Quarter-finals

The third round went smoothly as usual on that day. Lotus was fighting with number 6 in rankings and won easily once again. She was starting to cast some glances on Haruto before and after the match as if trying to probe him further.

In the boy's eyes, she was an interesting girl and he was fond of her character that attracted his desire to see more of her various reactions with his 'mischief'. That's why he always winked and waved his hand cheerfully everytime she looked at him, causing the latter to frown and looked away. For some reason or another Lotus reminded him a lot of Rikka on her early days and the girlfriend herself also realized what he was thinking about and blushed remembering her dark history.

The matches for the day ended not very eventful after Haruto's fight that caused some uproars among the audiences. A lot of them were regretting not coming to see the match directly and could only watched through a recording.

And yes, even through all of that, there's still a few people thought he was a threat for their money and sent some 'packages' regarding that. It shouldn't be said that they were all returned back to the owner along with his 'gratitude' for their considerations. Naturally, those people would have a hard time sleeping with a pale face.

Later during that day, Haruto asked Elsie for some errands regarding Erick. He wanted her to gather any kind of informations about him. Knowing she had invisibility magic and unable to die as long as he wouldn't die, he didn't worry much about her. Besides, she could dematerialize back to his body at any time if she was in danger or call him instantly using telepathy, Haruto could teleport to her immediately after that.

She was quite good at this kind of odd jobs, and that was the main specialty of her in fact as his party member. Elsie was also cheerfully accepted her job and sounded very motivated as she held her broom tightly saying "Leave it to me Nii-sama!". Haruto thought she's cute like that and pat her head, earning a giggle from her.

She then started to spread out some kind of Haruto mini dolls (with toon face) filled with invisibility magic everywhere on the island. They would act as her additional ears and eyes while she herself would wander around to ask people using disguising magic. The other girls asked for some of those dolls at later days but that was another story.

As for Haruto, he once again went with Kaori on the desolate valley to have his intensive training. Elsie would only return to sleep at night, leaving the dolls remained active outside. She didn't learn anything meaningful so on the next day, she would spent all day on information gathering.

The fourth round quarter-finals finally happened after the night passed. Haruto's group made their way to the arena with the exception of Elsie who was doing her jobs. Near the entrance, they met with the very crown prince of beastman they cursed many times lately. The two party didn't say anything to each other and only glared hatefully.

Erick was a bit surprised why they're suddenly being a lot more hostile than before but he was not the type to mind any of that. For him it was only a matter of time until the girls submitted to him.

At the same time, Haruto was analyzing the man in front of him. His first impression of the guy was he's an absurdly prideful and arrogant delusional person. He never thought of the person to be a lot more vicious and vile than his imaginations. If the son was like this what about the father, the king of the beastman? He heard Leonburg was quite a peaceful place without many conflicts similar to Filtrania but how could a leader with crooked character produced this kind of nation? Impossible.

That means despite the king being a straight man, he was for some reason or another had his son developed this nasty behaviors. Did he not knew about this? Or perhaps he knew but didn't do anything about it?

Anyway, that's also the reason he let Elsie gathered some informations. There's an info of the beast king coming here to watch his son's performance on the first day. He never came again after that as he was busy. Perhaps he would come during the match between Haruto and Erick as that was the most important thing for him. At that time, Haruto would surely inspected this very king with his own eyes.

They separated to different way, with the beastman prince went off to have his battle as the first match. Only 8 contestants left meaning there's only 4 matches on the fourth round. Each matches would have a break of one hour starting from now.

At first Haruto was a bit lazy to watch Erick's match but recently after their bets, he started to pay attention on the guy more. And now he already learnt what he wanted after Erick's current match, what left was once he fought against the beastman prince on the ring directly.

The second match was obviously Haruto's turn. The crowd was increasing dramatically by now, perhaps nearly around the time Lotus first made her appearance on the tournament. Their reason was obviously to spectate the rising star on the tournament that drew a lot of attentions after his recent battle.

"Okay, good luck Haru-kun." Rikka hugged him and cheered him on along with the other girls. They knew he was having a lot on his mind regarding his opponent this time and they wanted to encourage him.

"Yeah. Thanks." He hugged her back and made his way to the outside room.

"...."

"...?"

But before he went out, he was glancing back at Asami for a second, making her tilted her head. Haruto shook his head while smiling saying it was nothing and departed. They all looked at each other faces and shrugged their shoulders with puzzled face.

....

On the main arena.

The platform was replaced by a new one overnight after the damages it sustained during Haruto's match. Katchin was very expensive so the tournament management staffs were sighing deeply because they never thought they would use the first spare platform this soon. If it weren't because of the massive financial supports they had, there's no way for them to hold this kind of competition.

[Contestants please proceed to the stage.]

As usual, the announcer spoke with the mic. Haruto appeared first on the arena and went up the platform. The audiences that did not come before were eyeing him with curious eyes and anticipations, their tensions were quite high even before the match begin.

A minute later, a half-dwarven girl appeared on the arena too from the other side. She was dressed a bit different than before causing some puzzlements. She was now wearing tight clothing more suitable for a hunter with flexible movements and techniques compared to her traveller attire before.

Her eyes were more vicious and sharp compared from before. It caused some kind of solemn pressure around the people that caused them to gulp their saliva. At the previous tournament and until now, she never shown this kind of demeanor before.

Haruto silently watched the approaching party without showing much emotions. He obviously knew what's the meaning of her appearance today and what she's trying to do.

"...So this is your answer?" He asked.

"What choice do I have? You're the one forcing me on this path." Haruna furrowed her brows and glared angrily at Haruto.

"I see." Haruto closed his eyes indifferently.

This action caused Haruna to grit her teeth as her anger was raising dramatically.

"Why? Why won't you understand? I only ask you to withdraw just for this tournament. Knowing your strength you should be able to easily reach the same place next year isn't it? Or could it be you have something to achieve in this tournament too?"

"No, not particularly. I indeed have some business with that guy but compared to you it was trivial." He answered.

"Then!" She raised her voice.

"But I don't care about that. Your goal has nothing to do with me. Or do you honestly thought that you can have my sympathy just by sharing your pitiful story? Don't make me laugh." He sneered.

"....You!!"

She bit her lip and cursed at Haruto madly. She wanted to say something back but Haruto didn't say anything wrong, it was indeed too naive of her to think of a stranger would pull back just for her. Still, she couldn't hide her disappointment as if she was feeling betrayed. She honestly had a good impression on Haruto and the way he was conversing with her at that day made her think he was capable of understanding what she's feeling.

"....It is as you say, that was naive of me. In that case allow me to surpass you with everything I had." She calmed herself and put on a cold expression.

"Heh, you seemed confident. I wonder how are you going to do it? Defeating me that is." Haruto smirked.

".....I think you shouldn't underestimate me very much."

[...BEGIN!!!]

"Eye of Storm."

*WHOOSH!!!*

As soon as the announcer began the battle, Haruna spread her arms wide and let out a terrible gust of storm on the entire arena. It was as if a tornado descent right in the middle of the place.

Haruto guarded his face with his arms feeling the massive wind pressuring his body like a boat in the midst of storm. It's not only that, the windstorm also caused his skin to feel countless stings like being stabbed by needles, it was painful.

Ahead of him, Haruna was creating several energy blades made from Ki empowered by wind element, shrouding the blade with swirling gust like a drill. The emerald light blades were launched on him with horrifying speed unhindered by the chaotic storm.

*Dodge* *Dodge* *Dodge*

Moving his pressured body, Haruto managed to avoid the blades although barely. The sharpness of each blades had even surpassed the Destructo Disc, impressing him. There was no doubt he would be cut like a butter if he was hit.

As if Haruna already anticipated Haruto evading her attacks, she had fired more blades ten times the previous number. Haruto was surrounded by so many light blades as if it formed a net of emerald beam.

"Watch out!" Kaori shouted from the spectator's seats. She was well aware of how deadly the attacks were.

*BOOM!!!*

An explosion of shockwave blown away all the blades and storm nearby. Haruto was transforming into Super Saiyan and deflected the attack using the force of his energy. The golden waves of energy was flaring brilliantly like a barrier that protected his body.

"That form...."

Haruna's face turned grim seeing the familiar spectacle ahead of her. She was trying to avoid Haruto using the mysterious transformation because it was deemed too dangerous for her. That's why she swiftly unleashed relentless attacks to prevent him from doing so, she thought Haruto was underestimating her for not transforming right away or maybe there's some kind of restrictions. Unknowingly, Haruto was not as weak as to be able to be done by her instantly without being able to transform.

It wasn't because Haruto was underestimating her, it was because his Saiyan bloodline compelled him to fight a fulfilling battle in order to stimulate his potential and growth. If there was a chance, Haruto would naturally wouldn't go all out right away and ended the fight swiftly, it was all so he could become stronger faster. This kind of martial arts tournament that disallowed killing were a perfect ground for that purpose.

Starting from Tram, all of his next opponents were ones capable of bringing him to at least the full power of his base form, that was good enough to stimulate the Saiyan bloodline inside of him so that his next Growth would be more beneficial as it was the accumulation of his recent battles.

"Too bad your tactics didn't work huh? Are you disappointed?" Haruto grinned.

".....I told you not to underestimate me." Haruna glared at him. Although it was indeed a failure but she also didn't be too hopeful of defeating Haruto without letting him transform at all, she knew Haruto was also strong even without going Super Saiyan.

Once again, she created several light blades and fired them at Haruto.

"This again? That won't work the second time you know?"

Raising his arms, he caught the blades between his fingers and deflected the others from the side with his palms. Even though the energy blades were very sharp, it was only around the edge and the tip, Haruto could repel them using the harmless part of the blade. The pressure and damage from the storm was also negated by enveloping his body with his own energy force.

"Hm?"

"Haaa!"

Amidst the storm, Haruna was darting on him secretly while he was busy dealing with her attacks, she was using wind as a propeller to drive her body forward, gaining a boost in speed and force. Her body was fluctuating with emerald color aura as she engaged Haruto in a close quarter combat. Different than Tram, her technique was more skillful rather than using brute strength, so in a way, she's more difficult to handle.

"Your techniques aren't bad. Is it self taught?" Haruto asked while dodging and parrying her strikes.

"....I learnt it from my mother."

"Is that so? Must be a good mother then. But unfortunately, it seems the daughter is not a good learner."

"What?"

*Bam!*

Haruto slipped through her defense and struck her with his palm, pushing her back several steps. He charged forward and turned more aggressive on his attacks. Haruna was having a hard time to follow his movement and she was at a disadvantage. Their fighting skills were quite on par with each other but Haruto was better in physical terms, so it was obvious she would lost the competition. Haruto himself was also learning from his opponent combat skills as he began to improve his own by adapting to the other side's movements.

"Isn't that right? After all you're just a bad child unfilial to your parents."

"Guu..!"

Haruna gritted her teeth as she endured Haruto's attacks. She took out her whip Artifact, it was an emerald yellow short rod that could turn into a fearsome large and long whip. Raising the rod, she swung it against Haruto with speed as if it was split into numerous poisonous snakes striking on his body from a few meters away. But Haruto managed to catch her whip after suffering several grazes and cuts on his skin.

"I don't want to imagine what happened to your family and relatives but I want to ask something, why are you still alive?" He said while gripping on the whip as blood dripped from his palm.

"!!"

Haruna's body jolted and turned stiff, she was receiving a kick from her front and knocked out a few meters away.

"They're all died, how can you survive?"

"...."

"I can imagine the likely reason, they must have sacrificed their lives to allow you to live, isn't that right?"

"Uuu!"

What Haruto said was hitting a mark, causing a grimace on Haruna's face. She was recalling the day 'that' happened. How her friends and relatives were slaughtered mercilessly and houses being destroyed and burnt to ashes. Even her family, her mother and sisters were violated right in front of her eyes. Although she was powerful but she's powerless against the enemy force and could only saw that happened helplessly.

If not for her father managed to free her and let her run by sacrificing himself, she should suffered the exact same thing happened to her mother and sisters. She was pursued relentlessly and managed to escape after suffering grave wound on her back that remained as a scar until this day.

"And yet here you are wasting their efforts on you." Haruto said.

"....What...are you...talking about?"

"You can't fool me. The proof is your eyes." He pointed on Haruna's eyes and added,

"Eyes full of hatred and vengeance but at the same time filled with emptiness."

"!?" Haruna gasped.

"That's the eyes of someone not caring of her life anymore. After you have your revenge, you're planning to die aren't you?"

"I-I..."

"You don't have anyone else, your family and relatives died so you felt you don't have a reason in living anymore."

"...."

On the spectator seats.

The girls were watching the competition seriously while also paying attention to Haruto's interaction with Haruna. The storm the opponent caused made the other audiences hard to hear their conversations but for people like them who was sitting nearby with sharper hearing senses, they still able to hear them well enough.

There's two girls in particular showing extreme reactions hearing the conversation happened.

Rikka was turning her eyes on Asami who was looking dumbstruck like a thunderbolt hitting her body. What Haruto said was deeply ingrained on her because Haruna's situation was similar to her in the past.

She lost her family and she had no relatives, she didn't have anything left so she also thought the same as her that is she didn't want to live anymore.

'Haru, could it be....'

This time, Asami glanced back on Rikka to see she was also thinking the same thing as her.

Haruto was imagining Haruna as the image of Asami if she wasn't saved by Rikka. She could easily imagine herself becoming similar to Haruna in such situation. Maybe it was after she was raped mercilessly by the man who killed her brother and learnt the truth from him. She would seek vengeance for her brother and then after she succeeded, she would kill herself somewhere unknown. It wasn't hard to imagine that as it was very likely what's going to happen if Rikka was not there.

But that's exactly why, Haruto couldn't accept that. He was denying Haruna's thought and deliberately challenged her to prove she's wrong. Yesterday when Haruna was showing him her bitter and helpless expression, her figure was overlapping with his own sister, that was the reason he made the decision not to let her have her revenge the way she was.

"Really, that idiotic brother of mine...." Asami smiled bitterly and put her hand on her face. To think the reason he did all of this was because of her. They moved their gaze back on the arena where the two people stood still and conversed with each other.

"To be honest, you don't even care about revenge that much right? The true reason you're seeking vengeance is because that's the only thing you have left, you realized that killing that guy wouldn't bring back your family."

"Ah...Aaah...."

"Cih!"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he stepped forward and grabbed Haruna's collar and glared at her furiously.

"But that's stupid. You're not thinking of your family at all."

"...."

"It's not because of that. They didn't save you so you can abandon your life!! It's not the reason why they sacrificed their lives for you!!!"

"...."

Haruna was looking at Haruto's angry eyes with a dumbfounded expression. She was feeling intimidated and pressured by the wrath he shown on her. Clenching her fist tightly, she bit her lip and replied back

"Then what should I do?"

"What meaning is there if I continue to live!? Isn't it only to suffer more!? CAN YOU BE SURE I WON'T SUFFER MORE THAN THIS!?" She added loudly, her eyes were turning wet.

"I don't know." Haruto said.

"What...?"

"Will you suffer more or will you find something in the end, how could I know any of that? What I'm sure of is that nothing will happen if you don't even try."

"...."

"Even if it's painful, even if it's hard, you still have to find your own happiness. That's your duty as the remaining survivor, the reason why you still live and why they saved you. No matter what the outcome is, whether it is good or bad, only by seeing it through the end that you can truly say your gratitude to your late family. That's also how you can have a true revenge on your enemy. If you gave up that's the same as surrendering to him even if you succeeded to kill him."

"My...duty..."

"That's right."

"...."

They were silent with Haruna closing her eyes like she's thinking a lot of things. Haruto just patiently waited her to organize her thought. Before long she opened her eyes and stared at him with her pale lemon eyes.

"....Can I do it? Continue living that is."

"That depends on you but you should be able to if you want. ....Also, if you think it is too hard then you can look for me and play with us time to time. For now, you should try to see the world more on your own and broaden your view."

He said, rubbing his cheek a bit embarrassingly during the latter half of his speech. He liked to invite her to his group but he didn't want her to make the decision so early while there might be other things she could do and wanted to do after she saw the world with resolve to live.

"...Really?" Haruna widened her eyes. She also understood what he's trying to convey.

"Yeah."

"...Is that so."

Sighing deeply, she raised her hand and dispelled the storm around them. After the storm was lifted, she faced the female announcer at the top most location of the arena, declaring loudly to the entire place,

"I surrender!!"