Chapter One: The Return

Star Light, a kingdom rich in both natural beauty and that crafted by human hands. Like the famous dancing nymphs, a group of statues that stood in the center of the capital city. It was also one of the three great kingdoms of the Mendragon continent. The capital, which bore the same name as the kingdom, was ruled by a king who projected an image of kindness and fairness, striving to handle the affairs of the five cities surrounding the capital equally, trying to be the best leader possible, even within a feudal system.

However, a benevolent king alone could not combat all the poverty in some of the five cities. After all, ruling an entire kingdom was no simple task, especially when two of Star Light's six cities had suffered great losses during the sudden attack of a red dragon, which almost decimated the two cities as if they were nothing.

Fortunately, the royal knights managed to defeat the beast, albeit with significant losses. The men who fought and perished that day became war heroes, buried in a cemetery called the Garden of Heroes. It was a place where only the bravest with the most honorable deaths were laid to rest.

Among them were children as well, as to delay the dragon's second attack, several knight apprentices confronted it until the knights arrived. This resulted in the most tragic losses, as those who died that day were young dreamers who fought to protect their loved ones. Meanwhile, rumors circulated in the shadows of the castle that the king was different, colder, and crueler.

In the end, all that could be done was to offer a day to honor them. But this ceremony, after a year, turned into a tournament to decide the kingdom's best warrior. And this tournament continued for the following three years, becoming known as the Heroes Tournament.

And in the fourth year, five years after the attack... Warriors from the cities gathered in the capital. Star Light became bustling during this time. Among all the swordsmen and mages walking through the kingdom, a lone figure in a white cloak attracted the least attention. He stealthily made his way through everyone until he entered a nearly empty tavern.

"On such a busy day, this place is so empty..." he remarked.

"The beer here is considered the worst in all corners of the kingdom," replied an old man with glasses emerging from behind the counter.

"You speak with such sincerity..." the cloaked figure spoke with a youthful tone. "But wouldn't it be better to let me drink, so you at least get paid for the first mug?" he added, taking a seat at the counter.

"I suppose that explains why I'm not making much profit... hehe," the old man chuckled casually.

"You know what's funny? I recognize half of the crests on these barrels, and they belong to very tasty beers."

"These are from my private collection. They're not for sale... After all, if I sell the good ones, only the bad ones will be left for me," the old man smiled.

"I see... Then give me a mug of your worst beer."

"As you wish."

The old man served Hiteru's beer in a wooden mug. It was quite foamy, with a somewhat thick texture as it poured into the mug.

"Let's see how bad this is..." Hiteru took a sip and instantly regretted it, quite bitterly, literally bitterly. "You're right, it's the worst of them all..."

"I told you. So, are you participating in the tournament?" the old man asked as he wiped the counter.

"Yes... And you?" Hiteru asked ironically as he slowly drank the beer, which gradually began to acquire a taste in his mouth. Something beyond just a bad taste, amidst all the bitterness, there was a unique flavor.

"No... I'm past that age. I'm just going to see my granddaughter the day after tomorrow; she always competes in the final rounds," the old man let a smile slip as he talked about his granddaughter.

"Really? Is Asura that strong?" the hooded young man's voice took on a different tone.

"How do you know her name?"

The young man removed his hood, revealing his red hair, green eyes, and somewhat pale skin.

"I guess I'm a great guesser..." the young man placed two silver coins on the table and left. "Thanks for the beer; I'll make my opponents in the tournament pay for its bad taste. So, you can expect me in the tournament in the following days."

"Wait, young man... What's your name?" the man asked, feeling an uncommon familiarity in the young man's face.

"Hiteru..." the young man walked out of the bar calmly, leaving the old bar owner with the feeling that this young man had crossed his path before.

After walking for a few minutes, Hiteru approached a huge and spacious arena surrounded by walls over 15 meters high. He headed towards the entrance, seeing people of all kinds and some rather strange figures... But he soon stopped paying attention to others and approached a counter next to the entrance where participation confirmations were taking place. The person in charge was a very beautiful blonde woman who wrote down the names on a list.

"Your name?" she asked immediately.

"Hiteru Hizui," he replied, also hoping to leave soon.

"Age?" she asked, suspicious if Hiteru was indeed of legal age.

"Eighteen."

"Hmm..." the woman looked up coldly at Hiteru.

"Something wrong?" Hiteru began to feel uncomfortable with her judging gaze.

"Nah, it's just that the new generation really is getting strong very early... You can sign; this document transfers all possible damages to your responsibility."

"Sure," Hiteru said, taking the pen and signing his name.

"Wait for your name to be called along with your opponent's. There will be 20 qualifying fights, then ten, then five, and then one where everyone fights each other... The tournament will last five days, with one day for the award ceremony. Your number is '27'," the woman pinned a button to Hiteru's chest with his number. "Good tournament."

"Thank you," Hiteru said as he headed towards the entrance.

The place was quite large, with concrete stands surrounding the entire battlefield. Below were four benches for ten people each, where the participants waited for the fights to begin.

"I think I'm going to have some fun after so long..." Hiteru let out a smirk.

A few minutes later, more people continued to arrive, both to watch and to fight. Hiteru was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall and eating an apple absentmindedly.

"Hey, kid..." said a huge man with a deep voice approaching the young man. His hair was neatly cut, his beard wasn't very long, but it was thick and dense.

Hiteru looked up to reach the face of the armored giant blocking the sun.

"How can I help you?" Hiteru asked softly as he stood up.

"For me, you're not even useful for cleaning the floor." The man punches Hiteru, knocking him down. "I'm number 7, we'll face each other in the seventh fight. I'd give up if I were you," he says, stepping on Hiteru's chest forcefully. "Stay down; it's a favor to yourself. I won't go easy when it's time."

The man walks away, and Hiteru gets up, brushing off his coat and watching him walk away.

"This guy is dead..." Hiteru smiles, imagining the trouble he would put the man through on the battlefield.

"Hey, are you okay?" A female voice reaches Hiteru's ears.

It was a young woman who seemed to be the same age as Hiteru. Her hair was purple, a very peculiar color compared to everyone else in the arena.

"Everything's fine, I just don't want to be disqualified. I'll sort things out with him when the fight starts..." Hiteru seemed surprisingly calm for someone who had just been punched.

"My name is Mikami, and yours?"

"Hiteru," he replied shortly, trying to distance himself from the girl.

"Where are you from? I've never seen you around here..." Mikami insisted on asking questions.

"I don't have a fixed residence; I just travel around. I came here to participate in the tournament," Hiteru says, sitting back down on the ground.

"You came from afar just to participate in such a simple tournament?"

"Yes... On the closing day, there will be a ceremony to honor the heroes of the attacked cities, and I would very much like to see it."

"I see... I have a proposal for you," Mikami says, sitting down next to Hiteru. "I'm all ears..." Hiteru still exchanged glances with the man who had hurt him.

"How about an alliance?" The girl's gaze shifted between several participants who seemed problematic.

"What kind of alliance?"

"Every year, there are betting rounds in the fights, and the favorites to win their respective fights tend to disappear in the more important rounds... Those who are left alone are by far the easiest targets. How about we stick together until the final day?"

"Why did you come to me out of everyone?" Hiteru asks suspiciously about the girl with purple hair's intentions.

"Let's just say my gut feeling tells me you're the right person."

"If you can get us a room in the city, then it's a deal..." Hiteru says, stretching.

"I was worried; I thought I'd have to take it easy in the fight to avoid being a target for these guys... But now I can fight seriously."

"I was going to do that anyway, so it doesn't matter..." He spoke while still exchanging glances with the brute from before.

After all the participants entered and the stands filled up, a man wearing golden armor stepped into the middle of the arena, ready to be heard by the forty participants and the hundreds of spectators. Hiteru and Mikami walk to sit on the participants' benches.

"Welcome to the fourth Heroes Tournament... Where the forty strongest fighters around compete for the glory of being recognized as the best of all. This recognition will come from the king himself in the final... I am Edward, the captain of the royal guard... I will be the judge in these days, meaning it's up to me to stop the fights when necessary... Now, without further ado, let's get started with this, after all, there are twenty fights to go." The presenter spoke authoritatively.

"What's your number again?" Hiteru whispers to Mikami.

"Twenty-one," she whispers back.

"Nice, you'll be the first."

"Nothing more normal than starting with the best," Mikami says confidently.

"And the first fight will be... Mikami Umino versus Gordork the Merciless," Edward says, reading from the list. "Both of you, come forward."

Mikami stands up and walks to the middle of the arena. Soon after, a very skinny and pale man comes to the middle, carrying his helmet under his arm. His long black hair covered the left side of his face, and an annoying squeak could be heard coming from his armor. Then the two stand facing each other.

"Listen up, there are no restrictions on fighting styles and weapons, even poisons are allowed, but it's strictly forbidden to kill your opponent. Knowing this, I hope you provide us with a spectacular fight. You may begin..."

Edward steps back. Mikami and Gordork face each other.

"Give up, girl, I hate having to fight women..."

"You're going to try to fight me..." Mikami draws her sword from her waist and points it at Gordork. "I assure you that your end came the moment I was chosen as your opponent..."

"I see... Then come on..." Gordork puts on his helmet.

Mikami takes a step and already feels a scratch on her face. With no apparent cause since Gordork was ten large steps away from her and hadn't made any long-distance attacks.

"What was that?" She takes another step, and then receives another mysterious wound, this time on her left leg. "What's going on here?"

"Come on... You still have at least ten steps to go before reaching me," Gordork says provocatively. "I'll warn you that on the sixth step, your organs will be affected."

"Who is this guy?" Mikami takes a shorter step and still feels cuts on her back and abdomen. Nothing fatal or that would prevent her from moving, but she noticed that they were deeper than the previous ones.

"Let's go, girl... Give up; I'm getting tired of standing."

In the stands, Hiteru was watching attentively while peeling an orange. "Aren't you worried about your friend?" a guy asked, dark-skinned with the number "13" on his coat, next to Hiteru.

"She's not my friend; we're just sticking together to fend off attacks from those who advance. If she loses, then I don't need to stay by her side anymore."

"I see..." The guy looks back at the fight.

"And also, I'm almost certain she's noticed the spell being used right now." Hiteru says, opening the orange and giving half to the guy next to him.

In the battlefield, Mikami stood still, thinking about how to get out of that situation.

"Would it be possible?" She takes a long step. And receives a deep cut on her shoulder.

"You foolish brat... You'll end up killing yourself..."

"It's over; I won..." Mikami smiles, taking off her coat, leaving only her blouse and exposing the wound.

"What are you talking about?" He asks, not giving much credence to Mikami.

"I was scared for a minute, I have to admit. But I can already see through your curse."

"You're bluffing!"

"Think about it... A spell that prevents someone from approaching you, and punishes that person with very painful wounds. It would be great if you weren't affected by it either, wouldn't it?"

"How did you..."

"You trembled a little when I took a longer step, and your armor is rusty... And one thing I know is that blood is very difficult to clean off metals. And before you say we're tied..." Mikami snaps her fingers, and her wounds begin a very rapid healing process.

Only half a minute had passed, and Mikami was completely healed.

"I don't usually use this magic because it's too slow... But since this is a turn-based battle, it works perfectly... Besides, the fact that you didn't move also gave away your spell. So you better cancel your spell now that you know you won't win."

"It doesn't mean I won't still fight!" He claps his hands together, creating a glow between them. Then he arms himself and rushes to attack.

As Gordork starts running towards Mikami with a dagger in hand, she retaliates by throwing her sword, which pierces through his knee like a needle through fabric. "You're not very bright... You gave me the certainty that we had no more connection, so I could hurt you a lot. You're quite foolish, I'd say," Mikami says as she walks to retrieve her sword.

"Due to Gordork's inability to continue, the winner is Mikami Umino," Edward announces, though a hint of disappointment was noticeable in his voice.

Mikami returns to Hiteru's side, who was just finishing his orange. "Nice bluff back there..." Hiteru says, looking lost towards the arena.

"What are you talking about?" Mikami asks as she sits down.

"That absurd healing magic of yours... It drained almost all of your mana. If you had used it without being certain of your victory, I wouldn't be surprised if he had won."

"Your eyes are sharp..." She says, feeling her eyelids grow heavy.

Already exhausted, Mikami faints, her head falling on Hiteru's shoulder. He, in turn, feels somewhat uncomfortable.

"Is this the girl you don't care about?" The young man next to Hiteru asks.

"She's exhausted; such potent healing magic isn't for just anyone..."

"You two make a lovely couple... By the way, my name is Kiory."

"Hiteru, nice to meet you..." Hiteru says somewhat annoyed by Kiory's comments. Hiteru soon gets up and leaves Mikami lying on the bench.

"There are about six fights until mine. So I'll take a walk..." Hiteru lays Mikami on the bench. "I'll be back in a bit; keep an eye on her for me." Hiteru begins to walk out of the arena.

Outside the venue, he walks calmly with his hands in his pockets. At the corner ahead, Hiteru spots the figure of a very beautiful woman, red-haired with blue eyes, wearing a very beautiful red gala dress.

"Any clues about the hired assassins from the bettors?" The woman asks with a soft voice.

"Not yet... But we're not the only ones who know... A girl offered me an alliance to stay more protected once we pass the first phase," Hiteru says, leaning against the wall next to the woman.

"At the hotel where the nobles are staying, it's not easy to detect who DIDN'T hire someone to get things done. They're betting on almost every fight."

"By the way, I have to fight to get some information. And why do you just have to play the noble and live an easy life?"

"Simple, I'm a woman... And men are perfect idiots, so it's quite easy to take advantage of me there. And also because I bet good money on you," she says with a sly smile.

"Perfect idiots, huh? I guess I have to agree..."

"It will also be a great way to see the results of five years of training."

"I understand... Well, I'm going to buy more food; my fight is the seventh. And I need to keep my strength up."

"You never change..."

"I'll see you later, Mito, later."

"Yeah, I'll keep looking for information at the hotel where the nobles and bettors stay. See you later."

Hiteru headed towards the tavern he had gone to earlier. Along the way, he noticed the sky was darkening, as if the clouds were concentrating only on that side of the city, but he soon ignores it and moves on.

Almost an hour later, still during the tournament, Mikami had just woken up next to Kiory.

"You woke up quickly," Kiory says as she wipes her long sword.

"I must have used more mana than I thought. Where's Hiteru?"

"He left just now," Kiory says, examining her reflection in the blade.

"How many fights have passed?" Mikami asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Six, including yours. Hiteru's fight is about to start."

"I can't believe he's going to be disqualified like this..." she says, stretching.

"No, he won't be," Hiteru says, walking towards them with a turkey leg in hand.

Hiteru seemed quite unconcerned; he finishes eating the rest of the meat and throws away the bone.

"Is this serious? Every time I see you, you're eating," Mikami says, impressed.

"Sorry, I just really like eating... Has my name been called?"

"No, they're removing the archer from the arena. He didn't do very well in the battle against the scythe guy over there," Kiory says, pointing to a man in a black cape and iron mask holding a terrifying scythe...

Hiteru removes his cape and throws it on the bench; meanwhile, Edward walks to the middle of the arena.

"Now, for the seventh fight, Hiteru Hizui against... Magnor, last year's winner."

"I'm going to enjoy this," Hiteru smiles and walks to the middle of the arena.

Hiteru and Magnor stand facing each other. Magnor was almost twice Hiteru's size and carried a huge sword.

"You can start whenever you want," Edward says, stepping back.

"So, kid, are you going to give up, or did I not teach you where your place was properly?"

"I would give up, but..." Hiteru lands a punch in Magnor's stomach, but realizes it doesn't have much effect.

Magnor naturally grabs Hiteru's hand and lifts him into the air.

"Mediocre brat..." He then delivers a full punch to Hiteru's stomach with supernatural force. "You're not even good enough to warm up..." Magnor throws Hiteru to the ground.

"Hold on a second, old man..." Hiteru gets up as if he hadn't suffered the slightest damage from the blow.

"How can you not be hurt?"

"Simple... You're too weak to hurt a guy much smaller than you."

"How dare you?!"

Hiteru extends his hands and ends up summoning two swords with red blades.

"Let's see what you're made of, kid," Magnor accepts the challenge willingly.

They both run towards each other with their weapons in hand. An intense battle of swordsmen begins. Sparks fly from the impact between Magnor's enormous sword and Hiteru's blades, even though he's at a disadvantage with two.

"Irritating brat," Magnor begins to attack with more force.

"Many say that..." Hiteru says as he ducks to dodge the sword and drives his two blades into Magnor's stomach.

The brute falls to his knees with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"How? My armor is impenetrable," he says, hands on his stomach, feeling unbearable pain.

"Look up!" Hiteru kicks his chin, causing him to fall backward onto the ground. "I tried to go easy, but for someone so weak, it's not worth dragging the fight out."

Hiteru showed a sadistic side, seeming to take pleasure in stepping on his opponent.

"And there's more..." He steps on Magnor's belly, pressing the armor against the wound. "This armor of yours seems to give you a lot of pride, doesn't it?" Hiteru punches Magnor's chest with such force and pressure that the armor shatters. "That's for your earlier taunt..."

Now it was Magnor who saw Hiteru from below, yet the feelings were different. Hiteru wasn't belittling the opponent; he was torturing him with a sadistic smirk.

"What are you?" Magnor's expression was that of someone having the worst day of their life.

"Me? I'm nobody..." Hiteru says quietly and ominously, then walks back toward Kiory and Mikami.

"The winner is Hiteru Hizui..." Edward announces as medics rush to treat Magnor's injuries.

Hiteru adopts a calm and serene expression, and anyone seeing him return to the bench wouldn't imagine in that gentle look a dangerous warrior.

"You finished off that guy quite easily..." Kiory says somewhat awkwardly.

"It was nothing, I thought he was really strong... Honestly, I'm disappointed," Hiteru sighs with a sense of dissatisfaction.

"Look, it's raining..." Mikami says, looking at the serene rain that had started.

The fights went on, and the rain grew heavier. Some mages created a wooden roof in the stands to protect the spectators. Until the thirteenth fight arrives.

The thunder seemed abnormal.

"The next to fight are... Kiory Unamato and Luna Mikawa."

"My turn finally," Kiory says with excitement in his voice.

He starts walking towards the center, as does Luna, a girl with blue hair wearing a cloak of the same color.

"Whenever you're ready..." Edward says, stepping back.

"Today is your lucky day... See this rain? It guarantees my victory," Luna boasts as she raises her guard for the fight...

"Seriously?" Kiory says with some sarcasm in his voice.

Hiteru and Mikami watched from afar, as observers they were almost foreseeing the next move of the fighters.

"Kiory lost..." Mikami says, followed by a sigh.

"Why?"

"I know her, at least by sight. She uses magic, but she's also a water elemental. No matter who she fights, if it's raining, she'll win the match."

In the fight, Kiory stood in front of Luna with a confident smile.

"Something funny?" Luna asks as she extends her hand and solidifies the water into a sort of ice staff.

"Three... Two... One..."

Kiory's countdown is interrupted by a flash, followed immediately by a loud bang. It temporarily affects the vision and hearing of everyone present. When everyone finally opens their eyes, Luna is lying on the ground, and Kiory is surrounded by traces of electricity.

He then walks over to Luna and nudges her with his boot.

"Phew, she's alive. I thought I'd be disqualified."

"The winner is Kiory... Now let's take a break while the electricity leaves the water on the ground," Edward says from atop the stands' barrier.

Mikami couldn't believe what she thought was the luckiest stroke she had ever witnessed.

"I admit... That was quite something," Hiteru says as he gets up and walks towards the exit.

"What do you mean?" Mikami gets up and follows him.

"It's not a coincidence that it's raining heavily just during the fight of a water elemental, is it?"

"You mean someone brought this rain with some spell or charm?"

"Possibly... I'm not saying she cheated, but someone might want her to win. But few knew that Kiory is a mage, one who appreciates combat magic involving lightning, it seems... So her rain worked as both her salvation and her downfall. Don't you find it strange that someone covered in water, like Kiory, didn't feel the impact of the lightning like everyone else except Luna?"

"Well, yes... I guess that explains why the electricity didn't spread to the participants like it does with most lightning strikes."

"I have nothing else to do here for today. Want to grab something to drink?"

"Like what?"

"There's a calm tavern nearby. Shall we order some beer?"

"Okay." Mikami shrugs in agreement.

Hiteru and Mikami leave the coliseum and head to the old tavern.

After a good walk, they both arrive at the old man's bar. Hiteru seemed eager for a good beer, while Mikami was just curious about the beer that made Hiteru so excited.

"Hello, old man, put two mugs of your beer on my tab; we both passed to the next phase," Hiteru says cheerfully.

"Congratulations, since it's so special... If you pay double, I'll sell you two mugs of my best beer," the old man says as he opens the tap of one of the other barrels.

Mikami looks at Hiteru's joyful expression and sees that he doesn't even seem like the same person who kicked and humiliated Magnor in the fight.

"Deal."

The old man serves two mugs of beer.

"Ah, I was dying for a good drink..." Hiteru begins to drink... "Ah... Now, this is a real drink."

"It's really good..." Mikami agrees. "You must have a lot of customers here."

"No, he doesn't sell the good stuff, just the bad. We're an exception, aren't we, old man?" The more he drank, the happier Hiteru seemed.

"Exactly..."

In the ballroom of the hotel where the nobles were staying, a party was taking place.

"Ah... A toast to our warriors, for bringing us joy with the bets," a very elegant old man says as he raises his glass proposing a toast.

Everyone cheerfully raises their glasses. Mito was among them, but she was sitting next to the radio that was narrating one of the remaining fights. A red-haired man comes to her and sits in the chair next to her.

"So, who's your winning fighter?" The man exuded finesse and politeness in his manner of speaking.

"Hiteru Hizui, the winner of the seventh fight."

"From what we've heard, he's quite cruel in the fights, but he surprised me with the strength narrated."

"But what about yours?" Mito fills her wine glass and then puts the bottle back on the table.

"Mine is Unamato. Winner of the thirteenth fight," the man says as he pours himself a drink in a glass.

"What was blessed by a lightning strike that hit the opponent?" Mito spoke in a suspicious tone.

"It wasn't my fault, the only thing I did was choose someone strong to get rid of the assassins they send every year in the big fights. From the first ten to the final five of the all-against-all, you'll see the favorites disappearing."

"Very interesting... And you, why don't you get into this?"

"I'm using the identity of a criminal I killed, it doesn't make any difference how much money I lose... I just want to enjoy the weekend."

"And who are you anyway?" Mito begins to show interest.

"I'm someone who does very good or very bad things, depending on how much they pay me." He gets up.

"What's your name?"

"Yoh... Yoh Hizui." The man speaks with a different smile on his face as he walks away.

"He's a Hizui?" Mito speaks almost gaping. "From the same family as Hiteru?"

She would come to regret taking a mission in Star Light.

Night falls, and Hiteru and Mikami were still drinking.

"Hiteru, you've had enough to drink, we'd better go to the cabin I rented."

"Okay..." Hiteru puts a good amount of money on the table and accompanies Mikami.

The two walked alone, illuminated by the street lights.

"Mikami... What do you really want?" Hiteru asks, looking at the stars.

"Hmm?" She grunts in question.

"You simply allied with a stranger... Didn't use all your power in the fight... And now behave as if we're best friends."

"I know who you are, Hiteru, from the moment I saw you there."

"What do you mean?" Hiteru stops walking.

"You were fighting on the day of the dragon attack, weren't you?"

"How do you know that?" Hiteru becomes very serious.

"I was an apprentice to the former captain of the guard... I saw your name along with many others who died that day... Why didn't you say you were alive?" She asks calmly.

"I saw a lot of people die there, including classmates from the apprentices' class, and I ended up getting very injured... In fact, I don't even know how I didn't die. I was found by my master, you know... Three years ago, I came to see the tributes... And I realized something... The dead heroes shouldn't come back to see their tributes..."

"What do you mean?"

"All of us, apprentices who fought that day, aimed to become knights to change the world's wars... In other words, we wanted peace, and to honor us, they created a tournament of gratuitous violence, which is bigger than the tribute ceremony itself."

"I see... But why are you participating? That doesn't matter anymore. I said what you wanted to hear, now answer me... What do you really want here?" Hiteru adopts a serious tone of voice.

"I just want to reach the final and win the tournament... So I need you to help me avoid surprise attacks, you survived a dragon attack when you were younger. I'm sure you can help me avoid assassins until the day I can defeat you." Mikami speaks with a very convinced look.

"Eh? So you really intend to win, huh?" Hiteru smiles and pats Mikami's head, almost showing superiority. "Alright, I'm in. We'll stick together until the finals, but I warn you, you might not like what you see in the fight."

"We'll see... Now let's go."

The two move on as if nothing had happened. After walking in silence for a few minutes, they arrive in front of a quite large cabin.

"Here we are..."

They enter, it was very cozy, there was a fireplace on the left side of the living room, and a bedroom with a bed in the hallway between the living room and the kitchen.

"Since I'm paying, I'll take the bedroom. The living room couch is yours..." Mikami says as she walks to the bedroom.

"That makes sense..." Hiteru says as he takes off his shirt, jumps on the couch, and lies down with his head on a cushion.

As the night progresses, the cold becomes more intense. Hiteru was reading a book about dragons that was on the living room table.

"This book is really good..." He says as he turns the page.

Hiteru hears a crack on the roof of the house.

"Seriously? On the roof? Where's the creativity of these criminals?" Hiteru puts a folded sheet of paper in the page he was reading and closes the book.

Shortly after, he opens the door and easily jumps onto the roof, which was three meters above the ground. But instead of criminals, he finds Mito, this time wearing a white coat and less elegant clothes.

"What are you doing here?" Hiteru sighs in relief as he finishes buttoning his shirt.

"I came to bring your clothes, you forgot them when we arrived in town, at that bar." She throws a bag to Hiteru.

"Ah... Thanks then, I guess I would need to change clothes." He speaks a bit suspiciously.

"I've been thinking, you never told me much about your family, not even when I found you almost dead in that forest." Mito speaks, casting a penetrating glance into Hiteru's eyes.

"Why bring this up now? I've already told you, I was raised in an orphanage and then sent to train to be a knight. Then the dragon attacked and I and the other apprentices went to gain time, which ended in the death of almost everyone, I don't remember anything else. I woke up in that forest and you saved me."

"So you never met any other Hizui?"

"I don't even know if that family exists or if it was invented, just that this was the name I was given..." Hiteru sits next to Mito. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing... Hiteru, do you think I'm a good teacher?"

"Let me see... Broken bones, burns, and cuts all over the body from training... What do you think?" Hiteru spoke with his chin raised, looking at the stars.

"I guess not, right?" She speaks in a melancholic tone of acceptance.

"Mito, you saved my life, and you made me stronger than I could ever dream of being. You're the best teacher anyone could have. I still don't know why you're so sentimental, but yes. You were and are a great teacher."

"Hiteru, thank you..." Mito gets up. "I think I should thank you for finding you... Oh, and before I forget, be careful, the nobles are betting, and I'm sure some of them won't hesitate to take the champions of others out of the game."

"I'm counting on that to reach the leader, remember?"

Mito jumps off the roof, and when Hiteru goes to the edge, she's already gone.

"What got into her? I've never seen her like this... Well, better go back inside."

Hiteru jumps to the ground, and as he opens the door, he is surprised to see the same man with the iron mask sitting on the couch.

"How are you, Hiteru?" He says with a voice muffled by his mask.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Hiteru extends his hand and summons his swords.

"I just came to tell you that you'll be number one and I'll be eleven, in other words, we'll fight each other. So say goodbye to whoever you need to say goodbye to, I guarantee you won't die in the fight, but I can't guarantee you'll survive until tonight."

"You're very brave, I have to admit... But know that after the fight, not even your mask will remain intact."

"We'll see..." The masked man gets up and walks slowly towards the exit, dragging his scythe along the ground with the blade.

Hiteru and the masked man seemed quite calm, but in a fraction of a second, the masked man raises his scythe and brings it down with immense force on Hiteru, who in turn blocks the blade with his forearm.

"It's a nice weapon, but I'd try to sharpen it more." Hiteru stops resisting as the masked man stops applying force.

"Hmm... See you in the arena..."

The masked man leaves... Hiteru locks the door and lies down on the couch.

"Better get some sleep, a little..."