Chapter 230: Semifinals
Nova silently agreed. He could still clearly remember the rigorous training they had undergone inside the system space. Now, a new thought crossed his mind — would Asia be able to fight against Liam if they met?
It would all depend on whether the two of them faced each other in the Semifinals.
Seeing Asia standing on the platform after so cleanly eliminating her opponent, Theodore was reminded of his father.
It had been many years since the man went missing, yet Theodore still firmly believed he was alive. Watching Asia’s powerful icy aura — so similar to his father’s — filled him with a quiet sense of happiness.
Lyra and the others were once again impressed by Asia’s performance, offering her even more praise. After a short while, Asia left the stage.
Now only one Quarterfinal remained — the match between Rieka Vargirth and Mira Vance.
Both women stepped onto the platform.
When compared side by side, Mira was slightly weaker in both raw power and agility. What made Rieka even more superior was the fact that her level was lower, yet she still held a clear advantage in overall strength.
By this point, even many of the experts in the audience had begun to notice something unusual.
Rieka was somehow predicting her opponent’s movements before they fully formed, using some kind of skill. Mira was still a powerful warrior in her own right, and Rieka did not underestimate her in the slightest.
The moment Slickmouth gave the signal, the match began.
Rieka opened with her natural agility. She did not draw a sword, preferring instead to fight with her wolf claws, which she was far more skilled with.
Using Heartseeker, she clearly read Mira’s intent and refused to let her create any real distance. She pressed forward relentlessly, her claws flashing in rapid, precise strikes.
Mira proved more challenging than expected. Using sharp wind blades, she managed to land several cuts across Rieka’s skin, forcing the beast-folk woman to remain cautious.
As the fight continued and Mira began to tire under the constant pressure, she suddenly entered a more berserk state.
Wind energy surged violently around her body as she pushed her speed to the limit, matching Rieka’s movements for a short period. For the first time in the match, Rieka was forced to struggle slightly against the sudden increase in pace.
Realizing she could not finish the fight cleanly under these conditions, Rieka adjusted.
She stopped exchanging pure speed for speed and instead began closing in more aggressively.
Using Heartseeker to predict every desperate counter, she created multiple clones. At the same time, her Fox Steps became noticeably smoother, and her overall speed increased slightly.
The clones attacked from every direction, their claws tearing deeper and leaving heavier injuries across Mira’s arms and torso. Blood sprayed across the platform as Mira’s movements finally began to slow.
She tried to cut down the clones, but there were too many of them. No matter how many she destroyed, more kept coming, and she could not locate the real Rieka.
The disparity in strength left her at a clear disadvantage. Though she had already known Rieka was strong, feeling the difference so directly made her realize just how much harder she needed to work.
In that moment, Mira even felt that Rieka was stronger than Celine.
After a particularly sharp combination attack from the multiple clones that left Mira’s right arm nearly unusable, the real Rieka appeared directly in front of her. She stopped just short of a finishing blow, her claws hovering near Mira’s throat.
Mira’s chest heaved heavily. After a few seconds of silence, she let out a bitter breath and lowered her remaining hand.
"...I concede."
Rieka withdrew her claws and stepped back, her expression calm despite the light cuts covering her body. Her clones disappeared in the next instant.
She extended a hand toward Mira with a smile — though no one could see it behind her veil — and helped her stand.
"It was a good fight," Rieka said.
Mira smiled as well.
"Indeed. I hope we can fight again."
Rieka nodded with a small smile of her own.
The crowd erupted in cheers after witnessing another intense match between two outstanding warriors.
Among the beast-folk youths who had come with Vaorak, several exchanged glances. None of them were on the same level as Rieka — not even the strongest among them, a tiger-kin who was Vaorak’s own grandchild.
That young man watched Rieka with an expressionless face, making it impossible to tell what was going through his mind.
With that, the final Quarterfinal came to an end.
Slickmouth announced Rieka as the winner. As she and Mira returned to their seats, Nova and Asia both congratulated her on the hard-fought victory.
[With this, our Quarterfinals are over. Next, we will begin the Semifinals. However, before that, we must determine the fifth-place holder of this tournament.]
[The losers of the Quarterfinals will compete to decide who takes fifth place. After that, we will proceed to the Semifinals. Contestants will be given one hour of resting time.]
With that announcement, a short break was granted. It was already past noon, and time continued to move quickly, yet the excitement throughout the Colosseum never faded.
On the high platform, Aurora suddenly felt a strange sense of unease. She could not quite describe it, but something about the atmosphere left her feeling that something bad was about to happen.
Noticing the slight tension in her posture, Lyra turned toward her.
"Is something wrong, Lady Aurora?"
Aurora paused for a moment. In the end, she decided it must have been nothing, though she still remained cautious.
"It’s nothing," she replied calmly.
Nearby, Draeven sat quietly drinking his wine. Hearing Aurora’s voice, his thoughts drifted.
Sitting only one seat away, he could easily understand why Vaorak, his own brother, and even the Human Emperor were so deeply infatuated with her.
Even without being able to see her face, her presence alone was enough to make her beauty feel otherworldly. Draeven himself was not immune to it.
In truth, who wouldn’t be? Yet he knew better than to act on such feelings. His brother and the other Emperors would kill him without hesitation if he ever tried.
They were all aware of Draeven’s thoughts, but they also knew he would never dare cross that line. He feared them too much — and more importantly, Lady Aurora was the beloved of the World Tree, a being considered untouchable by anyone.
Returning to the tournament, the resting time soon came to an end.
The losers’ round of the Quarterfinals began. All four remaining contestants entered the arena to see the pairings.
However, both Ethan Valtor and Mira Vance chose to forfeit their matches. They knew they could not win against Kael or Celine.
It was not an act of cowardice — simply a clear understanding of their current limits. Reaching this stage was already a tremendous achievement and honor.
No one ridiculed or insulted them for the decision.
[Since Mira Vance and Ethan Valtor have given up their matches, the final match for fifth place will be held between Celine Varkhess and Kael Aster.]
With that announcement, the match between the two began.
It was intense from the very first exchange. Both fighters were nearly equal in strength, technique, and combat awareness. Even Nova found himself impressed as he watched.
He had always believed that, after rising so quickly, he was among the most gifted of his generation. In terms of raw power, he was still far above these youths.
Yet watching them fight at this level made him realize just how hard they must have worked to reach this point.
Celine, in particular, stood out. Even as a princess, she had not fallen into the comfort and laziness so common among royalty.
She had focused relentlessly on refining her own strength — something rarely seen among those of high birth, who often relied solely on treasures and inherited power rather than true skill and experience.
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