Mei's facial expression exposed the joy she felt at that moment. Her mana poured out of her body with no intention of stopping. It acted as an orange veil that smothered her thin figure.

With a glance at her arm, Mei realized - something had gone wrong. She was too consumed by her own laugher to notice she had been wounded.

"To think this child pierced my skin..."

Mei's eyes went to Trey once again. As she studied his mana more closely, the cause for her injuries became clearer.

"The mana leaking out of that boy. How could I not notice until now? It's definitely not your average mana. In all my years as a magician I've never seen anything like it. What Is this kid?"

Mei's discovery forced a smirk to surface on her face.

"You're definitely interesting kid! First your connection to Lucy. Now you also seem to possess mana unlike anything I've come across."

Mei's dress billowed In the breeze conjured by the mana around her.

"Show me boy, show me the extent of that power of yours"

With those words—the distance between Trey and Mei was devoured in seconds. Mei's figure was hard to track with the naked eye—just a trail of of mana was left behind her movement.

Before Trey even knew what happened—his body was sent drifting across the rocky stage.

He desperately dug his blade into the ground looking to halt his movement.

When he stabbed it through the surface, he was shocked to find out - his body was not slowing down at all.

Instead it slid across the ground much faster. His feet also couldn't find their footing, he was like a helpless figure slipping in mud.

He gritted his teeth as more mana continued to flood his figure. The color of his mana was taking a more of a crimson color the deeper he dug into it.

His own robe flowed with the wind that propelled him back. With each second he got closer and closer to the edge of the stage. [Demonic Mana:Dark Basher]

A red light radiated from his entire figure. It extended from his form to his blade. It acted as an extension of the blade itself before it consumed everything in a brilliant shine.

The entire stage trembled and countless stones that made up the stage shot to the heavens. As a dust cloud enveloped Trey—everything was silent.

A few seconds came and went before the dust finally retreated. It revealed Trey who stood at the edge of the stage - his body moments away from falling off the edge.

By glancing behind him, he realized how close he was from falling. His desperate gamble worked.

He essentially unleashed all the mana he could, in hopes of producing enough force to counteract his sliding. It worked and his blade was able to get a more firm grip on the surface. It was a technique inspired by one of Roy's attacks.

Sweat had gathered around his face, his breathing was uneven. He tried his best to get it under his spell but it proved troublesome. His head was a little dizzy from using up that much mana—for a few seconds he felt like the stage was moving in circles. When he finally composed himself—he made sure to analyze Mei's form once again but this time with a much more carefully. If the last attack was anything to go by. She was incredibly dangerous.

"I'm surprised, I actually put a lot of effort into that attack. It's not everyday someone survives one of my assaults. You really are an anomaly. Tell me boy what's your name" Her voice echoed the stadium bouncing from one ear to the next. The confidence in her words clear for all to see.

Besides being a little dizzy, Trey also felt like he was body was a lot heavier than it was. If he showed this weakness to Mei however. He knew he'd regret it.

"It's Trey" he managed to say after a few seconds.

"Trey..." she seemed to be thinking of something. "You're certainly one of a kind boy. So tell me how are you related to Ran?Those eyes can't be a coincidence"

Trey pointed his blade foward, he gripped it firmly before he shouted. "I don't know who's this Ran you keep talking about..."

His mana came to life once again. It's red color persisted, blending nicely with his regular black mana.

"What i want to know from you, is what the hell you meant about Lucy being a coward. You have a second to explain yourself.... or I'll kill you!"

Mei just smiled, "Threatening one of the 10 blades? I never thought I'd see the day." She stepped foward, moving her blade side to side as she did. It's light a dazzling feast for the eyes.

"I'll play along kid, tell you what. If you manage to land another attack on me. I'll tell you whatever you want. But be warned, I'm attacking for real this time."

She stopped advancing and instead crouched her figure. Her feet pressed on the ground and her mana exploded out of her form. Cracks formed along the surface as the stage desperately tried to endure her weight. Her feet were firmly planted before—her figure was out of sight.

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Trey's eyes could only pick up small traces of her shadow as she approached. Mei's speed surpassed his expectations.

All Trey managed to accomplish was a desperate block before his figure was sent skyward. The impact as his blade blocked Mei's assault threatened to numb his limbs.

Even with his sudden displacement, Trey tried his best to keep an eye on Mei who was on the ground.

Mei shot a smile towards Trey before her form vanished.

Trey's eyes darted all over the field. He tried to control his airborne body as he did, but the force behind his ascent was too great. He was flying further and further away from the ground and he couldn't stop himself.

That's when he felt somethings from above him—something that scent chills through his entire body.

[Swordplay Skill - 5 deadly blades]

When Trey glanced behind him an orange light threatened to blind him—before 5 orange slashes made of pure mana threatened to cleave through his form.

Trey knew however—if he allowed such a thing to occur—he'd lose his chance to learn more information from Mei and perhaps more importantly, he knew he'd die without achieving his revenge.

He wasn't going to let that happen without a fight.

His mana gathered at the tip of his blade. Its weird black and red mixture bringing forth an unknown color. Trey rotated his figure midair and his form faced Mei. His back faced the surface and his front was pointed towards Mei and her deadly assault.

Trey pointed his blade foward. [Demonic Mana:Destructive Orb]

A blast of mana shot from the tip of his blade. It was a wide blast that ripped apart Mei's own slashes and threatened to devour her form.

"That's great!! That's Fuckin Amazing!!" Mei exclaimed with the biggest smile on her face.

[Swordplay Skill: Fallen Cherry Blossoms]

Mei's mana shot through her blade as it spiked all the way to the tip in its orange glow. It coated the blade entirely. Mei's grip on the handle was steady—her arms descended elegantly as she swung the blade vertically.

The resulting slash produced a gorgeous light. Its form was as beautiful as falling chery blossoms. It cleaved through Trey's blast and subsequently his form.

Blood erupted from his body and a tremendous force dragged him to ground.

The impact of his fall produced a crater that destroyd the stage separating it into two halves.

Trey's entire figure was covered in dust and the crowd gasped with others whispering to each other. Vivi who was in the crowd couldn't hide her worried expression, her only ticket out of Krey was in mortal danger.

Gentle footsteps approached Trey, and the sound of a blade being dragged against the rocky stone pinched his ears.

"You've done well kid, forcing me to use not one but two of my techniques is certainly not bad.."

Mei's voice was heard loud and clear by all present. When her movement halted, the dust around Trey subsided. What remained to be exposed was Trey's body that rested on the surface.

A gaping hole had been implanted on his chest. He poured blood from his mouth as his body moved on its own, much like someone suffering from a seizure.

"Still alive huh? I wonder what's your deal. Are you some sort of Demon or are you something else entirely. I'm sure of one thing though. If I allowed to live, I'm certain I'll come to regret that decision. You give off vibes of a monster that gets stronger after each fight"

Mei raised her blade and showed Trey the cracks it had suffered. "This thing isn't my Treasure Tool. It's just something I found in a bin before the tournament, but to think you forced me to pour so much mana into it that it cracked. I think you deserve a reward for your efforts"

Mei stuck the blade next to Trey's head and a piece of it broke in the process.

"I'll tell you a bit about Lucy. I don't know how you're related to her, but I think this is common knowledge. It's something you were going to found about sooner or later, I don't see why I should hide it."

Mei decided to take a seat next to Trey, she gazed at the sky as she spoke. "Lucy is a traitor. She chose to betray her own friends and live the life of a coward. Lucy was supposed to be a God you know?"

Trey coughed up more blood as he was desperate to let his voice be heard. His mouth refused to comply and he was forced to listen. His wounds however slowly started to heal, but at that point most of his mana was gone.

"You shouldn't try to speak in your current condition." Mei stated after she shot a quick glance at the struggling Trey.

"Lucy was meant to be a God, but not in the literal sense. What I mean is that Lucy should've been a part of the 4 great families, not only that..." Mei glanced at Trey once more.

"She was supposed to be a family leader herself."

Trey's eye's widened after Mei's words. Exactly the reaction she hoped for. She found it amusing.

"Lucy, due to being a coward. Gave up that role and betrayed her friends. By friends I mean the 4 great leaders. If Lucy had joined them back then, a lot of things would be different. If Lucy wasn't such a coward, I swear we would've destroyed The Pack and The Black Ravens by now. But I guess that's all in the past."

Mei got up and began walking away,

"There's a lot more to Lucy than what I just shared with you. Get stronger child, the world is much bigger than you could ever imagine. You have to get stronger! I'll let you live for today. I want us to have a lot more fun when you're much stronger. Who knows maybe I'll even tell you about Ran, I have a feeling you two are connected."

Mei's footsteps echoed the stadium, after a few seconds—she came to a sudden halt.

"Hey announcer! I want out of the tournament. You can give the prize to Trey over there. I only came to this tournament because I wanted to blow off some steam and I'm satisfied now thank to that boy" Mei turned to point at Trey's body.

"Out of all the 498 warriors that competed besides myself of course. That boy is by far the strongest. If you're going to give the prize to anyone, I want it to be him."

With those words Mei walked out of the stadium. There was silence before the announcer finally spoke.

"You heard it yourself folks, the winner of this year's Golden Blade Tournament is Trey!!"

The crowd went wild.

As the crowd cheered, their voices got further and further away from Trey. His vision faded and slowly he lost his connection to reality. Even with the million questions flooding his mind, he couldn't prevent his mind from drifting to sleep.

[Somewhere Else in Krey]

A figure trudged their way to an empty room. They pushed open a giant door, what greeted them beyond the door was a lone figure that sat alone in an empty chair.

A green light illuminated from the windows bringing a warm glow to the room. Both figures were wearing black cloaks. A box laid infront of the chair where one of them sat.

"What do u want Beast?" The voice came from the one sitting on the chair. Their voice seemed to be filtered by something but it was still audible.

Beast fell to their knees after they heard the figure speak.

"I have great news boss. We can finally open the box, I heard the priestess left the White Temple. This could be our chance..."

A moment of silence blessed the room before the figure on the chair spoke again.

"Excellent, it's time we moved on to the next stage of the plan. Go get me the Priestess Beast."

"I shall do as you order boss"

With Beast exiting the room. The plan was put into motion. The destruction of Krey was drawing closer.