Arc II: “Universal Threat”
Chapter I: “Cosmic Tournament”
Episode IV: “It Begins! The Cosmic Aether Arts Tournament!”
[The day of the tournament]
Early in the morning, everyone gathered outside the arena.
Both participants and spectators rushed to be first on the line.
Participants were taken to a building behind the arena where the preliminaries would take place, while the spectators quickly filled the stands.
“Laaaaadiesssss and gentlemen! Can you feeeel the aether in the air tonight!? This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for— Welcome to the 26th Cosmic Aether Arts Tournament! Claim your seats now, as the preliminaries will be done shortly!”
A blonde young man with sunglasses and a black suit stood in the arena. He was the announcer for the tournament.
In the rec center behind the arena, thousands of participants were gathered.
The rules were explained to them in detail while they were all checked in and assigned numbers.
“Man, I wish we could get to the fighting already. Especially cuz I already know who’s going to qualify,” Akira yapped, leaning his head back.
His foot tapped rapidly against the floor.
“They said they’ll select the best based on overall capability. We have to take a strength, speed, and mental test. They also measure our yield levels.”
“Yeah, but they still have to be organized,” Asuka replied, “They can’t just have anybody participating.
[An hour later]
“I’m glad to announce that our lineup for the tournament has finally been decided! These SIXTEEN fighters — THE STRONGEST UNDER THE STARS — have come from far and wide to show us what they’ve got! Please give it up fooooooor…
Number 656! Baskette!”
The crowd began cheering.
“Wow, they announced me first. Does that mean they think I’m the weakest?”
She flaunted her numerous bracelets, showing off their razzle-dazzle as she walked out to the field around the arena.
“Number 43, Zane!
Number 657, Cart!
Number 124, Kira!
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Number 934, Asuka!”
“Well, guess I’m off,” Asuka said, stretching her arms up.
“Yep, I’ll see you later.”
“Number 456, Darc!”
“Oh, hey, it’s Darc!”
“Number 44, Lian!”
A grayish blue-skinned individual in a cloak approached the arena benches.
“Number 832, Kyte!”
I’m sensing something strange from that guy… but I can’t tell what.
Akira watched Kyte closely as he exited the rec.
His spiky black hair bounced with each step.
Despite the cloak hiding his body, his entire frame hummed like a finely tuned engine— there wasn’t a spot on his body not covered in lean muscle.
His black eyes were sharp, cutting through everyone unfortunate enough to lock eyes with him.
“Number 349, Riella!”
“What!? What’s she doing here? I thought she had to leave with the patrol.”
She passed Akira as she exited the rec.
“Hey, I bet you’re wondering why I’m here, hehe. Turns out I received a mission to come here and participate. Seems our superiors wanted me to keep an eye on you.”
“Number 97, Malek!
Number 553, Leo!”
Wow, that kid looks young! Maybe around the same age I was when I was training with the sage…
“Number 455, Rayon!
Number 935, Akira!”
“Hey, what’s up, Rayon. Nice to see you didn’t chicken out.”
“Hmph. Just focus on yourself, Akira. If you’re not careful, I might just beat you.”
“Number 658, Bag!
Number 824, Draig!
Aaaaaaaand finally! He was our top-rated qualifier by a landslide, numberrrrrr 68, Rikito!”
Akira exhaled, “Of course, he didn’t hold back in the prelims.”
“Now we will have a brief intermission so our contestants can get ready for their matches! I’m excited to announce that the fighting match-ups will be decided right before each match! We will draw two numbers from our raffle to determine the order of who fights in this first round!”
That sounds interesting… no one will know who they’re fighting against until right before the match. That’s quite a thrill!
[Fifteen minutes later]
“It’s time to announce the first match-up in this tournament! Get ready, we’re about to draw from the raffle! Aaaaand! The first number is… 349! That’s the contestant named Riella! Can we get a round of applause for her being our first fighter!?”
The crowd cheered.
“Hey, Akira,” Rayon walked up to him.
“Just how strong is she?”
“She’s… pretty strong. She should measure up well against the other contestants here.”
“Alright, time for the next draw! Drumroll please! And the next contestant is… number 658, Bag!”
“This will be interesting. Riella’s opponent was rated number three based on the preliminaries,” Akira noted.
“Hmph. We both know those preliminaries don’t amount to much. Most of the fighters, including us, were hiding our true strength.”
“Yeah…”
Speaking of hiding strength… I still have a weird feeling about that guy.
Akira looked at Kyte.
“Nowww... let the match begin!”
At the sound of the gong, they both Aether-Skipped into a clash.
“And we’re off to an amazing start! Both contestants are putting up a great fight! Although it looks like Riella may have the upper hand!”
No, she may be holding back a lot, but so is this Bag guy.
They continued clashing, Riella leading the fight.
“Heh, you’re not bad!” She spoke.
“…”
“Silent type, eh? Alright. Then I’ll just show you what I can really do. HA!!”
Riella unleashed a dense field of aether.
“She was hiding this much power?” Rayon was surprised.
“You haven’t seen nothin’ yet,” Akira said, eager to get in on the action.
“Hmph. These weaklings aren’t worth my time,” Rikito left the benches and flew out of the arena.
“Where does he think he’s going?” Rayon asked.
“He’ll be back. I know he can’t wait to fight either!” Akira said while pumping up his fist with a smirk.
“Don’t underestimate me!” Bag powered up, too.
Woah, I might have to use my full power! Riella thought as she continued unleashing her yield.
“This is amazing, folks! Both fighters are unleashing enormous amounts of energy!”
“It’s over,” Bag said.
“What? No, we’re just getting started!”
Bag’s body tensed, a shift in his aether.
Rayon blinked, sweat dripping down his forehead.
“Hey, did you catch that, Akira!?”
Akira smirked nervously, gritting his teeth as he watched the fight.
For just an instant, Bag’s aura seemed to vanish—no, it compressed inward, a razor-thin line of killing intent.
And right after she said that, Riella had collapsed.
Bag appeared behind her and was already walking off stage.
“Woah! I can’t believe it! Bag must have defeated Riella in one move, but it was too fast for me to see it! The winner of the first match is Bag!”
The crowd went wild.
Akira flew over to the arena to pick up Riella.
“Is she okay?” Rayon asked.
“She’s out cold… that Bag guy isn’t a pushover.”
He laid her down on the bench until the medics came to check on her.
Rayon looked around the arena, canvassing the benches on the sidelines.
That’s strange… There are fourteen people here…
He turned to look at the sky above the arena.
Rikito’s still in the air… Riella’s being taken by the medics… that Bag guy is walking off the stage… does that mean there’s an extra person over here? There should only be sixteen competitors here…
A drop of sweat ran down Rayon’s face as he tried to figure out what was going on.
“Looks like this tournament will be even more interesting than I thought!” Akira said as he pumped his fists together.
I suppose it’s nothing to worry about. Let’s just enjoy the tournament, Rayon thought.
[Next Time on Lyte of Utopia]: “Earth Shaking Battle! Akira vs. The Mysterious Kyte!”
[Yield Levels]:
Riella: 500m
- Suppressed: 50m à 100m à 200m
Bag: 1b
- Suppressed: 45m
Kyte: ???
- Suppressed: 5