"♪ And it seems that we have yet another missing participant," the voice of a fox at the podium reverberated all over the place, "If by the time I count to thirty we receive no word from her, she will be disqualified and..."

"Hmm," I frowned while looking at the crowd, after my match, six more fights were held and this was the second time one of the opponents haven't even bothered to show up on the stage, "do you think 'they' have something to do with this?"

"♪ ... four... five..." in the meantime the fox started to count.

Phoenix held his chin with the hand and glanced over the crowd, "I'd say the probability isn't zero. Even Aurora had no idea how he looks, yet you recognized that Harbinger in a flash. They would take a huge risk to show up with you around."

"♪ ... twenty-nine and thirty!" eventually the fox finished counting, "♪ Selena Ar Mort'le is now officially disqualified and Darson Akane Gorval'dur will take her place! He is a summoner from Red Beast, and I have no doubt that everyone is eager to see if he is just as strong as the previous participant from their party..."

"Hey, Darson," Tia suddenly spoke when he started to move.

"What?!" the elf stopped and looked at her a bit annoyed.

"Why so grumpy?" Tia pouted, "And here I wanted to play nice and wish you good luck..."

"And why would I need luck to deal with a bunch of weaklings?" he looked at her as if she was an idiot, "

"Hey, one should never underestimate his opponents." Tia answered paying no mind to his tone, "This isn't a duel, if most of them decided to team up against you..."

"Ha!" Darson laughed, "As if they could put out an attack that could even scratch me."

"Your new summon might be powerful," Derea joined as well, "but you should know it better than anyone else that it's not invincible."

"Hmpf," Darson snorted and just left.

After he reached a platform not far from the wall his body vanished and I could see him reaper not far from the fox at the podium.

"Ah," I looked at the platform he just used, "so this is how one normally enters the Arena..."

"Not exactly," Miriel at the balcony said with her gaze on her former master, "At the later stages of the Tournament, some big-shots in VIP areas similar to ours like to invite promising candidates for a chat, or to make an appearance on the podium for a speech. The portal wasn't made with entering the Arena directly in mind."

In the meantime, Darson was heading for the Arena and once there, the first thing he did was turn into a formida and the sight of a monster had a very strong effect on his oponents. Just like Darson, they were E rank adventurers and formida wasn't something they could deal with solo.

"Now listen up, worms," Darson said in a loud voice while looking at the weapons he summoned from his spatial bracelets, "You better attack me with all you have... all of you. Try to make this fight last more than a few seconds..."

"Who do you think you are?!" a dwarf snapped from the trance and shouted at him in rage.

"Someone who got tired of target practice," Darson answered and a magazine dropped from one of his weapons.

He replaced it with another and proceeded doing the same with the rest of his weapons. I realized that he was switching his ammunition to armor-piercing rounds.

"This won't take long," Phoenix sighed.

Just as the fox announced the start of a battle...

"Lightnin..."

"Spear of..."

"Swarm of..."

" " "Oraaah!!" " " his oponents started the attack and...

*BANG* x4 *BANG* x4 *BANG* x4 *BANG* x4 *BANG* x4

... the match was over.

Five lifeless bodies dropped to the ground followed by an equal number of beams that turned them into glowing particles. Only one dwarf was left standing.

With the face full of disbelief he glanced at the shield full of holes and then dropped on the knee, blood dripping from his mouth. Darson looked at him, aimed with all his arms and...

*BANG* x4

Another wide beam fired from the spirit and only spider-like creature armed to the teeth was left in the Arena. Darson looked at the fox with an impatient gaze, a cloud of glowing particles in his background, four arms crossed on his chest...

"♪ A... And the winner is Darson Akane Gorval'dur from Red Beast!" the fox started to speak, "I... I don't know what just happened there, but it seems that the members of Red Beast are not to be underestimated..."

"~SIS, CAN I PLAY TOO?~" Tristan suddenly asked by my side, his gaze directed to the Arena with excitement all over his 'face'.

Sis? An image of Sei emerged in my mind and I realized who was to blame for this. But I guess it's fine, after all, I have already accepted him as my brother.

Hmm, if others learned the way he addresses me though... rumors will get only worse. Oh well, it was time to enact my plan B anyway.

"I am sorry, Tristan, but you weren't there when we registered for the tournament..." before I could even finish, I saw his expression turning very sad and suddenly realized that despite me being the one that reinvented puppy eyes attack, I had a very low resistance to it myself, "...but don't worry, later we will play outside the city as much as you want."

"~YOU PROMISE?~" he asked with hope.

"Yes, I promise. Tia will even prepare us a barbeque while we do that..."

"Hey!" Tia reacted to my words immediately.

"What?" I looked at her, "If you do a good job I will give you a discount for the new toys I am making..." but she still pretended to be offended.

"Or..." I looked at Tristan, "you can thank her personally by letting her fly on your back."

"Yipee!" Tia shouted with excitement and rushed to Tristan.

"I will cook you a mountain of your favorite dish..." the moment our 'little' gluttony heard her, his mouth started to water and he was no longer interested with the fights in Arena.

*

" ♪ Venodith from Dancing Wind, Bostac Noto from Iron Mountain..." the fox started to introduce the new contenders.

Almost two hours have passed after Darson has won his 'match' and I was getting bored. Very bored. Only a few fights were somewhat interesting and that was only when the participants were high-rank adventurers.

Even when C rank adventurers took the stage, I realized that they were actually somewhat weaker than that elf with blade dancer class. If they had to fight against Zubalis, I doubt any of them would have a chance... even if they teamed up against him. His rank D was a joke and couldn't be more misleading. Hmm, not that I am the one to talk... and if I were to use my guns, the fight would be even more one-sided.

" ♪ ... Black Scar from Blazing Sun and..." the fox continued further, "♪ Reveon Sile'dur, the leader of Red Beast! That's right! The leader of a party that has a real dragon in their midst and I am sure that most there remember the fight..."

Finally!

"He he he," I started to giggle while looking at Phoenix, "Let's see how you will manage to 'take it easy' while maintaining an image as our party leader." especially after that display of our little spider-elf! Well, technically he was ant-elf at that time, but who cares.

"Watch and learn," Phoenix smiled and then walked for the platform with his hands behind the back.

*

His opponents were two mages, one archer, and three warriors. Well, technically not all of them were his enemies as the rules of a match dictate that each was for himself, but...

"Enough! We have to team up or this won't work," wolf beastkin tried to convince the others, "You saw those two from his party, as their leader he has to be at the very least of a similar level..."

In the meantime, a ghostly grimoire materialized by the side of Phoenix and pages started to flip on their own creating magic symbols in the air and a spell at its center in the process...

"Chantless Incantation!" the dryad shouted in a shock.

But the other mage wasn't as impressed.

"Firebolt?!" he sneered when saw a tiny fireball in the air, "You want to start the fight with this useless level one spell?!"

None of them have paid attention that the grimoire wasn't even hovering above his left hand, a necessary action for a wizard to cast a spell, nor that the spell has formed above the said book, instead of a palm on the right hand.

"There are no useless spells..." Phoenix replied in a calm voice with both of his hands still behind the back and the color of firebolt slowly turned from red to blue, it was now shining brightly, like a single star in the sky,

"...only useless magicians."

When the fox announced the start of a battle, the firebolt burst into an action and launched at the wolf beastkin. The opponent was ready and blocked it easily with his shield... or at least so he thought.

Just as the bolt was about to touch the surface of a metal, it burst into a cloud of sparks and then gathered behind the shield and formed into firebolt yet again, but now... only a few centimeters from his chest.

"Uhh!!!" the wolf grunted and was knocked on the ground from the impact.

Without even bothering to get on his feet he started frantically to claw at his armor, trying to remove it. Part of it was now glowing red from the heat and the area where the firebolt touched his chest even bright white.

"Aaahhhh!!" just in a moment, the bolt penetrated the armor and sank inside the body, "I surrennnnder!" the wolf screamed in a voice twisted from the pain and vanished from the Arena.

Judging from the fact that he actually managed to 'speak', Phoenix must have stopped the firebolt from going in too deep.

The others looked with wary gazes at Phoenix and loudly gulped when another bolt materialized above the book.

A dwarf aimed at him with a crossbow and the enchantments started to glow on its surface. Just as he fired, a gust of wind blew from the side and the projectile missed the target.

"Earth Claws!" the dryad mage activated her spell almost at the same time.

But when large spikes of stone stabbed Phoenix from the ground he slightly shifted his position and... still, with both of his hands behind the back, raised into the air on the tip of one of the said spikes. It looked as if the spell aimed to kill him was just an improvised platform to allow him better look from a higher ground.

"Lightning!" the human mage launched a spell from his hand and Phoenix was hit by it right in the chest.

"It tickles," Phoenix chuckled as the lingering sparks of electricity crawled over his body.

Our lightning resistance has not reached the level where it was possible to completely shrug off the effect of lightning yet, but... when even your clothes have lightning resistance at the same level as your body it was no longer impossible.

A wolf beastkin clad in armor suddenly appeared on a spike next to the one Phoenix was standing on and swung with his massive hammer. Phoenix hasn't even bothered to dodge and instead raised his hands in a strange stance, as if he was holding an invisible baseball bat.

Just as the hammer touched the hair of his head, it vanished in an instant, causing the warrior to lose his balance and in the next moment...

*BOOM*

...his own hammer, now in the hands of Phoenix, sent him flying.

Still with the same swing, Phoenix tossed the hammer in his hands and a dwarf warrior that was sneaking behind was forced to dodge.

Even in his wildest dreams, the dwarf would never guess that the hammer this size and mass could change its course even in the air.

*BOOM*

And yet another opponent was done for.

*swoosh*

Another bolt was launched at Phoenix from a crossbow, this time twice as fast, and wind manipulation was no longer sufficient to change the course. Phoenix hasn't even bothered. Yet the moment bolt reached the clothes, it simply vanished. Phoenix put his hands behind the back in a relaxed manner, and the very same bolt materialized in his hands, which he started to play with by slowly rotating with his fingers.

The tiny ball of blue flames that was levitating all this time above his grimoire shined brightly and then launched forward at incredible speed.

The dwarf with a crossbow dodged to the side when saw that he was the next target, but as he did so, so did the spell and with a blood spraying from a large hole in his leg, stumbled down. After piercing his leg the bolt soared high into the sky and then dived down, knocking out the dwarf with a single hit to the head.

An evidence of the level of control Phoenix had over the spell, as he could pierce or use the same spell as a blunt weapon at will.

"Flame Serpent!" with a staff stabbed to the ground human mage activated another spell in a rush, yet it wasn't enough to protect him in the slightest. The bolt made a few sharp turns evading the jaws of a flaming snake and then tore his hand with the staff.

In the meantime, the dryad continued her attack and the vines burst from the ground under Phoenix, some even from the spikes he was standing on.

But just in a flash, his body burst in flames and all of them were burned to the crisp. Stone claws under his feet started to melt and soon turned into a puddle of glowing lava.

Hellfire Armor.

The flames and even the air distorted from the heat made Phoenix look like a demon. I wasn't aware just how intimidating one could look with this active.... then again, I wasn't exactly looking at the mirror when I created this spell.

With the winds dancing around his body, Phoenix slowly returned back to normal. If you ignore the fact that he was now 'standing' on the air with the help of wind manipulation, still at the same height, when the spikes were under his feet.

A part of my attention suddenly was drawn to a Templar that entered our VIP area and whispered something to another Templar assigned as our escort.

"Are you sure?" now that I paid a bit more attention to them, I overheard him asking in return.

"Yes, Grand Master Zaos is already on the way and..."

"Are there any problems?" I asked while turning my head to their side.

The Templar hesitated a bit while looking around hoping to find Phoenix.

His name was Kun and he was one of those templars that would be more than happy if I died, or at the very least suddenly vanished. If possible he preferred to not talk to me, or do that through someone else... like Phoenix for example.

When he saw no signs of him he reluctantly faced me.

"Her Holiness Sage Lariel Lightheart has requested that you return to the Temple as soon as possible, there is... an urgent matter that needs your presence."

"And what would that be?" I asked again, not really hoping to hear anything useful.

"That is not for me to say."

"♪ And the winner is Reveon Sile'dur from Red Beast!" the voice of a fox reached me from behind, "♪ What a wonderful battle. Can't wait to see the rest of their members in action, and I am sure everyone agrees with me. Well, maybe not everyone, Red Beast by now must be a name their opponents wish to hear the least..."

When I looked back at the Arena I saw a cloud of glowing particles drifting outside, a sign that Phoenix dealt with the last of his opponents a bit differently. He was looking at me with the hands still behind the back, and the eyes almost screamed in accusation 'you were not looking?!".

"Guys..." Micheal uttered in a deadpan voice, "your 'going easy' skills suck..."

*

"So what is this all about?" I asked a bit annoyed when found the first important looking priest once we entered the temple.

Despite the fact that the Tournament was still ongoing, our journey back was hardly any easier. A large crowd followed our every step and I was only 'this' close from kicking them out of the way or doing something even more drastic. If we will have to walk like this every time... there is a very high chance I will get a bounty on my head.

The biggest reason for my bad mood was actually because we had to leave early. Even if most of the fights so far were boring, I wanted to see how the rest of our friends fare in the battle. Even Darson stayed behind... well, he probably did so only to wait for Miriel, but as he will never admit it, will probably wait for the others too.

"I think I can answer some of your questions," a familiar templar suddenly approached us from the side and I recognized him as Zaos, the leader of templars or just Grand Master as the others here call him. He was the one who helped us with the guards when Sei caused a bit of commotion with his first 'call'.

"We have received a word that... 'someone' would like to meet with you..." the way he emphasized the word 'someone', let me guess that the identity was known to him, only that he had no desire to reveal it in the open.

After we walked some distance deeper into the temple, he continued, "You should know him, or at the very least able to recognize their kind..."

Their kind? Is he talking about Harbingers?

"...the mentioned location for a meeting is quite far from there. The closest large settlement is a town named Sendmore..."

"Why does the Sage want her to meet with them?" Phoenix asked by my side.

"Her Holiness Sage is well aware that this is more than likely a trap, but if one wants to gain an upper hand, taking some risks is inevitable. This is a rare chance to capture someone from their group, or at least to gain a lead. Besides, we now have a trump card we could use if something goes wrong..."

*

As we approached our destination I saw a crowd of people in front of Goddess Evelyn, well her 'vessel' as she has claimed. But my attention was drawn to a priest at the center of a crowd who was now trashing around.

"You will have to kill me!" the elf shouted while trying to tear the clothes, "I refuse to wear this... this... abomination!" a few priestesses nearby tried to stop him... but soon I started to have doubts if it was actually 'him'. The voice was obviously of a man... but the figure...

Aurora? I gasped in surprise when looked at her soul.

The clothes she was trying to get rid off were usually worn by male priests... with a few slight modifications. That was definitely her. Only she would react so strongly at the attempt of cross-dressing her into a man...

"Don't tell me she is your trump card?!" I asked while looking at the Ex-Harbinger.