With a last wave of her hand, Ember restored the stage to its previous state. Like a visual glitch, the stone blocks suddenly appeared under their feet again. Even though they were on the ground a second ago, now they were on top of the one-and-a-half-meter-high stage.
Ember came down the stage, walking like the winner she was, waving to the audience that was cheering loudly for her. She approached me with a beaming smile, expecting me to praise her.
I gently slammed my palm on top of her head, saying, "You overdid it," before patting her head like I did with Fang.
"Good job. That's a clean victory, as expected of you."
Ember smiled bashfully, enjoying the sensation of getting patted on the head.
"I got too excited and almost killed Wan Li earlier, but I managed to heal her completely, so no harm done. Tehe~"
Her cute tongue peeked out of her lips slightly as she confessed. It was cute, but definitely not the appropriate one to say when she just almost killed a person.
After a while, I finally let go of her head, earning a disappointed groan from her. Still, I had a match before me, so I can't indulge her too much. Fang and Igni were getting jealous from both sides.
Ember's smile slowly faded until her expression turned serious.
"Master, are you really fighting her alone?"
Ember turned to Ying Yue, who had her arms crossed in front of her, as she glared at Wan Li getting sent out on a stretcher. Ember's gaze wavered as she did, and worry painted her expression dark.
"She's definitely more powerful than Wan Li and Wan Er combined... Master should bring Igni after all."
I laughed lightly before patting Ember's shoulders.
"Don't worry too much. With their levels, they can't hurt me."
Ember shivered as I stared into her eyes.
"You know who I am, right? I'm the Successor of the Legendary Bounty Hunter, Fatima Olgor. I wouldn't fall short of such weak nobodies."
I looked to where Ying Yue was, golden sparks flying in my view.
"And I already analyzed everything about her and her tamed monsters. Even if she had a new one added now, she'd still be helpless against me."
Ying Yue noticed my gaze and returned it with her own glare. Her eyes were telling me that even if she already lost score-wise, she would still fight to the bitter end.
As we were fighting each other with our stares, I got tackled from three different directions. Looking around me, Ember, Fang, and Igni were burying their faces into my body as they hugged me tight. From the links we have, I could feel happiness, embarrassment, and arousal taking up most of their emotions currently.
I don't think I did anything to induce this situation, though.
"G-Girls, this isn't appropriate to do right now. Think of the place, our current location!"
With just a short glance, I could see thousands of eyes looking in our direction. The perverts in the front audience seats that were cheering for Ember earlier were even glaring at me, but I fiercely glared back, making them turn their gaze away in awkwardness.
"For the last match of today, the main event!"
Vermeil raised her voice, snatching the attention of the entire audience.
"Starting from the Seimei's, we have their current Family Head, the self-proclaimed successor of a legendary tamer, and a friend of Zeshion! Let's welcome Tamer Will!"
I used [Shadow Skip] and extricated myself from the trio's embrace, appearing on top of the stage. Wild cheers roared from all around, primarily from the supportive members of the Seimei branch families.
Vermeil waited for the cheering to die down a little before she continued with her introduction.
"Next, from the Luo family. The current heir and the prodigy of the Newbie tournament three years ago! Let's all welcome Luo Ying Yue!"
As she got introduced, Ying Yue walked gallantly up the stage. She was still glaring at me, not uttering a single word. If looks could kill, then I would've already died a minute ago.
Behind her, three monsters stood tall.
One is a unicorn with white fur and a long, wavy mane and tail. At the tip of its hooves, faint sparkles of light were released, marking each step it took with a glowing hoof print.
On top of the unicorn's back was a small, coiled-up white snake. It was almost invisible as it blended in with the unicorn's white fur. I looked at it, scrutinized the energy it had, and noticed that it was just an illusion. The real body was by Ying Yue's foot, coiled up while protecting her. It was as thick as my thighs and should have been longer than a bus if stretched.
The last one was a small black fox, about half a meter tall. Three black, fiery orbs floated around its head like decorations. Despite the fox's small size, the energy inside it was astounding, almost reaching the limit of the 4th stage and nearing the 5th.
In terms of the amount of energy alone, Ember and Fang wouldn't even be a match for it. They'd be slightly lower than the fox's energy, even if they combined theirs.
Vermeil introduced the tamed beasts one by one, and each time, cheers that almost sent the whole venue shaking echoed.
"First, we have the cute devil fox that swept through the Newbie Tournament before! With attacks that no one could block! The Baron of Ghostly Flames, Guihuo!"
"Next, we have one of the rarest monsters in the world, said to be almost impossible to find! A beast in a chaotic battlefield, the perfect spy! The Illusory Serpent Phantom, Guang Long!"
"And last but not least, the latest addition to Ying Yue's team, the steed that is a master of control and binding skills, said to be able to control even those of higher levels! The Puppeteer Unicorn Prince, Qiji!"
Vermeil's introduction for each of Ying Yue's tamed monsters was definitely a step above ours. It's obvious that she's favoring Ying Yue here, but she promised to provide fair judgment, so I'm not going to nitpick.
"Ying Yue."
Before the match started, I called out to her from afar. I crossed my arms and tilted my head slightly. Ying Yue frowned deeply as she glared, not responding to my words.
"As things stand, even if I surrender here before the battle starts, it's already your loss."
Hearing this, her expression became darker. She probably realized that I do not have to fight her here if I really just want to win. However, not only Ying Yue, Vermeil, and my girls were surprised by what I said next, but even the audience.
"And so, how about we ignore the previous two results? Whoever wins in our fight is declared the overall winner."
I suggested, a wide grin adorning my face.
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