DAY 20
FIRST EXHIBITION
Seiji tried his best not to feel overwhelmed on the stage. It felt as if every person in Haven was seated in the many rows of the Haven Coliseum. They cheered with booming applause that reminded Seiji of the roars of the Pit Demon, and he thought it a miracle his eardrums didn’t pop. 6000 square foot videoboards floated above the eastern and western sides of the Coliseum, playing scenes from the Bond Events on one screen and showing highlights of each Cadet and Servant on the other. Though it’d only been a few days, Seiji felt a bit of nostalgia watching him and Cora tear through the Grand Garden again. Cora, however, refused to look at the screen whenever she was on it.
A ball of yellow light appeared in the center of the Coliseum stage, forcing a few Servants and Cadets to jump back from its sudden appearance.
“It’s time,” Cora said, eyes focused on the yellow ball. Seiji could practically feel her adrenaline, and while Seiji had plenty of his own, he pushed it to the back of his mind for a moment.
“One Event closer to your Wing Ceremony,” Seiji smiled. Cora grinned at him as the two shared a nod, turning after to focus on the yellow ball of light.
The yellow ball burst, sparks of harmless yellow essence fading as a familiar face wearing shining gold armor appeared at the center of the stage. Sir Lasko placed a hand on his stomach, raising the other high into the sky. The audience quieted as all eyes focused on the head of the Royal Guard.
“Thank you, citizens of Haven. On this day, I am honored to welcome you all to this year’s First Exhibition of the Valkyrie Exam!”
The audience cheered. The Cadets clapped almost in unison, and Seiji didn’t need Cora’s prompting to know to join them.
Sir Lasko turned to a white and gold balcony seated at the top of the northern end of the Coliseum. “I am honored to welcome to this Exhibition the King and Queen of Haven, King Vassilis and Queen Eir!”
Unlike the previous times Seiji had seen them, they truly did look like royalty today. They wore matching silver and gold armor, the symbol of the Lambros Family displayed prominently on their chest pieces. The golden crowns they wore were bejeweled with stones that looked expensive enough to purchase The Ardor a million times over.
Following their introduction, Sir Lasko began to introduce each pair of fighters participating in the Exam followed by a description of a few of their highlights. Seiji found it hard to care about most of them. He only knew a few personally.
“Selene Andris of Lower Haven and Lirio Silva of Tierroeste!” Sir Lasko announced. “This Tier 6 team fought alongside the princess and her Servant to take down a powerful monster in a simulated training course, though you all didn’t need me to tell you that?”
In the days following the Hell Pit Bond Event, their fight against the Pit Demon had made the news. Reruns of it aired every other hour. Seiji felt it’d become a bit hard to get around now without people stopping to commend him or ask what it was like to fight with Cora. The Alex Twins received no mention in any of the channels covering the subject, a fact that filled Seiji with a bit of smug satisfaction. They didn’t deserve any recognition after what they did in the Hell Pit.
“Cora Lambros of the Floating City of Haven and Seiji Otsuki of The Ardor! These two have been on a warpath all across Haven! Who do you all think of when you see these two?”
The audience cheered nearly as loud as they had for the king and queen, though Seiji barely heard it. He stared up at the videoboard feeling both embarrassment and a touch of annoyance as he saw the familiar image. Ever since he’d begun to watch ‘TV’, he’d learned of the existence of gossip channels. One of the most popular topics was Seiji’s relationship with Cora. They’d show clips of him walking with her around the city, out-of-context clips of conversations they had in public, or interviews with complete strangers who swore they had ‘insider news’ about their relationship. It felt like a massive breach of privacy. They’d always end the segment with the same image, the one Seiji stared up at with a crooked smile.
It was an image of himself standing alongside Cora, both with arms crossed. Behind them was the shadow of the king and queen standing in the same way. It’d become their logo. Seiji wasn’t sure whether to be proud to be compared to the king, humiliated by what his and Cora’s relationship had been turned into, or annoyed at the scope of this entire charade. He looked down at Cora, who looked at the picture with clear admiration. Seiji rolled his eyes and smiled weakly.
After Sir Lasko finished with the introductions, he’d teleported to the Royal Balcony beside King Vassilis. The king took the microphone from Sir Lasko’s hands, ushering the Coliseum to quiet with a raised hand.
“Please remember well,” the king began, lowering his hand. “This Exhibition is not a tournament. It is an opportunity for each of you to fight against two opponents that will push you to your limit. You need only win once to pass. Should you fail both fights, you will be sent home.” The king paused, looking over every Cadet and Servant on the stage. “Should any of you win both of your fights, though, you will receive a substantial boost in consideration for the Favorite’s Rites.”
Seiji smiled. As much as he appreciated Endora, there was no substitute for training with the king and queen of Haven for a week. That was almost a quarter of the entire Valkyrie Exam! He’d already gotten this far in twenty days. What would he look like after an extra week?
Following loud cheers of approval, King Vassilis had begun to finally say who was fighting whom. Seiji felt anticipation turn to annoyance as the king listed off a bunch of nobodies and names he hadn’t heard.
“Do you remember these guys?” Seiji muttered under his breath.
“I’m familiar with the Cadets,” Cora whispered back. “I share a room with the Felzian ones. I don’t know the Servants, though. The only ones I know are Lirio and–”
“Seiji Otsuki of The Ardor. You will be facing Alexandros Galanis of Thavmastos and Lirio Silva of Tierroeste.”
Seiji involuntarily raised his head, looking for Lirio and Alexandros on the stage. They weren’t hard to spot, they’d been standing right next to each other. While Alexandros didn’t turn to look at him, Lirio gave him a plain, flat look.
“Cora Lambros of the Floating City of Haven. You will be facing Alexandra Drakos of Turrivy and Selene Andris of Lower Haven.”
Cora smiled as she turned to her opponents. Seiji watched Selene give her a look of defiant excitement, though Alexandra shot her an ugly glare.
“This concludes the introductions and announcements,” The king declared. “Cadets, Servants, please stand by for transport to your waiting rooms.”
With a smile, the king announced the first fight.
“Seiji Otsuki and Alexandros Galanis, you two will be the first combatants of the day.
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If Seiji was being honest with himself, he didn’t think he needed to use any bloodlust to fight against Alexandros. Why had he fought so hard against the boy? The Servant didn’t fight so much as he threw attacks and hoped they landed. In his Dragon Stance training with Cora, he’d gotten into the habit of fighting at full force and activating the defensive technique on a dime. After advancing to Tier 4, Seiji had learned that a fully powered punch to one of Cora’s weak spots was enough to actually hurt her. Alexandros, however, wasn’t Cora. What was enough to hurt Cora was enough to destroy Alexandros.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Seiji felt a slight amount of responsibility for Alexandros’ current fighting style. Even still, he didn’t relent. This was a competition, a competition for the Favorite’s Rites. He couldn’t afford to show any pity. Seiji threw a Dragon Shot at him from a few feet away, closing the distance with aura and punching him in the face with a fully-powered fist of Dragon Fury. Alexandros flew back, landing on the sandy earth currently surrounding the Coliseum stage. The boy didn’t get back up.
“Twenty-Four Seconds! Victory to Servant Otsuki!” Sir Lasko shouted from the Royal Balcony.
The audience cheered, some even chanting his name… and Cora’s. He didn’t pay them any mind, though. His focus was occupied by the black ball rising from the ground.
“Any words for the audience?” Sir Lasko’s voice called from within the black ball.
When he’d first seen one of these, he had no idea how to react. After having done many sessions of Decorum Training with Cora, though, Seiji decided he’d show off a bit.
“Thank you, King Vassilis and Queen Eir for allowing me to live in your wonderful city and for trusting me to be your daughter’s Servant. This truly is the honor of a lifetime.” Seiji bowed. It was an Ardorian gesture, but the intention likely mattered more than the act itself. He rose to his bow, waiting for the audience to finish clapping before he bowed again. “Thank you, Princess Cora, for being an excellent training partner and an even better friend. I greatly anticipate the day when we can fight as Valkyrie and Servant. I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to ensure that day comes.” He rose from his bow and turned to the audience. This next part was a bit of a gamble, but what was life without a bit of risk? If the Favorite’s Rites were based on perception, he needed a name.
“Thank you, citizens of Haven, for coming to watch us all fight today.” He rose from his bow and gave them an arrogant smirk. “That being said, I received great wisdom the other day. I was told that when all was said and done, there will only be one Valkyrie and one Servant at the end of this Exam. It is my honor to reveal that I am that Servant, and Cora is that Valkyrie. Please look forward to our upcoming duels, where that truth will be revealed to you all.”
The audience stared at him for a long, silent moment before breaking out into deafening applause. A familiar figure teleported to his side between him and the black ball as he watched a butler pop in and take Alexandros away.
“You can look cool for Cora after the Exhibition” Thea whispered. “You need to focus.”
“I’m not trying to look cool for her! It was for the audience. The Favorite’s Rites!”
“Sure.”
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Their waiting room was a small brick room with a white tiled floor and ceiling, a black couch, a table lined with aura fruits and water bottles, and a wide screen projecting the stage directly to them. Thea teleported Seiji into the room beside Cora, who’d been in the middle of eating a black aura fruit. The moment Seiji popped in, she set it on the table and stood from her seat on the couch. Thea put a hand out to stop her, revealing a thin vial filled with a blue-green liquid from her pocket.
“Servant Otsuki, your recovery elixir.”
Seiji drank it, though part of him felt he didn’t need it. He’d hardly exerted himself.
“Servant? You never call me by my title.”
Thea twitched, clenched her fists, unclenched them, closed her eyes, then spoke. “I am not so foolish as to let my friendships discolor my professional obligations. I apologize if the unspoken separation offended you, Servant Otsuki.”
Seiji smirked. He’d long since learned that Thea only spoke professionally when her employers were watching. If she acted like her normal self in here, her pay would get docked
“Leave her alone, she’s just doing her job!” Cora said, frowning at Seiji.
Seiji turned back to Cora with wide-eyed shock. He’d begun to speak, but Thea spoke over him.
“I appreciate your concern, Lady Cora, but I must be off. Please excuse me, princess.”
“Wait! You don’t get to–”
Thea disappeared from the waiting room, leaving a baffled Seiji alone with Cora. As soon as the butler left, she sat back into her seat on the couch, picked her aura fruit back up, patted the empty seat beside her, and looked up at Seiji.
“If I didn’t do that, she’d still be here. Come on, I wanna talk!”
Seiji couldn’t help it. He laughed as he sat down beside Cora. Seiji picked up a red aura fruit from their table before he took a seat beside Cora. They cuddled on the couch. It’d been awkward doing this after the Hell Pit, but it’d become easy to get used to. She’d slept on top of him for five nights in a row. Leaning on each other was nothing, now.
“I told you Decorum Training was worth it!” Cora said, poking a finger into Seiji’s cheek. “Look how easy it was. You didn’t have to stutter and stumble like you did in the Botanist’s Bond Event”
Seiji rolled his eyes and flicked her ear. “Yeah, yeah. No need to rub it in.”
They went back and forth like that for a while before the topic circled back to Alexandros. Their fight had only been twenty-four seconds, and Seiji imagined it would’ve been significantly shorter against the other Servants in the Exhibition. Those guys were weak. According to the post-fight analyses from Sir Lasko, most of them were just Tier 3. A few of them were still only Tier 2. Seiji wondered how that group in particular was still in the Exam, though he imagined the Exhibition would weed them out.
“Let’s make a bet,” Cora said, sitting up to face Seiji.
He shrugged. “Sure, let's hear it.”
Cora grinned. “I bet I’ll beat Alexandra faster than you beat Alexandros!”
Seiji laughed. He knew she could do it with ease, but he liked when she got competitive.
“Alexandros is hardly a fighter. Alexandra is a fighter. You’ll beat her, but it’ll probably take some time.”
Thea teleported into the room with a loud ding. Seiji turned, but Cora didn’t. Thea nudged her chin in Cora’s direction, not saying a word. Seiji turned back to Cora, who stared at him eagerly with a hand extended.
“Shake on it! If I do it, you owe me dinner tomorrow!”
This is a losing bet for me. Besides, I’m broke.
“Sure, you’re on.”
Seiji shook her hand. At least the dorm food tasted good. When she teleported away with Thea, Seiji let out a deep sigh. Cora wasn’t the type to care if he brought her dorm food, right? As he had the thought, Sir Lasko called the start of the match.
Cora sped off with Dragon Fury and Alexandra with two consecutive Dragon Bursts. The red-haired Cadet staggered, clearly caught off guard by Cora’s sudden assault, but Cora wasn’t finished. She gathered aura into her fist for a moment then released Dragon Fire directly into Alexandra’s stomach. In just ten seconds, Cora defeated her first opponent.
“Thank you, Mother and Father, for allowing me to participate in this Exam,” Cora said over a curtsy. “Thank you Servant Otsuki, for being the best Servant and friend I could have possibly asked for. Every single day, you make me better.” She smiled at the camera, and Seiji felt like Cora was looking directly at him. “I hope one day to become a Valkyrie to become a Valkyrie that will make you all proud.”
Seiji stared into the television for a long while as he played those words back. He recalled Sir Lasko’s declaration of Cora’s effect on him. She made him better, too. Hearing directly from Cora that he had a similar effect on her filled Seiji with the same pride he felt when he advanced.
“...Cora, I–”
His muttering was interrupted by the ding of Thea’s teleportation technique. She popped into existence with Cora behind him near the door to the waiting room. Cora snatched the recovery potion from Thea’s hands and ran back to her seat beside Seiji. Thea nodded to them both, wordlessly preparing her technique again. Seiji was surprised she hadn’t made some sort of comment. Instead, she just smiled at him like a proud mother before teleporting out of their room.
“I told you!” Cora shouted. Seiji turned back and wrapped her back up in their usual embrace. “Ten seconds. I counted!”
“Yeah,” Seiji groaned. “I had a feeling you were going to pass.”
“I know you knew, that’s why I made the bet! You owe me dinner now!”
Seiji glared at her for a moment, but he relented. “I hope you don’t mind dorm food. I don’t have any money.”
Cora gave him an incredulous look. “I could swear I–”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to the stage: Servant Silva and Servant Oliver!”