PART 16 :-
WORTHY BUT UNACCEPTED
Bond perspective :-
"Hey, did you hear that someone refused to be chosen by any weapon!!??"
"People are saying he even refused an Astra!!!"
"I heard he even won a Veto."
"Yeah, even fire couldn't burn him!!!"
The news spread quickly. The whole arena was talking about it now.
They always said that a warrior had to be chosen by a weapon. But I think everyone is chosen by one. Some are chosen by powerful weapons, while others aren't. Yet everyone is chosen in the end. So why did they terrify us by saying that some people might never be chosen?
The ritual was complete for everyone. Now it was time for the third and final stage—the Trial of Arms.
"Everyone, listen carefully. There will be a lottery, and each time we call a name, that person will have to face five guards. Your performance will also affect your rank."
"Five guards!!? Isn't that too much???"
"Don't worry. They will go easy on you. They won't use Hekha or magic against you. Besides, this doesn't mean you have to defeat them. This trial is only meant to see how well you can use your weapon."
"The first participant is Dilsan. Step forward."
He walked onto the arena with his massive hammer. Well, he was much bigger than the rest of us, so that hammer suited him perfectly.
"We're going easy on you, kid."
"Please don't... because I'm not going easy on you."
He slammed his hammer into the ground. The earth cracked apart, and several massive rocks burst from beneath the arena.
"So... let the hunt begin."
With those words, he charged forward and knocked out one of the guards with a single swing.
"Go, Dilsan! Show everyone your power!"
Nekh started cheering for him. Honestly, it was an unusual side of him. He had never shown us that before.
His second strike was blocked by a guard's shield.
"I have to admit you're strong, and you might become a great warrior—maybe even better than us one day. But right now, we're still stronger."
The guards summoned a massive amount of energy, transforming it into lightning.
A gigantic thunder strike crashed down.
Smoke covered the arena.
What!!!!? He blocked that attack with his hammer. Is his hammer really that powerful?
Oh...
I understand now.
He used his hammer to channel the electricity into the ground, neutralizing the attack.
What incredible battle IQ.
"What's happening???"
"The temperature is rising."
"It's getting so hot out here."
The rocks began to explode.
The explosions took down two guards instantly, while the remaining three were badly injured.
"I told you not to underestimate me."
With those words, he knocked out the remaining guards.
Impressive.
What he did at the beginning wasn't to show off his strength or confidence. From the very start, he had been transferring his Aura into those rocks through his hammer, gradually heating them up. Rocks retain heat far better than soil or water. Once they overheated, they exploded.
He had already planned the entire battle before it even began.
A perfect strategy.
"Now the next one. It's Bond."
So, now it was my turn.
"Hey, Bond. Best of luck."
I gave Bright a fist bump and looked at the old man.
"Hold back..."
Why!!?
Well, if he says so, then okay.
I walked toward the arena. The officials had already restored the ground to its original condition.
"I see all five of you are using the same swords."
"Yeah. We've been on the same team for years. We're known for our coordinated attacks."
"I see. Then let us begin."
All five of them charged at me at the same time.
I took a deep breath, drew Ultor from its scabbard, and swung—
"Shining slash!"
"What!!!!?? What just happened!!???"
Everyone was knocked to the ground. The fight was over.
Well, I didn't think that attack would be that effective. I had only used it with a normal weapon before, so I never realized its true power.
I turned and walked off the arena.
"He only needed a few seconds to defeat five guards!!"
"What will he do if he masters Hekha!!?"
...….
PART 17 :-
VOID COMES TO THE ARENA
[At the locker room. Two guards are talking among themselves.]
"Did you see that!!!?"
"He defeated all five guards in just a few seconds."
"I'm glad I wasn't one of them. It would've been humiliating. People would've laughed at us if we had lost like that."
"Who are we going to face!!?"
"It looks like the authorities have assigned us that cursed boy... um... Bright, The God Slayer's disciple!!!"
"I heard he refused to accept an Astra as his weapon and is still going to face us. That means he isn't weak."
"What are we going to do if we lose to a cursed boy!? People will even insult our families."
"Hey... can we join the conversation!!!?"
[Two unknown men stepped out from the shadows, their faces covered.]
"Who are you guys!!?? And how did you get in here!!?? We've never seen you before!!"
"If you two are afraid to face him, we'll take your place."
"Leave, or we—"
[Both guards were knocked to the ground by an immense pressure.]
"Rod, stop that. You might kill them."
"And so what!!?"
"Don't forget what Overlord told us. We're not here to kill anyone."
"Yeah, yeah... alright."
...….
Erebus perspective :-
"Now the next one. It's Erebus. Go there."
"Oya, Eriiii! Do your best."
I heard Bright's voice. He was cheering for me. It's great to have friends.
I stepped onto the arena.
Only Dilsan and Bond had managed to defeat the guards. Everyone else had lost. Well, they were highly trained, but that didn't mean I was going to run away.
"Boy, are you ready!?"
"Yeah."
"Don't think we'll let you win."
They talked too much.
I remained silent, waiting for their first move.
A swordsman rushed toward me and swung his blade. I immediately wrapped my chain around his arm, throwing him off balance and creating an opening for my sickle. Just as I was about to strike, another guard intervened and saved him.
I shifted my focus to him and engaged in a one-on-one fight. He wielded a dagger and blocked every attack I threw at him, which was quite interesting.
I jumped back. After all, he wasn't the only opponent here.
"You are quite good at this. It makes me interested."
The other three launched a massive combined fire attack while the remaining two moved to cut off my escape routes.
I began spinning my chain and infused it with dark Aura.
"What!!!? He can use Dark Aura!!!!!"
"Is he cursed!!!??"
The wave of fire rushed toward me, but I blocked it with my spinning chain, turning it into a shield.
"Impressive. I've never seen a chain-sickle user this skilled at such a young age."
"He must have trained really hard."
"Don't forget he's cursed. We can't let him win."
One of them charged at me with twin swords.
I simply wrapped my chain around his right leg and yanked him toward me. He was dragged across the ground. Then I spun him around with my chain and hurled him at his teammates.
He crashed into two of them, sending all three to the ground.
I began spinning my sickle and summoned lightning around its blade...
"Hole of Void!"
I unleashed a circular, ring-shaped dark attack that looked like a void. I launched it toward them. Three of them managed to escape, but I didn't let the other two get away. I wrapped the other end of my chain around their legs and yanked them back.
The two guards were knocked to the ground.
"You freaking filthy monster!!!"
The remaining three surrounded me, their weapons burning with Aura.
"We didn't want to use this, but you left us no other choice."
"Instead of talking, you should've attacked me. It's too late now."
I began swinging my chain around my body, making it flow like a dragon. Then I used my Aura to turn the surrounding wind into countless razor-sharp blades.
"First form of Dragon's Coil—
'Ryujin's Blade of Nox', complete."
That chain moved like the Ryujin Dragon, and it didn't even need to touch them to cut them.
They all collapsed to the ground, heavily wounded.
"You took me too lightly. But I am the Nox... the darkness."
My cold words reached them just before they lost consciousness.
The match was over.
...….
PART 18 :-
CHALLENGE FOR THE HIGHER CLANS
Minidra perspective :-
Most of the matches were already over. Now only a few of us were left.
"The next is Nekh."
So now it was his turn. He looked confident.
"Are you ready, sir???"
"Yes."
They all attacked him one by one. His swordsmanship was truly impressive. He had been training since childhood, just like me. So it was only natural that he was this capable.
It was a close-quarters sword fight. Well, it really looked like they were going easy on him.
"Did you notice something!? They haven't used any Aura element attacks against him. Right now, it's just a sword fight," Dex asked us.
"It's natural. He's from a supreme royal clan. They would never want to defeat him here in front of everyone, especially when the others are winning as well."
Bond's words made sense.
"Are you guys insulting me!!!?"
"No, no, no… never."
"Then fight me properly. I can accept defeat, but not a victory without a real fight."
"Aah… as you wish, sir."
They finally channeled Aura into their weapons and began launching elemental attacks.
He dodged every one of them with ease. One of the guards hurled a massive volcanic boulder at him, but he sliced it in half with a single swing of his sword.
Then another guard unleashed a powerful blast of water at him.
"What!!!!? What just happened!!!?"
"He reflected it... or more accurately, his sword did."
"Is that possible!!!? I heard only Heka users can do something like that."
How did he do that!!!?
"Are you guys done!? Now it's my turn."
"Soul breathing:- first form!"
The wind around the arena suddenly began to blow violently.
"What's going on!!! Did he gather all the wind around him for an attack!!?"
He created a tornado and launched it toward the guards. Every guard was thrown into the air for a split second before crashing back down, knocked unconscious.
And just like that, the match ended with Nekh's victory. I could hear so many girls cheering for him. I don't understand what they see in him. An arrogant, cowardly brat who's completely obsessed with himself.
Next was Athena.
Her dream is to become an assassin. She isn't that cold-hearted. At least, I know that. Although I should've been the one to apologize to her first, she could've come to me too. After all, we're friends.
She was wearing her black outfit like a true assassin. It suited her perfectly, especially with her long hair.
"Are you ready, madam!?"
"Yeah."
The fight began with the guards firing a volley of arrows at her. She was incredibly fast. She dodged them instantly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have enough time. Let's finish this quickly."
She vanished.
She disappeared from everyone's sight without leaving a trace.
"What's going on!!?? Where is she!???"
It wasn't that she had disappeared—it was just that she was moving so fast that normal eyes couldn't follow her. Thanks to my senses, I could still track her movements. But the most unbelievable part was that she didn't produce even the slightest sound while moving.
"Aaa…"
She had already taken down two of the guards with her karambit. Although the wounds weren't life-threatening, blood flowed freely from the cuts.
"Mute Slash!"
A silent slash from her Ninjatō was enough to take them down. The fight was over in just a few minutes, just like Bond's. The other guards couldn't even detect her, so attacking her was out of the question.
"Next is Minidra."
So now it's my turn. Bright is watching. I can't lose now.
"Hey, Mini, do your best. And don't hurt yourself."
His smile… it shines just like the day I first saw him. He looks so cool.
No! No! No! I can't lose my focus right now.
I stepped onto the battlefield.
"Madam, are you ready?"
"Aaamm… I'm sorry, but I can't go easy on you all because my man is watching me right now."
"Ah!????? We don't understand!!!"
I uncoiled my Amoris. It was thinner than the others, making it more like a whip. The sharp crack through the air confused them.
I lashed one of them with it. It only scratched him, but they immediately started keeping their distance from me. That actually worked in my favor because none of them had bows or arrows. Long-range combat wasn't enough to defeat me.
Two of them charged at me. I instantly grabbed their weapons and released a surge of lightning through them. One of them dropped his weapon. With a swift aerial strike, I knocked him unconscious.
"Oya, Mini! That's awesome!!!"
I heard Bright cheering for me. That made me so happy.
The remaining guards attacked with streams of fire. I swung my Urumi around myself, creating an air shield that deflected the flames.
They surrounded me.
Now it's time to finish this.
"Water Dragon Slash!"
I make a water blade around my weapon swinging it like a dragon that dragon slash not only create a shield around me to protect but also strike them and cut everyone.
The fight finished with my victory.
...….