Chapter 5: Chapter 4: Press Conference

The trauma surgeon looked over the infant which she had previously declared dead. She thought to herself, “I left this baby for dead. I would have signed the death certificate and moved on without a second thought. What happened?!”

The mother in the room saw the look on the surgeon’s face and asked, “What happened? What did that woman do?”

The surgeon turned to face the mother, “That woman is Princess Xenia BloodStar of the BloodStar Empire. She is one of the most gifted ki users the world has ever known, and she uses her talents for healing. If she was able to bring your infant back to full health, it means there was a small sliver of life left… and she found it.”

The woman cried thankfully and pleaded, “You must find her, so that I may thank her! You must! I owe my life and my son’s life to her!”

The surgeon shook her head, “I’m afraid someone of that stature isn’t easily accessed by the likes of you and me. Just be thankful she was here when she was… otherwise, your baby boy would be dead.”

The surgeon walked out of the room in thought to herself. Secret service agents had instantly rushed in to find Xenia passed out on the floor from exhaustion after healing the infant, and they were none too pleased to see what had happened. After all, it was their duty to prevent her from over exerting herself.

She stopped and leaned against the wall of the hallway thinking to herself, “And to think I called the Princess of the BloodStar Empire a bitch while also stabbing her with my scalpel. Goodness, I’m lucky to be alive. The empress herself I’m sure wouldn’t be so merciful as the Princess.”

She became lost in her thoughts; however, one of her colleagues ran by saying, “Come on! Princess Xenia is holding a press conference! After what you told me she did to those two trauma patients, we have to go hear this!”

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It was a perfectly pleasant, sunny day as everyone gathered in the courtyard of the hospital. The news reporters and journalists had by now caught up to Xenia as they filled the audience. Xenia sat atop a stage with a microphone in her hands ready to answer any questions the people might have. She had come back to full consciousness very quickly following her faint spell, and she demanded the conference not be canceled.

Dr. Stone commenced the conference by saying, “Welcome! Everyone welcome! It is our greatest pleasure to host the Princess and future empress of the BloodStar Empire here today, Princess Xenia Victoria BloodStar!”

The crowd erupted into a roar of applause as she received a standing ovation. The applause seemed to have no end as Dr. Stone eventually had to quell the crowd with his hands and speech as he continued, “Now before I present our most special and dignified guest, I would like to tell you all that no more than a few hours ago she landed in our country for the first time ever, came straight here to perform no less than 10 miracles, fainted performing the last of these miracles to save an infant from the brink of death, and then proceeded to demand to hold this conference after waking up. All this to say… please go easy on her. She has had an eventful day in our country already.”

Dr. Stone then turned with his hand out and announced, “With no further ado, I present to you, Princess Xenia!”

After another round of applause, Xenia wiped a tear from her eye and began to speak, “A truly heartfelt welcome from you all, it has literally brought me to tears.” She wiped a few more tears from her cheek and continued, “I apologize for remaining seated in front of such a wondrous crowd of support; however, my energy is very low after having used most of it to heal patients today.”

As she introduced herself, the secret service agents perused the grounds for any anomalies whatsoever. They had screened everyone and everything that had entered this courtyard, but their diligence remained high. Additionally, a mysterious figure lurked in the shadows at the periphery of the courtyard leaning against a pillar upholding an overhang. He had his arms crossed and the secret service agents dare not interfere with him for this man was the nation’s top ki user, John Washington – Master Chief of the Special Operations Forces for Ki Users.

John Washington was a veteran in all aspects. Whereas other nations in the world mostly had ruling master families comprised of the most powerful ki users, the United States still ruled in favor of democracy. However, in order to compete on a national stage, cultivating ki users was a must. John Washington had risen to the top and had a massive proclivity for domain techniques.

His presence did not go unnoticed by Xenia. She rightfully assumed he was assigned to make sure nothing at all happened. His techniques were especially suited to this kind of preventative task.

Xenia casually broke the ice after introducing herself, “Let’s take a question. I know Dr. Jones said to go easy on me, and that is mighty thoughtful of him, but please ask the questions that you want to know, that the world wants to know… don’t forget… this may be your only chance to ask! So ask away!”

The first reporter stepped forward and graciously greeted Xenia before asking, “I think everyone here would agree, that you have a technique with your ki that rivals even that of Gods. Why do you not heal more people? Why not end all suffering in the world?”

Xenia smiled and said, “I wish I could. For those of you who can use ki, you will also know that each person has reserves to draw on for ki utilization. Once they run out, they must recharge, which depending on the type of ki, can take a very long time in some instances. I’m afraid the answer to your question is that I don’t have enough reserve ki but to perform these feats sparingly.”

The next reporter stepped forward and asked, “Is it true that you are a Grandmaster rank black belt of the tenth degree? One of four in the world?”

Xenia laughed and said, “It is true. One of the best ways to cultivate your ki is to practice the martial arts. As future empress, my mother, Empress Victoria, would never allow me to succeed her if I didn’t at least match her in the martial arts. I have a uniquely unfair advantage with a mother who is also a Grandmaster tenth degree black belt training me from birth.”

The next reporter asked, “Speaking of the notorious Empress Victoria, she is well known for her great savagery and cruelty, if you will excuse my bluntness. She has been a great deterrent for your empire in regard to outside invasion. Many countries would like to see your empire wiped from the face of the Earth including the likes of the powerful Heraklinos family. Do you believe you will have the ability to defend your empire once you ascend to the throne?”

Xenia nodded, “Back home, I am hardly known as Princess. My people call me General BloodStar as I lead the nation’s forces. Our culture is one of brutality and strength. Do you think my people would follow anyone but someone who could defend the nation?”

The reporter paused and said, “Uhhh so you are quite powerful in terms of combat as well as healing? How would you rank yourself against the Master Family heirs… say such as against Jacek Heraklinos?”

Xenia gave the question some thought, “From what I’ve heard, Jacek Heraklinos is quite a powerful ki user. His father and my mother once fought a great battle to a stalemate many many years ago. I’d like to think I am just as powerful as Jacek, and our battle may come down to technique. To which I would say… Is Jacek a 10^th degree black belt?”

Xenia gave a confident smile as the crowd ohhh’d and ahhh’d at her outright answer against Jacek. She followed it up by saying, “I should not speak so certainly. Jacek has traveled the world, visited many countries, and learned from many masters. I have spent the majority of my life in the BloodStar Empire learning from one very talented master.”

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The next reporter stepped forward and asked, “Are you single?”

The simple and yet straightforward question drew a laugh from the audience to which Xenia laughed along with them before answering, “I am happily single at the moment, and I am keen to go on casual, fun dates if anyone is interested. Dinner parties, dance parties, seeing a movie, sparring, hitting the gym together… I enjoy it all! However, be warned, if you want a serious relationship with me, I am afraid that Empress Victoria has set the current Gladiator Champion as the gatekeeper. Any serious suitor must first show their worthiness by competing in and winning the Gladiator Games. It is open to men, and women, from all over the world. But before anyone rushes in to try test their battle prowess, be warned… Gladiator Champion Nero is an old veteran of war. He is so ferocious I daresay I am afraid I may be single forever!”

The crowd laughed as she ended her answer; however, the crowd was also very intrigued to hear the heir to the BloodStar was single and quite excited to date.

The next reporter stepped forward and asked, “If I may be so bold. You come to our country and act like a hero. You save lives. You laugh and placate us. But many reports of your empire state that your war-frenzied culture is a huge problem. Your Gladiator Games as an example often involve permanent injury or death. How do you plan to promote peace in the world when instead of football you host actual Gladiator games with people killing one another? In addition, there are nasty rumors of the victors eating their opponent as a trophy. It’s a filthy culture and a humanitarian nightmare. Culture changes start at the top with their leader. What do you have to say about all of this?”

The crowd had a cold silence wash over them at the sound of such a provocative question. Xenia leaned forward without a smile and calmly answered, “You are quite right. Culture is something that starts from the top down with Empress Victoria, not me. And, my warriors follow me because I take part in this war culture. However, this ‘humanitarian nightmare’ is hardly that. Anyone competing in the Gladiator games knows full well the consequences, and most of the citizens in the empire choose not to partake. In this regard, I uphold the idea of an individual’s freedom to make their own choices. While I could exercise my authority to banish the Gladiator games, I will not. Now for this rumor about victors eating their opponents as trophies, this is completely illegal and untrue. After coming under much international fire from past accusations, all deceased competitors are officially taken for cremation under Empire law. I do appreciate you offering me the opportunity to address this.”

The next reporter stepped forward and stated, “The world and its people have always wished you and your family dead!”

The man then threw off his coat and outstretched his arm to reveal a silver pistol with the insignia of “6W” on it.

Secret service agents rushed towards the man to tackle him. Those that knew they wouldn’t reach him from the stage rushed to place themselves in between Xenia and the shooter.

John Washington took no action. He had long since surmised that the Great BloodStar family couldn’t be harmed by a mere pistol. However, as the shooter pulled the trigger, the Master Chief realized his grand mistake as he thought to himself, “Fuck! Shit!”

He immediately noted the bullet to be coated in a special one of a kind ki… Nightmare Ki. How this random shooter managed to coat his bullet with such an advanced technique wasn’t immediately obvious. However, one thing was for sure… its unique properties rendered traditional defensive ki 100% useless against it, and very few people in the world could manage in a fight against someone using Nightmare Ki. John Washington himself would be left for dead in a fight against someone who could freely use the technique… of which there was only one person in the world. However, he might stand a chance against someone who just had a one-time use with the ki such as this shooter.

John Washington immediately activated his ki nullification domain; however, the ki surrounding the bullet was completely and totally unaffected. His domain would normally dissipate all ki within it leaving everyone within to fight without the use of ki. However, Nightmare Ki was the exception along with other rare forms of Ancient Ki.

He looked on as a secret service agent jumped in front of Xenia. He could only cringe as he knew this bullet would pass through both the agent and Xenia, killing them both. The result would be an international disaster for many years to come. He could see the headlines now, “Heir to BloodStar Empire assassinated on first visit to United States”

However, events did not unfold as he expected. The bullet lodged right into the agent’s chest body armor and… stopped. The shooter was then bull-rushed by no less than 10 burly secret service agents and wrestled to the ground.

John Washington thought to himself, “What the…? What just happened? That body armor didn’t dissipate the Nightmare Ki, so who or what did? Could it have been Xenia? But she’s exhausted and has no reserve ki. Furthermore, her ki isn’t known to be an Ancient form.”

He could only surmise that someone else was present and hidden protecting her. He thought, “Perhaps it is this Nero fellow she spoke of. This feat would certainly be worthy of a Gladiator Champion… the Champion of the world’s most powerful warriors competing against one another.”

John had no concrete answers to what just took place and admitted that there was something taking place that he didn’t have all the information to. Nonetheless, he quickly jumped into action and took Xenia to safety given her weakened state.

John radioed all active agents in the area to protect the Princess as she was transported to a nearby armored SUV. Once John loaded Xenia into the SUV, she stopped him and asked, “Master Chief Washington, thank you for saving my life. I will not forget it. I do have one royal request of you and your nation though.”

John nodded and said, “What is it Princess?”

She then calmly stated, “Please allow the shooter to fall under BloodStar custody and have him delivered to my Chief of Security, Nero, who is currently waiting at the hotel for me. I would like to interrogate this man personally.”

John found himself in a position in which he didn’t have the authority to tell her ‘no’ but also didn’t have the authority to tell her ‘yes’. He said, “One moment, allow me make a call.” He closed the door, activated his ki nullification domain for safety and made a call on his phone.

“Acting-President Morrow, this is Master Chief Washington. An attempt on Princess Xenia’s life has been made using Nightmare Ki. She is safe and unharmed. She requests to take the shooter under her own jurisdiction for interrogation. What is your call on the matter?” John succinctly outlined the situation to the Acting-President.

Morrow had no hesitation in his response, “An attempt on a foreign royal member’s life has been made on our soil. Not just any royal member but an internationally delicate one! And all she is requesting is to interrogate the shooter herself? Yes! God yes! Give her anything she wants. Just don’t let this spark another Great War! This is but a small consolation.”

After John hung up the phone, Xenia rolled down her window, and John relayed the Acting-President’s answer. “The Acting-President Morrow agrees to your request without reservation, and he impressed upon me the insignificance of your request compared to the overall picture.”

Xenia smiled as if this was all just another day for her and said, “Give Morrow my regards and I look forward to meeting him tomorrow. Nero will be waiting to receive the shooter for the transfer of custody at the hotel.”

After their brief conversation, “The driver along with a convoy of security SUVs launched forth to deliver Xenia to her hotel for the night.”

John Washington was left with yet more mystery, “If Nero is at the hotel, then I really have no idea what just happened in the courtyard. Damnit!”

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