Chapter 23: The Half-Elf's Checkmate

"What are you doing this late up?"

"What does it look like Cynthia? I'm gaming."

"How are you winning in ten different games on ten different screens?"

"I just can."

"How would your mother react when I tell her you've been gaming since the sun settled to when the sun rises?"

"How would your mother react when I tell her you just came out of Arthur's room at this time?"

"How about we don't tell anyone?"

"Deal."

Few days later:

"The day has come." Pandora said with frustration.

Four days passed slowly as Pandora and Cynthia trained for their battle.

"Against those two." Arthur said as he took a sip of his tea.

"They really thought about it then."

"They probably struggled more with Laertes's one."

"Not really, they knew who'd win so they probably didn't think much of it."

"Valid point, Pandora."

"Vania Dagon Viotta and Sierra Von Callisto. Two powerful beings." I said.

"Vania is a demon while Sierra is a fairy." Pandora said as she ate her breakfast.

"You're gonna have to be wary Pandora, they're not you average students."

"I'ill win no matter the cost."

"Yes, this tournament is crucial to my goals."

"Then I'll help you, Laertes."

"I didn't doubt you Arthur."

"Well it has to be said once in a while." Pandora said as she smiled and took another bite in her toast.

"Let's get to school then, the others are already there."

"You don't need to wake up early Arthur."

"Well anyways, we should go to school, it's my match today after all."

"Don't get too cocky Pandora."

"Well considering your personality, you might lose to those girls."

"My personality?"

"Yeah, well in my eyes you're a bit ditzy."

"Levantes, what do you think?"

"I think there's a possibility of losing."

"I meant my personality."

"Oh, you're...how do I say this... you're a bit clumsy at times?"

"Does that also mean cute?" Pandora said as she looked at the island countertop as her face became a dark shade of red.

"Yeah."

"Smooth." Arthur said as he took another sip of his tea.

Pandora started blushing so hard it was visible.

"I-I-I'm gonna go now. Bye!"

With that Pandora teleported.

"So now that she's gone, you wanna exain what you're gonna do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't act stupid Laertes, I've known you for how long."

"I'll try something."

"Okay then, I'll wait and see your master plan, you are the smartest person I know, you're also my best friend, so I would never betray you."

"Likewise."

We both then got up from our seats and then teleported. As soon as we did we were approched by the others.

"Can Vania Dagon Viotta and Sierra Von Callisto proceed to Hall 4-A and can Pandora Alpharius Silva and Cynthia Aethoria go to Hall 2-S."

"Looks like it's starting."

"Stating the obvious Arthur, well done."

"Using sarcasm Levantes, well done."

We both then joined the others who were already at their seats when Arthur and I were bickering with popcorn in their hands. Lilith handed me a popcorn while Arthur's popcorn was handed to him by Themis.

"Let Round 24 of the Inter-Academy Tournament selection begin."

Pandora's point of view:

I stared at Cynthia as she tried working out what to do so we could earn our victory.

"You thought of a plan yet."

"Well I'm thinking but they all seem to end up in defeat."

"I see, how about this, we use offense instead of defense."

"That's risky, you have the crown and that would target you more than me so if they use offense here they could ultimately win."

"Well, it's a good gamble."

"Fine then, we'll use your plan then Pandora."

Well it's a better plan than anything you can think of.

"I'm off then." I said as I ran into the forest.

It'll be harder for Levantes as he has no choice but to go through a balanced plan of offense and defense.

I put my finger in my mouth then instantly held my hand in the air with my finger pointing upwards.

Someone's here then. The trees behind me at an angle of 135° to the left. Upwards roughly 88°, 30ft in the air.

I picked up a rock from the floor and tossed it onto the ground.

Checkmate.

The girl behind me then jumped off the trees at an outstanding speed. I dodged the attack with ease and tilted my head to the side to evade her punch.

"You knew where I was Pandora. You're not the Queen for nothing then."

"Sierra, I could predict your moves even of I was blind."

I turned around so Sierra and I were face to face. Sierra had completely white hair with green eyes. She was about the same height as me and wore the same type of bows I wear in her hair. I then kept back as Sierra almost sliced me with her scythe.

"You're not gonna get away with that type of speed!" Sierra exclaimed.

Now.

I then shot a bullet made from wind which was deflected by Sierra's scythe which then hit the cameras in the area. I then held Sierra arm which she then broke through with ease which then made her try to punch me. The cameras were fixed with 'Restoration' and Sierra now tripped over a stone which then made her fall to her knees with dirt on her face and clothes. A tree branch then fell on Sierra but didn't harm her at all but trapped her in hole which was created from the impact of the tree.

"Bye!" I said as I stolled though the forest to find Vania.

I then heard the sounds of spells being casted, in that instance everything 200m infront of me was completely obliterated by a beam of light.

Cynthia's been training then.

I then froze time at such a level that even Cynthia couldn't move.

"I'll take this then." I said as I took the crown which previously sat on Vania's dark hair.

"Winner of Round 24 of the Inter-Academy Tournament selection is Pandora Alpharius Silva and Cynthia Aethoria."

Levantes's perspective:

I watched Pandora on the screen about 40cm away from my face and about 24" diagonally. I watched as Pandora tossed the stone on the grass and then initiated her plan by making her opponent make the first move.

Impressive. A move that clearly leads to a great victory, a wonderful checkmate. A move that will only be realised by less than 1% of the audience. The only people I know who might be able to work it out is probably Arthur. As a Vasilias you should be wise, Arthur has an IQ of roughly 2,750. Arthur is smart but he doesn't use his potential properly. Arthur's one of the only people to understand after Pandora, well you can't understand something properly until you experience it yourself, for an example, if you have never experienced a loved one's death than you don't have a right to tell someone who has that they should stop mourning. Mourning over deaths is not something I do as I have seen death an immeasurable amount of times. Death is inevitable no matter how powerful you are, every living thing shall taste death someday. Yaldabaoth, the most powerful being we know died to reincarnate because of a Reason unknown to us. Immortality cannot protect you from the inevitable for all of eternity. Life becomes broking at some point that you wish for death, that alone is worse than death but is technically death. Logically you cannot live being immortal happily, there comes a time where you realise everyone you meet and everyone you have a relationship with, you will eventually bury them. Arthur has yet to see and feel the impact of death. Death grows on people, clinging on to them as their lives grow dark and alone.

"Laertes, Pandora won."

I was submerged into my own thoughts that I forgot about the battle infront of me.

"Well we all knew the results anyways."

"Next is Lilith and Kyron."

She probably thought I didn't realise it. Yes I was submerged in my thoughts, but in my subconscious I saw it. The next round should be interesting, not only is it my sister and my friend but it's someone else as well. Twin siblings, Aurelio and Audrey Damaris Vandenberg. This pair of siblings were powerful, much, much more powerful than the weak Eris, Athena, Vania and Sierra. Compared to these two these four girls were children to a beast. Aurelio was at Complex Chaos rank while his sister, Audrey, was at Low Complex Chaos. My sister was at High Complex Akyros rank while Kyron was at High Chaos rank. If I were to change the ranking system to tiering with 1-A as the highest (High Complex Archon) and 52-C as the lowest (Low F), then Lilith would be 2-A with Kyron at 9-A, Aurelio at 7-B and Audrey at 7-C. In this way, it is clear that Lilith and Kyron would win but how?

[Low F 52C

High F 52B

F 52A

Low Complex F 51C

Complex F 51B

High Compex F 51A

Low E 50C

E 50B

High E 50A

Low Complex E 49C

Complex E 49B

High Complex E 49A

Low D 48C

D 48B

High D 48A

Low Complex D 47C

Complex D 47B

High Complex D 47A

Low C 46C

C 46B

High C 46A

Low Complex C 45C

Complex C 45B

High Complex C 45A

Low B 44C

B 44B

High B 44A

Low Complex B 43C

Complex B 43B

High Complex B 43A

Low A 42C

A 42B

High A 42A

Low Complex A 41C

Complex A 41B

High Complex A 41A

Low S 40C

S 40B

High S 40A

Low Complex S 39C

Complex S 39B

High Complex S 39A

Low SS 38C

SS 38B

High SS 38A

Low Complex SS 37C

Complex SS 37B

High Complex SS 37A

Low SSS 36C

SSS 36B

High SSS 36A

Low Complex SSS 35C

Complex SSS 35B

High Complex SSS 35A

Low Universal 34C

Universal 34B

High Universal 34A

Low Complex Universal 33C

Complex Universal 33B

High Complex Universal 33A

Low Hydra 32C

Hydra 32B

High Hydra 32A

Low Complex Hydra 31C

Complex Hydra 31B

High Complex Hydra 31A

Low Apocalyptic 30C

Apocalyptic 30B

High Apocalyptic 30A

Low Complex Apocalyptic 29C

Complex Apocalyptic 29B

High Complex Apocalyptic 29A

Low Cataclysmic 28C

Cataclysmic 28B

High Cataclysmic 28A

Low Complex Cataclysmic 27C

Complex Cataclysmic 27B

High Complex Cataclysmic 27A

Low Herculean 26C

Herculean 26B

High Herculean 26A

Low Complex Herculean 25C

Complex Herculean 25B

High Complex Herculean 25A

Low Demon 24C

Demon 24B

High Demon 24A

Low Complex Demon 23C

Complex Demon 23B

High Complex Demon 23A

Low Dragon 22C

Dragon 22B

High Dragon 21A

Low Complex Dragon 21C

Complex Dragon 21B

High Complex Dragon 20A

Low Astronomical 20C

Astronomical 20B

High Astronomical 19A

Low Complex Astronomical 19C

Complex Astronomical 19B

High Complex Astronomical 18A

Low Asura 18C

Asura 18B

High Asura 17A

Low Complex Asura 17C

Complex Asura 17B

High Complex Asura 16A

Low Dimensional 16C

Dimensional 16B

High Dimensional 16A

Low Complex Dimensional 15C

Complex Dimensional 15B

High Complex Dimensional 15A

Low Divine 14C

Divine 14B

High Divine 13A

Low Complex Divine 13C

Complex Divine 13B

High Complex Divine 12A

Low Apostle 12C

Apostle 12B

High Apostle 11A

Low Complex Apostle 11C

Complex Apostle 11B

High Complex Apostle 10A

Low Celestial 10C

Celestial 10B

High Celestial 9A

Low Complex Celestial 9C

Complex Celestial 9B

High Complex Celestial 8A

Low Chaos 8C

Chaos 8B

High Chaos 7A

Low Complex Chaos 7C

Complex Chaos 7B

High Complex Chaos 6A

Low Omni 6C

Omni 6B

High Omni 5A

Low Complex Omni 5C

Complex Omni 5B

High Complex Omni 4A

Low Akyros 4C

Akyros 4B

High Akyros 3A

Low Complex Akyros 3C

Complex Akyros 3B

High Complex Akyros 2A

Low Archon 2C

Archon 2B

High Archon 2A

Low Complex Archon 1C

Complex Archon 1B

High Complex Archon 1A]

"Can Lilith Aster Volomir and Kyron Neropaios proceed to Hall 2-S and can Aurelio Damaris Vandenberg and Audrey Damaris Vandenberg go to Hall 2-A for the next match."

"Looks like the next one's starting."

"It's gonna be interesting."

"It'd probably end in a few seconds because of Lilith."

"Just wait and see."

Arthur then looked at me in confusion.

Looks like he didn't realise.

The next round started as the announcement was heard.

"Round 25 officially has begun."

Lilith's Perspective:

"You take the crown."

"No, you should. You're much stronger than I am so it'd be best for you to wear it."

"Fine then." I said.

"Let's try find them then."

"I'll teleport around and if I find them I'll teleport you to me."

"Sounds like a plan."

It was funny for me to look at Kyron as when I first met him he was no taller than me and was sensitive and cried most of the time, now he is tall about 6ft or higher and he had remarkable strength even for someone of his caliber. I teleported around the forest looking for the catastrophic twins but couldn't find them anywhere.

They probably teleported then, it'd be hard for me to find them like this.

I then used my skill, 'Antilavanodere Eye', this skill allows the user to see through any trap and/or spell. With this skill I used 'Telescopic Sight' allowing me to see through any spell within a few hundred thousand Dimensional Units, instantly I found them. Upon finding them I saw who had the crown.

So you have it, Aurelio.

Aurelio Damaris Vandenberg, I knew this boy since I was small. We would regularly train or play together and whatever the occasion his sister was with him, just like Laertes and I. Aurelio protected his sister so fighting one would mean fighting both as Audrey would do the same and protect Aurelio. I then teleported infront of them faster than light itself.

"Hello there, it's been a long time since we met, Vandenberg." I said as Aurelio and Audrey deactivated their invisibility skill.

"Yeah it has, Volomir."

Aurelio was about Laertes's height with blue eyes and blond hair, Audrey had the same and was my height. She was my rival ever since we were kids, we competed in almost everything.

"Lilith Aster Volomir. It's been some time since we sparred."

"I know, the last time we sparred I won, making that my streak of 110,657 wins. Let's see if that gets broken today."

"Let's see."

Audrey teleported behind me and tried piercing her longsword through my head but I dodged it by tilting my head sideways. I then whipped my head around and pushed her onto the ground using gravity magic. As Audrey was pinned on to the ground her longsword almost stabbed me through the back but I easily stopped it with gravity magic.

"Looks like the streak's not going to end today."

"Be careful with you words." Aurelio said as he stabbed me through my back.

His sword went in my spine and came out from my stomach. The sword was stabbed into the ground as I stood my the sword in my stomach.

"You don't have your brother here today."

"If he fought with me, I would feel sorry for you." I said as I coughed out blood.

Yes.

"Blood Magic: Blood Manipulation."

I then created multiple swords with the 2 litres of blood that came out of my body.

"I'm an archer you know." I said as my blood swords flew through the air as if they were dancing.

I then made the swords stab Aurelio's arms and legs and then pinned him on the ground with the swords still intact.

"All that with your sword still inside me." I said as I walked towards Aurelio.

"Weak." Audrey said.

I whipped my head around to see Audrey standing with no cuts or bruises and with Kyron's severed head in her hands.

"KYRON!"

"He's dead."

"You sure about that." I said as I reconnected the bones, nerves and skin back to his body.

"Looks like your team is down to one now."

"You b***h."

I then created dark orbs which circled me.

"How about I destroy this forest?" I said as the orbs were thrown hundred kilometres away from us like grenades. Soon the floor cracked and split open as if trying to eat us.

"What did you do?!"

"Destruction magic."

Soon the trees surrounding us disappeared. One by one they disintegrated without leaving a lead on the floor.

"Now we have all this space, I'm gonna go full out."

I took a dark coloured bracelet off her wrist. The ground started rumbling as Aurelio and Audrey tried to run away but was stopped by me.

"Shadow magic: Shadow Binding."

They tried to run away but something held them down like an anchor. Audrey struggled while Aurelio accepted his fate, soon after a few minutes, Audrey broke through and she ran. She ran far into the forest until she saw the trees. She then tripped and fell face down on the grass. I then walked up to her and grabbed her so I could see Audrey's face. A grin appeared on my face as I said,

"Where are you going to run now?"

"F*CK OFF!"

I then pulled her hair so she stood up, I then kneed her stomach and smashed her face into the grass. She coughed out blood and tears ran down her cheeks.

"Heal." She said while grinning.

Her face was restored to its original state with no cuts or blood running down her face.

"Bone magic: Bone Manipulation."

Audrey then floated in the air. I then gestured that I crushed something in my hand, instead, Audrey's bones were being crushed. Audrey screamed in pain as her bones were cumrushed by my magic. After few dozen seconds of crushing Audrey's bones I healed then and started the process all over again. I could tell that Aurelio felt hopeless as he watched his twin sister be tortured at my hands.

"Feeling helpless Aurelio?" I said with a hint of sarcasm.

"You sick b***h!"

"Now, now, let's not speak profanity here, you'll end up like your sister if you do."

Aurelio kept quiet after hearing my threat.

"But don't worry, you're not going to feel left out." I said as I crushed his bones.

Aurelio and Audrey screamed in pain while Kyron's body was left unconscious. A tree then fell and I calculated that it would hit us all considering the size of it as well, but the bigger question was why? I quickly dodged the tree and took the crown off of Aurelio's head. I then used my telekinesis on Kyron so he would not get hit by the tree but I was too late. The tree fell on Kyron's left leg and completely crushed them. I heard the sound of his bones crush.

"Lilith Aster Volomir and Kyron Neropaios wins the 25th round."

Well I won but at what cost? My partner was now out for at least the whole tournament because of multiple things happening to him. His head was detached from his body and his left leg was completely obliterated.

I broke down almost crying at the sight of Kyron. His leg bleed with parts of his bones stuck out like shards and line of blood went around his neck. Soon the healers entered the forest and tried healing him. It was too late. He was not going to recover so easily.

Levantes's point of view:

We all watched the tragedy happen.

This was your plan. Make the tree fall so it's just Lilith left. Changing their opponents so that Kyron would have no chance? Smart idea Pandora but was it really the best you could think of?

"Well it looks like it's genetic, fighting on your own."

"Who knows? They probably won't put us together anyways as the other teams would not have any chance even in every timeline to win."

"You have a point, I mean you guys are one of the strongest beings in Existence."

"We that's true, let's go home then, Kyron's staying because of his injuries and I think Lilith might stay as well."

"Well obviously, they have been with each other since they started school in the first stage."

"Yeah, they have known each other for long."

The real stuff happens now. The next rounds will be more interesting than the last. This was the Half-Elf's checkmate, we shall see more in the near future.