Rise of Zero Wing

Rise of Zero Wing! 3

Wow, we're already this far, huh? Obviously not a lot considering how much other authors have written, but I honestly haven written this long in a long time. I hope to continue writing more, and don't hesitate to comment on what you think of the chapter.

Shi Feng could only smile in relief as Hell Fiend's body crumpled to the floor. Indeed he was actually the Swordsman that had been fighting him the whole time. With the use of the Demon Mask he had come to King's Return's audition in the Divine Coliseum. It had been a big gamble to join the main event, but he wasn't sure he would have been able to do anything when he scoped out Hell Fiend's location and found him behind the doors to a VIP room. He stayed for a few minutes trying to figure out a way to make him come out, but the longer he stayed the more suspicious he looked and he couldn't afford that.

In the end, an idea came to him. If he couldn't reach Hell Fiend he would make him come to Shi Feng. Doing so proved easier than expected when he fought against Imposing Heaven and won against him while making it look easy. Provoking Hell Fiend proved a bigger gamble. The man himself might have refused simply because of the chance he could find Shi Feng not worth his time, but luckily with a mix of incentive to join and goading Hell Fiend fell for it. The rest was playing into the man's pride and the battle was already won.

He had to make it look challenging, for he did not want anyone looking deeper into the character that he created besides an expert looking to challenge those of his level, but he also took no chances keeping the Aura of Space active. The Abyssal Blade he kept sheathed and when the time came activated Instant Strike and Blade Liberation to slash him to death.

As Hell Fiend fell to the ground he didn't hesitate to activate the Soul Tracking Scroll, the activation time being a bare two seconds. Immediately after, he scooped up the Abyss Summoning Book and a staff.

The barrier surrounding the arena fell as it counted for players having any abilities that would allow them to automatically respawn and when it didn't Shi Feng was greeted with silence as every player within the Coliseum looked at him.

He had expected this of course, Hell Fiend was the Adjudicator of King's Return and any match that he participated in was sure to become the main attraction. Not to mention all those spies in here must be feeling schadenfreude at his death.

As he walked down from the arena, Hell Fiend's companion Praying Lotus stood in front of him. Behind her a group of players from King's Return stood, anger blazing in their eyes.

"Friend, that was a great match. To defeat Hell Fiend shows a lot of promise. Are you still interested in joining King's Return?" Praying Lotus asked.

Behind her, her guildmates looked at her in shock, unable to believe that she would simply invite a player that had humiliated them and killed Hell Fiend, not to mention, taking his equipment as if nothing was wrong.

What they didn't know was that Praying Lotus understood their feelings perfectly, and she herself was furious. Both against this unknown swordsman for having humiliated them and furious with Hell Fiend for getting provoked and causing this mess. Now she had to find a way to get the book back and if not find a way to kill the powerful swordsman before he took a look at the book and did something with it. Her only options at the moment were to invite him to the guild and hopefully have him trade it back secretly without any of the Elders or those in high positions finding out about it or kill him as soon as they could.

Shi Feng simply chuckled at her question. How could he not see through her? Had it been any other expert looking to join, such words would have filled them with joy. Adding to the fact they could have probably taken the book and staff in his position and negotiations with the guild would have certainly gone in their favor. Because no matter what, even if they knew or not, the guild could not let anyone know that Hell Fiend was the one responsible for opening the Abyss gate near the Twin Towers Kingdom.