1437 The First Showdown!
After a while, Felix and his servants checked into the designated hotel for the contestants, leaving Miss Sanae to get her own lodging somewhere else.
Miss Sanae wasn't too pleased with this as she wanted to hang out with them...Too bad, Felix shut down all her attempts to bring them to her hotel, having no interest in getting annoyed even during the competition.
"The tournament will start in three days...Should we visit the market? The city is too far from the capital for the red fangs to have any influence here. So the blacklist order won't hold us back." Sekiro suggested.
"I am not planning to buy anything at the moment." Felix rejected.
Felix was aiming now at the golden color upgrade, so he had no interest in buying more spiritual treasures.
"Take Karra and go roam around the city." Felix permitted, "I will be continuing my training here."
Karra got somewhat excited as it had been a while since she was out to avoid meeting the duke or his subordinates.
"Alright."
Sekiro nodded his head and left the room with Karra.
The moment the door closed behind them, Felix turned his head to face the window and ordered coldly, "Come in."
If someone was here, they would be left bewildered as there was nothing either in front or behind the window.
However, Felix's senses were rarely wrong.
"Not bad, I thought my wind camouflage was perfect."
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Zypher emerged from inside a small tornado and entered the room...When he landed on the floor, he bowed his head respectfully and introduced himself, "I am Zypher, you might have heard of me."
Felix remained silent and kept staring at him indifferently, letting him understand that he wasn't interested in greetings, but in his reason for spying on him.
"Excuse my intrusion, but I just got too curious about you and wanted to see what makes you special." Zypher confessed, "It's not common for a total newbie to reach the top sixteen of the heavenly plane's tournament in his first-ever appearance."
"If that's all, you should leave." Felix said.
He closed his eyes again and returned to his meditation session, not worried in the slightest about Zypher making a move against him or such.
The heavenly plane tournament was under the government's management and it took it extremely seriously. If someone broke the rules, his fate wouldn't be pleasant even if it was Nebula.
"You are a curious fella indeed, I hope we can face each other and trade some pleasantries."
After leaving this challenging remark, Zypher took his leave immediately.
He understood that the moment he was caught by Felix, he could have reported him and caused him to get punished...So, to let him go was truly interesting and he was appreciative even if he didn't show it.
...
Inside another suite at the end of the corridor, Zypher, Nebula, and Evergreen were sitting together.
Zypher and Evergreen were face to face while Nebula was sitting on top of the window, her alluring white hair cascading down her furry shoulders.
"So?" Evergreen inquired.
"I got caught by him, his senses are on another level," Zypher confessed.
"You got caught and he let you go? It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of a strong competitor." Evergreen raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I don't know either, but he seemed like he didn't fear me at all."
The moment she heard this, Nebula's interest was slightly piqued.
"If he doesn't fear you, the proclaimed fastest fighter in the history of the tournament, then he either has something in his sleeves fueling his confidence or he is just cocky," Evergreen stated.
"He does strike me as a bit cocky, but at the same time, I don't feel like he bases his confidence on his cockiness." Zypher shook his head, "I am telling you, it's best to be careful against him...He will be a tough opponent."
"One could only hope..." Nebula seemed even more pleased to know that Felix might be tough.
Most of the qualified contestants each year were the same and she was getting bored and tired of defeating in the same manner time and time again.
If it wasn't for her master, she would have indeed retired a long, long while ago.
...
Three days later...
Amidst the radiant glow of the Northern Light City Colosseum, sixteen figures stood in a circle on the arena floor, their silhouettes casting long, dramatic shadows upon the icy blue battleground.
Each fighter's aura was unique, a testament to their distinctive powers and the journeys that had brought them to this esteemed venue...But all of them possessed golden hues except for Felix, making him stand out akin to a sore thumb.
Suddenly, the arena's massive luminous crystal dimmed, and a spotlight focused on the center of the floor.
A platform rose, and upon it stood Mr. Monnar, the host of this grand tournament...His robe was the shade of the midnight sky, adorned with twinkling star-like gems, making him seem as if he were a part of the very cosmos.
"Welcome, esteemed fighters, to the Northern Light City's Grand Colosseum!" His voice echoed, resonating with every corner of the amphitheater.
Clap! Clap! Clap!...
The audience erupted in cheers, their excitement palpable as they had been waiting for this day for a long while now.
"Today, we shall unveil the brackets! Destiny will pair you, and skill will decide the outcome!"
With a flourish, Mr. Monnar summoned a large crystalline board beside him. On it, slots for names awaited, shimmering faintly.
'Please don't pair me with Nebula.'
'I beg you, goddess of luck, keep me away from that rabbit woman.'
'I landed against that monster last year in the first round, it won't happen again, right?'
The fighters watched intently, their hearts beating out of their chests in agitation and worry, not wanting to get paired up with Nebula at all costs.
Since the higher a fight climbed the ranks, the more Lumus he would be awarded, no one wanted to get eliminated right from the start.
"Start!"
He raised his hand, and the names of the fighters began to arrange themselves, forming pairs, setting the stage for epic clashes.
When the names were decided at last, some seemed to sigh in relief, some rejoiced, some didn't react, and some had the color drained out of them.
Only two fighters didn't show much of a reaction...Felix and Nebula.
'I will be fighting her in the quarter-finals instead of the finals while Zypher is in the first stage, I guess my luck has run out at last.'
While Felix's expression remained unchanged, he wasn't too pleased with the brackets' results as it set him up for an early elimination, which might cause him to leave barely with anything.
He didn't invest so much just to try again next year.
On the other hand, Nebula seemed quite satisfied as she gave Felix a peculiar look of desire that would make anyone mistake her intentions.
When Felix traded looks with her, he could feel like she was telling him to not disappoint her.
'If only I can use my other elements, I would have wiped that smug attitude out of her with a single slap.' Felix's eyelids twitched in irritation, feeling like he was being looked down on by a weakling.
Alas, he could do nothing about it but suck it up and give it his best against her without using his previous abilities.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The brackets have been decided and the first elimination stage will begin shortly! Stay tuned after the advertisement break!"
Mr. Monnar announced out loud before kicking off the fighters from the arena and preparing it for the showdown.
"This doesn't look too good for that unlucky asshole." Miss Sanae uttered with an irritated tone. "He will be fighting the two most powerful fighters in the entire tournament right from the start. Can he really win?"
Even the odds were heavily, heavily in favor of Felix, which made her hesitate whether to risk it all and wager big or chill a bit.
'Screw it, what kind of master doesn't believe in her servants?!'
In the end, without too much consideration, Miss Sanae placed three hundred Lumus on Felix's first battle.
And, that was it...She didn't dare bet even one Lumus on him against Nebula.
"Let the battles begin!"
After the break was over, Mr. Mannar kicked off the tournament with no one but Felix's vs Zypher's battle as their position in the brackets was on the far right.
Both Zypher and Felix entered the stage under constant cheering from the audience...Since this was the home ground to Zypher, Felix wasn't receiving any love at all.
"Who would have known we would meet so soon." Zypher smiled at Felix as he had gotten into battle posture. "I hope you give it your best."
Felix stared at him indifferently for a few moments before he turned to Mr. Mannar...Then, he pointed his finger at Zypher and snitched on him.
"I discovered this man spying on me yesterday in my room, I want him defeated and I have the proof to prove it."
"You..."
Zypher's smile froze just like the rest of his body, feeling a cold wind blowing on his cheeks as he eyed Felix ratting him out in public without an ounce of shame!
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