What’s the matter, Dahlia?" he asked.
She shook her head quickly.
"Nothing, Master. Just... some other thoughts."
Her lips curled into a half-smile.
"Anyway, I brought you a gift."
Garion raised a brow.
"A gift?"