Kill The Old Ones!

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The finals continued on for another day.

Every finalist was still trying their best to win as many matches as they could to climb the rankings higher, and their efforts were met with passionate cheers of the audience.

Thanks to the on-site healers and medics, even though the finalists ended up beaten, bruised, and abused after their fight, they were able to recover swiftly. They use unique means to heal the finalists, bringing them to their peak state even after a tough fight.

Because of this, even though Lily had been badly beaten by Ren in their match, she recovered just fine.

When she woke up, she wasn’t in pain. Well, to be more specific, all she felt was a phantom pain after the fight, but she was dazed when she woke up, and that wasn’t the first thing she noticed.

She lost. She recalled that much. And she was carried by the Ren to the medics, but not before telling her that he was proud of her.

The memory stirred something in her heart. A warmth silently wrapped her whole body comfortably.

It was worth it—the work, the stress, even the beating she got. All of it had been worth it when she heard that from him.

She feels silly for feeling this way. She never thought that she’d feel so validated upon receiving the praise and acknowledgement of a man, but she does. And to be fair, he was no ordinary man.

It was fortunate that her match against Ren was the last one she had for that day because she woke up early the next day. She had truly given it her all in that fight.

And it’s only when she tried to get up from her bed that her body finally reminded her of what she put it through.

She was healed, but the strain and the phantom pains were still there. She winced and endured it. But instead of lying back down, she forced herself to stand up to begin her stretches.

Lily practiced the Green Lotus Core Technique. She pushed through the strain and phantom pains, which, by the end of her stretches, had mostly dissipated. The remaining ones were not being worked on by the green lotus core chakra.

A miraculous technique, indeed.

In a couple of hours, the final rounds will begin again. She’d be in more fights today, and she needs to be prepared for it. Fortunately, the staff had been very generous here.

She ordered breakfast, which arrived very quickly. The portions were generous, healthy, and very nutritious. Lily’s breakfast could’ve fed a family of five easily, but it’s only just enough for her. Such is the diet of a strong martial artist.

After eating, she showered, changed her clothes, and decided to relax until the tournament continues.

She opened her socials and saw a flood of notifications streaming in. Good thing she had those filtered by importance.

Lily looked through his father’s messages first, and he held nothing back. His messages were torn between pride, surprise, and anger born out of worry.

He didn’t like the fact that she went so vicious with Ren and that she pushed beyond her limits. He told her that what she had displayed was enough, that he was proud of her regardless. But he was also in disbelief seeing his precious daughter being that skilled and impressive on the grand stage.

Lily giggled. Her father was a dork sometimes, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Aside from her father’s messages, though, nothing else was important. She didn’t have any close friends that gushed about her performance or supported her, and the rest of her clan was still terrified of her because she had them all on a leash.

There’s one thing that bothered her, though, and that is the vultures—journalists, reporters, news/gossip channels, something along those lines.

They reached out to her, asking for an interview. Their offers were generous, but Lily could see through them.

’They want to squeeze information out of me because they realized that Marek and I knew each other. They couldn’t get to him, and that has driven them desperate, so when they discovered that we had a connection, they shifted their focus to me.’

’They probably think that I’m an easier target. That they could use coercion or bait to get something out of me.’

’Had I been the old Lily, that might’ve worked. Sadly, I’m no longer the same girl.’

Lily shook her head at this. But then, she realized that whether she says something or not, the desperation of these vultures might push them beyond what’s acceptable.

’Dear me, this is going to be a thing, isn’t it? ’

Lily already felt stressed. She shook her head again, ridding it of these thoughts. She didn’t want to think about it for now since the tournament was still ongoing.

**

A few hours passed and Lily was seated near the arena again. The tournament has continued, and now another pair were proving themselves before the whole kingdom.

Lily was barely paying attention. She had already had a decent measure of every finalist here, and she knew who she could and couldn’t beat. She even had a clue as to what her final placement in the rankings would be.

The next match was Aria against Elena Frostmere.

She sighed upon seeing her. Aria was as strong as she ever was and skilled.

Lily used to be so envious of her. She had everything right going on for her. Her family liked and loved her, she was talented and beautiful, and more importantly, she had Sieg’s attention.

All of that, Lily envied once upon a time. Not anymore, though.

She previously thought that if she had what Aria had, her life would’ve been complete, and she could die happy. But it turns out that that’s incredibly naive of her.

The world was unfair. It never pretended that it wasn’t. She was just blind and deaf to it.

Lily used to yearn for everything that Aria had because that’s what she lacked. And she thought that having those would complete her. But that’s wrong.

That was a standard she believed to be sufficient, but not one that she truly wanted and needed.

What she wanted and needed was, in fact, freedom.

And it was only after she had it that she realized that, before freedom, everything else felt hollow. Yes, this includes even her little crush on Sieg—which she already got over.

She wouldn’t trade her newfound freedom for anything else.

Before she knew it, Aria’s match against Elena was already over. Aria won again. She only lost once, and that was against Sieg, not because he defeated her, but because she surrendered before they even fought. The rest of her battles? She won them, fair and square.

"Next match! Sieghard Augustine Fletcher vs. Soren Marek Vire!!"

"Uh oh." Lily was stunned at first, then she felt a complicated feeling in her chest.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Aria going stiff in her seat, and she just sat down.

She saw Ren already waking up the arena with Sieg following not too far behind. And she noticed a difference.

Ren’s gait was confident and at ease. Not a single hair on his body displayed an ounce of worry or doubt.

On the contrary, Sieg walked with his hand reaching for the greatsword slung on his back. Anybody who saw him could tell that he was feeling a silent storm from within, and his eyes radiated the complex emotions brewing inside of him.

Although Lily had gotten over her silly crush on Sieg, he had been a friend to her once—she’s using the word ’friend’ very generously here.

She worried. Not for Ren, but for Sieg. And there’s a good reason for that.

Lily wasn’t stupid or deaf. She could hear people talking. Both Ren and Sieg were considered anomalies in this tournament.

They had the worst talents in this batch, yet for some reason, they were thriving.

One lost more fights than he won, which grounded opinions about him but also made him feel more real. That his performance was to be expected. That he being defeated makes perfect sense and made the person even more admirable because he wasn’t broken yet.

While the other was just...something else, entirely.

He was a god amongst men. Despite having an inferior talent, he surpassed everybody in terms of raw strength and skill. He achieved feats that should’ve been impossible for him. He was a true anomaly through and through, and despite the initial doubts about him, he proved everything not through words but action. By now, nobody could deny the validity of the information they’ve seen about him.

The difference was that massive. And Lily...she noticed and realized how Sieg felt about that.

By all means, the two of them should’ve related to each other. There shouldn’t be too much of a gap between them, and even if there was, the mere fact that they’re practically within the same starting line should’ve bridged that gap.

But again, reality doesn’t work that way. The gap wasn’t just large; it’s worlds apart. And Sieg hadn’t been able to make peace with that just yet.

He might never be able to in this lifetime, perhaps.