[Rita's POV]
To be honest, I didn't put the tournament for my hand in marriage in my eyes.
When the dark prince arrived, my interest was piqued a bit, just a tiny bit, and that was all.
It wasn't until the silver-haired boy now standing grandly before the duke made a move that I had my entire attention stolen.
Uncle Mike the 'duke' had always trained me and his daughter Sophia since we were little kids.
I have always been called a genius. Even when I heard rumors about the dual elemental dark prince, it didn't move me at all.
Now, seeing an age mate of mine trampling on my master in such a grand way, I can't help but feel a little ashamed.
Though more than the shame, I feel excited. Excited to know that there are others in my generation out there who can compete with me. It is a shame that I have never been allowed to leave the city since I was small, so I have little knowledge of the outside world.
Suddenly, a deep voice resounded from my side, instantly pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Interesting."
'Damn!' I called out in my mind.
'Things are about to get messy.' Others may not notice it, but I could feel a trace of anger in the voice of my Father.
Luckily, before my Dad could make a move, my Mum, the 'Queen', lightly chuckled under her veil as she said:
"Little warrior. You should return to the group so we may start the tournament. As for you being called a 'beggar', I apologize on behalf of the duke."
Everyone gasped in surprise. Even the King had a look of bewilderment on his face.
A young boy humiliated a grand Duke of our kingdom, yet they would let him go?
As if that wasn't enough, the queen even apologized to him in front of many faces.
I was confused, but when I saw my father relent, I couldn't help but sigh in relief.
For some reason, I wanted to observe the boy more.
I guess I and the audience weren't the only ones, as the silver-haired boy similarly looked taken aback. He gazed at the veiled face of my Mum before his eyes shifted further down... down to her chest.
Even from this distance, I could swear I heard him gulp.
Instantly, I narrowed my eyes.
'What unbecoming behaviour!'
"Your Highness surely jests. I am not worthy of your apology. To not only gaze at your magnificent self but hear your beautiful voice, even if I die, I will go in peace," said the silver-haired boy as he bowed gracefully.
'The f*ck? What is with the sudden change in character? Where is that aura of defiance and that look of stubbornness? Not to mention the vulgar expression you had just a moment ago?'
Every high opinion I had of this guy quickly reached rock bottom.
'He is definitely a pervert, yet he is acting all cool,' I thought as I looked at him with utter contempt.
While many people put on weird expressions, my Mum merely gave a light chuckle that alleviated the tense mood in the coliseum, while my dad had a slight frown on his face, yet he remained silent.
The silver-haired boy teleported back to the stage.
"Now let us end this already. All of you can come at me!" said the boy as he faced the others in the group.
The other challengers looked at him with blank expressions. Only two people had different expressions.
Sophia, my best friend, had a deep frown on her face. That was understandable, after all, her Dad had just been stepped on in public.
The dark prince also had a grave expression on his face. No one knew what was going through his mind.
Seeing that no one made a move, the silver-haired boy took action.
I focused my entire attention on the stage as I looked forward to how the rest of the event would unfold.
"Mirror clones!"
Three identical clones appeared beside the silver-haired boy. Before the others could react, the clones and the original body teleported away.
In merely three breaths, the first set of people in front of him was directly knocked down. After that, they teleported again, and another four instantly fell.
It wasn't until then that someone shouted:
"If we want to have a chance, then we all have to work together and take him down!" The others woke up from their stupor after hearing the shout.
They all threw varying attacks in the way of the silver-haired boy, but what greeted them were silver flashes, as the boy teleported here and there.
Even with them working together, they all fell one after the other. The gap between them was just too great to fill with numbers.
When the silver-haired boy stood still again, his clones having been destroyed, only three people stood on the field: Sophia, the dark prince, and himself.
He stood still as he stared at Sophia and the dark prince, who had his hands crossed on his chest with narrowed eyes. I guess the silver-haired boy could tell the duo were unlike the others. They were also strong.
The audience didn't even know how to react anymore to what was occurring. Glancing around, I noticed the stiff expressions on their faces. But I quickly shifted my attention back to the field when I felt some movements.
Sophia was the first to act.
She made a sword from her ice magic and held it tightly in her right hand. She then summoned tens of ice spears above her.
"You are too arrogant," she said in an annoyed voice.
"Of course I am. After all, I have the strength to back it up," the silver-haired boy responded impassively.
"Humph, go!" she commanded, as the tens of spears above her were sent hurtling forward.
Towards her attack, the silver-haired boy merely raised his left hand and spoke lightly:
"Receive!"
Again, the space in front of him rippled and all the ice spears were sucked into it. Immediately after, he closed his right hand into a fist.
I couldn't help but marvel at such a magical way of defending against spells.
'Is that really Space laws?' I felt perplexed by the boy's strange powers, yet my eyes remained fixed on the fight.
Before the silver-haired boy could make another move, Sophia flashed in front of him in a blur and swung her sword down vertically like she wanted to cleave him in two.
He quickly shifted to his right, closely dodging the attack. He lifted his left hand as he slapped towards Sophia's moderately raised chest, his eyes fixed on it with an expectant look on his face.
Once again, a disgusted look distorted my beautiful face.
'Why is he so corrupted at such a young age?'
"Ice shield!" Sophia called out hurriedly, and an ice shield formed before her to block the attack.
However, all she saw was the figure of the person before her fading away, and she soon realized that at some point, he had already teleported behind her, his hand now moving towards her slightly perky rear. It was too late for her to react.
I couldn't help but grit my teeth. How could I watch my best friend be treated in such a manner, especially in front of many eyes?
Thankfully...
"Root of Yggdrasil," a voice resounded in the arena.
Thick greenish roots sprouted between Sophia and the silver-haired boy, and they moved to attack the boy, but he instantly teleported farther away before looking to his left.
There, a dark-haired boy had his hands raised with a calm look on his face.
"I will make you pay dearly for ruining my fun," said the silver-haired boy with an annoyed look.
"You PERVERT!" screamed Sophia as she quickly turned around to face the silver-haired boy, her face slightly red.
"Hehe," he merely chuckled in return.
"I apologize. But since I know I can't match you, we will have to fight two against one," said the dark prince as a white aura covered the right side of his body while a starkly dark aura covered his whole left.
"Sprout! Yggdrasil!" the dark prince called out.
A ten-meter-tall ancient tree appeared behind him with a wide crown about twelve meters in diameter, and long, thick roots and branches flailing about. But it seemed he wasn't done as his voice rang out once more:
"Summon undead!"
A dark smoke spread out from him, as a deep shadow enveloped the surrounding ground. A moment later, several bony hands jutted out from the ground, and soon after, tens of undead skeletons with varying weapons in hand rose from the ground.
"OH!" the silver-haired boy muttered with his mouth slightly opened, a weird glint flashing in his eyes.
At the same time, I gulped nervously, my pink lips subconsciously parting.
"Incredible..."
*****
AN: Support the novel by adding it as your favorite. If possible, rate it. Thanks.