On a mountainous battlefield, the people in the stands began to wonder if they were seeing something wrong.
That was because one of the young participants considered a favorite in the competition was sitting calmly on a rock, reading a book.
Diana was not even hiding.
She had merely chosen a comfortable stone, opened her book, and started reading. Around her, however, the battle continued happening.
"Do not worry about anything, Lady Diana! I will protect you from any opponent who dares come near!"
As it turned out, Diana did not need to do absolutely anything.
As soon as she found two opponents who were fighting, they promptly offered to defend her with their lives. To her, it could not have been more convenient, so she accepted.
At present, the group around her was already made up of four very powerful youths.
They themselves decided to limit the guard to four members, because only five competitors would qualify. In other words, anyone who wanted to join Diana's guard needed to defeat one of the four current guardians and take their place.
In a way, that was much more organized than the other battles, which ended up turning into chaotic group fights.
The result was several one-on-one battles, with candidates challenging the guardians while Diana remained at the center, reading her book.
In the rest of the battlefield, the fights continued just as competitively, but little by little, everything began to converge around Diana.
The current leader of her guard was a young human with fiery orange hair. His name was Hiroze, and he was fourteen years old, a Saint in Fire and Wind Magic, and seemed to complement his use of magic very well with his aggressive Sword God Style swordsmanship.
He had been the first to declare his protection for Diana, and after that, others followed his example. Internally, Diana thanked him. If not for Hiroze, she probably would have needed to stand up much earlier.
Rygar observed everything from a distance.
He had just arrived, while Ghislaine had already been watching the preliminary from the beginning. Both were incredulous, each in their own way, at Diana's audacity in trying to avoid the entire battle.
"Should we eliminate her in this round?" Ghislaine asked, impassive. "That would certainly teach her a lesson."
Before the competition, Rygar and his wives had warned the children who were going to compete.
Although the rules allowed alliances, they were forbidden from actively using their influence to gain an advantage in fights.
Being children of the Beast God already brought a great deal of attention. If they also began ordering or pressuring other competitors, the competition would lose its meaning.
Rygar answered with a sigh.
"We could do that, but it would be unfair to her that way."
Ghislaine looked at him doubtfully.
Rygar explained:
"Diana is smart. From what you told me, she didn't even say a word to these so-called guardians, right?"
Ghislaine thought for a moment and nodded.
"You're right. But what does that change?"
"The point is that she did not actively ask to be protected. She also did not try to use her influence directly to gain an advantage. She simply stood still while those brats started protecting her on their own. Technically, that was their failure, not hers."
Ghislaine seemed a little confused, but Rygar understood his daughter's mind well. Although he would not eliminate her for that, he could still do something else.
He spoke quickly with the organizers, and soon an announcement echoed across the mountainous field, amplified by magic to reach all the competitors.
"To all competitors protecting Diana, or who wish to do so, the Beast God kindly requests that you do not. Furthermore, any competitor capable of defeating her in combat will receive permission to visit her once a week after the battle ends."
Diana, who had been listening to the battles around her while reading, froze in place when she heard that.
The remaining competitors, who until then had been involved in an intense battle, stopped almost at the same time. First they looked at Diana. Then they looked at one another.
Right. Who were they trying to fool?
Each of them was trying to impress the young Diana, who, being Ghislaine's daughter, was considered quite beautiful.
The Beast God's direct request alone would already have been enough to make them hesitate, but the possibility of visiting her once a week completely changed the balance.
None of them understood very well what Rygar's goal was with that, but at that moment, they did not care either.
Hiroze smiled.
"I apologize, Lady Diana. I hope we can meet afterward."
A bird of fire formed very quickly as he extended his hand. In the next instant, it flew toward Diana like a bolt.
The other competitors realized it too late.
An explosion rang out where Diana had been sitting, spreading fire in every direction. Some spectators widened their eyes, shocked.
Hiroze truly had courage. As soon as he made a decision, he ruthlessly attacked the Beast God's daughter, and he did so knowing that Rygar himself was watching from the stands.
In the stands, Rygar laughed, admiring that Hiroze's determination.
At the top of the flaming explosion, a figure leapt through the fire. Diana appeared with singed hair and an expression of deep displeasure. Lightning flowed in one of her hands, while a stream of water gathered in the other.
"So be it."
She landed on the ground.
In the next instant, an explosion of water emerged from her hands in every direction.
The impact left everyone around her extremely surprised. At the same time, purple lightning joined the water, spreading through the current.
The competitors tried to defend themselves as best they could, but it was as if Diana had conjured an entire river in a single instant.
The pressure of the water dragged away everyone who did not have time to dodge, and the lightning finished off a good portion of the opponents before they could recover their posture.
The more than twenty remaining competitors were suddenly reduced to seven.
The electric water began to recede, flowing down the rocks and uneven slopes of the mountainous field. Diana stood up calmly and drew her sword.
Many were surprised to see her use magic in that way.
That happened because Diana stayed out of the center of attention, unlike Aurora and Perseus, so many tended to place her in the same category as her brother: someone who only knew how to fight with her fists or relied mainly on physical strength.
But, unlike Perseus, Diana was actually the second-best caster among Rygar's children, second only to Aurora.
She looked attentively at the remaining opponents.
Diana would hate to be visited by any of them. She already did not like interacting much in general; having to deal with those guys every week would be torture.
When she realized her father's trap to make her fight, she became even more ill-tempered. But at that point, all that remained for her was to win. She did not doubt that Rygar would keep his promise if she simply surrendered out of spite.
Meanwhile, the remaining seven looked at one another.
Then they realized the same thing.
If they wanted to have any chance against a Water Saint capable of casting chantless magic, they would have to fight together.
"Haaaah!"
A Sword Saint advanced in an instant.
Diana immediately retreated, deflecting the attack calmly. With her other hand, a supersonic blast began to form.
The swordsman tried to pressure her before the magic could be launched, but Diana twisted her body, used her sword to alter the line of his strike, and released the blast sideways to destroy his balance.
The people in the stands were shocked by the strength Diana demonstrated.
Many seriously began to wonder if she was an even greater favorite for first place than they had imagined.
Despite a Sword Saint, a Fire Saint, and several other skilled youths joining forces against her, from the moment Diana began to truly fight, none of them were able to lay a single finger on her.
---
Despite the many surprises that happened on the battlefields, there was one preliminary that certainly stood out above all the others.
Every person who watched that fight suffered shock after shock, surprise after surprise, until the very end.
The battlefield was a forest. There were many clearings scattered throughout it, but the forest environment obviously favored those good at tracking, ambushes, and silent movement. This was also one of the places that gathered two of the great favorites of the competition.
One of them was Nel Britz, Jino's son.
The other was Romira Landon, Aisha's disciple.
As expected, both dominated the rest of the opponents. Romira, in particular, was so oppressive that many who had been thinking of betting on the Beast God's children began changing their minds after seeing her fight.
It was not only her power that impressed them. She transformed the battlefield into an extension of her own will.
A young man from the Leopard Tribe began hunting her from the start of the match.
His name was Jakar Igaly, younger brother of the Wild Emperor, Jal Igaly. He was fourteen years old and revealed himself to be a Beast Saint, which immediately drew the attention of many spectators.
Before crossing paths with Romira, Jakar hunted his opponents efficiently, using speed, sharp senses, and swift movements to eliminate one competitor after another.
Many thought Romira's journey would end early when they saw his feats.
But when he faced Romira, he was completely dominated.
With Atmokinesis, Romira could sense him approaching with ease. Then she used large-scale elemental spells and skillfully manipulated them with Electrokinesis and Telekinesis, destroying a large part of the forest and changing the environment completely.
At that point, Jakar realized he could not face her head-on and began to flee.
Even so, he was almost defeated instantly when Romira used Hemokinesis to control his blood. For a brief moment, his body locked against his own will.
He was only not eliminated because he reacted immediately, rotating his Battle Aura and forcing his body to escape before the control became complete.
Jakar managed to flee.
But that exchange engraved the name Romira Landon into everyone's minds.
Chantless Magic, combined with Romira's innate abilities, made her the most dangerous opponent in that test.
That was the first surprise.
But her flashy and impressive battle concealed the presence of another person. A figure in a blue cloak, completely covered.
If someone observed carefully, they would realize it was a young woman. On her cloak was the mark of the noble House Whitespider, from the Asura Kingdom.
She did not know how to track like a beastman, nor did she seem capable of detecting ambushes with special senses. Even so, each of her opponents was defeated with a single strike of her sword.
The fight continued and gradually converged toward the center of the forest.
Avoiding Romira whenever possible, Jakar managed to eliminate many candidates and reached the top five.
People finally got to see the last qualifiers from that field: Romira, Nel Britz, and Jakar were expected names, but everyone was surprised when the girl in the blue cloak, still with her face covered by her hood, defeated the fifth-place competitor with yet another single strike.
Meanwhile, a three-way battle began among the other qualifiers.
Nel and Jakar needed to join forces against Romira, because she was like a walking natural disaster. Approaching her was practically impossible.
And that was considering that one of them was a Sword Saint and the other a Beast Saint, two extremely fast styles specialized in pressuring the opponent.
Even so, Romira's absolute control over the atmosphere made every advance dangerous. The battle destroyed much of the forest and was, by far, one of the most impressive among all the Battle Royales.
Nel began to form a plan to defeat her, but he still doubted whether he would be fast enough. Romira was far too dangerous to be defeated with his current speed.
He would need to make her react to more than one threat at the same time, force an opening, and use his Longsword of Light at the exact instant.
But at that moment, the young woman in the blue cloak appeared on the battlefield.
Everyone looked at her.
Romira launched a bolt of lightning as soon as she saw her, using Lightning Magic and Electrokinesis simultaneously, aiming to prevent the situation from becoming a three-against-one fight.
But things did not happen as she expected.
The young woman assumed a stance that Nel recognized immediately.
Sword God Style, drawing stance.
For a fraction of a second, time seemed to move in slow motion.
Then the young woman crossed the battlefield faster than the eyes could follow. She passed through Romira like a blue bolt, and a huge diagonal cut opened across Aisha's disciple's torso. It was clear that it had been mercy not to cut her in half.
Romira Landon was eliminated, and the entire stadium fell silent before that feat.
Everyone looked at the young woman in the blue cloak in disbelief, some wondering whether she was cheating and actually older than fifteen. After all, bringing down Romira like that seemed far too absurd for a competitor within the Dawn Cup's age limit.
The young woman, however, looked specifically at Nel Britz.
Nel was shocked when he saw her face.
Nina, who was in the stands, also widened her eyes.
Jino was not there to see it, but that girl looked exactly like him. She was like a female version of Jino, except for the fact that she was definitely prettier.
Her ordinary brown hair was unmistakable, but her eyes were silver instead of brown.
She looked directly at Nel and spoke with a sarcastic smile:
"It seems this nephew of mine is nothing impressive."
Nel was absolutely confused, not knowing how to react.
Jakar, beside him, had no interest whatsoever in paying attention to the family drama. As soon as the girl in the blue cloak spoke, he used Wild Dash and advanced over the fallen trees toward the target. He felt that if he did not take advantage of that moment of distraction, he would not have the slightest chance.
But the last thing he saw was, just like Romira, a blue flash.
The girl was faster than him. Much faster.
Nel, even seeing it for the second time, still could not hide his shock. There was too much information to process at the same time.
The young woman smiled politely and removed her hood, making her face and the symbol of the noble house on her cloak more visible.
"I am the Sword King White Spider. Or, if you prefer... Livia Britz, second daughter of Timothy Britz, the former Sword God."
She gave a noble bow and smiled.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, nephew. But I have to say, I expected more. After all, my big brother is always boasting about being the Martial God... could his son be only this much?"
At first, Nel was only shocked. Then, when he realized she was mocking him, he began to grow irritated.
"Who do you thi—"
"Shh, shh! I did not give you permission to speak, handsome nephew. Now is not the time for us to talk."
She interrupted him in a way that irritated him even more. Livia smiled and assumed her stance.
"Now is the time to fight."
Nel also took his stance, determined to defeat that stupid woman. But the spectators witnessed yet another surprise that day.
Livia Whitespider, a Sword King at fifteen years old, defeated the heir of the Martial God and took first place.
----
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