ROSES HAVE THORNS
Chapter 183 - Tension And Structure
Amidst Eldoria’s ten representatives, a certain young prince was practically vibrating with raw adrenaline.
"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Maxwell Jr., with a wide grin plastered on his face as he looked at the scale of the crowd, bounced lightly in place while shaking his arms to loosen up his muscles. "You guys feel that? I am getting so freaking pumped right now! The people are going absolutely insane today!"
Standing right beside him, with an impeccably regal posture, was Princess Kiana. "Junior, please calm down and act accordingly. You are the prince of Eldoria. Have some decorum; the entire watching is watching us right now."
But her scolding does absolutely nothing to deter the crowd. The moment the projection screens zoom in on Junior’s handsome and energetic face, a massive cluster of noble ladies and female students in the upper Eldorian stands erupted into high-pitched shrieks.
"""Prince Maxwell! We love you!""" Several girls scream in unison.
"Show them what Eldoria’s finest can do, young lad!"
"We’re counting on you, Prince!"
Completely ignoring his sister’s stern lecture, Junior raised a hand and gave a charming, smooth little wave back to his adoring fans.
"""Kyaaaah~! Prince Maxwell!"""
Kiana’s temple throbbed and with a swift motion, she drove her elbow directly into her brother’s ribs, making the prince wheeze and stumble a half-step back.
Right when she then turned to glare at the female students in the crowd, her violet eyes suddenly locked onto a very specific figure sitting right at the front row.
"Hey, Princess Bubblegum. Good luck out there," Kurt smirked and gave her a friendly wave.
"Y-You–!"
The moment their gazes met, a blazing blush instantly exploded across Kiana’s cheeks, as her mind flashed back to the intensely embarrassing and physically compromising encounter they had shared.
A jolt of phantom adrenaline shot through her body. Almost instinctively, her hands raced down to grab her own butt, her fingers tensing against her skirt as if trying to shield herself from an imaginary spank.
"Why is the princess holding her butt like that, Kurt?" Hope asked when watching the strange interaction.
"Pfft–hahaha! That’s priceless! Our poor princess is traumatised!" Sadie, who knew exactly what happened between the two, completely lost it.
"Uh... well, Hope, you see... the tournament is a very big deal. Maybe she’s just... really, really nervous. People do weird things when they have stage fright." Kurt made up a believable excuse.
"Oh! That makes sense. My tummy hurts when I’m nervous too. Poor princess..."
"Y-Yeah, haha." ’She must never know...’
While the Eldorian side was dealing with its own chaotic dynamics, a completely different, far more suffocating aura was brewing across the arena floor.
Over at the eastern side of the field, the Myrian representatives stood in a flawless, elegant line. At the front of their pack, Ayako’s face was a mask of serene beauty, but her eyes were anything but peaceful.
She stared directly across the expanse arena floor and locked her gaze unyieldingly onto Emelie’s profile. A deep, predatory smile slowly stretched across her lips as her eyes gleamed with the thrill of a hunter tracking its ultimate prey.
Emelie, possessing a sharp instinct for danger, immediately felt the murderous gaze boring into the side of her face. She slowly turned her head and met Ayako’s chilling stare.
Instead of freezing or showing a single shred of intimidation, Emelie’s expression shifted into a cocky and defiant smirk. Without a single care for the seventy thousand people watching, or the royal families sitting in the VIP boxes, she raised her right hand and flipped Ayako the bird.
Ayako’s predatory smile only deepened at the blatant disrespect shown to her.
"That arrogant, Eldorian bitch!" The now free from jail Ryuuji growled. "How dare she disrespect the Izumi clan like that?! I’ll step out there right now and tear her–"
"Calm down, Ryuuji," Ayako cut through his rage, not bothering to look back at him since her eyes were still locked on Emelie. "Save your energy. All of our grievances, and all of our blood will be thoroughly settled on the arena floor soon enough. Let her have her fun for now."
"Hmph! Whatever..."
Meanwhile, on the western side of the arena, the representatives of Riverton’s Crossroad Academy were watching the intense silent exchange between Eldoria and Myria with growing irritation.
A striking young woman with deeply tanned skin, a fiercely athletic build, and vibrant, fiery red hair tied into a topknot, glared at the two factions while tapping her foot violently against the stone floor.
"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Look at those pretentious bastards. Eldoria and Myria are completely ignoring us! They’re treating this entire international stage like it’s their own private playground!"
"Please calm down, Captain." A young man possessing a calm, entirely stoic demeanor, gently held a hand on her shoulder.
His most striking feature was his hair, which was perfectly split down the middle – half pitch black, half snow white. "We will look like uncoordinated fools if you, our official leader, lose your composure over a few petty glances. Please, just wait for the tournament to begin."
The red-haired woman turned her glares toward him, but his grip remained completely unyielding.
"There, on the field, is where we will speak," he continued calmly. "We will systematically dismantle their prodigies one by one. We will prove to the entire world, and to those arrogant fools, that Riverton is a nation they should have never, ever ignored."
After staring at him for a second, the red head let out an aggressive huff and slapped his hand off her shoulder. "Fine. Like you, I’ll be calm. For now..."
Over on the northern side, the atmosphere within Tricea’s Kirstenbell Academy is far more brooding. Leading the group was a tall, slender young man who exudes an aura of eccentric brilliance.
He possessed a thick, curly afro, a sharp pair of wire-rimmed specs, and an impressive array of silver earrings lining the entirety of both his ears. Ignoring the tension going around, he was busy adjusting a small, glowing magi-tech gauntlet on his forearm. That was, until his eyes glanced backward at the triplets who were still visibly sweating.
"What’s the matter with you three? You’ve been fidgeting ever since we stepped foot in the arena. Don’t tell me you’re actually getting stage fright?"
"N-No! Of course not!" The eldest of the three spoke up. "We’re just... we’re just anxious to get out there and show the world the power of Tricea’s latest magically engineered combat modules! It’s just adrenaline, nothing more!"
"Hm. I certainly hope so. Stay focused, all of you. If you stumble because of a lack of nerve, I will personally dismantle your armor piece by piece. Clear?"
"""C-Crystal clear!""" the three squeaked out in unison, standing perfectly at attention.
With all four factions finally settled into their respective corners of the massive, square arena floor, the atmosphere reached a state of breathless anticipation.
"Now that all of our esteemed participants have taken their rightful places on the grand stage, I will begin to explain the rules that this international tournament will strictly follow, as well as the overall structure of the brackets," Diana announced.
"The rules? It is quite simple, really. There are absolutely no rules, other than a strict prohibition of external interference from anyone."
A murmur of nervous excitement rippled through the stands.
"This is a true test of martial prowess and magical survival," Diana continued. "A round will only conclude once the opposition is entirely incapacitated, rendered physically unable to move, or if they verbally and clearly give up their right to fight."
She took a slow breath and focused her gaze over to the representatives.
"Now for the structure of the event. As you know, the tournament will be spread across three days. Firstly, Day 1, which is today, will be appropriately dubbed: The Eliminator Phase.
"How it works is:
"- 10 Group Matches: 10 separate fatal-four-way matches are going to be held.
"- Each match features exactly 1 fighter from each faction.
"Scoring:
"- Winning a match earns that representative’s faction 2 points.
"- Placing second – being the last one eliminated before the winner – earns 1 point.
"- Third and last place gives you no points.
"At the end of Day 1, the points are tallied. The two factions with the lowest total scores are entirely eliminated from the tournament. Resulting in four factions becoming two.
"Next, Day 2 dubbed: The War Phase.
"The two surviving factions face off in a massive, continuous Tag-Team Elimination Gauntlet to determine who sends their best fighter to the finals.
"How it works is:
"- Both factions order their 10 remaining fighters from 1 to 10.
"- Fighter #1 from Faction A fights Fighter #1 from Faction B.
"- The winner of the match stays in the ring but carries over any fatigue/damage. The losing faction sends out their next fighter.
"- This continues until one faction has all 10 of their fighters eliminated.
"The last standing fighter in the ring wins the day for their faction. However, to make Day 3 a true 1v1, we need an opponent. That’s where the MVP of the losing faction comes in, which is the individual from the losing side who secured the most knockouts during the gauntlet.
"By the end of day two, 20 fighters are narrowed down to 2 Finalists – representing the dominant faction and the ultimate underdog.
"Finally, Day 3. The Grand Finale.
"The ultimate showdown. No interference, no tag-teams, just pure skill. A traditional 1v1 bout where the undefeated champion of the winning faction takes on the battle-hardened MVP of the runner-up faction. Unlimited time, until knockout or submission. One definitive champion will bring the ultimate glory to their faction!"
"""YEAAAHHHH!!!"""
"I have laid the foundation. I will now give the reins back to our hosts, Commentator Ken and Princess Faye. Good luck to all participants and let the grand tournament begin!"
SHWOOSH!
With a sudden, brilliant flash of crimson trails, Diana teleported away from the center field, reappearing instantly before the Saintess with a sharp glare and cold smile.
"Excuse me, Saintess Christy. I believe you are sitting in my seat. Do you mind moving over one space?"
"O-Of course! I was just keeping this seat warm for you, ahahaha..." Christy quickly scrambled to sit next to Gloria, who had decided to stay with her after gaining permission from the pope.
"Thank you." Diana plopped down next to Kurt.
"Bosslady, you were so cool! Ten outta ten!" Sadie threw a thumbs up her way.
"Yes, Ms. Valentine! Very cool!" Hope threw two thumbs up.
"Hehehe. Thank you, Sadie, Hope."
Kurt nodded proudly at Diana and held her hand, causing her to blush and squeeze back tightly. They then turned their attention back to the arena.
["Thank you, Principal Valentine, for that incredibly clear and beautifully terrifying explanation of the rules!"] Commentator Ken’s voice boomed once again, his excitement reaching an all-time high.
["Indeed!"] Faye chimed in, ["No rules means no holding back! This is where true warriors are forged! Now, everyone, cast your eyes up to the central projection screens! It is time to announce the very first match of the grand tournament!"]
The massive holographic screens floating high in the sky instantly shifted.
Four different boxes, each labelled by a nation appeared on the screen, spinning and shuffling all the representatives’ images at an incredibly high speed.
["Alright, everyone! Let’s get this party started!"] Commentator Ken screamed into his mic,
["Count down from three with us to stop the shuffle! Ready?!]
The entire coliseum and world joined in on a collective roar that shook the very clouds from the sky.
"""THREE!"""
"""TWO!"""
"""ONE!"""
The shuffle slowed down to a crawl, revealing the first four participants about to lock into place.