Daimon's words made the atmosphere in the room tense up quite a bit, unfortunately for them, what Daimon said wasn't a baseless bluff but a solid truth, since Terry who even exhausted his lineage to push himself over the Lord rank for a moment, back then at the three-art tournament, was crushed by Daimon.
What's worse is that it wasn't even a close fight, Daimon didn't get a single injury throughout the whole thing, well, in fact the fight ended with just one serious slash from his sword, as he just activated Core Synchrony to use Comet Sword back then, and that was enough to break both of Terry's innate abilities, destroy his sword and blow his dominant arm away.
And that was after he had fought with the other guys present here, so even if all the ones that just came looking for troubles, grouped, the result won't differ much and that is if the girls surrounding their target, don't jump to even things.
In other words, the youngest generation of Neptune found itself in the humiliating situation of being completely suppressed by a single person, and from another "sea" to top it off, it's not completely their fault though, Daimon has never aimed to fight those from the same generation as him.
Daimon's eyes glowed behind his mask as he saw Terry was about to unsheathe his sword, his scholar façade had been destroyed since he got his ass beaten back then, and his flute sword was crushed too, so he now had a regular sword hanging from his waist, it was still a half Stellar rank weapon, but its quality was lower.
"I don't approve Ezequiel's method to try and drag Mellie away, but you are also a disgrace for this event, who are you to speak to us…", before Terry could finish speaking, Daimon interrupted him.
"I'm someone who is stronger than all of you and in case you are even thinking of using your status to, until you become the king you hold no real authority, not to mention I'm not a citizen of the Clear Water kingdom anyway, but if you want to do a size competition, I'm a first-generation Marqis", he casually said.
This time not only Terry but all the other presents showed signs of hostility, until their parents stepped down, they were nothing, well, Terry was granted the title of Viscount, so in the situation of him losing the battle for succession, he can become a noble on his own and create his own family branch, but the others have yet to obtain anything, not like it mattered since for everything Daimon knew, Neptune might meet its end today, but they didn't know about it.
Seeing that the smell of powder was spreading on the first floor and more importantly, things weren't on their favor, a voice came from the second floor.
"Now, this is an event to honor the protector of our kingdom, so while duels are indeed encouraged, they are meant to shorten the distance between the members of the young generation, fights based on personal conflicts are punishable, so why don't you act like the champion and stop being so hostile towards our young generation", the different groups turned to see the origin of the voice, who was none other than one of the wives of the king.
While Irma, the mother of the crown prince is known for being overbearing and prideful since her son is the next king, the mother of the twin princes has a different approach, she has even tried to build a bridge between the Keran and Delphini families… through a marriage proposal between Bryan and Mellie.
Unfortunately, Annete can easily see through her fake smile not to mention that Mellie has always found Bryan rather unpleasant, maybe his unrefined demeanor works with some of the young misses of other noble families, but Mellie only founds him crude, as for the other twin Ryan, he is surprisingly neutral and rarely shows animosity.
But apparently Daimon managed to piss him off too, because both of the twins were glaring at him, after what he said earlier, and their mother was the same, Norma walked down the stairs as she gazed at Mellie and Daphne before saying.
"This is a ball organized by the royal family, don't you think it's only natural for the princes and princesses to put the example at the first dance, which is prepared to welcome the protector of the kingdom?", she said with a fake smile.
"Sorry lady Keran, but we'll all only be having one dance and it will be with the partner of our choice, so if you excuse us", Mellie stood up and rejected Norma in the name of both Daphne and herself.
Seeing that Norma still had something to say, Sarah who was already angry, since she lost against Reyne to see who was dancing with Daimon first, smirked before saying out loud.
"Ahh, what is this woman making a fuss over a simple dance when we all have already decided who to share a bed with at this point".
"…", as always, the crazy girl was wild with her words, she didn't specify who they chose to "share a bed with", but since the only male in the group was Daimon, further explanation wasn't needed.
Of course, Sarah was messing with everyone, since they have truly shared a bed in the sense of staying in the same one, but not as all the presents were now thinking, she even mockingly gazed at Terry, Bryan and Ezequiel who were the most shocked by what she said, while she laughed.
Daimon saw the Risha sisters and the other girls, whose faces were bright red, which only made the other presents gasp and whisper between themselves, even Lance gave Daimon a dubitative gaze.
'That was a bit too much', he thought as he inwardly sighed.
On the other hand, Sarah's blunt words solved the problem, because even Norma was too in shock to keep interfering, so no one tried to stop them from leaving.
A few moments later, as soon as the group had left the others behind, Sarah felt the accusatory gazes of the other girls and she giggled as she rushed to hide behind of Daimon, to then rest her head on his shoulder from behind.
"Don't look at me like that, I didn't lie and none of you denied it~", she playfully said.
"How the hell did you expect us to explain our way out of that, you crazy…", mumbled Leslie, the three sisters were more happy than ashamed which at this point is understandable, everyone knows that they openly like Daimon and aren't at the part where words will weight on them, they slept cuddling with him after all.
While still ashamed over the previous scene caused by Sarah, Jasmine and Reyne shrugged it off by softly laughing, others were more in a predicament like Chris or Cassy, since they merely accompanied their friends, though it is true that they were in friendly terms with Daimon and also stayed in the same bed.
And then there was Tessa and Femi, who comforted each other by saying "The rumor will stay behind in Neptune".
"I'll deal with you later, for now, it's time for the event to start", said Daimon as he gazed at Sarah who giggled in response.
…
The atmosphere at the castle became more festive all of a sudden, as the royal orchestra started playing music, meaning it was time for the ball to start, that was the sign for everyone to gather at the main hall on the first floor.
The place was set so the people on the second floor had a clear view of the ones at the first floor, after all this was a "cultural" event, and it was the opportunity for everyone to exhibit their noble etiquette to the host, which normally is the royal family but today the guest of honor was the White ancestor.
After the previous situation, the elites of the young generation of the Mermen Sea were secretly mocked by the young pirates, young Skelefiends and even the offspring of the high ranked magic beasts, which had taken a temporary human form to attend to this event.
So, you can imagine the sparks flying when the groups of the three seas gathered in a single place, but that wasn't all, Daimon whose group was the first to arrive, turned around to see in the direction where the entrance of the castle was, since the "last" participant of the royal ball had just arrived.
Seeing the slightly worried expression on Jasmine's pretty face, Daimon smiled and then patted her shoulder a couple of times.
"He was taken into account from the very beginning, so there is no need to worry about it, okay?", he said with a calm voice.
"Mm", Jasmine nodded with bright smile, before she was dragged away by Sarah who was pointing at the guys who had the intention of inviting Jasmine to dance, with a murderous gaze.
The ones who just arrived were naturally Abaris and the lot from the Black Fortress sect, while Abaris and the patriarchs that supported him went straight to the second floor, trying to not even gaze at Daimon, the members of the young generation led by Purplehaze and Skyflame who apparently had recovered, poisonously glared at Daimon and Jasmine, but were met with Sarah's mocking voice.
"What are you two losers looking at, it hasn't been that long since you got your asses beaten black and blue, did you perhaps develop some "special" interests after that~".
Purplehaze and Skyflame both gritted their teeth, but before they could say anything, the other guys that were following them, whispered something at them, which ultimately calmed them down.
A second later, trumpets sounded and the lights on the first floor were dimmed to accentuate the illumination on the second one, there were different rows of seats placed on the second floor where the different ranked people were sitting.
For starters, anyone below the half Stellar rank was standing up on a lower row conformed by mostly low ranked nobles, then there was a second row where officials and other people at the half Stellar rank were placed, naturally there were some exceptions due to ranks, like Annete and the Duchess.
The third row was for Stellar ranks with high ranked tittles, like Dominic, the Blackfin Duke and the heads of the different high ranked noble families, the fourth row was conformed by royals and those with equal authority, Annete, the Duchess, Triten, the Minister and Abaris's remaining disciple were sat here among others.
Ladt but not least, there was the row where the leaders of the respective seas where placed, Vincent, Aurora, Blackbeard, Horrorclaw, Abaris and lastly a gray-haired man with long beard and armor where the only ones sat there, their seats weren't like the others ones, even if Triten or Annete had thrones designed for them, the seats on the highest row where way more detailed, to accentuate the status of the ones sitting on them.
'Oh, so that is the elusive White ancestor', thought Daimon as he stole a gaze at the old man sitting near the middle of the highest row with a calm expression.
"Welcome to all the esteemed guests and visitors from the other seas, I declare that this year's royal ball has officially started", Triten stood up from his chair for a second to give greenlight to the orchestra to start playing.
Surprisingly, the White ancestor didn't say anything yet, inf act none of the maximum Stellar ranks or their equals did anything.
Instead of that, the members of the young generation turned to see their respective dancing partners and then made their way to the dancing area, among them there was Daimon who extended his hand to Aisha, very much to the jealousy of a couple of girls.
"Let's go~", Aisha brightly smiled as she gazed at the Risha sisters and the others, to then accept Daimon's invitation.
Now, Daimon isn't exactly fond of etiquette nor he likes to attend to the elegant parties, which are held almost daily at the high ranked vampire culture, but he did learn about it, because back then he didn't want the other vampire ladies to mock Aisha, due to ignorance, especially since he had use of reason from the very beginning which led to him being considered a role model for other vampire children.
As they walked to the space reserved for those who wished to dance with their respective partners, Daimon saw Aisha being relatively happier than normal and he chuckled.
'Is that a comply to take you out more often?', he said through the mental connection, which made Aisha giggle.
'Well, I certainly did miss out a lot since I didn't have any romance in my previous "life", so my soulmate has to be clingier and sweet to make up for it~', she jokingly said.
Daimon softly smiled and then took a couple of steps of distance from Aisha, to make a proper noble salute, by placing his right hand on the left side of his chest and then slightly lowering his head, naturally Aisha responded in kind by raising the sides of her dress and moving bending her upper body just a bit.
This time Aisha extended her arm and Daimon reached out to her, so that they could start moving at the rhythm of the piece that the orchestra was playing, many gazes fell on them, since a lot of people wanted to find even the slightest mistake to get back at Daimon.
Unfortunately, vampires are the perfect representation of high-grade social skills, so instead a lot of the young masters and young misses of Neptune were ashamed of being close to them.
"That's not fair, even at something like this they look so good together", mumbled Leslie, which made the others softly laugh.
With Aisha graciously fluttering like an elegant butterfly and Daimon following her every step with utmost precision, the first dance soon ended and claps rained upon those who participated.
Aisha happily smiled at Daimon as she returned with Mellie and the others, there were others who remained on the dance floor, as they had more than one partner, which was also a sign of one's status.
Among them, Terry, Ezequiel, Walford, the twin princes and even Lance were the most noticeable, though the latter was quite unenthusiastic about it, since it was only a formality between him and the daughters of the many officials of the neo noble faction.
While the others already knew who their second partners were, Daimon simply extended his arm towards the girls, and another of the girls left the group, surprisingly the second one turned out to be none other than the crazy girl.
And as if they had seen the chance of their lives, Terry, Ezequiel and Purplehaze who were supposed to receive their second partners, instead turned out to see Mellie and Jasmine respectively, to then extend their hands to them.
"May I have this dance", they all said, the gazes of all the presents, this time the Maximum Stellars included, fell on them.
Annete saw Norma poisonously snarking at her, but she limited to laugh with her eyes closed, as she heard those two's firm and definitive answer.
"No", they said at unison, needless to say but those three's gallant expressions froze on the spot, they apparently believed that under the gaze of the White ancestor and Abaris, they would give them some face, but reality hit them hard.
"Pfft, losers, if we could, we'll be all dancing with him at the same time just like we do other "things" together~", playfully said Sarah as she rolled to enter press herself against Daimon's frontal body, as if she was being embraced by him.
Daimon inwardly sighed.
'I knew she was the best to provoke those idiots, but this of course will come haunt me later', he thought.
Some of the high ranked guests found the situation amusing, and of course there were some who clearly didn't, for example Triten who frowned on the spot.
"Little Mellie, don't you think that is a bit too much, Terry just wants to have a dance with you, surely your sister wouldn't mind…", before he could finish, Annete who has been smiling through the whole thing, casually interrupted him.
"Don't put words in my mouth, if it was for me, I would have made my own event with only some "selected" guests attending, I'll leave the list of attendants to your imagination", she said.
Triten gritted his teeth in response, even with his ancestor here, Annete didn't show him the slightest bit of respect, then there was Abaris who glared at Aurora from the sides to then reveal the "shocking" truth.
"Did you instruct little Jasmine to do this, I wouldn't have expected you to bring her into our quarrel", he said with a grim expression on his face, only for Aurora to snort in response.
"What "quarrel" you and I are nothing but enemies at this point, didn't you say that you wouldn't let me go after besieging my Light Palace's forces, not to mention you planted a spy at my side, you can forget about ever being allowed near my family as long as I am alive", she said.
The many middle and small sized forced took a breath of cold air, the queen and Aurora didn't leave any space for negotiation, they showed zero respect for their counterparts, in other words the king and the Shaman.
It's not like fights between them hadn't happened on the past, but they never entered into such an open conflict, this was especially noticeable for the Elemental Sea, since the Matriarch of the Light Palace was the wife of the Shaman, unlike Annete who never had any ties to Triten.
In the middle of all this, there was Daimon, since the orchestra never stopped playing as those were their orders, he continued dancing with the crazy girl who of course stuck to him as much as he could, without going to far before she winked at Daimon to then return with the others, and very much to the displease of those who supported the rejected guys, it wasn't neither Mellie nor Jasmine the one who stepped in next, but Femi who was having some troubles wearing high heels.
"Damn it, sorry in advance if I trip, unlike Tess's family, our events consist in material appraising or forging competitions", she said.
Daimon chuckled, the dwarf princess was rather blunt, but that was part of her charm, it was an odyssey to get her to wear a dress, she was wearing her usual clothes below actually, though others didn't notice it.
Luckily for Femi, the third piece was relatively short, because though something had stuck to her, after attending many events with Tessa, she was still a bit stiff when she had to participate, that being said, she did seem to have some fun, since Daimon was able to follow her heavy steps, that seemed to belong to the tribal dance that the dwarf race made each year.
As soon as Femi stepped down, and before the next girl came, Terry who chose another random girl from the bunch that wanted to dance with him, turned to see the White ancestor before saying.
"Esteemed ancestor, I want to challenge that rude guy to a duel!".
The White ancestor raised his hand and the orchestra stopped playing on the spot, very much to Leslie's displease since she was next.
"That doesn't depend on my, child, what do you say little friend, are you willing to demonstrate if your battle skills are as good as your charisma and dancing?", calmly said the White ancestor at Daimon who smirked in response.
"You can stop pretending that this wasn't planned, do you know how many times has that idiot glanced at you ever since we gathered here", he said.
Vincent and Aurora chuckled at Daimon's answer, what a joke, trying to play tricks behind the scenes in front of him, was only asking to be exposed is what they thought based on their experience.
"Very well, since that is the case and based on what I have heard from you, what would be the price to "witness" a rematch between you and my youngest and most talented descendant, who has learned from tasting defeat for the first time", said the White ancestor as he gazed at Daimon.
Daimon felt the heavy gaze of the old man on him, but he shrugged it off, mere pressure was useless against his Overlord's pride, unless the White ancestor actively used mana to suppress him, he could glare as much as he wanted and nothing will happen.
"Mm, I don't know usually there are no second fights between me and others, and he was especially boring, so it's going to be expensive", said Daimon as he pointed at Terry whose eyes got bloodshot, his lineage make him prompt to anger and being constantly mocked wasn't helping.
"You, insolent brat!", Triten on the other hand, didn't stop from standing up and then releasing his mana pressure, which was blown away by Annete's before it could even leave the row of seats where they were sitting.
"You can shout and get as angry as you want, but don't act out of line, Triten", she casually said as she took a sip of a cup of tea that her head maid which was standing next to her, offered.
The White ancestor who remained silent at the previous clear sign of internal conflict, ultimately said.
"Then what's your price, I believe you aren't as naïve as to ask something impossible, right?".
Daimon nodded in response before answering.
"Oh no, I simply want a favor guaranteed by a contract from you".
"What!", many of the presents immediately exclaimed, the White ancestor finally showed some signs of anger, as the vein that bulged on his neck suggested, now imagine how he felt when Daimon added.
"Ah right, and the duel will only start after I finish dancing with each and all of my partners, since that was the reason why I didn't leave this place after taking my reward from the royal treasury".
Needless to say, but the crowd was speechless, since when a member of the young generation dared to disrespect a Maximum Stellar ranked, in his own house to top it off.
What they didn't know is that the generational respect being ignored, would be the least of their problems today.
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