121 Yojika

The road was also made of durable world of wielder material called 'Turaka' as friendly battles on the road were apparently common. Turaka had a cement-like appearance, yet is as durable as Adamant Alloy. At least in large and interconnected quantities.

Hayden was fascinated of the material as Turaka had the strongest property you can ever ask for: Kinetic Energy Equalization. This meant that it can spread the amount of kinetic energy around to all the atoms of linked Turaka.

Based on the size of the Turaka road, and that it is connected all around the city, alongside the buildings… Tsar Bomba wouldn't make a dent on any of the buildings here. Not a single scratch.

'Now this is what I call the safest architecture.' Hayden thought as they passed by an encirclement of people. Peering a bit, Hayden saw a woman and a man.

The woman was tall, standing tall at approximately 175 centimeters. Her legs were slender, and her body was curvy. She had beautiful flowing scarlet hair and scarlet eyes.

She was beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful woman Hayden has ever seen in his life. This included Shu-Ching. As always, her charm was different. Her appeal was purely beauty, hotness, and sexual appeal. She wasn't cute in the slightest. She wore denim shorts and a plain orange shirt.

The man was taller than Hayden and was extremely muscular. He was bald and had no facial hair. He had feminine features, such as long eyelashes.

He wore a red Kung Fu uniform as his top, and jeans. It was a preposterous combination of clothing. It was an insult to fashion itself.

The quartet stopped in their tracks. Gafar's voice entered Hayden's ears. "Oho, Yu-Likoria has gotten into trouble again?"

'Yu-' was an honorific that meant 'little.' This was used to address people who are young and not close to you. In Overseer terms that is, who were all as old as time. Specifically, the Yorixia, who lives at an astounding 2,058 years old. His (Or her) age is as high as the year itself.

"This is a common happening?" Hayden asked.

"Well, for the past few days that I've stayed here, yes." Gafar nodded. "Likoria is a Level 3 wielder who is a member of the Thorian Family. She's a prodigy who can beat Level 4 wielders with her Ability. This was in spite of awakening at the late age of 16. She is 17, going to be 18 this year."

'Awakening at the age of 16 is late?' Hayden ignored everything else. 'What is the definition of regular awakening age then? What the fuck?'

"Well, it is indeed appalling..." Hayden muttered in disgust. "That top, with that jeans is… Eh."

As most Foris (Citizens of Foriast, Plural form is Forish) were people who didn't go out in the world to live lifetimes, nobody understood Hayden and Ysa's conversation. Thankfully.

Likoria said something. Her words seemingly offended the man with no hair. His eyes widened as he stared at the crowd in mortification. Hayden could feel the disgust lingering in the air.

"She's saying that it is true." Ysa translated for Hayden again. "In a disrespectful and prideful manner. Also, she's saying he's the one who started it by hitting on her when she respectfully declined."

"What a bastard." Hayden commented. "What a piece of shit. A piece of trash amongst the pieces of trash. The king of trash."

"Whoa, that's a lot of resentment for guys like him." Ysa remarked in surprise. "I agree with you. He is a bastard. In Foriast, you cannot hit on women that is below 30 years old unless you're of that age yourself. You also cannot pick up a Rokia (Ro-ki-ya)."

"A Rokia?" Hayden raised his left eyebrow underneath his mask. "What's that?"

Ysa explained. A Rokia is a word for a person who hasn't gone through Tiroga. Its plural form is Roki. As for Tiroga, it was a word that meant 'experiencing the harsh world outside. Tiroga is what people refer to as 'lifetime' in Foriast. A Rokia is considered a young person for a Foris.

The people all around shouted something in Roshist. All Hayden could hear was 'Thiki.' It was probably something along the lines of 'shame on you.'

"'Thiki,' in Roshist, means 'shame on you for doing such a disgusting thing.'" Ysa chuckled. "Funny story. 'Thiki' was a full phrase back then. The Overseers (All Forish are Overseers) are too lazy to say the full phrase, hence 'Thiki.'"

"I'm becoming fond of this language." Hayden muttered. "If only this language is the spoken language in the world… Ahh, so much less word count for expressing yourself…"

"Want me to teach you sometime?" Ysa suggested. "I'm a writer in Roshist."

"No thank you." Hayden rejected without any hesitation. "My teachers should know my identity. You don't. I dislike being taught without my teacher knowing my identity."

"Eh… What kind of pet peeve is that?" Ysa pouted.

"It's not a pet peeve." Hayden shook his head. "It's more of me not wanting to give you any Mellow Explosions anymore."

"I…" At the uncovering of her plans, she was embarrassed. "You don't have many friends, don't you?"

"That is correct." Hayden didn't hide this fact. "Anyhow, let's not overstay. I have somewhere to be later on in the day. Can we meet this Yojika already?"

Nobody was able to respond when the man shouted as his body burst up in flames. Oddly enough, the man's clothes didn't burn up. In Likoria's right hand, a 70 cm katana materialized.

It was in a picturesque ornate sheath with golden floral patterns. Its handle was similarly beautiful and elegant. Attached on its pommel was a square paper talisman without any writing.

Likoria unsheathed the katana slowly. The katana's blade was black in color. Or rather, it was glowing jet black. It radiated extreme elegance and danger.

"Void's Edge." Ysa uttered. "That's her Ability, Void's Edge. It is a ridiculously powerful Ability that can cut through nearly anything. Even this road that nobody can slice apart. She's the individual person that can do so in the entire Forish population."

"How quaint." Hayden sighed out. Likoria and the man talked some more. Abruptly, Likoria teleported beside the man. Literally, not at all exaggerated. When she reappeared, the sword in her hand was near the man's neck.

Suddenly, the sword sucked the fire out of the man's skin. In the span of two seconds, the flames around the man were extinguished. The man couldn't move, probably from shock, in the entirety of the event.

Finally, Likoria kneed the man. The man flew backwards. This whole time, Likoria had an impassive expression.

When she turned back, her and Hayden gazed into each other's eyes accidentally. Even though his weakness might be beautiful women, Hayden wasn't a sucker. He reined in his emotions and narrowed his eyes.

The woman tilted her head at him. She walked towards him. Once she reached about ten meters away from him, she disappeared and appeared in front of him. In English, she gently said, "Who are you?"

Her voice was tantalizing. Absolutely tantalizing. It contained such sexual appeal that any mortal would be turned on in an instant. Well, Hayden wasn't 'any mortal.'

"You don't have to concern yourself with me." Hayden waved her off. "Ot-Jin, Ot-Gafar, Ye-Ysa, may we please meet the Yojika already?"

"U-uh, sure…" Jin stuttered. The trio led Hayden away reluctantly. They were left in wonder of why Hayden didn't communicate with Likoria at all. If they were correct, he's around the same age.

How did they come to this conclusion? Well, only Annual Youth Pride participants come at this island during this day. Unless Fenrir was a coach, he was around the same age.

And they didn't need to calculate the chances of Fenrir being a coach as there were more teenagers than the coaches.

As the quartet walked away, Likoria tilted her head whilst eyeing Hayden. 'What an interesting person… What is that feeling stemming from him? Probably an outsider…'

…..

"This is the Yojikarata. In English, it roughly translates to 'Court of the Higher Committee.'" Ysa kindly explained. "It is one of the Porushi. That word roughly means 'a structure that is only used during an important event.' It is both singular and plural in form."

In front of him was a gate attached to a square walled lot. Its architecture resembled the neoclassical era. Beyond the gate, there was an open courtyard with Greek-style pillars arranged in a circular fashion.

In between the spaces of the pillars, there were ponds. Outside of the spaces in between of the pillars, were seven thrones of seven different colors with tables in front. In the middle of the circular arrangement of pillars is a gray stone lectern in an elevated platform. On top of the lectern, was a golden bell.

Further beyond the thrones were trees of towering heights. Trees that didn't belong to the outside world. They were beautiful, with white barks and leaves with a golden luster. "What are those trees?"

"We call it Hixitian (Hik-si-shan)." Ysa pointed to the trees. "It is a sacred tree that is obviously exclusive in Foriast. Its fruit and flower has mystical effects. That's the magnitude of information I can give you."

"Fair enough." Hayden didn't push forward. If this was a sacred tree, there's definitely some sort of secret to it. "Can I ask this then. If it's so sacred, why is it omnipresent?"

On the way here, Hayden saw multiple trees of the same genus. If this Hixitian was sacred, why isn't it scarce?

"Well, it has been 2,000 years since we started living here, so…" Ysa bobbed her head. She didn't explain any further.

"Okay, I get it." Hayden didn't ask any further, too. That would be unnecessary. "So, what am I supposed to do here?"

"Let's go in." Jin opened the gates without any restraint. "Ysa, you should be the one to call in a Ritian (Ri-shan)."

Ritian was explained to him already earlier. Ritian approximately meant 'meeting surrounded by trees.' It was a word for the meetings that occur within the Yojikarata.

Ysa nodded. She walked to the lectern and put her hand on it. The lectern lit up with a golden light. The bell swung by itself.

"Now we wait." Ysa stepped off of the platform. She stood adjacent to Hayden. They all faced the gate.

"I'm nervous for you, Ysa." Jin breathed in cold air through his gritted teeth. "I don't think this is going to work. We're going to get punished."

"Trust me." Ysa was unfazed of Jin's pessimistic comment. "If I can see it, my mom will. She has to."

Jin switched to Roshist. Hayden wasn't able to infer what the contents of their conversation was. But, by the end, Ysa had an angry pout on her face.

A few minutes later, the gate opened. In came people wearing mage-like robes of their respective clans. The robes were up to knee's length. Below that, it appears that they wore some sort of white silk pants.

They wore boots of the same color as their robes. In addition, their gloves extended to their forearms. The design of the robe was breathtaking. On the waist was a thick black belt. In the middle was their respective family's symbols. All in all, they looked like mages from a fantasy game.

On the far right, was the Sequincia Family head. She was a woman with snowy white hair. She had a goddess-like beauty. She had this mature and wise charm to her. A rare one. It's as if Athena herself descended from Olympus. She stood at a high 1.8 meters. The symbol on her robe was that of a crescent moon swallowing a sun.

Next to her was the Kilch Family head, who was a woman as well. Another beautiful woman with auburn hair the same as Ysa. Although her looks pale in comparison with the Sequincia Family head, it wasn't that far. She has a stature of 1.74 meters. The symbol on her robe was that of an eye with shrunken pupils.

Subsequent to her was the Tybius Family Head, who was a man. The man has the vibes of a celebrity, albeit that of a mature one. His hair was brown in color and was at neck-length. He had eagle-like eyes. He stood tall at 1.85 meters. Their symbol was that of a cog.

In the middle was the Varongar Family Head, a man. The person, contrary to the Tybius, had a rugged appearance. He had a blonde full beard that any man dreams of growing. His hair was swept to the side and was blonde as well. He had a height of about 1.84 meters. Their symbol was a tree without leaves.

Succeeding him was the Derinth Family Head, a man. He had long hair and had feminine features. He kind of looked more like a girl than a man. No exaggerations at all. In fact, she was prettier than the Kilch Family Head. His height was at 1.82 meters. Their symbol was that of a… Navigation pin? What the…

Next to him was the Thorian Family Head, a woman. The woman was, once again, beautiful. Howbeit, her appearance was considerably youthful than the Sequincia and Kilch Family Head. Her hair was golden blonde and was extremely short. She has a tomboyish attractiveness to her. Their symbol was that of a shield.

Lastly, there was the Ulthax Family Head. A man with an absolutely rugged face. Craggier than even the Varongar Family Head. His dark brown beard was up till his chest and was tied akin to a Norse barbarian. His dark brown hair was tied up in a messy man bun. Their symbol was that of a crown.

The auras around them were all imposing. It was dominating. It was suffocating for Hayden. Good thing he was able to maintain his composure.

One of the people, the Tybius Family Head said something in Roshist. Ysa stepped forward, with the Kilch Family Head exclaiming something in a scolding tone.

Ysa shone light on the current situation. Jin and Gafar gulped in nervousness. The Yojika all looked at each other. The Kilch Family Head scrutinized Hayden from head to toe. Hayden nearly shook as a cold feeling passed over him.

The rest of the Yojika stared at the Kilch Family Head. The Kilch Family Head's eyes narrowed as she gave all of them a nod.

"Go to the lectern." Ysa whispered to Hayden in English. "Stand in front of it."

Hayden didn't utter a word as he walked over to the lectern. Once he was there, Hayden felt a serene feeling coming over to him. It was bizarre.

The Yojika all went to their respective thrones. The Kilch Family talked in English. "Manner of order. An outsider with special qualities, that I can also sense, was invited by my daughter, Ysa. Preliminary Decision?"

"I reject." The six family heads all rejected without thinking it over. The Ulthax Family Head was the one to open his mouth this time. "He's an outsider with a mask on. We cannot trust him. I move the order to kill him."

"Wait!" Ysa shouted in her panic. "I swore an Origin Oath that no ally of mine will hurt him. I am that confident in the Soul Peering Eye of my Kilch Family."

The Kilch Family Head roared in anger. Hayden shivered ever so slightly. Nobody noticed it. But they did notice that the gaze behind that mask was tranquil. They were all speechless of this.

A Level 2 wielder? Able to withstand the presence of seven stronger wielders without breaking down? That is unheard of! On the contrary… There was something about him. Something that induced a feeling of respect from their hearts.

They all realized it. It was the aura of a king! They all can perceive it. A powerful king that came from the heaven. This stemmed from Hayden using his Divine Perception.

The Yojika discussed in Roshist. Some shouted here and there. Some calmly contributed. Meanwhile, the Sequincia Family merely focused on him. Hayden locked eyes with her.

The Sequincia Family Head focused harder on him. Her scrutiny wasn't that of interest, but that of confusion. She stood up and yelled something in Roshist.

Everybody exclaimed. Including Gafar, Jin, and Ysa. A few seconds later, the commotion settled down. The Sequincia Family Head coughed. Her lovely voice pervaded the Yojikarata. "Let me explain why I yelled. It's because I see no future from you with my Foresight."

"May I humbly ask what that could possibly mean?" Hayden inquired in a respectful tone.

"That means you are dangerous." The Sequincia Family Head nonchalantly responded. "You are someone who can cause the destruction of this world."

"How can I do that if I can't even protect myself from you people?" Hayden shook his head. He shrugged. "And even if I did have sufficient strength, why would I use it to destroy the world? At worst, I'll rule it with an iron fist. I'm not that bad of a person. I'm certain this can be attested by Ma'am Kilch Family Head."

"He isn't." The Kilch Family Head actually did attest for him. "If anything, he's his own person. A person that's loyal to himself. A true neutral. He probably wouldn't care for the world if he holds that kind of power."

"He's still much too dangerous." The Thorian Family Head directed hostility at Hayden. This earned a shiver from Hayden. "Imagine the power he'll possess in the future. And since he's loyal to himself, who's to say that, if we let him join, he won't betray us?"

"This is true, indeed." The Derinth Family Head sighed out. "He'll be a powerful addition to us in the future, but that possibility cannot be ignored. I move that we nip this danger in the bud as soon as the Origin Oath of Ysa wears off."

Ysa's eyes contained absolute horror at this decision. She was the one who insisted to bring him here in the first place. This all resulted in her tasting the best chocolate she has ever tasted in her life.

Jin and Gafar was the same. From the time spent with Hayden, he wasn't a bad person at all. If anything, it seems that Hayden was a good person. A straightforward and rude one, but someone you can rely on. This was merely their instincts.

"What if I swore an Origin Oath that I will never betray you?" Hayden suggested indifferently. "Wouldn't that be a guarantee?"

This shut everybody in the venue. Indeed… Nobody, not even the Yojika and the Yorixia, can break an Origin Oath. What of a puny Level 2…?

"I still move that we execute him." Contrary to Hayden's expectations, the Ulthax Family Head found and presented a sufficient reason. "An Origin Oath only activates at the time of the breaking of the oath. Thoughts doesn't count. Nor does what the oath taker wants. An Origin Oath isn't a guarantee since this person in front of us can betray us at the last moment and die. And what if he finds a loophole?"

"Wait." Jin was the one to step up now. "Ot-Fenrir here has the chance of being a descendant of a Varongar. He tamed my Qiritian within a few seconds. A cognizant that is contracted with me."

A round of gasps came from the Yojika. For the third time, a fierce discussion in Roshist blew out. That went on for a few minutes.

Eventually… The Ulthax Family Head put his verdict. "The execution of the person in front of us will be later!"

That's when...