The first few matches were nothing special, most people were a bit bored since fights between First step Transcendents were hardly spectacular.

Each time, a voice would come out of nowhere and call out two names. The two would spar until one of them yielded or were knocked unconscious. Killing was prohibited although it was allowed in the finals.

Seifer watched the matches with interest, trying to see what changes he had brought about. For the most part, everyone’s strengths were the same as in his last life. Soon, his own name was called by the voice.

“Seifer and Diana Nox!”

When he stepped into the ring, his opponent tensed up. He vaguely knew the petite brown haired girl, she was one of his second cousins. Her father was Annalise’s cousin if Seifer remembered correctly.

Once they were both in the ring, a chime sounded to begin the match. Annalise leaned forward with anticipation while Markus and Augustus allowed slight hints of interest to appear on their faces.

Seifer appeared before her faster than she could react and placed his blade on her neck. A drop of blood was drawn and Diana yielded at once. He returned to his seat after the very short battle but Diana’s name was called once more.

Seifer perked up when the next name was called. Octavian Nox, his former rival and the only real competition he had. He was a bit surprised to see Octavian stepping into the ring with a murderous glare.

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Interesting… last time he just sneered at me he thought. Octavian may have used his humiliating defeat at Seifer’s hands to push himself towards greatness but he had also developed an unhealthy obsession with proving himself better than his rival.

The battle began and Octavian threw his sword aside, rushing at Diana bare handed. Once again, she could not react but Octavian was not as merciful as Seifer was. His fist connected with Diana’s jaw, completely shattering it.

She stumbled around for a few seconds, her blood gushing out with no end in sight. A few of the mortals let out screams at the gruesome sight. Soon, Diana dropped to the floor, unconscious.

A profound silence had gripped the arena, Octavian’s heavy breathing was almost deafening in comparison. No one had expected him to go to such extents, just to try and show he was better than Seifer.

Diana was Octavian’s cousin, the daughter of his mother’s twin. Seifer looked up to see tears pool in the eyes of two identical women sitting in the third circle. But all the way at the top of the stadium, Elder Octavian smiled approvingly.

After Diana was taken to the healers, the matches continued. Each time Seifer was called, he defeated his opponent with ease. Meanwhile, people had taken to yielding fights with Octavian without even stepping into the ring.

Two hours later, the finals began, with Seifer and Octavian competing to win the tournament. There was a tension in the air, which was rare for something as trivial as a Tournament for First Step Transcendents.

Killing was allowed for the finals of the Winter Tournament although it almost never happened. But Octavian had already displayed his violent nature, people were fully expecting a death today.

Both men were determined to win, although one for much more pragmatic reasons than the other. Annalise was literally squirming with worry as she considered the possibility of Seifer’s death.