"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"Weak. Too weak," said a young man, his spiky dark hair and purple eyes complementing his almost psychopathic grin. "That wasn't nearly enough to satisfy me. You're of the same idea, aren't you, Theo?"
"It's Theodore. Please remember that," The other young man, similar build, face, skin tone, eyes and hair color but with a messy haircut as the other one, replied. "Anyway Isaac, don't you think you went overboard?"
"Overboard you say?" Isaac shrugged it off with a smirk. "Come on~. I was just frustrated that none of these guys were able to entertain me."
"You say that, but we both know that you simply enjoy tormenting the weak," retorted Theodore with a condescending gaze that simply made Isaac chuckle.
"We might be twins, but we're so different it's almost unbelievable. Well then, let's go hunt our next prey," Isaac started dashing throughout the forest.
With a sigh as he followed behind, "I swear. How is it that the oldest is the most childish."
---
---
---
Carefully hiding her presence as she took shelter from the rain under the tree forest, Emilia was lost in her own focus. She felt the rain drops on her skin, the humid air around her, the moist ground under her feet, spreading out her consciousness into each of these elements that held water molecules which ended up giving her the position of the other contestants in a 200-meter radius.
"Three north-east from here, one up north, and another one south-west. They're fairly apart from each other and from me, so I guess it's okay to rest for a while," thought Emilia, opening her eyes as she looked towards the sky.
"I wonder how Mira and Frank are faring. I'm pretty sure they're doing pretty well. And Ace, I wonder what he's up to. There's really no way to know what he's thinking. Hmmm?"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a presence she felt as if it was a water drop in a giant pond.
She positioned herself like an archer as a bow and arrow made of water appeared in her hands, the arrow being charged up with more and more mana.
She released the arrow which flew through the air in direction of the north, seemingly getting bigger and bigger as it closed in on the ignorant contestant who wasn't aware that an attack was homing in on him.
Without even being able to react, the participant was eliminated without resistance.
"One participant has been eliminated!"
"I was complacent. If Ace was here, he wouldn't let me hear the end of it," she thought, a fantasy of Ace appearing in her mind as he told her that she required more training in the most menacing tone possible.
"Ace," her thoughts grew darker as she held her head down and tightly grabbed her arm, trying to suppress her trembling. "I will admit that no matter what I say or how I act, I'm afraid of him. One mistake, one wrong move and I'll be killed. I really am pathetic. To think that at this point I'm having second thoughts. My skills may have improved, but I'm still weak."
Red eyes came to mind. The same eyes that filled her with rage.
"If I want to have my revenge, I can't stay like this. I need to change. I need to become stronger even if I have to break," her thoughts full of resolve were interrupted by an abrupt and unexpected voice.
"That was a nice shot. But daydreaming like this definitely isn't the best way to stay alive."
"Huh?" Emilia's expression was full of surprise, immediately creating distance between her and the owner of the voice.
As her feet landed on the ground and her eyes locked onto the person who had spoken, her surprise was even more evident.
"A-Ace?"
It was Ace, sitting comfortably on the sturdiest branch of the tree.
"Yo."
"What… what is he doing here?" she asked herself, unconsciously putting her guard up.
"Don't worry," he began, confusing Emilia even more. "I didn't come here itching for a fight."
"Then why are you here?" Emilia asked, her guard partly lowered.
"I was curious about how you were doing. And if I could, I was going to get an easy kill out of you," he tilted his head, his expression as stoic as always.
"Wha-?" Emilia was speechless, unable to even know how to react.
"But I changed my mind."
Emilia couldn't follow as she simply let her shoulders drop, going back under the tree.
"Well, I doubt you came to see me because you were worried about me,"
"I won't deny that," said Ace, the air around them solemn yet unusually tense.
"Know anything about what happened to Mira and Frank?" asked Emilia, looking up towards Ace who only gave her a glance.
"They've already been eliminated. The Royals got them."
"I see."
"Having doubts about your revenge?" asked Ace eyeing her with a cold gaze that seemed almost murderous.
"No," replied Emilia, her voice carrying no hesitation.
"I see. My little finger was telling me that you were hesitating, but it would seem that I was wrong."
"I knew it. He was testing me. I wonder how long he's been observing me," thought Emilia, not knowing that Ace was having his own thoughts about her.
"Guess she still got a backbone after all. Is that what normal people call resilience? Or is it denial? For now, I guess I'll continue to keep an eye on her."
"Hey," Emilia started, her voice full of hesitation.
"What is it?" Ace asked, curiosity in his tone.
"N-nothing! Actually, forget it," said Emilia, her face hesitant.
"Hmmm?" Ace raised a brow before glancing in the distance as he noticed an enclosing presence.
"It would seem that you've got visitors. Let's see how you're going to handle them," said Ace, confusing Emilia who looked up towards him only to find nothing.
"Huh?"
"Where did he go?" she thought, surprised as a voice came out from the distance.
"Oh! Now what do we have here?"
As Emilia turned around to face them, a wind attack closed in on her.
Within a single gasp, Emilia barely evaded the attack by leaping to the side.
"Come on, Theo! If you're going to do something…"
Emilia saw a giant clobber coming down on her, making her gasp once more.
"DO IT RIGHT!!!" Isaac swung down the clobber, leaving only several inches between it and Emilia who raised a water barrier at the last second, making him leap back in retreat.
"Hmph," exclaimed Theodore while Emilia steadied her breath.
"Well, well. Guess you ain't that easy, eh?" Isaac grinned excitedly, his gaze completely locked onto Emilia. "Nice~! I'm gonna enjoy this."