Everything will be my way!

Chapter 516

　　«Three meetings in one day… Once - an accident. Twice – a coincidence. But three times – a pattern! How do you find me?!» – Valentine was indignant.

　　«Rose, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to… If I could, I would avoid you…» – Elsa pitifully arched her thin eyebrows and folded her palms in a gesture of prayer. Damn Kyon pushed her with the guy once again.

　　«Elsa, if you keep robbing me, I won't even take the sixty-fourth place and won't be able to participate in the next tournament! Stop… Are you doing it on purpose?! Do you want to prevent me from becoming the empress's disciple in order not to marry me?!» – Valentine swayed because of this guess.

　　«No, Rose! Of course not! It is all because of… Because of…»

　　{Because of Dick?!} – Valentine didn't say it out loud. He took out a piece of paper and wrote the following on it – "put a formation on me and, using it, avoid our collision".

　　Elsa bit her lip. If she casts the formation and then Kyon forces her to meet Rose again, what will he think? But if she does not impose the formation, then he will be all the more convinced of the girl's desire to evade the promise given to him.

　　After hesitating, Stone nodded, put the formation on the guy, then without meeting any resistance, took half of the points with light pokes and ran away. She was trying to figure out why Kyon was forcing her to meet the guy. Does he really want to break them up in order to poach her? But she doubted that the messenger of the goddess liked her. Or does he like her after all?

　　Half an hour later, the girl decided to have lunch. As soon as she started to eat, she felt someone approaching by passive scanning and almost choked on a piece of meat… Judging by the development and shape of the body, this someone is Dick Baker!

　　{«Hello. I've come to take away half of the points you've earned.»}

　　«Seriously?!» – the blonde blurted out in amazement.

　　{«Keep your mouth shut.»} – Kyon ordered, making a lip-zipping gesture. – {«We are being tapped.»}

　　Elsa's face took on a tense, thoughtful expression.

　　Suddenly, Lovr heard a quiet, indistinct and unintelligible indignant voice in his head, as if coming from a pipe. It is clear that Stone has not yet learned how to send telepathic signals, and this is one of the distinctive abilities of imperial phasers.

　　{«You can't take my points away from me! The administration will consider this an impudent scam! You and I will be disqualified, are you trying to achieve this?! Be reasonable!»}

　　{«It won't. I am very strong.»}

　　{«Strong enough to defeat the imperial phaser? No one will ever believe it! And anyway, you should be ashamed to unceremoniously rob me! You are the messenger of the goddess! Where is your pride?! You can't take the first position in an honest way, can you?!»} – the blonde continued to throw indignant provocations. Of course, she didn't want to give away half of the points she had spent many hours earning.

　　The dismissive notes in the voice of his stepsister still hurt Kyon's ego. He decided to show her a part of his abilities, at the same time putting her in her place, and if he fails, he will still achieve what he wants: {«You convinced me, dear.»}

　　Delighted Elsa smiled dazzlingly.

　　Kyon stuck out one finger: {«If you take one of my blows without getting damaged, you will win. You are not allowed to use formations, attack or dodge. You may only block. If you lose, then from now on you will shut up and agree.»}

　　{«I agree!»} – the perked-up blonde instantly exclaimed. She was more than sure that she would repel absolutely any attack of the messenger of the goddess. The girl was wondering how hard he could hit.

　　{«I'm attacking.»} – Kyon jumped high into the air, raised the Scourge, weighed it down to 10 tons and covered it with liquid light – "Light Cut", then brought it down with all his might. – {Falling calamity!}

　　Elsa took out the blade and, pouring pure energy into it, set it horizontally.

　　~BAAANG~

　　The clash of weapons caused a deafening roar, crackling and shaking of the earth, as well as golden sparks. Ten-meter thick cracks spread out under the girl's feet. The blonde's beautiful eyes widened in amazement. The pressure exerted on the arm was enormous! It was as if she was being attacked by the royal phaser at the peaking stage! How could the messenger of the goddess give out such an exorbitant power of the blow?! He is incredibly strong! However, this is not enough… She, being an imperial phaser, would easily repel such an attack.

　　Elsa thought that it was all over, when suddenly her blade broke in half, and Kyon's golden sword, or rather, the residual energy of his blow, passed over her forehead, leaving an abrasion there.

　　«Ouch!» – Stone screamed, retreating.

　　{«I have won.»} – Kyon summed up coldly, hiding his sword in the ring.

　　{«You're just lucky my weapon broke! Let's do it again!»} – Elsa demanded, rubbing her bruised forehead. She refused to admit defeat. It seemed like she only had to take on the attack of the royal phaser at the peaking stage. For her, the imperial phaser at the 1st stage, to miss such a trifling blow is almost insulting.

　　{«It's not about luck. After the battle with "The Black Queen", there were barely noticeable chips on your blade. Just now, I deliberately attacked a vulnerable spot to break your weapon. You failed to block my attack, so shut your mouth and listen carefully: now I will put a barrier on your bracelet that will fake the sounds of our battle…»}

　　Elsa opened her mouth, unable to find words. She's not used to losing, but she always gives in to this nasty guy. Now he has overcome her with a trick. Although is it a trick if he really gave out the incredible power of the blow?!

　　While putting the barrier, Kyon thought to himself: {My full-power strike is equal to the strike of the royal phaser at the tenth stage, and that's with "Light Cut" making it even more powerful… Not bad, but it's not enough. Oh, I wish I had met Triana for the first time now…}

　　…

　　Meanwhile, more than 20 thousand viewers watched the two red dots on the screen in amazement. Approximately every 30 seconds, 5% of points went off the balance of the imperial phaser at the beginning stage – Elsa Stone – in favor of the noble phaser at the middle stage - Dick Baker. People couldn't believe their eyes. Bai and Diana clutched their heads in unison.

　　…

　　{«Be proud of yourself, damned blackmailer.»} – Elsa whispered soundlessly, studying the rest of her points with a bitter look. He just took away half of all her efforts…

　　«How does your unique body work?» – Kyon suddenly asked, and noticing the girl's surprise, he explained. – «I put a barrier on the bracelet. Now you can speak.»

　　«I don't have to answer…» – Elsa crossed her arms.

　　«If you answer, then I will reveal the secret of making my perfectly pure medicine.»

　　There was undisguised interest on the girl's elegant face. After hesitating for a minute, she spoke: «My father conceived me a unique body called "The Heart of Lightning". It gives me some bonuses, including affinity with ether, but it still hasn't awakened. My dad said I'd have to buy a Thunder Flower and make something out of it… Well, this way I will have a chance to awaken the body.»

　　{So that's why she absorbs lightning…} – now Kyon has found the answer. The girl still does not have any gluttonous ether key. However, it is not clear where Yurich got such a high-ranking body. It has not yet awakened, but the very fact of absorbing ether already indicates that the body has an "A" rank. – {Does she need a Thunder Flower? Bad luck… Epic rank medicine grows once in a thousand years all over the world.}

　　Finding the demanding gaze of the beauty on himself, Lovr cleared his throat and explained: «In order to make medicine with maximum purity, it is necessary to make sure that, among other things, not a single ingredient inside it conflicts with the rest. Alchemists around the world hone their skills all their lives, but they never reach the ideal. I use my own method called "The Cycle of the Universe": I combine the ingredients of all the elements into a single chain in which even heat will not conflict with cold. To do this, you need to own all nine elements, otherwise the chain will not close.»

　　Elsa was not at all satisfied with this answer. What is the point of knowing about some kind of "The Cycle of the Universe" if it requires all 9 elements? She seemed to have been told the truth, but formally she seemed to have been deceived. But now the girl was more worried about something else: «So you defeated me three times in competitions with such a dishonorable method?»

　　«No, I defeated you using only pure energy.» – Kyon grinned smugly and went somewhere.

　　«Hey, where are you going?! This is my tent!» – the girl protested.

　　Kyon unceremoniously climbed into his stepsister's tent and put a large and juicy piece of meat lying on a plate in his mouth. After savoring it with the air of a gourmet, he nodded with satisfaction: «A good shish kebab. Thanks for the treat.»

　　«H-how could you eat my lunch so brazenly?! Taking food away from me like that… Where is your conscience?!»

　　«Conscience has lost itself and has become conscienceless.» – he replied cheerfully.

　　Elsa's chest was heaving violently from burning feelings, and her face was red with anger. She, the imperial phaser at the beginning stage, was robbed twice in 15 minutes, but she can only helplessly watch and endure it! Kyon lacks the qualities of a gentleman at all. He is a barbarian!

　　«Okay, I'm off, you're boring. See you.» – Lovr waved his hand and left the tent.

　　«Wait!» – shouted Elsa. – «Tell me, why are you pitting me against Rose?»

　　«I don't know what you're talking about.»

　　«Don't be a jerk! I met him three times in a day because of your orders… You somehow put a tracking formation on Rose and now you're deliberately forcing us to collide!»

　　Seeing that he was pointedly silent on all the accusations, the girl continued: «Are you taking revenge on him for something? Are you jealous? Do you like me? Do you really want to take me away from him?!» – the lady did not notice that she switched to shouting.

　　Kyon rolled his eyes dismissively, shook his head and silently walked away, leaving Stone without answers.

　　{Why all this mystery? Is he shy, or what?} – the blonde was puzzled.

　　After 12 hours, late at night, when the orders of the messenger of the goddess sounded in her head again, Elsa was finally convinced of her guess. The girl felt a surge of good mood – the messenger of the goddess likes her! So she needs to use it! – however, she immediately blushed shamefacedly. The most dangerous criminal in the capital, a blackmailer and a scoundrel, sympathizes with Stone, whereas she actually has a boyfriend… What's there to be happy about?! And now it turns out that she will meet Valentine again… And what should she do? What can she say in defense? And does she even need to justify herself? Or maybe she should disobey Kyon? No, she can't…

　　With a sad sigh, the blonde headed in the indicated direction.

　　After 25 minutes, she found her target…

　　«Elsa…» – Valentine said gloomily. – «Yet you find me on purpose…»

　　The girl wanted to say something, but in such a situation it is better to remain silent. She felt like a traitor and a vile woman, since she does this to her boyfriend, who obviously has not yet recovered from his illness. But she certainly can't tell him the whole truth.

　　Rose shook his head: «The only thing I don't understand is why didn't you tell me? You said it was an accident… You were apologizing for some reason… You should have said: I don't want you to win prizes. I don't want to marry you…» – despair and doom were evident in the guy's voice.

　　«Rose, no! It's just…» – Elsa bit her lip. – {«I just lost the bet to Dick!»}

　　Valentine froze at the sound of the girl's voice in his head, and his heart skipped a beat: «That's what it's all about…» – he immediately believed Stone's words, because he wanted to believe in them. And indeed, the reason for all the troubles associated with the girl is Dick Baker.

　　{She lost the bet to Dick, and now he's trying to make a fool of me with her hands… You're trying in vain, freak!} – Rose's gaze was filled with determination. – «Attack me. I will take prizes no matter what!» – he made a promise.

　　Elsa forced a smile and nodded: {«Thank you for your understanding. Good luck.»}

　　An hour later, Elsa met with Kyon again… He shamelessly took away from her 50% of the points that were on the balance. The ruthless robber didn't even say «thank you». And does he really like her? The girl has doubts.

　　…

　　{«We have studied the tournament zone inside and out. Juno Stone is not found among lord phasers at the middle stage. What are the further orders?»} – the man reported, putting his finger to his wrist.

　　{«Look for her among the lord phasers at the finishing and peaking stages. Look for her among all! Only a day and a half left before the end of the tournament. Hurry up! Failure is unacceptable! Split up and find that girl, damn it.»}

　　{«The order has been accepted, commander-in-chief!»} – the man respectfully replied and nodded to his comrade, after which they ran in different directions and continued their search.

　　…

　　High in the sky, above thick clouds, a small multi-colored cluster of dots was approaching Rosarrio. If you look closely, you can find that it consists entirely of some kind of living creatures, but not of harmless birds or even monsters, but of succubi!

　　A thousand young girls from 15 to 19 years old, led by a dozen elders and the matriarch of the Ruru family, flew towards the forests of Regan, their upcoming hunting zone.

　　Succubi can be distinguished by their reddish skin tone, backward curved horns, graceful wings, and long tail. In general, they resembled incredibly beautiful and seductive human girls: slender legs, elastic hips and breasts, thin wasp waists and long swan necks. The face of each of them was a separate work of art, created to awaken the inner passion and lust of the victim. Also, they all wore only explicitly sexual underwear for every taste and color: translucent, lace, with straps, slits, made of animal skins, woolen… Stockings, fishnet, solid, patterned, with rhinestones, made of scales, with holes…

　　Astarte - the daughter of the matriarch Ruru stood out most of all young succubi. With her irresistible appearance and extravagant outfit, she attracted attention even more than a white crow among a thousand black ones, and in a good way.

　　Suddenly, Giselle Ruru stopped, turned to the procession flying behind her, spread her arms with a wide smile and solemnly announced: «We are here, my children! The hunt begins!»