The Holy Knights, once paragons of strength and righteousness, fell beneath her trickery. A hush fell over the crowd as Sari's victory was near, her success on their first phase of the plan, leaving Marco and the other two royal spectators in awe. The strategy was audacious, reckless even, but Sari had embraced the danger, transforming a desperate gamble into victory.
"Did you two notice anything about Sari and her friends?" Stephen asked, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. "Their power... it felt familiar, almost like a part of the Eclipse family."
"I thought so, too!" Athena agreed, rolling onto her side to better face Marco. "I've been wondering about them for a while. Tell me, what happened to the First Family of the Eclipse Kingdom?"
"Wait," Marco said, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You two aren't seriously suggesting... that they're the long-lost descendants of the First Family, are you?"
"Well, yeah? I mean, the clues are right in front of us, aren't they?" she retorted, her voice a mix of exasperation and confidence.
"Like what?" he challenged.
"They just appeared out of nowhere to compete in the tournament. And their abilities are exactly those of the First Family. What's more, I could feel an immense amount of chakra radiating from them." Her words, delivered with a forceful conviction, were a web of undeniable hints pointing to a shared lineage.
Marco stiffened, a visible shudder running through him. He turned away, the weight of their words settling on his shoulders. He felt a mix of denial and dawning recognition as he processed what they'd said, his brother lost in thought beside him while Athena's gaze bore into his back, watching his reaction. "That's impossible," he whispered, but even to his own head, the denial rang.
Marco is certain, the four people before him belonged to the first family. He felt a shared, silent certainty pass between his companions. How could it be anyone else? The moment he saw Sari, he felt a jolt of recognition. Her face, her very essence, mirrored the tales he'd heard and the portrait he saw of the first family's last princess. And when the first time he saw the amulet she wore, a distant memory, half-buried, clicked into place.
He was just ten years old, playing a frantic game of hide-and-seek with his brothers, Stephen and their oldest brother. He had sneaked into their older brother's room, a place usually off-limits, and in his haste, he stumbled. A small, black jewelry box toppled from a shelf and clattered open on the floor.
From within, a single, brilliant blue amulet spilled out. Little Marco, captivated, picked it up and held it to the light, its faces catching the sun in a way that seemed almost magical.
His older brother found him moments later and, with a panicked look, gently but firmly took the amulet from him. He then explained its significance, his voice hushed and serious. "The last princess of the First Family entrusted this to me," he said, "I have to give it to someone very important to her."
"What did she look like, this princess?" Marco asked, his imagination sparked.
His brother smiled faintly, a sad kind of nostalgia in his eyes. "She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, even when she was so young. But she's gone now. Chaos came for her family, killed them all. They... took the princess because they thought she was the reincarnation of the Goddess of Peace."
A pang of disappointment hit Marco. "If Chaos took her, how did she give you this amulet?"
"She's alive," his brother said, the words a gentle secret as he ruffled Marco's hair. "The princess is still alive."
"So... can the First Family take the throne again?"
His brother smiled and nodded, "And when the time is right, you'll meet her precious one."
Now, years later, Marco was standing face-to-face with the princess's descendants. A sense of unease, of conflict, washed over him. Should he reveal what he knew? The family lore, the sacred trust of the amulet... it all felt so weak.
They weren't ready. He could see it, an unrefined quality about them. They needed to hone their skills, to prepare for a public that would be ruthless in its scrutiny, demanding proof that they were worthy of the throne. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were still so, so weak.
"They are all weak," he said to himself, a flat, bitter statement of fact, a realization that felt like a betrayal of a hope he'd carried since childhood. "They cannot be the heirs of the First Family."
—
After what felt like an eternity, Arthur finally arrived. Sari waited patiently, a sly grin playing on her lips. She knew the Holy Knights had been expecting a grand, coordinated assault on their fortress, a valiant charge from mortals brave enough to face them head-on and reclaim the crown. But they were sorely mistaken. Sari had other plans—she knew she wasn't ready to face the guy with the Laplace magic.
"What took you so long—gGAaahh!" The words were ripped from her throat as Arthur's fist punched her stomach, a sickening thud echoing through the forest, followed by the cawing of the birds as they flew away. The blow sent her flying backward, her body a ragdoll that slammed against a massive oak tree with a bone-jarring crack.
"I won't spare you," he snarled, his voice a low growl as he pointed his sword at her, its tip glinting in the dappled sunlight. "You've easily eliminated my comrades. Their blood is on your hands."
Sari knew that pushing him would get this kind of reaction, and seeing his rage firsthand was terrifying. But she couldn't show it; their plan depended on her staying in control.
"Ohh... Wow," she grinned, wiping the spittle from her chin after the blow forced her to vomit. The taste of blood was a bitter reminder of the danger she was in.
"Prepare yourself to die," Arthur's voice was cold, lethal.
"Hey, wait, wait, wait!" she yelped, limping away from his impending attack.
Arthur didn't listen. "Light Magic: Maximum Horizon Speed!"
A blinding flash erupted from his sword, a ray of pure light aimed directly at her chest. But just as it was about to hit, Sari acted. The world stilled as she froze time, a ripple of distorted air marking her silent movement. She dashed toward Arthur, a blur of motion in the frozen reality, her hand outstretched.
When she allowed time to flow again, she grumbled under her breath, "That's not what I wanted to hit me..." Arthur, shocked by her sudden appearance in front of him and the strange comment.
He thrust his sword forward again. "Light Magic: Multi Light Slash!" A flurry of glowing blades shot from the tip of his weapon, but Sari was a step ahead. She evaded his attacks with frustrating ease, a dance of dodging and weaving, all while she waited for the perfect moment—for the Holy Knight's most massive spell.
The deafening booing of the crowd reverberated through the air, a tidal wave of disgust and rage. They hated what they were seeing, their howls of "Cheater!" and "Coward!" cutting through the battlefield. The spectators couldn't stand the way she fought.
Sari wasn't playing fair, and she knew it. The other three Holy Knights were already out of the fight, eliminated not by her own strength, but by a twisted use of their own powerful magic.
"Light Magic: Bright Star Ignition!" Arthur bellowed, his hands cupped as he formed a gigantic sphere of concentrated light, a miniature sun burning with destructive power.
"Sari, be careful! That's a lot of chakra!" her companion, Clydelle, yelled from the telephatic device.
"I know," Sari replied with a wicked smile, her eyes gleaming. "And that's exactly what I've been waiting for."
With a wicked smile, Sari once again paused the fabric of reality. The world froze, the air growing heavy and still. She grabbed the bewildered Arthur by his collar, dragging his stiff, unmoving body through the temporal void. His own colossal orb of light, a miniature sun of pure destructive power, hung motionless in the air. Sari precisely repositioned Arthur, placing him just a millimeter apart from his own attack. Then, she let time flow once more.
The world rushed back into motion, and the blinding orb of light struck its target. The resulting explosion was a roar of white and gold, a force that ripped the ground apart and left a massive, smoking crater.
"That was surprisingly easy," Sari mumbled to herself, her perplexity evident as she brushed some dust off her shoulder. But when the smoke cleared, her eyes widened in shock. Arthur wasn't there.
"Light Magic: Great Excalibur!" His voice boomed from above, the sound of it echoing through the ravaged landscape.
She looked up and saw him, suspended in the air. A new spell, far more powerful than the last, was forming in his hands. He was confident this attack would finally put the girl in her place.
"You are no match for a Holy Knight with your feeble strength," he declared, the sheer force of his magic causing the very air to crackle as it fell to the ground to hit her.
"Are... are you planning to kill me?!" Sari shrieked, her voice shaking with a genuine fear that startled Arthur.
"How are you still here?!" he exclaimed, his confident stance faltering.
"I can't believe it... I guess I managed to react quickly because of my adrenaline, and that allowed me to escape the explosion; otherwise, I would have died!" She coughed up a mouthful of blood, the pain from his previous attacks finally catching up to her.
"I can't believe it," he repeated, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at her in awe. "How is it possible for a mortal to survive my last blow?"
"Ehh, I think it was my guts..." she shrugged, the casualness of her answer a stark contrast to the severity of her injuries. An awkward silence settled between them, the tension from their fight replaced by a strange, shared confusion.
Finally, Arthur broke the silence. "Can you still fight?" he asked, his voice softer now.
"No—I don't think so, but I'd like to stay here..." she smiled at him, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "You are free to go."
"Alright," he said, and before she could protest, he was at her side, scooping her up into his arms.
"H-hey! I told you I wasn't going to fight—"
Arthur let out a soft chuckle as he gently laid her down under the shade of the nearest tree. "You're amazing," he said, a genuine smile on his face.
Sari felt a blush creep up her cheeks at his unexpected act of kindness. This was not at all how she had expected their battle to end.
As soon as Arthur arrived at the enemy's base, the trap was already set. Frank and Tyler emerged from the shadows, ambushing him, while Clydelle moved in to analyze his movements and assist the two boys to counter his attack. The element of surprise, combined with the fact that Sari had already drained the Holy Knight's chakra, meant their task would be a lot simpler. The true battle had just begun.