"… And you're sure you're Ok?"

Sakuma had a worried look on her face as she stroked my cheek.

"Yeah, Ms. Saki, thanks. I'll come home after this is all over."

Higashi puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Remember, you did the best you could. You'll only get stronger from this point on."

I smile as I hug them both.

The Saki family rides away in a blue carriage from a street in the main capital. A wool beast gallops away as they become distant specks on the horizon.

"Shall we get going?"

Aiyoma turns towards a large yellow-bricked coliseum with green grass surrounding the property.

"Yeah."

We walk forward and enter through the main gates.

. . .

"YEAH, KNOCK HER TEETH IN YUUMI!"

"SLICE ER' UP, GOOD SAOKI!"

We walk down the aisles to our seats in the stands. The crowd cheers echo throughout the entire arena.

`I never knew they were saying all of this stuff, though.`

"I'll be sitting here. You should join the rest of the competitors down there."

Aiyoma points to a group of young males and females watching the show with diligence.

I walk down the stairs and shimmy through the sheets, first passing Natsumi.

She looks up, but I choose not to meet her gaze.

"… Momoko."

Mimi holds a hand up but returns it to her side as if she decided not to share her words.

I take my seat as Tatsuo shifts his eyes toward me but looks forward.

—SHING SHING

Saori and Yuumi exchange blows as the area around them create a small circle of dust.

"HAAA!" Yuumi goes in for a thrust but is countered by Saoki and pushed away.

A katana is lunged at Yuumi's face, but she whips out a chain and brings it to her right side.

Saori teleports to her for a powerful kick, but Yuumi evades and grasps her neck, slamming her into the floor.

"GACK!" Saoki chokes as the air is released from her lungs.

Yuumi tightens her grip and moves her free hand towards her immobilized foe.

Saori twists her blade around and stabs her foe's palm.

"GAH!" Yuumi lets go and flings her away.

A pair of chains whisk into the air and follow Saori, attaching to her chest-plate armor. She's brought forward as Yuumi reaches out and grabs her by the face.

She twists around and throws her opponent into the air, then throws another pair of chains and slams them into the ground.

"ACK!" Saori lets out a gasp while dazed from her attack.

Yuumi doesn't let up as she runs towards her and drives a knee in her face.

The impact throws Saori back.

—CRACK

Yuumi looks to her shoulder where a katana cut through her armor.

Her eyes widen as she looks forward, searching for her foe.

Saori's hand rests on the handle as she pulls it out of her opponent's arm from behind.

"GAH!" Blood pumps from Yuumi's shoulder as she turns to face her vanishing opponent.

—GUSH

Blood pours onto the floor as a shimmering blade covered in red liquid extrudes from Yuumi's stomach.

"A-gah…" She clasps onto the blade between her palms as she clenches her teeth.

"AAH!" Saori drives the sword deeper as Yuumi coughs up a pool of blood.

Yuumi's eyes waiver as she takes a hand off of the blade and presses her knuckles on her chest.

"You…"

—CREAK

A chain extrudes past her upper torso and finds a place in Saori's throat.

"Gah.." Saori releases her grip as she falls to the floor, clenching her neck.

Yuumi falls to her knees and vomits blood, gasping for air after her desperate attack.

She turns around as the sword lodged in her stomach waivers. Yuumi puts her palm onto the blade and pushes it out.

"AAAH!" She yells in agony as the blade clanks onto the ground. Blood starts to flow from her backside, making a putrid mess on the floor.

"Ceh.." Saori releases a croak as her movements start to slow.

Yuumi grabs Saori's katana, its bloodied edge is dimmed as she crawls over to her dying adversary.

She holds the katana in the air as if presenting it to the speechless crowd.

"… Bitch."

The sword cuts through the air aimed at Saori's head.

Inches away from her forehead, Yuumi stops mid-air coughing up more blood. Dust moves from her wake as she falls to the ground.

Kali walks forwards and looks at the two fighters.

"… THE WINNER …IS YUUMI YATO!"

The audience's cheers create shock waves around the arena as the crowd chants in unison.

Cloaked individuals rushed over to the two fighters.

One of them created a purple runic circle and placed it around the hole in Saori's neck.

The young girl stopped squirming and started to breathe more soundly. Another of the sages made a purple runic circle around Yuumi's chest. Her armor evaporates in rays of light as she closes her eyes.

They then disappear in a blue runic sphere.

`They must've taken me to that medical facility when I passed out as well.`

Calina jumped down from the floating platform and raised her arms. "That concludes this year's Rite of Passage. Please give it up for recruits!"

The crowd applauded and cheered in unison, with their attention being turned to us.

. . .

Afterward, all of the remaining contestants were escorted to the castle's main hall by General Calina and Captain Stroyer.

The halls were pristine and elegant-like. Curtains made of red silk covered the big windows leading down the corridor. The ceiling had paintings of beasts, knights, and what seemed to be a goddess on a battlefield.

We stop in front of a door with velvet handles and a glossy wood texture. Calina and Stroyer step onto either side of the door.

They pull the handles forward as a bright light extrudes from the room in front of us.

A large room covered with white and gold decorated walls with an intricate chandelier hanging from the ceiling is presented. We walk down a path being painted with a red rug down to a large row of stairs. Looking above, the stairs lead to three thrones. The left is black and pink, the right blue with white outlines, and the middle is larger than the others made of gold and platinum.

Sitting atop the rightmost throne is a young girl with aqua-colored hair. Her legs uncross as she stands and walks to peer at us from her large platform. The icy gaze she gives off makes me shiver.

Stroyer and Calina walked over and bowed in front of us.

"Princess Iyuna…"

Calina basked her head down as she lifted a hand toward us.

"These are this year's Rite of Passage winners… As you instructed, they're all here except for Yuumi Yato and Saori Kojo, who's in critical condition."

The light-blue-haired girl walked down. Her white and black victorian dressed danced as she walked down the steps towards us.

Upon reaching the final step she walked past Stroyer and Calina while caressing their hair.

"You're free to go."

Calina and Stroyer stood without making eye contact and backed away towards the door, making a thunderous echo in the room as they closed it behind them.

"I've called you here today to congratulate you personally on your accomplishments..."

The Princess walked forward, her heels clicked as she stood a few feet away from us. Looking up close, she couldn't be any older than us, her pale skin made an impression that she's kept quite secluded. An icy aura protruded from the Princess, making the air around her feel cold and chilled.

"… However, your journey to greatness has only begun."

She presents a devious grin.