Volume 5 – Chapter 120(Potential)

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Author Note:

[ ] = When Twilight is speaking.

{ } = When talking through Telepathy.

' ' = When thinking in your mind.

<< >> = When talking with your Pokémon or Tamed Beast.

--- --- = When describing a certain period OR Another place.

** ** = Point Of View, i.e., POV

/// /// = In Call

" " = System and when talking to it.

「 」 = Thoughts being heard

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Appearing on top of the Colosseum's attic, Primis turned to the arena, where two people were fighting.

They were blue-haired women, one holding a blue broadsword and the other a blue spear. Thanks to their Cyro element, even their surroundings were blue.

Hmmm…Now that we think about it, isn't it too much blue here?

Shaking his head, Primis threw that thought away and looked at the confrontation between Eula and Shenhe.

If it had been before, then the Spindrift Knight would have stood no chance against the disciple of Adeptus. But now, thanks to the pain, suffering, and hardship she and other knights went through back in Dragonspine, and while fighting Yuuya, Eula now stood on the same stage as Shenhe.

Some spectators were sitting on the seats around and watching the fight.

However, it was surprising that none cheered for the women fighting down. They just remained quiet and watched their battle in silence.

Seeing this, Primis nodded his head. He didn't create this Colosseum for some show or entertainment. It's where his subordinates can fight with their everything and engage in life-death battles.

Of course, the concept of death had been wholly removed from the arena.

It means it's like this. There are two people, A and B. If A shot at B's head, B will die. But, here, B won't die. Instead, A will be declared the winner, the fight will end, and both parties will recover to their peak.

As a result, every fight here was bloody since they were fighting with their lives on the line. Not only the participants but also the spectators learned a lot while watching the battle.

One more thing: no civilians were allowed here.

Anyway, let's return to the confrontation.

While most of the arena was covered in ice, there was also some frost on various parts of the two women's bodies. It was not their opponent's elemental power but their own, which they used to cover their wounds to prevent further blood loss.

If not because more than half of their bodies were wrapped in ice, then they both would be bathing in their blood right now.

Holding her sword tightly, Eula faced the two people in front. One was Shenhe, and the other was her Talisman spirit. Fighting them was like fighting two Shenhe at the same time. This put Eula on edge.

SWOOSH!!

SWOOSH!!

Both charged at each other again.

The ground between them had a thin layer of ice, which could make others slip if they were not careful. Still, it had no such effect on the two women. On the contrary, it made their speed faster.

CLING!!

CLANG!!

DING!!!

DANG!!

...

…

After reaching in front of each other, they both started exchanging blows. As said before, Eula was disadvantaged because she had no support like the talisman spirit. Whenever she tried to destroy that spirit, Shenhe would stop her.

The Spindrift Knight also wanted to use her summon, Light Fall Sword. It's too bad she must succeed in landing a hit to do that. Shenhe kept blocking, deflecting, and dodging her blows, making it impossible.

Biting her lips in frustration, Eula gathered her cryo power in her sword, making it a sharp ice blade, and swung.

Since she had seen such a move before, Shenhe jumped out of the way. But the next thing caught her off guard.

This strike of Eula was always a horizontal slash that contained all of her. That's also why Shenhe jumped upward to dodge it. However, this time, before the move was completed halfway, Eula twisted her wrist and changed the direction of her swing upward.

SHIN!!

SPLURT!!!

A deep vertical cut appeared on Shenhe's chest as red liquid gushed out of it.

Still, instead of feeling triumphant, the Spindrift Knight narrowed her eyes. Eula calculated the direction and angle of her swing. In a usual scenario, this slash of hers would have reached the neck and severed Shenhe's head. But it seemed that she still underestimated the disciple of Adeptus.

In the last moment, Shenhe instinctively brought her spear under her chin and blocked Eula's advance.

DING!!

By now, Shenhe knew she was already at the end of her ropes. She was not the only one; Eula was also the same. Still, that was unsurprising since they had been fighting for an hour.

Using her remaining strength, Shenhe held her spear tightly with both her hands and fell while spinning.

By now, she had given up all her defense and put everything into the offense.

The Spindrift Knight and other spectators also realized and paid more attention. They knew it was Shenhe's last move. If she succeeded, the entire situation would reverse. But if she failed, it was over for her.

Still, it was useless, as it was clear that Eula was the winner by now. By dropping her defense, Shenhe was already full of openings.

'Primis: No, it's not over.'

Though Primis thought otherwise. He knew Shenhe wouldn't make such a rookie mistake since she knew this move would bring more harm than good.

While Eula was preparing her next move, Shenhe's talisman spirit moved to stop her.

SLASH!!

DING!!

Fortunately, the Spindrift Knight kept an eye on it and blocked it.

Eula: I won't fall for it.

'Primis: No, you already do.'

Just when Eula was about to raise her head to meet with Shenhe's attack, from the corner of her eyes, she noticed that the talisman spirit was glowing suddenly.

From the concentration of her elemental power, she immediately realized what it was planning and widened her eyes.

Eula: Oh no!

However, she was a little too late. The Talisman spirit glowed even more and exploded.

BOOM!!!!!!

Since Eula was in close quarters, she took the full blunt.

CRACKLE!!

However, her situation worsened as her whole body was covered in frost.

When someone was hit by a shockwave and thrown away, much of the force behind the shockwave dispersed along the way; however, because the frost stopped Eula on her spot, all that force caused havoc inside her body, destroying her organs and some of her bones.

Eula: HRRGH!!

Blood came out of her mouth and then the spores of her body. Ultimately, she lost all the strength in her body and could only see as a blue spear came for her.

THRUST!!

The spear penetrated through her skull and claimed her life.

With this, the winner was decided.

.

.

.

Everyone looked from their seats as a light covered both the women, healing them back to their peak.

Ganyu: Shenhe wins. Eula also put up a good fight. That new move of hers did catch Shenhe off guard. It would be her win if Shenhe didn't have her own hidden card.

The half-Adeptus, who had also come to watch this fight, muttered under her breath. It was an excellent experience for her to witness the battle between two cryo-users.

???: It's not hidden cards.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned and saw the person who appeared by her side without realizing it.

Ganyu: Your Majesty, you are back.

The Half-Qilin was delighted to see Primis. She was about to kneel but was stopped.

Primis: Relax.

He then looked at the arena, where Eula and Shenhe shook hands. Their respect and awe for each other's strength were evident in their eyes. They had learned a lot from this battle.

Nodding inwardly, Primis turned and walked towards the entrance of the Colosseum, intending to leave.

The Half-Qilin gave one last glance at the arena before hurriedly following behind.

After catching up, she walked beside him and slowly asked.

Ganyu: Your Majesty, since you are here, does this mean Her Majesty is okay now?

Primis: Oh. Where did you learn about Our Empress?

Ganyu: From Lady Sword Princess. When Your Majesty brought us to this world, you hurriedly left. As we were getting worried that something had happened, Lady Sword Princess appeared in front of us and told us Your Majesty would be spending time to take care of her Empress. Hence, we didn't need to worry about it.

Primis: Anything else.

Ganyu: When we asked for details, Lady Sword Princess remained silent.

Primis: We see.

Ganyu: But we also learned that Your Majesty has four wives. Dragon God, Goddess of Life, The True Ancestor and Eve.

Primis: Um…So what was Lumine and Ei's reaction to that?

As if remembering something funny, she chuckled and spoke.

Ganyu: Hearing that Your Majesty is married, the Traveler was shocked and then furious. She asked Lady Sword Princess if it was possible to see them. But Lady Sword Princess saw through her right away that she wanted to challenge Your Majesty's wives. However, when Lady Sword Princess revealed that even the weakest of Your Majesty's wives can erase the entire Teyvat with just a snap of her finger, it was as if someone poured cold water over her. Heh. I still remember the dumbfounded expression on her face.

Smiling inwardly, Primis shook his head.

Ganyu: As for Miss Raiden Shogun, she didn't show any change in expression. Though almost everyone has seen her looking dazing at the highest island where Your Majesty was staying.

Primis: ....

Sighing inwardly, he didn't ask further. Of course, Primis was aware of Ei's feelings for him. For some people, it might appear that Ei didn't want to confess first because of her pride. But Primis knew that it was not pride but fear.

Fear of being rejected.

'Primis: We guess even someone as strong-willed as Ei is not confident about matters regarding hearts.'

Deciding not to think about it for now, he asked.

Primis: Alright, let's move on to the main topic. You follow Us because you want to ask something, don't you?

Ganyu: What are you saying, Your Majesty? Can't I follow because I want to spend some time together?

Primis: You can. But this time, you followed because you wanted to ask something.

Ganyu: Well…True.

Primis: As away.

Ganyu: Your Majesty, what do you mean that 'It's not hidden cards'? Those moves of Eula and Shenhe became the deciding factor of the battle. They were a lot stronger than any of their other moves. In anyone's eyes, they would be regarded as trump cards. But when Your Majesty said they were not, I felt there was more to it.

Primis: Why don't you ask them yourself?

Ganyu: After the battle in the Colosseum, the participants returned to their homes to reflect on and digest what they had learned. I don't want to disturb them.

Primis: Oh, Our little Cocogoat got so curious that she couldn't stop herself and followed to clarify it.

Ganyu: Yes…Wait what!

Hearing how Primis addressed her, Ganyu's face turned red as she spoke timidly.

Ganyu: Y-Your Majesty, please don't call G-Ganyu with such name...It's embarrassing.

Primis: Is that so? Then We apologize.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she answered.

Ganyu: It's okay, Your Maj---

Primis: We are sorry, but it's not possible. After all, We loved calling Our cute little Cocogoat like this.

By now, the redness had even reached Ganyu's neck.

Showing a light smile, Primis decided not to tease her more.

Primis: Anyway, as for your question, you must have known that if someone is pushed to the corner, then sometimes they tap deeper into their potential and are able to attain something they couldn't before.

Ganyu: Huh. Yes. I have seen such things back in the Archon War.

Primis: Um. The same thing happened here. That full-power slash of Eula, which turned its direction halfway, and that explosion of the talisman spirit were not their hidden or trump card because they both came up with those moves on the spot.

Ganyu: Eh!

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*A/N: Please throw some power stones.

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