Looking down at Idonea, I didn't notice any change in her expression, but I could tell she was motivated by what I said, and her words only further proved it.
"I am deeply grateful to your highness for giving me a chance to repay my debt, and I will do my absolute best not to disappoint you." Said Idonea, while still kneeling, before quickly standing up and heading towards the door.
"Idonea, do you know who your next opponent is?" Asked Elif, curious since she didn't show any change in expression.
"No." Answered Idonea before opening the door and leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
'Wonder if she will be surprised when she finds out I'll be fighting her?' Pondered Elif while tapping his finger on the throne's armrest.
Well, now that the problem regarding Idonea is dealt with, I looked over to Illumia, who was standing beside me and eyed her for a little bit.
"Care to tell me why you were so in favor of making Idonea my follower? I've known you for two years, and I'm sure I know you well enough that you wouldn't go against my word, at least without a good reason." Asked Elif seriously, though he wasn't angry, just slightly annoyed and curious.
"Were my previous explanations not good enough, your highness? With your narcissistic personality, I was sure that would interest you." Said Illumia, as she looked at Elif with a slight smirk, increasing Elif's annoyance at her.
"First of Illumia, I'm not narcissistic; I'm just self-loving, and how could someone not love something as marvelous as me? I'm a living heavenly prodigy, after all." Replied Elif with pride and blatant narcissism, though it's not like Illumia could deny his claim because everything he said was the truth; there has never been a living being as incredible as Elif recorded within the Immortal annals of time.
"And secondly, Illumia, the reasons you stated before were not good enough for me to believe that you would go against my word; there must be something more that you are not telling me." Stated Elif seriously and confidently while eyeing Illumia, though his statement only caused the smirk on her face to deepen.
"Your assumption is actually wrong; both things I said were actually very important reasons to keep followers, especially the second reason, your highness. Since you are still young and won't be leaving the Empire anytime soon, having a follower isn't something to worry about, but when you get older and leave the Empire to explore the world outside, you'll need to have people to do your bidding as I will not be able to leave your side as I'll need to protect you, besides the more followers you have, the more reputation you'll gain, and that's something more important than you truly realize." Said Illumia quite seriously, though she still had a smirk on her face.
Her words which did annoy me, especially with that smirk on her face, did get me to ponder about the future, and while my status as the Crown Prince of an Immortal hegemony may scare most, if not all, of the nobles in the empire, I've heard my parents and grandparents mention other Immortal hegemonies, each with their own princes, princesses or even direct heirs, so I'm sure my status won't easily scare them, besides I don't want my reputation to be overshadowed by any one of them.
'Haa, I guess what Illumia said wasn't wrong, and I definitely don't want to do some menial chores, though I still refuse to have an incompetent subordinate.' Thought Elif as he once again began eating some lightning cherries
While watching the match currently taking place, I looked over at a giant floating screen of the tournament bracket being projected by a slightly larger crystal ball than my own.
'Today lasted much longer than yesterday, yet it's only just past the halfway point, though I guess the fights have been much more entertaining, and I've accumulated a lot of insights from watching so many fights; now I just have to put that into action. Speaking of action, my match with Idonea will happen after three more matches.' Thought Elif before focusing back on the intense match below.
After watching a few matches and snacking on some lighting cherries, it was eventually my match. However, the previous battle had Starlet in it, and surprisingly her opponent actually managed to put up a good fight, though he was eventually defeated.
Looking at the coliseum below, I saw Idonea fly out of a VIP area and land in the arena below while waiting for her opponent; I, on the other hand, just smiled as I stored my lighting cherries away while grabbing hold of Hokori before floating down to the arena, landing opposite of Idonea. However, when I did, I noticed a considerable amount of killing intent being directed my way. Focusing on the killing intent, I noticed it wasn't actually directed at me but towards Idonea; tracing back where it came from, my eyes landed on the middle-aged man who had previously attacked Idonea.
While his actions weren't really bothering me, when I looked over at Idonea, I could tell she wasn't entirely focused on me as she occasionally looked up at that man with wary eyes.
Tightly gripping Hokori, and with it still sheathed, I launched a Heavenly Scar at that man, which managed to shift his attention away from Idonea and onto me. I had used an average amount of strength in that attack, but its power was still at the level of a peak Half-step Divine; however, It didn't matter how much force I used in that attack, as I knew he would be able to stop such an attack easily, and that is precisely what he did.
After he stopped my attack, his facial expression, which already looked angry, turned even more enraged. However, when he realized who he was looking at, his face instantly became docile, which reminded me of the little creatures living in my courtyard.
"Stop interfering in my match; this is your only warning; next time, I'll have Illumia deal with you." Said Elif seriously as he pointed Hokori at him.
"Y-Yes, Prince Elif, my apologies Prince Elif." Replied the man, slightly frightened while bowing.
When I no longer sensed any killing intent, I focused back on Idonea, who was now also entirely focused on me.
"There, now no one will be interfering with our fight." Said Elif with a slight smirk as he prepared himself for what he expected to be an entertaining battle.
I was pretty excited about this fight, so I didn't wait until the announcer started the match and decided to charge at her, planning to initiate close combat as I wished to experience her sword skills.
I didn't use my movement technique, so Idonea easily parried my first attack; now locked in place, I shifted Hokori slightly, allowing my sword to continue on its path across her blade; however, while my attack did manage to slice off a couple of hair's, Idonea skillfully dodged my attack before counterattacking, aiming her sword straight for my neck.
Thanks to all the sparring sessions I've had with Illumia, I've learned to always have an escape route when attacking, all so I can still adequately react to situations like this. Quickly retracting my arm back to me, I blocked her sword; however, Idonea did something I'd never thought of; she swapped the hand she was wielding her sword in and swiftly sneaked her sword past my defense.
Although I was surprised, It wasn't the time to think about that; quickly tilting my head to the left, I saw how the tip of her sword caused a shallow cut on my cheek before she promptly retracted her arm.
'For me to get wounded so quickly is quite embarrassing; however, this is what I've been looking for, a fighter with great skill and experience!' Thought Elif, slightly annoyed but also excited, while fighting with Idonea.
Not only did I limit my cultivation until my strength was roughly on par with Idonea's, but I also only used the Heavenly Scar since, from the previous matches, Idonea only seemed to have an offensive-based technique, besides the whole reason why I was fighting her was to test myself against her, considering Illumia said I would lose against her. Unfortunately, with how the battle has been playing out, she doesn't seem to be wrong.
'Tsk, I can't really do anything against her; it's like she knows my every move; I mean, fighting against her is a great way to improve myself, though it won't mean much in battle when I can barely touch my opponent!' Thought Elif, who had several cuts all over his body and clothes, while barely managing to parry an attack from Idonea, who only had about two cuts on her body.
Backing away, I launched a few Heavenly scars at her; however, she dodged both of them and launched her own sword wave at me, which I sliced in half with another Heavenly Scar, though when I did, she appeared right behind the attack, trying to take me by surprise.
Since we both had our divine sense's activated, a move like that was almost entirely useless except for getting closer to me, so I was already prepared for her; however, being prepared and successfully stopping her attack are two completely different things. Feeling the sword graze my body for what felt like the one-hundredth time, I attacked her at the same time as she attacked me, forcing her to retreat, but even so, with how long Hokori is, I did manage to graze her forearm.
'We've been fighting for a while; I've learned and seen enough for now; however, before we conclude the battle, let me give her a real test.' Thought Elif as he stopped suppressing his cultivation base and used all of his strength to pressure Idonea, immediately stopping her in her tracks and nearly slamming her into the ground.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead that had accumulated from the battle, I walk to the kneeling Idonea, who's propping herself up with her sword while trying her best to resist the pressure I placed on her.
As I looked down at her, I sensed her bodies condition, which was filled with damaged organs, while watching as she oozed blood from every orifice; however, even while in such pain, the determination in her unflinching eyes never once left, even when knowing that I could kill her, her eyes never shied away from mine as she looked at me with without an ounce of fear.
With a smile, I released the pressure on her and reached my hand out to her.
"Congratulations, you've managed to impress me. Call me your highness from now on." Said Elif with a smirk, though all he got in response was Idonea passing out onto the ground, finally succumbing to the injuries Elif imposed on her.