As the tournament director held the microphone, he yelled, "WELCOME TO THE BATTLE OF THE ARENA!"
Xialdre sighed as he signed the contract to join the arena. The day was filled with excitement and joy as the sunlight rose, illuminating the arena. A gentle breeze blew through, sending a piece of paper fluttering into Natalia's face. She grabbed it and glanced at it, realizing it was a poster advertising the upcoming event.
Clementine, Isayao, Yuri, and Natalia bought seats to watch Xialdre fight. The others also wanted to participate and join Xialdre in the battle.
As Xialdre entered the candidates' room, he noticed that Twilight had three comrades who had entered the arena alongside him. However, Asabe, Xyrene, and Rain also entered, ready to take on Twilight's comrades.
The headmaster of the tournament was the king himself. He sat with his three wives at the top of the tower of viewers. On the fourth floor were the rest of the royal family, including the king's brothers and sisters. On the third floor were the princes and princesses, the second floor housed the nobles, and the first floor was reserved for neutral viewers.
In total, there were over a hundred participants, but only four prizes. The champion would receive forty platinum coins, the first runner-up twenty platinum coins, the second ten platinum coins, and the third five platinum coins. Even the smallest prize was highly valued, as one platinum coin equaled seventy-five gold coins, making any prizewinner an instant noble.
The first duel began between the hunter mafia leader and the alpha pack leader. A magical screen broadcast the fight in the candidates' room, allowing everyone to watch. Xialdre observed the battle when Twilight approached him, clearly ready to talk trash.
"Yo, Xialdre! Doubting your choice already?" Twilight sneered.
Xialdre looked him in the eyes and responded, "You want me to give up already because you realize you're not going to win?"
"Cheap response from you, little guy. Give me something nastier!" Twilight taunted.
"That's what your mom said," Xialdre replied nonchalantly.
Twilight grunted and pulled out his sword, pointing it at Xialdre's eye. "Talk about my mom like that again, and I swear I'll f*cking kill you before our duel even happens."
Xialdre immediately retorted, "Don't talk like that to your new father, Twilight. Or should I call you my son?"
Before Twilight could thrust his sword toward Xialdre's left eye, one of his allies stopped him. "Twilight, don't do it. He's planning to make you disqualify yourself," the ally warned. Approaching closer, he added, "If you ask me, that's a really cheap way to win, but also smart at the same time."
The ally extended his hand towards Xialdre, who accepted it with a firm, elegant shake. "I'm Izuma Western-Shatter, brother of Twilight. It's a pleasure meeting you."
Xialdre nodded. "I'm Xialdre Natori, the eldest son of Ishizaki after the Satra's raid."
"I see. Almost no one survives a raid. Wait, that means you're not a noble anymore, right?" Izuma asked.
Xialdre responded calmly, "Well, I'm about to be."
The first match ended with the Alpha pack leader emerging victorious. As Izuma's name was called, he smirked and told Xialdre, "Watch my fight carefully. I'll come out victorious."
As Izuma left, Twilight lowered his sword. Xialdre turned his gaze to Twilight and asked, "Why do you both have two last names, Shatter and Western?"
"That's a secret for you, brat!" Twilight replied, walking away slowly. "Just don't get in my way."
Xialdre walked over to the live screen showing Izuma's fight, followed by Xyrene, Asabe, and Rain. As he watched, Izuma prepared to fight Historica, another noble from the Fujiwara family.
As the director began the countdown, Izuma unsheathed his sword while Historica readied her wand. The moment the countdown ended, Izuma charged forward without hesitation. "Hail heaven shield, block this person right in front of me, encage him in a circular barrier, circular cage!" Historica incanted, and a circular shield formed around Izuma, trapping him.
"I doubt you'll be able to escape my cage. So if I were you, I'd rather give up than embarrass myself attempting to break out of such a strong barrier," Historica taunted.
Izuma thrusted his sword against the barrier, which initially showed no reaction. He smiled and continued thrusting his sword back and forth against the circular cage. Gradually, cracks began to appear. "H-How?" Historica stammered in disbelief.
Before Historica could cast another spell, Izuma had already broken free from the circular cage. His sword was an inch away from her eye, causing her to pass out from shock. The crowd erupted in cheers as Izuma sheathed his sword and declared, "Don't ever think your dirty tricks will work on me."
Xialdre watched the entire fight with an expressionless face, while Izuma smirked, heading back to the candidates' room.
Meanwhile, Clementine, Yuri, Isayao, and Natalia took seats on the second floor in the nobles' section, having enough money to afford such seats. They enjoyed their food while watching the duels, eagerly awaiting their master's or comrades' turn.
The nobles around them were curious about the four girls, amused by their presence in the noble section. Their cuteness did not go unnoticed. A nobleman approached Isayao, introducing himself, "Hello there, pretty girl. I'm Rustrios from the Feather family. May you be my fiancée?"
Isayao responded with a smirk, "That's a weird way of introducing yourself, but no...!"
Rustrios, insulted, grunted, "Who do you think you are, rejecting me in front of all these nobles, pretty girl!?"
Isayao feigned an exaggerated gasp, then giggled, "Leave me alone, or you'll regret it."
Feeling humiliated and angry, Rustrios drew his sword, aiming it at Isayao. Before he could react, Clementine flipped his sword away with a swift kick, and in an instant, had her dagger at Rustrios's neck. Her eyes glared with a deadly promise, warning him to cause no further trouble.
Terrified, Rustrios retreated to his seat, the other nobles watching in silence. It was clear these girls were not to be trifled with.
As another duel concluded, Seigi Phosphorus was next in line, a comrade of Twilight, set to face Rika Horitika, an uprising commoner. They both walked to the arena, and the duel began. Seigi, a sorcerer, faced off against Rika, a druid. Seigi darkened the clouds, summoning thunder to strike down on Rika. A guardian spirit emerged from Rika's back, blocking and absorbing the lightning.
The spirit then charged at Seigi, its body crackling with lightning. Seigi quickly cast a barrier spell, but the spirit leaped over it. Seigi tried to shoot it with earth magic, causing the spirit to explode in a burst of thunder. As Seigi recovered from the explosion, he realized Rika was already behind him with another spirit. Rika's spirit threw Seigi into his own barrier wall.
Bleeding, Seigi summoned ten portals in the sky, releasing more guardian spirits that descended upon him. Seigi cast an explosion spell, prompting Rika's senses to heighten. The guardian spirits shielded Rika as a massive explosion engulfed the arena. Smoke lingered for about thirty seconds. Rika was carried into the sky by his guardian spirit, while Seigi, bleeding from the head, threw his wand into the air. The wand transformed into Seigi, who cast an earth spell at Rika. Rika's guardian spirit intercepted, punching Seigi back to the ground.
As Seigi struggled to stand, Rika's guardian spirits surrounded and relentlessly beat him until he lost consciousness. Rika emerged victorious. Twilight showed clear dissatisfaction as one of his allies fell. His last ally, a Class S adventurer, was up next. Twilight looked at him and said, "Don't fail me."
Xialdre returned to the candidates' room with the three girls. They saw Seigi being carried away by infirmary attendants, who were in a hurry to treat him. As Seigi was taken past him, their eyes briefly met, and Xialdre sighed.
Back in the candidates' room, Xialdre noticed Twilight watching him. Twilight observed Xialdre's comrades, realizing that none of them had fought yet. Feeling the embarrassment of having already lost an ally in the first match, Twilight met Xialdre's gaze.
Xialdre spoke, "After your ally fights, there will be a free-for-all battle. It won't stop until there are only ten people left in the arena. Stay strong."
Twilight, regaining his confidence, replied, "May the strongest win Furina's heart then."
The next match was between Astail Takahashi, a Class S adventurer and sword saint allied with Twilight, and Drista Tatsuki, an archer like Isayao. As the duel began, Drista immediately fired a shot, but Astail was already behind her. He struck her with the back of his sword on the back of her head, causing her to fall unconscious instantly.
As the battle ended in a flash, the viewers cheered, having expected such a swift victory from a Class S adventurer. With only twenty-five Class S adventurers worldwide, the audience's excitement was palpable. Twilight felt a wave of satisfaction and smirked as his ally emerged victorious. According to Furina's father's rules, allies were permitted, and if an ally triumphed over both their opponent's ally and the opponent themselves, the leading ally would still win Furina's hand.
Meanwhile, in the noble section, Clementine turned to Natalia with curiosity. "What's so special about a Class S adventurer?"
Yuri, overhearing, looked at Natalia with newfound interest. She hadn't realized Natalia was a Class S.
"Well," Natalia began, "despite being a Class S, I was cursed a long time ago. That curse forces me to chant to cast spells, and my level has significantly dropped."
Clementine looked puzzled. "So, technically, you're not even at a Class S level anymore?"
Natalia chuckled softly. "Yes, I'm more like a B rank now."
Clementine frowned. "What cursed you? Why have you downgraded so much?"
Natalia's expression grew serious. "A dragon lord."
As the free-for-all began, all candidates were escorted to the arena amidst the cheers of the crowd, each viewer rooting for their favorite contestant. Furina watched anxiously, her heart pounding with fear that Xialdre might fall and Twilight might emerge victorious. Her father, Futsuki, noticed her tension and asked, "Are you nervous that Xialdre won't win?"
Furina immediately responded, "Of course, father. Didn't I tell you already? I love him, and Twilight is out of my league. Even comparing him to Xialdre is absurd. If Xialdre loses, Twilight will be my fiancé!"
Futsuki sighed and said, "If you want an easy life, marrying a noble who is strong and trustworthy will be the perfect husband for you."
Furina looked away, clearly frustrated. "Don't run my life, Father."
As the director began the countdown, Asabe sensed several participants who might bypass Rain. Rain, known for her unbeatable prowess, had only a few who could challenge her: Xyrene, who saw Rain as nothing in a duel, Xialdre, who was unbeatable to her, and Asabe herself. When the director yelled, "LET THE RUMBLE BEGIN!" the battle erupted. Ordinary participants fell almost instantly as one by one they were eliminated.
From the third floor of the viewer tower, Arisawa spotted Xialdre. She remarked, "Ara ara, looks like he really did join the battle. I guess Sebas was desperate to duel him after all."
"Sis, why are you talking to yourself again?" Tailin asked, sitting beside her.
Arisawa looked at her younger sister with mild annoyance. "Adult stuff, dear, you wouldn't understand."
Alisha, watching intently, hoped Sebas would manage to kill Xialdre, thus breaking the slave contract Xialdre had forcefully signed with her. Sebas, one of the candidates, wanted to test Xialdre's strength. As an ordinary candidate tried to attack Sebas, he easily dodged, his eyes fixed only on Xialdre. Twilight, along with his allies, also targeted Xialdre, but the three girls were there to protect him.
As Twilight got within a foot of Xialdre, a tentacle grabbed him and threw him out of the arena, causing him to lose miserably. The candidates watched in shock as Xyrene's tentacles grew behind her, effortlessly defeating overwhelmingly powerful opponents. Sebas, seeing this, realized he wouldn't be fighting Xialdre anytime soon. Asabe and Rain had already reduced the number of candidates to ten.
The viewers were stunned by the performance. Asabe, Rain, and Xyrene remained unwounded, making them formidable threats. One of the remaining candidates, calm and composed, locked eyes with Xialdre, smirking before walking back to the candidates' room. The viewers yelled and cheered for the remaining candidates.
"No, the winner must be obvious, right?" one of the viewers spoke.
"If that girl managed to take down almost all the participants in less than ten seconds... THE POSSIBILITY SHE JUST DIDN'T EVEN WIN YET... IS... IS SHE WAS LITERALLY JUST FOLLOWING THE RULES!"
As the other viewers heard this, they fell silent, realizing that the octopus girl was strong enough to have a fair fight against the king—and potentially even overpower him.
For the first time in his life, the king himself felt a twinge of fear. The queens were shocked, particularly Shion, who knew Xialdre's potential. Furina remained stunned; Twilight had fallen before Xialdre, leaving the remaining candidates: Rika, Xialdre, Xyrene, Asabe, Rain, Astail, Izuma, Sun, Seven, and Sebas. There would only be four winners.
Sun was incredibly mysterious; no one could gather any information about them. Seven, on the other hand, was an elemental bender who could control any element. As they headed back to the candidates' room, Xialdre kept his focus on Sun. The moment he laid eyes on them, he realized who he was.
As the next fight was set to begin in the next hour, a duel between Sun and Seven, Xialdre bought some food, the girls following him closely. They were heavily crowded due to their overwhelming performance in the arena. Xialdre told the interviewers to back off, warning them he wouldn't hesitate to hurt them if they didn't comply. The crowd's attention shifted to Xialdre, realizing he was the one being protected by the formidable girls.
One of the bystanders sneered, "Hey, it's that guy they're protecting. You're probably just being carried by them, so scram." Xialdre calmly ate the barbecue he had just bought, then thrust the stick into the eye of the man who insulted him, causing him to scream in pain.
The king, watching from the towering stands, kept his eyes on Xyrene and Asabe. He realized those two were formidable foes who shouldn't be underestimated. They alone could keep him busy. When he shifted his gaze to Xialdre, he felt nothing but emptiness, baffled by the reason why such strong beings were tamed by this person.
One of the queens, Snow, joined the king, exclaiming, "Such a boy having such strong beings as his comrades immediately makes him a threat."
"I know, Snow," the king replied thoughtfully. "Though I cannot just ruin the entire event because of this. And despite them being a threat, they haven't done anything wrong yet."
As the crowd backed away, Xialdre handed barbecues to the girls, As they accepted it happily. They then headed back to the candidates' room.
Shion revealed herself to the king, saying, "That boy leading those girls is the one I was talking about."
"Tsk, Shion! Do you really lack that much trust in my strength?" the king replied angrily.
"But dear, I don't want you to get hurt!" Shion answered.
"Shion, Sister... I doubt he'll lose," Snow exclaimed.
As the next duel was about to start, Tailin munched on some popcorn, which Arisawa had bought to keep her quiet. Alixian and Azirith remained silent; Alixian was the third princess, and Azirith was the third prince.
Alixian then spoke to Arisawa, who was sitting to her right, with Tailin on her left. "Sister, did you get me anything to eat like Tailin?"
Arisawa chuckled and replied, "Go get it yourself."
Alixian sighed and looked back at the arena. Sun and Seven were already in the arena, waiting for the countdown to begin.
Meanwhile, Izuma was heading back to the candidates' room after taking a break when he was suddenly ambushed. He found himself surrounded by viewers who were Seven's allies. They demanded, "Now, now there, buddy. Unless you want to get hurt, why not just forfeit so Seven can climb to the top?"
Izuma replied, "Huh? Did Seven set you guys up for this so she could rise up? But isn't she fighting someone right now? If she loses, ambushing me would be useless, wouldn't it?"
The ambush leader answered, "Do you really think she could lose? Who she's fighting now is nowhere close to defeating her, unlike you."
Suddenly, footsteps were heard in the distance. They all looked towards the sound, but no one was there. Before they could react, the ambushers fell to the ground, one by one. Astail knocked the last ambusher down. Izuma said, "I could've defeated them on my own."
Astail responded, "But you'd still waste your stamina. This is not what Twilight wants, so shut your mouth."
Izuma grunted as Astail left, and he followed him back to the candidates' room. Xialdre watched the live screen in the candidates' room, awaiting his turn to fight.
As the director yelled, "FIGHT!", Seven immediately shouted "Helium!" and lifted herself into the sky. Sun pulled a staff from his hair and multiplied, creating ten clones, each as strong as the original.
Seven summoned titanium stones from the arena floor, floating them into the sky and hurling them at Sun. His clones scattered across the arena, moving too quickly for Seven to track. One clone managed to get behind her, but Seven raised her hands, manipulating oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus—the elements that constitute the human body. She made all the clones, including the original, float in the air and began to crush them.
As she believed she had won, the original Sun revealed himself, having evaded her attack. Moving at the speed of light, he struck Seven from behind, causing her to fall unconscious instantly. She survived the impact only because she had infused herself with high amounts of metal elements for protection.
As Xialdre sighed, it was finally his turn to fight, and his opponent was Sebas. Sebas smirked as he looked directly at Xialdre and said, "May the strongest stand." Xialdre and Sebas walked to the arena, passing Sun, who was still garnering attention after his spectacular performance. Sebas remarked to Xialdre, "I'm pretty sure he's going to come out victorious. Running at the speed of light is just unbelievable."
Standing in the arena, Xialdre and Sebas drew the attention of everyone present: Isayao, Clementine, Natalia, Yuri, Asabe, Xyrene, Rain, Alisha, Izuma, Arisawa, Tailin, Astail, Sun, Furina, Harina, Futsuki, Twilight, the Queens, the King, and Daniel, who was hiding among the crowd. They were all keen to see the fight and understand why Xialdre had such formidable protectors.
Xialdre thought to himself, "I never expected to be watched by thousands of people. Not like I even expect anything. Anyway, being the center of attention is just something."
As the director yelled "FIGHT!", Sebas didn't hesitate to charge, while Xialdre remained calm, standing still. Izuma exclaimed, "What is he thinking!?" Arisawa watched the fight intently, and even the King was confused by Xialdre's lack of action. Isayao asked Natalia what her brother was doing, but Natalia was just as puzzled.
Everyone, from Isayao, Clementine, Natalia, Yuri, Asabe, Xyrene, Rain, Alisha, Prince Sebas, Princess Arisawa, Princess Tailin, Prince Astail, Sun, King Avias, Furina, Harina, Futsuki, Twilight, Queen Shion, Queen Stella, Queen Snow, Princess Alixian, Izuma, Rika, Prince Azirith, Daniel, and more, were all confused by Xialdre's inaction, especially since Sebas was royalty himself. As Sebas's sword came within an inch of Xialdre's eye, Xialdre sighed, and Sebas fell to the ground.
Everyone watching realized that Xialdre had already won. The King himself was shocked by Xialdre's capabilities. He jumped down into the arena, followed by his harem of Queens. All the viewers, including the director, were confused by what was happening. Xialdre and the King locked eyes in a tense stare-down. The King asked, "You killed him, didn't you?"
Arisawa stood up, and all the viewers rose to get a better look at the unfolding situation.
As the king yelled, "YOU MIGHT ALSO BE THE ONE WHO MURDERED SATRA, AREN'T YOU!?" Xialdre calmly replied, "In the end, his sins caught up with him, and I became the instrument of his reckoning."
The king went berserk, causing the viewers to flee the tower in fear for their lives. Tailin looked down at the fight and yelled, "BIG BROTHER XIALDRE, YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR FATHER!"
The king, along with Xialdre, turned his gaze towards Tailin. Arisawa realized that Tailin had just made a grave mistake, fully exposing her defiance against the king. Queen Shion, realizing her own daughter was now an enemy, began to weep as dark clouds gathered overhead. The candidates ran, and Xialdre's comrades gathered around him, ready to fight the king and queen.
The entire royal family flew down to the arena. In the third-floor tower, Prince Azirith attempted to kill Tailin for her betrayal, but Arisawa turned his leg to ashes. Azirith grunted at Arisawa, "Are you crazy, Arisawa? You're also with that Xialdre guy's team!?"
Arisawa then yelled, "Alisha is Xialdre's slave!" She jumped on Alisha, revealing the slave contract to Alixian and Azirith. They looked away, realizing their older sister was now Xialdre's slave. Alisha, shocked, said to Arisawa, "What are you doing right now!?"
Arisawa chuckled to herself, "Fufu, looks like you're coming with us then." Alixian, the kindest of them, remained still, not wanting to hurt her own siblings. Azirith yelled, "ALL OF MY SIBLINGS ARE TRAITORS!"
As Queen Snow heard this, she immediately flew to the third floor of the tower. Xialdre pulled out his dagger as he and the king fought in the sky, evenly matched in combat—at least, that's what Xialdre wanted the king to think. Meanwhile, the girls were fighting the rest of the royal family. Xyrene and Asabe had transformed into their monster forms, and Natalia, Clementine, Rain, Isayao, and Yuri were fighting with all their strength.
Furina and her family were running away with the other viewers when her father realized who Xialdre truly was. As Harina tripped, Futsuki ignored her, leaving her to be trampled by the fleeing crowd. Furina ran back to help her mother while her father abandoned them, fearing involvement with the royals.
As Furina helped her mother stand, Sun came flying, looking down at the running viewers. He enlarged his staff and crushed a group of fleeing people. Watching in terror, Furina heard her mother say, "Furina, I'm very sorry for always being too weak to go against what your father wants."
"Because of this, you lost your old friends back in the town we used to live in. Just like right now, you can't even choose your fiancé. But that can finally change now." Furina, in tears, asked her mother what she meant.
Her mother replied, "Go! Go along with Xialdre. This is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. Leave me and your father and choose your own path." Harina pushed her daughter away, moments before being crushed by Sun. Furina cried out, feeling the suffering that Xialdre should have experienced. Xialdre saw her in the distance, traumatized and crying.
Meanwhile, Alixian realized that not fighting her siblings, who were now her enemies, was unlawful. She cried as Arisawa held her hand, and they jumped off the third floor along with Alisha and Tailin. Seeing them falling, Xialdre yelled, "TELEPORT US, FABRIC OF REALITY ITSELF!"
Arisawa, Alisha, Alixian, Tailin, Xialdre, Isayao, Clementine, Natalia, Asabe, Rain, Xyrene, Yuri and Furina were teleported out of the scene. The king screamed in rage, "XIALDRE, STOP RUINING MY FAMILY, YOU F*CKING BASTARD!"
Xialdre and the girls teleported onto a random ship. Natalia instantly cast turbo magic, propelling them away from the Satalias continent. As Xialdre and the girls watched the sunset while flying through the sky, Isayao, Clementine, Natalia, Rain, and Tailin laughed, relieved at how they had escaped the king. They lay on the ship, enjoying their brief respite. Asabe, Xyrene, Yuri, and Arisawa giggled at the absurdity of the situation, while Alisha and Alixian cried, distressed by their sudden abduction.
Xialdre gazed at the sunset, his thoughts turning inward. "Don't worry, Adonai," he vowed silently. "I will continue to search for you in this vast world until there is nowhere left to search with these tools of mine."