A Thousand to Eight

The arrow curled like a black falcon hovering in the air, and it didn't stop until all of the crystals were destroyed. The audience gasped upon seeing the prince's attack, then looked into the host's eyes and waited for her words to determine if that shot was valid.

"That is awesome; we have a new leading participant!" Grazielle exclaimed as she walked towards Heartfall's prince.

"Ahmnn, care to share your secret with that shot? Why did the arrow become a falcon? Is that your Legacy?" She asked.

However, the prince just smiled at her and walked towards his seat.

He was not that naive to share what he had done when there were still participants doing their shots, and it was taboo to ask for someone's Legacy but he didn't delve into it any further. 

Upon walking to his area, he felt someone looking at him. It was the Frostbloom Kingdom's princess, but he didn't respond to the stare and just sat on his seat while waiting for all the participants to finish.

Soon after, the second event came to a conclusion, and no one was able to beat the record of the prince from the Heartfall Kingdom.

It was already the middle of the day, making it the perfect time to start the elimination round for the Weaponry Duel Tournament. The event had almost a thousand participants, but only eight contenders would advance in the preliminary rounds.

Therefore, there was no better approach than to have a battle royale that would pinpoint the eight strongest among them.

"Calling all of the participants for the Weaponry Duel Tournament. Kindly go to the knights lining up here in front. They are tasked with validating your entry." Grazielle said.

"Alright, while we are waiting for our participants, I want to invite the empire's crown prince to give his insight regarding this festival," the host said. Then all of the attention was directed toward the man beside the king, and the crowd was filled with cheers and screams.

Kreigster thought for a second before he stood up. He was not surprised by this kind of segment. He knew that as the empire's inheritor, he would be asked to give speeches and words at every event at which he was present. So he went into the field to give what the crowd wanted.

However, they didn't expect Kreigster's next action; he didn't simply walk; he turned himself into a ball of purple flame and flew into the host's side. His body materialized as soon as he landed, and the ground had been scorched due to the heat coming from him.

The people were amazed; they stood up from their seats and clapped their hands. It was beyond normal for them to see someone turn into fire himself. 

"Even the emperor cannot do what he did," the King uttered.

He now realized why Kreigster was the next in line for the throne despite not being the oldest and why the emperor favored him so much.

"I'm very thankful for the invitation of the Herish Kingdom to let me attend and participate in this wonderful festival, and now I'm very excited to see the result of this battle royale, especially because I am the one who will represent the empire." Kreigster announced as his eyes looked at the sea of people.

They were all surprised upon hearing the prince's words, and Kreigster let out a short laugh after seeing the crowd's reactions.

"Yes, you heard me loud and clear. I will be representing the Embercrown Empire for the Weaponry Duel Tournament," he affirmed in his own words.

"And I am confident that I, the youngest son of the Blazing Plum Phoenix, would win," he declared before turning again into a ball of fire and flying back to his seat.

The crowd gasped as they looked at Kreigster, who was now busy getting the attention of the princess, while the participants shook their heads as they heard the prince's declaration. 

As far as they were concerned, those were not empty words. Kreigster had the power to support what he said. And now that he had announced his participation in the event, some of the participants lost their motivation to fight.

However, a lot of them still felt glad knowing that they would face a strong opponent in the event. Even the other kingdom's representatives couldn't hide their smiles after hearing Kreigster; thinking about having a chance to win a battle against the next emperor raised their morale. 

And if they managed to win or had a great fight with him, they would make a name for themselves.

"T-thank you very much; that's some extreme announcement from the empire's prince," Grazielle said, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Anyway, all the verified participants, you can now proceed into the field and do some light stretching, or you can stay where you are and fill up your belly while waiting for the others," she added.

Meanwhile, not far from the verification area. Kizeler, along with Priscilla and Trix, were sitting and staring into the line of participants.

"Oh no, I think I need to avoid the empire's prince at all costs," Priscilla said all of a sudden.

"You can do it, Pris; just try your best not to lose in a matter of seconds. Fighting!" Trix showed her support while teasing her friend, which resulted in Priscilla glaring at her.

She was about to rebut, but Kizeler's question made her look at him. 

"Priscilla do you mind backing out of this event?" He asked.

"Why?" She was puzzled. First of all, he was the one who pushed her to register, and now he wanted her to quit.

"You see, there's an extremely dangerous individual who will be participating in this," Kizeler replied while searching for the vampire that he met earlier.

"And she has companions," he added.

"Did he partici-? Wait! She? Did you say she?" Priscilla asked.

The first person that came to her mind was the demon, but she realized that Kizeler was referring to a woman. 

Kizeler nodded before he replied. "They were vampires; please avoid them at all costs, especially that white-haired woman."

Then he pointed them to his friends without pointing his hand. He was afraid that they would find him looking at them, so he just described their appearance and clothing.

"Do not stare at them for too long," Kizeler notified his friends.

Trix and Priscilla were shocked upon seeing that the maid who fought earlier was one of them, but Priscilla still decided to join the event even with her friend's warning.

. . . . .

At the same time, even with Kizeler's careful observations, Lux still felt that there were eyes watching them; however, he chose to ignore them for now.

'Just a bunch of weaklings,' he thought.

. . . . .

At long last, after several hours of exposing his body to the sun. Zeno decided to leap from the roof and start his day. 

The street was not that busy due to the fact that most of the people were at the open field, and some of the merchants that Zeno had seen yesterday were not around in the area.

Though he was not surprised by the sudden decrease in people, after all, he knew where they went, and he started to go to that place.

"It's hot," he uttered while walking and staring into the sun.

Then he raised his hand to block the sun from his field of vision before slowly clenching his fist.

He was about to do something that could cause panic; however, he remembered a memory that made him dump the idea inside his thoughts. Then he shook his head and pulled back his arm.

After several minutes of walking, he arrived at the open field, and he got sick upon seeing the spectators and the thousand participants. 

The hundreds of knights clad in blue armor that were lining the front of the open field were outnumbered by the mercenaries. 

"Is this a battle royale?" He asked, though he didn't expect any answer, but the man on his side replied to him.

"Yes, and only eight contenders will advance," he said.

Zeno didn't speak any further, instead, he surveyed the participants, and he noticed Priscilla stretching while the others were busy checking their weapons.

Then two figures caught his attention. A black-haired man with yellow eyes and a white-haired woman with black eyes.

'Vampires?' He thought. 

Then he assessed their strength while looking at their souls.

"Interesting; it's the one I've seen outside the city, but that woman..." he murmured, then his eyes roamed once more when a voice echoed in the sky.

He looked from where it came and saw two objects floating above.

"Legacies didn't fail to surprise me; now let's see if there's something worth collecting," he said, brimming with smiles.

. . . . .

"Thank you all for waiting; the participants are all here; even the representatives are all present in the field. The rules are simple. Don't get yourself knocked out; stay inside the white line until eight of you remain standing in the field." The host explained the rules once more.

"So let's the battle royale be-" She was about to signal the start of the event, but then again, another voice interrupted her, like before.

She was about to complain, but she saw who was the owner of it, and she didn't speak any further.

Then a man leaped from the sea of people into the front.

"It's the prince!" The audience exclaimed as soon as they saw Lex with a sword hanging from his waist. 

The king stood up from his seat upon seeing his son in the field, but Lex spoke and didn't give his father a chance to speak.

"Am I not allowed to join this wonderful party, Father?" He asked.

"Please remain seated there and watch your son trampled on the battlefield." He added this, which caused confusion among the people.

They knew the prince's skills regarding crafting; however, there was not a single time that they witnessed him wield a weapon or even fight someone.

Even Lexel was surprised by his brother's actions, but she didn't delve into them because her focus was on a man wearing a robe and a mask.

Among all the participants, he was the only one who had his face covered, and from the looks of his attire, he was not a mercenary.

"Fine! Let me see what you've got." The king's voice reverberated in the people's ears.

"Thank you, Father!" Lex expressed his gratitude upon hearing his father's words, then looked into the host's eyes and nodded.

"Ahmnn, let's now start the battle royale!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

And then fireworks exploded in the sky. And it was followed by the clashing sounds of different kinds of weapons.

The battle that would soon be the talk of the whole Plain of Fantasies had begun.

. . . . .