Duel (Part 2)

The very next morning, I did not exactly wake up with the duel against Cerulle in mind. By the time I had risen, it was already dawn and Vasati was attempting to drag me out of bed for the first time in a while.

“Eira, if you don’t get up, we’re going to be late!”

Vasati urged me to rise by shaking my body multiple times, but I continued to lay in my bed unmoving.

Honestly, I didn’t want to duel with the annoying Prince, but I did want to display my strength to the Royal Council.

“Vasati, I’m getting up now. Stop being so loud.”

We had moved back into our old dorm last night for the first time in years, so we had plenty of our luggage lying in boxes around the floor.

“Vasati, can you give me my amulet? It should be in that box by our dresser.” As I slowly rose from the bed to stretch, I watched Vasati dig through the box until she pulled out aye small silver amulet with an ice stone in the center.

“Eira, where did you get this?” Vasati’s question caused me to pause for a moment before answering.

‘I guess I could tell her about Okami.’

After pondering the thought momentarily, I decided to tell her about it.

“Remember how King Azziros mentioned that I was the reincarnation of a goddess?” The moment I mentioned the word Goddess Vasati’s ears seemed to perk up like a dog.

“Ah, she gave you the amulet. I didn’t know that goddesses gave blessings like that.”

“Well, it’s not a usual thing, but she treats me like her daughter.”

Her gaze faltered slightly after I spoke, and she looked at me with a very puzzled face.

“She sees you as her daughter?”

“Yeah.”

“Do both of you look similar?”

As Vasati asked that question, I almost choked. ‘Do we look similar? We look like the same person!’

“Wow…” Vasati looked at me in awe.

Vasati then walked towards my bed and sat down next to me. I was startled for a moment when she got so close to me, but I quickly recovered, and we sat there in silence for a moment.

Suddenly Vasati turned her face in the direction of mine, and I could see and glimpse of worry in her expression.

“Eira… Cerulle will not fight you fairly. Be prepared for the worst.”

‘What does she mean by that?’ As I pondered about the idea she brought up, I looked outside and the sun was already starting to shine brightly over the city, meaning we were already late.

“Eira, hurry up and get ready!”

Vasati grabbed my hand and dragged me into the bathroom, shutting the door loudly.

“Alright.”

At the pillar of Araxius, everyone was gathered to watch the duel between two young and amazing prodigies. Every General of the Demonshire army was in attendance and the Royal Council did not dare to miss an event of this caliber either.

As Prince Cerulle stood at the center of the giant pillar, everyone sat in wait for Princess Eira to arrive.

“The sun is almost completely up now!”

“Is Princess Eira even going to show up?”

“I figured she would be all bark and no bite.”

As gossip spread throughout the crowd, two people never wavered, Farru and King Azziros.

“All of you quiet down! I guarantee Princess Eira will show up.”

Moments after Azziros addressed the crowd, an ominous aura of dark Mana could be seen by everyone present. The mana was so powerful that it sent shivers down their spines, causing many to look around in alarm.

The dark mana enveloped the ground around Cerulle as he stood by the Pillar, but he managed to jump backward just in time to avoid the gooey aura that seemed to be spitting something out.

“What the hell is that thing?”

The eight generals of Azziros’s army all prepared to combat the unknown creature, but suddenly they caught a glimpse of a young girl wearing a white sundress. The beauty of her sparkling silver eyes was further enhanced by the presence of beautiful white diamonds that adorned her dress.

“Princess Eira is so beautiful!”

“What a beautiful dress!”

As the crowd awed over my stylish entrance and my outfit, I couldn’t help but break into a small grin.

‘Being loved by a nation is kind of fun.’

Vasati pursued my entrance through the dark portal and stood beside me. Vasati was wearing a dress for the first time, and it matched mine. Her sundress was a deep midnight black, made of lightweight minx fabric, which is a wolf-type magic beast. It had two long slits on either side, starting from the hemline and ending at the mid-thigh, which was a beautiful shade of violet.  

Her dress was also covered with dark mana stones which had a violet-colored coating on them. She was so beautiful whenever she chose to dress up that I almost felt like a random bystander in her presence.

“So, you two finally showed up.”

As I whipped my head around toward the voice, I was greeted by Prince Cerulle, wearing a black jacket covering his white undershirt. His long and wide pants were made from Zeonite fur, which was common dressing attire among all the male nobles in Demonshire.

“Let’s just get this over with” I bit my thumb to draw some blood from it.

When Inhumans partake in a duel, they each sacrifice some blood from their own body.

This creates the magic seal of Zolgirak, which will prevent anyone from dying during the battle. This allows the most powerful demons in the kingdom to train together without compromising their lives.

Before Cerulle could follow my action, Vasati kissed me on the cheek.

“I’ll be watching, so make me proud, ok.” Vasati’s cool whisper seemed to echo in my head multiple times before I remembered where I was.

When I turned to where she was previously standing, she had vanished into dust, leaving behind nothing but a few black feathers.

When I turned around, Cerulle had drawn his blood, and as it dripped onto the center of the pillar, a crimson barrier formed around it.  

King Azziros, who sat on a golden throne above the pillar accompanied by Farru and the other Demonshire army generals, announced the duel.

“Prince Cerulle and Princess Eira. You may begin.”

Rokuro-Sama

Quick little authors note here. Many people who read the first volume commented that the pacing was too fast, so in Volume two I've tried to slow down. Is this pace too slow for y'all or is it ok? You can vote on the poll or let me know in the comments.