"Don't be so quick to throw away your life. No matter how disgraceful or embarrassing it may be, you need to keep struggling to find your way out until the very end."
— Clare, Claymore
"Who are those people?" Roy asked, noticing a group of girls glaring at them.
"Those girls are royal guards," Claire explained.
"Why are they glaring at us?"
"Well... I think they're the ones we rejected at the ball," Claire said sheepishly.
"I see." Roy understood.
Those must be the noblen whose advances they had rebuffed at the ball, and now they were using their country's representatives to get back at them.
"They're probably here to take revenge on behalf of the prince. I'm sorry... I seem to have made so unnecessary enemies," Claire apologized.
"It's alright. You did the right thing," Roy reassured her, patting her head.
Claire blushed.
'Those punks dare try to take revenge? I won't let them off easy,' Roy thought.
He scanned the audience and spotted the prince.
With a glint in his eyes, he cast a curse on the prince.
The prince, who had been chatting with other nobles, suddenly turned red-eyed.
He roared and lunged at a nearby nobleman, tearing at his clothes.
It seed he was trying to... well, let's just say he was behaving inappropriately.
Fortunately, he was just an ordinary human and was quickly restrained.
But the commotion attracted the attention of the shrine maidens, who promptly escorted the prince away.
Roy smirked. Unless soone was stronger than him, they couldn't remove his curse.
And the curse would slowly drain the prince's life force until he died.
Roy then turned his attention back to the main event.
A commotion arose from the entrance of the hall.
"She's here!"
As the Crimson Princess entered, the hall fell silent.
She was accompanied by four Elentalists, their faces and bodies hidden beneath long robes.
"Are those the mbers of the Inferno?" Fianna whispered, observing them discreetly.
"Yes, that's Muir Alenstarl, the Military Elentalist, walking behind Ren. She's a monster from the Instructional School."
Rubia had ntioned giving him her team mbers, so Roy had researched the Inferno's mbers in the library.
Muir, noticing Roy's gaze, quickly looked away with a frown.
"Beside Muir is Lily Fla. She's an Elf,"
Lily was a tall girl with long, erald green hair and pointed ears that peeked out from beneath her robe.
Elves were skilled at stealth and moving through forests. It seed she was the team's scout and intelligence gatherer.
Another girl with vibrant blue hair stood out among the group.
She had decorated her robe with extravagant gold and silver ornants and carried a fan with a flamboyant design.
"That's... the royal emblem of Alphas Theocracy. Could she be... Saladia Kahn?!" Claire exclaid in surprise.
"Yes, she's the eldest princess of Alphas Theocracy, known as the heir to the title of 'Twilight Witch',"
"Besides that monster, there's another formidable opponent..." Rinslet muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"The last one is Vivian losa, a researcher of cursed seals and a student at Areishia Spirit Academy,"
"What?!"
"A researcher of cursed seals?"
"Is she the one who was illegally selling cursed seals at the academy?"
"Did she sell the cursed seal to my sister?"
...
Claire and the others were shocked and angry.
Ellis, in particular, was furious. If it weren't for that girl selling cursed seals, her sister might not have resorted to such a dangerous thod.
She shuddered, rembering her battle against Velsaria.
Ren, noticing Roy's presence, walked towards him.
The hall fell silent, the only sound being the clicking of her boots against the floor.
"Greetings, Roy-sama..." Ren, or rather, Rubia, knelt before him on one knee.
The audience gasped.
The Crimson Princess, the strongest Blade Dancer, was bowing to the only male Elentalist on the continent?
This was unbelievable.
Even Claire and the others were stunned.
The strongest Blade Dancer, whom they admired, was showing such respect to Roy?
What was going on?
"Rise," Roy said calmly with a nod.
Rubia stood up.
"Roy-sama, what are our next instructions?"
"Just focus on the Blade Dance. Don't worry about anything else. Everything will change after the tournant," Roy replied with a confident smile.
"Yes, Roy-sama." Rubia didn't question him and returned to her team.
The audience erupted in chatter once again.
But Roy and his group ignored them.
...
Four figures appeared on the altar, where a bonfire burned brightly.
These were the four Elental Princesses who served the Elental Lords.
They announced the details of the "Tempestuous Dance."
The battlefield was a vast forest in the northern region of the floating island.
It was a dangerous area, ho to wild beasts and spirits.
The Divine Ritual Institute had deployed all its shrine maidens to erect a barrier around the area.
It was impossible to escape through normal ans.
The teams would be randomly teleported into the forest and would have seven days to compete in the Blade Dance.
There was only one important rule: no killing.
The Blade Dance wasn't just a martial arts competition. It was a sacred ritual perford by pure maidens.
Therefore, death would taint the ritual dedicated to the Elental Lords.
Each participant would receive a special spirit crystal, the "Magic Stone."
The victor would be the team with the most Magic Stones at the end of the seven days.
They had to carry the Magic Stone with them at all tis, though the thod was up to them.
The Magic Stone was enchanted. If a participant lost their stone, they had to retrieve it within one minute or be forcibly teleported back to the main hall.
...
After seven days, the four teams with the most Magic Stones would be selected.
These four teams would then perform the final Blade Dance before the Elental Lords.
Even if so team mbers had been eliminated earlier, all five mbers could participate in the final round.
"May the Elentalists who offer their Blade Dance be blessed with good fortune and return safely!" The four Elental Princesses recited the blessing in unison.
This marked the official start of the main tournant.
The participants stepped into the teleportation circle on the altar amidst the cheers of the audience.
Before entering the circle, Roy turned to his team. "Everyone, do your best! Victory will be ours!"
"That's right!"
"Indeed!"
"Well said!"
"Roy, why are you stealing my lines?"
...
Fianna Ray Ordesia, the forr second princess of the Ordesia Empire.
Ellis Fahrengart, the captain of the Sylphid Knights.
Rinslet Laurenfrost, the eldest daughter of the Laurenfrost family.
Claire Rouge, the younger sister of the Calamity Queen.
And Roy, their trump card.
The four girls and one boy, each with their own dreams and desires, faced the challenge of the Blade Dance.
...
Roy and his team were transported to a vast, gloomy forest.
A thick mist limited their visibility, and the sounds of birds and beasts echoed through the trees.
"The terrain is a dense forest... It'll be difficult to predict where the other teams are hiding," Claire comnted, scanning their surroundings cautiously.
"Should I summon a wind spirit to scout the area?" Ellis suggested.
"No, not yet. I don't want to attract attention with spirit magic," Claire replied, shaking her head.
"You're right." Ellis readily agreed.
As the battle began, Roy took a backseat, leaving the fighting to the girls.
This was the best way to test their abilities.
"I'll summon Fenrir to carry our luggage," Rinslet said, summoning her ice spirit, which materialized as a white wolf.
Fenrir howled, and with a gaping maw, it inhaled their luggage, making it disappear.
"That's so convenient!"
"In the Laurenfrost territory, people often get lost in the snow. We sotis use Fenrir to transport supplies and rescue them," Rinslet explained, petting Fenrir's head. The wolf nuzzled her affectionately.
"But Roy's magic is more convenient," Fianna comnted.
"That's true."
They all agreed that Roy's Storage magic was indeed more practical than Fenrir's carrying capacity.
"Scarlet is so cute, and so is your Fenrir..." Ellis said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the two spirits.
She had a weakness for adorable creatures.
If she saw Roy's Pokémon, she would be ecstatic.
"Hey, are you sure you want to keep chatting?" Roy interjected, his eye twitching.
They were in the middle of a crucial competition, yet they were leisurely chatting. He couldn't help but admire their carefree attitude.
If this were a MOBA ga, they would be flooded with pings for not leaving the base.
"Ah, right. We need to find a safe place to set up camp," Claire said, snapping out of her daze and regaining her focus as the team leader.
This area seed to be on the outskirts of the Wind Elental Lord's territory. The divine power here was weak, and the air was chilly.
Although their academy uniforms were enchanted with cold-resistance spells, it probably wouldn't be enough to withstand the night's chill.
"We also need to consider the water source. It would be best to set up camp near a river or lake," Claire added.
She wasn't just referring to drinking water. As Elentalists, they had to cleanse themselves frequently to purify their bodies.
"Anyway, our priority is to scout the area. Ellis and I will take the lead, with Rinslet and Fianna in the middle."
Claire's formation was sound.
And with Roy at the rear, they didn't have to worry about being ambushed from behind.
This formation also allowed them to protect Fianna, who wasn't a strong fighter.
And Rinslet's position allowed her to snipe enemies from afar.
They adjusted their formation and cautiously ventured deeper into the forest.
...
They had been traveling for about an hour.
Small, glowing orbs, like fireflies, flitted around them.
These were ssenger spirits, tasked with transmitting images of the Blade Dance to the main hall.
They were trained not to intrude on anyone's privacy.
But Roy knew that their movents were being projected onto the screen in the hall.
"We can't find any water sources... How big is this place?" Ellis complained, growing impatient.
"This floating island is as large as a small country, so the arena must be quite vast as well," Claire explained.
"We should make a map," Rinslet suggested, brushing a branch away from her face.
"My feet are starting to hurt..." Fianna whined, unused to walking through such rough terrain.
As a transfer student, she hadn't received the sa wilderness training as Claire and the others.
"Do you want to carry you?" Roy offered.
"R-Really?" Fianna looked at him with surprise and hope.
"Of course. I did say I wouldn't interfere in your battles, but this shouldn't be considered cheating, right?" Roy chuckled.
"Yay!" Fianna cheered, hopping onto his back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
Roy could feel her slender form against his back.
"Damn it!"
"That's so sly!"
"I need to think of sothing too!"
...
Claire and the others glared at Fianna jealously.
"Ow, my feet hurt too!" Rinslet feigned pain, approaching Roy.
"Really?" Roy raised an eyebrow. Was she serious?
"Yes, so... could I lean on your shoulder?"
"Sure."
"Thank you! Then... I'll take you up on that offer." Rinslet smiled and leaned against Roy's shoulder.
"Rinslet, you're so cunning! Roy, I want to lean on your shoulder too!" Ellis exclaid, grabbing Roy's arm.
"Hey, hey, hey! Look at our formation!" Claire protested.
"Claire, you're so dishonest. You can just say your feet hurt too," Rinslet teased.
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm perfectly fine. I can walk on my own!" Claire retorted, her face flushed.
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