Chapter 15 – Quarterfinals

"Our lineup for today's four matches is looking extraordinarily strong. Here's a look at the preview:

Ex-King Dregey versus Dungeon Shade Samson

Wandering Sage Jing versus Lizard King Herod

Dungeon Shade Ahab versus Lizard Princess Delilah

Wandering Sage Clico versus Ex-King Job

What a lineup!"

"You're telling me Jasper. Of the eight participants, five of them are in the Royalty Realm. These hard hitters are the ones expected to win the entire thing. Everyone has something to prove this tournament, but that's not all. Grand Councilman Ziphe has given us an exclusive interview. Take it away Jasper."

"Grand Councilman Ziphe, what words of wisdom do you have for the final participants?"

Ziphe looked at the young brown-haired Jasper. He kind of reminded him of himself.

"Remember, this is a friendly competition. With that said, I will offer an incentive. The winner of the tournament can use one of the 18 spots to bring in anyone from the 256 into the final roster, even someone eliminated from the first round."

"Wow, what an incentive! Back to you Ruby."

"That's quite the prize, don't you think? Strong organizations that run the world like the Seven Paths Church and the Ryko Corporation only got five spots each in the one hundred after excessive donations to the Dungeon Party Selection."

"That's spot-on Jasper, thank you Grand Councilman for your time, and now, without further ado, let's start the quarterfinals!"

Ex-King Dregey sized up Dungeon Shade Samson. The Shade was a top tier existence in Ryko, and you would be hard pressed to find another Royalty Realm individual like Samson. Although some Sages snuck their way into the final eight, in reality, the number of Royalty Realm individuals across the entire planet should only be in the low hundreds. Samson was for all intents and purposes a top ten aura user globally, apart from the Deities of course.

"This will be fun!" Exclaimed Dregey as he used his real skills for the first time in years.

"Royalty Skill: Graveyard Granary!" Soon, a mysterious aura clouded the stadium. The battlefield turned into what looked more like a graveyard than an arena. Tombstones made of aura were scattered across the stadium floor. Erecting behind Dregey was what looked like a ghostly mausoleum.

"As impressive as the rumors. This must be your main skill. I will have to go all out too!" Samson excitedly responded.

"Oceanus Twelve: Number 9," Samson whispered. Nobody could hear him, but some in the audience recognized his skill. Enveloping Samson was a blue aura, like an ocean. Samson's eyes turned blue, and he walked through the graveyard towards Dregey. Out of the graves, ghostly zombies arose.

"Ah a summoner skill. This will be a pain," thought Samson.

Dregey watched as the zombies surrounded Samson, but to no avail. Shaking them off, Samson continued on towards Dregey.

"Cheptah, his skill!" David shook Cheptah's arm excitedly.

Rumbling, Samson conjured a wave of waterlike energy at the horde of zombies. Dregey was starting to get worried.

"Granary Skill: Withdrawal!" Dregey shouted, and the vault-like mausoleum doors opened, erupting with spirits. Ghosts entered the fray, but Samson was not consumed. Instead, it was like Samson grew stronger with every defeat of the necromancer's minions. Frightened, Dregey realized he had lost; Samson's skill was a counter to undead magic. He wasn't sure how, but the Shade's main skills either had the quality of either life, death, or spirit magic. Which one was unclear, but Samson shined in the dark graveyard like a blue light among the dead.

Samcyra was shaking Gileon with excitement.

"Is it really that exciting?" Though Gileon. He couldn't understand the hype. Sure, the skills and aura were spectacular, but they had witnessed scenes like this all the time during the Shade War, which wasn't too long ago.

Samson and Dregey engaged in physical combat. As a summoner, Dregey was completely overwhelmed, and even with his undead army, he stood no chance.

"Winner! Dungeon Shade Samson!"

***

"Jing sucks!"

"We hate you Jing!"

"Do better!" Calls for Jing to failure filled the arena.

"Wow Ruby, the crowd really hates him huh?"

"I'm supposed to be unbiased, but his behavior has been disrespectful since round one Jasper."

Jing sighed and faced Lizard King Herod. This time he would surrender for sure. He had nothing to prove, and luck was not on his side.

"I surrender." Jing declared as soon as Herod entered the arena. Herod was perplexed. Why did the villain suddenly give up?

"Winner! Lizard King Herod!"

"Serves you right!"

"Drop out of the Dungeon Party!"

"Apologize to Elle and Moti!"

Jing left the stadium without another word.

***

Compared to the first battles, the last two were not supposed to be close. Dungeon Shade Ahab and ex-King Job were an entire realm above Delilah and Clico; the quarterfinals would be a letdown in exchange for an awesome semi-finals and finals. The crowd was prepared for the lame battles, and some even left early as soon as Jing was eliminated.

Sage versus King, a difference too wide. Throughout the known modern history of Ryko, defeating a rank above oneself was considered difficult, especially as aura increased. It was not unheard of, but it was rare enough that it would make the news for sure. A low-Sage defeating a high-Sage was hard enough as it was. Unless someone was inept strategically like Omira, or a harsh counter matchup occurred, someone like Clico should never be able to beat a king like Omira or ex-King Job for that matter.

Higher Realms faced the same problems. A King facing a God was as foolish as the mascot Murdoc declared. High-Kings defeating a God was even rarer than Sages defeating low-Kings; it was virtually unheard of. But, it was not impossible. Legends of great warriors catching an arrogant boss off guard were spread throughout the Seven Paths Church. The legends of the Authorities always had an underdog undertone as they ascended to power.

Delilah and Clico were not these legends, however.

Ahab looked at Delilah with pity.

"Are you sure you don't want to surrender? I know the doctors and healers here are world-class, but I would rather spare a future comrade the pain of rehabilitation."

"I'm sure." Delilah spoke with certainty. Because the tournament took place over eight weeks, some time was given for recovery, but that was not enough to recharge hard to create skills. One example of this phenomenon was Clico using his strongest runes in the previous round. He now had little left him to use for the current round. One week was not enough time to create nor craft an expensive and complex tier two rune.

Pitifully, Ahab defeated Delilah in one hit.

"Winner! Dungeon Shade Ahab!"

"At least she had guts." Aventi commended her previous foe.

"There you go! Murdoc will live on!" Omira patted Aventi on the back for staying positive and actually making a joke for once.

***

Entering the arena ready to surrender, Clico did not want to face the same fate as Delilah.

Job stopped Clico before he could speak his surrender.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ex-party member of Lavilin. Before you surrender, please let us talk."

Clico knew Job was honorable and agreed.

"I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, but the world should know. Who is Lavilin, truly?" Job asked in front of millions if not billions.

"Lavilin used to be a different person, before… Before he became a Shade. People like Omira give me hope we can save him, but he is a different person now than when we were kids. He has to be stopped." Clico explained.

"Your analysis is fair enough. Shade magic can be corrosive to the soul indeed if used for ill gains. Tell me, what will you do if you achieve your goal in Hell and we do 'save' Lavilin?"

Stunned, Clico was taken aback that Job saw through his true intentions.

"I don't wish to save him. We must stop him."

"We both know you're lying. As the ex-King of Agate, of course I know of your time at the academy. The Lavilin you knew was the top student, and you were among the lowest. In your third year, you were banished from the academy for reasons I'm sure you don't want the world to know.

Still striving to become a mage, you traveled to Pyrite and met Wandering Sage Mite. He trained you, and you entered a party with your old friends from the academy after they graduated.

Then, Lavilin became a Shade. He killed a certain someone and used their soul energy to become stronger."

"Stop!" Aventi yelled from the crowd.

"Let him finish." Clico said quietly. Usually, participants ignored the calls from the crowd, but Clico wanted to hear Job finish, even if it hurt.

"I know you and your friends have had a hard time, but this is something the world should know. When Lavilin became a Shade, he traveled to Galeon, abandoning his role as a Wandering Sage, and he assassinated the King of Galeon, taking his Destiny Seal.

The Council pursued Lavilin, but their agents were killed as well. Lavilin killed the mid-King agent and his high-Sage partner as a high-Sage himself, using the Destiny Seal as a conduit for power. Miraculously, he survived his injuries long enough to reach Hell, where he incited the Shade War. What do you think his motivation is here?"

Clico was silent through Job's speech, but now, he responded,

"The Lavilin I knew didn't know a thing about Hell nor the Destiny Seals. He had a terminal condition and only wanted to live. I believe the Lavilin who committed these crimes was the result of a Shade Possession." Everyone burst into a frenzy. A Shade Possession was when a Shade's main personality became split between them and the souls it consumed for strength. Roaming Shade spirits without a vessel could also possess someone to take over their body, which is the more likely accusation coming from Clico.

Job hushed the crowd by revealing a sliver of his unfathomable aura.

"That would indeed explain why Lavilin could open Hell despite never being there before. There have been rumors of people reincarnating from Hell throughout history, but you never answered my previous question. What will you really do if we 'save' the Lavilin you know and shatter his Shade Possession? Will you protect Lavilin, or will you let him pay for his crimes, even if you don't think Lavilin you know is directly responsible?"

"If we actually save Lavilin, I will do whatever it takes to detain the Shade responsible apart from Lavilin to face justice."

"You're aware that requires an advanced reverse Shade Ritual involving advanced tier runes, correct?"

"Yes, and even though the dangers of Hell will be around us, I believe I can save Lavilin while still extracting the demented personality from him that did this. I will still arrest The Demon responsible and still save my friend in the process."

"A bold statement indeed…" Job pondered. The spectators were split. Some didn't understand, was Lavilin multiple people? Some didn't care. Lavilin was Lavilin, and he would pay. But others, were touched. Clico would put his life and reputation on the line to save his friend from an evil Shade.

"Thank you for allowing me to share your story young man." Job told Clico over the rabble.

"Thank you. I feel more determined than ever. The world knows my plan now." Clico and Job shook hands.

"Also, I surrender." Clico smiled and Job accepted the surrender.

"Winner! Ex-King Job!"