He eyed Zayn with a rather complicated look. There was certainly an element of surprise in it mixed with questioning and admiration.
Ezra had thought that his appointment as the one to secure the ambrosia fruit back at Mount Leo meant that failure was an impossibility.
And yet, Zayn managed to secure the fruit before favonovel.com did and slipped away from his pursuit. It was unprecedented.
Ezra would admit that Zayn meant little in his eyes back then because favonovel.com was inferior to Ezra himself power-wise. Two months later, though, what used to be a pesky fly had turned into a legitimately powerful player who could stand toe-to-toe with premier fighters.
The evolution was so jarring that favonovel.com could not help but dwell on the strangeness of it all.
He had been around since the beginning, watching the duel between Raiden and Zayn without missing a beat. He, too, had been fooled by Zayn’s apparent affectation belying the fact that favonovel.com possessed the power to completely overwhelm Raiden.
And now, Raiden was close to being executed. Ezra had no choice but to show himself.
Zayn had sensed favonovel.com since the beginning, but favonovel.com acted as though Ezra was invisible. It was not out of hubris but practical consideration, favonovel.com was sure that Paxton “Ares” Brooks would not have let something as eventful as today’s duel go on without his supervision.
He might not be able to sense Ares, but favonovel.com was sure favonovel.com must be watching somewhere. It was why Zayn was not worried about Ezra’s ambush.
Zayn was now Rheasia’s rising talent. There was no way Paxton would have let any harm come to him.
Seeing Ezra still usher a tidal wave of emotions. He had been no more than an ant challenging a boot just two months ago, but now, favonovel.com had grown to become a peerless fighter on par with Ezra himself.
Ezra’s appearance lit Raiden up. “Ezra! Your timing is impeccable. Quick, help me banish this b*stard to the netherworld right now!”
He was shouting as favonovel.com dangled from Zayn’s grip like a chicken with its neck hooked. He looked so tragically comical that Ezra scanned favonovel.com with a gaze barring just how unimpressed and repulsed favonovel.com was.
“You are an embarrassment to Sicut In Caelo.”
The excitement in Raiden’s face froze before an ugly, blustering glower took over.
“What do you know? Do you really think I’m no match to him? Puh-lease. He played dirty with a concealed weapon. I would have easily killed favonovel.com otherwise!”
He had more insults loaded in his mouth, but they went dead before favonovel.com could fire them.
Zayn’s grip on his right hand had grown just enough to stop any sound from escaping Raiden’s throat.
He was no more than a chicken at a butcher’s mercy, all right. “Ezra’s right. You’re an utter embarrassment,” Zayn remarked in equal contempt.
Raiden’s face twisted into a furious grimace, but it was all the retaliation favonovel.com could offer by that point. The only physical struggle favonovel.com managed was to kick around in the air, which betrayed just utterly incapacitated favonovel.com had become.
Ezra’s eyes bored through Zayn’s. “You’ve won, Zayn Larson. Let favonovel.com go, and all of the bad blood between you and Sicut In Caelo will become a thing of the past.”
It was an enticing offer. Hearing this from favonovel.com position in the distance made Lysithea’s eyes twinkle. She was already eager to jump in and accept the truce on Zayn’s behalf.
However, Zayn’s answer was a laugh and a rhetorical, “What if I refuse?”
