As the dust settled and the referee went to see Diones's state, everyone was silent as they watched with incredulity the newcomer who they thought wouldn't leave the arena victorious.
Everyone was silent.
Cloud was amazed. He had expected Logan to be a bit strong. He never expected him to grow to this degree after a couple of months though.
- His grow rate is amazing - Cloud murmured
The screens above the arena were showing the jester's figure as he turned around and left the stage.
Logan was feeling tickles in his skin.
His skin was burning and his heart and head were thumping like an elephant.
He was ecstatic to be able to show that he indeed wasn't a failure to all the people who had ostracised him and called him a sinner.
No one apart from Locus could see the grin in Logan's face. She was proud of this student of hers.
It was then that Locus had an idea. She whispered it trough Logan's ears.
Logan was frozen for a moment but then a grin formed on his face. He knew that by doing this, his opponents would come at him more fiercely, but that's what he wanted. Furthermore, it could also serve as fuel, as bait for his opponents.
The next moment, Logan stopped. He looked towards an specific area; he pointed towards it.
It could have been seen as meaningless by some. But observed from the screens on top, it was a clear sign of provocation.
For it was as if he or she was telling to the opponent or anyone that confronted him...
- You're next.
When the people realised the intent behind this, some scowled and gnashed and barked at him for being arrogant, but the great majority of people cheered and cheered and cheered; it was always exciting to see strong candidates going for the win.
It definitely made the competition more interesting, more merrier and more enjoyable.
*************
After the combat against Diones Logan returned to the waiting room with the other participants. Different from before, he was not viewed as a freak but instead glowered at or revered.
Still, no one approached him even after a long while for even when having that status in the eyes of others, he still oozed an atmosphere of someone hard to approach.
But they were always exceptions.
Long braided hair in a pony tail with a shade of a strong navy blue fleetingly followed her trail. A person that oozed a feeling of tranquillity and elegance as she carried a scent which reminded of those who got a whiff of it of the sea.
This person made her way through the crowd and stood in front of Logan.
- Ara? Who do we have here?
When Locus saw the person incoming, she was momentarily curious. After all, she had seen her fight before. The person in front of her was as strong if not even stronger than Diones. She was the gold medallist of both divisions and 2 age categories last year and was someone with great standing in Duskae.
She was the living definition of proud daughter of the heavens.
- Greetings - said she as she gracefully bowed - My name is Alice Wessex. Nice to make your acquaintance.
Her voice was like a calm sea. It carried a sense of profoundness, elegance and mysteriousness.
But even with a person like this talking to him, Logan did not even budge to take a look at her.
Seconds passed. But even then, Logan ignored the person in front of him. Not so much as raising his head to look at her.
Alice twitched. Locus did not miss this.
- "She is angry. Well, after that, anyone would...."
Yet she didn't sermon Logan.
Anyone would have backed out after receiving such humiliation.
But Alice wouldn't. Her pride wouldn't allow her to do so.
"Maybe he didn't hear me" - she was currently thinking so.
- Ahemm. - this time, to make sure he was listening, she did as such - My name is Alicia Wessex. Nice to meet you. Would you give me the honour of knowing your name?
She elegantly bowed once again.
But the expected answer never came.
This time, Alicia could not stop the irritation inside her from showing. Although her face remained calm, her body twitched uncontrollably.
- What a nerve! Ignoring the daughter of the most powerful family in Duskae. Ahh! If it were me, I'd be delighted talking with her!
- That's some balls of steel he's got there. I'd certainly wouldn't have the courage to pull that off!
- Then, what would you expect from the one who defeated Diones.
There was a lot of talk going around. Some labelled Logan as a fool whilst some praised his bravery.
But what they didn't know was.
- You being asleep makes this situation the more hilarious!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I cannot...Hahahahahaa!
Locus was laughing her heart out whilst watching the entire situation unfold in front of her.
As she said, Logan was unaware of everything that had happened so far.
All because he was currently in the world of dreams.
It had happened after he sat down for a rest.
Logan had not come out unscathed of his battle against Diones. Apart from his bloodied hands, his his right hand all the way to his elbow elbow had been broken.
It was all because of the combination of the first 2 arts of Rogue arts he used in the combat.
Cherry blossom is a technique that uses the theory that in midair the opponent pushes you more than he hits you. Hence why it can only be used when Logan is midair.
This theory is then taken to the extreme and made into one where when Logan uses the first art, he absorbs the impact behind the hit, spreads them all over his body, and then focuses all that force into one area of his figure. This way, the force is returned to the opponent.
Logan could normally manage to return about 10% of the force efficiently. The reason for this was that as the energy of the force travelled through the body, some of that energy was lost to heat due to muscular friction among other factors.
But Logan could manage to return more due to the sheer force behind Diones's smash. Basically, Diones's smash was so powerful that Logan's body did not have enough time to lose a lot of said energy.
Hence giving birth to the shock wave seen in the anterior match.
If it was only that, then it wouldn't have been Logan's entire arm that would have given out.
- "And you had to go and use the second art..... you reckless boy" - thought Locus as she caressed Logan's hair behind the red hood.
The second art, humming in the silent night, employs the theory that vibrations carry on through materials better and the more something vibrates, the more energy it carries behind it. In a nutshell, when you are hit by this technique, the energy behind the hit is better transmitted to your body, not only causing external damage but also internal.
These are the main reason Diones was beaten. The hit had enough power to penetrate his defence and the vibrations carried the force behind to the brain, shaking it enough to knock him out.
As a side note, the gentle humming of the vibration also has the effect to intoxicate opponents; which is why Diones was having difficulty moving at times
Basically, Logan's bones are not as strong as Diones's are which led to them cracking under an immense pressure they are not used to bear.
All of this led to the situation that was happening right now.
Logan was in the process of healing his bones. He was doing so with the help of Locus and the mixture of light and water elementals.
Self-regeneration. This was one of the natural endowments given to him by making a contract with Locus. He had discovered it whilst training under her tutelage. This was also one of the reasons he was capable of becoming this powerful under such a short amount of time. The water and light elementals were just additives to accelerate the process of self-regeneration
Anyways, the self regeneration ability consumed humongous amounts of energy which is why it better worked when one was sleeping.
No one had noticed because Logan's posture whilst doing so was natural. He had no need to lie down for Locus forced his head on her shoulder.
Returning to the present time.
Alicia was at the apex of her irritation but she still did nothing. She did not back up for it would affect her pride; she certainly couldn't force herself onto Logan whilst brandishing her family's name, that was simply unbecoming.
-"What to do?"
Alicia observed the entity in front of her. For her, he certainly didn't look like someone who could defeat Diones. After a short while, her gaze fell upon his mask.
She wondered what could be underneath it. What kind of person could be underneath it. She was curious. Very curious.
- "What if..... he's sleeping?" - Alicia wondered - "It could certainly be a possibility. After all, he's wearing a mask and one couldn't just flatly ignore me. We're talking about me after all. Right?"
Then as if curiosity had erased all her embarrassment, her hand slowly but surely approached Logan's mask.
The hand drew ever so nearly.
And nearer.
And nearer still.
The children watched with anticipation as Alicia was about to reveal the identity of the man or woman underneath the mask.
Seconds felt like hours.
And just when Alicia was but 3 centimetres from touching the mask..... Logan's hand moved like lightning and seized her forearm.
It took Alicia a couple of seconds to process what had happened. Then she looked at the hand sitting on her forearm. It was covered by a crimson glove. The smell of blood emanated from it.
It was unexpected so she didn't have time to pull out.
Her gaze returned onto Logan and when she did, Logan slowly raised his eyes to meet her sight.
The moment their eyes clashed, Alicia felt something in the depth of her heart blossom. It was a feeling that she never felt before. She certainly couldn't see the person in the other end. But there was something in the gleam of his eyes that drew her into him or her.
This caused her to be mesmerised and cease all movement.
Logan on the other hand was thinking about another thing at the moment.
- "Who is this?"
He had just woken up. His training allowed him to sense danger, even when asleep, but it came with a traumatic experience for him. That was because to arrive to this stage, Locus had woken him up at night by attacking him with a wooden branch. Even to this day, she still did it.
As his eyes re calibrated from sleep, Logan observed the unfamiliar face in front of him.
The first thing he noticed when his eyes returned to normal was a: deep navy blue
- "Wait, hasn't this happened before? Also, isn't this face quite familiar? From where do I know her and what business does she have with me?"
Locus observed the situation in front of her with amusement.
Nevertheless, sensing Logan's confusion and incredulity, she answered some of the questions in his mind.
- The person in front of you is Alicia Wessex. That should be enough for you to realise who the person in front of you is right?
- Huh?
After listening to Locus, Logan looked at the person in front of him intently. He certainly didn't care about ranks. He unquestionably didn't care about other people apart from Cloud and Locus.
- "But it could spell problems for me whilst I'm wearing this attire if I wear to provoke her so..... what to do??
Perhaps perceiving Logan's stare, Alicia's cheeks reddened.
- "Huh? What did I do now? Anyways, I should first take my hand off her forearm."
The difference in weight awakened Alicia of her trance. Noticing her anterior unbecoming behaviour, she turned even redder, as if she just ate something really spicy.
And before Logan could say anything to her.
- Ahemm!!! If you could excuse me. I have other things to do.
She ran away.
Logan was perplexed and Locus was truly enjoying today's show.
***********
At the same time as that was happening in Duskae.
Alma city. Gand region. To the north-west of Duskae.
- Is there a reason why they have suddenly decided to augment the number of guards stationed at the walls?
- I am not sure - the other guard answered - But I heard some rumours about how we may have to face a calamity soon.
- A calamity, what calamity? - the other guard asked with sarcasm - These walls here were originally built to repel the other God's armies. Now what? After those of the Dark Frontier started attacking around two hundred years ago and the Gods formed a treaty with one another....these walls have lost all purpose. Us being up here is a total waste of time.
- But the walls still serve to repel the monsters from the Dark Frontier trying to get in right? - and then he patted his companion on the shoulder - Don't be so pessimistic! Our job is to protect the populace behind these walls from the dangers from the Dark Frontier. We are also important!
The other guard hearing this sighed and drooped his shoulders.
- But then almost nothing happens here....
- And what's so bad about that? - asked the other guard with a massive smile on his face - We get to earn honest money without risking our lives for it!
- .....If I had passed the monster hunter aptitude exam with a higher grade I wouldn't be here....Hey what's that there?
At the end of his sight lay a forest. It was frequented by a lot of herbalists among other people because it contained necessary ingredients for different concoctions. As such, it had to be patrolled by guards every now and then. Hence, it was considered a safe area.
It was in that same safe area that the guard visualised something running towards the wall. It was a human. He fell down. Even so, he started running again.
He was clearly running away from something.
- But from what?
Soon, the soldier's questions were answered. An arrow flew towards the human's head and penetrated his skull. Shortly, his lifeless body fell limply on the ground.
This was followed by a centaur. And then another. And then a Half - Minotaur came out. And then another monster. And then another. And then another. And then another.
A horde of half-step monsters. One by one, came out of the forest. Led by 2 centaurs, 2 high ranked monsters.
They were marching towards the walls of Alma.
- Quick! The bell. Ring the Bell!!!! - shouted one of the guards.
*BOOOOOOM*
*BOOOOOOM*
Out of nowhere, explosions inundated Alma.
The guards turned to look at the city. Cries for help and pain. Flames spreading from houses to houses.
The city was in utter chaos.
Then they turned to look at each other. Soon, they understood each other's intention but before they could move from their positions.
*FYUUUUNG*
Two arrows flew towards their heads.
The force behind the 2 projectiles was enough to tilt them towards the edge of the walls facing the city.
Soon after, their defunct bodies fell off the walls towards the city in flames.
This was beginning of the play.
This marked the beginning of a new era.