The Ancient Genes

Zen Mansion, Ishtar City.

"How long are you going to make me wait.." Bahmut muttered as he looked at the ring in his hands, it was actually a septum piercing. Also known as Bull nose piercing. It definitely didn't suit Bahamut. Not to mention, he didn't even have any nose piercing.

This kind of accessory suited those with bulky figures. He on the other hand..well…was still in the growing phase.

Now coming to the main topic, why was Bahamut talking to a nose ring like a lunatic? Well, it was not just a ring, but the Spirit Shell.

Yes, this was the Artifact that Max had handed to Bahamut after he had managed to snatch it at the auction destruction in the Orca. The incident was still fresh in Bahamut's mind, that was where they had beaten Werner and got him as their prisoner. The guy was still trapped in Mr. Cool's spirit world, and from that narcissist's recent reports, it seemed that Werner was reaching his limits.

It wouldn't be long before they would have an opportunity to make the guy talk.

"Hmmn.." Suddenly, Bahamut's gaze turned back towards the nose ring in his palm. He had felt a throb from it, and this wasn't the first time. He had begun to feel these throbs almost around a month ago. But, there was still no signs of him having any contact with the spirit.

But, both Max and Mr. Cool had asked him to keep his calm. The two of them had their own experiences, and knew that it wasn't something that one could achieve in a matter of days. If that was the case, then they sure would be a bunch of losers.

"It should have ended by now.." Bahamut muttered as he looked at the time. There was a meeting today, and it was called by the Competition committee. The parents of the students who were missing had been called along with participants of the competition as well.

It was clear that something important was going to happen.

Bahamut's father, the Lord, had obviously arrived in Ishtar because his son was missing. Because of that Bahamut had his freedom restricted and even had to cancel his plan to go out and search for clues of his brother's disappearance in Orena.

Currently, both his father and Uncle Giant had gone out to attend the meeting in the Academy, and he should be hearing what happened anytime soon.

Just as he was thinking about it, a message popped up in front of Bahamut and his eyes suddenly went wide before his face began to turn dark.

It was a message from Uncle Giant and it said what had actually transpired at the Academy. The Competition Committee had actually called to announce the results of the search conducted by their team. And, it was something that didn't make people happy.

The search team deemed that three students who were very near to the source of the explosion had died instantly. This included Arthur, August, Faryl, while Arnold who was away from the scene had barely survived. They had clearly shown that the breaking of the formation wasn't the immediate cause of death which was showcased by Arnold's survival.

They indeed had to bear the brunt of being irresponsible with the formations, and the fact they couldn't bring out the students before the explosion. But, there wasn't much that could be done honestly, there was never a guarantee that there wouldn't be any casualties, and the students themselves had signed all the forms willing to be responsible for themselves.

Secondly, the casualties this year were very low when compared to those of previous years. Hence, one couldn't blame the committee at all as they had done a tremendous job.

In the end, there was nothing one could do about it. Of course there was an option to retire out of the competition, but no one was going to opt for that. After all, the risks this year were still low compared to the previous ones while the rewards had gone way up.

Secondly, the Committee had reassured that they would take actions and act in a manner that such incidents wouldn't repeat in the remaining competitions.

Of course things didn't end peacefully, the Lord of Barnes House was furious. Ander already had Lear hanging in between life and death. Arnold too was found in a severe condition, and now they said that his oldest son was dead too..

One could only imagine his situation, not only him, but the entire Barnes House seemed to be engulfed in a gloomy atmosphere. No one knew what was going to happen ahead to them. It felt as if they had been cursed by someone.

The Lady of the Barnes House, Lesia was the one who had it worst. A mother who was so close to losing all her child in such a short time, only god knew what kind of pains she was going through.

Bahamut couldn't help but frown after reading everything. It honestly felt like the Ancient Families were trying to shirk their responsibilities here. After all, no matter how you looked, Arthur clearly self destructed the Elemental core expecting to be rescued.

Of course there was never a guarantee of rescue, so it was still a matter of debate. But, the Ancient Family still should have enough decency and guts to come out and say that they had failed. That would probably be a sign of their millennium old legacy, and ability as a leader. After all, when one depended on you, and you didn't perform, you had failed. There was nothing wrong with admitting that, especially when u wanted people to trust you and follow you.

But, the Ancient Families were instead trying to shift the responsibility and blame other things..

Bahamut sure didn't feel good about it.

<<How is father? He didn't start anything, right?">> Bahamut asked in reply. He knew his father well. The old man was definitely capable of going crazy. Bahamut was sure that his fahter would have started a fight either with the Committee or the Barnes Lord for allowing his son to possess an Elemental core.

But, Uncle Giant's reply left Bahamut a bit surprised.

The Lord was indeed angry, and criticized the committee very openly. But, he was still within control and hadn't lost it.

'That's not like him..' Bahamut frowned a little. Something was odd about his father's behavior.