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Book 4: Chapter 39: Death

“Worry not,” Elder Den continued, “In consideration of the brave warriors who will be undergoing this final test, we will make sure to hold this as our last bracket. We only introduce it now to build up anticipation and allow those participating time to prepare.”

By now, Queen Acacia was boiling in anger. She had previously seen Dyon’s signal to allow him to handle it, but how could he possibly handle this one? They were essentially sending off her daughter to die!

The crowd though, could care less. This twist was something they found entertaining and Elder Den’s explanation was good enough for them to accept. Although, in reality, the explanation meant little to them.

“Don’t be mad,” Madeleine said with a smile, looking up at Dyon, “We would have had to fight them anyway…”

Dyon took deep breaths, trying to calm his breathing.

Calling this a death bracket left the title with little exaggeration. The Cavositas had decided that to solve the imbalance of rankers per bracket, they would flood a single bracket with every remaining top 30 ranker – come the final round.

Essentially, of the remaining seven top 20 rankers, every one of them would participate. This of course excluded Iris, who had been defeated by Dyon in the first bracket, and the top 20 ranker that participated in the second bracket along with Akash and Zaltarish. In addition to that, Ri just so happened to conveniently be the final top 30 ranker left to complete the brackets, and as such, was also placed into this death bracket.

This shouldn’t have been a big deal, in reality. This was because if there were so many powerful foes at the top, there shouldn’t have been a need for them to fight each other. Just by leisurely challenging non-rankers, they could have made it into the final nine.

However, there-in lied a problem… This wouldn’t have been a death bracket unless there was actual competition, so the Cavositas played a very underhanded trick. As an “apology” to those who were eliminated by Dyon, that should very well be in the top 100 finalists, they were allowing those who had failed in previous rounds to participate.

In the end, the death bracket was organized to place all rankers on the stage. Unlike in previous brackets, the stage rulers were put in place rather than volunteered for. But, maybe the worst change was that stage wielders would no longer have the right to priority challenges. Instead, as they again tried to mask as an “apology”, only those not ruling a stage would be allowed to challenge – challenges that couldn’t be ignored.

Many of the following bracket parameters were the same. However, instead of top 20 rankers getting 10pts, it was number 12 on the rankings that received 10pts. Then number 13 would receive 9pts. And, finally, Madeleine received 4pts as the 7^th lowest ranking ranker, and Ri received 3pts as the 8^th lowest ranking ranker. In this bracket, there were no other rankers unless they lost in other brackets and chose to participate. But, even then, they would only be given 1pt.

“Belmont, are you just going to allow this?” Kawa’s bestial aura was already threatening to tear the skybox apart. If it wasn’t for the fact she was restraining herself, everyone’s attention would without a doubt be on her.

King Belmont sighed, “The worst part about being a king is that you never have as much power as you think you do. I’m a monarch, but if I unilaterally make decisions, it will shake the balance. We’ve spent so many years making the Ragnor think that we care very little for things outside of cultivation, it wouldn’t be good to alert them of our power now.

The only reason I didn’t stop Edrym from doing his little display when he arrived is because we’re all aware that his cultivation has fallen to the first celestial level. That isn’t something the Ragnor Patriarch would put in his eyes.

You should know that the Cavositas never act unless with the approval of the Ragnor. It’s not just the Geb God Clan boy that’s seeking to prove himself, they’re only using that as an excuse to deal with Dyon. Like I said multiple times before, he’s dangerous.”

Lionel lightly snorted in the corner before going back to meditating. In his eyes, Madeleine should be his and his father was being much too lenient. Even knowing how dangerous the origins of this boy were, King Belmont was still willing to test him. That made Lionel angry despite the fact he didn’t show it.

“Don’t give me bullshit about how dangerous my son in law is.” Kawa responded. She wanted to continue, but that was as much as she dared to say. Anymore and even she didn’t know if she could hold off the action of the treaty.

To Kawa, much of the superstition around mortals was baseless drivel. In fact, there was a reason why even in all his anger, King Belmont, despite knowing the truth, didn’t use Dyon’s mortal status against him – although he did call him a commoner, or, more accurately, he agreed to Lionel calling him a commoner.

The truth was that Dyon wasn’t the one who was dangerous. It was the bastard who sealed the mortals in the first place that was dangerous. Some so powerful that even celestial experts like them, and former dao formation experts like Elder Daiyu, could do nothing in the face of his treaty.

But, who cared how dangerous that entity was? Were they not trying to find a way to fight him right now? Did King Belmont not want Madeleine’s virginity for his son as a way to bolster their clan’s power to then fight this entity? Was their goal of sending their young talent to the Epistemic Tower not set in place in order to groom the future to be able to fight this entity?

So, what was this nonsense about how dangerous Dyon was or wasn’t? With or without Dyon, they would be diving head first into the danger anyway!

King Belmont sighed, “I understand, Kawa.”

He too understood this. This was why he had been willing to give Dyon a chance to prove himself – he didn’t need Kawa to remind him.

“That said, we can’t shelter them if we hope that they’ll supersede our accomplishments. Look at Dyon, despite his boiling anger, he still has ever intention of letting the two of them fight.

The more I watch him, the more I understand how he grasped the hearts of my two god daughters.

He’ll let his rage sit and simmer, but he also wants them to be great in their own right. Then, when the time is ripe, he’ll unleash that rage, and set fire to his enemies.”

So, Dyon stood and watched as the brackets raged on. Nothing too outrageous happened from bracket three to eight.

Thor and Vidar made the Ragnor look strong and capable as usual. Thor with his stoic and firm martial arts and Vidar with his savage and often tasteless torturing of his opponents.

Caedlum treated these rounds no differently than he had the previous few. He used no weapon, preferring to use his fists as his main tool for combat. His red skin seemed to glow with every punch he through as he effortlessly glided his body through his fights with an elegant ease. However, this elegance was very clearly backed by powerful and robust bursts of energy, giving his style a shift from hard to soft and a snappiness that made him unpredictable.

Delia, who Dyon had been the most worried about in the non-death brackets, seemed to have the easiest time. Dyon could tell that she was being targeted by some Planet Deimos rankers, but they had been much too low tier to handle her. Something had fundamentally changed about Delia, and although Dyon didn’t know exactly what it was, he was happy that it seemed like it was for the better.

Surprisingly, the reason Dyon had been the most worried never manifested itself. He had been apprehensive not because he doubted Delia, but more so because from what Ri and Madeleine told him, she had had her psyche attacked by an elder during her last fight. However, it seemed that that elder was either being held at bay or had forgotten about Delia. There was also the possibility that they were biding their time for something else… But, Dyon didn’t want to think about that too much. All he could do was keep Delia by his side.

That said, although things weren’t too out of the ordinary, there were some odd occurrences. For one, a few top rankers never challenged during their brackets. This led to the top 9 accumulated 108 points and excluding them from moving onwards.

It had gone under the radar for the first few, but after the third time, Dyon realized that something was wrong.

“They’re stacking the deck,” Dyon said softly. He was proven even more correct after the occurrences stopped at three. Why? Because if you excluded Madeleine and Ri from the death bracket rankers… There just so happened to be three top nine spots remaining.

Ri and Madeleine, though, were much more care free. They didn’t seem to mind. While Dyon felt like his arrogance had brought trouble to his loved ones again, Ri and Madeleine felt different. To them, they didn’t want Dyon to have to lower his head to anyone. They had been more angry than even Dyon was when his named was being smeared. So, how could they possibly trade a bit of safety for their husband’s pride? They would rather face the dangers with him. And, should anything happen to them, they knew fully well that he wouldn’t rest until those responsible paid.

“Ri, I understand the sentimental value of the sword your mother left you, but would you like another one? I have plenty of transcendent swords you could use.” Dyon asked.

The truth was the he had a whole armory of transcendent level weapons. In his first visit to the Celestial Deer Sect, he had found a special door using his innate aurora that led him to their most valuable possession.

An ancient God clan like the celestial deer sect, who had experts as powerful as half step to transcendence, wouldn’t have a lack of transcendent level weapons. In fact, considering the demon sage had a supreme level tower, it was almost disappointing that the celestial deer sect, as an array alchemy sect, didn’t have even more powerful weapons.

But, the truth was that even for them, supreme level weapons were a bit much. That said, Dyon’s spatial ring and the Dragon King’s weapon likely surpassed even that grade.

Ri’s hand flashed as a sword appeared. It was normal in every way. In fact, it was the lowest of the common level weapons. Ri had always hung onto it because it was the first gift her mother had ever given her. Because she missed her mother, she refused to switch – she wanted it to act as a piece of the mom she remembered.

But, her mother was back now.

Kawa Acacia seemed to notice when Ri took out the sword nearly immediately. Tears welled up in her eyes as her sharp eyes trailed along the length of its common metal body.

As a martial expert, she could see the amount of work Ri had put in with this weapon. She saw the chips on its body and the wear of its handle. She even saw evidence of it being repaired again and again.

“Little Alex…” Kawa whispered. King Acacia lightly held onto his wife’s hand. “You’d handicap yourself like this?…”

If Queen Acacia knew that Ri had fought for months on end with this weapon as her only protector, words would not be able to express her level of guilt. Without doing so intentionally, she had placed a cap on her daughter’s potential.

Why did Ri insist on learning the sword? Because Kawa was a swordswoman. Why did Ri insist on learning ice will? Because it was Kawa’s best will. Why did Ri fall in love with Dyon so easily? Because her mother told her it was okay to trust anyone who could survive in the cave she left behind.

Kawa’s impact on Ri’s life was more than she knew.

“Little Alex,” Kawa’s voice made her way to Ri’s ears, causing her to pause, “Release your shackles…”

Ri smiled, nodding firmly. “Dyon, can you turn this sword into something for me?”

“Of course,” Dyon’s eyes softened, “What do you want?”

“Make it the belt that holds my new sword.” Ri’s smile was brilliant and blinding.

Dyon placed his hands on either one of Ri and Madeleine’s shoulders before his eyes flashed with a deep purple gold.

In an instant, everything around them changed.

Madeleine’s dress was once again her long white qipao – a transcendent level treasure. Her purple hair flowed and her eyes were just as deep and sharp.

Ri dressed in a silver and crystal lined armor, resized to her perfectly. It transitioned into robust white leather that clung tightly to her curves, sculpting around her immaculately. But, her most standout feature was the new belt around her waist.

It was a striking silver of interlaced chain, reflecting the sunlight to perfection. Its center held was looked like a miniature Ice Petal’s Dance fruit that doubled as a buckle. That said, it was the 3ft sword to her waist that shined.

It had a frosty white handle wrapped in a soft but comfortable leather. But, when Ri pulled it out, its blade erupted in a dense darkness, adjusting to her affinity immediately.

Queen Acacia’s eyes widened, “Edrym… Alex, she…”

“She’s not a River type Kitsune…” King Acacia finished.

But, there was nothing the couple could do. It was clear that Ri wasn’t surprised by this. They had been away for too long. That said, what they were about to find out was that their daughters wasn’t so simple as just not being a river type kitsune… She was the peak most of all Void Kitsune.

**

“The time for the final bracket has come!” Elder Den’s voice boomed before his eyes trained on a certain triplet family. “Please come to the stage, rankers.” His eyes narrowed with an almost unconcealed glee as a sneer colored his features

Dyon sat silently, watching as Ri and Madeleine proudly stepped onto the stages.

Suddenly, a piercing and rumbling voice entered his ears, “Watch carefully. Let your anger stew. I want to defeat you at your peak so I’ll be sure to tell me juniors to slowly tear your wives apart.”

Dyon didn’t need to look to figure out who this rumbling voice was from. It was clearly Femi Geb.

But, he kept his emotions locked within himself. How often had he tried to allow Ri and Madeleine to grow on their own? He had trusted them during his first campaign. It was time to do so again.

That said, this Femi character would die. And he would die a horrible death.

Almost immediately, their plan was put into motion. There in no time, there was a line of eager challengers waiting – and it was no secret to anyone that most stood before Ri and Madeleine.

However, the crowd didn’t think anything of it. After all, Ri and Madeleine were 7^th and 8^th ranked. Seeing as there was no 9^th for this bracket, they were the weakest by rank. To the crowd, it only made sense that they had the most challengers.

Madeleine calmly took out her lyre. She remembered the day that Dyon had first gifted this to her – it was the same day she had decided that she always wanted him by her side.

In response, her first opponent stepped onto the ring. He was a no-name and completely unranked, but Madeleine hadn’t expected anything different. After all, they likely wanted to tire her first.

That said, the weapon he took out made it clear that he had ever intention of going all out.

On Ri’s platform, she too prepared herself as her first opponent stepped onto the stage. Because she was ranked last, it was likely that even more challengers would come to her. But, she was ready.

Madeleine’s opponent laughed, looking at her weapon. “My senior brother told me that I should have a nice time playing with you. But, from what I see, your husband seems to favor one of his wives more. Her weapon is clearly much better than yours.”

Ri’s opponent laughed, “It seems he’s quite selfish. He probably favors whoever the newer wife is. I wonder how long it’ll take him to forget you too.”

They were clearly trying to agitate Madeleine and Ri, grasping onto whatever they could to make them spend more energy than they needed to. Ri and Madeleine knew this, so they didn’t say anything.

Ri knew very well that Dyon loved them both equally. The fact he hadn’t offered Madeleine a transcendent weapon only meant one thing.

Dyon raised himself in the air, lording over proceedings. With a wave of his hand, the array he had long since placed on Madeleine’s lyre shattered.

A resplendent glow filled the arena as Madeleine smiled and plucked the first string.

In a flood of white light, Madeleine’s music will tore through its bottleneck, ascending to an intent in the an instant.

Her opponent felt his legs weaken as all the strength seemed to leave his body. The soothing nature of Madeleine’s music filled the arena and it also quite subtly boosted Ri too, but not too much less they be accused of cheating.

The words of Ri’s opponent were caught in his throat. He had just said nonsense about how Dyon favoured one over the other, but it was very clear that he had provided them both with high level weapons. Although he couldn’t tell of what level, it was clear enough that what he had said was completely ridiculous.

Ri didn’t bother to transform as she flashed forward, she wanted to maintain her stamina at its peak for the longest time possible. Well, the truth was that with Ri’s cultivation, it was almost a joke for them to want to tire her out. Who could match a void kitsune in stamina? It was ridiculous.

Ri’s sword felt like an extension of her hand. Without her previous handicap, she could flood her energy into her weapon without reserve. Her once crude and clunky sword play became fierce and ferocious.

Her bestial aura flashed as a growl escaped her delicate lips and her canines flashed.

Madeleine’s opponents fell to his knees, his ears bleeding. The tune that was so sweet to everyone else was nothing but a death sentence to him. From beginning to end, Madeleine had not moved a single inch even as Ri’s sword cleaved downwards.

From beginning to end, the first matches lasted but an instant. In the time it took, none of the other rankers had even accepted challenges yet. There was not a single pair of eyes not focused on either Ri or Madeleine.

And then, Ri’s opponent too collapsed to his knees. A clear line of blood ran down the center of his face as shock colored his features. He hadn’t even been able to see his demise. All he felt was an endless abyss of darkness and the feeling of everything being torn from him. He hadn’t even had the time to comprehend the fact that he had been cut in two.

Dyon watched this scene, an anger still boiling in his heart. Ri didn’t mind killing, but he knew fully well that this was Madeleine’s first. She had never taken it so far before, but she, just like he had thought, realized that there was only one clean way out of this mess.

The most important people in Madeleine’s life were Ri, Delia and Dyon. Although she avoided killing whenever possible, she never turned away from it. From Dyon killed, she supported him. And now, in order to prevent those most important people in her life from suffering, she too killed.

Dyon’s voice rumbled through the arena, a clear and deep anger reverberating as his music intent stomped on the hearts of those who had queued and eager to challenge Ri and Madeleine.

“You can challenge my wives if you like.” He said faint. “But know it’ll mean your death.”