Chapter 332: A Champion’s Worth.

“Fight me as if you mean to slay.”

“… N-No, thank you?”

“…”

“…”

“… Understood. I will return to my post.”

He gave up so easily?!

Out of nowhere, Themrayn, the naga Champion of the God of Tridents and Divers, Zennithra, appeared before us after I was done with the second phase of my [Battle Frenzy] training. Able to control [Battle Frenzy], even if just at the minor stage, for the first time in my life wasn’t just exhilarating from the fact I succeeded, but also from the pure energy coursing into every cell of my being.

It felt like drinking coffee, an energy drink, and then pouring sugar right down through your throat. It was that sorta hyper-focus, and with it, came also some twitching which was a normal battle junkie behavior whenever I had [Battle Frenzy (Minor)] active before today.

Usually, I would be pretty aggressive and more assertive while I had it on, evidently, from all the times I rushed into battle when it activated from a lack of fighting or through pure survival instincts. However, right now, I didn’t feel like it.

“Hold on!” Seeing Tehmrayn slithering away after I rejected his request, I dashed right in front of him to stop him. “Why did you ask that out of nowhere?”

“As I mentioned before, it was to help you discern your new abilities,” Tehmrayn asserted the fact he was doing it for my sake. “As a warrior, I am curious about your newfound strength. However, evidently, you aren’t. As such, I shall take my leave.”

No idea why, but that kinda was annoying to hear.

“Mhmm, but you went about it wrong.” As Tehmrayn was about to leave again. Mother chimed in while approaching us. “Requesting a fight out of nowhere and saying she should fight as if to kill you will unnerve anybody. Misunderstanding, dear Naga.”

Tehmrayn bowed slightly to Mother’s presence, showing his respect to a far stronger being like when they first met. “A Champion should always be ready for opposition. Whether in the light or shadows. A chance to better oneself should not be declined.”

Mhmm, he has a point…

“I do agree, but in this case it would have been better if you explained your intentions more clearly, instead of surprising her with a sudden fight,” Mother argued. “Hestia can fight well enough and has the experience to adapt to sudden situations, from what I could see. As an elder scale, your responsibility with your years of life is to be patient with young scales.”

“Must I announce my intentions all the time? I am offering a fight between two blessed to your daughter. It would be an invaluable experience. There is no need to consider anything more.” Themrayn then turned back to me. I couldn’t see his facial expression through his marine blue helmet. “Curious. You are far less aggressive than I thought a Kargryxmor should be.”

I smiled wryly at his statement. If I were to guess why, my race was probably the reason. Before my evolution, the [Young Sunfang Dragon] was described to be a calm dragon. It would be less prone to aggressive tendencies outside of protecting what is owned, and was one of the reasons for why I took this evolution. It would help me control my temper better while I was in a city.

“That’s, literally, the entire point, naga.” Letting out a deep sigh, Neill came over with Tasianna and the twins. “The idea of the [Battle Frenzy] training is to help a Kargryxmor control their blood thirst. You’re able to use the full potential of your bloodline, without going completely mad. That was how Kramps became the strongest.”

She then turned over to me. “Warning: the longer you stay in that state, the easier you will transition to the next stage. That’s bad. Even if you can control yourself now, you won’t be able to do it for moderate at all. You will go berserk, no matter how high your mental protection skills are.”

I furrowed my brows at that fact. The thought of going berserk right now really sounded weird. I looked back at my hair, remembering how my parallel minds told me my hair had completely turned white when I entered [Battle Frenzy (Major)] in the capital. Or whenever I visited a god’s domain.

In any case, it meant I still had a way to improve. I wasn’t anywhere close enough to mastering this ability of mine. It was still a threat to everybody around me, if I couldn’t control myself.

“Why not try yourself against him, Sis?” Neill suggested. “Might as well, no? I would love to see it!”

“Ooooooh, SAME!” Rita sprinted over the moment she heard that come from Neill’s mouth, breathing heavily with her eyes widened like a goldfish. “Two blessed fighting against each other! One from the light Pantheon and the other from the water one. Such a rarity! Please, please, Hestia!”

Arguments were piling onto me. Today was my day of training, after all, and although I did fight with Mother before, a bit more wouldn’t hurt. Due to my busy schedule, I didn’t have much time to spar really, so a short tussle sounded pretty nice now that I thought about it.

But would it be smart to go all out when I had a match tomorrow? Well, I had enough dragorades to heal up my exhaustion, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I should be less apprehensive, this was a good time to test this new form out.

“Hmm, alright, sure. I’ll accept your generosity, Champion Themrayn.” In the end, I agreed. “However, I think my sister is right, I’m starting to feel a bit antsy in this form. Getting into a proper fight where my instinct gets riled might send me berserk.”

In the end, I had to think about my mental strength. As mentioned before, being in this state did give me that annoying feeling in my chest. My wish to fight was intensifying.

“Mhmm.” He nodded. “Then we shall test something else. A contest of power to push you to show your abilities. What is your highest leveled aura skill?”

“[Draconic Aura] and [Royal Presence]; both level four.”

“[Tyrant’s Aura]. Level six… How old are you again? They are absurdly high for somebody who is still called ‘whelpling’ by her own Mother.” I could hear a hint of being impressed in his voice, but also surprise, for obvious reasons. Skills, especially advanced versions, were supposed to level up slowly.

“S-Same! What the hell! Both of mine are still only level one.” Neill expressed her shock, flinching back a bit. “Wait, hold on, doesn’t that mean… In Father’s name…”

I laughed wryly at how Neill frowned at me. Mother did just explain how the strength of a Territory is determined by your strongest aura skill and your maximum Mana pool. In a sense, with those advantages, I probably could beat Neill in a contest of Territories, although, it probably wouldn’t be a landslide.

Regardless, that was the main goal for my following spar with Tehmrayn, despite rejecting it at first. I just got all of this new power, why not test them out? After making some room at the beach, with everybody not participating moving closer to the grassy area of the island.

As I was trying to unsuccessfully calm down my pumping heart, Tehmrayn began swirling his trident in his hand. Since he was a naga, he didn’t have any legs and was standing on his tail, like a snake. A lot of people already were taller than me, so Tehmrayn standing on his tail was just another addition to that list. He was taller than Mother, but was shorter than the carnosilians, Grazlahta and Krim-Slak.

“Ready, Champion Hestia?”

“Ready! Champion Tehmrayn!”

“Good… Begin! Hmm!”

The moment this spar began, I felt Tehmrayn’s [Tyrant’s Aura] assault me, pushing away all the battle junkie excitement I had. My body entered into fighting mode, focusing on how water was forming around him before it exploded like bombs, expanding itself around Tehmrayn like a bubble.

It pushed the sand underneath us away with almost translucent water, making room for the liquid ball to grow ever larger to the point it encapsulated me. Strangely enough, I could breathe perfectly within his Territory, but instead, I felt my body weighted down, as if I was wearing the heaviest armor in the world.

I almost fell onto my knees, if it weren’t for my body suddenly receiving a second wind, finding the strength to stand up in defiance of all this power. As I struggled to keep myself up, the domain Tehmrayn erected quickly created a school of different types of sea food ranging from normal fish, sharks, crabs, squids, and so on.

Urgh! Ears! I could feel air pressure in my ears, similar to diving too deep into a swimming pool. Holding my nose closed, I blew into it to release the pain.

[“Impressive.”] Tehmrayn’s voice entered my mind, swimming above me while I was stuck on the ground from the sheer weight of everything. [“My Territory emulates the vast sea life of the ocean, which also includes the physical limitations of it. Most land-dwellers cannot even think of moving deep to the ocean floor, to where our tribes are. Suffice to say, fire shouldn’t be able to exist whilst my mana is overflowing.”]

One simple explanation.

Hellblade Dragon

An advanced skill of a Hellblade Dragon, the evolved version of a Spark Inferno Dragon. Focusing on polishing and sharpening their body into a natural weapon, this skill improves scale-dust concentration around claws, fangs, and tail blade compared to its previous version. Mutation skills: [Instant Heat Ignition] [Infernal Coating]

Inferno Coating

Increase the intensity of fire enveloping your body. Once ignited, flames covering the user cannot be extinguished without their consent. The flame’s special property cannot be nullified while increasing their effects even further

Whether it was Mother’s snow or the ocean’s current, nothing could kill my flames while I was still alive. They were ever-burning. The triple flames surrounding my body right now from [Battle Frenzy] had no problems wrapping me around them, protecting me from the heaviness of this place.

If this Territory of Tehmrayn actually emulated the strenuous physics of being underwater, then the reason why I was having so much trouble moving was due to air pressure. [Air Shield] probably would work here, maybe.

Let’s try it. Air Shield!

And, as I expected, the shield did hold on around me, negating most of the weight around my body by separating air pressures by creating a barrier around me, only for the shield to shatter seconds later.

[“Quick thinking. Unfortunately, a Territory would be a terribly useless technique if it were to allow itself to be bested by mere tricks. Strength and overwhelming mana! Now, unless you wish to be bound to a bed by tomorrow, defend yourself! Release your mana!”] Twirling his trident with so much force it caused this water ball to start forming currents, Tehmrayn threw his weapon with the speed of an arrow.

Dang! Wi- No, don’t try it, blast out!

Instant Heat Ignition

Activate the heat inside you, igniting the scale-dust inside your scales to explode without grinding them. Even in a situation where grinding or igniting the scale-dust is impossible, the user can use their body to do it

With what happened to the [Air Shield], I didn’t even try using a wind spell, and instead ignited the scale-dust in my left wing to blow me away from the polearm’s trajectory. However, the weight inside this bubble was making every movement I took too hard. I dodged the attack from hitting me, but the shockwave it caused smashing against the ground blew me away.

And like a perfect playground for Tehmrayn, the current immediately smacked me right onto my back, sending me floating away without being able to do anything about it. Unable to control my body from this natural force, the school of sea life followed right along, beginning their assault on me while Tehmrayn’s levitating trident kept attacking me while its master threw water harpoons as support.

Urgh, this is insane! It only started, and I was already feeling like this was more than I could handle! If a single water attack or fish hits me, it will hurt!

Kramps voice entered my mind in my time of need.

Right! If I can’t resist against this Territory's movement limitations, then I have to use unconventional means to move! First, though… Warp Point! Entry! Exit!

Conjuring a teleportation portal right in front of me and one back on the ground, I switched places in a moment’s notice and closed the portal before all the attacks hit me. However, I couldn’t rest for more than a few seconds, as I noticed the water around me starting to swirl like a whirlpool.

Without hesitating for even a moment, I heated up my body temperature, releasing my [Sparkflame Veil] to send my surroundings into fire from all the sparks! My mind was clear with [Battle Frenzy], and I quickly formed a plan to get close to Tehmrayn to contest his Territory. However, not here, it would only lead us into a Territory dispute which will just drain our mana.

With [Pyrokinesis], I wrapped the flames I just produced around my mouth and unleashed a full-powered [Hellflame Breath]! However, Tehmrayn didn’t flinch, simply floating there with his trident back in his arm.

[“Face the Depth Goddess’s blessed!”] A magic circle appeared on his trident — which probably had a catalyst somewhere embedded to it, not that I thought about it. [“Forces of destruction, face the wrath of the ocean! Hydro Pump!”]

Like two beams clashing against each other, Tehmrayn’s blast of water rammed right into my dragon breath. His custom spell was pretty powerful, considering how it wasn’t completely overwhelmed by my breath attack the very moment they touched, Nevertheless, I didn’t care how strong his spell was, it just couldn’t be stronger than my fire breath!

“Grk!” Tehmrayn canceled his spell as he noticed I was pushing him back, deciding to dodge out of the way. Roaring forth without any opposition, my dragon breath shot right forward, blasting itself out of his Territory.

Now! Shiterno, give me your power! Flashfire!

The moment I activated that skill, I could suddenly feel the sound of my heart pounding my heart, only for my eyes to focus on the flames I just spewed out. Feeling a surge of power, my vision suddenly became muddy, only for me to suddenly appear right in front of Tehmrayn, holding his trident up to strike me.

Shit, too slow!

Activating my rocket boosters, I enabled myself to parry his weapon with my aflamed tail. The loud bang, resounded through the water bubble, echoing right into our ears.

[Flashfire], the ability I temporarily gained through [The Divine Inferno] was a high-speed movement ability which allowed me to dash towards any flames I could see. It looked like a teleportation to the naked eye, but it was just my body moving very fast. I wanted to land right behind Tehmrayn to attack him, but movements were probably slow enough for him to anticipate me.

Tsk, can’t go full power.

[“Interesting.”] Tehmrayn praised the surprise factor, only for my [Danger Perception] to notice the horde of sealife on their way to completely gank me!

Now or never! Dreadflare Aura! Release!

Like a bomb, an extremely hot aura exploded from me, blasting Tehmrayn away and causing the water around me to steam up. With the heat around me established, I released my mana once again, guided by my aura skills and activated [Volcanic Blaze].

Volcanic Blaze! Let’s do this, Magmakammer!

Mana Release activated. Aura used as control unit: [Draconic Aura Lv. 4]. Territory [Magmakammer] has been established

Nice!

The purple flame around me flared up as it began to turn the water around it into obsidian and corrosive slime, all while my crimson and white fire pushed back the mana from Tehmrayn’s Territory, allowing me a small pocket where I could freely move inside.

Hostile Territory detected! Territory Dispute engage.

As warned by the System, I noticed resistance between our Territories at the border, causing small tiny bursts of mana, sending floating obsidian and water around us. Tehmrayn also realized the situation, and I could see him expelling even more mana from his body to grow his domain.

In the next moment, the aqua bubble grew up from the size of a two-floor house, to that of a medium-sized apartment building you would find in a city. He also started to swim around me, using his trident to send out piercing water strikes and water sharks to attack me. They quickly evaporated the moment they entered my volcanic chamber, turning into nothing but steam, but it still felt like I was on the defensive here.

Shouldn’t go too hard for a spar, but I’m not gonna lose this! I told myself before heating my body up even further without [Solar Beam] or [Symphonie des Feuergottes]. And with this heat, I expanded my Territory to the point it was the size of a bus.

Taking a deep breath in, my stomach and chest began to twitch and convulse as I was mixing the poison from my purple flames with my dragon breath. Once it was ready, I unleashed another [Hellflame Breath], only this time, it was more apt to call it a lava breath!

With the shards of molten obsidian flying out, Tehmrayn used his impressive mobility inside the water bubble to continuously dodge while swinging his trident. Water slashes tried to harm me, but just like before, my Territory ruled supreme. Once again, it was a stalemate.

So, this is a battle between Territories? Verdammt, so it really is a battle between your aura and mana. The moment an attack flies out over the border, the opposing zone would just overwhelm them.

My lava breath wasn’t managing itself too well. Due to the Tehmrayn’s Territory effect, anything inside it would be affected by the rules of the deep oceans. While my fire couldn’t be extinguished, the molten obsidian would just sink into the floor after it was cooled down.

On the other hand, Tehmrayn was trying to attack me while I was trapped in his Territory, but anything that entered would have to deal with the inside of a volcano. It was like my fight with Larent, where the moment he took off his helmet, he was sweating so much he could have died from dehydration.

Verdammt! The only way to break out of this stalemate is to go full-out! It wouldn’t be a spar if I were to—

But my thoughts were immediately interrupted as the water bubble around me broke apart, splashing all the water onto the beach, turning the yellow sand into dirt brown. Tehmrayn floated in the air on a discus of water, but suddenly clenched his fist and reeled from something.

Since he suddenly stopped his Territory, I had to immediately cancel mine too, before I accidentally turned this place into a magma field. As we both descended onto the ground, Tehmrayn was the first to speak.

Territory deactivated. Territory Dispute completed in favor of individual [Sunfang Dragonewt, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

His helmet opened up, letting water and steam out. “Haaa, haaa… I heard you have fulinoe leaves. I’ll pay you back. Let me drink some.”

His blue naga skin had turned slightly purple. It was one of the first signs of arcane fever! I did as he requested and took out a dragorade bottle, handing it to him to drink. With bated breath, the scalekin drank the whole bottle empty, moaning loudly with his thirst quenched.

“Good display.” Was the first thing he said. “I heard from Saint Kushlek’zar that tomorrow you will be fighting a Tide Watcher. Don’t embarrass yourself. Regardless of his reason to win tomorrow, do not be swayed. A Champion has a duty to fulfill, even if they must trample down the ambitions of others.”

Uhm, thanks? That last part sounded grim…

And with that said, the naga Champion simply put his helmet back on before leaving, returning to his post at the temple. Flabbergasted at what happened, Tasianna rushed over to me with a freshly-made fruit juice. Accepting it graciously, I enjoyed the iced drink to my heart’s content, finding it a fitting drink for a day on the beach.

Once I was done, I couldn’t help but express my confusion. “Haaa, I will never get how that man thinks.”

“Hmm? You don’t?” Master widened his eyes. “Hmm, if you asked me, I believed Sir Tehmrayn’s intention was to help you prepare for tomorrow's fight.”

“He did?”

“Of course, my whelpling,” Mother agreed with Master’s assessment. “What a responsible elder scale, too, I must say. Without mentioning it, he took on the full burden of the Territory dispute by canceling his first. You do remember what happens to the loser of this dispute, right, Hestia?”

“Well, you will damage your mana paths and also gain the accumulated arcan— Ooooh!” I suddenly realized the reason why Tehmrayn had purple skin as if thunder struck me.

Seeing me understand the situation, Neill nodded. “Well, he sure wasn’t lying when he mentioned trying to help you figure things out. In any case, did you managed to do it? The only worthwhile things I noticed was how your fire wouldn’t die in the water and how you could teleport to a fire.”

“The former is part of my fire, they just can’t die without my permission. But, yeah, the latter one. [Flasefire]. Quite weak compared to the time I used it when I went berserk, so it’s good to know about it now. I should also be able to—”

I then pointed my hand to the beach, focusing my mana in my hands. The moment I did, I noticed the white streaks in my hair lighting up like light bulbs, before I invoked my next move.

“— Light Horizon.” Mana turned into a bright light ball before it shot forward as tiny pellets, like a shotgun. “Well, that’s about it, I guess. Jeez… light manipulation.”

“Guk!”My head snapped around as I heard something make a loud thud, only to see Rita having fallen on the ground with closed eyes, smiling widely with a drooling face.

“Rita?!” I cried out in a panic, only for Renee to step in, waving her hand at me.

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“Don’t worry about her. This happens to her sometimes when she gets overloaded with information. Curiosity killed the cat, they say, but in this case, the plant can’t take it either.” Renee shook her head in exasperation while the rest of us smiled wryly. “In any case, I’ll take her back to our inn. I need a bath. Staying inside an armor with the sun blazing is making me feel dizzy.”

“Oh, then I shall prepare the hotsprings for you.” Renee tried to decline Tasianna’s generosity, but my fairy retainer wasn’t about to let her after learning how she was feeling. If she was having a sun stroke, we had better handle it before it got worse.

“Hmm.” I looked over at where Tehmrayn left us, wondering if he couldn’t have explained everything better. He spoke too little, honestly.

I know what happens when Territories clash, I learned how to deal with being underwater, although I could probably improve on that, and it also gave me a chance to see how [Battle Frenzy] worked.

“Hey, Sis. Don’t stay in that form for too long, now, yeah?” Neill brought me back to reality, prompting me to ask how I should do that. “This is where you use sloth. Calm yourself back down with what would make you content, to the point you would never use [Battle Frenzy] ever again.”

Content? Well, that would be when all my friends can live their lives without worrying for their lives. Being able to enjoy their days without fear of a war. If I have them in my life, then I can be lazy and continue doing my idol work without needing to stress out about things.

With that thought in my mind, I breathed in and then out, letting my heart rate slow down to the point it was back to normal. I could still feel my blood rushing around in my body at a pretty alarming speed. So, when it all returned to its usual pace, I could feel slightly light-headed from all of that.

“Good! See, not too bad once you know the trick to get in and out, right? It’ll be even better once you try it out in your original form.” Neill encouraged me with a proud smile. “Oh right, do you still remember that phrase I gave you before? The one in draconic?”

I rummaged through my memory for a bit, until my parallel minds reminded me. “ ‘Kriffiek kllk gaaung?’”

“Yup, correct. It means ‘I will protect my relationship’ in our tongue. Think of it as a mantra to bring yourself easier into [Battle Frenzy] form. It derives from your Gluttony, so it makes sense why it would be like that.” Neill shrugged. “If you ever need to fight seriously, mumble those words. Well, but, save that for the semi-finals, yeah?”

Neill’s smirk caused me to do the same, knowing what she meant by that. It sounded a bit weird to fight with my own sister, but this was a competition at the end of the day. I did promise Jethro to win the whole tournament, so even if it was Neill, I would do my best to win it all just to keep it my word.

And to continue winning until the semi-finals, I needed rest. Training was over for the day and all of us had a nice sunny, beach evening, ending it with dinner and a hot spring. Weirdly, Priscilla was unusually less energetic. Svena — who was actually managing the bistro in Griffonpeak while Tamae was absent with Grimnir’s group — told me she was like this the whole day.

“I was a bit worried, but I think she might be a bit overworked without Tamae. Mreem, I told Miss Svena to maybe give her a break,” Hati, our katzune waitress, suggested. “The chefs working for the restaurant have come to help out the bistro once or twice, so we can probably ask them for help. The restaurant has been operating less without the head chef, after all.”

“The bistro is always full, every day. I get why. Exotic food you can’t taste on the streets, cheaply available in Griffonpeak. It will lure in merchants and travelers,” Lorena, our human waitress, explained a possible reason for Priscilla’s blight. “Although, I tried asking if something was happening at home or not. Usually, when my former work colleagues feel sad or irritated, it’s either the ‘monthly stuff’ or something with family or a boyfriend. Although, do dragonewts have ‘monthly stuff,’ Lady Hestia?”

“I’m only a year old, Lorena, I can’t know that. I don’t even know if dragons have them, since Mother never seemed to have any mood swings. Hmm, I’ll just ask Priscilla tomorrow then.” I planned, seeing as Priscilla had already gone back home. “Oh yeah, speaking about ‘monthly stuff.’ Have you and Ruld… you know?”

Lorena’s face turned red, giggling a bit before nodding and caressing her stomach. My face brightened up as I gave her a big hug, congratulating her for being pregnant. Considering her history, I made sure to give her a short blessing ceremony as a priestess to wish her baby would be born healthy and strong.

Luck comes around, eventually. You can do it, Lorena!

Once the day had ended, I readied myself with a huge breakfast, stunning Neill as she questioned why I would try to eat so much before a fight. It was obvious: preparation for my fight!

[Insatiable Glutton] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Chahayat, a member of the Tide Watchers like Master and also a famous pirate hunter roaming the seas of Elyonda in search of them. Considering he worked alone and would handle those ships by himself, he had to be competent.

While I had a feeling the poison dude was weaker than me, I also knew Chahayat was no slouch. He was one of the winners of my rumble match, and he accrued quite a number of defeats. If Tehmrayn thought it was smart to prepare me for today, then he probably was expecting a tough match.

Master and the saurians wouldn’t be watching the matches today, once again prowling through the city for any potential threats. As such, we went to the tournament with the usual group, in addition to Adhi.

Since it was once again the first match of the day, I had to say goodbye early to register myself for the match. This time, no noble came to speak with me. I guess Duke Alberstien probably didn’t need me for anything anymore, but considering he was a crafty noble, he probably would do something. Hopefully, nothing that would make me his enemy.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Bloooooood enjoyeeeers!”

In due time, the match had begun. Standing on an island surrounded by water, I could see the merfolk in his diving armor quake the ground as he moved into the arena. As always, with his barbed spear and his axe, the hulking merfolk with his natural appearance alone was an intimidating force.

“Today, everybody, we have our second round! And that means eight more battles! All between the winners of the last round, to see who is strong enough for the quarter rounds! Today, I am sure, we will start getting rid of any weaklings. Get the blood pumping with brutal matches!” The announcer, as always, was extremely talented at riling up the crowd. “However, sadly, sadly, we will have to say goodbye to a couple of good fighters. That’s how a tournament works! In Yeostar’s name, we have to find a suitable Champion for him, no?”

“““Yeaaaaaaaaah!””” the crowd cheered with loud roars, applauding for the two of us who were about to fight. I could hear my names being chanted, but there were also those who wanted Chahayat to win; in the end, all of them were expecting a monumental battle to kick start the rest of the tournament.

“On our left, we have our dark horse of the tournament, but honestly, can we even consider her one at this point? A blessed of the Goddess and also a dragon princess! Oh, by the Goddess, ‘Crimson-Haired’ isn’t somebody you can trifle with! I bet any wannabe dragon hunters are quaking in their boots with this imperial royalty around! Ahahaahahah!”

Idol! Stop calling me by that stupid name! Call me ‘Idol of Aurena,’ at least!

“On our right, though, we have a pirate hunter any merc or sailor of Elyonda should know! The merfolk with a set of armor to bring fear to the hearts of any child! Like a boogeyman! However, such a gentle giant only has eyes for his enemies in the seas! But today, ‘Deepsea Ebony’ hunts somebody else. He has to hunt down a mighty dragon if he wants to proceed with the tournament! Now, give both contestants another loud cheer, EVERYBODY!”

It was impossible to ignore the crowd, even inside this simulated battleground formed by the arena. You could see all of them through the fake sky, but as I could feel the tension of the situation, my focus was reserved for Chahayat alone. Both of us walked closer to each other.

The first to speak was the merfolk, bowing respectfully. “I have a request, Princess.”

Hmm?

I didn’t expect him to say that. I honestly thought we were just here to give our respects to each other and then fight. Still, since it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out, I nodded.

Almost in a whisper, the tall merfolk bend his body forward to speak, “Allow me to win, and destroy the blood of Yeostar and end this abominable tournament.”

My eyes widened up and I went into a combat stance. This clearly startled Chahayat as he raised an arm out, trying to tell me to stop.

“Don’t tell me… are you a merc hired by the enemy?” I glared at him. “I heard you were a Tide Watcher. Don’t tell me—”

“Listen—” He tried to interrupt me but I wouldn’t let him.

“I’m already tensed up. You heard me announce who I am two days ago. If this is some sort of misunderstanding, then you did a terrible job in wording it! So, tell me, will this be a fun, face-bashing fight where we test our strength, or do I actually have to serve you up grilled, merfolk?”

I might be jumping to conclusions here, but the way he said that would trigger anybody’s senses. I didn’t know when our enemies would appear, and the saurians haven’t found anything of note at all. Sure, I might not act very tensed up at all, but the fact I didn’t know how strong my enemies are and what the hell the grimgarians are doing did make me antsy!

They could strike at any time. Those skulls masks were a real example of how I was currently marked to be assassinated. Was Chahayat like that skull mask from last time, or why in the world would he say such things to me right now?

“I don’t know who you are speaking about, but I seek not to harm you, Princess of Kargryx. My request resolves around myself alone, and the continued problems Yeos has caused the seas close to them,” Chahayat replied, sounding actually genuine about this. Although I didn’t drop my guard completely, I opened my ears to consider what he said.

Seeing me act less tense, he continued in his gruff voice, “I have nothing against how God Yeostar needs to announce a Champion for the Pantheon of Light’s continued battle with the demonkins, but the way Yeos handles it is ruining the seas close to them. Every time this tournament is announced, ships sail to Elyonda to watch this new event. But with seafaring visitors, so come the pirates.”

“Pirates? Well, that is expected, no? Merchants have to deal with bandits all the time. Aren’t you a pirate hunter or something?” I remembered one of the main reasons why he was so famous.

“Yes, so you know I speak the truth. As my role as a Tide Watcher, I have been protecting this portion of the sea from pirates, specifically, nagas, merfolk, or levianewts who have fallen from the Depth’s Goddess’s doctrines. Those who seek to destroy order for greed. Destroying land loving pirates is a byproduct,” Chahayat explained. “However, this tournament always attracts them like blood-seeking sharks. Ruining the seas with all the debris that comes with ships and lost lives. Not to mention, what will happen once this Champion becomes combat-ready.”

So, the reason why he joined this tournament is not only to protect the environment, but also to potential cull the amount of pirates operating in the seas outside Elyonda?

“So you want me to give up and lose?”

“Never!” he yelled back at my accusation. “I am a warrior. Do not dishonor me with that accusation!”

Urgh, seems like I triggered something…

“All I wish is for you to aid me. Whether you or I win. I know how much of a farce this tournament is. Sacrilegious to its core, corrupting a divine event in honor of a god for wealth and reputation. Look how they present this Tournament of the Stars, and how many people are betting on it. Blasphemous.”

Okay, this guy is starting to sound more and more like a religious nut.

W-Wait, even you, God Yeostar?! I was surprised to hear even a god agreeing to what he had to say.

“I know how all of this is just for show. The prince and his nobles pick a Champion inside their roundtables.” He perfectly described what Jethro told me. “As such, I ask if you aid me to stop this. A new Champion may be chosen by trial of combat, we merfolk do it, too, but this is absurd. More merchant and transport ships mean more pirates. More pirates mean more bounty hunters. And that means more blood in the sea, attracting more merfiend from further away like a migration. Not only are there islands further away from Yeos’s coast where people live, but also merfolk and nagas wish to settle in the depths close by. With all those merfiends around, without support from the ones responsible for this problem, life will be toppled.”

Oh, jeez, there are problems like these, too? Why couldn’t this guy come at me like the poison dude? It would make it so much easier!

“First out, please, accept my apology for misunderstanding.” I lowered my tail and put it in between my legs, a sign of submission and apology between scalekins. “However, I have a duty to fulfill. A divine Quest. I sympathize with what you have to go through, but at the end of the day, the gods have asked me to safeguard the blood and make sure another Champion is appointed. At best, I can only pass this message of yours along.”

And that’s why it needs reforms. Like what Renee said… or how Goddess Aurena’s church needs to change from the bottom up. The rot must be removed. Argh, Yeos has so many problems, I really should have read the fine print about this annoying place…

Chahayat nodded. “Then, please allow me a warrior’s battle, Princess. Let the strong make their goals come true.”

I nodded, walking away to make some distance while twirling my glaive around, ready to fight with it at a moment's notice. Standing there, we stared at each other, realizing we were once again only two competitors seeking victory.

“Weeeeeell, blood enjoyers. They certainly took their time to speak, but a little bit of battle banter always makes people more invested. Even if I couldn’t hear a single thing. In any case, we waited for long anouehg. Now… BEGIN!”

And the second he did it, Chahayat, pressed something on the water tank on his back, releasing its content on the ground. Deja vu, moment though, as I noticed the water started to move by itself and pushed the sand underneath us away. I flew right out of it before the water caught me, only for me to see what all of that water would make.

A ball. A ball of water, just like what Tehmrayn did. And just like his, it was growing from the water around this arena.

“Krrrrrrrrreeeee!” Chahayat roared as he swam in this ball.

… Thanks, Tehmrayn.

A note from AbyssRaven

Clash of Territories and their effects.

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Wednesday, August 31, 2022 11:57:31 PM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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