[Various Spell Buffs] [Stage Fever (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“H-Hey, I haven’t announced the start yet! Hey!”

Purple and black liquid poured out from his two catalysts, falling onto the grassy ground, dissolving everything they touched. Seconds later, the liquid stopped forming and wrapped itself around their respective catalysts again as they began to hover above elder poison dude, Greisha.

The man himself then took out two daggers with a brown gemstone embedded in each, probably enchanted. By wielding them, the movements of the catalyst didn’t escape me. During the rumble match, he nor his brother had cast a single spell, so they couldn’t be mages. They probably could control their catalyst well enough, so those daggers probably acted as controllers.

However, whether they were or not wasn’t important now, the fact his catalyst couldn’t stop producing that ghastly liquid was. After a couple of seconds, and the silence of the crowd, a purple and black snake made from, probably, acid was created.

As the gemstones in his daggers began to glow, the acid snakes then connected themselves to them and wrapped the man in the acid liquid. I let out a disapproving groan as I saw steam be released, probably caused by the acidic reaction, which was confirmed to me as I saw Greisha moan and huff as if he was in agony.

“I-I—” The announcer was equally flabbergasted as the Greisha was completely consumed by his acid snakes, only for them to hover around on his back. “Is this suicide?! Is Greisha killing himself right now?! What a start to a match, people! I have seen grief cause people to do some wild things, but killing themselves in front of a crowd during a festival tournament? Certainly original!”

“ArrraERAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“And the man howled! I can even feel Greisha’s agony on my skin right now! Not to mention how that acidic liquid is melting the very ground with even droplets dripping down! What is the only ‘Acid Killers’ brother about to do?! Ah, but don’t worry gamblers! The bracelet hasn't been activated yet, and as long as it's inside the arena, the bracelet created by God Yeostar will never break!”

Tsk, this is such a ‘let the villain transform’ moment! Just att—

“Eaaaahhhhhhaaaaaaaaak!”

But, as if he could sense my intent, he cried out once again as the purple acid snake shot right at me, mouth wide open to bite. Its speed was pretty impressive, but the bloodthirst made it far too obvious. I [Gale Steps]ed to the side and delivered execution chop right at the thing, sending its decapitated head flying behind me.

“By Yeostar’s beard!!!” The announcer cried out for good reason.

Jeez!!! I squirmed around a bit as I saw the acid head totally melted through the ground and leaving a steam cloud as it did so. I couldn’t see it properly, but from the amount released and how I could see an indentation, I bet it just made a hole in a matter of seconds.

That thing is deadly!

And fitting this attack’s name, this “hydra’s” headless stump split apart and regenerated not one head, but two. Without warning, the thing immediately attacked me once again. I had to release some of my scale-dust into the air, creating a massive spark explosion to drive the things away to allow me to [Dragoon Jump] into the air.

Urgh, my glaive… I grimaced at how I saw signs of damage on my glaive’s edge, caused when I cut the acid snake. Without a doubt, if it could harm my glaive, which was made with my scales, it could harm me if it gets a direct hit.

Then again, my glaive was made from my old scales and claws, before I began my shedding schedule. I felt tougher than when Grimnir made this weapon for me, but who knew? In any case, that was all I had to think things through before the hydra reared its three head and shot them at me.

Using [Wind Blast], I completely evaded the attack but now the snake heads were homing towards me. Nevertheless, my goal was still clear and it was to win this match, and to do so, I had to defeat Greisha and this abomination of his. Igniting both my tail and glaive on fire, I readied my attack and flew at him with my rocket boosters, only to face some resistance.

Using his daggers, the now “normal” Greisha began slashing forward, sending projectiles of acid at me. Far too slow to me, of course, as I had faced faster attacks. It was far too easy for me to slip through all of them before making it to him.

Spark Cres—

I wanted to unleash my attacks, only for [Foresight] to warn me of Greisha suddenly exploding. Not willing to risk it for now, I [Dragoon Jump] in the air as the acid on his body bubbled up and exploded. I got out of it in time, but the hydra heads were already on me, forcing me back even further.

“Guess there is no time for a proper introduction and entrance speech! My apologies dear lords and ladies! However, I can assure you that it is worth it all the same! Bask in the ferocious battle before us! The ‘Acid Killer’ Greisha has stopped his screaming and wailing and is now fighting back, pushing and stopping our dark horse contestant from fighting back!” The announcer’s voice was clear for me to hear as I flew around the snake heads. “Oh, how I envy those with wings! Flying! Watch as the high-speed flying of this dragon girl is tested against the ravenous snakes. One bite, and it will be all over!”

Dramatic. Anyways, you guys got anything? I asked my parallel minds for a clue as I concentrated on dodging.

‘Yup, we found his catalysts hiding behind his back,’ Manager Mind answered me as I was using [Mana Eyes] to properly analyze my situation. Considering what happened when I cut the snake head, I thought attacking blindly would be too stupid when I had the ability to appraise him.

‘His profile is worthless — level 64, whatever. Also, nothing important in his equipment. Only his catalysts are important here, and it seems like the A rank they were made from is coming back for revenge!’ #2 informed me of everything, although she was being a bit too haughty about it, as always.

‘Mhmm, I got a plan and its execution. You want to hear it?’

Hit me up! … Oh jeez, that’s cruel! Then again, he’s here to kill me, right? The poison goes through the bracelet, so if I don’t want this guy chasing me around to murder me, better start scaring him away.

“Dash out! Flame explosion! The girl clothed as if she was going to a tea party and was maneuvering around this battlefield with extreme precision like a knife! Nothing grazed her! The fast snakes and Greisha’s acid projectiles couldn’t touch her at all as even her scales began to defend her! Immaculate movements, outpacing the fas—”

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” With an ear-busting [Draconic Roar], strong enough to push the acid hydra back, I interrupted the announcer with my own bombastic announcement! “My deepest condolences for the abrupt beginning to this match! How unclout, may I say so myself. And our poor, poor announcer has been trying his best for— Hup!”

I had to take up to the skies again as Greisha shot out a spray of acid at me, shooting it from an angle my voice didn’t reach me.

“Stop speaking! Fight me!” The poison dude shouted at me, roaring loudly as his three-headed hydra continuously shot its beam attacks at me. At the same time, the fourth hydra head was slowly growing from his back.

Easier to rile him up than I thought. Damn, I really shouldn’t be acting like this. Guy wants to kill me for killing his brother, I honestly shouldn't act this rude. I should be acting better, but this is getting the job done.

And just like that, with him angered, his attack became more and more aggressive. I was pushed onto the defensive, unable to do anything as he kept his overwhelming firepower and tracking hydra heads on me. It got even worse when his fourth hydra head grew, supporting the other heads until I was forced to land.

“DIE! UuRAAAAAAAGH!” Greisha cried out in agony as the hydra slammed the ground, bursting and releasing the acid into the environment. The green grassland was nowhere to be seen, completely replaced by a barren landscape steaming with a nauseating smell.

However, this place was about to turn even worse as the back from Greisha burst, releasing even more acid to the point it turned into a large wave. From the size alone, I could tell it would be able to submerge a platoon of soldiers without any problems. While the arena was a grassland, it still had walls around us to probably restrict our movements.

In this case, I had nowhere left to run now.

“Perish!”

Oh oh…

And with a loud slam, the tidal wave of acid crashed right onto me, pounding me right onto the ground.

[Poisoned (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

“A-And that’s it, blood enjoyers! O-Our dark horse was just consumed by the wave of acid! Oooh, as much blood as I have seen, being melted down by a pool of acid isn’t exactly what I would call pleasant. However, in this arena, you better get ready to face everything cuz on a battlefield anything can happen!”

Ahhh, the announcer is so dramatic…

“Noooo, what the— Argh, my money! Come on!”

“T-The seas sink you, bastard! You show our face in Loatryx or Caedhul, and you will get your face slashed off!”

“Ha! See, I told ya that lizard girl just rode on the capes of Auegor’s Blade! A fluke!”

Such a mixed reception…

“… Rest easy, brother.”

…

But, as you would expect, nothing else happened after this. For one good reason…

“… Well, uhm, I apologize everybody, but the match for some reason hadn’t stopped yet. The arena setting automatically ends the moment a winner is chosen, but it seems it hasn’t ended yet.” The announcer explained the function of the arena, causing the crowd to rile up in confusion.

“Huh? Is the arena defective?”

“Oi, you idiot, this thing was made by God Yeostar. Are you calling a divine creation faulty?”

“Yeah, what kinda heresy crap are you sprouting? But… what exactly is happening?”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

On the other hand, my opponent seemed to have figured the reason out. “… Wait?!”

… I was alive and barely unharmed.

Show time.

With a massive explosion, white flames burst out from where I was slammed by the tidal wave, soaring into the sky before it fell back down. Like a wildfire, my white flames caught onto any drop of acid, burning it and spreading throughout the area, cleansing it from the ground melting liquid.

“H-How?!”

From where I was, I opened my eyes, watching my scale barrier holding up with [Draconic Barrier] without a problem. Some of the acid did get onto me when the tidal wave smacked me, so I was poisoned that way. It seemed the poison dude’s resistance-piercing toxin effect also affected the acid.

I was thinking of drinking some of the acid to recreate it myself, but seeing how it actually managed to hurt me, I felt doing that would be idiotic. It felt like it would be the worst and most horrendous diarrhea ever. I still had a tournament to fight, so the last thing I needed was a toilet problem.

“Pretty weak stuff, that’s why,” I replied, hurting his ego, after I broke my scale barrier down and stared right at Greisha’s head. Taking in a deep breath, my cheeks filled up with warmth before I unleashed my dragon breath!

“I-Incredible! ‘Crimson Hair’ managed to survive through all that acid!”

Idol!

Disregarding the announcer and the cheers of the crowd as they found out the fight would continue, I blasted my fire right at my opponent. For the first time, Greisha was put into the defensive as he had to roll away from my fire attack. However, this was where the real battle began.

Immediately where he stopped, I launched him into the air with [Earth Wall] before shooting him with [Tornado Bullet]. The impact of the wind spell caused him to crash against the artificial sky of the arena before I sent out [Unheilige Engel] to grab his arm and slam him right onto the ground.

“Gruaaaghk!”

“Oooh! That has to hurt! Our dark horse woke up from her acid dip with a sense of violence as she stopped playing around! Merciless destruction, and this is definitely not even close to what she can do if you all remember her royale rumble performance! This is the warrior who defeated Larent Antonodius in a ‘kill’ competition! This is why you should be wary of mages, my fellow normalfolk!”

60% of Health left. Held back well.

“Urgh… Grak— Grak!” And the moment Greisha stood back up, I shot him with [Sacred Smite], launching him in the air where I manipulated my white flames to consume his whole body, evaporating any of the acid but leaving him unharmed.

He bumped against a wall and fell back on the ground. Moments later, my flames moved away from him and returned to cleaning up the arena while I walked closer up to him. Looking at his now bare body, I noticed his armor was mostly intact. He seemed to have a bodysuit underneath it. It seemed like his whole get up was made to be resistant against his acid.

As I thought, he wasn’t suicidal at all. He had a plan all along.

He was wearing a mask right now. I had no idea when he got the chance to put it on, but it was there now, completely protecting him from the acid. I pulled it off him and threw it away, revealing his mostly unharmed face. Some of the acid seemed to have gotten on his face, melting and revealing some of his blood.

“Surrender,” I demanded from him coldly.

“H-How?” he eked out weekly, groaning slightly.

I moved my head closer to his. “Fighting against a venomous dragon with the poison of a snake? Oh, please. Have a taste.”

And I snapped my fingers, right in front of him, causing a loud spark that blew right into his face with purple flames. He screamed out for a moment, but his body fell onto the ground without any resistance. He began to spasm on the ground for a moment before it all stopped and stared at the sky with unmoving eyes.

[Paralyzation (Major)]. He might have strong toxins, but mine can not only pierce through resistances but they were strong enough to deal some proper damage, unlike that [Poisoned (Minor)] from before. Still, I didn’t paralyze his heart or organs, only some of his muscles.

I didn’t want him dead. I wasn’t furious with him like his younger brother, and with Alistar probably wanting to arrest him, I could just say “I arrested him by paralyzing him during the match” to get the bounty on his head. I would get the money, and I could cure him of the paralyzation later.

In any case, considering he couldn’t move anymore, he lost the match due to being unable to fight.

Congratulations, you have emerged victorious! May God Yeostar bless your glory!

“AAAAAAND, WE have a winner!” The announcer’s voice blasted into my ears as my surroundings turned white as they did during the ending of the rumble battle. After a couple of seconds, everything returned to the sandy arena grounds, and with it, the cheers of the crowd.

As Greisha was transported out of the arena by a bright light, probably to the infirmary, I basked myself at the excitement of the audience. The announcer, as always, was amazing when it came to hyping up a situation and was praising and putting me in a brighter light than I should have been.

As easy as that fight was, I kinda messed around a bit too much. I didn’t only want to win, I wanted to scare the guy from ever trying to harm me again. It was cruel. I knew that, but honestly felt that was the correct decision for me, if I wanted to keep my happiness. Always being nice wasn’t the way, especially not if that other person wished ill on me.

“Ahhh, but I can go on and on about how our black horse of the tournament might topple and win the tournament, but we haven’t had a single interview with the young lady, yet, no?” The announcer directed his attention from himself to me, causing the cheerings to become louder and louder, now even coupled with some whistling. “Lady Kargryxmor, please, would you grant us a small introduction?”

I caught a glimpse of Counter Bertlez in the seats reserved for the nobles, even seeing Duke Alberstien smirking with him. I wondered if the announcer was instructed to prompt me for this. Within their side, I also saw some new faces, all sitting with Prince Markval and his mother.

Four other nobles, all wearing crowns and other accessories to show-off their dignity were there with the young prince. They all had a woman sitting with them, probably their wives, and two guards protecting them, like Sir Alistar and another knight who were guarding Prince Markval. Those people were probably the other princes of the Divide.

Count Bertlez told me to formally introduce myself, right? In other words, I better do it properly then.

I flapped my wings, spreading my scale-dust around me and tried to emulate how Mother did her shiny appearance. Of course, my scale-dust would explode, unlike Mother’s silver dust, so what I had to do was what I usually did — make it look like camera light. Only, to make it more spectacular, it was about time I fully used my triple fire with it.

“““Woah?!””” Gasps of wonderment escaped the audience, not only from the commoner seats but also from the nobles as my scale-dust exploded.

Not only did I release numerous sparkling lights, making them look like stars to people, I let my scale-dust burst out, releasing three smoke dusts colored white, crimson, and purple, in that order. With everybody silenced, I cranked up my [Aerokinesis] and began playing an electric guitar.

With the triple colored smoke, I controlled the wind and made the smoke whirl around me like a tornado, all while a set of drums began accompanying the guitar. While my appearance was hidden by the smokescreen, I put my white mage robes properly on. The moment my guitar began its solo, shredding the strings so fast you could only feel your heart beating faster, I blew the smoke screen away from me with [Wind Blast].

[Musical Resonation (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

Go, go, Power— I held back from singing the lyrics, before self-igniting my glaive, wings, and tail on fire.

“My name is Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, eight child of Emperor Eltharion of the Dragon Empire, Kargryx, granddaughter of the Dragon God, Kargryxmor, and the first Idol of the Goddess of Light, Healing, and Miracles, Aurena!” I banged the blunt end of my glaive on the ground and rose it into the sky with the sounds of trumpets! “I have come here to Yeos on a Divine Quest by the God of Knighthood, Bravely, and Loyalty, Yeostar, to aid him in his search for his new Champion! If you distrust me, then you may confirm my identity with Sir Jethro of the warrior priest order!”

Jethro jerked a bit as every noble turned their attention over to Jethro, who cleared his voice and stood up. “I have seen her piety and also profile,” he told everybody, before Prince Markval added onto it even further.

“I have personally confirmed her identity. She possesses the divine [Princess] title, granted to her by the Divine System due to her imperial lineage. Her claim is irrefutable!” he said through a rod, amplifying his voice for the whole arena to hear. Any doubts were laid to rest. “Princess Hestia is a valued guest, not only as a member of the imperial dragon family of Kargryx, but also as our blessed benefactor.”

I then cast [Terra Wall] underneath myself, creating a platform for me and pushing me to around eye level with most of the audience. My flames quickly changed from crimson to white, symbolizing my affiliation to Aurena, even if that skill came from Shiterno.

“HEY! You aren’t supposed to reveal ourselves, you idiot!” Neill shouted from her seat with a red face, all while Mother burst out in laughter.

“Got it~” I winked and smiled at her.

“Oi!”

However, my friends and family weren’t the only people cheering and congratulating me for this appearance, the scalekins from Caedhul all began cheering loudly and even slapping their tails on their seats if they had one of the former. I kinda did want to call Neill with “Sis,” but that would just expose her identity. Since I hadn’t, nobody really gave Neill too much of their attention, probably to her relief.

“However, I know all of you are probably wondering what I meant with ‘idol,’ right? Am I blessed or not?” I shrugged and shook my head all dramatically to make a show, only to snap my fingers to continue. “That is right, I am a blessed of the Goddess! A mage and warrior like a champion, but someone who brings the words and instructions of our Goddess to the people in an effort to comfort them! That is an idol!”

I curtsied to everybody in attendance.

“I have received much support in this goal, not only to come here and bring all of you BLOOD ENJOYERS a great show, but also to find the next worthy blessed for God Yeostar! All of this came from Yeos’s mighty nobles!” I placed the nobility up a pedestal, earning me an even wilder smile from Duke Alberstien. He honestly thought everything would work to his favor. “However, my main goal as an idol is to bring my fellow brothers and sisters in faith the power of music! To bring the light closer to your heart and your souls. As such, I shall invite everybody to my concert this LightDay, after the illustrious showing of the five champions of the Divide! Allow me to grant all of you an unforgettable festival! Please, look at the parchments you received!”

“Oh, hey, didn’t some lizard give this to me? U-Uh, nearly threw a blessed’s present away.”

“Yeah, but a lizard is a blessed? That oughta be a fluke! As if!”

“Oi, shut it! Didn’t you see what she did to that mercenary! Survived acid as if it was nothing, and didn’t you hear! That little girl is a dragon!”

Once again, there was a mixed reaction. There was a general positive mood amongst the scalekins and beastmen, while the human crowd didn’t know what to think of it properly. Some liked it while others showed distrust while others were even fearful of me! Regardless, I believed I could bring them in if they just gave me a chance.

On the other hand, the nobles were harder to judge. They were hiding their emotions or showing positivity in my favor. The Princes were all talking with Prince Markval, with the young prince trying to keep up with decorum. Duke Alberstien, on the other hand, looked like he was anticipating me to continue.

And, so I did.

“Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to plan everything. First thing, I would like to thank my allies from the Sarlenzia company! Western products and treats, all coming from my brain and mind were adapted to be sold to all of you, including the very delicious yeast~”

““What?”” Multiple nobles began to take an interest now. Some merchants also understood what I meant with this.

The further east you went on Altrust, the least methods were available to get the yeasts from the elves. I learned this fact from Adhi and Renee, who both assured me you probably couldn’t buy any yeasts in the Empire outside of the black market. It was perishable and transporting it safely would only increase the price of it even further.

Meaning, Amelia struck gold again when she advised me to promote it.

“Pastries and food coming from my home country. I do wonder how all of you would like what I liked to eat when I was a kid, and don’t worry, it won’t be just dragon food, I promise~” I winked. “All of it would be extremely affordable even for a day worker who only earns 100 Davi per day. I assure you, you won’t lose a limb over how amazing even a bite will be! Why? Because we received amazing financial support in the form of subsidization from the royal family!”

“H-Huh?!” Duke Alberstien stood up, flabbergasted at what I was saying. All while Princess Anasthasia, who was sitting behind him, was showing her smile now.

“Princess Anasthasia of the royal family of Caimlace with the support of her younger brother, Royal Prince Markval Caimlace the Fifth! For the celebration of the Festival of Yeostar and his coronation, EVERY COMMONER is able to buy food worthy for a noble at my concert! If you wish to eat and forget your days, come to my concert! I will enchant you with music and bring you the safety of the light! Come, join me on LightDay!”

And I jumped off my platform and moved towards the arena exit under the cheers of the crowd. I couldn’t hear a single boo at all as I was wondering if I could leave this place with tinnitus or not. I did wonder what Duke Alberstien and Count Bertlez were doing and thinking right now, however, I already saw what my allies were thinking.

Due to her meeting with Amelia, Princess Anasthasia had already suggested to me to promote my concert on this day after my victory. In other words, Count Bertlez came a bit too late to want my favor. With the support and agreement of her brother, the princess could assure some support for her brother, strengthening his position, while also helping out the poor of Elyonda.

The nobles still had to pay normally, but they weren’t stingy with money since they had to live up to their noble pride. If they couldn’t pay, well, let us just say they could make some favors with the royal family.

Even if I didn’t like Yeos, making allies wouldn’t hurt, right? Especially to dissuade them from attacking Artorias in the future with Amelia and Duke Greenveil knowing the Caimlace royal family now.

God Yeostar? Was he one of them? As I walked out of the arena, I asked Yeostar about Greisha.

Alright, thank you.

With today’s announcement, everybody was now aware of who I was.

Come at me, you bastards! No matter if you send a demonkin at am or not, I will burn all your efforts to cinder. Send an army, and I will show you what the rage of an dragon idol could bring!