The Divine Ritual Institute's maidens never imagined the Blade Dance's seven-day preliminaries would end on the first night.
Most competitors withdrew voluntarily, fleeing the tournament, while a few were carted off with severe injuries. By the end, only one team remained.
Rinslet's team held no magic stones, but with no opponents left, even a single stone would have secured them first place, and they were the only place. With just one team standing, what was the point of continuing? Other teams had either surrendered or been annihilated, leaving no way to proceed.
The bewildered maidens entered Megidoa to inform Rinslet's team of their victory. They found them gathered by a stream, cheerfully eating dinner and chatting, with Rubia lying unconscious nearby. The scene felt bizarrely casual.
It looked less like they'd competed in the Blade Dance and more like they'd come for a picnic.
The maidens could only think: Unbelievable!
But they held their tongues. From the withdrawn competitors, they'd learned of Rinslet's contract with a supremely powerful dragon spirit that had single-handedly eliminated everyone. Facing these carefree girls, the maidens dared not speak out of turn.
After waiting awkwardly for the team to finish eating, they approached to announce the Blade Dance's end and declare Rinslet's team the champions.
There was no need for delays or schemes. Even if the maidens had tricks up their sleeves, they were powerless against that dragon spirit. Banning it wasn't an option, how could they? It had followed the rules perfectly.
As minor functionaries, they couldn't risk offending such a force, especially with Ren Ashbell, the previous Blade Dance champion, among the team's ranks.
Thus, Rinslet's team became the champions of this Blade Dance.
The news spread swiftly across the continent: the Blade Dance ended on its first day, with a champion crowned. Nations were stunned, especially those with hidden agendas, left reeling.
That was too fast! Wasn't it supposed to last ten days? We were still preparing, and now it's over? What do we do with our plans?
Regardless of the scheming nations' reactions, Rinslet's team, now champions, rested happily under the Divine Ritual Institute's care. The next morning, the maidens woke them early to prepare for a ritual bath, after which they would enter the audience hall to meet the Spirit Kings.
Due to Kamito's male presence, the team had to bathe in shifts.
While Rinslet and the girls underwent their ritual, Altair seized the chance to slip away with Est, heading to the audience hall to scout the Spirit Kings. He planned to pick a "lucky" one to assassinate.
The audience hall was easy to find, the grandest gate in the sanctuary. The Spirit Kings of this world might lack power, but they demanded pomp.
Before acting, Altair had Est merge with him, granting him her abilities. Using his passive skill to lower his presence, he slipped into the hall undetected.
The audience hall was vast, at least twenty meters high, with a wide corridor stretching over a hundred meters from the entrance to the inner chamber. Altair strolled leisurely, admiring the architecture's elegance, musing that its design was truly stunning.
Reaching the heart of the hall, he found a massive circular chamber with five elevated thrones. The lighting was dim, obscuring the upper reaches, but Altair, channeling divine power into his eyes, saw clearly.
Three of the five thrones were occupied by indistinct forms, black, spherical masses. The empty thrones belonged to the Earth and Holy Spirit Kings, while the others held:
A warrior wielding a flaming sword, Fire Spirit King Volcanus.
A gentle-eyed youth, Wind Spirit King Belvar.
A woman cradling a water jug, Water Spirit King Iseria Seaward.
Well, damn, Altair thought. Four of the five Spirit Kings are male. No wonder they only contract with pure maidens, they're all lecherous old souls! His earlier suspicions about this world were spot-on.
Why was he so sure? Simple: only a lecher would understand another. If Altair were a Spirit King, he'd do the same, restrict contracts to pure maidens or have them serve him.
With a knowing grin, he refocused on the thrones.
The Earth and Holy Spirit Kings' absence spared them his attention. That left three.
The Wind Spirit King, Belvar, ruled this sanctuary, appearing as a short youth. A shorty? Pass.
The Water Spirit King, Iseria, had sealed Rinslet's sister. Rinslet joined the Blade Dance to free her. Later, Iseria explained she'd sealed the girl to protect her from the Otherworldly Darkness's corruption, eventually lifting the seal. Until Altair knew more about his sister-in-law's situation, Iseria was off the list.
That left the Fire Spirit King, Volcanus.
Perfect. With Est now a Holy Flame Sword, assassinating Volcanus would let Altair claim his throne as the new flame-wielding Spirit King.
Altair bared his teeth, sharpened by his deicidal bite skill.
Come on, just one bite.
***
Every 5 reviews and 200 power stones, a bonus chapter will be dropped.
(5,10,15, 200, 400, 600, and so on then two bonus chapters will be dropped, 1 for 5 reviews and 1 for 200 power stones, so that's 2 bonus chapters!)
And if you want to read more than 50 chapters early, feel free to visit pat re on. com / Xelenea (remove space).