Unwavering: He who moved forth

Challenge Accepted

"Tris...Tan...Tris...Tan," Tristan could constantly hear his name being called by someone, but all he could see was pitch black. "Who are you?" Tristan asked the mysterious voice. "Hahahaha...You seem to not remember me. I was always within you. I am you and...you...are...me," the voice started to fade away. "We will...meet again, Tris...Tan." Tristan woke up to find himself in bed. Everything was normal in his room; it was still midnight. He went downstairs to drink water. "What was that? Was it only a dream, or did someone speak to me?" A range of thoughts crossed Tristan's mind. He lay down on the couch and soon got lost in his thoughts. When he woke up again, it was already morning.

Tristan was sitting in his usual seat beside the window. Amira entered the class after a few minutes and sat beside Tristan. Amira was quiet today, unlike yesterday. Steen was about to greet Amira but retreated after noticing her serious expression.

1 hour and 50 minutes after the first period ended...

Tristan and Steen were walking through the hallway during their break when a student from the Newspaper Department came rushing towards them. Words got stuck in his mouth as he desperately tried to catch his breath. "What's the matter? Why do you look so shocked?" "6th Noble...Kenzo Ito...got defeated...just a minute ago!" "What?! Who was the challenger?!" "You won't believe it, but it was the new transfer student! Amira Carlson! Within 1 hour and 40 minutes, she achieved 10 consecutive victories and directly challenged the 6th Noble!" Without wasting a second, Tristan ran towards the battle arena. Steen had never seen Tristan so shocked before. Steen followed after Tristan.

When Tristan arrived at the arena, the battle was already decided. Amira was standing in the center of the battlefield like a Female Alpha, undefeated. Tristan looked at the replays of the battle on the screen.

During the battle...

"I'm afraid my ability is not as pleasant as others, Princess. I suggest you retreat from this battle before it's too late," Kenzo warned Amira with a smirk. "Is that how you treat someone who's going to take your rank, or are you just afraid?" "Don't get so full of yourself, Princess! You think you can defeat me without your lackeys?" Amira didn't reply. After a moment of silence, she made the first move. "Rise...ASCALON!" Suddenly, a large sword appeared in her hand. "In honor of my family, I shall defeat you here!" Amira aimed her sword at Kenzo. "Hope you don't regret this, you ignorant brat!" Suddenly, something started rising from the ground in large numbers. Kenzo Ito, whose power was to control the undead, summoned his army, even turning his soul pieces into undead. They were so numerous that a single person couldn't defeat them all. "Let me see your scared face now, Princess Amira," Kenzo smiled confidently. Witnessing the large army, Amira let out a small sigh, raised her sword with both hands, and shifted her right leg forward. "Bane of the Dragons, Flame of the Purgatory, Burn!" A high concentration of flame magic started gathering in the huge sword as Amira swung it toward her enemy. "You can't burn my undead—" Words stuck in his mouth as Kenzo's confident smile of victory turned into the despair of defeat. All of his undead were burned to nothingness. Before he realized it, Kenzo was surrounded by the purgatory flame. "The purgatory flame leaves nothing behind, taking everything to hell," Amira informed Kenzo. As the flame started getting closer, the ground began to melt. Before the flame could reach him, Kenzo kneeled and started begging for his life, "PLEASE! SAVE ME, P-PRINCESS AMIRA! I-I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU SAY! P-PLEASE SAVE ME!" After a minute, all the flames vanished, and Amira appeared in front of Kenzo. A wicked smile appeared on Kenzo's face. "Never trust your enemy, fool girl!" Kenzo jumped toward Amira from his kneeling position, planning to choke her. Suddenly, Amira kicked him in the face so hard that he flew a mile away. Amira aimed her sword at his face. "Give up or get stabbed in the face." But Kenzo was already unconscious from the kick, and Amira became the victor by default. Before leaving, Amira added, "You asked me why I didn't reply because I have no reason to talk to trash who don't respect their soul pieces! My soul pieces are not lackeys! They are my comrades!"

After the victory was decided, a guy appeared in front of Amira. He had light brown hair and lime-colored eyes. There was a queen tattoo on his left hand. "As expected, Princess, your power was far beyond your opponent's. My power was enough to defeat this guy; you shouldn't have wasted your energy," the guy expressed his concern for Amira. "It's okay, Whyll. I'm not tired, and it was all to show a certain someone that I'm capable." Amira turned back and started heading out.

Tristan, who saw the whole fight on the screen, let out a small gasp. "Kenzo Ito, the most hated guy among the Nobles, his ability and means of winning are both hideous. The ability to control the undead that revive even after getting hit, but that flame burned it all. No, it wasn't an ordinary flame; it was the flame of purgatory that burned everything in its sight. The legendary dragon-slaying sword, Ascalon, still rises to its name. Only someone of sheer determination and training can wield Ascalon so well. Her wounded hands are proof of her training." Tristan gripped his hand tightly. As Amira was coming out of the battlefield, she saw Tristan standing in front of her. They both glared at each other in silence. Tristan spoke, "Amira, I accept your challenge. Tomorrow...we fight." A small smirk appeared on Amira's face. "Sure, I will wait."

News spread like wildfire. Within half an hour, Amira's rise in the rank of Nobles with the defeat of Kenzo Ito and her challenge to 5th rank Noble, Tristan, became the talk of the entire school. "Natsumi, did you hear that your brother got a challenge from the Princess, Amira?" Ruqa asked Natsumi, trembling with fear. "Hmm, heard about it," Natsumi replied calmly. "I heard she is very strong! Aren't you worried?" "Worried?" Natsumi let out a small laugh. "Well, it's my brother; he will win." Natsumi gave an assured smile to Ruqa. Just then, some boys in the back seats were gossiping, "My bet is on the Princess. She is going to win." "The Princess is going to whoop the 5th seat's ass; I'm sure he is nothing more than a puppet Noble!" They started laughing. Natsumi, who heard the gossip, stood up and walked toward them. "Excuse me?" Natsumi appeared with a smile on her face. "N-Natsumi!!" The boys started trembling with fear. The smile on Natsumi's face was full of killing intent. "What did you say about my brother?" "N-Natsumi! We were just—" Before they could finish, Natsumi threw a punch toward them, but a guy appeared and blocked Natsumi's punch with his hand. She looked up and saw it was Steen. "S-Steen!! What are you doing here?!" Natsumi freaked out. "7th rank Noble!!" The boys also freaked out. "Sorry to interrupt, but I will be borrowing Natsumi for a while," Steen spoke. "S-Sure!" The boys let out a sigh of relief as Steen took Natsumi out of the class.

"What the heck are you doing here, pervert? If you try to do anything to me, I will complain to my brother!" Natsumi jeered, her anger directed at Steen. "Calm down, Natsumi, you know that was an accident." "Now tell me why you called me? I was about to punch those bastards!" "Tristan went home earlier today, so he told me to walk you home."

"W-With you? Alone?!" Natsumi hesitated. "Well, if you don't want to, then I guess—" "No! Stop! I mean, I will go with you, but you better promise to treat me on the way!" "Then that's the deal." Even though Steen agreed to Natsumi's condition, inside he was crying because his savings to buy the new manga volume would get wasted.

After Steen went away, Ruqa popped out from behind Natsumi. "Natsumi, did you get detention for trying to hit a classmate?!" "No, that dummy just came to tell me that he will walk me home today." "So, you guys are dating?" Ruqa asked eagerly. "D-Dating?! W-Who would date that perv?!" Natsumi's face turned bright red. "I-It's not like I like him. I respect him because he was there for my brother when he was alone."

"AAH, Natsumi, please don't get depressed, I was just joking!" "Haha, don't worry, Ruqa. Depression isn't meant for me." Natsumi laughed off the matter, and both of them returned to their classroom.

The day went by, and it was the night before the match. Tristan was practicing for his match against Amira. Natsumi, who was about to go to sleep, came downstairs yawning. "Brother, it's getting late, aren't you going to sleep?" "Sorry, I don't feel like sleeping." "Whatever, I'm going to sleep." Natsumi went back to her room with sleepy eyes. "Everyone, attack me as you mean it," Tristan ordered his soul pieces. "You asked for it, Tristan," Rika warned him.

On the other side, Amira was also practicing for her match. "Princess, it's enough for today. You should get some rest." "It's okay, Whyll. I can still go on. I can't wait for tomorrow!"