by Virlyce
A head popped out of the rubble. “What was that?” Ilya’s dad asked me as he shook his head. His expression froze when he looked off to the side. I followed his gaze. Holy crap! Did I do that? I’m amazing! Look at that beautiful fissure in the ground! I even split a cloud in half, a fucking cloud! As far as the eye could see, there was a straight blue line leading into the horizon. Everything in its path was split: the ground, the trees, the clouds, a few houses, a field of grain. I know I said this before, but damn, I’m amazing. I think it’s safe to say I became a divine warrior.
“Was that magic?” Ilya’s dad asked. “I know some magicians who specialize in wind magic that can do something similar.”
“She’s a warrior, Father!” Ilya said as she wriggled out of my grasp. When did she wake up? Maybe it was the loud noises. Her eyes widened as she looked around before staring at me. “Did you do this?”
“Uh, nope.” Deny everything! “Your dad did it, right?” Maybe winking at him will make him catch the hint.
“It was all Lucia,” Ilya’s dad said.
Ouch, that was cold.
“Duke!” someone shouted. “What happened? Are you alright!?”
“It’s nothing,” Ilya’s dad said to the approaching servant. “There were some minor complications. For now, just clear the rubble. Have Matthew hire an architect to draft up a design to rebuild the dining room. Ilya’s birthday is in a month, I want this fixed by then.”
“Duke!” another voice shouted. “What happened? Are you alright!?”
They care about Ilya’s dad a lot, huh? How many more times am I going to hear those two lines? Maybe four or five more.
“Everything’s alright,” Ilya’s dad said.
“Duke!” a third voice shouted. “The prisoners escaped! What happened? Are you alright!?”
“The prisoners escaped?” Ilya’s dad asked. “Didn’t I cut their legs off?”
“The array holding back their mana was destroyed by something!” the servant said. “All I saw was a flash of red and the wall was gone. I couldn’t do anything; the prisoners all worked together to cast a large-scale teleportation spell.”
Hmm, flash of red. That was me, right? Oops.
“Did you uncover any more information before they left?” Ilya’s dad asked. He dusted himself off while standing.
“All their words have been recorded,” the servant said with a nod.
“Bring me the report,” Ilya’s dad said. He turned around to face me. “Thank you for the meal, Lucia. It tasted delicious. But next time, please refrain from destroying my dining room.”
No punishment? Sweet! These must be the perks of becoming a divine warrior!
“Wait, Father,” Ilya said and grabbed her dad’s sleeve. “Are those imposter bandits a serious problem?”
“Serious?” Ilya’s dad rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure. But there’s been a lot of unrest in the capital recently, and I think I uncovered the culprit behind it. The Flopsy Gang.”
Flopsy Gang? Why does that sound so familiar…? Snow! That bastard! I’ll rip him to shreds!
***
Lucia became a monster. Whenever she projects her qi outwards, chills run down my spine and I want to curl up into a little ball and cry. Her aura takes the form of a goat’s head with red eyes which many people associate with the devil. In fact, blood magicians have many spells that have a similar hazy red tinge to them, and their symbol is a devil’s head. I’ve seen pictures of them drawn in books, but there’s only been one blood magician who’s ever broken past the wall of the sixth circle. The empire has forbidden magicians from practicing blood magic because they require tons of sacrifice to advance.
I never realized the similarities between martial arts and magic until I met Lucia. She explained to me—after I bribed her with food—her attacks unnatural strength are powered by qi, and it circulates in nearly the exact same way as mana does. When she told me that, I went to my father’s library and did some reading on the subject. Qi is the energy of the world produced from the earth. Mana is the energy of the world produced from the sky. Researchers aren’t sure how either of the energies are produced or why the earth and sky would produce two different but functionally similar types of energy, but that’s just how it works. They did note something interesting though: a seventh-circle magician who has also practiced with qi has never been recorded. Even the Godking, also known as the Voidwalker, was stuck as a high-ranked spirit warrior and sixth-circle magician, but that brought him to the peak of the world at the time.
Maybe Lucia broke through to the level of divine warrior because she never used mana. It would make sense, seeing as every warrior learns at least simple spells like clean or barbeque. If qi and mana inhibit each other, it’s no wonder why warriors never breakthrough. …No wonder why this was a book exclusive to demons and forbidden from circulating to the human and fae kingdoms. Demons figured it out long ago, but only our nobility have profited from the information. That explains why my father never let me know about the existence of qi. I always thought warriors did basic strength training to fight beasts.
But anyways, back to Lucia. She’s been practicing her techniques in the training field of my father’s personal army, and she’s been challenging all the seventh-circle magicians to duels. They’ve been losing, miserably. But to be fair, they all train large, wide-area spells because that’s how armies work. And they’re not used to dueling at the seventh-circle level since my father prohibited it ever since that incident with a neighboring noble’s house. But really, I’m just making excuses for them; I didn’t realize how weak they were until now. The majority of them can’t react to Lucia’s speed, so once she closes in on them, it’s her guaranteed victory. One person tried to fly, but Lucia split the sky in half with a single swing of her sword and no one tried it again.
My father’s army doesn’t have any eighth-circle magicians employed; after all, an eighth-circle magician might as well be a noble. Why would they work under someone else? Instead, my father decided to duel against Lucia himself, which is why I’m sitting out here, under the hot sun, instead of relaxing in my room with a cold drink and exciting book. When will my father arrive for their duel? Lucia’s been moving across the field with strange footwork for over an hour now. I’ll admit, it’s a bit entrancing to watch—like some sort of devilish ritual.
“Sorry for the delay.” My father flew down from the sky and landed in the field while Lucia stopped her motions and drew her sword. “I caught a clue in one of the reports and had to dig deeper. Were you waiting long?”
“Nah,” Lucia said and shook her head. She smiled at him, showing her teeth. “What are the rules?”
“Don’t destroy my mansion, please,” my father said. “That’s it. Everything else is allowed. I don’t think you’ll be able to kill me, so give me your best shot.” He grinned. “I’ll take it easy on you.”
I knew my father was arrogant—it comes with being a duke—but I didn’t think he’d underestimate Lucia after all her victories. The first seventh-circle magician she dueled with said almost the same exact words. It’s been engrained in our culture, I guess. A warrior will never beat a magician of the same rank. And now that my father’s reached the ninth circle, he must be feeling invincible.
“Then I won’t be polite,” Lucia said as her eyes turned clear. The bloody aura rose up around her body, and I couldn’t help but shiver. Lucia took two steps forward and leapt towards my father as fast as a divine leopard could pounce.
“Earth: Wall of Diamonds!” my father shouted and raised one hand. A massive transparent dome rose up and engulfed him, protecting him from all directions.
Lucia’s blade clashed against the diamond wall. There was a booming sound followed by a yelp as Lucia bounced off and tumbled along the ground. “What the heck!?” Lucia shouted as she sat up.
“It doesn’t protect him from underneath!” I shouted. “Dig your hands into the ground and lift it up.” My father couldn’t hear me inside his
dome, so he wouldn’t know I was helping Lucia. …Why was I helping Lucia? I shouted out of reflex. The soldiers nearby stared at me with strange expressions on their faces. Please stop.
“Water: Storm of Icicles!” Though my father couldn’t hear the outside world, his voice was still projected out of his dome. In a serious fight, a real magician wouldn’t let his enemies know what they were casting, but it seemed like my father was treating Lucia as someone to be tutored.
From the clear sky, hundreds of icicles rained down. The smallest were the size of my foot while the largest were easily taller than me. Lucia tapped on her socks and shouted, “Puppers, use human shield!”
I pity her sock spirit. I pity him a lot. After Puppers’ brave sacrifice, Lucia charged forwards, acting like she was going to cut the dome once again, but she dived towards the ground and slipped her hand under the protective layer. With a grunt, she lifted it with one hand and swung it downwards at my father like a club. This may be the first time in history that a magician’s earthen shield was wielded as a blunt weapon against himself. Apparently, my father wasn’t expecting it either because he stood there with a blank expression as it crashed down on him.
“Ah! He’s dead?” Lucia asked with wide eyes.
Some mist leaked out from underneath the dome. “It was an illusion, Lucia! Watch out!” I shouted. …Why am I doing that? Do I secretly resent my father for forcing me to suffer under Lucia and want him to suffer the same? That’s probably it. “Most magicians strike from above once they fool their opponent!”
“Am I your father or is Lucia your father?” my father’s voice shouted. As expected, he was in the air above Lucia.
“Sorry, Father. You’re just too strong; Lucia needs a handicap.” Yes, this is all for the sake of fairness. I’m a good person who forgets her grudges.
“Unrelenting Path of Slaughter: Breaking Blade!” A massive red line extended from Lucia towards the sky. She had stopped using her flying blade technique ever since her breaking blade technique got the long-ranged aspect added to it.
My father dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the surge of qi. “Earth: Grasping—” His words cut short as he dodged again and again and again. …And again.
“Unrelenting Path of Slaughter: Storm of One Thousand Breaking Blades!” Lucia shouted out an absurdly long technique name as her arms turned into a blur. The sky turned red as blade strikes soared into the air. I bet my father wished he was a space magician to teleport out of that mess.
“Stop! Stop! I surrender!” my father shouted from above. It was a terrible idea for him to fly in the sky. He should’ve positioned himself in front of the mansion, so Lucia would feel guilty about launching a single Breaking Blade. And my father does have skills to counter Lucia’s storm of qi, but the spectators, me included, would’ve been implicated if he used them. It seemed like he was handicapped enough even without me aiding Lucia.
My father landed on the ground and gave Lucia a bitter smile. “Don’t you know how to do anything else?”
“Nope!” Lucia said. “If one slash doesn’t work, then I’ll do two. And if two don’t work, then three!” Now that I think about it, that’s always how Lucia fought divine beasts. Is it possible her skillset only involves Breaking Blade and Flying Blade? If only she had a teacher to guide her….
***
So I won a duel against Ilya’s dad. I wonder what Bouncykins would think if I told him I trounced a ninth-circle magician. He probably wouldn’t believe me, huh? That rabbit was always praising magicians for their power and undermining warriors. It’s a good thing I stopped traveling with him; otherwise, his negativity may have dragged me down. I’m a divine warrior! I’m stronger than the Godking was! Now I just have to figure out a way to become famous.
“Are you listening, Lucia?” Ilya asked and poked me.
Gah! Don’t poke me while I’m eating! I stole the food off her plate before asking, “What?”
Ilya’s expression fell. “That was the best piece…,” she muttered before shaking her head. “My father asked you if you’d be willing to represent him in the upcoming tournament.”
“Tournament? What tournament?” How convenient; when I want to become famous, a stage appears where I can display my power. The god of this world must love me. “This is my first time hearing about a tournament.”
“My dad asked you about it yesterday and the day before that, but you didn’t respond,” Ilya said with a blank expression. “You said you’d think about it a week ago.”
Hm. Hmm. Hmmmmm. Nope, I don’t recall any of this. Did it really happen? I’ve been doing as Ilya asked and started weening myself off of these bones, but I’ve been getting really bad headaches and, apparently, memory loss at times. The past week’s been a blur of luxury and relaxation. Ah, that reminds me, I need to obtain some more beast cores since I consumed all the ones I had while breaking through. I wonder if they sell any at the capital or if I’d have to travel back to the desolate mountains again.
“Lucia…?” Ilya asked and poked me again.
Stop poking me! “What?”
“About the tournament,” Ilya said, her voice slowing down. I don’t know whether I should feel offended or not. “Will you represent my father?”
What tournament? “What do I get out of it?”
“My dad just wants the prestige,” Ilya said. “You can have the reward for first place—if you manage to get it.” Her eyes lit up. Was the prize a precious treasure? “The first-place prize is a legendary beast’s core. It’s an elder dragon’s. Cain Thunderfire personally killed it; not only that, but you’ll get a chance to meet Cain himself!”
Legendary beast’s core?
“Legendary is the tier above divine,” Ilya answered.
Don’t read my mind! Gosh, am I that easy to read?
“I’m not a mind reader, Lucia,” Ilya said. “Your face is just very … filled with expressions.”
That’s not very fair.
“Don’t worry,” Ilya said. “I heard nearly all beastkins wear their hearts on their sleeves. Except for the rabbits; you have to watch out for those.”
…How come I haven’t heard about that?
“Anyways,” Ilya said. “You’ll do it, right? Don’t you need the legendary beast core to get stronger?”
“I’ll do it. When does it start?” She’s right. If Durandal finds out I had any downtime where I wasn’t absorbing cores, he’d beat me. …Could he? Aren’t I stronger than him now?
“Lucia…, you’re making a very perverted face right now,” Ilya said and bit her lower lip. “Are you sure you’re going to remember this conversation in the morning?”
“Just tell me about the tournament.” I’ll remember! Even if I don’t, Ilya will remind me and manage to convince my forgetful future self that this conversation happened.
“Okay,” Ilya said. “It’s called the Godking’s Brawl. It’s a really famous tournament that happens once per decade.”
“If it’s really famous, how come I’ve never heard about it?”
Ilya stared at me. “Lucia, you’ve never heard of blue cheese before. I’m not surprised you’ve never heard about the Godking’s Brawl.”
That’s fair. Even though I do feel a bit insulted.
“Anyways, it’s scheduled to happen within two months. The three factions are going to send twenty representatives each,” Ilya said. “It’s a massive tournament to uncover the top talents of the decade. Cain is pushing really hard for it; in fact, he’s the one who insisted on continuing the tradition even when the three factions were in tense times.”
“Cain’s not competing?”
“No, he’s the host,” Ilya said. “Everyone knows he’s the strongest person in the world; why would he have to compete?”
“And I’m allowed to compete for your dad?” I don’t get it. Wouldn’t I be representing the beastkin for the fae? What kind of demon would choose a beastkin as their representative? Right, Ilya’s dad would.
�
��As a duke, my father automatically gets one of the representative positions,” Ilya said. “But he’s old, and Cain insists for the participants to be younger than thirty.” She made a strange expression. “You’re younger than thirty, right, Ms. A Warrior Doesn’t Age?”
“Of course I’m younger than thirty!” Seriously, I am. How old did she think I was? Jeez.
“Then there’s no issue,” Ilya said. “Though we’re demons, it’s not unusual for humans or beastkin to compete for us, just like it’s not unusual for beastkin or demons to compete for the humans. Ultimately, the representative slots go to the schools and rich nobles, and sometimes those nobles think they’d have a higher chance of winning if they chose someone that’s not their race. The participants and the person they’re representing both get a prize; the participant for winning, and the other for unearthing the talent.”
So Ilya’s dad gets to leech off of my hard work? Well, that’s fine as long as I get the beast core. First place will be a cinch with my newfound strength! Ah, that’s a difficulty and hardship flag, isn’t it? I think I just jinxed myself. Well, it’s not like I’ll have to deal with poison or betrayal or anything of that sort, right?
“Oh, and it turns out the Flopsy Gang that’s been messing with my father’s territory has designs on this tournament, so there might be some unexpected danger,” Ilya said. “At least that’s what my father told me, but that shouldn’t really concern you, right? …Um, Lucia? Are you okay? You’re making a really ugly face right now.”
16
Lucia’s been acting strange ever since I invited her to partake in the Godking’s Brawl under my father’s position. She’s been muttering to herself in her room and drawing strange pictures on the wall. I’m not sure where she obtained the paint from, but the drawings are a little creepy. They’re almost like her engravings that she carves on bones to give them power. Perhaps it also has to do with the fact she’s been abstaining from her addiction; I’ve considered having my father throw her in a dungeon to prevent her from hurting herself, but I don’t think it’s possible to keep Lucia caged up. If Teacher Rogath was here, he could disable her, but my father isn’t specialized in controlling magic like Teacher is.
