"What hell is this?" wondered Ace, glitches appearing in his mind causing him headaches. "What the hell's happening?"
Memories rose up, he knew what this screen in front of him was.
"The system? Why now?" he questioned. "Next scenario has been triggered? System Standby?"
He held his head in pain as other screens appeared.
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[Name: Ace Blakelord]
[Age: 13 (physically)]
[Class: Spellblade]
[Unique Trait: Spriggan]
[HP: 1500/1500]
[Skills]
[Skill: Blade Battle Arts]
[Skill: Overdrive]
[Skill: Shadow Arcane]
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[You have summoned a Nameless Sword.]
[Notice: Presence of a nameless sword spirit has been detected.]
[Requirement: Name the spirit to finalize contract.]
[Name:__________]
Ace's reaction was that of surprise as he didn't expect this kind of development. His gaze lingered on the sword that had appeared suddenly from the shadows and whose glint reminded him of the moonlit sky.
The sword was one-handed short sword similar to a katana. The ones with wooden helms similar those that have to be properly completed by their swordsmiths.
As his gaze lingered on the blade, slowly reaching out his hand to grab it, he thoughts evolved.
"I don't know what's going on, and I don't care. But…" his eyes had a determined glint that could no longer be considered cold. "I want to fight him one more time. I want to fight against him. I want… to win!"
The moment he grabbed the sword, a flashback memory, a familiar yet distant one, glitched in his mind. "Like the moonlight being reflected on the surface of a serene stream of water blurs in the tides of a waterfall, a flowing stream of power flowing through the blade can be felt just by holding it."
"Ryuugetsu", he muttered, the name rolling off his tongue with a sense of finality and respect, drawn in by the feeling he got from the sword he held in his hand. "Ryuu using the character of stream and Getsu, the character for moon"
"Calm yet powerful. Enchanting yet deadly. Ryuugetsu, that's your name," he said.
[Name: Ryuugetsu]
At that moment time resumed and a sudden outburst of energy was released from Ace's body, black fading shadows with silver hues swirled around him as they formed a black fog which rounded up around his body pushing back Arnold's strike and sending him flying.
"What happened?" muttered Arnold, unable to comprehend what had happened as he still felt the wavelength of power exuded by Ace's sudden outburst.
And not only him, everyone that also attended the Competition felt the pressure exuded by this new awakening in Ace. It was overwhelming to the point that Chris, Deker, Hugo and the VIPs could also feel it.
Emilia, who was at the infirmary at the time, also felt it, but it was different from the others. She found herself in a dark space where Ace stood alone, slowly being engulfed by shadows that turned him into an ethereal winged creature with an indistinguishable form.
And when she blinked, she was back at the infirmary, feeling a whisper in her ear.
"The king has awakened. I'm looking forward to how you handle this, Little Queen. It'll be very interesting."
In the meanwhile, Ace's arm that had been cut off reattached itself by becoming shadows, devouring the magic gun in the process. And as the arm found back its original place, a black crown similar to a trident's forks appeared on his head, a portion of his side bangs becoming silver-white in color.
While this transformation happened, Hugo stood from his seat, observing this moment with the greatest attention.
Ye is the Crownless King who knows no bounds,
A being equal to the gods, dragons and demons alike,
A ruler conqueror of all,
Master of order and chaos,
For thine is thy path of Regius.
"It would seem that the First Seal has been released," Hugo thought, never averting his gaze from Ace's form. "Now all the pieces have been set in motion, and nothing can stop it."
As the pressure faded and the shadows settled, Ace stood alone, with a black katana-like short sword whose expansive yet small blade almost reminded that of a glaive.
Ace was like in a daze, as soon as Arnold did the slightest movement, Ace, with newfound speed, attacked him, breaking the sword that was used to block the strike in the process.
Before he made another move, a voice came out of nowhere.
"Don't you think it's time to wake up already."
Arnold was confused as Ace stopped momentarily, looking back only to find nothing.
"Sorry for the wait, Your Highness," Ace said, an unusual, serene expression appearing on his face.
"I really thought I had you there. But it would seem that this battle is far from over," said Arnold with a confident smirk as he threw away his broken sword. "I suppose I have to respond in kind, right?"
Ace's transformation had hyped up the audience, Isidor also straining his voice with excitement. And right there, Leonardo and Stephany thought the same thing.
"That fool! Don't tell me he's going to…" started Leonardo with an anxious expression.
"Hey, hey. Don't tell me that…" thought Stephany, watching the fight live as her thoughts aligned with her fathers.
"He's going to use that?!"
Arnold was engulfed in white flames before dispersing them with a white sword made that surged white flames in his hand while his hair had taken a white color and his eyes were golden.
<…Scriptures of Azrael>
Without even sharing a single word, the battle resumed with Ace clashing with Arnold, their swords grinding against each other while the shockwave of power became enough to eliminate any remaining contestants if any.
While Ace exchanged blows with Arnold, he had different thoughts that coursed through his mind. "When I strike my enemy, it's to kill. But… I want to understand what he sees. If I'm fighting him… A worthy adversary in front of me, then… it's simply because I don't want to lose. I simply want to see just how far I can go."
"This is… fun," thought Ace, a real bright and excited smiling grin appearing on his face for the first time as he engaged the prince in a final fury of attacks.
They had far exceeded the simple level of students, everyone held their breaths, no one uttered a word as they saw this battle. This battle where their mastery was enough to redirect a sword strike barehanded while countering while darting around the entire area, blowing up the ground with every clash as if it was a dual sword dance between warriors that are tempting the goddess of victory to tip the scale in their favor.
With a final clash, they created distance between them. They were both out of breath, but they still had enough energy for one single attack. They didn't exchange any words, but they could feel it. This is the end.
"Let's go, Ace Blakelord!" said Arnold, with a pleased grin as both unleashed their mightiest attack.
With a sweep of the sword creating waves of white flames, Arnold unleashed his ultimate technique which caused such destruction and heat that you could have believed to be only a few meters from the sun.
Ace simply steadied his breath, approaching Arnold with a down-to-up wards slash that seemed to bind light and shadows instinctually. He had entered a state of total concentration as he unleashed his attack.
As the two attacks clashed, a giant energy blast was unleashed, razing the area to dust while the spectators simply roared in excitement, waiting for the conclusion.
As the blinding light faded, on the destroyed and naked landscape, Ace was laying on the ground, gaze focused on the sky.
"Dammit, I lost. But…" said Ace, his shadow acting up while his body had started to fade like all the other eliminated participants before him.
Arnold was heavily injured but still standing. "I'm exhausted."
But before the tension could cool down, a gong resounded strongly, surprising everyone as Hugo appeared suddenly and announced the end of the Competition.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this year's 5-Star Competition was won by the Second Year's Class 1 student Ace Blakelord!" he announced, bringing out only one reaction from everyone present.
"EEEEHHHHH????!!!!!!"