"Good afternoon, everyone. Your beautiful hostess Lana will share today's thrilling events with you, my dear audience."
Lana was barefoot, wearing a beautiful ginger dress with long wavy hair and a flower crown over her head. The entire stadium was full of cheers, not for the match but for Lana.
"Woooho, Lana, you look amazing!"
"Fairy Lana is divine."
"Marry me, beautiful Luna."
"Mwah, mwah, mwah."
Luna kept distributing kisses to the audiences who complimented her new outfit, making some girls feel jealous.
"This host is something else; she chose an innocent vibe this time, ha... she actually nailed it." Baial turned her gaze at Sylvia, who was sitting beside her, and was horrified.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Sylvia on the other side looked disgusted by Lana's looks. "Why, for God's sake...can someone tell me why people are smitten with such looks?"
"Isn't it because it's cute?...Who doesn't like cute stuff? Not to mention it's the national wife, both strong and beautiful; it's understandable," Naial said.
Sylvia glared at Baial, making her jolt from her seat, in a trembling voice, "W...what's wrong with you?"
Sylvia answered with a pretty serious face as if it was an undeniable truth, making Baial stunned.
"It's upsetting my stomach."
"Huh?!...I mean, that's all?"
"What?...you expect something else?"
Baial didn't find any hope with her, so she turned to Bella.
"Do you also think so?"
Nella was eating an ice cream; she stopped eating to answer her.
"Obviously not, I adore cute stuff; my room is full of stuffed toys. All girls have that stuff, duh."
Baial nodded in agreement. "Um, that's part of everyone's childhood. I am most surprised to see someone hates those fluffy soft toys."
"Don't take it personally; every rule has its exceptions, and royals are full of such examples, my dear."
Seeing the smug smile on Bella's face, Baial was confused but dared not ask any further.
'Just why the hell am I hanging out with them if I am going to be silent most of the time? But then again, royals are something else...whatever, follow along and eat some melons; it won't cause any harm, Baial thought, but her face unconsciously drew a creepy smile, drawing both Sylvia and Belladonna's attention.
They stared at each other. Bella raised her hand beside her head, rotating her finger in a small motion, saying, "Your friend seems to have lost it."
Sylvia turned her face towards the arena, saying in an indifferent tone, "Doesn't matter."
"True…" Bella said and started eating her ice cream again, while Sylvia rotated her eyes, observing her silently.
"Okay everyone, let's calm down," Luna said, and the crowd's loud cheers finally calmed.
She continued her speech, "Right now we are at the third day of the Cup of Glory. The previous two days ended with eight contestants: Group A, Eclipsa, Dem, Syrous, and Manao, and Group B, Jarvis, Mira, Shen, and Balarc, all winners, head to the stage."
The arena was only a single battlefield this time; all the contestants stood on the stage listening to Lana.
"First of all, let me congratulate you on reaching this point in the Cup of Glory. Regardless of the final winner, I believe we all learned a thing or two from the past two days we were together. Without any further delay, let's start the third day."
Lana placed a large box in the middle of the arena and started explaining the rules for the third day. "The rules for this fight are simple: you are going to draw a number from the box according to the order in which you finished yesterday's game. We will start with group A, Eclipsa..."
Lana shortened her distance from Eclipsa and told her,
"Consistent Eclipsa, since you ranked first in yesterday's fight, you will have an exception to the ruling."
"What kind of exception?" Manao asked.
Lana turned at her, saying, "Since Lady Eclipsa ranked first in the last round, she will gain a free pass between groups. Her opponent choice won't be limited to her own group; not only her but also Jarvis and Dem—they are all the same."
"So it's the privilege of the top three, I see," Manao said, but deep down she was furious. "Privilege, my ass; everyone's preparations turned into nothing but a joke, with the groups regrouping."
"Exactly… after today the groups will officially dismiss or not depending on whether they can select from their own groups or not; if succeeded, your groups will stay intact. Good luck, everyone," Lana answered and flew high in the sky. "Now without any further delay, let the rolling start"
After the rolling ended, Lana,start." along with everyone present, was shocked by the results on the big screen.
Group A, Eclipsa against Manao, and Dem against Syrous
Group B: Jarvis against Shen and Balarc against Mira
"What the...how come it ended like that, huh?...Can someone explain?" Lana's jaw dropped from the shock. "How come everyone ended up in his own group?...Either they are lucky, or I am dumb. What was the point of regrouping exactly?"
She sighed in disbelief. 'Could there be such a coincidence in the world?' she thought.
"Whatever..." She was forced to deal with the situation as it is, and since there was nothing she could do, she continued her job.
"Now that the groups are selected, let's get to business. The games will be a single arena, a single match...in short, a one-on-one game after the other till all four battles end. We will start by yesterday's order, except for Lady Eclipsa and Lady Manao. The others get down from the arena."
After everyone left the arena and the two women were the only ones left, the barrier was on, declaring the beginning of the game.
The moment the barrier activated, Manao attacked in full spirit, swallowing the entire arena in her open domain, covering the entire ground under both of them with water. Huge balls made of water started coming out of the ground, attacking Eclipsa from all directions. At the same time, she immediately activated her magical artifact, a flying sword, and right now she stands above her head.
Manao said with a tone full of confidence, "If I want to win against you, I need to prevent you from using your magic and break the channel of your mana so I can cast my magic faster than you, keep my distance away from you, and my best choice was my open domain; this time you lost."
While she was attacked from all sides, she stood still unharmed and calmly said, "Ridiculous.... If it was a close domain, then maybe a proper standing at most."
"What?" Surprised by her words, Manao had a bad feeling. "What in the world is she up to? She's surrounded by my attacks from all directions, and her channel is broken. She is bound to lose the moment her defenses are down. What am I afraid of? Worst case, I will use my guardian protector. This game, I am the winner."
Eclipsa raised her right hand open in front of her face and blew on it after saying,
"You lost the moment you thought you could be my match."
Small snowflakes flew in the air, the air turned cold, and ice immediately swallowed everything around them. In an instant, the entire water domain turned into ice; even the barrier around the arena got covered in ice. People from outside could barely see what was going on inside.
"What in the world happened in here?" Amid her confusion, Baial didn't realize the snowflakes nearby her; when she did, it was too late.
The snowflakes changed into large pointed icy crystals; the moment it touched her, she froze on the spot.
"You lost," Eclipsa said quietly.
As the barrier around the arena was going down, the ice started breaking, releasing a wave of cold energy that affected the whole stadium in one go.
"A...a...acho...ugh, I should have worn thicker clothes; forget it, next time isn't too late," Lana said while shivering in the air like a wet dog. She carefully approached the arena to try confirming who the winner really is.
"What the hell is that?" Lana's eyes widened seeing Manao mostly turned into an ice statue except for her head. She gave Eclipsa a side eye, thinking, 'This girl has a weird quirk when fighting. I mean, what's so good about turning people into ice statues?'
Eclipsa snapped her fingers, and all the ice melted instantly, freeing Manao to finally breathe her freedom.
-snap-
"Bwaah...hah, hah, hah...gulp...snif...acho."
Manao shrank into her black coat trying to warm herself; shivering, she glared at Eclipsa, asking,
"You actually used my mama as a channel?...How is that even possible, using mana to transfer mana...I've never heard of such things. Who in the world are you?"
Eclipsa didn't answer and just left the arena as quietly as she entered under the others' wondering gazes.
"Wow, that woman truly got a unique temper," Bella said.
Sylvia, on the other hand, frowned at the sight of her powers. She found herself strangely afraid. "So proud it makes people scared."
Bella poked her arm using her elbow, asking her, "Eh...let me ask, how much confidence do you have facing her?"
"If it happens and we both are serious, then I must be ready to lose an arm in the process."
The amount of confidence in her speech stunned Bella, especially knowing Sylvia isn't someone who can easily compliment others.
"That's a high recognition, especially when it comes from someone like you."
"I am not that hard to please; stop the rumors." Sylvia crossed her arms, asking in anger. That's about it, anyway. What about you? Can you actually win?"
After thinking for a while, Bella said playfully, "Wait...that's wrong. Why would I fight her? Aren't I a fucking healer?"
Sylvia rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Evade the question, that's all you're good at."
They looked at each other as if they were going to attack any moment, while Baial was terrified, not knowing what to do if they fought right then and there. Lana's sound cut the tension, drawing their attention.
"This marks the end of the first game with the winner, Eclipsa, as expected. Congrats on advancing to the semifinals. We can now proceed with the second match in group A. Dem and Syrous, please come on the stage."
"Wait!!"
"Who is talking?" Lana turned around, looking for the source of the sound.
"It's me," it was Syrous calling her, raising his hand.
"What do you want?" Lana asked.
"I want to withdraw from the competition."
"Are you sure about that? As a judge, I need to confirm with you: are you really going to withdraw from the Cup of Glory?
"I am sure."
"Okay then, since Syrous had withdrawn from the competition, they automatically became the winner of this round, so next up will be group B's first game, Jarvis against Shen. Please come up to the stage."
"Wait a moment." Shen suddenly stopped Lana mid-talk, saying, "I want to withdraw as well."
"Another withdrawal?" Feeling confused, Lana asked to confirm again, "Are you sure of your decision?"
"I am sure," she confidently replied. He didn't seem like he was joking.
"S...so...the winner in this game is Jarvis. Anyone else?" Lana turned her angry gaze over Balarc and Mira.
Balark raised his hand, saying, "I...I want to withdraw."
"This is the third withdrawal already; something is definitely not right." Lana's head started spinning from all this nonsense she was witnessing.
She helplessly said, "I know it's the routine, but I must ask again: are you sure about withdrawal?"
"I am sure."
"Then in this match the winner is Mira."
'Never in my life have I witnessed three consecutive withdrawals in the cup of glory. This is definitely a first. Those kids are truly something else,' Lana thought.
"With this we come to the end of the third day of the Cup of Glory. Tomorrow will be the mid-finals with Eclipsa, Dem, Jarvis, and Mira as our final players. See you tomorrow."