In the Order, everyone had been watching TV and when they heard their member Danielle had earned the Taurus Celestial Lady title and the Golden Venus necklace, they all roared with joy:
"Hurrah! That's our Danielle!"
"Rose Cruce Order rocks!"
"Woohoo!"
Of course, Goatee immediately guessed they should throw a party and the preparations began even before Danielle and her companions would return, so when they came back, everything was already set, and once they stepped in, the crowd roared with happiness and congratulated Danielle. Goatee and his son, Goldmund (who had just returned from his yet another successful mission a day ago), took the stage and sang awesome songs. Then Edmund joined them, and afterwards, Riza's solo time came too. Erisa and some other members began pouring drinks and bringing food to the tables. The people indeed threw a huge party.
"Congratulations, Danielle!"
"That's our lady!"
"Taurus people rock!"
"Rose Cruce Order rules!"
The people were overjoyed. Tamie reunited with her brother and hugged him tightly.
"We watched the Tournament through the TV. It was awesome, huh?" Nick beamed at her.
"Oh, goodness, it was the best thing I've ever seen!" she jumped with excitement, still under the impressions of the Tournament, "It was amazing!"
Nick just chuckled and listened to her elated descriptions of the coolest battles. Then the 'sisters' sat together at a joint table and began discussing their matters:
"Well, how was your mission?" Tamie asked Rianna and Olivia as they had just returned from their latest mission together.
"Eh, was fine..." Olivia shrugged, "We defeated those bandits".
"Yeah. There was some random guy that helped us, though," Rianna noted, "It was too difficult for us as the bandits were Air signs, and the Air works the best against the Water like us. Plus, some of them were of higher rank than us. That guy was really strong - he was a Fire sign, and he had a dragon!"
"Huh, a dragon?!" the girls widened eyes, "But dragons are extremely rare, and untamable!"
"I don't know... This red one perfectly listened to that man..." Olivia shrugged again, drawing something.
"Hmm, I have actually heard of Dragon Tamers, but that was more like a legend - awesome people of the Tamer Class who were able to tame dragons..." Tiger fell into her thoughts, "I have never seen a Tamer like that with my eyes, though..."
"As you said, it is more of a legend," Cherrie shrugged too, "I mean - who can be so insane as to fight with a dragon?! Because dragons will not yield to humans if they are not fought with and defeated first".
"Ugh, I don't know, Marvin Wagner used to kill a lot of dragons back in his years," Riza muttered.
"Really? He did?!" Tamie got astonished - so Riza's father actually not only fought dragons but killed them?! "Wasn't he a Dragon spirit himself while he still had powers?"
"Yeah... but he killed his spirit kin as if nothing".
The girls blinked - now that was truly scary...
"Anyway, this is how the guy looked like," Olivia showed her scroll to them, where there was drawn a middle-aged, fifty-year-old man with a beard and short hair. He had quite a wise and determined expression, and he looked like he had experienced a lot in his life.
"Looks the same age as Goatee," Jannah noted.
"Yeah, I guess," Rianna attested. "He was really amazing, though - he fought like a raged beast along with his dragon. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard he has actually fought dragons".
"Yeah, by his looks he does seem an insane adventurer," Tamie giggled.
The girls laughed. However, Riza seemed rather gloomy in this cheerful aura.
"Hey, Riza, what's up? You seem rather down," Tiger blinked - her mother had become the Golden Venus Celestial Lady! Why was she so upset?
"I just..." she sighed, "I promised myself that if my mom won the Tournament and became the Golden Venus Celestial Lady I too would challenge the Jupiter Celestial Lady and try my luck... as I am finally Siren rank of the Singer Class".
"Huh? For real?!" Jannah widened eyes, "You're going to risk it? The Blast of Jupiter is one of the strongest planetary blasts. If Sagittarius Lady hits you with it, you're done for!"
"She has a right to use it only once when dueling for the title, so I guess if Riza manages to evade the shot, it'll be fine," Tamie argued. "Go for it, Riza!"
"I still think it will be hard," Cherrie crossed arms, "Sagittarius Lady is quite skilled. She belongs to the New World Order, after all - one of the strongest orders in the Zariel realm".
"Ugh, New World Order? Not again! Danielle Schatzen fought against one of its members. It was a blast of a performance, true, but that woman was still annoying..." Tiger grunted, and Blizzard quizzically barked, curious of what had made his owner so upset.
"Oh, yeah, now I remember that Ms. Schatzen's opponent was from the New World Order too," Cherrie nodded. "Anyway, if you have decided on it, you should be careful".
"I will," Riza smiled. "But, ugh, I don't know..."
"If you have given yourself a word, you should keep it".
"Ah, Byakuya?" Tamie brightened upon seeing the young man she admired.
"Hey, girls," Byakuya gave them a kind beam as he approached them.
"Huh? Oh, now I remember - you are the Sun Celestial Lord, right?" Riza turned back to him, "So, you as one of the Fire Celestial Lords must know how strong the Jupiter Celestial Lady is... Can you tell me more about her?"
"All I can say is - accept the challenge you have put for yourself. I can tell you're ready to beat Julia".
"Julia? So that's her name?" the girls guessed.
"Yes. She is specialized in the Lava form of the Fire element, as all the Sagittarius signs are. She is a Dog spirit, Sneaker Class, Ninja rank".
"A Ninja, huh? Just like Fiorette..." Riza furrowed her brow.
"And me!" Jannah waved a hand with a playful grin.
"So, what should I do?" Riza fell into her thoughts - beating a Fire sign Dog spirit wouldn't be so hard... would it?
"I say you go for it, sis!" Tamie winked.
"Yeah, smash her!" Tiger clenched her fist.
"Yeah!" all the girls agreed now, making up their minds.
"Okay then, I'll give it a shot!"
"Good," Byakuya smiled, "I will notify both Julia Gold and Scott Blutendorf about your decision. Scott and I will assemble together as two other Fire Celestial Lords and attend your and Julia's duel".
"That'd be amazing!"
Kokuyo overheard their conversation and furrowed his brow:
Blutendorf?
He took out the yellow-gemmed ring Kassandra Braun had given him back in Kenshin, stating it was a gift from Tiger's father. The ring had an inscription on it, with the same word: 'Blutendorf'. So he decided to follow them, and the team assembled - he, Riza, Byakuya, Tamie, and Tiger (who insisted on going as Riza's 'sister' to support her). They were ready for yet another difficult challenge, now to test Riza's own might.