Harem System In A fantasy World

Chapter 266: Last one

Zenovia did not stop after that first strike; her irritation only seemed to grow as she stepped in again, her foot snapping back before driving forward in a sharp thrust aimed straight for Elion’s midsection.

“Ooof, someone sure is feisty!” he commented as he twisted his torso at the last moment. The strike grazed past his bloody clothes as nothing but air met her force.

Before she could even retract her leg fully, her fist was already flying toward his face, a clean, practiced punch that would have caved in the nose of any ordinary mage, yet Elion leaned back just enough for it to miss by a hair’s breadth

The wind from her knuckles brushed faintly against his cheek as he watched her with an almost amused calm, and then she spun.

Her tail flicked behind her as she followed up with a sweeping kick, aiming to take his legs out from under him. “Stay still, you bastard!”

“I would like to keep my body intact, so no thanks,” he hopped lightly, landing just beyond its reach with a soft tap of his boots against the ground.

His movements were effortless, almost lazy, as though he was not even taking her seriously, and that only made the anger in her eyes burn hotter.

She pressed forward again, strike after strike, her fists, her legs, even a clawed swipe slipping in as her restraint faltered, but every single attack met the same result: empty air, near misses, and that infuriating figure slipping past her like a shadow.

Until eventually, her breathing grew uneven, and she clicked her tongue in frustration, stepping back with a sharp exhale as she finally gave up.

’He’s not taking me seriously!’ Her ears twitched in annoyance while Elion straightened up as if nothing had happened at all.

She was smart enough to realise that this opponent was far beyond her own strength, and if he wanted, he could have put her down already.

Elion laughed lightly as he stopped teasing her, and Aeron got back up on his feet from a distance and returned to their side while glaring at Elion.

“Hey! Why am I being glared at?” Elion raised his arms up innocently, “I’m not the one who kicked you in the face…”

His words were more than warranted, but the infuriating smirk on his face made it clear that he was kind of enjoying this.

Aeron grumbled in anger, but luckily, he didn’t do any more than that. In his eyes, if that beastly woman wasn’t able to touch him even once with her kind of reflexes, what chance did he stand?

So he had no choice but to swallow his grievances.

Eventually, reality quickly forced its way back in as the surrounding battlefield still smouldered, the distant sounds of regrouping soldiers and crackling flames reminding them that this was no place for petty scuffles.

And so, with visible reluctance on Zenovia’s part and lingering confusion from the others, they shifted their focus to more pressing matters, confirming what they could in short, clipped exchanges.

“I-I’m sorry about kicking you in the face.” Zenovia gave Aeron a half-hearted apology, which he took without asking for any more than that.

And the wry smile on his face probably meant he definitely got more than he would have expected to normally.

The trio verified that Elion was indeed human despite everything they had just witnessed, and once that was settled.

“You are coming with us.” Aeron’s eyes sharpened as he looked Elion up and down.

“And why would I do that?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Aeron shrugged, “You are more than welcome to go on your way, but something you said caught my attention, and I suggest that you come speak with us, if you would like to know more about this… ’trial’” He lowered his voice slightly as he said the last part.

Elion’s eyes narrowed, but he got the other guy’s meaning. He knew something about the trial, but he didn’t feel comfortable speaking about it out here.

There could be only one reason why that is. At least one that he could think of. So he shrugged, “I don’t see why not.”

Elion finally looked down at the state of his lower body.

’Bloody hell…’

“Give me a moment.” Elion took a short moment to remove his bloodied clothes behind a tree trunk as the others gave him curious glances while trying to look away. He had already stored away his sword earlier, while walking toward the trio.

Once he looked prim and proper, he came back dressed in oddly plain-looking civilian clothes, a black tunic, and simple black pants.

He kind of looked out of place, dressed in such fashion on the battlefield, where everyone was in armour of some sort.

You might have thought he was taking a leisurely stroll.

“Let’s go…”

The four of them broke away from the rest of the unit that had taken part in the skirmish, leaving behind the murmuring mages who had gathered around at some point in time and the uneasy glances that followed them as they moved toward the rear lines.

It took them a while to get to the camp, which was on a secluded part of the forest, and they only arrived there after walking past a large plot of land that had been visibly deforested, probably to stop the fire from spreading to the camp ahead of time.

That let Elion know that the firestorm he got caught up in had been a strategic maneuver on humanity’s side to maybe use the chaos from the flames to drive back the demon’s line during the skirmish.

Well, with him there, they hadn’t really needed it after all.

After walking further into that side of the forest, the full camp finally came into view. Many small tents were pitched up here and there, but they walked right past them and went deeper.

What was curious to Elion were the respectful glances that the trio with him seemed to get from every man and woman in this camp.

It was not long before they made it to a large central tent. The command centre tent was large, reinforced with layered cloth tightly sewn seams.

There were armoured guards holding swords stationed outside the entrance; they parted without asking any questions as the three entered with Elion in tow.

Once inside, the air visibly grew quieter and heavier, the sounds of the busy camp dulled to a distant hum as maps, markers, and magical projections hovered over a central wooden table.

There were a few fire torches on a few pillars along the sides, casting faint light across their faces in tandem with the glowing projections.

Aeron was the first to break the silence as he rubbed the sore spot on his face, his expression a mix of irritation and curiosity as he looked at Elion, “So you really are the final trial taker?” his voice carried a hint of exasperation.

Zenovia stood slightly to the side with arms crossed under her chest in a way that raised those globes underneath the robe. Elion was really trying to keep his eyes off her, like, he needed to respond to Aeron here, but she wasn’t helping his case.

Her sexy figure was just too distracting.

Zenovia’s gaze was deliberately averted from Aeron as a faint trace of guilt lingered on her face, but that also meant she was somewhat face-to-face with Elion, meaning she could see that he was visibly entranced by her, though she said nothing of it.

The only visible reaction was her tail flicking once behind her.

Meanwhile, Zenovia was having her own internal thoughts. It was all too clear to her that Elion was the sort of male she hated the most. The type who thought with that thing that dangled between their legs first, and their brains second.

Her rage threatened to bubble over when she thought about the fate that had almost befallen her in that forest before she woke in this trial.

’Those bastards!’

Her brow furrowed, and her eyes sharpened, the golds flashing in a foreign red glint. But it vanished just as quickly as it came.

As hateful as men were, she wasn’t the kind of person who would go around expressing her hatred for their kind just because of her bad experiences. She was also a sensible person, brash at times, but sensible.

As long as Elion kept his distance, and mostly, his hands to himself, she wouldn’t try to cut it off with her claws or one of her expertly hidden blades.

She was maybe a little bit lenient with Aeron because he had proven himself trustworthy in the little time they had spent together, especially on the battlefield.

And he didn’t look at her with that hungry gaze most men gave her. If anything, he was mostly aloof and maybe even a little bit clueless and innocent for a guy his age.

But something told her that maybe things wouldn’t be so simple with this new guy. He looked like the shameless type, and in her experience, also the most troublesome to deal with.

At least he was different in the sense that he wasn’t an ugly bastard. Well, in fact, in her opinion, she could consider him to be maybe a little bit too good-looking.

So much so that she might consider letting his eyes wander around without having to poke those eyeballs out of their sockets. She quickly realised that her thoughts had spiralled out of control.

’What are you thinking! Get your head straight!’ She berated herself as she shook her head quickly.

Just to be safe, she kept her gaze in the space between Aeron and Elion. She really didn’t want to be looking at either of them right now.

Meanwhile, Elion regrettably shifted his gaze from her and focused on the red-haired guy, who was visibly getting annoyed by the lack of a response.

He had plenty of time to think as they walked back here.

They hadn’t really spoken on the way, since they all seemed to quietly agree to talk at once in a more private setting, and so that gave him time to think about a few things.

The only reasonable explanation he could easily think of as to why they knew about the trial was if they were the other participants he had been sent in here with.

Elion shrugged lightly, “Seems so,” he replied, his tone casual, almost indifferent, as though the entire situation was just mildly inconvenient to him.

The third member, who had remained quiet until now, finally stepped forward. Her brown eyes scanned Elion carefully, measuring him in silence before speaking, “Then that makes four of us on this side,” she said, her voice steady, “we were all brought here the same way.”

Elion tilted his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he looked at them one by one, “Well,” he said lightly, “looks like we’re all stuck here together then.”

Aeron cleared his throat slightly, his expression returning to something more professional as he extended a hand toward Elion. “My name’s Aeron,” he said simply in a direct and earnest tone, “I guess you could say I’m one of the earlier arrivals to this mess of a trial.”

Elion accepted the handshake without hesitation, his grip firm and steady.

Zenovia stood beside them with her arms crossed, her ears twitching once as she glanced away for a brief moment before finally speaking as well.

“Zenovia,” she said shortly, her tone still carrying a hint of irritation, though it was clear by now that she had reined it in, “and before you ask, yes, I was also thrown into this trial like the rest of them.”

“My name is Maya,” the last one said calmly, her voice soft but clear, “it seems you are the last one to arrive.”

Maya was the petite kind of mage who wore a robe, and light pieces of armour here and there that were more accessory than protective, and also hung a bit too much on her staff for support.

If she had any great assets buried under that long, loose robe of hers, Elion didn’t see any.

She also had long, wavy brown hair that fell comfortably over her back, and that shiny sheen told him that it was well taken care of. Most certainly shampooed every time she bathed, and also brushed every day before bed, and in the morning as well.

Her makeup was done with a light blush on her lovely cheeks, and her plump lips were also redder than what you would consider normal.

He nodded lightly in return, taking in their faces before speaking and introducing himself as well.

“Elion.” He smiled lightly. Of course, he took the opportunity to look at Zenovia’s facial features for a little bit longer than the other two, which did not go unnoticed.

No one said anything about it, though.

Aeron leaned back slightly against the edge of the command table and gestured toward the large map spread across it, the parchment held flat by small metal markers at the corners.

“Alright then, Elion, let’s get straight to the point,” he said, his voice turning more serious, “since you’re here now, you should understand what we’ve figured out so far about this trial.”