"No magic stones?"
"Yeah, they must've just started moving. Not a single one." Kamito reported.
"Tch, the first team we hit is a bunch of useless nobodies?" Claire said, arms crossed, visibly annoyed atop the Somersault Cloud.
She'd waited eagerly for dozens of minutes, scanning for targets. When they finally spotted a team, they launched an aerial assault. Rinslet opened with a long-range Magic Ice Barrage, detonating ice flowers for the first strike. Claire and Ellis followed with a fire-wind spirit magic combo, unleashing a firestorm to scatter the enemy. Rinslet pinned down their main fighter with ranged attacks, allowing Kamito to slip in, taking out stragglers before finishing the leader.
The attack flowed perfectly, but they gained nothing.
"These guys had been at it for hours and didn't even look for magic stones? Were they just wandering around?" Claire fumed.
"I doubt they'll be hunting stones anytime soon. That surprise attack left them in no shape to fight this year." Fianna quipped.
"True. We didn't go all-out, but those injuries will drain their divine energy. They won't summon spirits today." Ellis added.
"Besides, magic stones aren't our goal. It's the first day, there's plenty out there. We're here to test our strength, not chase points." Rinslet said, uninterested in stones. The battle lasted less than twenty seconds, proving their team's overwhelming power. She was eager to keep crushing weaklings.
"Yeah, after today, it's all over anyway." Kamito agreed.
Despite Altair's repeated assurances, Claire fixated on magic stones, points meant finals qualification, and old habits died hard.
"Alright, let's find the next team." Rinslet said, winking at Altair, who lounged with Est in his arms.
"Lord Altair."
"Got it." He said, guiding the Somersault Cloud forward.
The Holy Spirit Knights, who should've placed second in the preliminaries, were wiped out. They didn't die, thanks to the Elemental Spirit World's protective mechanisms, which prevented fatalities unless someone deliberately killed. In the preliminaries, such recklessness was rare, angering the Spirit Kings in their domain was unwise.
But beneath the surface, darker motives lurked. The Holy Spirit Knights, for instance, were tasked with killing Restia. Unfortunately for them, they ran into Rinslet's team, who unleashed a full-on blitz, annihilating them at level one.
Under Altair's control, the Somersault Cloud soared again, scouring Megidoa for targets.
Compared to teams creeping cautiously on the ground, the cloud's aerial vantage was unmatched. In this era of melee combat, ground units facing an air platform were outclassed. Even without descending, the team could rain attacks from above, wiping out foes unless they were impossibly durable.
The Holy Spirit Knights were among the stronger teams Rinslet faced, but even they panicked under the sudden air raid. The team's perfectly chained skills left no room for resistance, though their captain lasted a few seconds against Kamito.
Subsequent teams didn't fare as well.
Most were crushed from the air without Kamito's intervention. Fianna's holy knight spirit, Georgios, took the spotlight instead.
In one day, they obliterated eight teams.
Eight might sound modest, but with each nation fielding three teams, Dracunia Dragon Duchy, Holy Lucia Kingdom, Areishia Empire, Alfast Holy State, Rossvale Duchy, Quina Empire, plus smaller nations, the total was barely over twenty teams.
Megidoa's vast battlefield made finding opponents a matter of time and luck. Some teams hid in the forests, biding their time for later strikes. Finding eight teams in a single day was remarkably fortunate.
A third of the competition fell to them.
To hunt those eight, Rinslet's team skipped meals, peering over the Somersault Cloud's edge, scanning for targets. As noon passed and dusk loomed, their urgency grew, fearing they hadn't crushed enough weaklings.
After toppling the eighth team, the sun finally set.
Staring at the horizon's fading sliver of sun, they reluctantly stopped, sprawling on the cloud, panting and kicking their legs.
"Ugh, why can't we find more? Where are these guys hiding?" Claire groaned.
"Seriously! We searched so many places, but not one more team. They're too good at hiding." Ellis added.
"Exactly. Forests are the worst. Rampaging spirits, sneaky teams, all hiding in there. I just want to burn it all down!" Fianna chimed in.
Claire, Ellis, and Fianna lay side by side, kicking their legs and griping in unison.
"Time flew too fast. How's it already night?" Claire whined.
"You three, always complaining. Beating eight teams in one day proves we're unstoppable. Finding more wouldn't change that." Rinslet said, sitting beside Altair, nestled in his arms, rolling her eyes at them.
Unlike Claire's trio, Rinslet was calm. She'd spent the day sniping from afar, reveling in the thrill. Her magic was nearly depleted, though Altair could recharge her instantly. But with everyone watching, she was too shy, back at the academy, recharging happened privately in their dorm, sometimes with Est watching. Here, she let it slide, content with her day's victories.
"Besides, you've fought all day. Aren't you hungry?" Rinslet asked.
"Oh, right. We haven't eaten all day. I'm starving." Claire realized, her stomach growling. Kamito, who'd been watching over them, chuckled.
"Alright, since you're all hungry, I'll whip up dinner!" Rinslet said, leaping from Altair's embrace. With a wave, Fenrir appeared, spitting out pre-prepared cookware and ingredients.
"Lord Altair, is cooking on the Somersault Cloud okay?"
"No problem. The cloud can handle some heat, flames won't faze it." Altair said. "Plus, the ground's risky. I'm about to clear the field, and you'd get caught in the chaos. Stay up here."
"Got it!" Rinslet said cheerfully, setting up her cooking gear.
"Claire, get Scarlet to light the fire."
"Ellis, have Simorgh block the wind."
"Fianna, let Georgios help carry stuff!"
As the team's head chef, Rinslet fed the whole crew, and when it came to food, everyone followed her lead.
Watching Rinslet direct the spirits to cook, Altair stood, holding Est, and stretched.
"Well, your time's up. Now it's my turn." He said, setting Est down. After lounging with her all day, his shoulders felt stiff.
After a quick stretch, Altair stepped to the cloud's edge, glancing at the sun sinking below the horizon. He turned to Rinslet, busy with her pots.
"Rinslet, how long till dinner's ready?"
"Hmm, I brought everything we need. Like at the academy, about half an hour." She said.
"Thirty minutes, huh." Altair mused. "So, to enjoy my lovely partner's hot, fresh dinner, I need to wrap this up in half an hour?"
Rinslet beamed at his sweet talk, clenching her fists to cheer him on. "Exactly! Lord Altair, you've got this. Your wife will have dinner waiting when you return!"
Altair nodded with a smile, turning back to the horizon. The sun vanished, plunging the sky into the Elemental Spirit World's deep crimson night. Two moons, one large, one small, hung high above.
The first night of the Blade Dance had arrived.
"Time to end this tournament." Altair said.
He stepped off the Somersault Cloud, plummeting toward the dark forest below.
A second later, a massive black dragon surged upward, outpacing the cloud, soaring into the sky.
Its vast wings unfurled, blotting out the moons. Golden dragon eyes gleamed like stars in the night, and its jagged maw parted slightly.
"None shall survive!"
***
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