Hikaru has accepted a sparring invitation from Prince Viron. They move to a more secluded place to avoid any casualties from beachgoers who may be affected by their fight. Hikaru also doesn't want his fight to be watched by many people. Princess Rinne agreed to Hikaru's request and asked the soldiers guarding the beach to find a quiet place and asked them to be on guard so that no visitors would approach the battlefield.
Right now, Hikaru and the others were in a field that was quite a distance from where they were before. They couldn't find a quiet spot in the beach area, so they decided to look elsewhere.
Ziel, Clara, and the other girls also went to that place. They went to that place because Clara and Princess Iris were worried about Kyouka. Ziel had no idea since when they had become that close to her. Ziel could not help but have to obey her.
"So, what kind of sparring do you want?" Hikaru coldly asked Prince Viron. He didn't care about Prince Viron's position as a Prince of the Demon Kingdom. Since he was so eager to spar with threats, Hikaru wouldn't hesitate to beat him to mush.
"We are fighting two against two. It's up to you how you fight, whether you two want to be the attackers simultaneously, or one becomes the attacker and the other acts as a support. I don't care at all. You are free to choose who will fight with you." Prince Viron has been smiling ever since Hikaru accepted his sparring invitation. This made Hikaru feel uncomfortable and like he had fallen into his trap. But Hikaru immediately shook his head to dispel that thought. He didn't want his concentration to be disturbed before the fight started.
"Okay. I understand. Then I will choose Kyouka as my partner. Is it okay, Kyouka?" Hikaru looked at Kyouka for her approval. He knew this was his selfish request because he accepted Prince Viron's sparring invitation without discussing it with the other heroes.
"I understand. I will do my best to help you." Kyouka nodded slightly. She doesn't seem to care much about Hikaru's decisions unilaterally. She also didn't like how Prince Viron invited them to a spar.
"I do not mind. I think this is the best combination. Beat him for me!" Sintaro patted Hikaru's shoulder and agreed with his decision.
"Please be careful and don't get seriously injured." Megumi reminded with a worried face. Hikaru smiled and nodded to them.
"So, who will be your partner?" Hikaru sees people from the demon race among Prince Viron's subordinates. He thought Prince Viron would choose one of them.
"Of course, my partner is my sister!" Prince Viron pointed at Princess Irene. From the start, it seemed that he had intended to make Princess Irene his battle partner against Hikaru and Kyouka. Princess Irene herself was not surprised when her brother pointed at her. She already knew that her brother would choose her.
Hikaru and the other heroes are shocked by the choice Prince Viron makes. They thought he had other plans by choosing Princess Irene as his fighting partner. It was because they thought Princess Irene looked fragile and felt she would fall to pieces if they touched her too hard.
"Are you sure about your choice?" Hikaru narrowed his eyes at Prince Viron.
"Of course. It's better for you to think about your situation than to think about ours." Prince Viron smirked and walked with Princess Irene to their position on the battlefield.
"Fine if that's what you want. But don't blame me if your sister gets hurt." Hikaru gritted his teeth. He didn't have the heart to hurt such a weak girl. He and Kyouka also moved into their position. The distance between Hikaru and Prince Viron was only a dozen meters.
"Are you ready?" Princess Rinne was chosen to be the judge of their fight. She was selected because of her position as Princess of the Cirlus Kingdom. She had also sworn not to side with anyone even though it wasn't essential because it was just a sparring match.
"I am ready." Hikaru nodded slightly in response.
"You can start whenever you want." Prince Viron replied arrogantly.
"Then, The fight begins!" Princess Rinne gave the signal to start the fight.
"Kyouka! We do according to our plan! We will finish this fight quickly!" Hikaru shouted at Kyouka and quickly charged towards Prince Viron.
"I understand!" Kyouka answered firmly and cast her magic at Prince Viron and Princess Irene.
[Freezing Fog]
A thick fog suddenly filled the battlefield. The ground around them started to freeze. The ice created from freezing was pitch black.
Hikaru quickly got close to Prince Viron. But what greeted him was a smirk from him. But Hikaru didn't think about it and directly stabbed his spear at Prince Viron.
[Phoenix Cry]
Hikaru's spear thrust combined with his innate ability 'Sovereign of Fire' materialized a giant firebird that flew towards Prince Viron and Princess Irene. However, they seemed to have no intention of dodging the attack at all.
Booooooooommmmmm!
A massive explosion occurred due to Hikaru's attack and blew away Kyouka's magic mist. Right now, the only thing that could be seen was smoke and dust at Prince Viron and Princess Irene's place.
Hikaru held onto his spear tightly and didn't carelessly assume he had won. He had felt something strange from the start of the fight.
On the other side of the battlefield, Clara looks worried to see the fight's progress. Right now, she wasn't concerned about Kyouka but Princess Irene.
"My lady, what happened to you? Are you okay?" Ziel asked Clara after seeing the expression on her face.
"I'm fine. It's just...maybe this sounds weird. But, will the girl be okay?" Clara asked shyly. She thought the people around her would think she was weird for thinking about the enemies of Hikaru and Kyouka. Kalya and the other girls looked at each other and then smiled in response to Clara's question.
"Of course, it's not strange. Your previous words show your indiscriminate kindness towards foes or comrades as long as they deserve pity." Princess Iris took Clara's hand and squeezed it to ease her anxiety.
"What Princess Iris said is true, My lady. But, you have to be wiser in choosing which people you need to pity and which ones you don't. Even though she looks fragile on the outside, it doesn't mean she's weak." Ziel answered Clara's concern with an explanation that surprised the other girls.
"What do you mean, Ken?" Clara tilted her head. She didn't understand what Ziel said. The other girls also felt the same way Clara felt. Even Lilith was confused by Ziel's explanation because Lilith could tell that Princess Irene was a weak girl from her appearance. She didn't feel anything special about her.
"I never said she was strong. Not being weak doesn't mean she has a strong attack or is great at fighting. Her appearance masks her true abilities. In other words, she was good at hiding her skills." Ziel pointed at Prince Viron and Princess Irene. Before the explosion occurred, their bodies were enveloped in a thin purple membrane. Clara and the other girls were shocked after looking in the direction Ziel pointed.
"What's that? and how did you know she had such an ability?" Lilith subconsciously asked Ziel. She was the most curious person among the other girls. She was a true god of the divine race, but she didn't know that Princess Irene had such an ability. Lilith was curious how Ziel knew all that. But Lilith forgot that Clara was still there listening to them.
"Only my instincts, and I believe because my instincts rarely go wrong." Ziel answered her calmly. He wasn't mad at Lilith for forgetting that Clara was with them at the moment.
After hearing Ziel's answer, Lilith realized she had made a mistake. Luckily she didn't call him by another name. But seeing Ziel's calm face, Lilith knew that Ziel didn't mind it, and Lilith could breathe a sigh of relief.
"So the girl won't be hurt?" Clara asked Ziel again to confirm his words.
"That's not necessarily the case, my lady. You don't have to worry about Princess Irene. Do you remember that she didn't refuse when asked by Prince Viron to be his fighting partner? Princess Irene must have decided to fight ever since lord Heroes accepted the invitation to spar. Even though this is just a sparring practice, injuring or being injured becomes something that cannot be avoided in battle. So please don't burden your mind too much." Ziel added his explanation after seeing Clara's face, which still looked worried.
"I understand. I hope none of them is seriously injured." Clara nodded because she understood what Ziel's explanation meant. Her face no longer showed worry like before.
"Ziel, what exactly is that girl's ability?" Kalya whispered to Ziel out of curiosity. Luckily, Clara was focused on the match and didn't pay any attention to them.
"layered barrier. Normally, a mage could create a two-layer to a three-layer barrier to defend. However, their barriers usually have a static and immutable form. But that girl was different. She could create ten layers of barriers with ease. In addition, she can change the shape and size at will. I think her abilities aren't limited to that. But..." Ziel explained to Kalya. He cut off his explanation, knowing that the other girls besides Clara were also listening. After hearing Princess Irene's ability from Ziel's explanation, the girls were shocked. It was like having the absolute defense in battle.
"But?" Kalya and the other girls became more and more serious, listening to Ziel's explanation.
"Princess Irene should only have the same power as the heroes. Of course, she had limitations on her abilities. She was different from the heroes who could leapfrog when fighting a stronger opponent." Ziel didn't explain it any further and let them know the answer from the battle in front of them.
Kalya and the other girls knew why Ziel didn't continue his explanation. So, they turned their focus to the battle between Prince Viron and Hikaru.
After the smoke and dust from Hikaru's attack dissipated, Princess Viron and Princess Irene were still unharmed in their original place.
"What!?" Hikaru and Kyouka were shocked because they thought Hikaru's attack should damage them.
"Hahaha…as expected of heroes! But, if your abilities are only to this extent. You better prepare to lose. Don't worry. I won't hurt the girl behind you! Irene! Do it!" Prince Viron gave orders to Princess Irene. He took out his colossal battle-ax and prepared to attack Hikaru.
"I understand!" Princess Irene nodded and gave her magic to Prince Viron.
[Ten layers of Barrier]
Ten layers of barriers covered Prince Viron's body perfectly. After seeing the armor on his body had formed, Prince Viron immediately charged forward to attack Hikaru who was not far from him. In the blink of an eye, Prince Viron appeared in front of Hikaru and swung his ax.
[Mountain Destroyer]
Hikaru was still in a state of shock and didn't have time to dodge it. So, he had to block the attack with his spear.
Boooooooooooommmmmm!
"Kugh!" Hikaru manages to hold it back, but Prince Viron's attack leaves a small crater in the ground beneath his feet. Hikaru's feet slowly sank into the ground.
"Hikaru!" Kyouka saw Hikaru press and fired her magic at Prince Viron.
[Ice Spear]
Dozens of ice spears shot towards Prince Viron. But strangely, Prince Viron ignores her attack and only focuses on attacking Hikaru.
Clank!
The dozens of ice spears shattered after hitting the barrier that enveloped Prince Viron's body. Kyouka and Hikaru were shocked at the scene in front of them. But Kyouka quickly came back to her senses and fired even more powerful magic at Prince Viron.
[Thunder Blade]
Kyouka shot a large blade of compressed lightning at Prince Viron. She was sure that her attack would be able to injure him this time.
[Twenty Layers of Flexible Barrier]
Suddenly a barrier of twenty layers of the thin membrane formed between Prince Viron and Kyouka's attack. The barrier was continuously pushed back by Kyouka's attacks, but the barrier didn't break.
Princess Irene's barrier arched and returned the attack to Kyouka at twice the speed. Kyouka didn't expect her attack to be unable to break the barrier. She didn't have time to dodge the reflection of her attack that shot off at such a speed. She had no choice but to hold it head-on.
Booooommmmmmmm!
"Kyouka!" Hikaru shouted after seeing kyouka get hit directly. Sintaro and Megumi in the audience were also worried about Kyouka's condition.
"Hahaha… you should be worrying about yourself, lord hero!" Prince Viron delivers a direct kick in Hikaru's chest and blows him away a dozen meters.
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