Sole Challenger

It was Rui. The royal guard strode into the arena, her sword at her side, and her armor on. Beside her was a person covered from head to toe in clothing to prevent his identity from being exposed. He was the person that Wompa fought. He wasn't armed but Kies knew that he didn't need a weapon to be dangerous. The man gave off a fierce magic aura despite trying his best to conceal it. Parts of it were leaking out and Kies felt that the man was as powerful as Tornon, at least when he last saw the demon king. This man was no joke...

As for why the two of them were together, Kies assumed that they probably knew each other, and as for how, he had no clue. Rui and the man stopped in front of Kies, keeping their gaze on the referee the entire time who was now frozen stiff in fear from having insulted a royal guard.

"W-what are you doing down here?" the referee asked Rui in a voice that was full of alarm.

"Why? Because I saw that there was a commotion going on down here," Rui answered him. "Now, will you tell me what's going on?" she asked the referee.

"What's going on?..." The referee mumbled the question. His eyes shot to Kies and his eyebrows arched as he bitterly exclaimed one more, "He cheated! I am disqualifying him."

"..."

Rui looked at Kies, and he shrugged his shoulders in response, uncertain of how he should respond. Even if he said he didn't cheat, he had no way to prove that he was innocent, and on the other hand, even if the referee had no way of proving that he was guilty, since he was part of the tournament, and had authority, he could just accuse Kies without evidence.

But regardless, Rui asked Kies the very obvious question of, "Did you cheat," to which Kies responded with the even more obvious response of shaking his head.

"No," he said, as if shaking his head wasn't enough. Even if he did cheat, why in the world would he admit it?

Of course, the referee wasn't happy with his answer and continued to accuse him. "He's lying! He cheated. There's no way-"

"No way what? That he cut down three sand hounds in an instant and also took out the other competitor?" Rui interrupted and finished the referee's sentence for him. She sighed and shook her head disappointedly. "Do you have a memory of a bug or are you an idiot? Have you forgotten what happened in the last fight? He destroyed the arm of that giant tree monster. If he could do that, what makes you think he isn't able to cut down a couple of worthless sand hounds!?" Rui asked the man, pointing out that Kies unmistakably had the skills to do so.

"That's because... That... Tch..." The referee clicked his tongue, unsure of how to respond to the royal guard. He looked around the arena, looking and thinking of a way to justify his accusation. When it became clear that he couldn't find one, he kicked the sand and said to Kies, "Get out! The win is yours, so get out!"

Kies could've just listened to the referee and left and waited for his next battle, but he didn't. A smile crept to his face as he told the referee of his request once again, "But I want to fight everyone here. I want to get this competition over with already."

"Screw off before I disqualify you!"

"Wait-" Rui cut off the referee. She turned and looked at Kies with an amused look on her face. "You want to challenge everyone here?" she asked him to confirm what he just said.

"Yes," Kies answered, not hesitating or taking back what he said. "I want to fight everyone here. One by one or all at once, it doesn't matter to me." Everyone already saw his skills now and there was no point in keeping them a secret anymore. He wanted to take them all out as quickly as he could and get out of here before someone starts investigating him and learns something that they're not supposed to.

"Interesting..." Rui smiled. The man behind her chuckled a bit in response as well but didn't say a word. The royal guard turned to the man and asked him for his opinion on the matter, "What do you think of this?"

"Me?" The man thought about it for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Why not. I want to see that. Do you have the skills to back up those words or will you end up eating them?"

"Don't worry, I have the skills," Kies promised him, showing not even a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Ah... How... Hm..." The man scratched his chin, unsure of what word to use to describe Kies' attitude and challenge. "Well, I agree with it. I mean, why not, but do I even have authority on this matter?" he asked Rui.

"As much as me..." she mumbled.

"What?"

"Never mind. Anyhow, I think this is a good idea, what do you think, referee?" She turned back to the referee.

"What? Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Why-" The man stopped, a smile slowly stretched across his face. "Wait, actually..." This was a chance to get rid of Kies. He was the last one on his team and if he got eliminated right here and now then not only would the other contestants be happy about it, but so will the tournament. And it wasn't like they were forcing him, he was volunteering for this. No matter who he is, there is no way he could fight against hundreds of people, and not at once either. The tournament had nothing to lose from doing this.

"I guess we can bend the rules a little this year..." he said, changing his mind. "You wait right here!" he pointed at Kies and ordered him.

"Sure," Kies said. He wasn't planning on going anywhere either way. He watched as the referee ran off, signaling for some of the other referees to follow him. The group then disappeared up the stairs. Kies had no idea what they were up to but they were likely going to consult the higher-ups about this.

As they waited for the referees to come down, Kies looked around the crowd. He saw that they were all confused as to what was going on and were murmuring to each other. Some started laughing and booing, thinking that Kies got caught for cheating and he was being punished by Rui. Others, thinking that this wasn't the case, were whispering among each other, trying to figure the truth out.

Several minutes passed and the referees finally came back down. They all reported back to their positions with the sole expectation of the one that had been talking with Kies, Rui, and the hooded man. He ran back to them, sweat falling from his head and neck with a smile on his face. Seeing this, Kies also smiled as well. The referee probably got what he wanted, which meant that Kies also got what he wanted...

"So, what did the officials say?" Rui asked the man when he got closer, not wasting even a second for him to catch his breath or anything.

"They agreed," he told them, looking back at Kies and laughing at him with his eyes, mocking him for his arrogance and foolishness for challenging the entire arena. "So..."

"What do you want?" Kies asked the referee, seeing how he was staring at him.

"Are you going to fight them all in duels, or all at once?" he asked.

"That?" Kies crossed his arms. That was an easy question. Why bother wasting the entire day and potentially tomorrow when he could get this fight over with already and bring the money to hire that cranky old lady today? Then, tomorrow, they could march their way into the castle or palace or whatever it is that they have here for royalty in Otane and fix up the queen? The answer to the question?

"Everyone at once."

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