Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

There was a glitch in my internet that caused a double pasting of this chapter. I did not catch it till after it posted. As such, I could not delete it or correct it. So this chapter contains 2 in 1. I am SO sorry for this.

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Rena waited eagerly for the start of the penultimate matches. The final four would be held simultaneously, then the final match would begin after another short rest.

The announcer had left his original podium, which was set in the center of the stands. He was now walking within the arena itself, surrounded by an entourage of knights in a fantastical procession.

The four tournament finalists were waiting for them in the center of the arena. Two of them stood calm and unmoving, a stark contrast to Corva and Thomas, who were avidly waving at the crowds cheering for them.

The announcer pulled Corva from the group and presented her front and center. A team of people carrying a recording crystal connected to all the towers around the city was with him. Rena\'s viewing box even had one for this part of the event so that they could see the interviews closely.

"Hello, citizens of the Union, Eroa, and Aedrider! Here we are in the final four! We only have a little bit longer to go, and we will have our champion crowned today! Before we get on to the fights, we wanted to take the opportunity to speak with each of the contestants!

"As part of these short interviews, they will share the request they wish to make of King Aleksander. We have recently been informed that King Verdayl of Eroa will work alongside King Aleksander to grant these requests. I also wish to remind our contestants that you must share your requests truthfully, honestly, and fully! Once you share them with the crowd, you are unable to change your mind!

"So… let us begin! Miss! Can you share your name, a little about yourself, and your request?"

The young elven woman looked cheerfully at the recording crystal and spoke, "Hi! I\'m Corva, a blacksmith and Enchanting specialist from Aedrider! I\'m a commoner, but still, my inventions are the top of the world, including my special hammer!"

The announcer clapped his hands gleefully, "Oh yay! And what is it that you\'ll be requesting of these two generous kings?"

"That\'s easy! I want a delivery of at least a hundred S-Rank monster items! They\'re for my next projects!"

Her response surprised the crowd and nearly caused King Aleksander and Verdayl to fall over. What she requested could be done, but it would be intensely expensive.

The next person to be interviewed was Desmond Adler. He walked up to the stage rather awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable speaking in front of such a large crowd.

"So, Mr. Desmond Adler, I hear you battled your way to the top of your class and are the representative of the coastal nation of Keinydd. So… what is it that you wish to ask?"

Desmond paused for a moment. Even Rena found herself on the edge of her seat.

"I wish to be allowed to immigrate to the nation of Eroa and make myself and my twin sister, Jade, naturalized citizens."

Rena could hear from the royal\'s box a little ways away as someone shouted, "Deal!" Extremely loudly. It seemed that King Verdayl was excited about the prospect of bringing a talented young warrior to his nation.

After Desmond walked off the stage, Thomas walked up full of swagger and confidence. He had won all of his matches handily and his behavior made Rena feel like vomiting, however she settled for simply rolling her eyes.

"Sir Thomas von Petra, representative of the Kingdom of Arcadios and top student at the Arcadios Royal Academy. Tell us… what is it you want from our esteemed kings?"

Thomas cleared his throat and gave a haughty laugh. "When I wipe the floor with my opponents, I shall simply ask for one thing. My victory will result in me being the next head of the house of Petra. However, what I wish to ask is for royal support in changing our succession laws to not be earned but inherited like every other noble house."

"Oh, ho! We are all aware of the strange inheritance competition of House Petra… and you wish to change them? How interesting… thank you for your time, Lord Thomas!"

Rena clenched and unclenched her fist to calm herself, thanks to Thomas\' sheer arrogance and brazen display of disrespect to their house\'s ancient laws. However, then she remembered that she was planning on separating herself from the house and that whatever it was that Thomas wanted to do… was no longer her concern.

Rena\'s interest in Desmond\'s interview had already waned when she saw Thomas heading to the stage, but it returned the moment he left because the next person walking up to the stage was none other than Titan. What is it that brought a person like that to this tournament?"

"And finally, we have our most interesting fighter. Every fight you\'ve been in has been short and to the point. I dare say that Prince Augustine will be lucky to walk again, thanks to you. So, my lovely, mysterious warrior. Tell us about yourself. Clear some of the mystery."

For a moment, there was silence as Titan said nothing. With a second prompting by the announcer, he finally spoke. "I am called Titan. I work for the kingdom of Eroa."

"Our dear audience has been murmuring that you are a higher rank than you let on. That, for some reason, a Master Ranker snuck his way into the competition."

"That is false. King Aleksander was concerned for the same and had me independently tested by the Adventurer\'s guild. I am an Intermediate Rank."

The crowd burst into a roar of chatter and conversation. No one present could believe it. Though many in the crowds were not fighters and had no way to gauge someone\'s strength the way other Rankers do, it was simple enough to tell that he was strong.

Rena herself had her jaw hanging open in disbelief. How was it possible for someone that powerful to be such a low rank? Equivalent to her, even!

"So, you say you are an Intermediate Rank. Other rumors say you were at the battle of Alvora. Care to comment?"

"Classified."

"How many years did you fight in the war?"

"Classified."

The announcer was getting a little bit flustered that his questions were not being answered, so he hurried it along. "Fine, Titan. What is it that you truly desire?"

Titan looked directly at the recording crystal, and Rena felt that even through the projection, he was looking into the depths of her soul.

"Simple. I wish them to permit me to take Lady Rena von Petra as my wife."

-------------------[The Final Four Part 1 starts here]-------------------

Everyone sitting next to Rena in the Oracle\'s viewing box had their mouths open and were looking at her. Rena herself felt so shocked that she did not know what to do or say. .net

"Dear… is that the…"

"No," Natali said quickly. "Lucius is dead. That Titan person is not Rena\'s lover."

"I see…"

Though she could not see it, she could only imagine what look must have been on her father\'s face at the moment. He was in the viewing box with the king, so she was unable to see him.

*****

Shortly after Titan answered the announcer\'s question, the man in question and his entourage left the arena. Titan moved to Ring B, where he would be facing Corva, while Desmond and Thomas moved to Ring A.

"Nice to meet ya, Titan! You are one scary-looking dude!" The elf known as Corva called out. By her side was a warhammer nearly as large as she was, and it radiated a shocking amount of mana.

"This here is my baby! She doesn\'t have a name yet, but I\'m thinking of naming it after you… how about τιτανοκτόνος (Titanoktónos), Titan Killer." She continued with a cocky grin.

"Try." He answered plainly.

The moment the announcer signaled the start of the match, the elf stepped forward and activated her hammer. A spell launched out of the back of the weapon, it looked like a fire spell, but it was being maintained as a solid flame instead of just a burst. Lucius noticed that Corva was sliding along the ground a little as if she was trying to keep the weapon from pulling her forward.

She smiled at him and stopped resisting the weapon\'s pull. When she lifted her feet, she shot forward like the bolt from a crossbow, straight towards him. Lucius sidestepped to dodge, wondering if she was going to throw herself out of the ring on accident.

She had planned for this, so she did not do that. Instead, she flipped the hammer around and had it fling her back towards him. This fight had suddenly become very strange as he was dodging a flying hammer carrying a strange, laughing elf along with it.

If he was honest, this was not quite what Lucius was expecting for a final-four fight. After a few more unsuccessful attempts to chase him down, Corva finally canceled the enchantment and instead activated a second one on the opposite face, the one pointed in front of her, instead of behind.

This time, Lucius felt a rush of air as he realized this separate enchantment was using wind magic to pull things toward her weapon.

"As you can all see!" Corva called out. "I have treated each face of the hammer as a different weapon, so it is carrying a dual enchantment. Oh, wait! That\'s a lie." She gave another cocky grin.

This time Lucius noticed yet another shimmer, this one coming from the shaft of the hammer. Suddenly the ground around Corva turned to ice and it rapidly spread and covered the whole of the ring. Lucius looked down and kicked the frost off his boots.

Now that the ground was ice, there was no resisting the suction of the wind enchantment and he found himself sliding towards her at a faster and faster pace.

The fact that he did not resist the pull seemed to shock Corva and she ceased the wind enchantment, worrying that he had cooked up a plan for it. Little did she know, he did not. He was just bluffing. He planned to figure it out when he needed to.

"This ice. It is annoying." He growled.

"What do you…"

Lightning crackled along Lucius\' body. He felt his muscles pulse from the extra energy. He flexed his fingers and hands to get accustomed to the added power. "Hmm…" he mumbled. "This should be enough."

Corva looked at him with horror in her eyes. The look on her face gave him a strange sort of satisfaction that he did not expect. The elf\'s legs trembled as she seemed to realize what was happening. Lucius took a single step, sending Thunder Magic into the ground around him.

Lightning Field, activated and shattered the ice beneath them, sublimating it in a second. Every subsequent step created a slight rumble in the air and a shower of sparks to dance along the edges of the ring.

"Corva." He said with a slight chuckle. "Do you concede?"

The elf\'s lips trembled, but then a steely resolve flashed through her eyes. She stood and readied her hammer for a strike. "[Hammer Arts: Thundering Blow]!"

Corva launched an overhead swing, which was instantly powered by the strange fire magic she used to propel herself around the ring earlier. The blue lightning flashed red for a moment, as his fist connected with the shaft of the hammer, shattering it in an instant.

What was a moment of hope that Corva had built in her eyes, was instantly dashed and replaced with horror as the head of her hammer flew towards the stands, impacting against the barrier that kept the crowd safe from the fighting.

"I… concede…"

"And there we have it folks! The first fighter in the championship! Titan of Eroa! With a stunning display of… whatever that was, he destroyed the impressive weapon belonging to Corva!"

*****

"What was that?" Aleksander whispered. He looked over at King Verdayl and Kalivas whose eyes were both locked onto the battlefield with serious looks.

"Kalivas. Is he going to…"

"I believe it is a strong possibility, my liege."

"Well, I did grant him free reign…"

"That you did."

"Verdayl!" Aleksander shouted. "What the hell was that? Was that what I think it was?!"

Verdayl looked at him with a somber expression. "I may have made a slight miscalculation when assigning Titan to this task. Don\'t worry though! No one should end up hurt… I don\'t think."

He could not believe what he was hearing. Everything bad that might happen because of this man, Aleksander was sure he would pin on Verdayl. The damned bastard would take responsibility for unleashing something like this on his kingdom.