"Why do you think King Clyte wants her dead?" Elric didn't bother concealing his voice. The truth was that the signal to go had already been sounded, but the twenty or so other participants immediately sensed the tension and wanted to hold back to see how it would unfold first. After all, in a battle royale, if they attacked recklessly, they could end up in a disadvantageous situation.
"You know it's because King Clyte doesn't like the former king. He wants to wipe out his whole lineage." Aiko responded calmly, brandishing her blades.
"That's so lame. She's a cutie, father should let me take her as a concubine at least. Wouldn't that be more disrespectful?" Elric didn't seem to have a weapon, but he strolled around the arena freely, even winking at some of the other female warriors on the stage. It was clear he didn't take these rounds seriously.
Seeing that two people already wanted Delia dead, Lilac didn't see a reason to act so soon. She had been going to find an opportunity to hurt Delia later on – but that was only to humiliate her. Despite what their Matriarch said, Lilac didn't believe Delia deserved death. She only wanted to teach her a lesson.
It also helped Delia's image in her eyes knowing the type of person Evelyn Niveus was. Lilac had little doubts that Delia had been wronged. But, if she didn't act in accordance to the orders of Evelyn and punish Delia, it was likely that she'd be kicked out of the Niveus sect.
No one understood why Evelyn was so highly valued by their matriarch, she wasn't even the best genius they had, and yet she was the first in line genius. But, what they did know was that her words couldn't be refuted.
The Niveus sect, like Dyon had learned long ago, was a sect that allowed women with constitutions to join. Often, these women were from much poorer families and this was deemed as a good opportunity for them. No matter how much Lilac sympathized with Delia, she couldn't disobey, or else she'd be booted from the sect or even worse – killed.
"It's clear that this is beyond tying loose ends. The Patia-Neva family clearly did something irredeemable." Aiko spoke nonchalantly. But, what she didn't know was that her words broke something in Delia.
A flash of cold filled the arena causing Elric to freeze – a serious look replacing his carefree demeanor.
"Where's my mother?" Delia's words were no longer rational. She should have know that this would have led nowhere. It was clear, even, that these people didn't know anything about the true situation. But, hearing her father's name being thrown around, Delia knew all she needed to, to realize that these were her enemies.
In the stands, the first to notice this change in Delia was Eli. Because his sister had asked Ri to come, he had followed along to make sure nothing happened to her. In fact, Eli was probably the only one who had noticed Delia.
Ri and Madeleine were too focused on their anger to care for any battle other than theirs, and the old Focus Academy members were tending to severe injuries they had sustained in their losses. On top of that, no one would ever think that Delia would even reach this far. Just a few months ago, she was barely a meridian formation warrior. This was too drastic a change.
"Venus…" Eli whispered, "There's something wrong."
Venus' brows furrowed. Ever since his days at Focus Academy, Eli had been a distant admirer of Delia, even calling her princess when she was never really that. Because of this, Venus knew that Eli likely knew Delia well enough to tell if there was something wrong – but, even she found it odd.
"She's too cold to be Delia…" This was Eli's only explanation as his eyes focused on the monitor above them. He clenched his fists. 'Be careful…'
Delia, though, couldn't hear Eli's words. Even if Eli had been right next to her ear, it was likely that Delia would have completely tuned it out.
Her emotions were teetering on an edge and her eyes kept flashing such a cold shade of blue that even the arena beneath her feet was starting to ice over.
"If you don't want to die, get of the stage. If you dare stay, don't blame me for what happens." Delia's words were faint as a sword materialized in her hand.
In the Planet Naiad section, King Clyte's eyes narrowed. 'Absolute… How? She's too young…'
King Clyte immediately knew he had made a mistake in calling for her death. Aiko and Elric were talented, but they weren't even cumulative rankers because they were too young. They wouldn't be a match for such a path.
However, this didn't perturb the King at all. 'You want to play, hm?...'
A light chuckle escaped him as he glanced to find a small ray of hope in his supposed wife's eyes, causing a sinister smile to appear on his features.
Waves of hard winds raged around Delia. Her hair iced over, becoming a blinding white as her skin paled. Her every step became the focal point for a new tempest of gales, sending shivers down the spines of her competition.
Half of the warriors immediately leaped off. This wasn't something they could handle, and they knew it. It was in their best interest to try for the final round.
Although many others tried to stay to see if they could be the last to stand with her, they soon realized that such an idea was ridiculous. Why? Because Delia had locked in place two people. Aiko and Elric.
In the blink of an eye, under the shocked gazes of a crowd, the underdog that was Delia had become a bright and shining star.
She slowly approached the two who were shivering in their own right, unable to control themselves, as she repeated herself again. "Where is my mother?"
Delia's words didn't make sense to them. They had no idea what was happening. What mother? And what did that have to do with them?
"Since neither of you want to talk, I'll start cutting off limbs." Delia was nothing like herself. She was being cold and calculating. She knew very well that if she killed one of them, the competition would be over because only the three of them were left. She couldn't afford that, this was her only clue.
Lilac watched this scene unfold from the side of the arena in a daze. She was an Essence Gathering expert. Granted, she was barely considered a 6th grade expert. But, still. Why was Delia able to dispatch of her so easily?... In fact, that wasn't even the case… Lilac hadn't even fought back… She felt like… Like it was futile. As though the outcome was already set. As though it was already absolute…
Delia flashed forward, brandishing her sword. Her steps were light and the rings of blue that blossomed from them had an elegant beauty to them that distracted those watching from how deadly they were.
Aiko and Elric readied themselves, struggling to knock the cold out of their seized muscles to attack. However, something began to itch at the back of their minds – something that was telling them that resistance was futile.
Unwittingly, a manifestation bloomed behind Delia. This wasn't a manifestation of the soul, but rather, it was proof of her unique body. Much like Dyon had when he first absorbed demon qilin blood, Delia manifested the spirit of her bloodline.
A queen of hell appeared, wearing an eerie black and flowing dress. She wore a laced veil of black as her striking white hair flowed ethereally.
The eyes of everyone had completely forgotten about the other four battle royales taking place at that instant. There was only Delia and her blade. Aiko and Elric stood no chance… Until Delia froze…
A piercing voice entered her mind, causing her to cough off blood on the spot.
"Allow yourself to be killed. Or your mother dies."
