Chapter 12 - The Final Round

Chapter 12 - The Final Round

Time flows with tension slowly but surely, which prompts many to get off their seats in the Chess Tournament. The participants who were the cause of the audience's awe, gave their best in their match to enter the semi-final.

Altogether, encouragement from the crowd inspired and stimulated the contestants, whereas angst persisted in their minds as they felt pressure in their every move.

"Ugh..! I didn't expect that move!"

"May you carry on playing? You're taking quite a bit of time deciding your next move."

"I'm going as fast as I can. Just give me a few seconds, I still have remaining time left in that hourglass!"

—Chatter!

"This is checkmate!"

"Damnit!"

—CHEERRR!

"Arbiter, restart the match. I can't believe we just got another stalemate."

"Be careful now. You wouldn't want to put your bishop there."

"Don't play mind games with me! I know what I'm doing!"

—Bustling!

One set of tactics later, it became only the blink of an eye for the audience once they found themselves witnessing the soon-to-be semi-final, waiting patiently for it to be done.

The ecstasy overtook them when their voices made waves for the two contestants to return to the semi-final; Claudia Constance and Wilhelm Oscar!

With the audience's attention focused on these two, the remainder of the participants unfortunately became fillers. Not once did a few of them hear their names being called out by the crowd.

"I can't bring myself to believe we're already nearing the end! But here we are! How is it nerve-wracking already despite the semi-final not starting yet?" The expression on Evelyn was a sight to see, from awestruck to anxiously excited, nudging Nathan by the shoulder for his commentary.

"Please don't disturb me. I must watch her play." Nathan's sharp glance gradually fixed itself on Claudia.

—Bustling!

Without any delay, the moment the semi-final was signaled to commence by Hermes, the contestants immediately locked their focuses on the chessboard.

"Let's have a good match."

"Likewise." Claudia responded to her opponent's greeting with a handshake.

In Claudia's match, she prioritized observation by analyzing her opponent's tactics before calculating methods of winning within a minute of playing.

With a plan in mind, she progressed by using the pawn she had moved in the middle of the board earlier to be sacrificed, which in turn gave her knight a chance to secure a good position right afterward.

"Wait.. Oh no! How did I not see this coming?!" Her opponent grumbles upon realization.

It became a surprise to many when Claudia got her opponent wrapped around her fingers with the path that had unfolded for her to attack using her queen. Due to this, the challenger was forced into a defensive maneuver to protect his king!

"Huh?!" The crowd grasps!

"Wait, isn't that?!"

"Oh my god! She thought that far ahead?!"

Eventually, everyone was soon taken aback upon noticing where Claudia's queen was positioned! With a closer view, the audience found out Claudia was going for a double attack on her opponent's king!

From that point onward, the match was playing into the lady's favor, prompting her to receive a victory from her opponent's resignation!

Erupting cheers reverberated enough to be a distraction for the rest of the contestants, yet it became unbeknownst to Wilhelm, who was currently in a match of his own, putting his opponent in her place.

"How did you get this far into the game? This is disappointing, Lord Wilhelm."

"Is that what you truly believe?" Wilhelm didn't seem fazed at all.

In the amount of time Wilhelm needed to set up his field, he had already played his opponent for a fool, piling up disadvantageous opportunities for himself..?

"Checkmate. You shouldn't believe in what you see even if it's leaning into your favor, my lady."

That, in fact, was a scheme that led everyone to lose confidence in Wilhelm until he surprised the crowd. When he was sacrificing most of his strongest pieces earlier, it was done on purpose for the buildup of his victory!

"And Wilhelm Oscar won!!!" Evelyn, exclaimed as if expecting it.

And thus, Wilhelm was announced the winner of this semi-final match alongside Claudia Constance!

The participants who were selected by the audience, were without a doubt the most genius of all. The expectations entrusted to their shoulders were answered, causing a rapture of blaring noises from the audience!

"We have our final winner—"

—CHEEERRRR~

Overjoyed to a certain extent, negligence shadowed the third winner of the semi-final when their name couldn't be heard by the lively buzz of the crowd.

"What a great performance! I never thought I would get to see something incredible like this! Every round was a spectacle! Don't you agree, Lord Nathan?" Hands on the table after getting up abruptly, Evelyn merrily turns her head to the gentleman.

"Honestly, I'm rather impressed. My curiosity rises when I wonder who'll emerge victorious against the Chess Tournament's special guest." Nathan speaks while shifting his eyes to and fro towards Wilhelm and Claudia.

"Speaking of the guest, Lady Cyllenian, isn't it time for them to make their appearance now that the finale has arrived?"

"That's—" Hermes was nearly seconds away from naming the special guest before a sudden sound caught her attention.

—WHOOOOSSSH!

"Hey, what's that sound?" One of the audience heard a strange noise.

At that moment, pure astonishment engraved itself on the audience's faces while grasps of shock throughout the stadium confused the commentators. Hermes, Evelyn and Nathan couldn't understand what was making the crowd in front of them react this way.

"Goodness.." Hermes was at a loss for words.

—FWOOOOSH!

"Why did it suddenly turn dark?" Evelyn felt perturbed when no sunlight emerged, masking her with a large shadow from above.

"My.. word..!"

At his words, before Nathan caught a glimpse of the above, the goosebumps in his arms were raised to show how baffled he was by what he was seeing!

Hovering in the middle of the air, its gigantic enshroudment was soon disclosed as a hot air balloon which was advancing its way towards the Olympic Stadium's center.

Upon causing bewilderment to the people, its suddenness brought Hermes a crowd in silence, which she used to her advantage.

"Congratulations to the participants who have made it this far. Before the Chess Tournament's final match begins, I would like to give my greetings to a well respected individual in front of me."

—Fwoosh..!

"I hereby welcome Lady Kore Thesmophoros to the Olympic Stadium. Please give her a welcoming applause." Hermes' voice soared through the crowd as the mention of this person's name became recognized by many.

—WHOOOSH!!

The spotlight of attention appeared when the vehicle soon landed on the ground where the projections immediately captured it all for the rest to see!

Upon the projections displayed a gentleman who had stepped out from the hot air balloon, reaching out his hand towards a lady.

Breathtaking as nature's breeze, Kore Thesmophoros arrived safely with the help of her brother, Plutus Thesmophoros, making their appearance known through an unprecedented entrance!

"Lady Kore..?"

"Isn't she the lady who donated a ton of money to our orphanage, aunty?"

"What a wonderful surprise! I had wondered why a lady of her standing was absent on this momentous occasion."

"This is definitely going to be the absolute best round! I'm glad I came here! Wooo!"

—CHITTER-CHATTER!

"Will those participants be okay? Whatever must I be saying? I'm more fretful of Lady Kore, who'll face off against the finest talents the Chess Tournament has produced."

"Lady Kore is unquestionably the right choice since she was asked by Lady Hermes, isn't she? This occasion isn't something someone can be invited to!"

—BUSTLE!

Even though the Thesmophoros siblings were walking towards their seats, Kore was separated from her brother before being guided to a lone table, while Plutus sat down beside the commentators.

The location of the final match is where Kore is seated; in the center of everything. Sooner or later, she waved her hand towards the audience with a smile, as well as towards the contestants.

"In this final stage, there's no order between who'll have a match against Lady Kore. The victor is decided by whoever wins the finale."

"What if there are two winners?" Evelyn suddenly asked Hermes.

"Miss Evelyn, to answer your query, it's fairly easy to say that I believe there won't be such a case. You see, I have placed my trust in Lady Kore, and I know my expectations won't be broken. Nonetheless, if there exists a possibility, then another match will be held to conclude the winner."

"Lady Cyllenian, the confidence in your voice when you spoke of Lady Kore, I'm very curious how the final round will play out!"

Hermes simply smiled at the thrilled Evelyn before proceeding with the announcement.

"In this final round, the three participants will be facing off Lady Kore Thesmophoros to the best of their abilities. It's only a matter of who wishes to go first."

"I'll do it." Unexpectedly, a voice was heard with their hand raised to get the commentators' attention.

"I see. Lady Claudia Constance, please give her a round of applause as she'll be the first to have a match with Lady Kore!"

In no time, Hermes let her voice run loose into the megaphone. While the audience stood up with ear-splitting chants, Claudia was seen minding her steps towards her destination.

—CHEERRRINGG!

"It's an honor to meet you here. I was quite surprised by your entrance and your role for today. Nevertheless, I shall face you with my utmost." Claudia gracefully gave her greetings before being allowed to sit down by Kore.

"It's a pleasure to see you again. I do hope you come for a visit later on in the future after we're done with this event." Kore presented a serene smile to welcome Claudia.

"Certainly, I would love to."

"I look forward to that wonderful day. Be that as it may, it appears we'll have to settle this chess match first." After finishing her sentence, Kore shifts her glance to the arbiter.

—Thud.

"Please prepare yourself." As the arbiter informed the players to begin, an hourglass was placed next to the chessboard.

"3.."

"2.."

"1!"

—Swish!

"Begin!"

As expected, the hourglass quickly flipped to indicate the amount of time left in it, prompting Claudia, who is using the white pieces, to commence her move with a pawn.

However, Kore immediately placed her black pawn in the field once Claudia was done!

To build up her part of the board, Claudia increased her offense by developing her strongest piece and giving it a route to attack!

The White's queen is out already!

While the audience was feeling tense by Claudia's move, Kore responded in a nonchalant manner by bringing her knight out before using her bishop to protect herself in the next turn.

—Bustle!

Slowly but surely, the audience took notice that everything was going swimmingly for Claudia as she had checked her Kore's king piece! And that isn't all, for she has also blocked one of the king's paths, leading to Kore having to figure out her next moveset carefully!

—Thud.

..But then, Kore freed herself from a check and somehow managed to counterattack!

"You mustn't lose yourself." Kore mumbles in the process of positioning her knight where it'll damage Claudia's unattended line of defense!

"...!"

"There were mistakes in your moves that would have been easily avoidable if you had paid close attention to each one of your pieces."

Not to mention, Claudia couldn't risk it by eliminating Kore's knight, who is protected by a rook as well as a pawn! At that moment, when White concentrated on the Black's knight, the field became clearer when the Black's queen suddenly forked two of the White's pieces!

From an attack to a fork, Claudia's strategies are going down the drain when they should have brought her to victory as per her previous matches! From the pressure to the atmosphere, everything is starting to become challenging for Claudia to accept, which has led to her causing a mistake unintentionally!

Despite being a minor mistake, it was sufficient for a play which would guide Kore into diminishing Claudia's pieces without giving the latter another turn!

Seconds only went by for a moment when Kore excellently took the stage upon eliminating the White pieces one after another, as though her entire play up until now had finally borne fruit in defeating Claudia!

One move of a bishop, and…

"I admit defeat." Claudia surrenders.