Chapter 35: Guild Tournament

Early next morning, Silva woke up earlier than expected and headed to the sitting area to check her messages. It seems she was not the only one awake. Terrance apparently was awake before her and was continuing to read the rule book. Since they are stuck together in the same room, she has nowhere to hide, so she decides to join him.

“Oh, hey Terrance, why are you awake so early?” Silva asked.

“I could not sleep most of the night, so I thought I would read the rule book a bit more,” Terrance answered while still reading the book.

Terrance briefly stares up at her and was a bit of a shock

“Whoa, what is with that outfit?” Silva stares down at her outfit and realizes it might have been a bit revealing, but she did not really care.

“Seriously Terrance, it is just a night gown,” Silva said, rolling her eyes.

“Yes well… it is see through and I doubt you want everyone else to see, please take my coat,” Terrance said blushing a bit.

“Fine, if it is embarrassing to you I will wear your coat,” Silva said, taking it off the chair and putting it on.

“FYI, most of the boys here have already seen me naked more times in bed and you are one of them. Please we slept together before and you have seen me naked more times than anyone. Now you are shy about it, please get over it,” Silva said, a bit annoyed.

“Right, I am sorry about that,” Terrance said.

“I forgot you are such a pure soul,” Silva said, coming around and kissing his cheek.

Terrance is a bit shocked by this reaction and touches where she kissed.

Then Terrance changes the subject by asking,” What are you doing up so early?”

Silva takes a seat and answers, “I thought I would check my messages about the request I put in for Scout and Julius,” Silva answers.

“It has only been one day, I doubt they sent in tips,” Terrance said, doubting the effort.

Silva was half paying attention as she scanned through the messages. “Apparently you were wrong Terrance. There are already over a hundred messages about a girl with the descriptions I sent out about Scout. Nothing yet on Julius. Now I am worried,” Silva explained.

“Don’t worry about it so much. Julius and Scout will be fine. From what I can tell they can take care of themselves,” Terrance sounding encouraging.

“Thank you. I hope so too,” Silva said, a little bit relieved.

Terrance and Silva had a bit of a small moment where their eyes met, but it freaked her out, so she started the conversation again.

“So, have you found anything else we should know about the tournament?”

Terrance regaining his posture said, “Nothing that we already know except that the use of magic that is not defensive you are automatically disqualified from the tournament.”

“Let me see that,” Silva said, coming closer to see the rule book.

This became a bit uncomfortable for Terrance, but he did not mind.

“Hum…this is new, I wonder why,” Silva said reading it over.

Terrance was speechless enjoying the view from his side seeing her breasts and her hair covering around them made him lose his breath. Silva then stares into Terrance’s eyes and in a split moment, they both wanted to kiss, but were interrupted by someone coming. Silva went back to sit down on the coach.

“Good morning love birds. Never thought I would see you two this close without killing each other,” Rufus teases heading to the kitchen.

“Shut up Rufus. We are just reading the rulebook and Terrance is just helping me with it,” Silva admits. “Also, next time you make comments like that again, you are not getting a kiss from me ever again.”

“That is not a threat. We are not even dating anymore,” Rufus teased.

“You never know,” Silva remarks.

“Anyways, you might want to get dressed. I doubt you want your girls seeing their mother dressed like that,” Rufus points out.

“Yes, you have a point. I should get them dressed too. Terrance thank you for your company,” Silva said, walking past him and giving him another kiss on the cheek.

Silva walks out of the room heading to see her girls, leaving Rufus and Terrance to chat alone this time.

“So, how is it having the girl of your dreams so close, but so far away?” Rufus asked, sipping his coffee.

“It was nerve wrecking having her so close and not being able to kiss her, but at least she is beginning to trust me again,” Terrance explained.

“Don’t worry, she will come around. She does love you. I say don’t give up,” Rufus tried to be encouraging.

“You are right about that,” Terrance said.

The room becomes nosey once again as they see Greer and Grace running in the room.

“Uncle Rufus, Uncle Terrance, good morning,” Greer and Grace greeting their uncles as they run into the room.

“Oh, good morning little ladies, I thought your mother was helping you to get dressed,” Rufus asked.

“Yes, she did help us. And now she is getting dressed,” Greer answered.

“Right, while we are waiting, care to share your translations with me?” Terrance asked.

“Of course, we can do that, it will just take…ok done,” Greer said as she did her job.

“Thank you,” Terrance said as he began reading.

“Terrance, you do know you are competing in the tournament too right, so you better not let Silva catch you reading,” Rufus warned.

“Yes, well, I am a fast reader, so don’t worry about me,” Terrance said as he began reading from the beginning.

“Right, it is your funeral,” Rufus said, preparing her breakfast.

A few minutes later, everyone flooded into the living room to discuss their plans for the tournament.

“Alright, since Silva forced us enter the tournament, we better win our matches and make it to the finals,” Raquel pointed out.

“Yes, I just hope we win the prize money, so I can go shopping,” Lisa said in agreement.

“Yes, let’s hope he is here or we will have to start from square one again,” Seth said jumping in.

“I agree, but we have to wait and see,” Rufus said while serving breakfast.

The room went silent again and Silva defused it by entering the room.

“Good everyone is here. I suggest you finish eating, so we can head to the tournament grounds early and beat the crowd,” Silva suggested as she walked in.

“Yeah, I really just want to get in and get this over with,” Raquel said kindly.

“Before we go, try some of my delicious food I just cooked,” Rufus said, placing a plate for Silva on the table.

“Thanks Rufus, but I am not in the mood to eat,” Silva said heading out.

The team left the room following Silva’s lead. They walked out to the hall to catch the elevator straight down to the lobby and headed out of the hotel towards the tournament grounds. It seems the crowds already have been forming and teams making their way inside to check in to get ready for the opening ceremony. As always eyes were at Silva, as she raised from her isolation and came back in the public. She is a legend and everyone gets to see her again. Her friends ignored the stares and headed over to the desk to check-in.

“Hello, Team All-Around is here,” Raquel said checking-in.

“Yes, here you are. The tournament will begin in one hour. Here are the brackets you were placed in, good luck,” the receptionist said handing them the list.

“Thank you, alright guys, let's see where we are,” Raquel said, handing everyone the list.

“Well, from what I can tell by looking at the monitors we are in different brackets and they are located in different areas. It seems Lisa and I are in bracket A while the rest of you are in brackets B, C, and D,” Silva said, explaining the brackets.

“I thought we entered as a team, why did they split us up?” Seth asked.

“It seems they added that rule this year. We are entered as a team and we reunite later in the finals,” Terrance explained.

“Seems fair. I am glad Terrance and I are in the same block. This is going to be fun,” Rufus says.

“Looking forward to fighting you,” Terrance said kindly.

“Bring it on,” Rufus says.

“Ok, before this gets any weirder, Lisa, we should head to our area and good luck not using magic here,” Silva warned.

“This is going to be hard. I hope I can at least make it to the third round,” Lisa said a little depressed over her dilemma.

“Ok, ladies, wish your mommy good luck. I am sorry you cannot join us in the waiting room. Be good to Simon and Rajah. If you want to go to the city, here is some money,” Silva explained transferring money to their accounts and gave them a hug.

“Good luck mommy. We will be cheering for you,” Grace said, giving Silva a hug.

“Don’t worry, I will make it all the way to the finals,” Silva said, giving hope to her girls.

“Go for the kill mother,” Greer said in a cheery mood.

“Silva, let’s go. I think they are about to start,” Raquel shouted, checking the clock.

“Best of luck and remember don’t kill anyone,” Simon shouted, wishing them luck.

Everyone went to the different waiting rooms for the tournament blocks. The teams waited in the room watching the ceremonies in front of the television. Then the announcer appears ready to get started.

“Hello and welcome to the Twenty-third annual Guild Tournament. This year we have amazing competitors from different guilds from all over the world and even a few celebrity guild members too. Before we begin, you might have noticed we are changing a few things this year, so let me take the time to explain.”

Here a few rules you need to remember;

There is no killing in this tournament.

There is no magic allowed.

Only defensive magic is permitted.

If the opponent is unable to continue the match is over.

If the opponent is out of the ring, they are out.

If you have three wins, then you advance to the next round.

Finally, if you break any of these rules, you are disqualified.

“Now without further ado, let me introduce our judges for the tournament. Please help me welcome Master of the Wizard Academy Guild Adrian Shock. Next the beauty who steals people’s hearts please welcome Monica Shadows. Now for our head judge and our great Deputy Guild King Dina Gale.”

Cheers roar all over the tournament grounds seeing their Deputy King appearing before them and happily greeting one of their favorite celebrities. Then the Deputy King took over speaking to the crowd.

“Thank you everyone for your kind cheering. Right, as you know this is a three day knock out tournament. To make this tournament interesting, we have decided to divide the teams up by splitting them up in individual matches which we divided into six groups. Today is the preliminary rounds, where more than half the teams will be eliminated after they lose two out of three rounds. Tomorrow will be a battle royal followed by the finals taking place on the last day. Now without further ado, let’s bring out our first competitors!”

As the siren began to play, the first group of competitors came on to the mats for each of the blocks and began fighting as soon as the referees blew their whistle. Within the first ten minutes, more than half the competitors were already disqualified for not obeying the no magic rule. When it came to Silva’s turn, she did not have to do anything, since her opponent used magic making her the winner by default. Less than an hour, the first round finished and it was time to head for round two.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have finished round one of the prelims. Now we are ready to begin round two. I also have a treat for you. I just received word that a special guest is entering this tournament and here she is now. Please help me welcome the beautiful Desert Rose Silva of the Desert from Team All- Around,” the announcer said as she came on to the stage. The crowd went wild and she waved back to give them a tease.

Once the other competitors arrived in their corners and the next round began. Two other girls and a guy came on stage ready to fight. With the whistle blown, everyone tried to knock her out, but Silva managed to avoid them and kicked them off the mat making her the winner.

“Wow, in ten short minutes, Silva managed to defeat her opponents without breaking a sweat making her the winner of today’s round two. With this win, she will advance to tomorrow’s round three quarter final match,” the announcer shouted.

“Wow, Silva is not holding back…hey shouldn’t you get ready, your match is up next?” Rufus said as he was watching Silva’s match on the TV.

“Yes, I know. I am reading something about our next destination,” Terrance explained reading the information.

“Ok, but can you deal with that later. If you lose your match, you will get a visit from Silva’s fist,” Rufus warns.

“Yeah, I guess you are right,” Terrance said thinking it through.

“Geez, Silva sure is serious about these matches,” Lisa said as she was in the middle of her match.

“That is Silva for you,” Raquel said, punching out a guy on her first try.

“As the matches continue on, more guilds are being eliminated left and right, at this rate there will be hardly any players left in this tournament. Let’s take a look at the remaining first round opponents from the remaining blocks. Wow that was an amazing come back from Elissa from the Ice Rose Guild, with that win she automatically advances to the quarter finals. Next we have Juri from the Fire Wind Guild who pulled an excellent victory, advancing her to the quarter finals. Elsa, from the Blue Wind Guild will be joining her too. The remaining competitors from block D, E, F, and C are still going on, so once they are concluded we will have the current standings for tomorrow’s matches,” the announcer said excitedly.

“I am glad I managed to make it through, but my last opponent was not easy to defeat since I couldn’t use my bow,” Rufus said feeling exhausted.

“Yeah, I thought I would have lost for sure. If those two idiots did not start fighting and left an opening for me to shove them out of the stage, I would have lost,” Silva commented

“Yeah, I thought it was an interesting fight,” Rufus laughed. “I wonder how the others are doing in their matches.”

“Let’s head to the lobby and see how the rankings are flowing,” Terrance said walking out to the lobby.

As they arrived at the lobby, the others soon arrived minutes later.

“Hey, I never thought you two would make it out of there alive,” Silva shouted as she was coming out the tunnels with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, it was close, but we managed to make it through,” Rufus shouted out.

“That is great. With the points we have gathered from our matches, we will be guaranteed a spot in the finals for sure. Too bad Lisa did not make it through,” Silva pointed out.

“Hey, it is not my fault that the other girl slammed me to the ground and since I couldn’t use magic to shove her off me, of course I will lose. At least I lasted longer than I thought I would,” Lisa said exhausted.

“Ouch that must have hurt. How did you do Seth?” Rufus asked.

“My match was a bit difficult, but my opponents were defeated easily by their stupidity,” Seth explains.

“What! Seth made it through and he relies on magic more than I do!” Lisa shouts angrily.

“Yes, well, if you did not rely on magic so much, then you would be a better fighter,” Raquel pointed out harshly.

“Ouch, Raquel, that was harsh. Let’s head back to the hotel. I want to see the girls and relieve Simon of his duty,” Silva said, beginning to get worried.

“I don’t think you need to worry, they are heading this way as we speak,” Raquel pointed at the girls.

“Greer. Grace. I am glad you are back, we were about to go and search for you. Dare I ask what happened to all of you?” Silva said as she looked at them seriously.

“Oh, this…we were playing with some kids in the park and it got a little out of hand,” Grace explained.

“I hope you did not cause Simon too much trouble and what about Rajah?” Silva said, trying to understand.

“Oh, they are coming and here they are now,” Greer said, pointing behind her.

“Oh, finally we can take a break,” Simon said, passing out.

“Simon, why are you carrying all of those bags, ladies, what did you buy?” Silva said, staring at the girl's concern.

“Nothing really, some books, clothes, and other things we thought would be important for this trip. Since Simon is with us, we thought he could carry the bags for us with Rajah’s help of course,” Greer explained.

“Right, well, let’s take these to the hotel and get you girls to clean up. Then we can go out to eat later,” Silva suggested taking some of the bags with her.

“Yes, let’s go,” Greer and Grace said as they pulled their mom off with them.

The others followed Silva and the girls back to the hotel to relax before heading out to the city for dinner.

“Since we all made it to the quarter finals or the third round minus Lisa.”

“Hey,” Lisa says.

“We should go out and celebrate to our hearts content,” Silva said.

“I say we drink until we drop,” Rufus declared. “I am so in. I am paying for the drinks.”

As they got dressed, they headed to the central area of the city to find a restaurant to eat. They looked everywhere for a place where there are no guilds eating, so they did not pick up a fight with them. They looked for almost an hour now until they settled for an open air restaurant and grabbed a huge table and began ordering.

“Wow, I never thought for this kind of city, they would have some special kind of booze, how about we order samples and have a party,” Silva said looking at the menu.

“Yeah, but make sure the girls do not have some,” Raquel warned.

“Well, whatever the case, let’s have some fun,” Silva said ready to order.

The gang began ordering food and tasting the booze while having a great time until someone approached their table.

“May I join you?” Deputy King Dina asked.

“Of course, but fair warning most of us here might be a little drunk, so whatever we say, please don’t be offended,” Silva warned, trying to think straight.

“I will be fine,” Dina said, taking a seat next to her.

“What brings you here? People will think you are playing favorites?” Raquel asked.

“Let them think about what they want. I know for sure you all will win the tournament and besides I wanted to congratulate you on making it this far. Tomorrow we are going to determine the best and who will fall, so stay alert at all times,” Dina warned.

“We are ready for what lies ahead, but I have a question,” Terrance starts.

“Go on,” Dina said, continuing the conversation.

“I heard guilds are not allowed to use magic in tournaments, why is that?” Terrance asked.

“Well, a few years ago, one of the guilds that were competing in the tournament were being too aggressive with their magic which almost killed off half of the guilds competing in the final match, so we have decided to limit the magic to defensive only, so no one can get hurt,” Dina explained.

“I think it is more fun without using magic, using real fights for a fair fight makes it more exciting ,” Silva proposed.

“You’re the one to talk to, you have been fighting without magic since you were part of the guild, so you have an upper hand,” Raquel said a little upset.

“Anyways, we should finish our meal and head back to the hotel. I am getting tired,” Silva said, finishing off her drink.

“I am sorry Dina, Silva gets like this whenever she talks about the past,” Lisa said, apologizing.

“None, taken, well, I better be off, I have some paperwork to take care of before tomorrow, so see you later,” Dina said, excusing herself from the table.

“Jeez, Silva, did you have to be so rude to our guest?” Lisa asked, a little annoyed.

“The less people know about my kingdom, the better they will be, so let’s head to the hotel and get some sleep before tomorrow,” Silva said, getting up and leaving.

Soon after, the others soon joined her and returned to the hotel just after midnight as they hoped they would win this tournament to get their friends back.

The next day was day two of the tournament and the people who did not celebrate last night were already out and about in the city making their way to the stadium while the others were nursing some pretty painful hangovers.

“Ouch, remind me next time, not to drink so much,” Silva said, holding her head.

“Well, I told you not to order everything on the menu…I just hope you are sober when the quarter finals start,” Raquel said, handing Silva a bag of ice.

“Hey, I thought we were having a party and drinking does relax me,” Silva confessed.

“Right, so we better head to the stadium we have third round matches to get to, so hurry up and finish what you need to do here,” Raquel ordered.

“Yeah, I think I will stay here with the girls, just call me before the quarter finals start alright,” Silva said sitting on the coach.

“Don’t stay here too long because we are counting on you to win this thing,” Rufus said.

“Wait a minute, you drank as much as I did, so why are you not suffering as I am?” Silva yelled at Rufus.

“Let’s just say, I was cheating a bit,” Rufus said sneakily.

“You bastard, I am going to kill you, ouch,” Silva threatened and passed out on the couch while holding her head in her arms.

“Yeah, Silva, you might want to chill out before your match,” Lisa warned.

“Whatever, see you guys later,” Silva said, brushing her friends off.

Afterwards, they all left, leaving Rajah and the girls in the room while Silva was relaxing on the couch.

“Mommy, are you alright? Do you want to play with us?” Grace asked worried about their mommy.

“I am sorry my precious angels. Why don’t you go play with Rajah for a while, mommy needs to rest,” Silva apologized.

“Yes, my lady,” Rajah said kindly.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Greer said happily.

“Rajah, please take them to the park, I need some quiet. I really don’t want to pay for damages if they trash the hotel,” Silva ordered.

“Yes, Silva, so shall we go ladies and have some fun,” Rajah said, collecting the girls.

As soon as they left, Silva took a nap for about two hours until she used a healing spell to recover and decided to look at her messages from the request she posted.

“Hum…what is this? Someone found Scout, but who sent this, a girl named Rina. Oh good she left contact information, let’s see…,” Silva said.

“Um…hello, is anyone there, this is Silva from the Red Phoenix Flower Guild, is this Rina?”

“Um…yes this is Rina, what can I do for you?”

“I have received the information you sent me about Scout, is it true she spoke with you?”

“Yes, Scout and I are old friends. She has told me everything about her situation. Silva, please find her, she is being hunted down and I am afraid if you do not get to her soon, she will be in great danger.”

“Yes, I am aware of the situation, but can you please tell me where she is heading?”

“I believe she is on her way to Serene Wind City. She was going to head to Emerald City, but I told her it would be best if she went to Serene Wind City instead.”

“Yes, thank you, for all your help and don’t worry we will find Scout,” Silva reassures Rina with content.

“I am glad I could help, well if you need any more help, please let me know. I have to get back to work.”

“Yes, there is one more thing which I think I can trust you with.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to tell me if this person (popping open a picture of Lord Julian) is anywhere near there and send me any information you can about him.”

“Of course you have my word,” Rina said as she signed off.

“Good, at least we have a lead….huh, what is it Lisa?” Silva asked, answering her phone.

“It seems the matches are on their way and everyone made it through. The quarter final matches should begin in two hours, so I suggest you head over here before you are late,” Lisa explained.

“Right, I will head over there now, give Raquel’s victims my regards knowing her, she did not hold back,” Silva said as she was getting ready.

“Will do, be there in ten,” Silva said, jumping off the couch and heading out.

Silva arrived a little past the time she said, but she managed to catch a few good fights on screen as she was waiting.

“Hey, Lisa, so what is the latest news?” Silva said as she met up with Lisa.

“Well, Raquel made it into the semi-finals, Seth too, Terrance still has the quarter finals to deal with, and as for Rufus it is a miracle he made it through too, so we just have to wait for your block quarter final match to start,” Lisa explained.

“Right, let’s get going,” Silva said heading to her block entrance with Lisa following close behind.

“Well we sure have seen some interesting things going on in this tournament. Competitors are falling left and right for most are not used to fighting without magic and the ones who are all around players are advancing to the final rounds of the tournament rather quickly and I must say it is such an interesting pool. Right, anyways, the reminding matches for each of the blocks are slowly finishing up and it seems we will be starting the quarter final matches ahead of schedule, so if anyone is in the quarter finals we ask you to stay in the stadium until we are ready for you,” the announcer said kindly hoping no one left.

“I guess we are stuck here, let’s go and check out the other matches,” Silva suggested.

“Yeah, sure, but I think I will stick around here enjoying the view and the booze, so see you later,” Rufus said as he was mostly enjoying the view of the women’s butts passing by.

“Argh, whatever Rufus, just be prepared for your match,” Silva said ready to leave.

Silva and the others went to the viewing room where they were watching the remainder of the matches. It seems many have dropped off the ranks and the competitors are slowly dwindling before the quarter finals begin.

“Wow, even though we finished off our blocks, I never thought the rest of the matches would finish so fast, I'll bet there will be less people competing in the quarter final matches,” Seth said, amazed.

“Yes, well, that is what a tournament does, getting rid of the weak,” Silva said.

“I was thinking Silva, we have been here for two days now and your pretty boy is a no show, so what should we do now?” Raquel pointed out.

“Well, we win this and make sure he knows we are on to him,” Silva proclaimed.

“So, have you had any pain recently, is Julius alive?” Lisa asked worriedly.

“No, not recently, but I will feel it if he died, but as for Scout I got a lead for her, but I will explain later,” Silva explained.

“Really?” Raquel asks.

“Yes, but we will deal with it later,” Silva whispers.

“Hey, I think the next round of the matches will be starting soon,” Seth said, checking the time on his watch.

“Yes, let’s go,” Raquel said kindly.

“Um…Terrance, do you think you can stay behind? We need to talk,” Rufus asked.

“Sure, I could stay a bit,” Terrance said as he stayed behind with the others.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Terrance asked, confused.

“Well, it is about Silva,” Seth started out.

“What is wrong with her?” Terrance asked worriedly.

“Silva is lying,” Seth said, coming out and telling the truth.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, since I know her better than you do, I guess I should explain. You see whenever she drinks heavily like she did yesterday it is most likely she feels pain or she is thinking of something that worries her,” Rufus pointed out.

“Really, I did not know,” Terrance said kindly.

“And that is why we are telling you this now, we know you love her, so we are asking you to keep an eye on her and find a way to stop this pain she is suffering. Look, I am not one to beg, but can you please do this as a favor,” Rufus pleaded.

“I will do what I can and I promise I will find a way in stopping her transformation to a goddess,” Terrance vowed.

“Yes, thank you, we knew we could trust you, thank you,” Seth said as he thanked Terrance for his help.

“Since that is settled, let’s go kick some butt,” Rufus said excitedly.

“Yes, let’s go!” Terrance and Seth said excitedly.

“Well, it seems we have arrived at the final round of the day and I must say the turn of events sure is exciting. Here are the current standings as they follow, after an amazing comeback from the third round, Team All- around is currently in the lead followed by Team Icy Wind and Fire Blaze Guild taking the third position. Now let us begin the first quarter final match, please help me welcome back Silva of the Desert and her opponent Elsa from the Icy Wind guild, so let us begin,” the announcer shouted.

In the past two days, Silva has been fighting in battle royals, so she was happy to finally have a one on one fight with someone instead of three people trying to attack her. Elsa was a handful, every time when she would attack, she would turn into icy or the wind and attack her in the air. Silva had to find a trick quickly before this got out of hand. Since oxygen is needed to create ice and wind, Silva thought of taking it away from her. Since she cannot use magic, she thought she would use her defensive spell of shielding the area and the oxygen will slowly decrease. Elsa knew she could not hold it for long, so she turned back to her original form. Then Elsa noticed Silva disappeared and could not find her. Sadly, it was game over for her, as Silva grabbed her and threw her off the stage in less than twenty minutes.

After the next matches continued on, Silva was forced to wait for the results for the next matches to see who moves on to the finals. The matches finally ended around sunset and the latest standings were posted. It seemed only Silva, Raquel, and Terrance made it all in the finals while Seth lost his semi slot to some other girl. Rufus fought a girl in his next match, but he could not hit a girl, so he dropped out of the match, losing his chance to enter the finals. After that was over, they all reunited at the lobby and went back to the hotel. They had another night of celebration, but this time they went easy on the booze.

The final day of the tournament arrived and they were ready to take on the finalists. The community thought it would be fun joining everyone in their own team while they hunt down the others and the more they hunt down, they will be declared a winner. The stage was an obstacle course in a maze entering from different points and will be locked in until someone wins.

“Alright everyone we are going to begin the final round and I must say this sure was an interesting tournament this year. Silva is just not letting anyone get to her, she is defeating them one after another, and that is why she advanced from the semis to here. Oh and that was a great attack from Terrance. I hope the remaining members of Team All-Around keep it up because if they continue this winning streak here, they will have to fight whoever is left to be crowned the winners. Anyways, there are matches going on everywhere in this maze. Let us hope they make it to the final area of the maze before something happens to them, well we will have to wait and see,” the announcer said, getting heated up.

“I wonder what he meant by that,” Raquel wondered.

“Not sure. Raquel, I have a feeling most of the guilds will be after us, so we have to make sure we get to them first before they trap us in a corner, so follow my lead,” Silva ordered.

“Whatever you say,” Raquel said, agreeing to her plan.

As they were making their way through this crazy maze course, they ran into a few other guilds trying to make a run for the climbing wall, but Silva and Raquel threw them down and climbed it up themselves. Next, the last two girls they faced in the last round tried fighting, they put up a good fight, but they were no match for our heroines. Over at the south end, Terrance is holding his own, but it seems he is being cornered by a few other guilds as the reach the tube maze, it might look big on the outside, but they are going to have a hard time getting through that since it can only fit one person at a time. Wow Lacy, from Fire Blaze, is blazing through the course and it appears she is almost in the middle of the maze. If Team All Around wants to remind on top, they better get it into gear and defeat her before it is too late.”

“Right Raquel, that bouncing defensive spell do you still have it?” Silva asked.

“Yeah, but you know only defensive magic is allowed, I think it will be against the rules to use it now,” Raquel said as she explained while running.

“Yes, well, I just read the rule book and it says if it does not help enhance our skills it should be fine, so I suggest you cast that spell, so we can win,” Silva ordered.

“Right, ok, whatever you say,” Raquel said as she cast the spell.

Like that Silva and Raquel began bouncing around as the other guilds tried attacking them, but with their trick they managed to reach the entrance of the center of the maze and they began fighting off Lacy making her way to the center. They started fighting two against one hoping their strength in numbers would help. They were jumping all around making sure Lacy did not get near the finish. In the middle of their battle, the area was changing, so they had to find cover.

This time the area became a jumping stone area and the remaining guilds who did not make it on a pillar were out, so it only left twelve opponents left in this part of the race. The real kicker was they could not stay on a pillar for long, so when the rocks fell apart, they would have to jump on them to reach the other one and if they did not make it on time, they were out. Silva mostly used it as an advantage to eliminate her opponents by kicking off rocks on their pillar to make them fall. Lacy was still in the game until Raquel came from behind and knocked Lacy to the ground. Now all that is left is to reach the goal and Silva was not going to let Raquel win. She sped up and in a split second Silva caught up and won the tournament.

“And that is it folks, we have our new winner of the guild tournament and it is the lovely Silva of the Desert. With that win her guild and the rest of the guilds from Team all around move up in the top five spaces in the racking. Now without further ado, Duty Guild King Dina will present the winning team the trophy.”

“All of you did an amazing job to get here, so I hope you take what you learned here and use it in your lives,” Deputy King Dina said, handing them the trophy.

“Yes, this no concludes the tournament and we hope to see you all tonight for the closing ceremony party,” the announcer concluded.

Once it was over, all the teams returned to the hotel until the party started. As for everyone else, they were planning their next move.

“Well, that is sure fun, but I swear if Julian does not show his face I will kill him myself,” Silva said excitedly.

“Yes, on that note where should we go next?” Rufus asked.

“Well, I was thinking we should head to Serene Wind City to catch a boat back to our home continent and I have a lead where Scout might be,” Silva suggested.

“That is great, I never thought that a job request would have so many leads so quickly,” Rufus pointed out.

“Yes, now we are one step closer to get Scout back, but Julius on the other hand we have to pray he is alive and he can escape Julius if we cannot get there on time,” Silva said worried.

“Um…I am sorry to interrupt, but so you think we can stop by a village first,” Terrance said buzzing in.

“And why do you want to?” Silva asked with a questioning look.

“This village is known as the village of the goddess Millianna, she is a moon goddess who went through the same thing you are experiencing right now. I think we should go there, they might have the answers we need to help with your condition,” Terrance pleaded.

“And where did you hear that?” Raquel asked.

“It was in one of the books Seth copied from the library,” Terrance asked.

“It is not a bad idea, but do you know where this place is?” Rufus asked.

“Well, it is about two or three days from here and it is on our way to Serene Wind City, so I think it will be a good place to go,” Terrance explained.

“I guess we can go, but I am worried about Scout. What if we do not meet up with her on time and she thinks we have deserted her,” Silva said with worry.

“Don’t worry Silva, I will contact my agents stationed there, so they can keep an eye for Scout,” Raquel offered.

“Thank you so much,” Silva said, feeling a little more relieved.

“No problem, I will make the call in the morning,” Raquel said.

“Now that is settled, let’s get some sleep and call it a day,” Silva said heading to her bed.

Silva left the room with her girls to go to sleep. Seth was brave enough to even start a conversation about Silva.

“I never thought Silva was ok to take a detour. I thought she cared about her friends,” Seth whispers to Lisa.

“Are you kidding me? She is the queen of detours,” Lisa teases.

“That is a different story for another time,” Rajah said ending the conversation.

Everyone went to sleep after they finished their nightly routine and made sure Silva was asleep.

Early the next morning the gang managed to pack their things quickly in the morning and head out of the city. They had to take the back way out of the city because since they are the new champions, they were not in the mood to deal with new fans or people want to kill them for stealing the title from them. It was safe all the way through thank goodness as they can finally reach their next part of their journey. The only thing in Silva’s mind is to save Scout and Julius, kill Lord Julian, and find a cure for her condition.