"Well, that is great to hear, Prince Elif. Now if you could give me a little bit of time so I could gather some clansmen, and while I'm doing that, you could show him to the coliseum Eyvor." Replied Edvin with a smile before swiftly turning around and leaving the area, though the moment he turned around, his friendly smile morphed into a vicious smirk.
Watching Edvin walk off into the distance, I took note of all the spectators excitedly whispering to themselves about what had just happened while a few of them even started to spread the news about the battle quickly.
"Hehe, it seems like there will be quite the audience." Commented Elif with a light smile while fanning himself with his quạt tay.
"But of course, they're going to see a descendant from an Immortal Hegemony battle against their own clansmen. It's a good opportunity to showcase the power our lineage wields, not to mention the number of benefits they'll possibly gain from observing someone of your caliber sparring." Said Eyvor calmly, and even though she's seen Elif fight before, her excitement wasn't any less than any of her clan members.
"Anyways, let us postpone the tour for later; I'll show you to the Coliseum." Added Eyvor with a sigh before they continued walking in the same direction before Edvin stopped them.
"Your Highness, Edvin harbors malicious intentions towards you." Announced Idonea calmly once the group was alone, her words sparking anger from Marley and confusion from Eyvor.
"What!? How dare that weakling to have evil intentions toward His Highness! I'll go and squash him the like transparent bug he is!" Said Marley angrily as she turned around to chase after Edvin, her arrogant nature that she usually conceals when around Elif showing itself once more.
"How can you be so sure? Prince Elif hasn't done anything to garner Edvins hatred; damaging the Psionic Forest shouldn't be enough for him to hold ill will toward him." Questioned Eyvor with suspicion and doubt as she eyed Idonea because while Eyvor may dislike Edvin, she's interacted with him enough to understand his personality.
"I don't doubt your words, Idonea; however, I must also agree with Eyvor. For him to hate me after hardly even interacting with me is weird, to say the least." Said Elif curiously as he captured Marley with a Royal Elf's Palm before she did something foolish and had her float right next to him.
"Your Highness, why are you stopping me?" Asked Marley as she looked at Elif in annoyance.
"No need to get so worked up over him, Marley; he hasn't actually done anything yet. If he does something, I'll let you deal with him; however, until then, stay put." Ordered Elif as he released Marley and dematerialized the purple palm.
"Fine, your Highness." Replied Marley with a frown while internally hoping Edvin would do something.
"I never said that Edvin's hatred for His Highness was because of the damage the Psionic Forest sustained; all I know is when His Highness placed his hand atop your shoulder to pacify you, I sensed a large spike in Edvins hatred for His Highness." Explained Idonea once Elif had finished talking with Marley;
"It seems like this isn't the first time this has happened; mind explaining it for us, Eyvor?" Asked Elif when he looked over to Eyvor and noticed her unsurprised expression.
"Haa, yes; this isn't the first time. A couple of years ago, Edvin and I would occasionally spar against each other as he was the strongest after me; however, one day after we finished our sparring session, Edvin professed his love for me and wished to take my hand in marriage. I'm sure, as you can tell; I refused him, and when I thought that was the end, a few days later, rumors were going around that Edvin had already claimed me as 'his' and I was off limits to any man. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it; Edvin would go and heavily injure any male that got close to me or was already close to me, which for reference, wasn't many; however, the number didn't matter. His actions obviously angered me, yet, there wasn't much to be done about it; since the Clan elders promote competitiveness among every new generation of descendants, Edvin would always use that excuse to get away scot-free, even if everyone knew it wasn't true." Explained Eyvor as she tried to hold back her anger.
"I see; now it makes sense why Edvin would hold malicious intentions toward me; not only does he hate the idea of another man close to you, but he also hates me because he can't do anything about it." Remarked Elif, though when he looked at Eyvor, a playful smirk manifested on his face.
"Tch, sounds like a pathetic loser to me." Commented Marley, and while everyone ignored her, they all agreed with her, especially Eyvor.
"Ahh, here we are; we've finally arrived at the Coliseum." Announced Eyvor as she pointed towards a floating island atop the one they were already on before flying towards it.
Following behind Eyvor, the five of us flew toward the floating island, and when we arrived, we were met with a small coliseum; though it was small, it was more than enough for a few people to spar at the same time.
"It hasn't even been ten minutes, and there are already this many spectators present; I guess word travels fast." Commented Elif as the group gracefully landed in the middle of the coliseum where Edvin and a few Fairies were at.
"Even some Elders are present." Muttered Eyvor as she eyed several older men and women in the stands conversing.
"Prince Elif, I've gathered a few worthy opponents for you; these two both have a cultivation base of a middle Divine Lord, while he is a late Divine Lord." Stated Edvin with a smile as he pointed to the three Fairies to his left, which consisted of one woman and two men.
"Is that so." Replied Elif with a dissatisfied tone that Edvin misinterpreted for nervousness.
"Of course, if you want, I can get someone with a lower cultivation base instead." Said Edvin with a friendly smile as he indirectly mocked Elif, much to Idonea's and Marley's anger, though they didn't do anything.
"No, it's fine; I was just expecting a few decently powerful opponents. Though I suppose if they have exceptional teamwork, that might make up for their lack of power." Said Elif casually, and although he was telling the truth, his words came off as if he was looking down on them, which irritated the Fairies.
"Teamwork? Did you possibly plan to fight all three of them at once, Prince Elif?" Asked Edvin, truly feeling confused.
"Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun otherwise." Replied Elif as he looked at Edvin while also feeling slightly confused; however, Elif's lack of regard started really angering the three Fairies.
"Prince Elif, you're being quite arrogant; while we may respect you, that doesn't mean you can just look down on us." Said the strongest Fairy as he looked at Elif gravely.
"You may be slightly stronger than us; however, that doesn't mean we are pushovers who won't fight back." Added the female Fairy with slight hostility.
"Settle down, settle down; I'm sure Prince Elif didn't mean to look down on you guys. He just must be that confident in his strength if he wishes to fight all three of you simultaneously, so why not allow him to showcase his strength? Besides, we shouldn't deny the request of such an important guest now, should we?" Stated Edvin as he soothed the trio of Fairies before glancing at Eyvor, though when he noticed the lack of worry on her face, his expression soured.
"Alright then, let's wait five or so more minutes before starting the battle; I would like as many spectators as possible in the coliseum." Added Edvin with a sinister smile before he and the trio walked off to the other side of the arena.
"I'm confused; If Edvin wished to humiliate me before you, Eyvor, why did he arrange for my opponents to be so weak? Shouldn't they at least be a middle or late Divine King?" Remarked Elif in confusion before turning around and eyeing the four women.
"I-I don't know. Also, how did you know Edvin wished to humiliate you? He might've just been using this chance to gauge your strength." Replied Eyvor while shaking her head, feeling completely confused about the whole scenario.
"Well, I guess that was a possibility, but a few years ago, I remember I read this book where a similar situation happened; of course, the details were different, but overall everything was the same."
"Do you remember what that book was called?"
"I believe it was called Supreme Heavenly Emperor. Why?" Replied Elif, though he felt slightly uncomfortable with the looks the four ladies were giving him.
"That book, its title sounds very untrustworthy." Said Eyvor, though she was putting it lightly.
"I agree with Ms. Eyvor, your Highness. So do I." Stated Idonea and Marley, respectively.
"I recommend not taking advice from non-verified books, your Highness." Advised Illumia.
"It's fine; I know what I'm doing; besides, that book is trustworthy. It's even helped me before in the past. Anyways, you four go shoo off; the spar will be commencing soon." Said Elif as he waved his quạt tay at them.
Once the four of them had left the arena and were seated in the distance, I shifted my attention to the approaching trio of Fairies.
"If I could have everyone's attention! In case of any misunderstandings, this is only meant to be a friendly spar, so no matter who wins or loses, I hope neither side harbors any hard feelings. Now, if one of our respected elders wouldn't mind acting as the judge." Announced Edvin with a smile as he shifted his attention toward the group of Elders in the distance.
"I don't mind taking on the role of judge for this friendly battle." Said one of the elders awkwardly as she appeared standing in the arena between Elif and the trio of Fairies.
"Thank you, Elder. May the best win!" Said Edvin as he looked at Elif and then at the trio of Fairies while discreetly giving them some signal before flying off and sitting in the stands near Eyvor.
"Since this will just be a friendly spar, I expect the four of you not to go overboard; however, don't hold back and give your best. Now then, BEGIN!" Declared the Elder as she announced the start of the battle before disappearing from the arena.
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Elven Legacy (Chapter 121: Prince Elif's Rage!) || Hero of Harmony (Chapter 5: Reincarnators First Magic Lesson) || One Piece: Chaos Kong (Chapter 5: First True Fight) at [patreon.com/Ozonelayer691]