The center of the battlefield was already a mess.
Countless intricate silver runes formed a magic array called “Star Map” in the low sky, and the ground was littered with craters from the starlight explosions of the Star Map.
The few remaining intact patches of ground were ablaze with brilliant star flames.
Wilt (Anna-veil) stood amidst the scattered remnants of defeated soldiers, her feet slightly off the ground, floating.
The dazzling starlight enveloped her, making her appear like a celestial deity descended to the mortal realm, untouchable and unreachable.
“Untouchable” here refers to the physical aspect of being unreachable.
The last survivor attempted a sneak attack from behind her, but the system had already predicted the ambush.
She merely turned her head and pointed her gun at him—a beam of light blasted him away, spinning 3600° in the air before crashing to the ground in a miserable heap.
“That’s the Star Rune…!” Morai was shocked, as were all the members of the Deville family, and the other distinguished guests had also heard of this “recorded strongest rune.” The Star Rune is rare and difficult to resonate with, only connecting with one person in the same era.
The fact that “Wilt brought the Star Rune out of Niflheim” was enough to make him a guest of honor for the Deville family.
Therefore, “making the holder of the Star Rune a part of the family” became Morai’s top priority.
Although everything else was essentially a foregone conclusion.
(Very well, I didn’t expect the Alphares family to produce such a talent, and they even participated in the martial arts tournament.
It seems Torina’s fiancé is already determined.) Such talent is sure to win in the end, right? As for Milora? Her performance was indeed unexpectedly good, but the gap between her and Wilt was not just a little bit.
Judging by her combat, she seemed to be using a skill that interfered with gravity.
“Could it be that she obtained the mysterious Gravity Rune on her second dungeon exploration?”—Morai indeed had suspicions, but Milora did not directly reveal the rune, and there are “gravity magic” branches in other systems of magic (though not many people know it), so it couldn’t be concluded that she just got lucky and obtained the Gravity Rune.
But… what if she really did?
…
…
…
Then, the battle turned into a one-sided crush.
Anna-veil, with the system and the Star Rune in hand, coupled with her own considerable strength, naturally swept through everything, unstoppable, like a god slaying gods and a Buddha slaying Buddhas.
Milora fought steadily, and many who couldn’t beat Anna-veil came to pick on her, but she resolved them one by one.
Unlike Anna-veil, who was unreserved in displaying her formidable power, she almost always held back, only revealing a new move when faced with more challenging situations.
In the end, only two people remained on the field.
Anna-veil Alphares.
Milora Sistema.
“Very well.”
Morai used amplification magic to spread her voice throughout the venue, announcing that the martial arts festival had entered its final stage: “Thank you to all the contestants for bringing us these battles.
This year’s battles were even more exciting than previous years, and as the overseer of this grand event, I am deeply gratified.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Torina, who shrugged innocently.
“Now, only the last two contestants remain.
They are the strongest and most noble warriors.
According to tradition, after a short rest, the two will present the final and most exciting battle on a specially set up stage.
Let’s cheer for them.”
“OOOOOOOOOOO!!!” The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as a 250m x 250m stone platform rose in front of the audience.
This platform was huge, thick, and imposing, like something out of a major tournament arc in a shonen manga.
By the way, there were no protective barriers between the platform and the audience, so if the audience got hit by an AOE attack, it was their bad luck.
However, the audience was not deterred by this; instead, they were even more excited.
“Fight! I want to see rivers of blood!”
“Hehehe! What a fragrant smell of blood!”
“Just fight! Kill him!”
“Being able to witness a battle of the strong, it’s worth the ticket price even if I die!”
Everyone was a bloodthirsty audience.
Anna-veil and Milora both returned to their seats to rest temporarily.
During the break, as per tradition, contestants from the loser’s bracket would come up to fight for entertainment.
Milora returned to Torina’s side.
She had sustained some injuries but nothing serious, and with the help of several professional priests, she quickly recovered.
She looked at Torina with eyes like a big cat waiting for praise after doing a good deed, and Torina petted her fluffy little head, enjoying the cat-petting.
“Speaking of which, where’s Anna-veil? I haven’t seen her…” Patty wondered.
“Right, I haven’t seen her either.
Is she over at their family’s seats?” Milora said, looking towards the opposite audience seats, where the Alphares family was seated.
Everyone there was gathered around Wilt, praising, admiring, and encouraging him, especially the family head Rei, who was already popping champagne (literally opened a bottle of champagne), but Anna-veil was nowhere to be seen.
“Yeah, where is she~?” Torina said in a monotone, rolling her eyes at the opposite audience seats.
Time ticked by, and the intermission was about to end.
Milora did her best to adjust her state, while Torina—
“I’m going to talk to my sister about something.”
“What is it?” Milora asked.
“Whether there’s any room for negotiation regarding my marriage.
Once you and An—Wilt start fighting, there’ll be no turning back.
If she’s willing to take a step back now, it would be good for everyone.”
“Eh, don’t you trust me…”
“I just don’t want you to bear too much pressure.”
Torina approached Morai, who was sitting on the podium, and all eyes immediately focused on them.
Of course, it wasn’t just because they were an eye-catching pair of sisters, but also because their every move could determine the final outcome of the martial arts festival.
“…You’re here, Torina? Are you really going to challenge me?”
“I’m not here to challenge you; I’m your cute sister Torina☆”
“You’re not cute, and I don’t like you as a sister.
A waste has no value for me to take seriously.
Do I need to repeat that?”
“Don’t be so social Darwinist.
We have sisterly bonds, after all, and I’m not as useless as you say.
My adventuring party took down the lord of the Amana Forest, you know.”
“Regardless of how much of that is true, is clearing a low-level dungeon something to be proud of?”
“But I’m really trying to change myself.
I’m no longer the irresponsible and mischievous person I used to be.
From now on, I’ll work hard to achieve great things as a member of the family.”
Torina spoke sincerely.
Very sincerely.
These were her heartfelt words.
But Morai scoffed at them.
“Hah, who believes you? Stop saying these boring platitudes.”
“But, sister…”
“Shut up and go back.
I’m already tired of—ah!?”
Torina kicked Morai in the face.
The speed was so fast that even the preparatory motion was invisible.
Her toes, wrapped in split-toe black stockings, curled and grabbed Morai’s hair, performing a backward somersault spin—one circle—two circles—three circles—and then, with the momentum to tear her hair along with her scalp, she flung her towards the platform!
Boom!!!!
Morai, completely unprepared, was caught off guard and slammed heavily onto the platform—bounced up—and fell again, with a large tuft of her bangs torn off by Torina’s foot!
The entire venue fell silent.
“Torina, you!?” Morai, furious, was incredulous.
“You said I was being presumptuous, so I’ll show you what being presumptuous (physically) looks like.”
Torina leaped out, landing lightly on the platform—stomping her foot, immediately leaving a spiderweb-like crack on the solid stone platform.
“To be honest, I’ve hated you for a long time too.
Let’s have a fight to entertain the audience, shall we? If you lose to me, remember to lick my feet in public!!!”
