The red moon was rising, and with it, dusk fell on the Blood-Moon Star, covering everything in a soft red hue that intensified with every fraction of time.
The Colosseum of Ends was bustling with cheers that were only rising with every second. People from the nearby Stars and other Major Stars of the Central State had gathered here. Some people came from the Lower Realm, and also came people from the corners of the Middle-Realm to witness this prestigious event.
There were dozens of Towers inside the Stands, where people from the prestigious families were seated. And inside the arena, that was circular with a radius of a mile, were standing Virtual Screens that displayed everything with sublime detail.
“There are so many people…” Akira called out in shock as she found hundreds of thousands of people in the Stands.
“No one wants to miss out on the Blood-Moon Tournament.” Venus, who was standing near the all glassed window, answered her. “The common-folk can not be part of the other two major events, but the Tournament is where they enjoy and gamble. Who doesn’t want to know which House and Power, in the Two Realms, has the most promising generation coming up?” She smiled and answered Akira before putting her attention back on the Virtual Screen, hovering near her chest, and got back to work.
They were inside the Host’s Tower, and it was where the Officials of Blood Moon Empire were seated.
Aizen and the family had the top-most floor all to themselves, and the view of the Colosseum from here could not be any better. There were several couches set by the window, giving a clear view of the Colosseum of Ends, and the windows were only one way, no one from other Towers or the stands could see who was inside.
“The Final Countdown!” The Master of Ceremonies announced wildly, and the people in the stands roared with enthusiasm that shook the sky.
The Virtual Screens inside the Arena displayed a Countdown, and then showed the Contestants who were stationed about seven hundred miles away, ready for their First Test of the Tournament.
“The entries have closed.” Venus smiled and informed Aizen. “There are six hundred and sixty-six participants.”
“What’s the number of Lyla and the rest?” Akira asked brightly.
“She is number 616. Zeros is 615. And Yuliya is number 301.”
As soon as she said that, the Master of Ceremonies started reading out the rules of the first Test.
“The first round of the Speed Test is between the people in the Royal-Blood Strength.”
“Age is restricted to under 30-years old.”
“The distance to be covered is 666 Miles.”
“The number of Flags that must be retrieved are seven, each of a shade of the spectrum.”
“There are only 100 Violet flags at the last check-point, and only the participants who have retrieved all seven flags can pass the test.”
“No foul play! Any such action could result in direct disqualification.”
“Elements are allowed, Bloodline Abilities are allowed, however, artifacts are forbidden, and abilities related to the Law of Space are forbidden as well.”
“Potions and Pills are forbidden!”
“Any mystical edibles are forbidden!”
“The Race is strictly a ground race. The participants shall remain inside a two-meter distance from the ground throughout the race.”
“Participants must also reach the Arena in the allotted time of six minutes to pass the test.”
“Each House can have a maximum of three participants. And every one that passes the Test will get one point. The top 25 will get 1.5 points. The top 10 will get 2 points. The participant in the third place will get 2.5 Points. The Participant in the second place will get 3 points, and the winner gets 4 points.”
After he finished reading the rules, the Virtual Screens displayed a Snake-way like a racecourse. And there were seven checkpoints where the participants could retrieve the flags from.
Then the Virtual Screens showed the Judging panel of the First Round. There were seven people on it, and Xeina was one of them. She wore a half-mask on her face, but her brilliant white Angel Wings were at full display. She was not hiding her identity. And as the organiser of the Race, she stepped forward, and as soon as the countdown ended, she threw the luminous Pearl she was holding in the air.
“On your Mark!” She directed. “Set!” She raised her voice. “Go!” The Luminous pearl burst into Myriad Lights, and the Participants that were stationed on the starting line sprung forth to the best of their abilities.
Aizen, Liafina, Akira watched the race intently. Venus was not interested, and Lady Beena was lazily sleeping on the couch. Siff stood at Guard at all times, even though the place was safe, and her eyes remained closed.
The number of Royal-Blood participants was the highest, and there were 250 of them.
It was the same distance that Viara raced with Silver in the morning, and the distance that her Peak Ancestral-Blood Strength covered in 25 seconds looked too difficult for these Royal-Blood youngsters to cover within 6 minutes.
The one leading the race was a Prince from the Devildom. He was a Devil of Sloth and the pale blue fire engulfing him flared excitedly. He was using his Law of Sloth.
The person in the second place was relying on his element of Light, and from the emblem on his clothes, he was representing the Chamber of Lights.
The third-place again belonged to a Devil of Sloth, and similarly to the leader, she was using her Law of Sloth. The difference between the top three was only that of a few meters, and it was not rising, which meant that they were equally fast, but had different accelerations.
A minute passed, and the top three had already retrieved flags from two of the check-points, and it was then that the difference in their speeds started showing. The one in the first place started gaining on the second, and the second started gaining on the third. By the time the three-minute mark crossed, all three of them were dozens of meters apart.
The positions of the top three remained unchanged throughout the race, and after four minutes and seventeen seconds, the winner entered the Arena and the crowd showered him with cheers. The second-placed youngster from the Chamber of lights received just as enthusiastic of a welcome as the winner, and the third-placed Devil Princess earned even more cheers than the winner. It was all due to her beauty. Devils were inherently charming.
The Results started appearing on a separate Screen.
ROYAL BLOODS;
“First Place: #91: Gunther Belphezar. Age: 21. Affiliation: House Belphezar.”
“Second Place: #107: Kancer Goldritch. Age: 19. Affiliation: Chamber of Lights.”
“Third Place: #197: Maraya Belphezar. Age: 18. Affiliation: House Belphezar.”
…………….
The fourth contestant arrived a few seconds before the fifth-minute mark, and after her, the rest of the top 10 arrived in the Arena in a span of 10 seconds.
Of the 100 possible winners of the Round One, only 91 made it inside the Arena under the mark of 6 minutes. The rest of the 9 who failed to make it dispiritedly returned to the ranks of their families. They were more depressed than those that had given up the race after failing to retrieve the Flags.
The Devildom proved to be the Power with the most number of people that had passed the First Round. Out of the 91 successful participants, 15 belonged to the Devildom,10 to the Hand of Kosmos, and 8 to the Chamber of Lights, and seven belonged to the Five Elven Houses of The Whispering Star.
“As expected…” Venus smiled brilliantly. “Monster Race again has the highest number of successful participants in the Speed Test. Of the 91 that made it in the First Round, 49 belong to the Monster Race.”
“Hopefully, Yuliya will make it in the top 25.” Akira looked at the screen that showed the Participants of the Second Round lining up at the Starting Point.
“Congratulations to all those that passed Round One!” Master of Ceremonies announced gleefully. “Now, brace yourselves for the Second Round!” And he proceeded to introduce the Rules.
“The Second Round of the Speed Test is between the people in the Immemorial-Blood Strength.”
“Age is restricted to under 66-years old.”
“The distance to be covered is 666 Miles.”
“The number of Flags that must be retrieved are seven, each of a shade of the spectrum.”
“There are only 75 Violet flags at the last check-point, and only the participants who have retrieved all seven flags can pass the test.”
“No foul play! Any such action could result in direct disqualification.”
“Elements are allowed, Bloodline Abilities are allowed, however, artifacts are forbidden, and abilities related to the Law of Space are forbidden as well.”
“Potions and Pills are forbidden!”
“Any mystical edibles are forbidden!”
“The Race is strictly a ground race. The participants shall remain inside a two-meter distance from the ground throughout the race.”
“Participants must also reach the Arena in the allotted time of 3 minutes to pass the test.”
“Each House can have a maximum of three participants. And every one that passes the Test will get one point. The top 25 will get 1.5 points. The top 10 will get 2 points. The participant in the third place will get 2.5 Points. The Participant in the second place will get 3 points, and the winner gets 4 points.”
The rules were the same as the last round, with the changes in the Age limit, Time limit, and the total number of final slots. There could only be 75 successful participants in the Second Round.
Xeina once again appeared on the Screen as she instructed the participants of the Second Round, and after that, she set them up for the Race.
“Go!”
As soon as her voice fell, all the participants crossed the starting line and raced down the snakeway as if their life depended on it. The intensity of the race was greater than what was in the First Round. It was more intense, and with only 75 Final Slots, the participants could not take it easy in any way.
Aizen concentrated on the middle screen that showed the #301 on it. He did not look at the other participants and observed only Yuliya.
She was not the fastest, but she was fast. Her Monster Blood provided her with endurance that was advantageous when pushing your physical limits. She was ranked at 27th Place, but the distance between her and the one ahead of her was decreasing. Her Element of Darkness was not helpful in the race, but her Element of Earth helped in lessening the load of gravity on her, and it constantly replenished her stamina as she raced forward. It was quite useful, and she was using it well.
The First check-point passed, and she stayed at the 27th spot. Second check-point passed and she was at the 24th spot. At the third check-point, she was at the 23rd spot. She stayed at the 23rd spot until she passed the three people ahead of her after claiming her last flag.
Yuliya arrived in the Arena with a time of 2 minutes and 16 seconds. She came 20th in the Race that decided the rankings in a matter of seconds, but she did not look pleased with herself.
“She did well.” Akira was happy for her.
“Mhm…” Aizen nodded with a smile. He was happy for her.
His attention turned to the results of the Second Round, and unsurprisingly, there were three Devils of Sloth in the top three positions. Those Speed maniacs were outrageously fast. The rest of the people in the Top 10 were either Monster Blood or Devil Blood. In the top 25, there were four God Blood.
The race concluded with all 75 participants succeeding in gaining points, and soon it was the turn of the Ancestral Blood youngsters to show their mettle.
The number of participants in the Third Round was 148. The Rules were mostly the same. The age was restricted to under 100, the time limit was reduced to 90 seconds, and there were only fifty flags at the Seventh check-point.
On Xeina’s call, the participants burst forth in an insane speed. Storms brew up at the trail of the runners, and sounds of howling wind and crackling thunder, only sounded after the participants were past the Seventh check-point.
The winner entered the Arena with a time of 52 seconds, the second position came at 55 seconds, the third at 56, and the rest of the top 10 in under 60 seconds. All fifty participants with the complete set of Flags made it to the Arena in under 70 seconds. The roaring storm that they had left in their trail kept sounding for nearly a minute before it calmed down.
“Viara would have won it…” Liafina whispered with a smile.
“Yes,” Aizen nodded. He knew that Viara would be pleased with herself at seeing that the distance she had covered in 24 seconds took the winner of this race 52 seconds to cover.
There were differences, of course. Given the difficulty of the race and the nature of the racecourse, Viara would have taken longer to finish it, but she would have easily made it in under 45 seconds.
“They are still quite fast… all of them.” Akira appreciated the youngsters that completed the Third Round.
“It is the Final Round, now.” Venus smiled. “Let’s see how well Lyla and Zeros do.”
The Master of Ceremonies congratulated the Participants on completing the Third Round and began to disclose the Rules of the Final Round that was to be held between the False-Origin Blood Realm.
Aizen was not surprised at seeing that the number of Devils of Lust in the Final Round, but what was surprising was that all three Supreme Blood Races had even numbers. Out of the 72 participants, 25 were Devil Blood, 24 were Monster Blood, and 23 were God Blood.
“The first round of the Speed Test is between the people in the Royal-Blood Strength.”
“Age is restricted to under 100-years old.”
“The distance to be covered is 666 Miles.”
“The number of Flags that must be retrieved are seven, each of a shade of the spectrum.”
“There are only 25 Violet flags at the last check-point, and only the participants who have retrieved all seven flags can pass the test.”
“No foul play! Any such action could result in direct disqualification.”
“Elements are allowed, Bloodline Abilities are allowed, however, artifacts are forbidden, and abilities related to the Law of Space are forbidden as well.”
“Potions and Pills are forbidden!”
“Any mystical edibles are forbidden!”
“The Race is strictly a ground race. The participants shall remain inside a two-meter distance from the ground throughout the race.”
“Participants must also reach the Arena in the allotted time of 45 seconds to pass the test.”
“Each House can have a maximum of three participants. And every one that passes the Test will get one point. The top 15 will get 1.5 points. The top 10 will get 2 points. The participant in the third place will get 2.5 Points. The Participant in the second place will get 3 points, and the winner gets 4 points.”
Once the Master of Ceremonies revealed the rules, the Race started on Xeina’s call.
Aizen felt his heart thump hard when the figures of the people on the screen blurred. Zeros was one of the Strongest in terms of Blood Realm. The number 615 sprung forth into the third position right from the start, and the two ahead of him were both a Rank higher than him. They were both Devils and had entered Rank 5 of the False-Origin Blood Realm. What made sure that Zeros won’t be able to take over were their elements of Lightning and their Law of Sloth.
The Wind could never compete against Lightning in the same Realm of Strength, and they had a Bloodline ability advantage as well.
Zeros’ race was against the Monster Fox that was right behind him. Her speed was a fraction faster than him, but Zeros had the acceleration advantage, and it looked like he would keep the third place in the Race.
Lyla’s situation was more tensed. There was a Devil, and a Monster Cat keeping up with her for the 10th Position. There seemed to be no difference in their speeds, and it looked like they were at a stalemate until they passed the last check-point. The race ended with Lyla finishing at the 10th spot, and the Monster Cat taking the 11th spot, with the Devil coming at the 12th spot.
All three of them finished the race in the 29th Second, but the fractional difference that resulted while retrieving the last Flag decided the outcome.
FALSE-ORIGIN BLOODS;
“First Place: #619: Kyren Belphezar. Age: 67. Affiliation: House Belphezar.”
“Second Place: #599: Jonnah Belphezar. Age: 61. Affiliation: House Belphezar.”
“Third Place: #615: Zeros Azereus. Age: 45. Affiliation: Star Palace.”
“Fourth Place: #627: Insia Foxheart. Age: 72. Affiliation: White-Fox Temple.”
……….
“Tenth Place: #616: Lyla Azereus. Age: 31. Affiliation: Star Palace.”
Aizen grinned when the crowd started whispering as soon as they saw two Azereus in the Top 10 of the Final Round. These whispers were even greater than the surprise people showed at seeing a Lycan Affiliated to the Star Palace in the Second Round.
Even the other Participants frowned at the revelation. Both the Azereus were wearing masks, and they were not wearing the emblem of the Star Palace on their clothes. It was not something Aizen had asked them to do, but it sure was effective at catching the crowd off-guard.
Venus and Akira couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction of the crowd and Venus joined in with her.
The Cheers of the Final Round’s results were pale in comparison to the results of the previous Rounds. It was all because the crowd had received a great shock at seeing the Star Palace’s name. And what shocked them, even more, was the fact that the Bloodline of Azereus had not vanished from the World.
It was the kind of result Aizen wanted both of them to attain, and they had not disappointed him.
“The Trial of Speed of the Blood Moon Tournament concludes!” The voice of the Master of Ceremonies reverberated in the Colosseum. “Up next is the Mental Strength Test.”
♛ Author’s Note:
The next chapter will come out in a couple of hours..
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