Embla’s eyes roamed around her. The arena was packed with people. People of all ages and walks of life were attending this joyous event and filled the air with their sonorous cheers. If one were to describe the setting, it would appear that the entire city, no, the entire country of Midgard were there for the tournament.

Embla looked up at the announcer’s booth located across the massive stadium. She spotted her mentor sitting in the guest seat alongside Lilim and Mizore. Her eyes also caught the sight of Kojiro and a cloaked figure standing behind him.

“This place is packed. I wonder how many people came to watch this year.” Pandora munched on a hotdog as she looked down from their chairs. The party was seated high in the stadium, near the nosebleed section.

“There are three Sages attending the tournament this year. And one of those Sages is the Empress of Alfheim herself so…” Yuki’s eyes scanned the stadium.

“Red’s one of the first matches today right?” Cal asked, commenting on Red’s absence.

“I have full confidence that Red will win. Even if it’s against Kaguya’s party, Red’s training as the guard of the Princess of Alfheim makes him one of the most formidable opponents in this tournament,” Yuki said.

“Looks like everyone has tricks up their sleeves today,” Embla said. “Kaguya’s one of the first people fighting in the tournament too. Looks like she’s gonna be one of the first matches for the first half of the day.”

“Where’d you get that information from?” Pandora asked.

“They’re already projecting the information.” Cal pointed his thumb to the massive translucent blue screen that was being projected from the announcer’s booth. The four read the names that were being displayed on the screen.

“Looks like I’m fighting Astrid in the first round,” Cal said.

“I’m fighting some random schmuck from another team.” Embla sighed, wishing that she got Cal’s match.

“I’m fighting a dwarf berserker,” Yuki said.

“And I’m fighting someone named Chiyo Kurokami. Her name sounds Alf. She’s probably from Alfheim,” Pandora said.

As Yuki was about to speak, the sounds of fireworks resounded throughout the entire stadium. The projected screen shifted from the brackets to an animated feed of two people.

The first person on the right-hand side of the feed gave the four an odd feeling. The feeling itself wasn’t pleasant and felt as if they were being constantly watched and dissected. He had slimy black-green hair with pale skin. The man had hollow eyes and sunken cheeks, appearing as if he had been malnourished despite his pale complexion showing no signs of such a thing. The man’s bony frame was covered by a black suit with a green ascot and tie. He also had a pin resembling that of a dragon with two large horns and flaming wings. The man smiled towards the crowd, giving the impression of a snake trying its best to smile.

The second person on the left-hand side of the screen was a woman. Her familiar silver hair radiated in the light as her dull yellow eyes looked out over the crowd. Azalea smiled at the feed, earning the cheers and wolf whistles of the fans around her.

“Azalea’s one of the announcers? I didn’t see that coming,” Embla said.

“Lady Azalea was th announcer last year. Ataraxia Guild works closely with the Midgard Military in order to hold the tournament. It’s not just a tournament for Adventurers, soldiers and members of the army can participate. They just can’t win anything like adventurers. For soldiers, this tournament is a way to gain recognition,” Yuki said.

“I didn’t know that. I always thought this tournament was a way for parties to get promoted to the next star. It’s a bad system but it’s a system,” Embla said.

“It’s a very bad system. It’s just that soldiers fight in it too as a way to consolidate the relationship between the guild and the military,” Yuki said.

“Alright, mic check. Testing, testing. Is this communication crystal even on?” the man said.

“We’re on! And with that opening joke by our very own Sir Kvasir, allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the two announcers for the Ataraxia Tournament and one of the generals of the Midgard Army. As you’ve heard from me, you all know who this gentleman here next to me is but I’ll let him do his own introduction,” Azalea said.

“Right, ahem. Citizens of Midgard, I am Kvasir. I am the Midgard Secretary of War and one of the members of the Head Council. I’m here as a guest commentator. Thanks for having me here, General,” Kvasir said. His tone, while polite, dripped with a venom that was indiscriminate. His slimy gaze scanned the crowd of adventurers and even those who didn’t know him felt violated by his gaze.

“And with that introduction, it’s time we begin this year’s Ataraxia Tourney! The rules of this tournament are simple. The winner of each match will be decided when the other opponent surrenders or is no longer able to fight. Contestants are not allowed to kill each other believe it or not nor are they allowed to cripple each other. Any contestant whose attack is deemed by us as having the intent to kill will be disqualified from the tournament. Over the course of two weeks, we will be hosting matches every day except for Humilitas and Castitas.

“And I’m sure that the Adventurers of Ataraxia are very familiar with the reward of the tournament. The winner of the tournament wins a cash prize of five hundred thousand bullions as well as a full party promotion to the next star. Pretty simple, yes?” Azalea said, flashing a bright smile on the screen.

“With that of the way, the General and I have the pleasure of announcing the first match of the Tournament. Our first match is…”

Embla tuned the name out as she focused on the man on the screen. She had not heard the name wrong. The name that Azalea used and the name the man introduced himself with was the same name on the letter her sister had given her. She gripped the arms of her chair. Her vision was slowly turning red. The world had faded around her and all she could see was her hands around Kvasir’s throat. Before she could stand up and snap, her mind was brought out of its rage-filled haze by a firm hand on her shoulder.

Embla turned to see Cal looking at her with the same stoic expression, yet this time, she could see the worry in his eyes.

“You alright?” Cal asked.

“That guy,” she answered.

“What guy?” he said.

“That guy sitting next to Azalea. He called himself Kvasir like… the guy in my sister’s letter,” Embla said, releasing a slight pulse of mana from her body.

Cal, unfazed by the light sudden burst of wind, nodded and glanced over to Kvasir’s projection. “Really, that guy? He looks like he would fold easily if he fought an adventurer,” he whispered.

“I’m sure of it. My sister said that the person who forced her into taking that long-term mission is that guy. He even said he was part of Midgard’s Head Council. We don’t need any other proof!” Embla said.

“Okay, but think about this. This isn’t some animal we can just kill nor some bandits we can fight. This is one of the Head Council Members and the Secretary of War. How are you going to take the fight to someone who has the entire law behind him,” Cal said.

Embla opened her mouth but failed to find anything to counteract Cal. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair.

“Don’t go rushing into things you don’t know about. It’ll do you more harm than good,” Cal said.

She nodded mutely and looked down towards the stadium. “Is the first match over?”

“Yeah, it’s been done. You and Cal missed the first two fights while you were having a heart-to-heart,” Pandora said.

“We were not having a heart to heart. We were just talking,” Embla said.

“Come on you three. Not now,” Yuki said.

“What a spectacular match! Can we have a round of app-”

“Looks like Kaguya’s fighting next,” Pandora said, cutting Azalea off as she stared at the bracket screen.

“Hey wait… isn’t she on a path to fight Embla later? If Embla makes it to the semifinals, those two will be one of the first fights of the day,” Cal said.

“Let’s not think about it for now. Embla, use this as an opportunity to observe Kaguya’s fighting style.” Yuki’s piercing gaze focused on Kaguya, who had now entered the stadium.

Kaguya’s opponent was a large beast of a man. The man had arms as thick as Cal’s entire body and towered over her. He had a cocky grin on his face as he raised his hand, closing his fist and flexing his biceps in front of Kaguya. The large man had a massive battle-ax strapped to his back.

Kaguya stood there, looking up at the man. The expression on her face was one of pure boredom and lack of motivation. “Are you overcompensating for something? All that peacocking must mean that you lack something?”

“What?” The man stopped, taken aback by Kaguya’s comments.

“Alright fighters! This is some good trash talk before the tournament. Gets both sides all fired up. On my mark, the match will begin. Get ready?” Azalea’s voice rang out.

Up in the stands, four of the five members of Memento Mori watched with bated breath for the match to start.

“Begin!”

The man had incredible speed for his size. Planting one foot on the ground, he kicked off and dashed towards Kaguya at high speed. He reached for his ax and drew it, swinging down with all his forward momentum on her.

The force of the swing ruptured the ground around them, kicking up tons of dust. As the entire arena watched with bated breath, the man had a cocky smirk on his face. He chuckled to himself as he forced the ax down, fully intending on bringing Kaguya to her knees.

“Yeah, you really are just a big dumb sack of muscle.”

His face contorted in confusion before he was thrown back by a massive force. The force cleared the dust, revealing Kaguya.

Yuki narrowed her eyes when she saw the sword in Kaguya’s hand. “The Horaigatana. She’s actually using the sword but…”

“But?” Embla asked.

“She hasn’t drawn it yet,” she answered.

True to Yuki’s observation, Kaguya had the sword inside its beautifully crafted sheathe. The sheathe was midnight blue with bamboo designs that were intricately painted. She took a step forward towards the man, who was now struggling to get to his knees. The force of Kaguya’s blow had nearly caved the entirety of his ribcage.

“It’s a good thing I held back. Rules said I couldn’t cripple you,” Kaguya said, tossing a stray lock aside.

“W- What the fuck? What the hell?” the man foamed at the mouth. The very fact that someone smaller than he was managed to deal so much damage with a single blow was humiliating.

The man roared and rushed forward. “Enhance Parameter! Super Slash!” He swung his axe, using his enhanced strength to try and slice her in half.

Kaguya sidestepped the attack, watching as the force of the attack split the ground open. She thrust her sword forward, striking him in the chest. The man screamed and stumbled back.

“This fight is practically over. Why are you still fighting?” she asked.

His blue eyes glowed as he threw his hand forward and fired a large ball of flames at her. She sighed and evaded the attack.

Kaguya dashed forward, intent on finishing the match.

The man grinned and pulled his arm back.

She narrowed her eyes as a growing heat was coming from behind her. Kaguya sighed and jumped over the ball of fire. She landed gracefully, narrowing her eyes as the ball of flame orbited around the man.

“Meteoric Burst,” she muttered. Kaguya stood up and dusted her shoulder off. “Fine then.” Her eyes gleamed as she gripped the hilt of her sword. The ball of flames was immediately cut apart, dispersed into harmless embers as the crowd looked on in amazement.

She let go of her sword, which was still inside its sheathe, and kicked off the ground. In an instant, Kaguya’s knee was planted directly into the man’s skull. The momentum added to the force of her kick sent the man flying across the arena at high speeds. He crashed into a wall, destroying that portion of the arena.

The crowd looked on in shock as the man lay, barely breathing under a pile of rubble.

“W- With a shocking finished, the w- winner of this match is Kaguya Tsukuyomi!” Azalea announced. “Folks, we’ll take a short break in between matches to patch up the arena. Feel free to go get food and come back after this intermission.”

“Yuki, what was that?” Embla asked, trembling slightly at the match. That woman. She wasn’t a fighter nor an adventurer. She was a predator. The moment her quarry stopped giving her reason to be entertained, Kaguya had immediately defeated him.

“That was Kaguya. Now, do you know what you’re all going to be up against?” Yuki said.

“While they fix the arena, we will announce the next match!” Azalea said.

“Next match?” Pandora asked.

“The next match of the day shall be Red Magdaros and William Iss!”