Chapter 182.

PART 1.

Hatori is walking around the city in the morning, the air feeling cool to his skin. He feels like he is flying instead of walking. This is because he turned off his wind resistance, to practice before the tournament. He wants to get used to his fluid movements before he fights in the tournament, or else he might end up overshooting himself and end up outside of the ring. That would be embarrassing, and Hatori cannot allow that to happen, not here.

He did the same exercise every day before fighting in the selection tournament, so it is not new to him at this point. the city is interesting to observe in the morning. The shops are just opening now, and it is coming alive right in front of him slowly. Hatori marveled at this spectacle. He wonders why he has not seen this happening before; he then remembers how he never had much of a chance to do this.

‘Maybe I might get to do this in my adult life?’ he thinks to himself. ‘Nah, I’m not that lucky.’

Therefore, he savers the vision in front of him as much as he can, because he does not think he will get another chance of doing something the same again.

Later, Josh and Avinash find Hatori sitting on a chair in a public place. By this point, the afternoon son is in full swing, but despite that, it gets interrupted by the clouds every now and then.

“You were here the entire time? we were looking for you,” said Josh.

“Sorry. I didn’t go far though,” said Hatori.

“Yeah, our mistake.” Said Avinash. “Anyway, the coach has called us. you should come.”

“Sure.” He got up, and all three walked to an isolated area.

Hatori looks around to see that it is flat ground, and the location isn’t far from their hotel. “Welcome.” Said Dimitri. “This will be our practice ground. Every team has one, and this is where we will practice and spar. For now, we won’t use it. however, we will start using it after the first match.”

“I don’t think we can cut loose here,” said Praduman to the coach.

“Indeed. It is not designed for that. but it is good enough to practice.” said Dimitri. “Walk around here, get used to it, for you will be using this place to practice.”

PART 2.

The team walks out of their practice ground an hour later, trying to get rid of their pre-tournament tension. But before they can restart exploring the city once again, they hear something, which attracts their attention.

“As you can see,” said one young-looking man, “I have experience on my side. I announced duels in my school days, and after the regional circuit, I have even announced international duels as well!”

“True, but I have experience on my side.” Said an older-looking man. “I’ve been doing this since before you were even born!”

“The viewers want a young voice!”

“No, they are familiar with my voice. they don’t want me gone!”

The argument raged on, but Josh recognized the young man. “Hatori, isn’t he Samudra?” he asked.

“Wait, that strange guy who advised us, and also announced duels in the school?” asked Shin.

“Yep. That is him alright.” Said Hatori. he is familiar with his magical signature since he actually fought alongside him once.

“So that is where he disappeared to.” Said Avinash. “The school duels have never been the same since he graduated.”

“True. No arguments about that.” agreed the rest.

“Fine. Looks like we cannot come to an agreement like this.” Said the older man. “Therefore, I, Michael Severance, challenge you to a duel. The winner will announce the international school dueling league!”

“I, Samudra Sharma, accept!” declared the younger man, and they growled while glaring at each other.

“Oh, this should be interesting.” Said Hatori. “Samudra is going to wipe out that old guy.”

“How can you say that with confidence?” asked Shin.

“Because I’ve fought alongside him. he helped out in stopping an old battle mage from being resurrected fully.” Explained Hatori.

What Hatori told them reminds everyone of an incident a few years ago, but they can’t remember the specifics. they stop focusing on remembering the event and look at the duel. The foci of both mages are out. one is using a small staff with lots of swirling runes, which look like water from the distance. This is the foci of Samudra. Michael is using a foci which looks like a microphone.

“Now, observe, my heart-shattering attack!” declared Michael, and the team braced for a thunderous spell to strike.

They waited for a bit longer, but nothing happened, apart from a small spark of lightning touching Samudra. “That is nothing. Prepare to be drowned in my youthful voice!”

A pathetic stream of water hits Michael, making his hair wet, and doing nothing else. “That is pathetic.” Said Ravina. “Are you sure he fought a dead battle mage with you?” she asked Hatori.

“Yes, I am entirely sure.” Said Hatori, unable to look away from this pitiful scene.

“My army of conjurations will destroy you!” declared Michael, and small conjurations tried to attack Samudra, but they fell apart before they could reach him.

“That is nothing.” Said Samudra. “They will drown in my elemental shape-shifting spell!” a small cloud appears and bursts over the conjurations, flooding them away.

Michael starts to huff. “It seems you cannot be put away so easily.”

“Same, you’re hard to put down.” Said Samudra, similarly winded.

“You weren’t this pathetic when we fought Anantayudha.” Grumbled Hatori.

“Tell you what, why don’t we announce the league together?” offered Michael.

“I accept that offer.” They stand together, back-to-back, and pose.

Then they said together, “In the history of the league, two announcers will announce the league, together!” the lightning crackled in the background with that declaration.

Daphne sighed. “Even the dog is bored with their antics.” She said, looking at a sleeping dog.

“Let’s just go to our hotel. I’m getting hungry.” Said Praduman.

“Point. it is lunchtime already.” Said Avinash, and then they all walked to their hotel, forgetting about this pathetic duel entirely.

PART 3.

The next day, the opening ceremony starts, and all the teams are present here. Hatori spied Lewis, and waved to him, the other boy showed him the middle finger. Avinash is decided as the team captain. He will take decisions during the matches, and also handle the public interactions. Dimitri was expecting some resistance from the team against that decision, but no one complained.

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The announcers are announcing every team, and the spotlight is focused on them until the next team is announced. After that, the spotlight moves on from them. normally, the commentators would also go over the players in the team, such as their strengths and weaknesses, but since these are unknown players, they can’t do that, apart from telling the audience at home about the previous record of a particular school.

As the spotlight comes their way, Avinash mutters. “Do not stand out,” he said to them.

“It is not possible. The height of Josh and me will not let that happen.” Said Hatori.

He is proven right. the girls of the Magical Girl Academy are talking about them. “Do you look at those giants?”

“Yeah, I wonder what they feed them there. I hear that the Subcontinent is a barbaric place.” Said the other girl.

Hatori and Josh chuckle after hearing their commentary, while Avinash is glaring at the girls. His place of birth is not a barbaric land, thank you very much.

PART 4.

While the teams are getting introduced outside, the monarchs are meeting inside. The stadium is part of the castle, so they can go at the field whenever they want.

Porus is first, and right when he enters the meeting room, another monarch arrives. “You’re late, Zuo Chi, like always.”

The face of Zuo Chi twists in a snarl. “Dammit, foiled again!” he grumbled. “Where are the others? I heard that Battya was going to be here.”

“Haven’t arrived yet. Apparently, they are later than you are. Imagine that.” mocked Porus.

“I swear.” He slammed his fist on the desk.

“Honestly, can’t you two not fight? it is not like we get to meet like this very often.” Said a cultured voice.

“Ah, Henry.” They said with a wide smile. “It is good to meet you.”

“Indeed. Hope everything is going well for you two?” he asked, taking a seat.

“As well as you can hope.” Said Chi.

“I do not envy you two honestly. Such large countries to govern is not easy.” He smiled.

“Yeah right. as if Gallia is any easier.” Sniped Porus.

“I see the party has already started without us.” a short man enters with a tall man.

“Battya, my man, how’re you doing?” asked Henry with a wide smile.

“Doing good. though that cheese you sent me last summer, it didn’t surrender properly.” He said to Henry.

The face of Henry flushed in anger, a caustic retort ready on his tongue, but another greeting stopped him on his track. “I would like to greet you all.”

“Eh, why be so formal, Hiruma? Just relax and cut loose!” said Chi, with a large laugh.

“Certain formalities must be observed.” He tries to say, but Porus interrupts him.

“Don’t believe him. he is a mean drunk.” They all roared with laughter, and Hiruma flushed in embarrassment.

“Isn’t that bastard from Kemet coming?” asked Chi.

“Apparently he declined.” Said Albus, entering the room. “He is quite old, so it is understandable.”

“What the hell?” all the monarchs. “When did you grow your beard so much?”

Indeed, the beard of Albus is reaching up to his waist. The hands of Porus twitch. “Don’t light it on fire.” Reminds Henry.

“What? Me? perish the thought.” Though his hands keep twitching.

“Seriously, don’t light it on fire.” Said Albus.

“Look if you keep saying the f-word, the temptation is going to increase.” Said Porus.

“Whatever. Just come to the stadium. The ceremony will end after your arrival, and then we can start the tournament properly.” After gaining a nod from every one of them, he leaves the room.

“Did you notice that?” asked Porus, as soon as Albus leaves.

“Yeah. there is something wrong with him.” agreed Chi. “He used to be quite a spirited guy.”

“We should keep an eye on him while we’re here.” proposed Henry.

“Agreed.” Said all the monarchs.

PART 5.

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the monarchs of the respective countries are coming. This is a special thing; this does not happen. The last time it happened was fifty years ago. Zuo Chi and Porus are the only surviving monarchs of that era.” Said Michael Severance.

“Indeed. And here comes Porus. Having celebrated his 150th birthday recently, the king looks just as strong as in his prime.” Said Samudra.

“Battya is the new king of Scythia, having gained the throne after his father’s death ten years ago. The country has remained stable in his rule, and he has proven to be a worthy successor so far.” Said Michael.

“Here comes Hiruma. Emperor of the Nihon. Much like this country, he rules an island nation. Quite formal man, as you can see on your screen, he is wearing the formal attire of his country.” Said Samudra.

“Henry Durand is the monarch of Gallia. For the last fifteen years, he has ruled that area, and under his rule, the Gallia has risen to be one of the top economies in the continent of Europe.” Said Michael.

“Zuo Chi is the emperor of Zhongguo. He and Porus are noted to have a passionate rivalry, their letters are quite hilarious to read. But the man has proven himself to be a deserving rival of Porus, having ruled at the same time as him, and as my partner explained, these two are the only surviving monarchs who attended the International School League fifty years ago.” Said Samudra.

“And now comes Albus Alban, the king of Albion. He is the next oldest ruler after Porus and Zuo Chi. Having ruled for thirty years, he campaigned for many years for the league to be held on this island nation, and this year he succeeded.” Said Michael.

The team from the subcontinent looks at Porus. Hatori thought they would give a speech or something, but they did nothing of the sort. Instead, the screen above the ring flashed, and the names of the two first competitors came up, those being Magical Girl Academy, and the Subcontinental Academy.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the first match is about to begin!” said Samudra and Michael together.

PART 6.

Zeko is in the castle. he is brought up as an extra muscle, to intimidate anyone who might dare to strike the city in Porus’s absence. However, Zeko does not feel safe. His instincts are screaming at him, telling him that something is about to go wrong.

He goes to speak with Sundar. “Do you feel as anxious as me?” he asked when he saw that the general was awake at such a late hour.

“One cannot sleep in our positions.” Said Sundar. “What is it?” he asked, knowing that Zeko wouldn’t come to him at such a late hour for nothing.

“Have you heard the rumors?” asked Zeko, taking a seat in front of the general.

“I have. But nothing concrete.” Said Sundar. “Still, the timing couldn’t be worse.”

“We have to prepare.” Said Zeko.

“We cannot.” Said Sundar. “The situation is out of our hands I feel.”

Zeko tensed. He was not expecting the general to say those words. Because what they implied is nothing good.