Echoes of Fire and Shadows
Chapter 62: Battle Junkies and the Thoughts of the Strongest.
I didn't take my eyes off the wolfkin Felicia, whose martial prowess was equal to my own. Or rather, I didn't have the luxury to do it…
The tall wolfkin girl who was around 1.76 meters tall and seemed to be around fifteen years of age was still more than willing to fight me. I couldn't see anything but her instinctive will to fight in those red eyes of hers that stared deep into my soul. Her long blue hair fluttered in the wind while her tail was hidden behind her back… Her canine-like ears remained vigilant in order to catch any potential attack coming from me.
Just like me, she was wearing little to no armor over her uniform. It was obvious that neither of us wished to be burdened by something as heavy as armor. It was obvious that she was confident about her defense just as I was.
Her punches and kicks were more than enough to take down a tree in a single strike and her long claws were certainly capable of gutting a man within seconds.
Even when I had hit three of her pressure points in her back, sealed some of her mana, and even hit her with my powerful storm of ice shards, she was still moving as if nothing had happened to her, to begin with.
That and combined with her beastly instincts made her a very fearsome foe… Felicia was truly a force to be reckoned with.
"Aren't you going to use [Shadow Step] again!? You're going to lose if you underestimate me!" Felicia shouted as she lunged at me and aimed her claws at my neck once more.
Against an unsuspecting opponent, I might have done it without a second thought… However, against Felicia…
"Why would I do the exact thing you're expecting me to do? The moment I do it, those claws of yours would rip my neck apart." I said in an easygoing tone even though I had barely dodged Felicia's attack. "Not like you were going to give me the chance to use [Shadow Step] to begin with…" I said as I jumped backward in an attempt to make some distance between us.
"Aren't you a clever one?" Felicia said with a fearless smile on her face as she followed me, not giving me the chance to escape from her reach.
Seriously, what a fearsome opponent… It was a good move to take down her companions beforehand… It would have been dangerous if I hadn't defeated them with my spell. I'm very fortunate that only Felicia survived that icy hellish storm.
It is not like I'm not confident that I would be unable to win against her and her group, it is just that things would have been more messy and troublesome than necessary.
"I do like to think that I'm clever, yes." I replied playfully after deflecting one of her attacks. I immediately followed that parry with a counterattack.
"Gugh…" Felicia groaned in pain as I managed to hit her with my open palm right in the stomach. "You little…!" Instead of falling unconscious or falling into confusion thanks to my sudden attack, Felicia became enraged.
I once again tried to jump back to gain some distance from her, but she was already one step ahead of me… Quite literally…
Felicia's speed had increased considerably, so much so that when she jumped at me and aimed her claws at me again, I was barely able to dodge it by a hair's breadth… I was forced to use magic to keep up with her.
Her onslaught began once again as she continued to launch attack after attack with those sharp claws of hers, attacks that I was able to dodge thanks to my magic…
It appears that I might have been underestimating her all this time… This might be bad… That is what I would have said before fighting Rexon and the Band of the Warhawk, though. Everything is still under control.
Felicia might be way stronger than she made herself to be before, but I'm confident that I could take her down at this very moment in an instant, I still have plenty of trump cards for that purpose, but…
I cannot bring myself to do so…
I was having a blast fighting against Felicia. My entire body brimmed with excitement the more I dodged her attacks. A powerful sense of satisfaction overtook me after finding such an opponent…
"Do you only know how to dodge!? C'mon! Come at me and show me what you got, o mighty soon of the Skull Crusher!" Felicia smiled as she continued her flurry of attacks.
"I know much more than that, my lady. I'll show you what I can do, but there's no need for you to be in a rush, my lady. We should just enjoy ourselves in this duel." I said to Felicia as I started to parry each of her attacks instead of dodging them.
I was overjoyed just by the possibility of having such a thrilling battle. Even while I was deflecting all of my opponent's attacks, I couldn't help but smile due to the excitement that was taking over me. But I was not the only one who felt thrilled about this encounter… Soon enough a wide smile appeared on Felicia's face as well.
"Then show me! Do not think that I will keep holding back for even a single moment!" While Felicia kept attacking me in quite a wild yet spectacular manner, a powerful aura started to pour out of every pore of her body.
She was using [Fighting Spirit], but that wasn't all the magic she was using… Right after that explosion of aura, the muscles in Felicia's arms and legs started twitching as they became bigger in size… It was a body reinforcement spell, something that Felicia was planning to use to take me down for good.
"What do you think of this!? Do you think you can keep up that unconcerned look on your face after this!?" Felicia's smile grew wider as the number of attacks she unleashed on me grew more and more.
From above, from below, from the sides, toward the neck, toward my stomach, toward my kidney, toward my arms, toward my legs… Not a single part of my body was safe from her rampage…
As a natural consequence of her increasing her power and speed in her attacks due to her [Fighting Spirit] combined with quite a few body reinforcement spells, I was forced to use my own aura to protect myself from her continuous flurry of blows…
However, instead of a wild explosion of aura like it happened with Felicia, I decided to use mine in a more controlled manner. I immediately covered my body in a thin layer of my aura, only using more of it when needed and on the specific parts of my body that she decided to attack.
"Don't worry about me, I can still go on." I said to her as I gathered my aura and mana on both hands and deflected an attack aimed at my left leg. "What will you do about this!?" I shouted as I again used both of my hands and mana, this time shooting my aura in a very similar way as a certain alien with a monkey's tail who’s a master in martial arts would do.
Felicia was unable to dodge my aura attack in time and thus was hit right below her stomach. As a result, she was sent flying backward, but I knew that did that on purpose. She used the power of my attack to put some distance between us. The noble wolfkin girl landed on all fours as if nothing had happened to her in the first place.
Felicia simply stared at me in the same manner a wild beast would when looking at its prey. I could only see the look of pure satisfaction she had on her face as she licked the blood she had on her lips.
Damn… She's very persistent… She's definitely going to be hard to take down… I might need to use one of my trump cards…
At best, I might be able to get away with only using [Fighting Spirit] and at worst, I might need to use Dying Scarlet or use quite a lot of my mana with some of my spells…
What a predicament…
"A fine attack, I must say." Felicia smiled once more while looking at me. "But this can't be all the strength you have, is it?" She asked with a confident expression.
“You got me there.” I smiled at her as I changed my battle stance to focus more on the offensive. “You too seem to be holding back a bit as well, aren’t you?” I asked as infused my fists and feet with the power of the wind element. I was going to use Haki in order to wind against her.
“You saw right through me… As expected of the son of the Skull Crusher.” Felicia said with a bit of admiration in her voice. “I have to admit that I didn’t expect you to be able to conjure such a powerful spell capable of almost taking me down and eliminating all of my companions… I clearly underestimated you and I almost paid dearly for it. So I encourage you to not make the same mistake about me.” Felicia soon took a stance similar to mine. She was also about to go onto the offensive.
“Believe me, you have already shown me that you’re an opponent that I cannot afford to underestimate, Felicia. So I will be doing whatever I can to defeat you.” I said with confidence as I watched out for any potential attacks from my opponent.
“Same here. I will not be defeated like my father. I will not suffer the same humiliation he suffered at the hands of both of your adoptive parents, so you better prepare yourself! I’m sorry to inform you that this is where your participation ends!” Felicia once again leaped at me at an incredible speed intending to rip my neck apart with her claws.
“We’ll see about that!” I replied as I dashed to meet her in battle once more.
The only thing louder than our attacks clashing against one another were the cheers of the masses that were witnessing our duel.
-----??? POV-----
“It is about time we start moving as well, don’t you agree?” I said to my companion, the person who was known to be the strongest person in the Blaise Academy.
“...” My companion did not react to my words. It was nothing out of the ordinary for me or pretty much everyone for that matter to receive the silent treatment from him. However, this time was different from the rest… This time, he was actually distracted by something.
The man who was standing by my side and looking above to the spheres that showed what was going on in the other coliseums was no one other than Midnight Starlight, the strongest person in our generation as well as the son of the current headmistress, Alberis Bertran Nebandia.
At a first glance, Alberis doesn’t seem particularly strong, in fact, his physique might seem delicate and fragile to some and just really skinny to others, however, one cannot judge a book by its cover since I have stated before, Alberis is the strongest in the academy by far.
The man beside me who has short red hair and is just about the same height as me, around 1.80 meters tall, a man who always has a cold and aloof expression on his face and always behaves in a logical manner, is the strongest that our generation has to offer.
That is an undeniable truth.
There’s no doubt in my mind of the fact that such a man, who only brought his sword and no armor whatsoever to this competition, will win this tournament and stand at the top above all of us where he belongs. The man who once saved my life and became my friend and the person I admire the most will effortlessly achieve that.
There’s nothing that could convince me otherwise.
After all, ever since I met him, no one, not even the Crown Princess, the future ruler of our country and the direct descendant of the Hero Rokkshar have been able to defeat him once… In other words, such a man is unbeatable.
“Does he interest you? The adopted son of the Skull Crusher, I mean?” I asked Alberis.
He was absentmindedly looking at the images shown above us… His pale blue eyes were so fixated on those images that he replied with just a nod.
“Hmm… I can see why. He has some incredible footwork, better than most people our age actually. I cannot find any visible gaps on his guard as of now, and it seems he’s holding back quite a lot, even more so than Felicia of House Gradisia was doing just moments ago.” I said as I fixed my glasses and dusted my uniform.
“I agree.” He gave a short answer as his eyes focused again on the young brown-haired boy who was fighting in hand-to-hand combat with one of the few students that have managed to keep up with Alberis in the past.
“In terms of strength, I think he might be around the level of Her Highness, Marina. It is too early to tell accurately, but the fact that he has eliminated so many people right in just a few minutes serves as clear evidence of that.” I expressed my interest while rubbing my chin. “As much as it pains me to say it, Felicia does not seem to stand a chance. The boy is way too fast for her… That abnormal speed already makes him a huge threat.” My interest soon turned into worry.
Felicia of House Gradisia is known as the most skilled when it comes to hand-to-hand combat amongst seniors, as well as one of the fastest students in the academy after Alberis and Her Highness… The fact that she’s so close to losing in the preliminaries is deeply concerning…
Still, It is doubtful that the boy could pose a threat to Alberis, but against me who is a mage, it is an entirely different story… If the two of us were to fight, it would be extremely difficult for me to land a single spell on him in a conventional way…
“It is not his speed that makes me concerned… There’s something deeper behind him. Something that none of us are able to grasp yet… Yes, it is impressive the way he has managed to eliminate that many students in such a clean manner, and his speed is something that is worthy of praise, but that’s not all there is to him… He’s dangerous… Perhaps the most dangerous person out of everyone here.” For the first time in a while, Alberis shared his deeper thoughts with me. “I know it should go without saying, but don’t take him lightly, Renard. A dragon that is yet to bare its fangs is the most dangerous creature of all.” Alberis’s eyes never stopped watching the brown-haired boy, not even for a moment even as he warned me of the danger that lurked beneath the adoptive son of the Skull Crusher.
“Naturally, my friend. I am honored that you’re worried about my well-being.” I bowed to my savior despite the fact that I was above Alberis in terms of social status.
“Hm.” He just nodded again.
“In any case, I think that while it may be good to analyze this wild card that has been suddenly placed into the tournament, we should finish this quickly and make sure we are the first people to qualify for the main tournament as we usually do.” I said to my friend as I readied my staff and prepared for battle. “There are not a lot of people worth fighting in this coliseum, so I propose we take care of the small fry quickly.” I fixed my glasses and smiled at my friend.
“You’re being impatient, Renard.” Alberis said with disinterest. “It is as precisely as you said, there’s not a lot of people that are worth making me unsheath my blade here, much less making me use my [Evil Eyes of Foresight], so why the rush?” For the first time, Alberis finally looked me in the eyes.
“I suppose you’re right… It is not like everyone will suddenly come and charge at us after what happened the previous years.” I smiled awkwardly in response to his gaze.
“Indeed.” Alberis nodded. “This uncertainty is unpleasant… I cannot stop looking at the child of that person, yet why do I feel a pit in my stomach while watching him…? Why do I feel as if I am staring into a deep abyss…? It almost feels like that abyss might eventually stare back at me if I keep watching him…” Alberis suddenly muttered something as he continued to watch the fight between the special participant and Felicia.
“Alberis? Did you just say something? I couldn’t quite hear you.” I couldn’t help but look at my friend with concern.
“It must have been the wind, Renard. I said nothing besides indeed.” Alberis shook his head and brushed off my concerns.
“If you say so… Well, if you don’t mind me, I guess I’m really going to do some warm-up and maybe reduce the number of competitors while I’m at it.” I said to my friend before turning around to search for an opponent.
“If you are in such a rush, I won’t stop you. I might join you if I get bored.” Alberis said in a flat and cold tone, just like usual.
So it will be up to me to fight in this phase… I suppose that was to be expected since no one in their right mind would try to fight Alberis this early on unless they have the desire of being disqualified.
Time to show them the might of the heir of the Duke of Caprasania! Even if it is just for a little, I'll show Alberis that he’s not going to leave me behind! I’ll show him just how much I have improved thanks to my training!
"A storm is approaching… This isn't good… This feeling of uncertainty is getting worse…" Alberis muttered something inaudible yet again.
The child of the Skull Crusher is such a mystery… He somehow managed to catch Alberis's interest and make him more talkative than usual…
I better be careful around him just like Alberis said. If someone like Alberis went out of his way to encourage caution, then there’s no doubt that the kid is way more dangerous than he seems…
-----Myria's POV-----
I couldn't help but watch mouth agape the battle that was currently unfolding in front of me…
Felicia of House Gradisia was currently fighting Julius, son of the Skull Crusher and representative of the princesses.
Both were fighting completely unarmed, exchanging punches and kicks at unbelievable speeds… Even when I tried to focus on following their attacks, some of those were blurs that lasted only mere moments before the next attacks would follow.
Even while exchanging attacks, Felicia and Julius didn't stay quiet in a single spot… They were moving so fast that it almost seemed like they were all over the arena, which made the audience scream with excitement due to the thrilling battle unfolding in front of them.
"What should I even do here…? There's no way I can qualify for the main tournament with people like them participating…" I muttered as I carefully watched the battle of the two titans with disbelief. "I know he's keeping up with her, but is this really alright? I know I can't fight like that, but should I really let Julius fight Felicia…? She's the best in the academy when it comes to hand-to-hand combat…" Even though I didn't really have a reason, I still felt immensely worried about the little brown-haired kid…
But… Even if I was worried about him, I knew there was no way for me to interrupt that battle and fight beside him… After all, although I managed to be selected to participate in this phase, I never wanted to enter this tournament in the first place.
It was my father that unilaterally decided that I would participate. All for the sake of improving our house's reputation and prestige. He said that if I won the tournament, our family rank could be raised as well, but I knew that was completely impossible. That became crystal clear the moment the duel between Felicia and Julius began.
As if they had noticed my thoughts, Felicia and Julius crashed a few meters away from me, their powerful punches were constantly producing shockwaves in the wind… Soon those shockwaves stopped as Felicia and Julius suddenly stopped and just stood still in front of each other.
“Are you still holding back against me?” Felicia asked Julius with a serious expression.
“Hmm… I wonder about that.” Julius said playfully. “Are you still trying to hold back as well?” Julius asked.
“I wonder.” Felicia replied in the same playful tone. “We will see if you can keep that playful attitude for long after I’m done with you.” Felicia soon took a battle stance again.
Holding back…? They were holding back…? No way… How could anyone hope to win the tournament with people like them in it? No… Forget about winning, even qualifying for the main tournament seems like a far-fetched idea now…
In response to Felicia’s words, Julius simply smiled and stared at her confidently. Both simply stared at each other in silence before something unexpected happened…
“Now! Bombard them with everything you’ve got!” A guy suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs.
A myriad of spells started to rain upon Felicia and Julius right after the guy’s shouts reached my ears… Felicia and Julius quickly closed the distance between them and turned around, unexpectedly trusting their backs to each other right before the bombardment of spells managed to crash against them.
“Give them no quarter! We must take this chance to eliminate both!” A girl said as she kept shooting enormous fire spells.
“Two for the price of one! What a great opportunity!” A girl looked pleased as she continued to cast water spells to attack.
“With those two out of the way, we actually have a chance to participate in the main tournament!” A guy said as he rock missiles were constantly being fired from his hands toward Felicia and Julius.
<Oh! Are you seeing what I’m seeing!? The battle between Felicia and Julius was interrupted right before it reached its climax! It seems like a high number of participants have decided to join forces to take down both Felicia and Julius at the same time! What will this unlikely duo do about this!? Will they be able to survive these constant attacks from their fellow participants!? Will they be able to turn the tides!? There’s only one way to find out everyone!> The headmistress seemed unbelievably excited as she was narrating the situation to the audience.
Just like the headmistress had said, a high number of students had gathered nearby, close to where Felicia and Julius had been fighting not so long ago… None of them were near me, so I was moderately safe, but I could see all of those students constantly attacking Felicia and Julius with magic…
I was already worried about the brown-haired kid before, but now, I was deeply concerned about his well-being… Despite how strong he may be, there was no way that he could endure such a vicious onslaught…
I couldn’t help but think about Julius and the teasing smile he had shown me before this whole mess had started…
But… What do I even do now? Can I stop this barrage of spells? Can I really do something about this…? Would I really be able to save him and Felicia from those countless spells…?
(Really now? I believe that you already know the answer to that question and what you must do, Myria.) A familiar voice spoke to me in my mind…
This voice… Lady Yraura?
The one who had just talked to me in my mind was no one other than the Goddess of Virtue, Yraura, the goddess I have worshiped for as long as I can remember. Her words felt as if someone had suddenly thrown a bucket of cold water at me.
(Myria, this is not the time to act surprised about my presence. If you're worried about that child, then you must act. It is like I once told you, do not allow hesitation or self-doubt to paralyze that gentle heart of yours.) The goddess spoke with a gentle tone in order to encourage me.
Just like the constant barrage of spells that was launched at Felicia and Julius, Lady Yraura's encouraging words kept echoing in my mind… Those words quickly filled my heart with courage and determination.
However, before I could say anything back to the Goddess, more shouts managed to steal my attention.
“Keep firing! We cannot risk them surviving this! So do not hesitate to use everything you’ve got!” The same guy that gave the initial order shouted once again.
As soon as the guy barked his orders, the rampaging power of the spells became even fiercer than before as they exploded on the place where Felicia and Julius were supposed to be.
(You do not have time to waste answering me, Myria. You just need to move and act according to your beliefs.) The goddess said. (I chose you over anyone else to be my apostle for a reason, Myria. I am convinced that as long as you act following your heart and convictions, you will be victorious no matter what you do. So you must never fret as you are the Apostle of Virtue. MY apostle. Never forget my words as you fight for what you believe, my child. Now go on and show the world your power.) The goddess, as usual, was able to easily motivate and encourage me, right before her presence vanished completely…
However, despite her disappearance, her encouraging words and the courage they provided, remained ingrained into my heart.
Without missing a beat after the goddess vanished, I stepped forward and raised my staff, channeling all the mana I was yet to use since the start of the match, and began to chant as if I was praying to the goddess.
"Oh, divine white wings that encompass the world, bring us your everlasting protection. Oh, breath of the divine that fills us mortals with hope and faith, shower us with your eternal love... For the sake of all that is sacred, please allow your light to bring salvation to this world…!" I felt like my entire body was burning as a huge portion of my mana was gathered into my staff. "[Sacred Shield]!" I shouted with all my being before bringing my staff to the ground. As soon as the tip of the staff touched the ground, a blinding white light was released, leaving me unable to see for a few moments.
As soon as I recovered my ability to see, a relieved smile appeared on my face as I was welcomed by the sight of a small dome made of light deflecting all the spells that were once aimed at Felicia and Julius.
Despite my intervention, however, a cloud of smoke remained within the barrier, thus making it impossible for me to see the people I tried to protect…
I did it, didn't I? Was I able to save them? Please Goddess tell me that they are alright…
I couldn't help but pray to the goddess for the well-being of those two as I looked at the dome of light… For my efforts not to be in vain…
"Such a powerful barrier… Where did it come from!? I thought we had gathered all the remaining magicians to take those monsters down!" The guy in charge shouted in disbelief.
Most of the attackers were in a similar baffled state while they looked for the one responsible for the barrier that was absorbing their spells, in other words, they were looking for me. It didn’t take too long for them to find me, as I was out in the open…
However…
“Sheesh… Talk about impatient.” A familiar male voice echoed through the arena. “There’s only one thing more rude and unfair than grouping up and attacking without warning, and that is interrupting a duel.” That voice obviously came from within my dome of light.
As the smoke inside my barrier cleared quickly in an ominous manner, everyone looked at the owner of that voice with befuddlement. There was a smaller barrier of light within the one that I made, inside that second barrier both Felicia and Julius stood completely unharmed.
“But alas, life is seldom fair. Don’t you agree, my lady?” Julius spoke to Felicia with a brazen smile while pointing his hand forward, feeding his mana to his own barrier.
I see… He didn’t need my help in the first place… What I did was completely unnecessary…
For a few moments, I couldn’t help but feel like an idiot because of my needless intervention, but it didn’t take long for me to notice the small yet many cracks in Julius’s barrier.
“Are you implying that I’m rude as well? I did attack you just a few minutes ago with a group of my own.” Felicia looked over her shoulder at the small brown-haired kid and frowned.
“I didn’t mean to imply such a thing, my lady.” Julius shook his head as he lowered his hand, his barrier crumbling as soon as stopped receiving his mana. “You and your companions made your presence known in quite a loud way. That was entirely intentional, correct? It was all because you didn’t want to win against me with a sneaky surprise attack, even if you rallied a group against me.” Julius smiled warmly at Felicia.
“How did you…?” Felicia looked at Julius with shock.
“While it might have not been the wisest decision, tactically speaking, I am immensely flattered that your group considered me dangerous enough for you to group up and I also respect the sentiment behind making your presence known to me before attacking, Felicia.” Julius ignored her question and smirked before looking forward at the enemy who was still dumbfounded. “But leaving the past aside for the time being, what about a temporary truce? I was having a lot of fun in our duel, so I am not thrilled in the slightest that we were interrupted. What do you say if we take care of these shameless individuals before we continue our battle?” Julius spoke to the wolfkin behind him in a confident manner.
Even though there was not a single hint of anger in his voice, I somehow felt a chill down my spine as soon as I heard him asking that question…
“Hmm… I suppose I can take these guys down before I defeat you, son of the Skull Crusher.” Said Felicia after recovering from her shock. “So I suppose I can agree to this temporary truce… But do not doubt that the moment we are done with them, our battle will be resumed no matter what.” Felicia nodded before she started to look at the enemies around her and Julius.
“Seems fair enough to me, my lady. Until then, I will trust my back to you.” Julius said with that huge confident smile that still remained on his face.
I couldn’t help but be amazed by him… How could a person be so confident? Even after withstanding such punishment and without my intervention, his barrier would have been able to endure for longer… Is it because of that strength of his that he is so confident? That cannot be all that there is to him… Strength cannot simply be the source of such confidence…
How laughable… To think that the goddess herself came to motivate me and yet I still cannot feel confident in the slightest… I tried my hardest thinking that I would save Julius and in the end, my efforts were completely unnecessary… Is it really fine for someone like me to be the apostle of the Goddess of Virtue?
As those thoughts ran through my mind, my barrier soon disappeared in the same way Julius’s barrier had…
<Oh! What an unexpected development! Felicia and Julius are completely unharmed! Even though they were bombarded by countless spells, they are completely unharmed! And more than that, they look pissed off! They seem so pissed off that they even seem to have formed an unlikely alliance! I don’t know about you, but I would be scared to be down there facing those two after interrupting their duel… Both Felicia and Julius look like they will be out for blood!> The Headmistress narrated Felicia’s and Julius’s survival and their truce in an overly exaggerated manner.
Still, despite her theatrical narration of the events, the cheers from the masses only became louder and louder as they looked at the duo with interest.
“She’s not wrong about that… They should be scared to be down here with me.” Felicia said coldly as she stared at her claws. “I’ll be going then… I’ll take care of everyone on this side of the coliseum, you take care of the other side. I want to continue our fight as soon as possible, so don’t play around with them.” She said to Julius before suddenly leaping at the other participants in front of her.
“Wait! Wait! Wait! It was all a prank! All a pra… AHG…-!” An unfortunate guy was the first to feel Felicia’s wrath.
Soon, screams of terror as well as other kinds of pained shouts started to reverberate across the arena as Felicia showed no mercy to the people who had attacked her and Julius. Many had tried to defend themselves by casting spells, others by using martial arts or their swordsmanship, yet none of them were successful in front of the enraged wolfkin.
“And there she goes…” Julius’s voice suddenly came from behind me.
“What in gods’ green grasslands!? When did you get here!?” I was obviously spooked since I hadn’t even noticed that Julius had moved, much less appeared behind me…
“Sorry, did I surprise you? I don’t want to harm you this time either, so you can relax a little Myria. You seem a little tense.” He said to me casually.
“Don’t do that! Stop appearing behind me so suddenly! It is creepy!” After I recovered from the initial scare, I started swinging my staff in the air with righteous indignation.
“Hahaha… Sorry about that.” He smiled at me while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Still gotta thank you for your help back there. That barrier really helped me out. Thanks, Myria.” He said to me with a genuinely grateful tone.
“Ehh? Why are you thanking me? My intervention was needless, wasn’t it? After all, you already had your own barrier and all…” My righteous fury was only stopped as I started to feel dejected because of my useless actions.
“I wouldn’t say that your help was needless. You really did help me out. You saw it, didn’t you? My barrier was cracking and it was all because I underestimated how hellbent were those guys on eliminating Felicia and me and the power they were willing to put onto their spells… I won’t say that they would have been successful in taking us out even if my barrier had crumbled, but it certainly wouldn’t have been fun in the slightest to receive such a storm of spells…” Julius looked slightly embarrassed while trying to comfort me. “My point is that I owe you for that not happening, so… You really have my gratitude, Myria.” Despite his embarrassment, his smile shone more brightly than ever before.
For a moment, I could just stare at him… A feeling of overpowering warmness filling my chest… For a moment, it almost felt as if everything else in the world had disappeared, leaving just the two of us at the arena…
What is this warmness…? It feels so pleasant… Almost as if I was near Mother… I feel like I’m at home… I could get used to this…
“So, I know it might be a bit much to ask considering that you are not participating willingly in the tournament and the fact that you help me, but what about teaming up with Felicia and me to qualify for the main tournament? How does that sound?” He earnestly asked with the same smile from before.
“Ehh? Me? You want to team up with me?” His words made me snap out of that delusion of solitude. That warmness in my chest still remained despite that…
“Of course I do. That barrier was pretty great and you still seem to have more tricks up your sleeve, don’t you? I also really don’t want to fight with a friend, so what do you say?” Julius offered me a handshake as a sign of his trust.
We are friends already!? When!? I mean how!?
However, before I could even consider accepting his proposal…
“Focus all we have left on the son of Skull Crusher! Do it now! Do it before Felicia has time to get here to help him!” The guy who was commanding the group barked his orders after recovering from the shock of seeing both Felicia and Julius unharmed.
“[Fire Javelins].” Julius quickly moved the hand he had extended to me and pointed at the noble boy who was in command of the group and his underlings, firing his own spell and bombarding them without mercy.
“Cast a barrier! Quick!” The guy screamed in a panic.
“T-T-There’s no time! R-R-Run! Run away as far as you can!” A girl yelled. Fear had quickly taken over her as the hellish projectiles were about to reach her and her group.
Just like her countless shouts came from our other fellow participants as they started to run around in a panic like headless chickens…
Dozens of explosions quickly filled my vision as Julius’s spell managed to hit his enemies. He had inflicted just as much if not more terror than Felicia in just a single move…
“That is just the start of my payback, you hear me!” Julius said as many more of his flamming spears crashed against his enemies without fail. “Sorry about that, Myria. I’ll go and take care of those guys now. Feel free to join me whenever you like. It is also fine if you want to stay here and watch. See ya later.” Julius said to me before he started walking.
Join him whenever I like…
For some reason, those words held a strange allure to them even though I knew he was just talking about teaming up… I felt as if my mind was playing tricks on me…
“Ah, one last thing... I forgot to also thank Lady Virtue for encouraging you to help us. From one apostle to another, can you give her my thanks and tell her that I will be pleased to meet her later?” Before I could dwell any deeper into my thoughts, Julius spoke to me again and said something shocking… “We can talk about the specifics after we are done here, so… Until then, let’s have some fun in the tournament, Myria.” Julius smiled at me one last time before he dashed forward at the enemy. He was gone in the blink of an eye.
I couldn’t help but stare in disbelief at the place where had been just a moment ago…
H-H-How does he know that I can talk to Lady Yraura!? Could it be that he can read minds!? There’s no way he can do that… Right!? RIGHT!?
<Such carnage! I knew it! I knew this would happen! Felicia and Julius are mercilessly dominating the rest of the competition! This unlikely duo is surprisingly a good team! Everyone down at their arena can only cower in fear and run away in the face of their combined might! The students that interrupted their duel were unaware that they had woken up a pair of brutal dragons! We can only pray that those students reflect on their previous actions in the infirmary after their defeat!> The headmistress seemed a little biased on Felicia’s and Julius’s side, but her words held no lie.
I could only stare at the destruction that both Felicia and Julius left behind in their rampage as they hunted down each and every single one of their enemies and the headmistress narrated the events with burning excitement…
Chapter 62: Battle Junkies and the Thoughts of the Strongest.
END
In any case, this was a fun chapter to write, we were finally introduced to Ophelia's son, who is definitely more perceptive than everyone around him, and he does seem to have some history with Fred! I wonder what happened between the two of them... Only time will tell.
Also, we got another surprise apostle here... Such a small world, isn't it? I also wonder what this new goddess is up to. At least the very least it is nothing nefarious as she seems to be very fond of Myria. As I said before, only time will tell.
Demon boy purposely scares a local priestess (Julius and Myria, in case it isn't clear lol) by appearing behind her for the second time:
Myria (and the goddess of virtue) witnessing Felicia's and Julius's rampage:
And lastly, Felicia in her mind after her duel was interrupted:
As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew/NovelAI character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR
I published this earlier than usual because I have some stuff to do at night, so... Buh-bye!
Harem of motals and goddesses had a +1 at the same time. My man julius better hope puberty waits a bit otherwise he will have no free time
My man has to work to pay off that charm of his. He really might need to learn how to turn it off tho.
@GodlyKamui hopefully he learns fast, at this rate he will have a girl for every day of the year lmao
@Sneakv He might need to learn Space-Time Magic if he gets more than that...
I dont trust any god.... even Lia i trust her only 99%.... im still saving 1% doubt
A fair point.
thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for reading!