The moment Ray saw who it was, he frowned.
'How did they find me?' he wondered, staring at two all-too-familiar figures.
"Hello, brother," said a boy with blonde hair and piercing sapphire eyes, while waving with a smile.
"Joining an academy without telling us? Why? Aren't we supposed to be family?" his twin added, smirking from the side.
Ray narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, Remus?"
"First, a duel. Second, to share some big news—depending on how our duel goes." Remus spoke nonchalantly, flashing a grin.
"Wait, you can't just—" Mei started, but Leon cut her off.
"Chill, missy. This is a family matter. You're not allowed to interfere. And by the way, I'll be overseeing their duel. Not you."
Rina immediately frowned, sensing that the uninvited guests were up to something.
"Ray, you shouldn't—" she began, but Ray cut her off.
"It's alright. Like he said, this is family business." He told her before turning to Remus.
"And as for you, I have no obligation to fight you."
"All I want is to test your strength. In return, I'll tell you something... interesting."
Ray crossed his arms. "If that's your idea of a reward, I'm not interested."
"Suit yourself. I'll just tell Father you chickened out from a challenge—and keep the news about your mother, all to myself," Remus said with a smug smile.
"A reward? Be serious, brother. That news isn't a prize—it's a heartbreak," Leon chuckled.
"Shut up, Leon. No spoilers."
"Fine, fine…"
Ray's expression hardened. "What about my mother?"
"Nothing important." Remus shrugged. "So are we dueling or not?"
"..." Ray clenched his fists. Clearly beginning to lose his calm.
"We originally came here just to deliver the news and leave," Remus said, inspecting his nails.
"But watching you fight... made me curious. I want to see firsthand what Master Kho taught you."
"What happened to my mother?" Ray asked again, struggling to keep his cool.
Leon snorted. "See? He's scared. Didn't I tell you he'd chicken out? What else would you expect from a weak, Low Tier bastard like him?"
Ray turned to walk away, ignoring Leon's taunt. Rina and Mei followed him without hesitation.
But then—
"Have you received any letters from her... in the last three months?" Remus asked, loud enough for Ray to hear.
Ray stopped.
That question struck deep. It echoed in his mind.
Three months... no letters...
He had dismissed it, thinking she was simply busy. But now, hearing it from Remus, something felt terribly wrong.
"Wanna know why?" Leon grinned as Ray slowly turned around.
"..."
"Because that self-glorified bitch is dead!" Leon said, bursting into laughter.
Ray's world shattered.
'M—Mother…? Dead?'
'How?'
The crowd—still lingering after his duel with Rina—gasped in collective shock.
"Is he really gonna let that guy say that and walk away?" they murmured.
"While you were out here playing hero, trying to stupidly cultivate chaotic mana, she died—pathetically—at the hands of bandits. Alone." Leon sneered.
"Maybe if you'd stayed home instead of running off to play academy boy, she'd still be alive."
Leon laughed again, cruel and unfeeling.
"But hey, on the bright side... at least that useless whore finally died and didn't drag you down with her."
"Don't listen to him, Ray. He could be lying—" Rina tried to talk to Ray, only to freeze mid speech.
"Ray?" She called out to him, worried.
Something had changed.
Ray's body was cloaked in a shimmering blue hue. That sent a chilling breeze across the arena.
His eyes were locked on Leon—filled with pure, murderous rage.
"Take that back," Ray said, his voice trembling with fury.
Leon kept yapping. "Truth hurts, huh? She was just Father's concubine before he married her. Can't believe my mother ranked lower than that bitch in father's wife hierarchy—"
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared in front of Leon in an instant.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!" Ray roared, swinging his wooden sword at Leon's neck.
But Leon didn't flinch. "You wish."
In a blur, Remus stepped between them. Before the sword could land, five tiny Ice Needles pierced into Ray's body with surgical precision.
Ray froze mid-air, then crashed to the ground.
His aura vanishing in the process.
A loud scream tore from his throat as pain exploded through his body—his mana core had been forcefully shattered, and all four of his mana circulation points were pierced, by the Ice Needles!
'It hurts— Why does it hurt so much—?' Ray thought as the intense pain began paralyzing his body.
"You refused to duel, yet you dare attack my brother?" Remus's cold voice echoed in his mind. "How shameful."
"Did he just cripple him?!" Mei gasped in horror.
"How dare you—!" Rina lashed out with a WaterWhip aimed at Remus.
To her shock, he caught it mid-air and began freezing it solid ice.
The ice crept rapidly toward her hand, forcing Mei to act fast. With a sharp Wind Blade, she sliced the whip, cutting Rina free.
"Are you insane?! Can't you feel his killing intent?!" Mei shouted as she instinctively pulled Rina back.
"Didn't my brother say it earlier? This is a family matter. Stay out of it," Remus warned, his icy gaze locked coldly at the two girls.
He turned back to Ray, who lay half conscious on the ground.
"As for you... do yourself a favor by never showing your pitiful face back home. Your mother isn't there to protect you anymore."
Leon scoffed. "Let's go, brother. We've delivered our message. No point wasting time on this worthless dog."
Remus didn't look back. "And from now on, don't insult our bloodline by calling yourself a Bluemoon."
The two walked off.
A moment of silence passed before someone in the crowd broke it.
"Damn... did we just witness some noble family drama?"