Babylonia Tournament (Begin)
Seven days had passed since the announcement of the eight knights. And now, the highly anticipated competition, the "Babylonia Tournament," was about to begin.
At this moment, the capital city of Babylon was filled with people from all corners of the world who had traveled to witness the thrilling competition held at the beginning of each year.
The eight knights were in the preparation room, getting ready for the competition. A few days ago, when the eight of us met, Kevin got to know the other seven, which quite surprised him. Kevin had thought that everyone who passed the exams would be arrogant and unfriendly, but that wasn't the case at all. Everyone was cheerful and very friendly.
Historia BB, who is the same age as Kevin, easily befriends others with her cheerful and friendly nature. However, she has a bit of a tomboyish personality, which makes her very charming. The other seven unanimously agree that she is the most formidable opponent in this competition.
Miyamoto Musashi, who is four years older than Kevin, enjoys conversing with others and is the person Kevin is closest to at the moment. Kevin sees her as an older sister.
Arthur Pendragon is probably the oldest among the eight of us, but his personality is no different from that of a child obsessed with fighting. Previously, this man had challenged Historia and Miyamoto many times but was always refused. However, he also has a kind and mature side.
Sa Pontus is playful and rarely takes anything seriously. Kevin once asked her why she decided to take the knight exams. She replied that she was just bored with her life in her world and decided to take the exams for fun. This made Kevin see her as a person full of talent and many secrets.
Anastasia Chronos seems to be the smartest among us, and it appears she can see both the past and the future. She loves to tell stories. A few days ago, when the eight of us met, she recounted her vision of the birth and collapse of the universe, which took several hours to finish. All seven of us sat and listened until the end because, in everyone's eyes, her demeanor was like that of a mother. No one dared interrupt her, not even Arthur Pendragon, who also saw her as a mother figure despite being the oldest. For Kevin, though, it was all quite enjoyable.
King Helios is a man with great self-confidence. Although, in Kevin's eyes, his personality seems to be modeled after Arthur Pendragon, this man possesses strong leadership qualities.
Artoria Themis is a highly determined individual. It seems like she has spent her entire life training to become a knight, and she possesses strong leadership qualities similar to King Helios.
---
While the eight of them were talking in the preparation room, the matchups were announced. The competition would be a single-elimination tournament.
QUARTERFINALS ROUND
• [ Historia BB vs. Sa Pontus ]
• [ King Helios vs. Kevin Ouranos ]
• [ Anastasia Chronos vs. Artoria Themis ]
• [ Miyamoto Musashi vs. Arthur Pendragon ]
SEMIFINALS ROUND
• [ TBA vs. TBA ]
• [ TBA vs. TBA ]
FINALS ROUND
• [ TBA vs. TBA ]
CHAMPION
• [ TBA ]
This competition is to showcase the potential of the eight knights. Even if someone becomes the champion, there is no tangible reward, only honor and fame. However, the eight knights are not particularly interested in these things, for them, this competition is purely for fun.
The dimension of the battlefield used for the fights is completely isolated from the real world. However, spectators can still see the battles as usual, but the fights have no impact on the real world. This measure was implemented because a few years ago, the intensity of the battles caused many spectators to faint, and some even had to rest for several days. As a result, the arena had to undergo renovations for two years.
---
[Ladies and gentlemen!] The announcement echoed throughout the capital city of Babylon.
[Before the Babylonia Tournament begins!]
[We would like to introduce the knight leaders who are here to watch the competition today!]
[The first knight leader!]
[The Japanese swordswoman with the fiercest and strongest flame!]
[Leader Homura Hoshi!!], —"Hello everyone!" Homura greeted the audience who had traveled from all corners of the world.
[And the next knight leader!]
[It is said that this man has traveled across millions of galaxies and has endured countless tough battles!]
[Leader Galaxia Arez!!], —"Why do I have to watch this ridiculous competition?" Galaxia muttered quietly.
[And the last knight leader here today!]
[The one who guards the World Tree with her very existence!]
[Leader Irene Melanthios!!], —"It's only the beginning of the month, and you're already out of money, haha. It's your own fault for betting with Homura until you went broke. And now you have to watch the competition just to get paid, haha. How pitiful," Irene teased Galaxia.
[And finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for!]
[The exciting, action-packed battle of the year, the Babylonia Tournament, is about to begin!!!]
[And the first contestant!]
[The number one of the eight new knights, Historia BB!!] Historia walked into the battlefield.
[And the second contestant!]
[The number four of the eight new knights, Sa Pontus!!] Sa walked into the battlefield.
"Please go easy on me, Sa" Historia said to Sa.
"Aren't you the number one? Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Sa smiled and replied to Historia.
"Haha, that's true." Historia laughed and prepared herself, ready to draw her sword.
[And the first match of the first round!]
[Begin!]
The battle between them was too fast for ordinary eyes to follow, and the clash between Sa's scythe and Historia's sword caused distortions in both space and time.
They both realized that continuing to fight like this would likely have no definitive end, and the dimension that isolated both from the real world would be destroyed due to their overwhelming destructive power.
"Sa, if you're not serious about this, there's no way this fight will end." Historia said to Sa.
"Got it" Sa responded to Historia's request. "In that case..." The atmosphere around Sa began to change, and there was a violent shaking of space across dimensions within the battlefield.
Sa's hair and eyes changed from black to light blue, and Sa's scythe transformed its shape. After that, Sa spoke with a chillingly calm voice, "Leviathan"
At this moment, Sa seemed to have transformed into a different person. Historia perceived the danger right in front of her, and in just a blink of an eye, Sa moved to stand behind Historia.
Historia almost didn't catch Sa's movement, but she managed to evade just in time with her intuition.
[Is this a joke!? I feel like that scythe is no different from a supernova, and I think she moves much faster than light.] Historia thought to herself.
"Haha..." Historia chuckled softly, now reminiscing about all the battles she had faced in her life, and this was the most thrilling battle for Historia. —"Beelzebub!" After uttering that name, her sword unleashed a gravitational force akin to swallowing everything.
The space and time began to distort under the overwhelming gravitational pull unleashed by Historia's Beelzebub "come, Sa!" Historia said firmly.
Both of them clashed with each other, their devastating powers on the verge of destroying everything, until Leader Homura had to step in to stop the fight.
Leader Homura stopped their weapons with bare hands, saying, "You two still need to learn some restraint. Are you really intent on destroying this planet? If it weren't for this dimension, this planet would have been destroyed millions of times since you fought each other!"
"Sorry, Leader Homura," Historia said, bowing her head in apology. "I give up," Sa said, "If we keep fighting, there's no way I can win against you because I can't use 'that' in this dimension. And in this dimension, I can only borrow up to 30% of my pet's power."
"Alright then, you advance to the next round, Historia BB," Leader Homura announced.
"But..." Historia seemed unwilling to accept her victory like this. "Historia, you wouldn't want to fight an opponent who can only use a bit of their power, right?" Sa said to Historia.
"That's true..." Historia replied. "Then let's fight again somewhere you can use your full power," Historia said with a smile.
"No way!" Sa stuck out her tongue playfully at Historia and ran away.
"Hey! Don't run away, come back and fight now!" Historia said with a happy smile and chased after Sa to the preparation room.