Cora and Seiji’s waiting room went silent as they watched Lirio defeat his opponent in eight seconds. The moment the fight was called, Lirio coated himself in yellow-white aura and kicked off, forming a ball of pitch-black aura in one hand and a ball of vibrating white light in the other. Servant Oliver raised his hands to guard against the incoming attack, but Lirio ignored it. He slammed both balls of aura into the boy’s body, the resulting gray explosion launching him into the white wall of the Coliseum just beneath the crowds.
“Isn’t that your technique?” Cora asked in a low tone.
“Yeah,” Seiji responded. “It is.”
Seiji cursed himself. How could he have forgotten Lirio was his opponent? If he’d hidden his skills better in the Hell Pit, would Lirio still be able to create a perfected version of one of his signature moves?
“His opponent was only Tier 3,” Cora tried. “Selene must’ve told Lirio not to waste any time.”
They’d already watched Servant Oliver’s first fight. In truth, he wasn’t half the fighter he or Lirio was. In Seiji’s opinion, Alexandros could beat him.
“She probably d–”
“Thank you, Royal Family, for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this Exam.”
Lirio began his post-victory interview without prompting. His voice sounded odd to Seiji. It wasn’t exactly frantic, but he sounded like he had something he desperately needed to say.
The audience began to cheer at that, but Lirio raised a hand to quiet them. Seiji felt a bit of surprise when the audience complied, silently watching as Lirio walked to the center of the Coliseum stage. The black ball followed him, circling from behind him to face him directly. The view from the TV in their waiting room shifted from an aerial view of the stage to a direct view of Lirio’s pained visage. He let out a long breath, then spoke into the black ball.
“In my final moments on Tierroeste, I saw nothing but black. I was sad to leave my friends behind. Scared to leave my world. Angered by my many regrets. When my eyes closed, I dreaded what I would find when they opened.” He gave the camera the widest smile Seiji had ever seen from him. “If I could, I would go back in time to tell my younger self that he would soon be met with an angel. An angel by the name of Selene Andris.”
The camera panned to show the various expressions of shock and admiration throughout the crowd. It swept through the crowd a few times, returning back to Lirio the moment he continued to speak.
“I still recall our first meeting. Do you remember bonding over our shared experiences? Sharing with me your goals for the Valkyrie Exam? I do, and I’m filled with shame each time I the feelings I held for you on that first day. I felt that you held no regard for me, that I was merely an object placed here to propel you towards your dreams while I am forced to leave mine to die. Do you remember our first true conversation in our training hall? You promised to help me achieve my dreams no matter how this Exam ended. With just those simple words, you cracked the shield I held around my heart.”
Seiji couldn’t help but compare Lirio and Selene’s relationship to his and Cora’s. When they first met, his first impression of her was that she was a childish nuisance. The more they got to know each other, the more he began to see Cora for the woman she was. Shame grew in his gut as he realized he wasn’t good enough with his words to speak to Cora as Lirio did Selene. Seiji wanted to ask for help, but he didn’t know who to go to.
Lirio continued to recount his experience through the Valkyrie Exam. The more he spoke, the more Seiji found himself pointing out similarities between Lirio’s feelings and Seiji’s own. Lirio talked about the excitement he felt each morning before training, the pride he felt whenever he learned something about Selene that he didn’t know, and the happiness he’d feel every time they’d talk – regardless of the subject matter. Seiji felt the exact same way about Cora. He tried to say as much, but his mouth just… wouldn’t move. Almost as if to mock him, Lirio continued to voice Seiji’s feelings.
“Selene Andris,” Lirio said, tears falling freely down his face. “I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you! If being your Servant is the only way to be with you, then I will be a Servant until my dying day! Should I be cast out from the heavens, I will tear them apart to find you!”
Seiji told Endora that Lirio didn’t have any Dominion. When he looked into his teary, resolute eyes, Seiji saw its embers beginning to form.
“I am not complete without the angel known as Selene Andris. My love, my heart belongs to you!”
Lirio wiped tears on the sleeve of his Exam outfit and stood tall as the audience erupted in applause. The camera panned again, revealing that there were a decent amount of people crying in the crowd, no doubt moved by Lirio’s speech.
“That was… sweet.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Their waiting room had been silent, but Cora was the one to finally break the stalemate. Her voice was uncertain, and when Seiji turned to her she didn’t return his gaze.
“Do you think that’s why they leveled up so fast?”
“Probably.”
They sat in silence, cuddled on the couch, and focused intently on the screen in front of them. Just as Seiji thought things couldn’t get any worse for him and Cora, Sir Lasko stuck them with a dagger.
“I hope you all are ready for this next fight, because I certainly am! Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Lyssa Abara and Selene Andris!”
Seiji recognized Lyssa from the Botanist’s Bond Event. He’d traded a few blows with the Cadet after his advancement. The camera didn’t seem interested in her. Instead, it panned to Selene’s teary-eyed, stone-set face as she stared deep into Cadet Lyssa’s eyes.
The fight was over the moment it began.
One attack. Selene defeated Cadet Lyssa with one attack. The same one she’d used to gravely injure a Tier 12 monster, she’d just used to dispatch a regular Servant. The audience didn’t cheer. They made no noise. No one did.
When the black ball appeared before Selene, she grabbed it and spoke a single sentence.
“And mine to you, my love.”
Thea appeared beside Selene, teleported her to her waiting room, and vanished. Just as they had with Lirio, the audience erupted into applause, happy chants, and scattered cries. Seiji turned to Cora, wondering how she’d taken it. In truth, he just wanted to know how he should feel. Selene’s quick battle hadn’t given him much time to think.
“Seiji,” Cora began, her voice trembling. “I can’t guard that.” She turned to him, her eyes pleading. “It’ll take all of my aura to guard that with Dragon Stance! Seiji, she… I don’t know.”
Sir Lasko announced the next two competitors, some people Seiji didn’t know or care to watch. According to the schedule on the wall, Cora’s fight was right after theirs. He didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t have time to fumble for the right words. As much as he would have rather said something like Lirio, he fell back on what he knew.
“Do you remember when you walked me through Mist Breathing?” Seiji asked, an awkward half-smile forming on his face. Cora met him with an unsure nod. “Good. Now, it’s my turn. This is an exercise we did with the Hidden Hand, but it should work here.” Seiji stood from his seat on the couch and pointed to the white-tiled floor. With the most commanding tone he could muster, he spoke. “To your knees!”
Cora tilted her head at him, but he shouted his order again. She complied, closing her eyes at his instruction. This was a drill he’d been made to do to train his bloodlust. While the thought filled him with unease, it seemed like the best tool he had in his kit to properly motivate Cora.
“Victory is absolute, Cadet.”
He had to remind himself not to say assassin.
“You are alive today not because you have stumbled through life. You are here because you have seized every single day of your life by the collar. Speak to me your fears.”
“...Selene is stronger than me. I can’t–”
“Cannot? Cadet, there is but one path forward. Victory. Do you wish to fail this Exam?”
“I don't, but—”
“You speak such words to me, yet you kneel before me a coward.” Seiji feigned a sigh. “You have already accepted failure at the hand of your opponent.”
“I haven’t!” Cora clenched her fists. Her tail puffed up considerably, something Seiji had never seen from her. “I’m just scared that she might–”
“Only the weak and the lost deal in possibilities!” Seiji said with a stomp. As much as he hated the Executors, he could understand why they did it. It felt satisfying.
“Cadet, tell me who you are. Now!”
“I am Cora La–”
“Wrong!”
She gritted her teeth.
“Tell me who you are!”
Cora began to frown, understanding finally dawning on her. Dragon Fury began to emanate from her body, and Seiji wondered whether it was intentional or not.
“I am a Valkyrie!”
“Tell me, Valkyrie, what is the outcome of your match?”
“I will–”
“Wrong! We do not deal in possibilities! Tell me, what is the outcome?!”
“Victory!” Cora shouted, her body bursting with Dragon Fury.
Seiji felt a great deal of pride at the sight. Just as he’d begun to finish the exercise, a familiar pop sounded from behind them. Cora opened her eyes, rising to her knees, dispersing the Dragon Fury with a breath.
“Thank you, Seiji! I’m ready to go!”
Cora grabbed his hands. They broke with the force, but she didn’t notice. Seiji had a feeling Cora’d react this way, so he activated Dragon Stance to negate the pain. He still saw Thea shrink back in his peripheral vision, though.
“Fate Has Decided upon your victory, Cora Lambros. Obtain it.”
She squeezed harder.
“I already have.”