Aaron Cadis read the message from the bracelet.
"Interesting.", he mused and turned around. He felt the two presences approaching him.
The interior of the tower is quite simple. The lowest floor is a lobby with benches to rest and refreshment stands.
A huge spiral staircase in the middle of the lobby led to the upper floors of the tower. Instead of exploring the upper floors, he stood near the stairs and watched the entrance.
The tower has an entrance facing each of the four cardinal directions. The new qualifiers are coming from the northern entrance.
They walked into the lobby and Aaron had an amused look on his face.
"What a surprise. I was expecting Jason to show up. ", he told the young man and woman standing at the entrance.
The young lady smiled, her green eyes twinkling with mischief, "I apologize for letting you down, Aaron Cadis. But we cannot afford to lose in this Festival."
He chuckled, "You're unlike your brother, or so I heard."
Her smile remained unwavering, "My brother is quite a unique person. I consider myself far more unique than him."
"Confident, aren't we?", Aaron gestured to a table near the refreshment stand, "Shall we have some tea while we get to know each other?"
The young lady nodded, "Lovely."
*******
"Whoa. Those guys actually pulled it off."
Ray whistled as he read the message on his bracelet.
"It's within my expectations. I'm glad it went smoothly.", Arthur sighed with relief.
Gray smiled, "Minerva is amazing."
"And she even got Robin to play as well.", Ray quipped, "You have no idea how difficult it is to work with him!"
Arthur looked at him, "For you, Ray. The rest of us have no problems with him."
"Well, it depends on the individual. You and Damien can't stand each other. That's the same case for me and that stupid elf.", Ray said.
"Well. Both of you share the same idiocy. I guess similar natures are bound to clash.", Arthur responded with a grin.
"HEY!"
Gray laughed. It was a small laughter but it was clear like spring water. To Arthur, she looked really cute when she laughed.
He realized he was staring at her and shook out of his trance.
"Anyway.", he said, looking at his companions. Ray was giving him a funny look. There was no way he missed Arthur's gaze on Gray.
"Onward to the tower?", he asked. The other two nodded.
Arthur nodded back and the trio sprinted toward the black tower rising in the sky.
*******
The next hour was a blur as the trio zipped past trees and bushes.
They defeated participants who crossed their paths, overwhelming their opponents with the teamwork they had perfected over the past few weeks.
Not all of their encounters were easy, however. They had their fair share of tough opponents and, at one point were even driven to a corner.
If not for Arthur's quick thinking, they would've been knocked out of the Festival.
Some of the encounters were straight-up bizarre. One time they encountered a third year from Class D with the beast attribute.
The bizarre and probably creepy thing is that out of all the animal body parts he could manifest, the guy chose a chicken head.
So Arthur ended up fighting a chicken-headed guy holding a staff.
Another encounter was much worse. They faced a second year holding a massive greatsword and wearing nothing else. The guy was fighting in his birthday suit.
He was a tough opponent, not only was he huge with rippling muscles, but he also had the metal attribute which gave him an insane defense and heavy attacks.
Even a lightning-enhanced kick to the groin from Ray didn't faze him.
Fortunately, Gray was unfazed by the buck nude guy in her Catharsis state and shot him into the sky by a towering ice spike.
Arthur disarmed him with his draconian strength and skills, and Ray finally brought him down with a powerful lightning code that shook the ground and fried nearby trees.
"How did that guy even get approved by the organizers?", Ray demanded in between breaths as they rested on a fallen tree.
"He must've taken off everything after getting teleported here.", Arthur guessed.
"That's probable.", Ray nodded, "I hope the Headmaster's spirits can censor stuff in the live feed. Did you see how big that guy's pe-"
"Please, Ray! Don't say anything else," pleaded Gray as she fanned her tomato-red face.
Arthur flashed an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry you had to witness that, Gray. It was not an appropriate time for such things."
She calmed down and nodded, "Yeah. We are in the middle of a tournament."
"Although you looked a tad disappointed back there.", Arthur remarked with a playful smirk.
"W-what? R-really?", she stammered, her face redder than before.
Ray broke into laughter, "Wow Gray. High standards. As expected from an Aria."
"S-stop it R-ray.", she pulled up her hood and turned away, "I'm not talking to you."
"Really sorry Gray. It was just funny. I couldn't help myself", the young Callen calmed down and apologized with a sheepish smile.
She slowly turned around with a pout, which turned into a small smile, "It's fine, Ray. You don't have to apologize. I was just embarrassed."
Ray smiled back and looked at Arthur, "Well?"
"What?", the latter was puzzled.
"You started this small mess by teasing Gray.", the former pointed out.
"Seriously? Fine.", Arthur sighed and apologized to Gray.
"Really. It's fine.", she waved her hands and quickly changed the subject, "So what's our next move?"
The three of them have collected a lot of points in their battles. The points they currently have are in the third digits.
They also found out that points are given to the participant who deals the final blow. But if multiple people deal the final blow, the points will be distributed accordingly.
"Let's head to the tower," Arthur suggested as he sniffed the air. "There are too many scents getting crowded as we get closer, making it difficult to detect the rest of the class," he added with concern.
"But can you find any of them?", Ray inquired.
"Faintly. But yeah.", Arthur wrinkled his nose, "Ray. Have you been eating cheese?"
"What? No!", Ray retorted, "I don't even like cheese."
"Then why do I smell cheese?", Arthur narrowed his eyes and then widened them in realization, "Oh."
"Incoming!", he yelled and the three of them scattered just as the tree they were sitting on exploded into splinters.
They took out their weapons and assumed stances as a tall figure emerged from the cloud of dust.
"I sure am lucky!", the Vaharis student exclaimed in his deep voice as he looked down on him. Even with the height adjustment magia, he stood about 6 feet tall.
His scales were the color of white granite and the cracks between them glowed dark green, the color of the plant attribute.
He was really muscular and wore a tight black T-shirt under his jacket and baggy pants.
"Not only did I escape that monster but I ran into three easy targets.", he cackled and his eye fell on Arthur. Recognition dawned on his face.
"Hey. I know you. You are the pretty-faced guy from Special Class A. You're really not a girl?"
Arthur gave a grim smile, "Sorry to disappoint you. But I am a guy, and I'm more handsome than your ugly rock of face."
"Hoho! You got spunk, my friend!", he brought his fists together and smacked his lips, "I'll make sure to dominate you!"
Arthur got the creeps, "Don't say that with those eyes, dude!"
In a flash, he appeared behind the Vaharis, his sword glowing with magia, ready to use Decimating Ripple.
"And lay off the cheese. It's not good for your health.", he said as he swung Ghost. The Vaharis just smirked.
"How easy."
Suddenly thick roots erupted from his back and grabbed Arthur. Before he could react, he got slammed onto a tree by the writhing mass of roots.
{Plant Code: Constrictor Roots}
Arthur had his breath knocked out of him as the roots enveloped his body, wrapped around the trunk, and fused with the bark.
He is trapped.
[Now this is a bind.]
'Not now Inferno.', Arthur groaned internally.
"The biggest problem is taken care of.", the Vaharis smiled and turned to a stunned Ray and Gray.
The roots dislodged from his back and fused with the ones trapping the young man.
"Now I remember.", Ray said in a grim tone and tightened the grip on his chained blades.
"Taros. A third-year S Class student called the strongest plant attribute user in Cardinal Academy."
Taros grinned, "Those upstarts Aaron and Jason made everyone look down on us third years. But I tell you, the only reason those two are at the top is that we seniors are quite busy with our field experience assignments."
He held out his fist, "Those two will tremble at the power of our leader."
"Sierra Louvre?", a voice spoke behind him. Taros turned around and saw Arthur giving him a strained smile.
"I heard she stepped out of her position when Aaron Cadis dominated the last Battle Festival. After that, she disappeared in the eyes of the students.", he said in a taunting voice.
"What is your point?", Taros demanded with a frown, his eyes on Arthur's jeweled gaze.
Arthur's smile turned into a sneer, "It means that your leader is now irrelevant."
There was silence for a moment before roots creaked as they tightened around Arthur. He clenched his teeth and grunted in pain as the thick roots attempted to crush him.
"If your plan was to provoke me. You've clearly succeeded.", Taros spoke in a dangerous voice and his eyes glowed green.
Suddenly a beeping filled the air, "Looks like another has entered the tower.", Taros nonchalantly looked at the bracelet and was stunned.
His face showed a mixture of shock, pride, and triumph, "Madam Sierra. You did it."
The fourth one to enter the tower is Sierra Louvre.
"What a coincidence. We were just talking about her. Congrats to Miss Sierra.", Arthur remarked.
His face then morphed into an evil smile, "I wonder if she is alright?"
"What do you-", Taros started to ask when two other beeps followed a few seconds right after the announcement. There were two messages announcing the next two qualifiers.
"What the...", The Vaharis cannot believe his eyes as he stared at the names.
Jason Kain and Kate Phaes.
"I don't understand.", Taros muttered.
"Just think about it.", Arthur's taunting voice echoed in his ears.
"Why did Jason, a student who is on par with Aaron Cadis, and Kate, a powerful barrier master enter the tower mere seconds after Sierra, the strongest third year?"
"A coincidence.", Taros rumbled, a feeling of dread crawled into him.
Arthur nodded, "Indeed. A coincidence. That is until you see Miss Sierra's present condition."
The Vaharis's eyes widened and he quickly checked the live feed.
Due to obvious reasons, most of the live feed by the spirits is restricted to the participants of the preliminary round. The only place they can see from the feed is the inside of the tower.
Taros saw a small group of people standing in the middle of the tower. One is Aaron Cadis, and the other two are the first years from Special Class A.
They appear to be looking at the eastern entrance of the tower. Soon three figures emerged from the entrance and Taros's jaw clenched in anger
One was Jason Kain who had a tired smile on his face and the other was Kate Phaes.
They looked pretty battered and were supporting the third person, a strikingly beautiful young woman with raven black hair streaked with blue and deep blue eyes.
Taros immediately recognized her. She is his leader, Sierra Louvre.
Sierra looked the worst among the three. Her combat uniform was tattered and she was heavily injured.
She was bleeding from multiple gashes and she was limping. Blood flowed from her nose and mouth and her blue eyes were dazed.
Despite her heavy injuries, Sierra had a tired smile on her face, as if she enjoyed the battle that made her like this.
There was silence as Taros closed the live feed as healers approached Sierra and took her upstairs.
Suddenly a terrifying presence pressed down on Arthur and the roots further tightened around his body. He winced as heard his ribs breaking and coughed out blood.
Taros was looking at him with a serious face, his eyes glinting murderously.
"You bastard. What did you do?"
Despite the pain, Arthur managed a bloody smile. He almost looked maniacal.
"I just gave the Queen and the Joker a good fight."