The series of explosions lasted for about an hour before dissipating. People paused their activities to admire the sudden outburst of brilliance, especially children. And the banquet in the castle came to an end, along with the fireworks display.
The king bid them farewell after he gave his speech. Despite being the last to arrive, he was still the first to leave. The event would start early in the morning, and he needed rest so that he could do his duty to oversee the festival until the end.
He entrusted the guests to his son and daughter, but the hall was left empty as the representatives returned to their respective rooms after enjoying their fill.
The last to leave was Lex; he was disheartened because of his father's words.
"I thought he would announce me as his successor. Is he still hesitating?" He conversed with himself while walking towards his room.
Upon entering, he came straight to his bed, but after a few seconds, he got up and went to his closet. He pulled the lowest deck of it and took a long object wrapped inside a white fabric.
He untied its knot, and the cloth fell above his feet. Then he looked at the sword lying on his hands. Its white scabbard had a combination of black and red outlines lapping against each other. Splashes of red were also present.
The design was messy, though it still brought a smile to the prince. He gently touched the sword's grip before unsheathing it, and its cry made the cabinet's mirror shatter.
It was a single-edged sword that had a pearl-white color, but there was this strange tint of red all over its blade that resembled human veins.
"Is this sword not good enough for him?" he murmured before heading inside the bathroom.
In there, a middle-aged man was sitting on the flooring; his limbs were tied. He looked at the prince as soon as he heard his steps.
Then he shook his head and screamed, though a cloth was plugging his mouth, making his effort useless.
"Oh, there's only one left," Lex said. "I need to ask for a refill."
The next second, he walked closer, and his grin made the man cry.
"Well then, I bid you farewell," he said, before stabbing the sword into the man's head.
He died while his eyes were still open and he was shedding tears; however, not a single speck of blood splattered or even flowed from the cut. Instead, the blade of the sword slowly turned red.
It sucked the man's blood, leaving him thin and dry. He pulled the sword and caressed its blade like a child with his face.
"My baby is so hungry; please hang on a little longer," he uttered.
"Blood Fang, a weapon created from vampires' fangs, will be the talk of the empire after this festival," he continued.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the smile on his face was filled with menace.
. . . . .
The sky radiated a bright orange light. The sun was about to rise, and it was time for the first event to start. The people gathered at the back of the city, where an open field and a grove were located.
The festival was a three-day celebration, and most of the events would be held here while the Weaponry Duel Tournament was in the kingdom's arena.
All of the participants for the first event were lined up in front; they were all mercenaries. However, the highest rank that was there was ruby-class. There was this unwritten rule that diamond-class mercenaries were prohibited from joining the events of the festival.
Seconds later, the king and the other representatives arrived. They went into their respective seats and sat. The empire's crown prince was sitting beside the king; they were placed in the middle while Lexel and Lex were at their sides.
"Your Highness, would you mind if I asked to exchange seats with you?" Kreigster asked.
The king smiled upon hearing his question; he had already heard from Gil about the scene that happened at the banquet and how Kreigster escorted his daughter. This was wonderful news for him. If the empire's next emperor was really interested in his daughter, Lexel had the chance to be the next empress, and he wouldn't mind giving the throne to his son.
Though his smile faded upon remembering Lexel's Legacy, if that day truly came, that ability would fall into the empire's hands.
"Is there something wrong, your Highness?" Kreigster asked again.
The king got back to his senses and stood up before answering.
"No! I mean, yes, we can exchange seats," he answered.
Kreigster smiled as he moved closer to the princess; however, the woman ignored him and didn't even glance at him.
"Let's enjoy the festival together," he said, while peeking at the princess' face.
Lexel was doing her best to maintain a straight face, and she kept ignoring the man at her side, but the blushes from her cheeks couldn't conceal her thoughts.
'He is so close,' she complained inside her head, and she gathered her courage to speak. "P-put your face away from me; it's starting."
A large magic crystal appeared and levitated in the air. It showed different parts of the field and the grove.
"Good morning! Are you all ready?" A voice resounded in the sky; it came from a large crystal orb floating beside the large magic crystal.
Then a woman walked towards the line of participants; she was dressed in leather armor, and her hair was tied at her back. On her hand, there was a similar crystal orb, though its size was smaller and enough for her to carry it around, and there were two swords hanging from her waist.
"I am Grazielle, an emerald-class mercenary, and I will be your host for today's festival." She said so, and cheers from the crowd followed.
"I know you guys are all excited, but first, I would like to greet our king and his family together with the empire's prince. And all of the representatives from the other places, please do enjoy the show," she continued.
The king nodded and waved his arm in response.
"So, are there still people who are interested in joining? Anyone?" She asked, but upon seeing that there was no one coming, she resumed speaking. "Then, let's begin our first-"
"Wait a second, I would like to join." A woman dressed in a maid outfit came running; her voice interrupted the host, then she went into the line of the participants.
. . . . .
A few moments earlier, inside an inn. Three figures walked out of a portal.
"Mistress, the first event will start any time soon," Lux stated as he went into the kitchen.
"You two can go now; I'll follow later after taking a bath," Cinn replied.
Then Lux walked towards her and gave her a glass filled with blood.
"You will be alone in this place if we leave," he said.
"I can handle myself; besides, Aichelle really wants to enjoy this festival, am I right, Aichelle?" She asked, smiling after looking at her maid standing around the corner.
"Y-yes but-," Aichelle was about to speak, but Cinn chimed in.
"I will be fine. Lux, go with her; that's an order," she said.
Then the two bowed and replied. "Yes Mistress!"
After that, Cinn prepared her bath while Lux and Aichelle left the place to come to the event's location outside the city.
The place was not that far from the inn, so after a moment of walking, they arrived at the open field.
The maid looked at Lux after she heard the host's announcement.
"You can participate, but remember, hide your fangs," Lux said without looking at the woman at his side.
Then Aichelle smiled and ran to the front.
. . . . .
The host and the crowd, even the participants, were surprised upon seeing Aichelle. After all, it was not common to see a maid capable of fighting. Others were curious about her, while the majority of people laughed at her.
"Uhmn, are you sure about this? We're not going on a picnic here." Grazielle roasted Aichelle with her words, and laughter from the crowd followed.
Aichelle nodded in response. She was displeased because of the host's remark, but she did her best to stay composed. She didn't want to create any ruckus, though she knew that her mistress would just laugh at her. But their overprotective butler would skin her alive.
"So, is there still anyone who wants to participate? Grazielle asked once more while scanning the sea of people.
"Okay, then, let's begin," she said upon seeing that there was no activity from the crowd.
"The first event is called Search and Gather, and each of the participants will be given a sword. These swords are fragile, and they will break the moment you stab them." She said this before she pulled the sword hanging from her waist and stabbed it on the ground.
And like she said, it broke as it touched the soil.
"But if you coat it with the right amount of energy, it won't shatter." She pulled the other sword and channeled her energy before she struck it on the ground.
Unlike before, the sword didn't break, and the crowd was about to raise their suspicion that it was a different sword when Grazielle spoke again.
"I know what you guys are thinking, that it has not the same property as the first sword, but here, take a look, if you insert energy greater than the right amount," she paused, then she added a little bit of her energy to the sword, and its blade crumbled to pieces.
"It will shatter; it's the same; if the energy is not enough, it will break once you wield it; give it more, and it will fall apart; then you will be disqualified," she explained.
Then, knights entered the scene and gave swords to the participants.
Aichelle studied the sword's blade, and she handled it with care. It was her first time holding a sword.
'How do I wield it?' she thought.
Then she smiled, knowing the things she needed to do.
"There are coins bearing the kingdom's crest that are scattered inside the grove. The participant who gathers the most coins in the span of three hours will be the winner. Remember, you can search for or wait for the others to steal their coins; you can injure the other participants, but you're not allowed to kill them. Your movements will be monitored and shown on the magic crystal. Anyone who kills and is caught using different weapons or exits the grove will be disqualified," Grazielle added.
"Oh! The prize! I almost forgot! A bag containing fifty gold coins will be given to the winner of this event, along with a short dagger made by the king," she said.
. . . . .