Affinity:Chaos

Ernst City.

For the past week, the city has been abuzz because of the news of a youth challenging all the youths below twenty years of age.

According to what was said, the granddaughter of the Gayle's family head was defeated by this young man, almost killing her. It was said that he even crippled her.

The Gayle family head sent out a request, promising to hefty reward to anyone who can defeat this young man.

All the young geniuses in the city were heading towards the arena in the city. This was the place the showdown was going to take place.

In a city as big as this, it was unimaginable how many people would turn up to challenge Grey, and there's also the people who would come to watch the battle.

….

The arena.

It was already filled to the brim with people. Most of them were already discussing about the identity of this mysterious young man, and why he was able to cripple the daughter of the Gayle family and go unpunished.

One has to know that the Gayle family is one of the big families in this city, and no one would dare to be disrespectful towards them.

The Pyro Faction had close ties with them, so even if they couldn't deal with the backers of this young man, the Pyro Faction should be able to.

In the special area of the arena.

"It's already noon, where is this person that got us all gathered here?"

A middle aged man asked the head of the Gayle family.

Clara's grandfather turned to look at the man, "They should be here soon, if you're observant enough, you would've already sensed the aura of someone powerful entering the city,"

"Hmph! I can't believe you two couldn't deal with a little girl," The middle-aged man mocked.

"Why don't you deal with her when she arrives?" The old man who was beside Clara's father said.

He was the one who was with them when Grey and the lady came.

"Stop arguing, I'll speak to this girl when she arrives. I want to see what gives her the guts to ask willfully in my territory," A man with amber hair said coldly.

When the others heard his voice, they kept quiet. This was the leader of the Pyro Faction, Druess Vermilion. He is regarded as the strongest Fire Elementalist in the entire Gale region.

While the crowd, and the big families were still speaking, Grey and the lady soon walked into the arena.

He wore a black shirt and trouser, his mask still on his face. He had an indifferent expression, making it difficult to predict what he was thinking.

"I thought you wouldn't come," The head of the Gayle family stood up, walking towards the edge of the special area, staring in the direction of the pathway leading into the arena.

His voice was loud, catching the attention of all the people in the arena. The previously noisy arena turned pin drop silent, and one could even hear the breathing of the person close to them.

They all looked in the direction where the Gayle's family head was looking.

"Heh! Why wouldn't we? I was the one who organized this show after all," The lady scoffed.

The crowd were left dumbstruck when they saw the person who made this possible. They couldn't believe that the person hadn't even gotten to thirty years of age. Without delay, they looked by her side and saw Grey behind her. They didn't need anyone to tell them who he was.

"We've been waiting for you, please, shall we begin?" The head of the Gayle family asked.

He didn't want to delay anything, wanting the people to kill Grey as soon as possible. Clara's condition was worse than what he initially thought. Presently, it was unknown if she would be able to walk again.

"What's the hurry?" The lady said while stepping into the plaftorm in the arena.

She turned to look around, impressed by the influence of the Gayle family.

"Wow! So many people came. But, since we're the ones organizing this show, it's only proper that they pay a gate fee," She said.

Her words almost made Grey trip and fall when he heard it.

'Klaus and Reynolds would like traveling with you,' He said internally.

Void was currently having the time of his life. With someone powerful as a backer, he could do almost anything. What was worse was that he had her full support, there are times when she was even the one encouraging him to go out and steal.

During the time he was training, Void had come to the city a few times, looting from some of the major families. The reason the problem hasn't escalated was that the lady told him to only steal a few things, making sure it would be difficult for the people who check the treasury to find out.

Void's ability to bypass any array formation was unbelievable. Even the lady had complimented him severally because of it.

According to the lady, today was the final day of their stealing since after the battle, they would leave this place with the teleportation array.

Currently, all the powerhouses from each family are here, with no powerful person behind, Void could let loose. Taking as much as his spatial storage could contain.

Only now did Grey know the original plan. The lady didn't make this challenge to help Grey grow stronger, she did it so that they could gather all the powerhouses here and steal from their treasury with no one as strong as them watching.

….

The man with amber hair stood up when he heard the lady's voice. He wanted to confront her.

As soon as he walked to the edge of the special area, he paused, his pupils shrunk, and he was fidgeting slightly.

"It's you!" The lady's voice came from the platform.

She was pointing at the leader of the Pyro Faction.