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C1315

Eeshoo Nephilim

Due to his well-known reputation as a prodigy, the best of the best from the younger generation of the famed Grade 5 faction of Nephilim, it was such shocking news that the young Nephilim didn't even make it to the semifinals of the Magus Tournament.

[Eeshoo Nephilim - Top 8 Magus Tournament]

"There will be an attempt on your life during the tournament, you should reconsider your decision to participate."

Those were the words he had heard from his wife-to-be Jinkan before his fight, but he ignored them.

After all the efforts and sacrifices he had made to receive the best facilities and training from the faction, Eeshoo couldn't just let go of this tournament without accomplishing what he had planned and prepared for. He was unwilling to let that acolyte from the lower realm win.

Yet despite his best efforts, he ended up losing.

"The threat level has just increased. You should return to the ship and watch the finals from here."

Words of warning were once again given by his future wife, yet Eeshoo ignored them once more. This time, he had to come and see for himself how the person who had beaten him stood against someone that came to be the acolyte Eeshoo respected the most in the academy.

Olivier the Sword Saint, who was also born into prestigious grade 5 faction just like him, one he considered his true rival, now and in the future.

Needless to say, the battle they fought was such an eye-opener for him.

To see how gravity and space – the ones he lost against – could fight against one of the most advanced branches of the light element: time. Throughout the entire fight, he had his eyes fixed on the two figures in the arena.

He felt as if he had learnt much just from watching the intense match. But in the end, the fight came to an end, and with it, the end ceremony of the yearly tournament was about to start.

At this moment, Jinkan sent him another warning.

"You have no need to attend the closing ceremony. Return to the ship now!"

But once again Eeshoo chose to stay.

"No! I will not."

It would certainly be a humiliating experience for him to stand amongst the second layers of the top 8 and be seen by millions of people. Even so, he still decided to do as he felt it would be the fuel he needed to go improve his limits.

This time, however, Jinkan sounded different.

"Eeshoo Listen to me!, I just received new information. There will be an attack at the academy during the closing ceremony. Just… get out… from there n...."

Just as he was wondering whether his communication device was broken or not, the connection was suddenly terminated.

When Eeshoo tried to recover the connection, at the same time, Magus Serene called up to start the closing ceremony and the top 100 acolytes began walking into the arena.

Realizing the abnormal situation, Eeshoo hesitated to join the ceremony as he had originally planned until he heard the latest news from one of the magus guards his faction had assigned to protect him.

"The situation with the half-bloods just escalated. As we speak, the Supreme Commander is fighting with the Zodiac City's elders."

Hearing this news and seeing the figure of Zach Talon standing in the arena, he couldn't help but feel suspicious. "If we know about the situation in Zodiac City, so should he, why is he still here?"

​ Despite his protector's words of caution, Eeshoo eventually decided to step into the arena, joining the other top 100 in the final leg of this year's Magus Tournament – the closing ceremony.

As soon as his figure was seen, the air exploded with clamor as many people in the crowd cheered for him. However, Eeshoo paid all this no heed as his entire attention was set on Zach's figure.

'Is he going to cause trouble here?' Eeshoo thought to himself as he continued making his way towards the Dragon Prince.

As he neared the front rows of the top 100 where his spot was, Eeshoo realized the figure of the acolyte who had defeated him was nowhere to be seen. Mahinder Nieves, Zach Talon and Olivier Arkaland, only the three of them were present in the front row.

He then moved his gaze to the second row behind the three, which to his surprise was even emptier. There was only the figure of Zetto the Titan. As for the two others who should be there, Annara Vermont was still in custody while Anzi Tamasi was in special treatment.

Before he had time to contemplate any of this, Eeshoo's attention was distracted by Magus Serene, who had done her job of hyping up the audience, started to speak.

"Before we begin the closing ceremony, I must announce some news," the beautiful magus said, drawing everyone's attention. "Headmaster Delbrand is regretfully unable to attend the ceremony due to an urgent matter. So today, we will request our esteemed and most senior instructor to close the Magus Tournament on behalf of the headmaster."

"Please welcome the head instructor of Magus Academy's Plant Institute, Grand Magus Yvere!"

As Magus Serene's words echoed through the air, Grand Magus Yvere was seen stepping forward. This time he brought with him the Headmaster Staff – a long golden staff with a light blue scepter on its head.

The staff was often seen being held by the former Headmaster Altus, but ever since the man went missing during the elf's invasion, it had been handed over to Delbrand due to the latter's status as successor to his position.

However, Headmaster Delbrand rarely used the staff and only took it out during important events like now. Now, as his representative, Grand Magus Yvere brought the staff along to hold the closing ceremony of this year's Magus Tournament.

"Acolytes of the Magus Academy, on behalf of the headmaster and all the other instructors, I am here to say how proud we are to see the growth you all have made after three years.

"Congratulations to all the winners and to those who still haven't achieved what they set out for, do not give up and keep trying, you still have many years ahead of you. We are all excited to see what the future holds for all of you."

The grand magus then spoke about the current situation of the Magus Alliance, but at this point Eeshoo was no longer paying attention. He was too distracted by the figure of Zach Talon standing in front of him, watching for any suspicious moves.

With every second that passed in his observation, he could tell that the half-blood was a little tense, he was clenching his fists tightly and sweat could be seen trickling down his face.

Something was definitely amiss with him and Eeshoo couldn't help but be alarmed.

When Grand Magus Yvere finally finished his speech, he called for the champion of the tournament to step up.

"This year's champion, Mahinder Nieves!"

The monk quickly did as asked and the entire audience gave him a standing ovation to congratulate him on his achievement.

After that, the grand magus stepped down from the podium and walked up to the Monk to hand over the champion emblem – a proof of his achievements. Once again, the air exploded into a commotion as the audience clapped loudly.

At this exact moment, Eeshoo could feel in his guts that something was about to happen. He was certain that if there was indeed going to be an attack, the next few moments would be the time it happened.

His eyes were wide open while his body was fully prepared for anything when suddenly he heard a commotion coming from above. In an instant, his body turned taut as he quickly raised his gaze to the sky.

He spotted a thunderbird descending from the vast expanse and a girl he recognized screaming loudly.

"Let me through! I'm bringing important news!"

Quickly realizing the girl was no threat, Eeshoo swiftly returned his eyes to the half-blood and was greatly surprised to see the latter taking out his broadsword as he advanced towards the grand magus.

His gaze hardened seeing that Zach was indeed the threat. Fortunately, his arm was ready to touch his storage ring, instantly bringing out his [heaven's will shuttle] and throwing the sharp artifact towards the half-blood.

Swwiisshhhhh— Spllaattt!!

The razor-sharp artifact shot through the air and embedded itself on the Dragon Prince's back, forcing him to fall on his knee.

Eeshoo was surprised to see Zach didn't even try to deal with his attack, seemingly hell-bent on delivering his strike.

Worried that Zach's strike managed to injure the old grand magus, Eeshoo quickly looked past the half-blood's figure, but to his surprise, Zach's attack was actually not aimed at Grand Magus Yvere like he had originally thought. Instead, it headed for the figure next to the grand magus – the champion, Mahinder Nieves.

"What is going on?!"

To be continued