The first descendant: My SSS Rank Awakening

Chapter 6

Another uproar broke through the hall as someone shouted, “Did he just reject the only thing that might save his life?”

The guard holding the rusty suit stared at Ron, his earlier disdain turning into anger.

“What did you say, boy? Do you think your body can withstand the impact of an SSS-ranked attack without armour?”

“I said I don't want it. That is still my choice, isn't it?”

Nobody answered. Ron's face remained so cold that the guard took one step back before remembering that the person standing before him was supposed to be powerless.

Henry shoved the guard aside and approached Ron. For a moment, he hesitated.

This Ron felt different from the servant boy everyone had described over the years. Something dangerous seemed to be leaking from his body, and it frightened Henry for reasons he could not explain.

Then he remembered who he was looking at. Ron had spent his life doing chores for every family in the city. His class had been extracted, and whatever Henry felt had to be his imagination.

Henry allowed concern to cover his face before placing a hand on Ron's shoulder.

“I do not want to kill you, Ron. Please put on the suit so you at least have a chance of surviving.”

The crowd reacted exactly as he wanted and immediately began praising him.

“Young Master Henry is so kind.”

“He is still trying to protect Ron after being insulted by him.”

“Someone that considerate will make a wonderful champion.”

Ron looked down at the hand on his shoulder and then back at Henry.

“As I said, I will fight without the suit. If you have a problem with my decision, you can shove it up your ass.”

Angry voices exploded around them. Henry's concerned expression disappeared, and his face tightened until he looked several years older.

Elijah watched with his arms crossed. “Look at your mother, Ron. If you do not care about your own life, you should wear it for her sake.”

Maria's chains rattled as she dropped to her knees.

“Please, son, put on the suit. You don't have to prove anything to them. Surviving this fight is all that matters.”

Something broke inside Ron as he watched her beg the same people who had placed those chains around her wrists. His fingers tightened until his knuckles lost their colour.

“Trust me, Mother. I will end this quickly.”

He turned towards Henry, and all the emotion disappeared from his face again.

“Can we begin? Every second I spend looking at your face feels like another dead brain cell.”

The crowd roared at the insult, while Henry's jaw tightened.

“You asked for this,” Henry warned.

A palace guard stepped between them to moderate the fight. He checked both sides of the cleared space before raising a small red flag.

“The fight ends when one person surrenders, loses consciousness, or can no longer continue,” the guard announced. “Any death suffered before the match is stopped will be treated as an accident, and neither fighter will face punishment.”

Ron looked towards Prince Edward, who nodded his approval without the smallest concern. They had written the rules to make his murder legal and called it fairness.

Several guests turned their heads away.

“This will only take a few seconds.”

“The fight is not even worth watching.”

“Someone should cover his mother's eyes.”

Henry stepped backwards and lifted his chin. “I promised to give you the first move, so take it. I will even keep both hands behind my back.”

The moderator raised the flag higher. Prince Edward leaned forward in his chair, his eyes fixed on Henry, the new star who was supposed to carry the city's name across the kingdom.

Ron slowly opened and closed his fist. The same strength that had thrown the Limbo Beast through several trees moved beneath his skin, waiting to be released. He had to use enough to defeat Henry without killing him or revealing what he had become.

The flag dropped, Henry folded both hands behind him, and Ron charged.

Ron was not trying to land the first strike. He still did not understand his new body, and this was his only chance to measure its speed without exposing everything.

His fist passed beside Henry's face without touching him.

The force behind the missed blow tore through the air and struck the wall several feet behind Henry. A thin crack ran across the stone before disappearing beneath one of the hanging banners.

Henry felt the wind cut past his cheek. His smile remained, but sweat gathered beneath his hair.

Where had that force come from?

He glanced at the damaged wall, then back at Ron. He had to be imagining it. There was no way a classless person could produce that much power.

The crowd had not noticed the crack, so laughter rolled through the hall because all they had seen was Ron missing a man who had not even moved.

“He cannot land a blow when Henry is standing still!”

“What a useless fight.”

Prince Edward waved impatiently. “Come on, boy. At least give us something worth watching before you die.”

Henry brought his arms forward, abandoning his promise immediately. Nobody in the hall objected when he broke his word.

“You had your chance. Now it is my turn.”

The stolen SSS-ranked power gathered around his fist. He poured everything into the attack, determined to kill Ron before anyone noticed the fear he was trying to hide.

To the crowd, Henry moved like a flash of lightning, but to Ron, he was painfully slow.

Ron could see every step, every movement of Henry's shoulder, and every mistake in the approaching strike. The attack that terrified everyone else looked pathetic from where he stood.

He waited until Henry's fist was inches away before stepping aside.

Ron gathered what he guessed was barely a tenth of his new strength and drove his fist into Henry's stomach.

Henry's body folded around the blow before he flew halfway across the hall and crashed through two rows of chairs.

The impact overturned a table and sent silver cups rolling across the floor. Prince Edward rose halfway from his chair, Elijah's proud expression finally cracked, and Maria forgot to breathe.

The laughter stopped. Every face in the room turned pale as they stared at the place where their undefeated star had landed, while Ron remained exactly where he had delivered the blow.

“What just happened?” someone finally asked.