chapter 723 you lost to fate
after thirteen bid everyone goodbye, he waved at the crowd and walked away.
the moment when no one could no longer see his face, the faint smile on his face disappeared, and was replaced by a brooding look, which made the two pocopocos, who were perched on his shoulders, quiet down.
they could tell that zion was in a bad mood, so they didn't want to make any noise because he might get angry at them for being rowdy.
only the teenage boy's footsteps echoed within the hallway that was bereft of people. he was thinking about something, and the more he thought, the more determined he became. whatever was going inside his mind, no one could really tell aside from himself.
pica and pico gave the teenage boy side-long glances, but kept their beaks firmly shut, for they believe that zion was up to no good!
***
ashford clan's healing ward...
clark abruptly opened his eyes, and immediately propped himself up in a sitting position.
he gazed around him, trying to discern where he was. his heart sank when he realized that he was inside their clan's infirmary.
a moment later, he recalled the events that happened during the match, making him clench his fists in frustration.
"i lost," clark muttered after a few minutes of silence before he sighed deeply.
"no," someone spoke from the side of his bed. "you didn't lose. at least, you didn't lose to roland."
clark hastily looked at the corner of the room, where a teenage boy with black hair, and green eyes, was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
"zion leventis...," clark said with a conflicted look on his face. "have you come to humiliate me more? did you come here to mock me?"
"i don't have that much free time," thirteen replied before walking towards the bed.
once he was near, he reached out in the space beside him and took out a chair from his dimensional storage before planting it next to the bed, so he could sit down on it.
he then looked at the prodigy of the ashford clan, who looked like someone that had just fallen from grace, feeling depressed on the outcome of his match. "what do you want?" clark, who was not in the mood to talk to anyone, asked in an irritated tone.
"you," thirteen replied.
"what?" clark arched an eyebrow.
"i want you," thirteen stated.
"that brat, zion, proposed an interesting idea to me earlier," claude said. "i don't know what he has in mind, but you still have a second chance."
"a second chance?" claude asked in confusion.
claude nodded. "that's right. so, rest for now and recover. you will hear an announcement from him after three days."
he gave his son an encouraging look before walking out of the infirmary.
zion had sought him out earlier, and offered a proposal, which claude found very hard to refuse.
earlier, he thought that all hope was lost, and their clan would no longer be able to make waves in the tournament.
so, when zion approached him, he thought that the no-good-brat was planning to extort him, so that clark would be given a second chance in the tournament.
truth be told, as long as it didn't go past his bottom line, claude was willing to negotiate.
but, zion didn't make things hard for him.
he even threw claude an olive branch that was impossible for him to turn down.
"what do you want?" claude had asked back then. "what are you scheming?!"
to his surprise, the teenage boy gave him an answer that left him in shock, and disbelief.
"i don't hate cheaters, and people who use dirty tricks," thirteen replied. "what i hate is fate. i'll give your son a second chance in this tournament."
upon hearing this word, claude immediately thought that zion would extort him. but, the boy didn't do that.
"three days from now, wait for my announcement. i'll go and convince the grand marshal, and the field marshal first."
he then left without saying anything else.
he gave no demands.
and didn't ask for compensation.
even now, claude believed that the teenage boy had a hidden agenda.
but, whatever his agenda was. the current patriarch of the ashford clan was willing to take a gamble, and see just what the teenage boy was planning to do to make his son make a comeback in the competition.
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