Having heard and seen the queen's actions from right by her, Hestia had remained quiet thus far. But with the elimination of every candidate and an elimination round's declaration, she couldn't help but ask.
"So the game is rigged, after all?"
"And who exactly does it favor?" Astoria shot back, glancing sideways at the head maid.
Sitting still in her chair, the queen appeared slightly upset at the mere mention of such a thing.
"Being rigged would mean that I'm favoring someone, so tell me, who does it favor to eliminate them all?" At a bit of a standstill, Hestia didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected the queen to become so confrontational, and thus, only after she'd calmed did she even attempt a response.
"Then why?" Pulling Astoria out of her half a dreamy state, Hestia pushed the matter some more.
Turning her head towards the maid completely, the queen glared at her for a spell. Holding her tongue, however, she tried to contain herself. Sitting straight again, she took a deep breath and leaned back into her chair. Tapping a finger at the armrest for about a minute, she heaved a sigh and decided to explain.
"I already know who shall be king, and I will be testing him once he has taken the seat of my late husband," waving her hand in front of her, Astoria created a golden illusion with the faces of each candidate reflected within. "Waallian, Runner, Kanna, Kukei, and Sola…None of them are fit, and one way or the other, they have lost already. Leaving just Wolf and William. Had someone competent taken part, I would've allowed the events to continue, but with a war at hand, we can't afford to waste a second."
"A war?" Frowning at the queen's words, Hestia grew a bit concerned.
As far as she knew, all wars against rival islands were either at a standstill or concluded in Aestonia's favor. Yet as Astoria gave her a sideways glance, the head maid knew that something had gone wrong and that too between the time the events started and now.
"A whisperer told me that Leviathan has been stolen," slowly turning her attention back to the front, Astoria crossed her legs and rested her head against the chair. Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath and sighed. "I need a king to take hold already, or that beast will turn every island we own into rubble."
In her many years as the head maid, Hestia had never heard a king or queen mention the annihilation of their territories in such a casual tone. It was indicative of either extreme overconfidence or the absolute knowledge of what would come in the future.
"Have you had a vision about this, Your Highness?" She asked, a bead of sweat trailing down her temples.
"Hmm?" Leaning forward and placing her hands on her knees, Astoria's eyes wandered to the ground for a moment. "Why do you even ask such a question knowing that I can't tell you until the events of my visions have already come to pass?"
"Did one of the whisperers inform you? I didn't even sense their presence." Changing the topic, she tried to find out how she knew that Leviathan had been stolen while she was sitting right next to her.
"Would be a bad whisperer if you did notice, now wouldn't they?" Astoria replied, and with that, she pulled herself out of the chair and ended the conversation.
Walking towards the window, she would announce the first of the many battles. Pitting Runner against Waallian, she wanted at least one of them to forfeit, and sure enough, it wouldn't be the beastman. Hoping the boy wasn't too stubborn, she returned to her chair. But as both the opponents came to the arena, Astoria was left surprised that Runner hadn't given up the moment he'd walked in.
Looking at his group of friends sitting at the very edge of the coliseum, the boy was met with cheers and the gentle smile of a faunan girl. Her furry bear claws waved at him from a distance, and a gentle smile rested on her human lips. The two have had a crush on each other, and after hearing that Runner had taken part in the competition, she'd come running to watch him.
'Why is she here?!' Masking his fear behind an awkward smile, he waved back at her. Staring at her for a moment, his heart calmed a little. But then, without warning, Waallian began charging at him.
The battle had yet to officially start, and yet, striking Runner with his skull, the beastman sent him flying against the arena's walls.
"AUGHH!" Hitting the wall with enough force to crack it, Runner's mouth got bloodied, with every fibre of his being aching tremendously. Through muddied vision, he lifted his gaze. Noticing Waallian getting ready to charge at him again, he knew that it was already over.
Bleeding from the head and mouth, his eyes lifted to the same corner of the coliseum as before, and despite his vision being hazy, he noticed a glint of a tear from far above. Turning his head right back to Waallian, he also noticed Astoria in his peripherals, walking up to the window to possibly stop the aggressor.
Ignoring her, however, he placed a hand on his chest and whispered.
"Status boost: Agility, Status boost: Agility, Status boost: Agility…" A glimmer of green light was emitted through his palm and was absorbed by his chest. Expending every bit of his mana, the youngster picked himself up, and although his body was teetering at the end of his health, he looked head-on at the charging beast. "BRING IT ON YOU BASTARD!"
Grabbing his sword from the back, the Akram knight leapt forward. Cackling at the approaching youngster, Waallian lowered his head to pike Runner's stomach and then raise his body upwards. But to his surprise, Runner cast a physical skill while inches from his head.
"TRUE STRIKE!" And with that, the next thing Waallian knew, his head crashed into the same wall he'd sent Runner flying. Pulling his head out, he quickly turned unbothered and started looking for the boy. Standing in the middle of the arena, panting and bleeding, Runner could only loosely hold his sword.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Waallian howled, but Runner didn't have to answer as blood began pouring down the beastman's skull. Reaching up for his horns, his eyes widened with terror, for the crown of his head was gone–those striking bull horns.
Looking around as his head was drenched more and more with blood, he found them lying in the dirt, along with a thin layer of skin that was once attached to his skull.
"H-how?!" Baffled that a young boy could do such a thing to him, Waallian turned his attention back to Runner.
Smiling weakly with his sword raised high, it was obvious that not much steam was left within Runner. And how did he decide to use it? The same way he was taught as any other Aestonian knight.
"F-FOR AESTONIA!! FOR MOTHER M-MA-MA-dia…" Barely completing his chant, his body fell to the ground.
Watching him lying on the floor, barely clinging to life, Waallian knew that Runner had lost, and despite that, the crowd erupted in cheers louder than for anyone thus far. The spirit of an Aestonian, nothing was more sacred for the people than that.
'He fought well for such a young boy…' Witnessing it happen in a matter of seconds from her window, Astoria was quite impressed as she raised her sceptre to announce the victor.
"Waallian wins the first round!"
Note: Stats in Author's Words.