Stop! I Object to this Union!

It has been announced that Aika and Ralus’ wedding will be held tomorrow. The entire kingdom erupted in an uproar. Just as many as there were supporters of this union, there were also those who vehemently opposed this union between the princess and the Khyber heir. Everywhere, from the rural edges of the kingdom to the metropolises to the royal courts, the people fought about the legitimacy of the marriage. Efforts to quell these endless debates fueled by inflamed passions were quickly put down and rendered ineffective by both sides. It was pandemonium!

While the entire kingdom dissolved into madness, Aika and Ralus happily planned their celebration together like a real happy couple in love. As they were looking over a menu of dishes for their wedding in the East-wing drawing room, the doors opened and Prince Nobi marched inside. The couple didn’t pay him any mind at all and continued on with their research. Nobi’s left eye twitched at their holier-than-thou attitude. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” he asked them.

“Looking at dishes for the wedding,” replied Aika casually.

“I meant with the kingdom!” yelled the prince furiously. “It’s chaos outside!” he said, pointing emphatically out the room. The couple continued to ignore him. “Are you listening to me?!” he screamed.

“Then you do something about it,” Aika told him coolly.

“You—!” attempted Nobi. Aika quickly shot him a dangerous glare and his words left him. He stomped his foot in anger at himself for losing his words to his little sister.

“I have an idea!” proposed Ralus. “How about we institute a royal order that anyone who opposes our union shall be jailed and sentenced to a thousand years in prison!”

“That’s a great idea!” agreed Aika happily.

“That’s insane!” protested Nobi furiously.

Aika turned to her brother with raised eyebrows. Her eyes were filled with a dangerous fire that made Nobi take a step back. “Do it,” she told her brother.

“Listen—,” Nobi attempted to reason.

“Do it!” ordered Aika. “No one shall oppose our union!”

Nobi clenched his fists tightly. He wanted to protest this order, he wanted to oppose her words, he wanted to fight back and win, but it would only be in vain. He couldn’t believe that his sister had come to love this bastard wholeheartedly. He was already shocked when he learned that Aika and Ralus were in love with each other, having first heard of it from the servants, but now it was becoming unbearable for him to keep up with this farce any longer. But if he tried to oppose his sister while she’s like this, who knows what will happen to their sibling relationship? He scowled at his own weakness. And then he exited the room without another word.

The declaration was made that whoever opposed the union would be opposing the royal family and thereby will be charged with treason. Just as quickly as everyone had started arguing over the subject matter, they became silent. Now that they knew this union was being supported by the crown, they couldn’t overtly discriminate anymore for fear of imprisonment. However, despite the tyrannical nature of this order, it was issued and enforced by Prince Nobi with a heavy heart. Everyone’s liberties were at stake, and they all have this wretched union to blame.

Once the news reached Tatsuya’s ears, his heart sank even deeper. He slid down with his back against the wall. What can he possibly do now to fix this mess?

Meanwhile, Manami was furiously pacing back and forth while raging about Ralus Khyber, calling the noble a sling of colorful names and euphemistic titles. He had his kusarigama in his hand and was swinging the blade around like a dangerous lasso. And every once in a while, he would lash out his weapon while imagining himself offing the pompous noble. Tatsuya had his eyes on his friend and listened to his rantings. “Next time he calls me a half-blood, I’m gonna pry his eyes out with my blade!” threatened Manami to the heavens above.

“What does that mean?” asked Tatsuya.

“What?” came Manami with a dangerous scowl. His anger was too much for him to pull back, even in the presence of his friends.

“Ralus keeps on calling you half-blood,” noted Tatsuya. “What does that mean?”

“It means that he’s of mixed heritage,” answered Daiki. He placed a hand on Manami’s shoulder and gestured to him that it was okay.

Manami nodded and took over. “I’m not a pure-blooded Lindworm,” he began. “My father is a Lindworm, but my mother is a Quetzalcoatl. Hence, I’m a half-blood.”

“So you belong to more than one tribe?” asked Tatsuya.

“Kind of,” came Manami’s reply. “My father and mother fell in love while they were both living in Jaculus City. That was where they met and where I was born. After their marriage and my birth, my family moved to Skattkista Nation, the Lindworm tribe’s kingdom and my father’s birthplace. I grew up living in the kingdom and self-identified as a Lindworm. Although, I never really did deny my Quetzalcoatl ancestry.”

“Intermarriage between tribes have existed for millennia,” said Daiki. “Although we may be of different tribes, we are all of the same race.”

“What’s wrong then with being a half-blood?” asked Tatsuya with a frown.

“Half-bloods are looked down upon by society,” said Daiki. “Many people consider them to be cursed and monstrous. This is especially true of elitists like Ralus Khyber. They view the intermarriage between different tribes as disgusting and corrupt, believing that it taints the pure blood given to them by their respective forefathers. Because of this, they deem half-bloods as lesser beings of tainted and contaminated blood, and not worthy of the same privileges as those possessing pure-blood.”

Hearing this made Tatsuya’s body grow hot with anger. He couldn’t believe that such a bogus and despicable ideal like that even exists! But at the same, the familiarity of the problem made him realize that humans and dragons, and probably all beings in the universe, aren’t so different after all. He looked at his friend and it began to make sense to him. Manami has always been the shortest of the bunch, which likely stems from his Lindworm side. And his feminine appearance must be from his Quetzalcoatl side. Tatsuya had never once stopped to think about it until now. But none of that matters to him at all. Sometimes, the evilness of society is as enigmatic as human nature itself.

“But the worst criminals of all are Ouroboros,” said Manami with a grimace. The organization’s name made everyone stiffen. “It’s one of the ideals they preach. Those bastards think that they’re so perfect in everything they do.” Everyone became silent as these words of truth rang out. They made the atmosphere heavy and almost unbearable to breathe. And they left everyone’s mouths tasting bitter.

Daiki was the first to break the silence and said, “Did anyone else notice the thing around the princess’ neck?”

“What thing?” asked Manami. The princesses were also confused by Daiki’s question and exchanged puzzled glances.

Daiki remembered sensing some kind of magic during their encounter with Aika and Ralus. Being a Bakunawa, he was always sensitive to magical energy. And the magic that he had sensed wasn’t Draco magic. It felt too foreign and did not possess the same magical signature at all. He was able to trace the source to the Draco princess, specifically to something on her person. And it didn’t take long before he noticed the peculiar piece of jewelry around her neck that was not the locket she usually wore.

“Everyone here knows that Princess Aika normally wears a locket around her neck, right?” asked Daiki. Everyone quickly nodded; except for Manami, who was still confused on what his friend was getting at. “During our encounter, I sensed some kind of foreign magic at play,” he told them. “The princess was wearing a necklace that was not her usual locket. I suspect that that may the source of the magic.”

Tatsuya thought back to their exchange with Aika and Ralus. He hadn’t really paid much attention to Aika except for the obvious change in her behavior. But if he really focused back on it, he could picture what Daiki was talking about. “What do you think it does?” he asked his friend.

“That must be how that bastard is controlling her mind!” figured out Manami. He quickly turned to Tatsuya and declared, “Tatsu-chin, you need to go destroy that necklace!”

“Destroy it? How?” Tatsuya asked.

“Where do you think the duke’s son got the necklace?” asked Arashi. Her question was reasonable and it made the others think.

“Either it is a family heirloom or he bought it off of the black market,” answered Takara.

“It wouldn’t even be impossible to consider that it is an item from Ouroboros,” added Sunaji. “Cors Khyber and his entire family are known sympathizers.”

“It doesn’t matter how he got it,” decided Tatsuya, “we just need to break it.”

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Aika and Ralus had already settled on their wedding plans. The only thing left is to hire the officiator. Ralus had called for the head priests of all the major temples and shrines within the capital. They all quickly answered his call and were assembled before the couple. Ralus inspected them from head to toe like a sergeant inspecting his new recruits. As he paced back and forth before them, he could only look at each of them with disgust. He came to an abrupt stop and turned away from them. “Incompetent!” he told them with a wave of his hand, “You are all incompetent for the job!”

“But Darling, we need one of them to perform the ceremony!” appealed Aika.

Ralus caressed her cheek and said, “I want only the best of the best for us.”

“Oh, Darling,” swooned Aika.

“Oh, princess,” cooed Ralus.

“My Lord, if I may,” attempted one of the priests.

Aika quickly flashed him a dangerous glare for interrupting their moment and quickly commanded, “You are all dismissed! None of you are right for my special union with Darling! Leave!” The priests all fled the scene just like a swarm of bees. “You were right,” she told Ralus once they were all alone again. “They were all incompetent fools.”

“But now we don’t have anyone to perform the ceremony,” said Ralus with a sigh.

“You only deserve the best,” Aika told him.

In reality, Ralus already had someone lined up to perform the ceremony. He just liked to put on a performance and enjoys making others suffer. If he hadn’t been caught up in this moment with Aika, he would’ve been doubling down with laughter over the priests’ buffoonish exits. But the person whom he had already chosen to perform the ceremony was someone that he knew very well. It was his family’s own priest. And the clergyman was about to appear any moment now just as he had planned.

The doors opened and Ralus smiled widely. ‘He’s here!’ he thought excitedly. This was the moment he was waiting for. The ceremony, the celebration, the union, everything will be in direct control of the Khyber family!

“I’m here!” called an unfamiliar voice.

Ralus’ smile quickly disappeared and his heart sunk. ‘Who’s that?!’ he wondered frantically.

The doors finally revealed the owner of the voice and it was someone that Ralus had never before seen in his entire life. He was too shocked by the reveal to react accordingly to his new guest. On the other hand, Aika knew who the person was and quickly ran over to him. “Uncle Kuzuryu!” she beamed.

“How’s my little princess?” asked Kuzuryu (Ryujin).

“I’m getting married tomorrow!” Aika told him cheerfully.

“Really?! That’s good news!” cheered Ryujin with a hearty laugh. He then looked over at Ralus and said, “You must be the lucky guy!” And he gave the noble a hard pat on the back. It immediately knocked the shock out of him, along with some air, and Ralus returned to his senses.

“Y-Y-You know him?” Ralus asked Aika.

“He’s Uncle Kuzuryu, a good friend of my father’s,” Aika told him.

“U-Uncle Kuzuryu?” repeated Ralus uncertainly, slowly turning his head to his new exuberant guest.

“Nice to meet you!” greeted Ryujin, holding out his hand for a shake.

“It’s my pleasure,” said Ralus in an almost ghostlike manner, taking Ryujin’s hand and shaking it.

“So, how far are you on the preparations?” Ryujin asked the couple.

“We’re still looking for someone to perform the ceremony,” Aika told him.

“A-A-Actually…,” attempted Ralus. Ryujin had turned his attention to him and looked at him with stormy blue eyes. Ralus gulped and became quiet. Despite the smile he wore, Ralus could sense a kind of dangerous hostility from the guest.

“How about I do it?” suggested Ryujin.

“Will you?” asked Aika happily.

“Of course!” confirmed the Celestial Dragon with a nod.

“A-A-Are you certified?” Ralus asked him meekly.

“Oh, he’s more than certified,” reassured Aika.

“Great,” said Ralus with a forced smile. He couldn’t believe that it turned out like this. Just who is this man? And why did he want to be their officiator? Is he really Aika’s uncle? What is he planning?

The day for the wedding arrived. In the West wing of the palace, the ceremony was being held. All of the guests were present and the ceremony began. Ralus, dressed in a snazzy new suit tailor-made for this very day, looked confident. He stood at the top step on the left side of the officiator. The door to the hall opened and the band played their instruments to signal the arrival of the bride. Finally, the moment had arrived.

King Rexus walked through the door with his arm interlocked with Aika’s. She was dressed in a beautiful red dress bejeweled with bright, sparkling rubies and garnets. They reflected brilliantly in the light and dazzled the audience with their splendor. Never before had anyone seen a more beautiful bride. The king led his daughter down the aisle and up to the top step. They embraced for a second and then Aika took her position opposite of Ralus.

Everyone applauded and cheered for the couple. Once it became quiet again, Ryujin began the ceremony. “Omnes ama, neminem ama, aeternum ama, numquam ama. Amor est infinitus et informis, amor est vivus et semper mutabilis. Amor est veritas,” commenced Ryujin. “My friends, in the spirit of the Great Mother of Love, Amora, we are here to celebrate the loving union of these two beloveds.” His voice echoed through the hall with a strength that could be felt by everyone in the room. “Love is a blessing. Love is a privilege granted to us by the gods. It is not something one can take for granted.” As he said these words, he focused his eyes on Ralus. Once again, Ralus felt a sense of hostility from those eyes that made his entire body alert; no mortal being could possibly be capable of inflicting such fear into the bones of a normal man with just a simple stare.

“Now,” continued Ryujin, “let’s begin with the ritual.” He cleared his throat and raised his hands up to the sky. “Goddess Amora, bear witness to this union in your name. Guide these beloveds on the path of a pure and righteous love and watch over them as they love each other till death do they part. I beseech you to grant these beloveds your blessing through me.” He turned to Ralus and called his name.

Ralus jumped up anxiously and asked aloud in a squeaky voice, “Yes, sir?”

“Do you still have the jitters?” Ryujin asked the groom with a joking smile. Everyone laughed at his joke and the duke’s son turned red. He then decided to join in the laughter too in order to mask how deeply embarrassed he was. “Anyway,” said Ryujin, “Ralus Khyber, do you promise, with Amora as your witness and I as her servant, to always love and cherish Ashira with all of your heart in accordance to the virtues as put forth by the beloved Great Mother of Love?”

“I-I do,” said Ralus confidently.

Ryujin turned to Aika and asked her the same question. “Ashira Draco, do you promise, with Amora as your witness and I as her servant, to always love and cherish Ralus with all of your heart in accordance to the virtues as put forth by the beloved Great Mother of Love?”

“I do,” quickly accepted Aika.

“They have accepted each other’s hearts,” Ryujin told the audience. “However, as formalities dictate, love is not always certain and is the most fickle of emotions. Acceptance of love is not only exchanged between the beloveds, but also between their family and friends. Therefore, I must first ask everyone before uniting these two in holy matrimony, is there anyone who opposes their union?”

Ralus looked out at the crowd with a smug look. Everyone gathered here today were people he knew very well and who supported this union wholeheartedly. There was no room for opposition. In fact, he and Aika had even agreed to not invite anyone that would try to break them apart. That’s why he was confident that this union would proceed smoothly and go unopposed.

The audience’s resounding silence told Ryujin that there was no opposition to this union. He raised his hands once again and was about to proceed on with the ceremony when the doors to the hall suddenly swung open. A strong gust of wind blew into the hall and everyone had to duck for cover to avoid being blown away.

“We oppose this union!” announced Tatsuya. He appeared in the doorway with the princesses and his friends behind him.

Ralus couldn’t believe it. He had made sure that the hall’s entrance was protected by his family’s personal guards. How did a bunch of specially-trained soldiers be defeated by this group of riffraff?!

A few hours ago, Tatsuya and his group worked together to come up with a good plan to crash the wedding. They had decided to do it right when the priest calls for any oppositions to the beloveds’ union. As cliché as it sounds, they had settled on it because of how it would give them time to prepare and break the union without causing any unnecessary collateral damage. It would also give them a stage to voice their opposition to the audience present. In fact, the audience was going to unwittingly become a part of their plan to rip apart the Khyber family’s plan.

When it came to enact the plan, which was only made possible with secret messages passed between the other princess’ servants and Ingrid and Helen, Tatsuya and his friends faced against the the Khyber family guards. They were pretty tough, but the timely arrival of the other Dragonborns helped them to proceed on with their plan in a timely manner. Tatsuya was glad for their help. Shen, who was at first displeased with what he had heard from Percy regarding this whole mess, gave Tatsuya quite an earful about giving up before voicing his support for the latter’s decision to right this wrong. Percy also gave his approval to the plan and apologized for his reckless behavior from before.

Once the area was clear for them to continue the plan, Arashi did the honor of blowing the doors open for them all to make their stand against this unholy union. And that’s how they got to where they are now. Tatsuya eyed Ralus with hostile eyes filled with righteous fury. The noble flinched in fear before trying his own attempt to appear threatening to the Dragonborn.

“Ralus, I—,” began Tatsuya. He quickly lost his voice once he noticed the person standing in between the two beloveds. He couldn’t believe it. “What are you doing here?!” he asked his father furiously.

This entire time, Ryujin had his hands held up in two thumbs up with a large smile to show support for his son. This was his way of saying, “Good job!” and, “Right on time!”, as well as, “Nice plan!” Tatsuya could only groan at his father’s presence and stupid grin. He was the very last person that Tatsuya wanted to see caught up in this mess.

“I’m the officiator!” Ryujin told Tatsuya’s group with a cheerful disposition.

“Why?” asked Tatsuya.

“Would, ‘Because I’m a sucker for weddings,’ suffice as an answer?” asked the Celestial Dragon.

“Just what I needed, another pain in the ass,” grumbled Tatsuya under his breath.

“Good to see that you’re here, son,” Ryujin said to Tatsuya with a smile.

Tatsuya looked up at his father and nodded with a grin. He then turned to Ralus and said, “I oppose this union. I will not allow you to wed Aika.”

“You really think that your words hold any water against me?” scoffed the noble arrogantly.

Tatsuya turned to the audience and made the following announcement: “Everyone! Ralus Khyber is not truly in love with Aika at all! He’s only marrying her for the throne!”

“Of course the throne comes as a benefit of marrying the princess, but my love for her is far more true and pure than you assume!” argued back Ralus to the crowd.

“He is a sympathizer of Ouroboros! He will bring nothing but ruin to the tribe!” appealed Tatsuya in vain.

“The Khyber family is well known to be traditionalists, so our affiliation with Ouroboros is nothing to be surprised at,” argued Ralus with a smug smile. “However, we are Dracos first and it is a well-established family motto of ours to first give our duty to our tribe before ourselves.” His silver tongue and sly mind was quick to disassemble Tatsuya’s arguments, a testament to his cultivation as a suave orator by his father, as was expected of the men of the Khyber family.

However, Tatsuya wasn’t the least bit deterred by Ralus’ comebacks. In fact, building up the noble’s confidence was part of his plan to tear him apart. “If you love Aika truthfully and purely, then why are you controlling her mind?” Tatsuya asked him with unveiled hostility.

That question sent Ralus for a loop and his confidence shattered. His body trembled and sweat flooded down his face and neck. This reaction elicited hushed murmurs from the crowd. These hushed murmurs eventually grew to full-blown chattering and Ralus shrunk back in fear. His sly mind failed him and his silver tongue was at a loss for words.

“Excuse me, but how do you know that the princess is being mind controlled?” came Dex Lector to the noble’s rescue.

“Yes, exactly!” agreed Cors Khyber. The duke’s words quickly elicited the same response from his followers among the crowd. Suddenly, everyone was turned against Tatsuya and his party.

Tatsuya silenced them quickly by bringing out his sword, Gram. He then slowly walked up to Aika with the sword poised for her neck. Everyone became skittish around the sword and dared not to say or do anything that would make them meet their demise by that infernal sword’s blade. Even the royal family could do nothing but remain dangerously still.

Dex was both afraid of and intrigued by the legendary sword. ‘So this is the sword that killed that Lindworm, whatever his name was,’ he thought to himself.

However, there was one man who dared to defy the sword’s power. Cors Khyber quickly shouted out, “What do you think you are doing with that sword?!” He was afraid of the blade and feared for his own life, but at the same time, he couldn’t bear to watch his plan crumble at the hands of an outsider.

Tatsuya ignored him and got very close to Aika. She was also aware of the danger the blade presented and her face showed it. Her eyes were full of anxiety and her body trembled, increasing in intensity with each step Tatsuya took towards her. But she couldn’t move at all. Her fear was too great and she could only stand there like a little child facing an unescapable monster.

Once he was close enough, Tatsuya stopped and raised his sword. Aika closed her eyes and turned her head away in fear. With a quick slash, with a precision that could only be attained through experience and harsh training, the sword sliced through the necklace’s green pendant and the necklace fell to the ground.

The shock made Aika stumble a bit and she almost fell if it wasn’t for Tatsuya’s quick thinking—he pulled her close to him and held her safely in his arms. Aika held her head and felt as if a large weight had been lifted off of her. Her mind felt clearer than they’ve ever been. She looked around and saw that she was in one of the palace’s halls. She didn’t know what was happening or why and was very confused by it.

“Aika, are you okay?” Tatsuya asked her.

Aika turned to Tatsuya and her eyes immediately lit up. “Darling!” she happily cried.

Daiki quickly ran up and picked up the necklace. “This was the magical tool used by the duke’s son to control the princess’ mind,” he told the crowd. He then pointed a finger at Ralus and dramatically said, “This tool was developed by Ouroboros, wasn’t it? You used it to further your own evil deeds! Divine punishment awaits you, be prepared!”

“Mind control?” Aika asked Tatsuya.

“A lot of stuff happened,” Tatsuya told her with an awkward smile. He then told her a brief synopsis of what happened.

After hearing all of that, Aika quickly got up on her own two feet and clenched her fists in anger. She then summoned her Dragon Regalia and said threateningly, “Ralus! How dare you control me to be your woman?! I will never marry scum like you! And you had the audacity to make me call you ‘Darling’?!”

Ralus, like the coward he was, wildly waved his hands in front of him in fear and shouted out hysterically, “Wait a minute! Please, no violence! I’m sorry for what I did, really! Please, forgive me! And you were the first one to call me ‘Darling’! I didn’t tell you to do that!”

Aika’s fury was only elevated further by the noble’s bumbling apologies. “I would never call someone like you my ‘Darling’!” she yelled out violently and she swung her whip at the noble.

“Wait!” yelled out Dex. His voice caught everyone’s attention, including Aika, forcing her to retrieve back her whip. “You both have already promised your vows to each other,” he told them. “In fact, the ceremony is more than halfway through. I’m sorry, princess, but by law, you are now the wedded wife of Ralus Khyber.”

“But they haven’t even sealed it with a kiss yet!” protested Manami.

“Only after sealing their vows with a kiss do they become recognized by the Great Mother of Love as virtuously wedded,” agreed Percy.

This problem had now reached a standstill. There was nothing but silence in the room. It was quickly broken when Ryujin cleared his throat and said, “How about we have a competition to settle this matter?”

“Competition? What are you talking about, old man?” Tatsuya asked his father.

“This competition will decide Princess Ashira’s wedded status,” explained Ryujin. “If Tatsuya wins, the wedding ceremony will be nullified and it will be like none of this ever happened. If Ralus wins, then the princess will be wedded to him just as planned and their status as a married couple will be recognized. How about it?”

“Listen, this isn’t some game—,” Tatsuya started to say to his father.

“Brilliant!” declared Ralus. “A competition will surely show everyone that I am the perfect match for the princess! I will make sure that our marriage becomes recognized!”

Tatsuya was taken by surprise by the noble’s agreement to this suggestion. However, he wasn’t about to stand down either and quickly said, “Alright, let’s do it.”

It was decided that the competition be a duel between both parties and it would be held in one of the palace’s training grounds for the palace guards. The crowd sat in galleries set up around the grounds.

Both Tatsuya and Ralus entered the grounds from the south and north sides respectively. In each of their hands was a steel-blade longsword, the designated weapon of the Draco royal guards. They stopped within seven feet of each other and held their swords to the side. Ryujin, the self-appointed judge of the competition, walked up in between them and addressed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in bearing witness to this duel between the Dragonborn of the human realm and the heir of the noble Khyber family. May Shori, Great Father of Victory, watch over their battle and grant victory to whom he sees fit.” He then looked at each of the combatants and gestured for them to come forward.

They walked till they were within two feet from each other and shook hands. “Good luck. You’ll need it,” said Ralus with an arrogant smirk. Tatsuya said nothing in reply and instead waited to answer back with his sword.

Once the formalities were done, both competitors were told to return to their original positions. And then, the battle commenced.

Ralus rushed forward haphazardly with his sword pointed straight for Tatsuya’s chest. It appears that his hubris was greater than Tatsuya had expected as the noble believed himself to be highly skilled enough to finish his opponent off with one shot.

Tatsuya shook his head in disapproval of the noble’s methods. It was time for Tatsuya to put him in his place. He brought up his sword and easily deflected the strike. And then he proceeded to do a quick turn and slammed his hilt right into Ralus’ ribs, sending the noble doubling backwards.

Ralus fell on his back and let out a groan. He couldn’t believe it. How could someone as experienced with the sword as him lose to someone of that caliber? He got back up on his feet and decided to rethink his strategy. It irked him very much that his opponent was actually forcing him to use his head. If only he could finish this quickly as he had done in past duels he had with other people. He gripped tightly onto his sword and raised it up in order to initiate a diagonal slash at Tatsuya’s chest.

Tatsuya could only scoff at the noble’s easy-to-read moves. He quickly jumped forward and brought his own sword down on the Ralus’ sword, applying a lot of pressure to force the sword out of the noble’s hand. Ralus tried hard to fight back, but the Dragonborn’s strength was more impressive than he had thought. He took his other hand and gripped his sword with it, doubling his strength. This allowed him to push Tatsuya back and regain control of his weapon.

However, this wasn’t enough to stop Tatsuya. Tatsuya took this opportunity to rush the noble and attacked with the flat side of the sword. He hit the noble right in the jaw and sent him flying to his right.

Ralus used his sword as a makeshift cane as he brought himself back up to his feet. He then touched his jaw and could feel a small fracture. This made him furious. He couldn’t let this dissident plebeian win and was prepared to humiliate him in front of millions, but now, he was ready to kill him. It was time for him to implement the plan he developed to fight against the Dragonborn. As arrogant as he was, Ralus knew that there was a chance that the Dragonborn could be stronger than him in more ways than one. It was common knowledge that the Dragonborn was a figure unlike any other mortal, a fact that Ralus couldn’t help but become envious of. But it was this knowledge that allowed Ralus to develop this ingenious plan. With a smile, he brought out a little jewel and placed it in the center of his hilt. The jewel magically melded into the hilt and glowed a beautiful maroon color. Now, his sword is stronger than Draconite and sharp enough to cause even the slightest of injuries to Celestial Dragons. In short, it was a very deadly weapon against the Dragonborn. With his new toy in play, Ralus eagerly rushed forward with his sword poised for another attack.

Tatsuya read the noble’s move and countered with his own sword. Both blades clashed and the sound of shattering metal caught everyone’s attention. Tatsuya couldn’t believe it. His sword was smashed into a million pieces after the impact with Ralus’ own. How could this be possible if they were made of the same material? And Ralus’ strength behind the blade wasn’t even strong enough to cause this!

Seeing his enemy now weaponless, Ralus couldn’t help but let out a triumphant laugh. It echoed throughout the arena. “I did it!” he laughed, “I finally one-upped the Dragonborn!” He turned to Tatsuya with a crazy grin and arrogantly declared, “You’re defeat is imminent, Dragonborn! Prepare to taste defeat by my blade!” And with the swiftness of a rat, he leaped into the air and brought his sword over his head to prepare to land the final blow.

Instinctively, Tatsuya reached into his pockets and pulled out his golden pen. It immediately morphed into the dragon-slaying sword, Gram, and Tatsuya brought it up and successfully deflected Ralus’ attack. Ralus was pushed back and he landed on one knee. Gram’s presence emitted an aura of uneasiness and fear unto the audience.

Ralus himself couldn’t help but tremble before the sword. Even though he had seen and used thousands of swords before in his lifetime, never before had he witnessed a sword with a very dangerous and fearful air. The dragon inside of him was ready to surrender, but his ego wouldn’t let him. “Y-You think that that sword is enough to scare me?!” he said trying to appear confident and undaunted.

“Enough talk,” Tatsuya told him with a scowl. Ralus flinched at those words. “Let’s just finish this,” declared Tatsuya. He then gripped his sword and rushed ahead with the sword poised for the noble’s heart.

With a gulp, Ralus foolishly ran ahead to meet Tatsuya’s sword head on. Their swords clashed once more. However, this time, Ralus was unable to take advantage of the situation; he could only do what he could to stop the sword from tearing him to shreds. “Is this all you got?” asked Ralus with a cocky smile.

Tatsuya closed his eyes and breathed. He relaxed his shoulders and let the sword to slowly slide down Ralus’ blade. And then, in one fluid motion, he guided the sword under the enemy blade and disarmed him by forcing it out of his hand with the flick of a wrist. Ralus’ sword flew through the air and fell to the ground. The sound of shattered glass told the noble that the jewel on the hilt had been destroyed. He couldn’t believe it—his plan had failed! Tatsuya drew his sword back and traced a big arc before setting it atop the noble’s shoulder right against his neck. “Checkmate,” Tatsuya told him.

Ryujin walked up to the audience and happily declared, “The Dragonborn of the human realm is the winner!”

The crowd immediately erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. Ralus fell to his knees in humiliated defeat. This was the very first defeat he had ever suffered in his life. He couldn’t believe that he had lost. And to an outsider, too! This humiliation quickly turned into boiling anger and he jumped back up onto his feet. Tatsuya had retracted his sword by now and was already walking back, unaware at all at what his enemy was preparing to do. Ralus reached into his shirt and brought out a dagger. With vengeance being the only thing fueling his mind, he rushed towards the Dragonborn with the blade gripped tightly in his hand. “Die!” he yelled out furiously.

Tatsuya was about to turn around to see what was going on and almost received a dangerous injury when Yong suddenly appeared before him. The Celestial Dragon had his right hand in a claw-like gesture and thrusted it right into the noble’s stomach. Ralus' body shook and he spat out blood. Soon, his body became limp and the dagger fell out of his now numb hand. “Yong, what did you do?!” yelled Tatsuya.

Yong didn’t say anything and thrusted his arm out, throwing the duke’s son onto the ground like a rag-doll. Duke Cors Khyber worriedly rushed up to his son and was horrified to find him in such a terrible state. The sight of blood trickling out of his precious’ son made him sick and furious at the same time. “You!” he roared, turning to Yong with murderous eyes. Yong simply yawned and raised up a finger into the air. And then, quicker than the blink of an eye, he swiped his finger at the duke’s neck. The duke quickly fell down to the ground and blood oozed out of the wound that was dealt to his neck.

“I really hate blowhards like them,” said Yong in a disgusted tone. Without another word, he snapped his fingers and disappeared into nothingness along with the duke and his son.

Tatsuya couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He was in complete shock over seeing the Celestial Dragon commit such terrible acts of cruelty. Sure, they may have deserved it, but the way he mete out those punishments were inhumane! Tatsuya's attention was quickly diverted by the cheers and applause coming from his friends, who were now walking up to join him on the field. They all congratulated him on his victory. Tatsuya thanked them gratefully for their praise. He was very happy to see his friends smiling and laughing together once again.

“You did it, Darling,” said Aika. She was standing next to him and twiddling her fingers.

“Of course,” Tatsuya told her.

“I’m very sorry,” she apologized sincerely. “I let myself be taken over by the enemy. And I even called him the name that I have only reserved for you.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Tatsuya reassured her. She looked like she was about to cry. Tatsuya wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said sternly, “Remember what I told you before? I promise to be your Darling first and foremost!”

Aika’s heart fluttered from hearing those words exit his lips. “Of course,” she happily nodded.