Tournament Day 3 Part 5

The room was about the same size as Amelia's. It was barely up to standard for a guest of this category to use, yet its occupant didn't seem to mind. Hayden leisurely sipped his tea as he read a book on the kingdom's botany. He seemed quite comfortable as he sat in his cushioned chair. Every now and then water dripped from his hair but rather than drying his hair or pulling it back, he would simply wipe the page of his book. He was wearing a black robe, which was partially open, revealing his hairy chest. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that there were four guards in the room with him and two more guarding the door outside. Although the King referred to it as "protective custody", it was obvious that he was being imprisoned. He did not mind this at all however, as soon his protectors would become his sacrificial lambs.

  "Are you absolutely certain, my Lady?!," asked Head Priest Zaylin with widened eyes.

  "Yes, there's no doubt. The person who did that to Lady Bodum… is still in the castle," responded Viola in a serious tone.

Head Priest Zaylin fell back into his chair, causing it to cry out with clear squeaks. He looked troubled as he stroked his beard. "How could this have happened? We must put a stop to this before it spreads, we absolutely must!"

  "To think you were that close," mumbled Viola.

  "Huh? Did you say something my Lady?"

  "Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing. I'll handle that person. In the meantime, I need you to work on counter-measures. While myself and a few of this kingdom's people would be able to guard against this level of shadow magic, most citizens won't be able to and from what I've heard of what happened in the past, it may be a repeat of 'that period' if we do nothing. I will also let the King and Princes know of this. It's such a shame, rather than finding ways to be resistant to or to combat dark magic, any presence of it was wiped away which has left the people vulnerable." 

  "Alright. I will advise the other head priests and start having our juniors gather light stones. I will also find a way to increase the number of protection charms in the markets and encourage their use among the people."

  "That would be a good start."

  "Hm, yes but more will need to be done. We got off lightly with Lady Bodum's case. It could've been… so much worse."

Viola noticed the change in Head Priest Zaylin right away. It was as though he had gone to an unimaginably dark place.

  "You, you lived through 'that period', didn't you? You were in the kingdom when it happened, right?"

Head Priest Zaylin came back to his senses and looked up at Viola. He tried to regain his composure but it was difficult for him to push the thoughts away. "Yes, I was able to get through 'that period' but rather than living, it was like a fight for survival each day, it was like holding your breath and waiting to see if the odds would be in your favor. I remember it vividly yet not at all. It was a time when no one could be trusted, paranoia reigned, blood flowed more than water, it was considered a blessing to hear the screams of the elderly rather than the cries of children, it was a time when families… became no more…"

Head Priest Zaylin remained silent for quite some time. Rather than his beard, he seemed to have been gripping something beneath it, a necklace perhaps. His eyes appeared glossy and his breathing strained. He had once again gone to a dark place. As he went deeper into these memories, he felt a warmth radiating from his head. It somehow brought him back.

Viola had placed her hand on top of his head. She then slightly patted it. The few hairs on Head Priest Zaylin's head would spring up after each pat. "There, there, there, there…"

Head Priest Zaylin's eyes filled with tears. As he looked up at Viola her figure seemed to resemble another. He wiped his tears then let out a hearty laugh. "Thank you, Viola."

In the midst of their touching moment, they were interrupted by shouting and loud banging at the door. Head Priest Zaylin's name was being called repeatedly. It seemed to be urgent. Viola moved to a nearby chair and Head Priest Zaylin went to check who was at the door.

  "Oh my, these young ones, they seem to forget how to act when guests are around. What's got you so worked up, hmm?" asked Head Priest Zaylin of the junior priest.

The young junior priest at the door looked frail and seemed to be in his early twenties. He was breathing heavily and sweat covered his face and stained his clothes.

  "I-I'm sorry Head Priest Zaylin but it's urgent! It-It's about the matter you asked us to investigate before."

The junior priest present was called Aden and he was the one who Head Priest Zaylin had previously tasked with investigating the whereabouts of Head Priest Cruz. Head Priest Zaylin quickly noticed that the young man was hesitant to speak due to Viola's presence. "I'm sorry my Lady but it appears that I need to speak to this junior priest for a moment, I beg your pardon."

Viola simply nodded in response. Head Priest Zaylin then led the young man to another room. While it hurt him to hide things from Viola, it had to be done. If she were to be commanded to reveal what had happened then she wouldn't be able to refuse and they could not risk the King knowing what they had been keeping hidden.

The castle was a bit tense due to everything that had happened recently but some did not seem to be affected by it. In a tightly-packed, dimly lit storage room, two people were close enough to feel each other's heartbeats and the warmth of each other's breath.

  "Was there anything else?"

  "Hah, ah! N-no, that's all that I have to report. I-I, ah! I'll be sure to contact you if there's anything else."

  "Okay, I trust you. You've been a good girl so far."

  "T-thank you, Lady Dillon."

Lady Dillon smiled as she straightened the young servant's skirt. She was one of the new servants, her name was Daisy and she was as sweet and bright as a flower. She had long, thick, curly,  gorgeous golden locks which she had under a thin cap and pulled back into a bun, big, light brown eyes, delicate features and a petite frame. The only thing which managed to deter the males in the castle from pursuing her was her eccentric personality. It was as though she had a talent for destroying a man's tower. After Daisy saw Lady Dillon in action that day as a "QT", she became interested in her. With the reasoning of helping Lady Dillon with her work, she was able to approach her. Although she didn't intend for such an amorous relationship to begin, she was quite pleased with the turn things had taken.

  "I've had my little spies before but they've never been as effective as you," said Lady Dillon in a low voice as she gently rubbed her thumb against Daisy's lower lip.

  "Thank you, my Lady. I hope to continue to be a source of pleasure for you," said Daisy with a half seductive, half innocent look.

Lady Dillon could feel her pulse racing. This girl may have been young but she was dangerous. Lady Dillon pressed herself against Daisy's chest (it helped that they were a similar height) and used one of her hands to put Daisy's arms above her head. With the other hand, Lady Dillon began to slowly undo Daisy's top. "I think there are a few more things for us to discuss, don't you?"

Daisy smiled in response, ready for what would come next.

Back at the tournament, Eulis' opponent had entered the ring. He was the son of a count, his name was Julius Hem. He looked decent but paled in comparison to Eulis. He had curly brown locks and dark brown eyes, thick eyebrows and a muscular build. His uniform seemed to have been altered to prioritize showing his physique rather than for functionality. 

  "You've made it quite far… for a commoner," said Julius as he snickered.

  "I have, haven't I," said Eulis with a boyish smile as he tilted his head.

Julius' brows furrowed. This response irked Julius as he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for. "Just you wait you good-for-nothing pauper, I'll make you regret messing with a noble!," thought Julius.

With this thought Julius seemed to have regained his composure and soon the match commenced. Everyone was eager to see how the two young men would perform.

Before things could begin however, Julius raised his hand, soon after the match was announced to begin, as a way to stop Eulis from moving. "Hey, commoner, I want to give the audience members a good show so… what do you say to a good ol' fist fight, hmm? I won't use my magic, afterall, I am on my way to becoming a  2 Star Earth Mage," said Julius proudly.

  "Oh, that does sound exciting. Count me in!" responded Eulis enthusiastically. 

Julius and Krissy smiled as they heard his words. The Princess was a bit uneasy but decided to trust Eulis.

  "Then let us b-"

  "Wait! I'd like to add a condition if you don't mind," said Eulis.

  "Huh? What could you possibly w-"

  "No matter what happens, there can be no surrender, agreed?"

  "Huh? *ha ha* Why of course, I just hope you won't regret it afterwards." said Julis as he shrugged his shoulders.

  "Of course," said Eulis with a bright smile.

  "Enough chatting then, let's begin!" With that, Julius rushed towards Eulis.

Unbeknownst to everyone however, was that Julius had concentrated his earth magic underneath his gloves, above his fingers and joints so that they would act as a kind of defensive glove and weapon. He kept charging at a smiling Eulis who appeared clueless as to what he had brought upon himself. Then as soon as his fist was about to connect, something didn't seem right. Eulis now wore an eerie expression. It was too late to retreat though, Julius could only push this concern to the back of his mind and proceed with his attack.

A cracking sound was soon all Julius could hear. Eulis had grabbed both his fists and had pressed on them with such great force that they broke through his defensive earth magic and snapped the bones.

  "Ah!" Julius yelled out in pain as he fell to his knees, Eulis still holding his fists in place.

Eulis then got down to Julius' level and went close to his ears. "You know, they say when someone is close to becoming a 3 Star Mage, they can feel even the slightest presence of magic around them. I guess it's true."

Julius froze upon hearing this. This guy didn't seem like  the dope he thought he was. Who did he just mess with?

  "As an apology for breaking the rules, you can't surrender, okay? Afterall, we agreed…" said Eulis with a dark smile as he looked at Julius.

  "W-wait, p-please, I-I'm sorry commoner, I-"

  "Shhh, it's "Mr. Commoner" to you."

  "Uh, no, wait, I-"

With a quick motion, Eulis threw Julius into the air like a ragdoll. The crowd looked on in amazement with the great ease with which he did this. While they were curious about what they had been discussing, getting back to the action of the match was more important to them.

Julius screamed as he was about to plummet into the ground. The wind which surrounded him seemed as though it was quickly ushering him to his death. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out what would come. He screamed for some time but soon realized that he had stopped moving. He didn't hit the ground. He slowly opened his eyes to find that he was mid-air. Eulis had gotten a hold of one of his legs.

  "Ready for some more fun?"

  "N-no, I surren-"

  "Nope"

Eulis flung Julius into the air again before launching successive blows to his chest, abdomen and groin. Julius didn't even have a chance to fight back. Some audience members were angered that a commoner would dare to treat a noble in such a manner, some sympathized with Julius, some found it comical, there were a range of emotions but the majority found it entertaining. 

  "What an interesting young man," said Principal Snow under his breath.

  *Hahaaha haaa* "That's what weaklings get when they try to act tough!" exclaimed General Vaughn, barely able to control himself.

The scene reminded the Training Ground 20 soldiers, who were present, of the dark time they had 'sparred' with Viola. It sent chills down their spins. 

As for Eulis, while he was intent on sending a message, he still showcased excellent techniques as he pummeled Julius. The judges seemed pleased by this. 

After some time, Eulis decided to end things. It was fun for a while but once Julius fainted, it was the end of the match. Some of the soldiers from Training Ground 20 who were working as medics briskly came in with a stretcher, carefully picked up Julius and carried him out to the sick bay. As Julius was being carried away, the judges displayed their scores. While Eulis did score highly, they were not able to give a perfect score since a one-sided beating can only show a small level of one's skills. Nevertheless, Eulis appeared pleased.

The crowd sounded with applause and the Princess was also pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Eulis smiled as he noticed the Princess' expression. Soon however, his expression changed drastically. Before coming down from the platform, Eulis made his way over to Krissy and Jemma who were still in shock from what they had witnessed. They soon noticed the shadow cast from above them. They were being looked down on, by a commoner no less and they could barely hold their heads up and maintain eye contact. Eulis was smiling but his aura was no joke, he was angry.

  "I hope there won't be any further outside interference in the matches going forward. You know what I mean, right? I wouldn't want to hit a woman… but I'll do it if I must."