Chapter 202: The Sovereign Heirs
The massive Iron Colosseum shook with the deafening roar of two million unified citizens. The grand tenth anniversary of the shattered sky had reached its thrilling peak.
The warm, bright sun shined down perfectly on the sprawling Steampunk capital, illuminating the colorful banners of humans, elves, and beastmen flying securely together.
I sat comfortably upon my colossal starmetal throne high above the fighting sands. I did not wear thick armor today. I wore a crisp, dark military coat. My five beautiful Queens sat elegantly on luxurious velvet thrones right beside me.
"Do you think they are truly ready for a public exhibition?" Anise asked. The human Hero leaned forward, her hazel eyes scanning the empty sandy arena below with nervous anticipation.
Ramona laughed a deep, jagged draconic laugh.
"Ready? Our children have been tearing the royal training courtyards apart for ten entire years, Anise. They are incredibly hungry for a real audience."
"They still need to learn proper restraint," Kaelith murmured softly. The shadow elf gracefully crossed her slender legs.
"Power without precise control is just a wild, pointless tantrum."
I leaned my heavy green chin on my brass knuckles and smiled a sharp, predatory smile.
"Let them be wild today. The entire empire needs to properly witness the raw, unfiltered strength of the Sovereign bloodline."
The heavy iron gates on the arena floor violently slammed open. The massive crowd erupted into pure, unquestionable madness.
Ramona's son stepped out first.
The ten-year-old draconic heir possessed dark olive skin, sharp black metallic horns, and a terrifying aura of ancient, rolling heat. From the opposite gate, Kaelith's son walked out with completely silent, deadly grace.
The void elf boy had flawless pale silver skin and eyes that looked exactly like deep, empty outer space.
"I am not holding back today, shadow," the draconic boy grinned widely. Hot black smoke plumed thickly from his small, jagged teeth.
"You never hold back, brother," the void boy replied in a flat, highly calculating whisper.
"It makes your physical trajectory completely predictable."
"Predict this!" the draconic heir roared fiercely.
He lunged forward with explosive speed and unleashed a massive, sweeping torrent of pitch-black fire. The devastating flames instantly melted the arena sand into glowing red glass. The sheer terrifying heat violently warped the air itself.
But the void boy was already entirely gone.
He seamlessly teleported directly through the dark flames without singeing a single silver hair. He materialized instantly in the empty air right above his brother's horns.
"Checkmate," the void elf whispered, driving a heavy heel coated in dark spatial magic straight downward.
"Not even close!" the draconic boy barked. He spun rapidly, catching the glowing foot perfectly with his bare, scale-hardened hands. The resulting kinetic shockwave cracked the deep arena foundation.
Up on the royal balcony, Kaelith smirked softly.
"My boy has him entirely outmaneuvered."
"Only because my son is letting him play," Ramona countered swiftly, her reptilian eyes flashing with proud, ancient fire.
Before the boys could finish their violent physical clash, the southern iron gates blew completely off their massive hinges.
Anise's heavily muscled daughter stomped aggressively onto the ruined sand. The ten-year-old human girl possessed thick dark hair and muscles packed with terrifying, unnatural density.
She did not bother with complex magic or fancy spatial tricks. She simply grinned, raised her small, tightly wrapped fist, and drove it directly into the arena floor.
KRAKOOM.
The devastating physical impact shattered the Colosseum floor like a fragile porcelain teacup. Deep, jagged trenches tore violently through the heavy stone, throwing both the draconic boy and the void boy entirely off their feet.
"Hey! We were in the middle of a high-level duel, muscle-head!" the draconic heir shouted angrily, spitting out a thick mouthful of dust.
"Your boring duel was taking entirely too long," the human girl laughed brightly. She cracked her heavy knuckles with a loud snap.
"I came out here to smash things!"
"You lack basic manners, sister," a sweet, highly melodic voice echoed softly from above.
Lysandra's beautiful winged daughter drifted gently down from the high colosseum walls. The succubus girl possessed glowing pink skin, adorable bat-like wings, and a serene, calming smile.
The human girl charged forward like a runaway Steampunk train. She threw a devastating, heavy haymaker aimed right at her winged sister's chest.
The succubus girl did not even flinch. She gracefully flicked her delicate wrist. Thick, glowing pink life vines violently erupted from the shattered stone floor.
The dense magical foliage wrapped securely and tightly around the human girl's wrists and ankles, binding her completely in midair.
"You hit incredibly hard," the succubus girl smiled warmly. "But you really need to work on your defensive footwork."
With a gentle, sweeping wave of her hand, the succubus heir channeled infinite pure healing vitality directly into the ruined arena.
The shattered stone and melted glass instantly repaired themselves. Green grass and vibrant glowing flowers bloomed wildly across the fighting pit.
Lysandra clapped her hands together joyfully on the balcony.
"Oh, she is simply magnificent! Look at that flawless, beautiful control!"
Anise groaned loudly and rubbed her temples.
"She needs to break out of those damn vines. Stop relying on raw strength, Valera!"
Down below, the four fiercely competitive siblings glared at each other.
Black fire flared aggressively, dark spatial rifts opened, heavy fists clenched tightly, and pink vines whipped dangerously through the air. The ultimate four-way brawl was just about to violently explode.
Then, the final iron gate slowly, loudly creaked open.
Nyssa's son walked calmly onto the battlefield. The ten-year-old goblin boy wore thick protective engineering goggles and a heavily stained mechanic's apron.
He pushed a massive iron cart filled entirely with rusty scrap metal, discarded steam engines, and broken brass gears.
The four fighting siblings stopped completely and stared at him in deep confusion.
"What are you doing with the trash cart?" the draconic boy asked loudly, lowering his flaming fists.
The goblin boy adjusted his thick goggles with a greasy finger.
"Simple logic dictates that fighting each other is highly inefficient. You are not measuring your true potential. You are merely squabbling like common alley dogs."
"Oh?" the human girl challenged, forcefully ripping through her glowing pink vines with sheer kinetic strength.
"And what do you suggest, genius?"
"I suggest you try to survive," the architect boy stated flatly.
His green geometric facial tattoos flashed instantly with blinding, chaotic blue light. He slammed his small hands directly onto the massive pile of scrap iron. He forcefully activated his Supreme Architect logic.
In exactly three short seconds, the pile of rusty junk violently assembled itself. Heavy brass gears snapped forcefully into place.
Thick iron plates fused seamlessly together. Twin steam engines roared to life with deafening, pressurized power.
A colossal, towering Steampunk battle-mech stood aggressively in the direct center of the arena. It possessed four heavy rotational cannons and thick, impenetrable armor plating.
The goblin boy seamlessly merged into the mechanical cockpit, pulling several heavy iron levers.
"Threat level established," his amplified, metallic voice boomed across the entire silent stadium.
"I highly recommend you team up."
The four siblings looked up at the towering iron monstrosity. They immediately dropped their petty arguments. The draconic boy fully ignited his fists.
The void boy vanished seamlessly into the shadows. The human girl took a heavy, aggressive sprinter's stance. The succubus girl rapidly wove thick defensive armor out of pink magical vines.
Nyssa jumped up from her velvet throne and cheered wildly.
"Yes! Show them the true, undeniable power of industrial logic, my beautiful boy!"
I sat back comfortably on my starmetal throne and let out a deep, booming laugh that echoed warmly across the entire unified capital. My monster heart swelled with complete, overwhelming pride.
"The Sovereign bloodline," I declared happily, pulling Ramona and Kaelith close to my sides while watching the children charge into battle.
"The future of the Forge is incredibly bright."