"You're from the Planet Earth, correct?" The Princess curtly asked.
"Yes, we five are." Asif answered.
"I look forward to your upcoming battles." Princess Kaya continued.
"As do we." Asif calmly replied.
The Princess then turned to look at Ray who was trying to gain her attention by striking a cool pose. She paused for a moment and gave a long stare at him.
"Stop whatever you're doing..." Bryan whispered to Ray.
"Right!" Ray immediately turned back to normal.
Feeling unnerved by her long stare, Ray inquisitively asked while patting his face, "Uh...Is there something on my face?"
"What's your name?" The Princess abruptly spoke.
"Ray, Ray Angelo." Ray smiled and answered.
"Ray Ray Angelo?" The Princess repeated.
"No no, it's just Ray Angelo." Ray quickly corrected her.
"Then why did you say Ray Ray Angelo?" The Princess curiously asked.
"It's something we do on Earth haha!" Ray said while rubbing the back of his head.
"I see."
"What's your name?"
"Kaya, Kaya Aeron."
"That's a beautiful name." Ray complimented her.
"Thank you."
"The tournament is going to pretty long so why don't stay here with us in the meantime?" Ray jovially offered.
"You know...I can see that you're interested in me." Princess Kaya smiled slightly.
*COUGH COUGH*
Bryan almost choked on his saliva after hearing what Princess Kaya said. The others just looked away and observed the other participants.
"Haha, was I that easy to notice?" Ray laughed lightly.
"At the garden, I was confused as to why you were looking at me so intently because I have only ever received gazes of respect and fear due to my status as the princess. Then I asked my father and now I know." Princess Kaya said with a smirk.
"*Cough* You asked your father? The Battle King?" Ray just had to make sure.
"Yes, I did." Princess Kaya confirmed and waited to see what he would say next.
"Very very interesting!" Ray smiled with no fear in his eyes.
"Huh?" Princess Kaya was confused.
"You thought I'd be scared?" Ray simply smiled.
"I...assumed as much."
"Haha, it's normal to be scared but I'm not normal. I have never been scared of anyone in my life...maybe...apart from slugs." Ray nodded to himself.
Princess Kaya was surprised to say the least because as far she'd remember, everyone apart from her family gave them the treatment a Royal Family deserves but what she wanted was something normal and experienced by everyone else. And to think she found someone who wasn't scared by her status unlocked something, unknown to her.
"If you want to make me interested in you, you should at least be as strong as me, if not stronger." Princess Kaya said with focused eyes.
"Haha, don't worry about that. I'm aiming for the top just like my brothers." Ray said while pointing to his brothers.
"Just like your brothers..." Princess Kaya pondered.
Meanwhile, the four brothers were giving them some alone time which Ray will thank them later and the other two bystanders slowly creeped away.
"Literally, what are we doing here..." Prince Khai said in annoyance.
"Just to suffer!" Lobian smiled and said.
"Lobian, I want to fight you."
"Knowing your luck, it'll never happen. Hahaha!"
"So, what do you think of them?" Prince Khai unexpectedly asked.
"The five brothers? They're fearless beyond reasoning. Just before you two came, Garr approached them with hostile intent and they didn't back down and instead were itching for a fight even after Garr released some pressure, it didn't seem to affect them." Lobian gave a recount of what happened before.
"Garr? You mean that Garr who fought toe-to-toe against the Godsun?" Prince Khai was slightly surprised.
"Yes, although he lost, it is still very commendable to reach that far, especially against Godsun."
"This tournament is going to be very interesting." Prince Khai smiled.
Back with Ray and Princess Kaya, she hesitated a bit before saying, "You know that I'm a Princess of the Aeron Empire, so the weight on my shoulders are not light. There are constant engagement offers for me sent to my father. Although I rejected most of them and probably irked their ire, the other Royal Families don't dare offend my father. So if you're going after me, I'm afraid for your safety."
"So, you're worried for me huh?" Ray smiled widely.
"I am interested in you as well so I'm just letting you know!" Princess Kaya sternly said.
"I-" Ray couldn't continue as a loud voice from the screen interrupted him.
"Now that we're done with the formalities. I shall announce the rules pertaining to Phase 1 of the tournament. Only individual battles are allowed. No weapons or tools are allowed to be used in case of some exceptions. The platform is your stage of battle, so step or fall out of it and you're penalized. All of your moves will be strictly monitored by the powerful mages of the Aeron Empire so killing is barred. Next to the floating screens, the matches and participants will be displayed for the audiences viewing pleasure."
"Each individual will have to participate in 100 battles. 1 point will be awarded if you win and 1 point will be deducted if you lose. The participants with the most number of points will qualify to the next round. Remember, only the top 100,000 will have the chance to qualify. So, fight to your very best." The elvish man briefly explained the rules and specifications of the tournament.
"I hereby commence the start of Phase 1 of the GREAT BATTLE TOURNAMENT!"
Loud booming cheers and claps echoed reaching the far ends of the city. The participants were in huge anticipation and excitement. In the waiting lobby, some of the participants had their wrist bands pulsating before they disappeared and reappeared on the platform in the arena.
"So, this can teleport us?" Ash stared at his wrist band.
"I'm glad I'm not the first one." Bryan sighed in relief.
Around the main large center platform, there were 100 mini-platforms enough to breeze through the ten million participants and they were all occupied by the participants.
A hearty voice sounded out naming the participants and their match-ups.
"Match - Chag Blar vs Sudarl Gart!"
"Match - Nalva Lux vs Grel Gtor!"
"..."
"Match - Kayzok Groegs vs Kaya Aeron!"
"Match - Ruth Volrop vs Khai Aeron!"
"WHAT THE FUCK!" Ray turned around and didn't see Princess Kaya anywhere. He turned back to look at the screen and scoured every single platform and finally saw her standing opposite a burly looking alien.
"Now we get to observe their fighting capabilities." Bryan spoke reminding the others.
-In the arena-
"I didn't expect to match up with the Princess." Kayzok smirked. Unlike humans, his body is made up of pure stone and there is a layer of skin gently draped across his body creating an unusual scene.
Princess Kaya didn't say anything and waited for the countdown to start with a calm expression. A holographic number floated between the two and the countdown began.
*3*
*2*
*1*
*Fight!*
As soon the countdown ended, Princess Kaya disappeared from her spot and delivered a kick to her opponent's temple. Kayzok on the other hand did not even know where she disappeared. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a leg speedily approaching him but unfortunately he was too slow to react.
*BOOM*
With one strike, Kayzok's body was lying outside the platform unconscious and all of this was done in a split second.
*WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*
"I didn't even get to see what happened..."
"THAT WAS AMAZING!"
The crowd were cheering in frenzy after seeing their Princess utterly decimate her opponent. The other participants frowned and observed her closely.
Princess Kaya didn't spare another glance at her opponent and simply let the wristband teleport her back to the waiting lobby.
"I could barely see her move." Algo squinted his eyes.
"I assume she has the wind element to move that quick." Bryan speculated.
"If she does, to utilize the wind element like that, she's amazing." Asif complimented her.
"Do you think she has another element?" Ash curiously asked.
"We don't know." Lobian shook his head. Ray simply smiled.
*Swoosh*
"Huh, you're back so early?" Lobian asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah...?" Prince Khai tilted his head.
"Before Princess Kaya?" Ash was confused.
"Wait...did none of you watch me fight?" Prince Khai said in an aggrieved tone.
*Cough cough*
"Ha...ha..." Lobian chuckled awkwardly.
*Swoosh*
Next to them, Princess Kaya gracefully appeared with no sign of fatigue or tension. Princess Kaya walked to Ray and asked.
"Did you watch me?"
"Yes, I did." Ray smiled.
"What I me-"
"Let me interrupt you right there. I watched every single move of yours." Ray confidently said.
Princess Kaya was surprised because she knew how fast she went and only a handful of people she knew could clearly observe her movements.
"Ray, stop lying. If I couldn't see it properly, then how could you?" Ash called out on his 'bullshit'.
"Yeah, stop trying to impress her with your fakery." Bryan joined Ash.
"You guys seem to forget that he fought on the same level as Asif despite being in a lower stage and I bet you guys can't do that yet." Algo butted in while Asif nodded.
"Get good! Hahaha!" Ray laughed.
"Fuck you!" Ash flipped him off.
"It seems you are strong too." Princess Kaya smiled with slight anticipation bubbling in her eyes.
"I know you can't wait to fight us, Kaya." Ray shrugged.
"You just referred to me without the title."
"I'm pretty sure we're past the stranger barrier so might as well, right?" Ray said while trembling inside. 'Fuck me, this is beautiful and terrifying at the same time.'
"Hahaha, you have a point. But don't get too ahead of yourself, Ray." Kaya grinned.
"Hehe..." Ray chuckled. 'FUCK YES!'
"He actually managed to pique her interest." Bryan was shocked.
"Where were you this entire time?" Algo looked at him as if he was stupid.
"I thought he would flop." Bryan scratched his neck.
"He is actually going to bag a princess..." Ash was in disbelief.
"Amazing!" Asif nodded in appreciation.
-After a few minutes-
"Match - Asif Vizier vs Edo Sparon!"
"It's your turn, Asif." Ray spoke.
"You don't need our wishes. Just smash it!" Bryan patted his shoulder.
"Exactly!" Asif smiled before he disappeared from the waiting lobby.
"We'll find out now." Prince Khai said in anticipation.
"Whether he's strong or not..." Lobian was curious too.
-In the arena-
Asif reappeared on a platform, feeling weird from being teleported.
'I should get used to this feeling. It doesn't seem like the other participants are feeling any discomfort at all.'
He saw his opponent and saw it had 8 arms and four legs with a huge wide plate-like body. On its face were adorned with razor sharp teeth ready to tear off anybody or anything.
"I was expecting to have a tough battle but instead I matched up with a stick?" Edo, the opponent mocked.
"You might as well surrender! Hahaha!"
*3*
*2*
*1*
*Fight!*
Without wasting any time. Edo burst forth with great momentum using his four legs. He then covered his 8 fists midway with fire, ready to pulverize Asif.
"Take my fists of fire!!" Edo shouted.
"Light Beam!"
*Zzwing!*
Asif shot out 8 light beams from his fingers, striking his opponent's arms rendering them useless and stopping his momentum.
"AAARGHH!!"
Edo stood there with dangling arms, staring fiercely at Asif ready to tear off his face. He couldn't believe he matched with an opponent having the Light element.
"You should forfeit." Asif calmly said.
*Huff huff*
"I underestimated you! I surrender!" Edo was panting with pain and realized he could not continue with his immobilized arms.
"You were never my match." Asif said as a matter of fact.
-Back at the waiting lobby-
"I don't know much about his opponent but to think he has the Light element!" Lobian was shocked.
"He is strong!" Prince Khai frowned and said.
"Easy peezy for him." Algo dusted off his hands.
"As if we had a doubt..." Bryan smirked, "See what I did there...ha...ha"
"You're a dumbass!" Ash looked at him with a deadpan face.
"Hey, that's supposed to be my line!" Bryan complained.