He would do it.
He would face the Knights.
Tokita was currently in front of the wooden door to a decently sized building that was located in the outer regions of the city. While the building wasn't even comparable to the buildings located in the center regions of the city, it felt more 'homey' in Tokita's mind.
It was only about two stories, but its back exit connected to the forest that surrounded the east and south regions of Setale. The building was made of wood and stone, with a large roof that let the sides be in shade, and a couple of windows.
Towards the back, he noticed the trees had been cleared out a good bit, but couldn't really see what was back there.
"Well, this is it. I hope you're prepared," said Aila as she stepped in front of the door. She raised her legs as the muscles in her leg bulged slightly, and she kicked the door off its hinges.
The door was quickly kicked into a wall by Aila, blasting through the air like a bullet and crashing into the stone wall like a sword and a pillow. She walked straight in without looking back at him, screaming out.
"Grensvall you old bastard, get out here!" Aila screamed in anger. The room was dark, and the only light in the space came from the small fire that was burning on a stone hearth. It danced as its light painted the room with a warm glow.
Aila stomped the ground, causing the entire building to shake as if she had caused an earthquake.
Tokita stumbled around in an attempt to stabilize himself until he grabbed a wooden pillar for dear life. His legs were shaking from the vibrations traveling through his body as he struggled to keep himself standing.
Eventually, the shaking stopped as a familiar dog-head walked from around the corner.
Grensvall stepped into the room with a tired expression, glancing to his left and eyeing the door that had been solidly lodged into the wall. He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head.
"Did you forget how doors work again?" Grensvall stated with his exhaustion was apparent.
"Again?" Tokita asked.
Aila began to speak, ignoring both their questions. "I've had to watch this newbie like he's a puppy! Do you understand how fucking annoyed I am right now!?" Aila screamed, stomping the ground out of annoyance and causing another miniature earthquake.
"I apologize for you bringing him here, I know your time was precious," Grensvall stated sarcastically.
"I don't care for your apologies, I have a far better idea of how you could apologize," Ala stated as a serious expression laid on her face.
"Well, I suppose I could go down to the smith and get you a new weap-"
"I want to be the one to do the newbies test," Aila stated as she had a seemingly evil toothy grin that went from ear to ear.
Grensvall's eyes shot open in response. "Aila, we agreed that it would make more sense if I was the one to perform the test-"
"I don't care about what we agreed on, I want to be the one to do it." Aila said as her eyes narrowed, interlocking them with Grensvall. They stood in silence for a moment before Grensvall spoke.
"Fine, but if you get out of hand, I'll stop it myself," Gresnvall stated with an answer of complete seriousness.
Tokita stood there, confused as to what they were speaking about.
"What's the...test exactly?" Tokita asked.
Grensvall sighed, snapping his fingers as a puff of smoke rose from the ground. It surrounded the three of them, and as it dissipated, they had been transported to the outer region of the building.
"This is the arena." Grensvall stated simply.
The arena is a large, open area in the middle of the forest. It is surrounded by trees and bushes, and there is a large clearing in the center of the arena. The arena is obviously well-used, as there are many footprints and scuff marks on the ground that insinuate combat. There are also several broken branches and leaves scattered around, along with ample amounts of dried blood, burn marks and probably fa far worse in the soil beneath them.
"I'm confused...Why did you teleport us here?" Tokita questioned.
"Your test is a trial of combat...Against Aila." Grensvall stated.
Tokita's eyes widened, as he turned to Aila to had already walked a couple of meters away from him, turning around and staring directly into his soul as she grinned once again.
"Fuck."
.
..
...
The meeting chamber was an exotic Rotunda, a ginormous room likely three times the size of a football field. The ceiling was an odd mix of glass and steel, with the walls seemingly made up of a combination between marble and stone. There were paintings that stuck along the ceiling with god-like levels of detail, solid gold statues that would likely be worth several streets in the lower districts, and unique devices that Akane had never seen before.
Riches beyond imagination existed in this place, and it made Akane remarkably eager since soon she would be fully a part of this group as well, and all the wealth, status, and power would be hers.
But she wasn't in yet.
The blatant reminder of that rested right in front of her eyes.
Five were present, staring her down.
The other royals.
On paper, she had officially joined the Royals from the very first day she had entered Setale. But she knew that wasn't enough, an inauguration would be required for her to earn the respect of the others.
Despite knowing she would need their respect, she still chose to eat their food.
a Paradoxical line of thinking, no?
So instead of going for their respect, she'd go for something else.
Obedience.
It'll start small, Lars is just the first. Akane understands the complexity of the human mind and all the ways to control it; she did take AP Psychology after all. So for her plan to reach fruition, she couldn't show fear, she couldn't bend the knee.
She must fight, on all fronts.
She stood in the center of the ginormous Rotunda, the other Royals in the room eyeing her down.
Lars stood behind her, sweating profusely as nervousness crept into his mind. If a brawl did break out, would he even be able to do anything? His hand slowly lowered to a parrying dagger that was tucked into his waistband, squeezing the hilt till it felt like his hands would bleed.
Akane's eyes narrowed as she noted each Royal that stood in front of her, noting down each of their appearances.
They were lined up together like a row of soldiers, with the one on the far left being the only Royal she had any knowledge of.
Shu Xiangli, the Firstborn.
She had seen his fight during the Knight Initiation, in which he demolished his opponent without even the use of his Catalyst. Towards the end of the fight, she noticed the tattoo that ran along his right arm flared up with flame-like energy, which she believed to be him preparing to use his Catalyst. However, before he could use it, his opponent fell into unconsciousness from blood loss.
Standing next to Shu was a man dressed as if he was from the Chinese dynasty. He had long, silky dark blue hair that reached his chest and two golden antlers on his forehead. He had elf-like pointed ears and sharp, orange eyes that accompanied his cold and mystique appearance. His face was extremely pale and had strong features, which made him look very handsome.
He had a shallow grin on his face, almost as if Akane was prey and he was the predator. He had a hand on the Murasama that rested on his hip, an impressive sword of six feet in length. He rhythmically tapped the sword's hilt, tiny sparks of lightning channeling through it.
His sharp eyes glared down at Akane, attempting to scare her off.
But she wouldn't back down, she'd already gone this far. She merely smiled, her bright red orbs staring back into his coppery eyes. He continued for a few seconds until he released nothing was happening, she wouldn't back down.
The idea infuriated him, a peasant of non-noble blood joining the Royals, It has happened before, this test was created hundreds of years ago specifically to remove any weak peasants that had a false reading.
So not only was Akane defying his attempts to scare her away, she was doubling down and pushing past it.
The other three Royals stood back as the man stomped forward, clenching his teeth in rage.
One Royal, a girl with white hair and silver armor that was a cross between European Knight Armor and Samurai Armor sighed.
The man beside her began the laugh manically, although you couldn't;t tell from his expression as he wore a mask, you could only tell from his exaggerated movements. He stood taller than everyone there, the girl beside him only reaching his shoulder.
To his left was a Knight in complete high-grade pure white armor that screamed power. Interlining the joints of his upper armor was a red cloth that turned into a cloak on his neck and back, appearing like a cape. His helmet was pristine white steel with a red line of cloth wrapping around the back of the chest plate, with a large shield and greatsword resting on his back.
Shu attempted to speak up as the man with blue hair continued in Akane's direction. "Hey come on man, we decided I'd be the one to test the new girl-"
"I don't care about our previous arrangement." He said. He stopped a couple of meters in front of Akane, drawing his Muramasa from its sheath as the six-foot-long blade was let free. As he did so, the windows of the Rotunda blasted open, as a gust of air flew through the room, causing his hair to dance in the wind.
Akane's hair danced as well, her ravishing looks only being enhanced by the wind as if it was a simple summer day.
"Ah~ such a nice breeze." Akane chuckled slightly.
"I'm sure you're already aware of what this is." He spoke with a mix of anger and eagerness.
"I am," Akane stated justly, widening her stance slightly as she stretched out her hands, crimson energy coursing around them.
He placed one foot forward, readying himself.
"Then you face Genichiro Wakatsutashi, The Lightning of Ashura!"
Tokita versus Aila.
Akane versus Genichiro.
This would be their Inauguration.