In the morning, everyone ate their meals quickly and soon departed.
There was still a tension in the air, so everyone remained quiet, except for the traveler and the princess, who chatted a bit along the way.
At this point, they were very close to the capital of the Scorched Mountain and passed through several small villages. The houses were worn-down, some even lacked roofs, and were made of stone. The road was the only thing in good state.
The people had a humble appearance and watched the group with curiosity as they advanced. Their clothing was quite different from Fordurn's standards.
Most women wore a kind of dress originating from the Scorched Mountain. The fabric was mostly green, with red appearing less frequently, and neutral colors being extremely rare. The clothes featured designs of leaves, trees, torches, and mountains printed on them.
As for the men, most of them left their chests exposed and wore a kind of skirt with colors and designs similar to those of the women. Some wore armbands, earrings, or necklaces, but these were accessories worn by both genders.
Around 9 a.m., the group finally arrived at the capital. All they could see was an extensive wall surrounding the entire city, as well as the grand Scorched Mountain, which was too grand to be concealed by a simple wall.
As they approached the entrance, the group was stopped by the guards protecting it,
"Stop! Who are you and what are your objectives here?" asked the one on the right. He was tall and muscular, with tanned skin. He wore clothing very similar to what the group had seen on civilians as they approached the capital.
However, he wore a few additional items: leather sandals and a long skirt with some red feathers. He wore nothing on top except for a cloak with the design of a red mountain on a green background. His weapon was a kind of spear, which was also decorated on the blade with red feathers.
"I've come to speak with Yaxun." said Aegreon without introducing himself.
"Ah, Aegreon! It's been years since your last visit. You may enter, but you know the rules. Who are they?"
"These are Sariel," he said contemptuously. "Raymond and Shiina. As for her..." The Pillar looked at Luna and then continued. "I can't say her name, but she's important and needs to see Yaxun."
"Very well, normally we wouldn't allow this, but we owe you much, Lord Aegreon." the guard said respectfully. "Now, you'll have to prove your worth. Besides important people, only exceptional fighters are allowed in. Please follow me."
The guard led the group outside the city walls while talking a bit about the Kingdom.
"We, of the Scorched Mountain, were one of the most affected during the war with the angels, so everyone here knows how to fight, even traders, women, and children. Fighting was our duty, however, with the end of the war, fighting became a way to have fun, pass the time, and make friends, so only strong people can enter here."
The group continued walking until a large building located outside the walls of the city was revealed. By its shape, it seemed to be some sort of arena, and it was in use now judging by the noise from there.
The arena was all built with gray stones and had a rectangular shape that folded into two semicircles at the ends. Moreover, it was enormous, three hundred meters long and two hundred and fifty meters wide. The reason for its size was quite obvious, the people of the Scorched Mountain loved to fight, so the entire kingdom tried to watch the fights, yet many were left outside.
"Until a few years ago, we didn't even allow diplomats and traders to enter, however, as our customs are different from the rest of the world, we decided to be more tolerant with visits. All of you will have to fight, except the girl for being an important figure and Aegreon, because we already know his power."
"I will fight too."
"Very well, but please, try to restrain your strength a little, Lord Aegreon." the guard requested. "Now, you may enter, I'll take care of your horses and belongings."
The group entered the arena, and everyone, except Luna and Aegreon, headed to a waiting room, where they would wait for their names to be called. The princess and the Pillar were taken to another place, where they would meet with the great Yaxun, king of the Scorched Mountain.
After walking for some time through the corridors, they found themselves in the King's box, with three people in it. Two, despite their attire resembling that of a guard, seemed like servants, while the third was seated on a beautiful brown wooden throne with numerous red feathers decorating it, as well as having rubies embedded in it.
"Long time no see, Yaxun." Aegreon said as he approached the king.
"You! Aegreon! To what do I owe the honor?" The man stood up and greeted the Pillar with exaggerated gestures. He was extremely tall, almost the same height as Aegreon, and equally muscular. His skin was slightly darker, and his eyes were like two beautiful, fiery rubies.
Furthermore, his attire was much more elaborate. He wore a skirt with feathers so long they reached knee height, decorated with gold threads that replicated their shape. He wore a large green cloak with the design of a red mountain with golden outlines, and on his head, he wore a helmet with two large golden horns.
To complete the ensemble, there were hundreds of white feathers on his shoulder pads, helmet, and cloak, almost stealing attention from the red color of his garments.
"I'll speak later, as I'll be fighting soon. I ask that you receive her and take care of her." Aegreon said as he looked at the princess.
"And what would be the name of my illustrious guest?" he asked Luna with a big smile, who kept her gaze low, and her face hidden by the cloak.
In response to Yaxun's question, Aegreon subtly glanced at the servants, so subtly that Luna almost didn't notice.
"Oh, please, leave us alone." he said upon noticing the Pillar's gesture.
"Yes, Your Majesty." they both replied as they left the box.
The Pillar watched them attentively as they left.
"This is Luna, the princess of Fordurn. I suppose you've heard the rumors about her."
The king immediately noticed the princess's eyes. "Yes, I have. Why did you bring her here?" Yaxun's expression instantly darkened, and his voice, which had been relaxed and cheerful, became tense and serious.
"I have a good reason. Keep it a secret."
"Alright." Yaxun was clearly uncomfortable with Luna's presence, however, since it was Aegreon who brought her, he assumed there was a good reason.Parte superior do formulário
"Please, have a seat there." The king pointed to a chair with soft, green cushions that was right next to his seat.
"With pleasure." Luna sat down with a nervous look and began to watch the ongoing fight, and apparently both sides were evenly matched.
Aegreon returned to the room where the rest of the group was, leaving Luna and Yaxun behind. Neither of them initiated a conversation, simply watching the fights.
By the time the Pillar arrived in the room, the first fights had already been arranged. The first to fight would be Raymond, followed by Shiina and then Sariel, with no information about Aegreon.
At that moment, the servants had already explained the rules: no armor, magical artifacts, weapons, or the use of magic were allowed. The entire arena had a Sealing magic, preventing anyone inside from using magic to prevent someone from trying to break the rules, along with a barrier made with Protection magic that would absorb the impact of blows, in case the fighters were strong enough to damage the arena structure.
To finish, it was forbidden to kill or maim the opponent, and anyone who did so would be punished according to the laws of the kingdom, even if the offender was a foreigner.
"Raymond, your fight will be announced soon, be ready." one of the servants said.
"Alright." The bodyguard removed his armor and placed it on a stand in the room. This was the first time in a long time that he had done so.
"An exciting battle! Who could have expected this ending? Unfortunately, this was the last scheduled fight for today!" said a muffled but loud voice coming from a distant place. Then, the sound of several people lamenting in unison could be heard.
"But do not be saddened! I said this was the last scheduled fight, but fate can be unpredictable! We have just received news that a small group of travelers has arrived in our beautiful kingdom, and you know what that means!"
A huge explosion of cheers erupted, making it almost impossible to hear the narrator's voice.
"That's right! More battles are coming!"
"Raymond, it's your time to go." the servant announced.
"Alright."
Raymond didn't linger and walked into the arena. The cheers of the people became increasingly deafening and enthusiastic, accompanied by the sound of clapping and rhythmic beats.
"So, let's give a warm welcome to the next combatant! RAYMOND OF FORDURN."
A huge commotion ensued, making it inaudible for Raymond to even hear his own thoughts. Everyone was shouting at the same time, calling out either the bodyguard's name or that of his opponent, and the ground seemed to tremble as if only their voices were powerful enough to make the earth vibrate.
Raymond stepped onto the field with his face slightly contorted due to the uproar.
His opponent was already on the field, and he looked like an ordinary guard, with a genuine expression of happiness on his face and unable to stand still.
"The first fight is about to start! BEGIN!"
His opponent wasted no time and quickly advanced towards him. As soon as he reached melee range, he attacked with a right hook, but the bodyguard grabbed his hand with immense force, completely stopping the blow.
The man tried to attack with his other arm, but Raymond acted first and swept his opponent's legs, immobilizing him as soon as he touched the ground.
When he tried to break free, he realized it would be impossible and conceded defeat: "I give up!"
"THE WINNER IS RAYMOND OF FORDURN!"
Raymond released his opponent, and they shook hands.
"It's the first fight and someone as strong as you have already shown up, I feel sorry for my comrades, haha!" he said with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, I'm flattered by the compliment." Raymond replied.
The crowd greeted Raymond's victory by chanting his name and applauding him. He didn't stay long in the arena and returned to the waiting room as soon as possible.
Luna watched everything with surprise on her face. She knew her bodyguard was strong, but she had never seen him in action in a real fight before.
"Wow... He defeated him so easily..." exclaimed the princess. She said this more to herself than to Yaxun, but the king ignored the comment and remained silent.
"The next participant is Shiina, THE FAMOUS REAPER FOX!"
"Urgh, did they really have to use that name?" Shiina thought as she entered the arena.
Looking at her opponent, she noticed a man who looked very similar to Raymond's opponent, also quite excited for the battle. "They're really testing our power, huh? Well, so be it."
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Shiina darted towards her opponent like lightning and positioned herself behind him, his rear completely vulnerable. She then attacked numerous times with impressive speed, knocking her opponent down seconds into the battle.
"AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY FOR SHIINA!"
"Easy." she said disdainfully, then walked back to her room without caring about her fallen opponent, eliciting some boos of discontent from the people who saw it as unsportsmanlike behavior.
"That was impressive! It's been a while since I've seen someone so fast," commented Yaxun. "Too bad this girl is a bit rude."
"If she's that fast... then how fast is Sariel?" Luna whispered to herself.
Yaxun observed the princess in silence, about to ask something when he was interrupted by the announcer.
"And the next participant is Sariel of Eribur!"
The traveler walked slowly into the arena as he observed his opponent, this time a muscular woman with dark hair tied in a ponytail. Her attire was long and green, much like the feathers on her helmet, which had about a dozen, with only one of them being white.
"Oh? They sent her out right at the beginning? Interesting..." Yaxun commented.
The traveler walked a little further before stopping and observing his opponent. She evaluated him for a few seconds.
"You seem strong, don't take it easy on me just because I'm a woman, okay?"
"I appreciate the compliment, and don't worry, I'll fight properly, miss...?"
"Itotia."
"Pleasured to meet you."
The warrior smiled and took up a slightly different battle stance than the previous fighters, while Sariel simply maintained his relaxed posture.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Itotia watched her opponent closely, attentive to the slightest movement, as she believed it would be a difficult fight, considering his behavior and the previous battles.
However, the moment she blinked, the traveler disappeared from where he was standing, leaving her confused and trying to understand what had happened. Before she even had time to think about looking back, she felt something touch her left shoulder.
"I'm here."
She looked at her shoulder and noticed a hand on it, and turning her face more, she saw Sariel casually smiling, despite feeling a terrible pressure from him.
"What? How?!" Itotia was so surprised that she didn't even think to attack.
At the same time, all the commotion from the audience had disappeared, replaced by some muffled conversations and people wondering what had happened.
"Well, I believe there's no need for this fight to continue," he said, looking at his opponent.
"Y-Yes, you're right..." Itotia agreed, feeling for the first time that she would rather avoid a fight.
Sariel turned his gaze to a specific spot in the audience and asked, "Did you hear that, announcer?"
"Ah... The victory goes to Sariel of Eribur." he announced with little enthusiasm.
The people timidly applauded the victor; it was such a quick victory that they were disappointed with the outcome.
"Well, it was a pleasure. I hope we can get to know each other better once we're inside." the traveler bid farewell to Itotia, who wasn't indignant despite being defeated without even having fought.
"Hmm, he's fast... even faster than that girl... I'd like to fight him," Yaxun observed Sariel intently as he walked back to the waiting room.
Luna watched the traveler with her eyes, who somehow spotted her in the box and still waved to her. The princess merely raised her hand in response.
"I knew he was strong, but I didn't even see him move..."
"Why are you impressed? You're an angel." the king said with some irritation.
"But I don't fight."
"Hmm, that's a relief, otherwise I'm sure I'd be fighting for my life right now."
"I..."
"And now for the second round of our visitors! Let's welcome once again RAYMOND OF FORDURN."
Raymond entered the field again, and his opponent this time was also a woman wearing red clothes.
"And a small announcement before this battle begins! As everyone knows, the one who wins the tournament receives the honor of fighting against our great king Yaxun. However, today will be different, as we have a special guest who will be revealed at the end!"
"Special guest, this must be Aegreon, right?" Luna asked.
"Yes, after all, Aegreon is stronger than me, so he would win all the battles, it would be boring. And it will be interesting to see him fighting against one of them in that arena, who knows if he won't fight against Sariel, I'd like to see how strong he is."
"NOW, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
From this moment on, all the battles of the second round were the same, with all three participants defeating their opponents with ease.
They all advanced relentlessly through the second and third rounds, until the organizers realized that those foreigners were special and decided to make their battles harder.
Raymond had just won his opponent when the announcer made an announcement: "Another battle won by Raymond! We can already see that they are all exceptional warriors, so what do you think about a fight between themselves?"
The people cheered excitedly, clamoring for a fight between the visitors.
"YES! I see you're excited about this, so enjoy the next battle! RAYMOND VERSUS SHIINA!"
The bodyguard remained in the arena as he awaited the assassin to approach. Although she was without her mask, it was impossible to know what she was thinking.
"It seems they finally realized our worth, huh?" Shiina said as she walked.
"Hm."
"Well, it's just a showcase fight, so no hard feelings, right?"
"It will be a good opportunity to show you that you shouldn't try anything with..."
"Forget it, you're worrying about the wrong person, you should keep an eye on Sariel, not me."
"You're mistaken, I'm keeping an eye on all of you, not just him or you."
"Believe me, "he" is a good person despite appearances, but I can't say the same about Sariel, he's cunning and you know it."
Raymond remained silent as he thought carefully. At first, he thought they were all together, however, recent events and Shiina's suspicion suggested otherwise.
This only made the situation more difficult to analyze, as it was impossible to know which side had good intentions, not to mention that both could have malicious objectives that clashed.
They both remained silent as they waited until the start of the battle was suddenly authorized.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
Shiina advanced and in just one second was already in close combat with Raymond. The sudden announcement caught the bodyguard off guard, who tried to punch his opponent out of surprise.
However, this proved to be a mistake.
As the attack was sudden, Raymond ended up attacking reflexively and left himself open, allowing a deadly assassin access to his weak points. Shiina seized her chance and landed two punches beneath his lungs, hitting the diaphragms and causing him to lose all his air.
Next, the assassin applied a rear naked choke to prevent him from recovering his breath. Raymond tried to break free, but his strength was diminished since he couldn't draw in air.
Then, Shiina brought the bodyguard down and immobilized him with her legs.
With that, an intense struggle of endurance began, with Shiina trying to choke Raymond unconscious, and him trying to break free. Despite focusing on speed, the assassin had physical strength superior to many, and it was because of this that the bodyguard had not yet freed himself.
Raymond, who was at a disadvantage initially, slowly managed to loosen Shiina's hold a bit, but failed to break free completely. He exerted himself so much that the veins in his arms and face bulged and seemed like they would burst at any moment.
Both remained on the ground throughout this confrontation. The people of the Scorched Mountain were divided, with some rooting for Shiina and others for Raymond. However, the majority cheered for the bodyguard due to the mockery the assassin displayed in her fights.
The match seemed to last an eternity, as everyone screamed like mad.
Until Raymond's vision finally began to darken, and his consciousness faded away.
"Whew..." Shiina sighed as she released the bodyguard and sprawled out on the ground.
"AND THE VICTORY GOES TO SHIINA!"
The crowd erupted into deafening cheers and applause. Although it was a quick battle, it was the most thrilling of the day - and probably of the past few months.
Shiina smiled and was tired, as Raymond had resisted much more than she had anticipated, so it was a victory to be proud of. In this situation, unable to use magic, she was at a complete disadvantage and yet she won.
After catching her breath, she turned to the still unconscious bodyguard and slapped his face a few times. "Hey! Wake up, big guy."
Raymond woke up in a start and tried to attack Shiina, who effortlessly dodged. When he heard the cheers, he quickly realized what had happened and stopped his attacks.
"You fought well." said the still panting assassin as she extended her hand to him.
The bodyguard hesitated. He felt frustrated for losing but knew that the blame for losing was entirely his, so he returned the gesture. "You too."
"Hm, shall we?" Shiina, pointed to the exit.
"Yes."
They both exited the arena together, accompanied by euphoric cheers.