The Arena in the capital city of Nordenthele was hosting a special kind of closed event, so not even a third of its seats were taken. Even so, what was unimpressive in numbers was certainly made up for with the prestige of the people present.
Representatives of all five great families, the royal magician, and even the general of the kingdom's army, and the only Sword Duke from outside of the Vallhall family.
Speaking of which, since the representatives of the five great families were already mentioned, that meant Vallhalls were amongst them.
The patriarch and his wife, the guard's captain, and a dozen of envoys involved in the paperwork regarding the life and death duel the member of their family would be participating in.
It wasn't yet time for the duel to begin, but everyone was growing restless…
Only one of the two participants of the duel, where the honor of the great families was at stake, was present.
Mary Treedor, the older sister of the gravely injured Henry Treedor.
A tall tomboyish twenty-something woman with short rusty-red hair.
She was a magic swordsman of great skill, although she wasn't known for either…
Instead, what everyone would focus on was that she had scared off her fiance with her crude behavior and lack of expected manners so much that the poor boy chose to take his own life early just to escape the alternative of waking up to and living with her for the rest of his natural lifespan.
Considering that in Nordenthele, just like in most places in their world, there was significantly more women than men, that one story was enough for any and all prospects of marriage to be cut off for Mary.
It really was a great misfortune for the Treedor family.
Also, it was the reason why they invested so much effort in their son Henry… but with him ending up crippled and with the lower half of his body useless, even that hope was lost.
With how things were, Mary felt obligated to at least avenge her younger brother so that the Treedor family would save some face.
She didn't even plan on actually killing the villain, only humiliating him and beating him half to death, and then magnanimously chose to spare his life to showcase the Treedor family's grandeur and benevolence…
Originally, that is.
"..."
Because as she stood there on the arena's field, her anger and contempt only grew.
It seemed no one knew when that trash was, and considering that the patriarch of the Vallhall family has declared that Rotsard must be brought in no matter what, she couldn't even issue a complaint to them. Unable to vent her aggression before the duel would start, Mary crossed her arms and shivered from anticipation.
She seemed to be literally boiling with anger as her breath even turned into steam!
Only that the shivering and her breath becoming visible wasn't due to her at all, but rather the field of the arena had turned shockingly cold within mere seconds…
"...?!"
When Mary realized what was happening, the air above her froze into a circular piece, thin like a pane of glass and wide enough to let a horseback rider through.
For a split-second, Mary just stood there, directly underneath it, but then her instincts kicked in and she dodged to the side with a stunning dash as her favorite saber was already in her hand, ready to counter whatever was coming!
The thing was, the thin pane of ice hovering above didn't crash down or spread out.
Instead, its edges began to shine with intense bluish-white light that created a perfect circle around it.
"!!!"
Everyone in the audience was paying attention to it, but none reacted with the same level of interest as the Royal Magician, who stood up from his seat and even leaned forward so much he ended up pressing his forehead against the barrier surrounding the arena's field just to have a slightly better view on the phenomenon.
The arena wasn't kept in suspense for too long…
*CRACK*
*THUMP*
With a loud sound, the ice within the circle of light broke apart, and something, or rather someone, fell out. Tumbling through the air as if he was tossed through, and barely managing to land on his feet, crouching down and supporting himself with one hand, with the portal dissipating into nothingness as soon as he passed through it.
A disheveled, scratched, and bruised all over, with his uniform torn in several places…
The bleached-blond-haired Rotsard Vallhall arrived at the arena.
"!"
"?!?!"
Suddenly, before Rotsard stood up, his head snapped to the side, and the glare of his beastly yellow eyes hit Mary like an avalanche. Drenched in cold sweats, her body instinctively recoiled, and she stumbled back several steps while keeping the saber, shaking in her trembling hands, pointed at the youth at all times.
Those weren't the eyes of a human, but rather an animal. A starved beast pushed to its limits, triggering primal fear in any creature with a sense of self-preservation.
The thing was, Rotsard didn't glare at her for longer than a fraction of a second. He was looking around the next moment already, like a wild animal ascertaining their surroundings.
"..."
"!!!"
When he stood up, he caused Mary to jump back like a scared cat…