Rise of the Crusader

“Or is it Raphael... Yes... Yes.”

As Raphael made jest of Elisa from what she said during their moment, Elisa covered her face with the duvet.

She could vividly remember everything that happened, and it was a side of her that she didn’t think exist.

At least not until Raphael showed her.

Slowly, Elisa stood from the bed with the duvet wrapped around her body, she walked towards Raphael.

Raphael could hear footsteps getting closer, still, he didn’t stop reading the book in his hand, not until, Elisa stood in front of him.

“What are you reading?” Elisa asked, and then made a move.

She gently sat on him, and with her hands wrapped around his neck, she stared at his lips and then his glittering blue eyes.

.....

Raphael leaned forward and plucked Elisa’s heart-shaped lips.

“Ahn~!”

He kissed her passionately and, placing his hand on the duvet, he gently removed it from Elisa’s body while he continued on with the kiss.

Slowly, he stood from his seat, and then made his once again to the bed.

It had been seen three days since the meeting in the administration block, as well as the escapade that occurred between Raphael and Elisa.

During the past few days, neither Raphael nor even Elisa stepped out of the room.

With Raphael already having a store of his own, it made it quite easy for the both of them.

“I must say, I didn’t expect Raphael to be the first among us to be in a committed relationship.” Said Bane as he stared at Raphael’s room door.

“Me too” Aiden blurted.

Devon however suddenly shook his head, “To be honest, I saw it coming, but what I didn’t expect was he would be dedicated to just one girl.” Devon said.

“What?!”

As Aiden and Bane stared at him intensively, Devon exclaimed.

“Yes, he’s right.” Bane said.

Bane soon shook his head, “But, what do you mean by you saw it coming? You mean, there was no hope for us to be in a relationship, to begin with.”

Devon nodded his head immediately after Bane spoke.

“No hope at all.”

Aiden suddenly chuckled, he was about to speak when Bane’s voice rang out.

“How are things with Camille, are the both of you still talking?” Bane inquired.

The expression on Aiden’s face changed immediately, he took a deep breath and said.

“We are pretty good, why are you asking?” This time around, he glared at Bane.

Bane shook his head, “Nothing.” he replied.

The expression on Aiden’s face after Bane spoke, clearly showed that he wasn’t buying what Aiden said, and as Devon saw the look on both their faces he spoke.

“What Bane implies is that after what happened between Raphael and Camille, he assumed it would put a strain on the both of your relationships.”

Aiden glared at Devon afterward.

“It...” Before Aiden would finish his words, the door that hadn’t been open for the past three days was suddenly opened.

The three of them moved their gaze to the room entrance, and as they saw Raphael and Elisa, they couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Even Devon, who was no expert in relationships, could tell that something had transpired between Raphael and Elisa.

“That’s my boy,” said Bane as he saw the look on Elisa’s face.

Elisa stared at Raphael, seemingly worried, and as he saw the look that was on her face, he tightened his grip on her hand and walked toward her.

However, Raphael and Elisa had only just taken a few steps toward the living room when the door was opened.

The two of them abruptly paused as they saw the person who stepped into the room, and a second after she was in, they all moved their gaze to Raphael.

“Camille, what are you doing here?” Aiden asked and then took a step forward.

Camille didn’t respond immediately to Aiden’s question, instead she pointed her hand at Raphael, before saying.

“I came to see him.”

Raphael knitted his brows when he heard Camille, he couldn’t think of any reason why she would want to see him, but as she was here, she must have something to say.

“Camille, you...”

As Elisa opened her mouth to speak, Camille waved her hand at her.

“I would appreciate it if you let me speak and don’t interfere,” Camille said.

And as Elisa sealed her lips, Camille moved her gaze to Raphael once again.

The atmosphere was quite intense as everyone in the room had witnessed the fight between Raphael and Camille, and it was brutal, to say the least.

“Relax, I’m not here to cause any trouble,” Camille uttered as she saw the tense look on Aiden’s face.

“I came to congratulate you on winning the tournament, as well as inform you that, I will be coming after you,” Camille said bluntly.

Truthfully, it didn’t come as much surprise for Devon, Aiden, Bane, Elisa, and even Raphael when they heard Camille.

She had always been very blunt about her thoughts, giving no regard in the slightest, and these particular words she said brought an amused expression to emerge on Raphael.

“I’m not someone who derives pleasure from pain, but fighting with you made me realize that I’m very weak, and I’m also no way near where I want to be.”

Camille clenched her hand into a tight fist, “But, I’m told once you realize your flaws, and choose to work on them, it is only a matter of time, and progress is inevitable.”

“I will be back for you, Raphael, and I hope you would be a worthy challenge, if not, I’m not certain what I will do to you.”

The fact that Camille had her intention known deeply surprised the people in the room.

She could have trained heavily in secret and once the time came, she could challenge Raphael, shocking them with the progress she would have made.

Instead, she boldly came to Raphael and then told him the plans she had for him.

Everyone’s eyes were soon on Raphael, wondering how he was going to respond to Camille, and after a brief moment, he spoke.

“Alright, Camille, I will be waiting for you.”

A nod came from Camille afterward, she was about to turn around when she heard Raphael’s voice.

“But, I want you to keep in mind that, I might choose not to spare you if the result is disappointing.”

Camille dug her fingernails into her palm after Raphael spoke. She took a deep breath and then walked out of the room.

A few seconds after Camille left the room, Bane’s voice rang out.

“That was intense.”

Meanwhile, Raphael still had their eyes glued to the door. His thought was unknown, but as Gus saw the look on his face, it shook its head several times.

Among the people in the room, there was no doubt that the person who knew Raphael the most was Gus, and what just transpired wasn’t to it liking.

“Raphael.”

Followed by Elisa’s soft voice was she touching him on the shoulder gently.

Raphael was pulled out of his trance state quickly, he turned towards Elisa and then looked in the direction she was staring at.

“Oh”

Seeing the creepy smile back on Bane, Aiden, and Devon’s faces, Raphael shook his head.

“I have made my research on the systems, and I would love to create a system for the three of you,” Raphael said.

The smile on Bane, Aiden, and Devon’s faces widened as they heard Raphael. Joy was written all over their faces, and soon after the three of them jumped.

“Oh, yesssss!!!!!” Bane roared with excitement present in his voice.

Aiden had also spoken in a loud voice as well, and truthfully, it wasn’t just the three of them who were delighted, Raphael was also delighted with the system that was to be created.

In fact, Raphael was perhaps the most excited person in the room, as based on the research he made, the system was bound to be challenging.

And to him, that meant thrilling.

It took a few seconds and once Bane regained his composure, he requested for Raphael’s account id and without delay, the points were transferred.

“Received,” Raphael muttered.

.....

“So, when will you be done, and when do we receive it?” Bane asked.

Raphael placed his hand on the chin, he pondered for a bit before saying, “Two or three months.”

“I can’t guarantee two months, so it would be three months. You would become a system holder before the Academy resumes back.”

Another word that caused Bane, Aiden, and Devon was the system holder that Raphael referred to them as.

The three of them glanced at one another, and they nodded their head.

“Alright, three months it is.” Aiden blurted.

Raphael nodded his head and then headed straight to the door along with Elisa. He was about to open the door when Bane spoke.

“Where are the both of you off to?”

Raphael raised an eyebrow, “The mall.” He replied.

“I said I will begin to work on it immediately.”