War of Rigel

Chapter 17 – Tiebreaker

The warriors headed towards the entrance of the City Hall, where one of the workers asked for the participants name before letting them in.

When it came to the Rigel Warrior's turn, the worker spoke to him in Criman native language (in this case, it's French). Kelly looked clueless. Jst when Victor was about to say something, Raphul had spoken first.

"Je m'appelle Raphul Carota. Mon ami; Victor Herbert, Kelly".

The man nodded, scribbled his book and let them in.

"I didn't know you could speak Criman! What did you say?" Kelly asked in an astonished tone.

"He said, 'I am Raphul Carota'", Victor answered, "'My friends; Victor Herbert and Kelly".

"You know Criman too?"

"I'm multilingual. I know five languages. Say, Raphul, what other languages can you speak? How did you know Criman anyways?"

Raphul did not answer. A magus asked for their attention, which prevented them from persuading him to tell.

"How many kills each team has done will be seen in the orbs. We have witnesses for every team. They are trustworthy and would count how much kills you've done. We will release the wild beasts into the woods. Crima's land is fenced, so they won't be able to run far. I warn you, these beasts are absolutely vicious. If damages were done in your party, we will not be responsible for your carelessness. However, we will send healers to recover the disqualified party. Those who want to give up may step out now. Those who want to give up during the competition may return to the City Hall and inform us.

"The audiences will watch the show at home using the orbs they've bought for the beasts may come and raid the town. Hunting may be done outside and inside the town. Teams must not cheat. Cheating activities such as harming another party's member or more will be disqualified. Killing beasts found by other parties is acceptable. The use of magic skills, summoning skills and whatsoever are acceptable though martial arts skills are highly recommended. The use of any type of weapons is acceptable.

"As my fellow magus had spoken earlier, the team with the most kills will be the champion. Should there be a tiebreaker, one member of each team shall face each other in a one on one fight. Second runner up will receive a prize of 5,000g, first runner up will receive 10,000g and whatever they wish for, while he champion wins the prize of 100,000g, whatever they wish for in Crima and also a chance to meet the famous Criman journalist-cum-adventurer, Ralph Gemma!"

"Great!" Kelly cheered with the other participants. Raphul looked uneasy when the name was mentioned.

"Dear participants," the magus continued, "We would begin the competition momentarily. In the meantime, please make your last preparations before it starts. Thank you for your patience".

The magus and the authorities left the hall into another room.

"So you're here, losers?" Leoran had came up to them, "What do you call yourselves again? The Rigel Warriors?"

Those who had heard him laughed. "Don't cause any trouble," Kelly whispered to Raphul.

"Think you can handle this, kids?" said his elf friend, "We're talking about mean monsters here. You might be scared. Why don't you give in now?"

"If you're asking us to give in then does that mean that you're afraid to be beaten by us?" Victor addressed him coolly.

"You were never a champion were you? You were just last years runner-up," Kelly spoke innocently. The Criman Fencers grimaced. "Now that the Bounty Hunters are gone, you think that you could make it to the top now?"

"Sure I do," Leoran said arrogantly, "I, Leoran Marlehart along with my companions, Clenteno the elf and Rebalb the wrestler had been training for one year to be the champions of this year!"

"Don't get too cocky," Victor responded, still not losing his cool. "I hope you've trained well. We've been training in the desert!"

They remembered their battle against the tough Mephises, which only happened yesterday.

"All participants, please be ready," boomed a voice. The owner was not seen and they were all sure that it belonged to the magus. He must've been in another room. "Once the double doors of the Hall opens, the competition starts. You will find the wild beasts scattered all over Crima. I wish you all well and hope for the best!"

The door slowly opened; Criman knights opened for them.

"May the best men win!" Kelly wished the Criman Fencers when all the contestants had rushed outside.

The competition had started. The 60 partakers split up into twenty groups, each team going to their own direction.

"Should we raid the town or the shops or the woods?" Kelly asked excitedly. The Rigel Warriors still hadn't gone anywhere but outside the Hall. They heard the doors closed behind them.

"We'll be a laughing stock if we keep on like this," Victor mumbled nervously.

"We've got company…" Raphul pointed to a pair of Woyenas growling at them. These ones looked more vicious than the ones in the Aresian forest. The trio immediately took them on, drove their blades into their flesh.

"This is kind of cruel," Kelly said looking down at the bloody animal.

"Victor. Use your hearing and your sight," Raphul commanded like an army captain, "Kelly, you can locate their whereabouts!"

"Oh, right!" Victor ejaculated. He looked a lot more cheerful at the idea.

"I got too nervous that I forgot about my powers," Kelly chuckled.

"SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?" the leader roared impatiently.

"Aye, aye captain!" They chorused and the two took the lead to find their prey. Raphul followed them from behind.

With the help of Kelly's magic and Victor's better senses, they manage to find about twenty beasts (not only woyenas). They wondered if that was good enough. Raphul took the opportunity to summon a celestial called Yggdrasil, which was a tree that looked like a man that gave them a moment of invincibility. The paths in the town were very confusing, but Raphul had given them the best direction to the location without making a mistake. All the shops were closed, the inn and the train station too. Thirty raging beasts were killed by then. Next, Victor and Kelly led themselves into the forest, where they found more of their prey.

The sun was above their heads; noon arrived. It is time to go back to the Hall. By this time all of the beasts that went berserk must have already been eliminated. Raphul ordered his teammates to find more on the way back. Sure enough they found a few.

They returned to the City Hall area just in time, all bloody and bitten (Kelly healed her teammates). One part of Crima audiences was crowded there, cheering at the arriving teams. They assumed that the rest of Crima were still watching through the orbs at home, to afraid to go out yet. Surprisingly, the Rigel Warrior team got the loudest cheer. Raphul wondered if they had the beasts slain the most.

"Two teams did well today! The Criman Fencers and the quite amazing Rigel Warriors!!" the first magus announced. The crowd applauded.

"Whew, quite amazing huh?" sighed Victor who was bending double, catching his breath. Kelly was jumping with joy in spite of being tired and weary. Raphul did not make the slightest sign of happiness or pride. He looked rather uncomfortable. Was it because of the crowds or his sweaty and bloody body?

"However," the magus suspended the audiences, "Both of the teams had slain the same number of beasts!"

Everyone gasped, including the two teams. Raphul had a look of shock in his face.

"Let us bring them to the fighting arena and start the tie-breaker. Teams may choose your fighter for the one on one battle!"

The audiences moved on to the fighting arena, which happened to be a place where the Criman soldiers train. The crowd had increased; some had gone out of their home to see the fight up close.

The ministers and their family had their seats on a higher platform for clearer view. The Rigel Warriors spotted Ralph Gemma, the Prime Minister sitting with what seemed like his wife and his daughter. Both looked very stunning and beautiful.

"Is that Gemma's daughter?" Victor asked eagerly, "What was her name again? Juile? I heard some people talking about her. She's a beauty. Hey, Raphul, let me fight and show off my moves to her".

"I, Leoran Marlehart, represent my team, the Criman Fencers, for a one on one battle with the opposing team," the man clad in red declared proudly at the middle of the field.

"I'll be his opponent," Raphul muttered to his friends. He nervously looked up at the platform for some reason.

"Hold it," Kelly called back when he was just about to walk. She raised his hands at him and healed him more. At the same time, she cast a shield spell as well, "There! Good luck! You can do it!"

"I don't really need that," he muttered ungratefully. He continued to walk till he had come face to face with Leoran. He gathered up his courage again by touching his Blood Sword. He said out as loud as he could, vulgarly, "Raphul Carota representing the Rigel Warriors".

Ralph Gemma rose from his seat and leant against the railing to take a better look. So did his wife and daughter.

"Ready?" the magus' voice echoed, "FIGHT!"

Leoran attacked first with his rapier with a jab, but missed when Raphul evaded it. Leoran tried to jab again but failed. Raphul was too agile for him. Judging by the way he fought, he was sure that Leoran was a fencer. Fencing was not a problem to Raphul. He can do it too. So Raphul attacked back with his gleaming sword using his fencing skills.

It hit his belly. But it did not sink because of the armour he was wearing. Raphul thought that slashing him wouldn't be a good idea since he was well protected. Raphul thought of knocking him out by hitting his defenseless head. Or perhaps his hat had a helmet under it too. Whatever he should do, he should get rid of the hat first. Stabbing him would get himself into trouble. He could have kill Leoran if he did so.

Raphul used his fencing moves on Leoran's but got quite bored for a while. The steps and moves were graceful but limited. Getting the hat off was difficult that way. He wanted to use his limbs freely. An Aresian Sword-dance would be nicer.

The audiences watched with awe as Raphul danced his way to victory. As he twirled and spun, his sword would go round in circles. The moves were gentle, yet violent. A mark of fear was seen in Leoran's face. He hadn't the chance to fight back. Raphul wanted to break his confidence into pieces. He spun the sword in his hand, swung his arms from side to side, then he shifted the sword smoothly to his other hand.

Sure enough, Leoran looked fearful, but he refused to give up. He stuck his rapier forward and stopped the spinning sword. Raphul was not surprised. Leoran tried to jab once again, but Raphul was too quick for him. He avoided the attack by twisting his feet and brought himself closer to Leoran. He swung his sword over the opponents head, making his hat flew away, narrowly missing his scalp.

Leoran was too shocked. Before he could even do anything, Raphul's foot had connected to the back of his head. Leoran stumbled awkwardly and fell. Quickly, Raphul stepped on his sword hand and let his victim groan in pain. Raphul lowered his sword close to his neck. Leaoran had no way out. He lost.

"And the Champion for this years Hunter Competition is, the Rigel Warriors!" the Magus announced. Everyone cheered. Next is the price giving ceremony, and Ralph Gemma along with his family is rushing towards the field. Raphul turned away upon seeing them but before he could even walk away, the crowd had devoured him. His teammates were in the front row and humped him happily at the sides of his body. Mayyin, Jayke and Marlo slipped between the noisy crowds as well to congratulat Raphul. Mayyin looked slightly happier.

Then the crowd split, making way for the one and only Ralph Gemma and his family to pass. Raphul could not get away. He looked unexceptionally uneasy at the sight of them. But no one noticed…

"Raphul…" Ralph Gemma began, trying to take a better look at Raphul, who tried to avoid his gaze. Somehow Gemma looked shocked, and at the same time, happy when he said, "You are… Raphul! My son!"

-End of Chapter 17-

A/N: Finally updated . Hope ya like it. Please REVIEW after finish reading. I beg ya. Sorry if my French is bad. Please correct me if you can!