The first fight was set to begin in a matter of minutes and Teras was waiting inside one of the waiting rooms inside the arena
He stared at the wall emotionless
'I'm not Tokkou...' He thought as he recalled his interaction with Icarus back there
'What would he think if he saw me act the same way he acts? Will he assume I'm pathetic? I doubt it... Tokkou doesn't think ill about people like I do... Why can't I express my real feelings... I did it when I was with Maximus and Lola in the woods and I looked like an idiot to them... Am I really just an idiot pretending to be someone he isn't? Can I not find a quality worthy of displaying to the world?'
The trumpets were heard again and both doors of the waiting rooms opened
The first battle had just begun
Teras walked up to the stage at the same time as his opponent
"Are you ready ladies and gentlemen? Make sure to keep your eyes open all the time because Teras is known for his speed after displaying skilled combat abilities while going at a speed even the Jack of Hearts couldn't keep up! And on the other side, we have Orfeas an outstanding heavy-class fighter that relies on his heavy body and big arms! Is a strength vs speed match-up! Let's see who will be victorious!"
The announcer then stopped talking and waited for the action to begin to commentate
"Just because you got lucky against the Jack don't you dare think you are going to win!" Orfeas said while preparing for combat
"Luck is all you people can say I have? Is talent not an existing concept for you?" Teras said with a smug
He spoke as Teras, not as Tokkou like he did when he was spectated by thousands of people
"Talk with your actions peasant! Not your mouth!" Orfeas said as he charged at Teras
Teras also charged up to Orfeas and with his speed Teras managed to place his hand on Orfeas's face and used mana overload creating an explosion but that didn't come without a cost
Orfeas used his super strength to punch Teras but to everyone's surprise, Teras tanked the blow
Teras then swiftly got behind him and hit him with a strong mana-enhanced hit to his side sending him away
"Impressive! Teras demonstrated not only his speed but also his crazy durability!" The announcer expressed shockingly
"So are you going to attack or just take blows?" Teras asked as he relaxed his hand that he used to punch and create the explosion
In reality, he was hurt but playing with the mentality of others is crucial to winning a battle where you are weaker
"You bastard!" Orfeas yelled as he sent a wave of electricity toward Teras
With all of the experience he had with Lola's training, Teras simply used his sword to redirect the attack
'Thank you Lola' Teras thought as he also sent his own ranged attack
The long-ranged explosions caught Orfeas off guard
And with a finishing touch, Teras made his way through the smoke of the attacks and punched Orfeas on the stomach with an overcharged punched
A finishing touch as much as a finishing blow
"Is he done? Ladies and gentlemen, I apparently blinked and missed it! The fight is over! Teras is standing victorious!" The announcer said as he couldn't believe his eyes
'I'm seeing a gold-ranked tournament, right? Are things like these supposed to happen?' He thought
Teras started to slowly heal himself while walking away
"Hey, now that I think about it you told us you do not use any of the cards so how could you create explosions?" The announcer called out Teras in front of everyone
"It's all mana! I can't prove it to you so all I can do is hope you trust me!" Teras said calmly as he walked inside the waiting room once again
There he found many medics but he had no use for them, he was already healing himself
"Impressive healing abilities! You must have practiced healing yourself a lot!" One of the medics said
"Of course! In the wild, I didn't have things such as medics! To be honest I didn't even know non-ranker healers could work as medics!" Teras told the medic with a bit of embarrassment
"Yeah lately people have started to depend more on medics rather than their own abilities so honestly it's nice to see someone being able to care for their wound themselves" The medic said with a smile
She also felt relief after having to do less work
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, many people were doubting Teras's words, explosions, super strength, and super speed too? None could do this with mana, so nobody could ever imagine this to happen and they had every right to believe it was impossible
But the word impossible doesn't mean anything to an anomaly
Shortly after his battle, Teras tried to go to the spectating booth but his body wasn't in the best state
'I keep doing this... I keep tanking hits even though it means I will be damaged for a long time! This is a tournament... I can't keep fighting recklessly like that... I don't have a protective barrier like Tokkou...' Teras thought as blood starting run down his mouth, he was damaged but tried to hide it from everyone
He had a self-destructive state of mind, he wanted to show the world how tough he was
He wanted to prove himself that he was as able to stand by himself without Enyo or Tokkou at his side
Something which he failed at doing multiple times in the past
'One time... One time I was left alone to do something I almost killed my party! I then foolishly traveled with my party again but this time it was the charm! I managed to kill them all then' Teras thought as he kept walking uncaring of where he will end up
He was running away from himself
"What did we say about overthinking kid? You are a dumbass so thinking a lot doesn't do you well! But I didn't tell you to turn off this smooth brain of yours entirely! Why did you tank an attack like that instead of dodging?" Enyo said as she karate-chopped Teras's head interrupting him from walking away
Without looking her in the eyes Teras spoke her name "Hey Enyo..."
"What's up brat?" Enyo said with a goofy tone as she was trying to lift his spirits
"Icarus will fight me with all of his might... I know it's hard to ask you that but if it seems like I will die don't interrupt the fight like the king did back when I was fighting Balor, leave me to die, if I'm stupid enough to pick fights I can't win one day I must pay the price right? If it happens to be this day then let it be" Teras said as he tried to walk away
"I can't do that! And you can't either!" Enyo said without turning around to face him
Teras stopped and turned around only to see Enyo's scarred back "What do you mean by that?"
"I know you Teras! When you talk like that you plan to give up! Why is that? Another vision of yours messed you up?" She asked as she turned around to reveal her gentle smile
"It's not that... I'm just tired of being rescued by others when I'm in a tough spot!" Teras said with hesitation
"That thought is contradictory with your goal, isn't it? You feel like you shouldn't receive help from people stronger than you but you plan to become strong and do that to the whole world! According to you wouldn't they feel the same way? So why is it okay for you to do that to them while it's unfair happening to you?" Enyo asked Teras
"That's different..."
"It's not! Matter of fact you can't help but bring yourself into a tough spot because of your personality but always make sure to make it in the end! Something that not many do!"
"But I bring this hell to myself? Why should I result in being helped?"
"Because you are not asking for it! You are receiving it Teras! That's why your goal isn't stupid! Because you are not planning to save the world because someone asked you to do it! You do it because YOU want to do it! That's why you don't feel bad about it! And that's why nobody will feel bad when you do that! Instead, they will feel motivated, maybe even D E T E R M I N E D to become like you, raising the next generation's savior!"
As she was talking Enyo walked up to Teras and hugged him
"You have a righteous mind Teras! Don't let it be ruined by this cursed world! Raise above this hell and make it to heaven and then drag everyone up there! For that will make you a proper savior!"
After two years a tear fell down Teras's eyes
…
The day seemed to be young today...
Or maybe the moon was rather playful so it came out earlier than planned
…Maybe it misses the company of her little brother
Icarus easily dominated his fight and so did Maximus, surprisingly Maximus came out more hurt from this battle than his opponent
A fact that made Lola make fun of him almost all the time Lola relaxed with Teras on the roof of her room
"It's not nice to talk about someone behind their back!" Teras said with a serious expression
"You must make fun right at their face so you can have the greatest laugh at their reaction!" Teras continued as he started laughing hysterically
"Hahaha! I mean did you see him? He was so stressed he slipped on a flat surface!" Lola said before she started to laugh too
"The funny thing is that... As he was falling he connected a hit to that noble brat! How stupid can you be to get hit by that?"
Teras's laughter started to scare the nearby bird sleeping on the trees
"I know it's hard to ask you to stop laughing but if we continue we will definitely wake up people!" Lola said as she retained her laugh
After all a princess must know how to contain herself
"Want to get in my room? W-We can talk privately there..." Lola said as she started playing with her hair
'Hmm... She is avoiding eye contact... She is playing with her hair... And more importantly, she is inviting me to her room late at night?'
As Teras thought he recalled something Enyo told him
…
"If a lady does all those things she sees you as her best friend so keep that in mind when we go to the capital! It would be amazing if you made a friend there if you know what I mean..."
…
Teras totally didn't know what she meant
"Isn't it a bit hot inside here?" Lola said as she nervously showed a bit of skin
"Totally! Is your room a hot spring or something?" Teras said while he had already taken off his shirt
Lola's heart skipped a beat and her feminine instincts were starting to take over her, a feeling that a lonely princess hadn't felt ever in her life
Her teasing flirty personality was just a cover for her inexperienced and excited self that she longed to get rid of
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Teras wondered unaware of the situation as always
"Teras..." She mumbled
After every passing second Teras started to get aware of the situation he got himself into and quickly wished for someone to help
He is unable to turn her down, he doesn't know how, it was the same with Cara too
A relationship where one party felt something for the other
That's the same, Teras feels absolutely nothing for Lola, even if he can find many things to like about her, Teras would never see Lola like that like he didn't Cara
Like a serpent, Lola warped her arms around Teras and embraced him
Teras didn't move out of the way, he simply allowed it to happen
"You shouldn't do this Lola" Teras said as he slowly started to show signs of uncomfortableness
"Nobody will know... it will be our secret!"
…
"It will be our secret! I won't tell a lie on you! So don't tell the truth about me!" A dark figure said
It had a feminine figure and short black hair, the figure was still covered in this dark aura but he could easily tell that it was black, its eyes were different from all the other figures, they were big and beautiful and more noticeably... Silver-colored
"What's wrong? You seem a bit off? What? You didn't expect to see what you saw huh?"
Silence followed
"What a softy! Most people call me a monster when they see that! But I guess to you everyone is a monster right?" The figure continued to talk as it waved its hand around in a playful way
What the figure did next surprised the boy
The figure simply grabbed him and started dancing with him while humming a melody
It was a peaceful melody yet brought this feeling of uneasiness and fear to him so he pushed away the figure making it fall down
It left out a scream of pain
-Sorry, Seline...- The boy said before freezing in place
The figure had fallen near a lake and the reflection of the lake showed something familiar yet very foreign
There was another smaller moon near the moon
…
"Seline? What's wrong Teras? Why did you push me?" Lola asked as she clearly was bleeding from her leg after falling on top of a vase she had in her room and breaking it in the process
"S-Sorry... I shouldn't be here..." Teras said as he left like a thief in the night
As soon as he got out he stared at the moon only to see what he saw regularly
'It's missing... One moon is missing...' Teras thought with certainty while looking at the moon