Chapter 103

[Third Person's PoV]

"It's a shame you have abandoned your old name. It was a name your mother loved and picked out for you, it was a gift she had given you," Beatrix sighed, facing Alpha who had her arms crossed, looking at her.

"And I would forever be grateful for the life she has given me, but that little girl had died and is no more," Alpha retorted.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad or deeply upset by it. I'm just glad you're alright. And from what you told me, I have that boy to thank for it," Beatrix said with a small smile growing on her face.

Alpha simply nodded her head; after all, she was right. It was thanks to Cid that she was still alive to this day.

"So tell me, what have you been doing all these years? Have you been eating well? Eating enough? Getting well-rested sleep? Made friends? Have you been getting stronger?" Beatrix asked curiously, wanting to know more about Alpha's life.

"You're asking too many questions…" Alpha said, not liking being bombarded with so many inquiries.

Beatrix's expression turned downcast as she apologized, "You're right, sorry."

Seeing her, Alpha inwardly sighed. "It's a yes to all of those questions."

Beatrix's downcast expression quickly turned into a smile when she heard that. "I'm glad."

Alpha looked at her for a bit before asking, "Tell me, what were your plans after you found me?"

Beatrix turned serious as she answered, "I was planning on taking you with me around the world while training you, helping you grow stronger."

"There is a flaw in your plans," Alpha smiled.

Beatrix looked a bit confused before asking, "Will your husband not let you? I'm sure if we talk to him we might be able to convince him; he doesn't seem that unreasonable."

"That's not it…" Alpha said while shaking her head, "The trip will be meaningless as I wouldn't be learning anything… after all, I've grown stronger than you."

"Oh?~" Beatrix said with a smirk, not expecting to hear such a cocky response from her, "Are you on equal strength with the boy that was here before?"

"His name is Cid, and no, although I wish to grow stronger and help him in his endeavors, my strength is far from being on par with his. Even though I've been learning under him, he's like a mountain you can't see the peak of; even I haven't seen him at his strongest."

Beatrix, wanting to impress her niece, simply grinned as she said, "Although I don't know how I would fare against him, I'm not so weak. You may or may not know this, but your Aunt is known as the War Goddess throughout many kingdoms due to my strength."

Beatrix looked proud of herself for a bit before quickly realizing Alpha didn't look impressed in the slightest, which caused her to let out a nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head.

Then Beatrix let out a small sigh as she dropped her head before looking at Alpha with a serious expression.

"Since you're against the first idea, then I would follow you wherever you go and support whatever you're doing. We have already been separated once, and I won't let it happen again," she declared while tightly gripping her sword.

Alpha raised an eyebrow at the declaration before putting a hand on her chin and assuming a pondering expression. 'She'll follow me wherever I go, huh?'

'Dear husband…' Alpha called Cid through their connection.

"Yeah?" Alpha heard Cid respond.

Alpha inwardly smirked as she then asked, 'How would you feel about a little War Goddess joining our organization?'

"Is there really a need for me to answer such a question?" Cid retorted in a teasing tone.

'Hehehe, there's not, but I was just making sure, after all, she is a big public figure.'

"Just do it after the festival," Cid instructed Alpha.

'May I ask why?'

"So I can fight her."

'As you command, good luck in your match,' she said in a teasing tone.

'Really?' Cid scoffed before closing off the connection.

Alpha then looked at the sun before looking back at Beatrix. "Very well, I'll allow it, but I have things to do in the meantime. I'll need to get things sorted if you are planning on going where I'm going. I should be done after this festival; I'll be back by then, and we'll continue talking some more."

Before Beatrix had a chance to say anything else, Alpha sank into her shadow, which caused Beatrix to unconsciously stretch out her hand and try to grab hold of her.

Seeing her outstretched hand, Beatrix closed it into a fist and let out a sigh. "Alright then, I guess in the meantime, I'll go and watch the tournament, but please don't disappear on me… you are after all the only family I have left in this world" she muttered to herself with her eyes closed before walking away.

…

Cid, disguised as Julius, closed the connection and focused on Annarose in front of him in the middle of the arena.

He glanced towards the VIP booth, where he spotted Perv Asshat sitting in his seat, inwardly scoffing before returning his attention to Annarose.

Though she wasn't visibly trembling or showing any fear in her posture, Cid still detected a hint of apprehension in her eyes as she avoided looking at the white cloth around his eyes, mainly focusing on his mouth area.

'To win, I need to go all out, maintaining balance between speed, defense, and offense without compromising any,' Annarose thought, tightening her grip around her sword.

"AND LET THE MATCH BETWEEN ANNAROSE AND JULIUS BLINDMAN… COMMENCE!"

Annarose immediately enveloped her entire body with her magic power and shot herself towards Julius in a blur, aiming to catch him off guard and bring him down swiftly.

As she swung her sword, Cid effortlessly blocked it with his walking stick, showing no signs of strain or damage.

'As I suspected, the stick is made of some tough materials with how much it weighs' Annarose thought, seizing the opportunity to redirect her sword and thrust it forward, aiming right through Julius' body.

She stabbed her sword through Julius' body, but as she did, the body quickly disappeared, and his real body appeared behind her.

"Oh no, you killed my afterimage. Whatever am I going to do?" Julius said in a monotone voice.

Annarose swung her sword without hesitation, aiming to strike Julius behind her, but it only ended up destroying another afterimage.

Soon, more and more afterimages of Julius started appearing throughout the area, taking the audience by surprise. Even Iris and Perv Asshat were astonished as they watched the multitude of afterimages.

Julius' voice resounded throughout the entire arena, as if each voice were speaking simultaneously. "So tell me, can you catch the real one among us?"

Annarose didn't respond as her figure blurred, slashing through the afterimages in front of her while keeping her guard up in case Julius tried to sneak attack her while she was distracted.

The afterimages then converged and made their way towards her, each swinging their walking stick at her.

This went on for a while, gradually wearing down Annarose's stamina. After some time, there were only two Julius' left.

The two Juliuses attacked one after the other. Annarose destroyed the first one by slashing her sword right through its neck with a battle cry, then aimed her sword down towards the only remaining Julius.

As the sword came towards him, Julius used his footwork to move out of the way at the perfect moment, dodging the blade while simultaneously bringing his walking stick to the side, pulling out his sword, and pressing the cold metal right against her neck as her own blade made contact with the floor.

Annarose, gasping for air and out of breath from fighting the afterimages, used the sword to kneel upright.

"Do you yield?" Julius asked in a cold voice.

Annarose made a swallowing motion before closing her eyes and exhaling, dropping her head in resignation. "Yes… I do… I yield."

There was a moment of silence before thunderous applause and cheering erupted throughout the audience.

"AND THE WINNER OF THIS GLORIOUS MATCH IS… JULIUS BLINDMAN!!!"