Night came and went peacefully. Today was the dawn of a new day and, more importantly, the start of the tournament. As today was the regionals, there would be three matches total, with a minimum of two wins needed to move onto the nationals. It was highly likely Ares was going to have to fight the Legion group today and he was looking forward to it as they had assured him back in Baja that they had something interesting going on based on Gladius' unique magic.

Ares stretched and yawned before rolling off the feathered hammock he'd made himself yesterday night. All things considered, it was really quite comfortable, probably just as much as his own bed.

"Morning idiot." Bellona had walked into the living room and was headed straight for the kitchen to pilfer some food. Part of the reason she'd come here was for the food to begin with as she was somewhat of a glutton so, naturally, she made a beeline for the fridge as soon as she woke up.

Ares turned around and saw Bellona wearing high waist shorts and crop top with messy bed hair. "Good morning. Hmmm, not bad. Bed hair is lazy... Chest size is unavoidable... But fashion sense is good... Knows what looks suit her and can claw back some sex appeal... You pass! But only barely, the demerits were pretty rough honestly." Ares blinked and next thing he knew he was lying on the floor with a massive headache, burns on his chest, and frozen limbs.

"Hmph. Consider that a sneak peek of what I'm going to do to you later, creep. I'm going to really enjoy pummelling your stupid ass." Bellona ventured off into the kitchen in search of snacks, leaving a gobsmacked Ares lying motionlessly on the floor.

The hell was that?! Ares was still trying to figure out what exactly happened to him as it was all so bizarre. With a single type of magic, whatever it was as Ares couldn't identify the mana, Bellona had teleported in front of him, raised her strength as she flicked his forehead, applied large amounts of gravity to his upper body to pull him down to the floor, burnt him, and froze him. With one art! Not only was whatever it was versatile to an insane degree, it was also chant-less and could be activated near enough instantly. Maybe Enyo isn't the only spooky one in her family... I wonder if they're all like this.

Enyo walked into the room, took one look at Ares who'd been violently floored, and just shook her head in silence. As she walked past him into the kitchen, she reprimanded him while simultaneously giving him a warning. "I would stop hassling Bellona if I were you, she's probably the real ace of the Legion clan's new generation. The only reason everyone calls me that is because Bellona defied our father a lot and she had a bad reputation so no one acknowledged her. Its close between us, but her unique magic is pretty incredible. Back before people stopped respecting her, people often used to say she was practically invincible as long as she had mana to spare. Up until now its been pretty much true. I don't know how much of her magic you've actually seen, but I assure you, you haven't seen anything yet. Also..."

Thud

Enyo kicked Ares in the knee. "... Stop insulting my sister's chest you mutt, although she takes it in her stride, it bothers her a fair bit even if she'll never admit it. Apologise to her later."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, now come make us breakfast."

Ares did precisely that as Leo, Appa, Allie, and Aejaz also came in search of food. Ares had essentially made a continental breakfast with what he had lying around for everyone to dig into at their own convenience. Various juices, coffee, tea, croissants, fruits, etc... It was pretty simple but he needed to go and get some more food from the sect's grocery department. Ares had been there a few times so far and it really quite pleasant in there. It was large, had a lot of variety, and was decently cheap. It was pretty clever of the sect to have facilities and shops for day to day life within the sect as it meant disciples rarely had to leave to get what they wanted, plus it made the sect a decent chunk of Stardust. The sect wasn't doing too well overall, but it wasn't because they didn't earn a lot, it was because they spent a lot on hiring some of the strongest and and most talented cultivators around to become permanent elders. People like Dabble and Lizzie had originally been bought into the sect and, although their presence was pricy, it was well worth it. Actually, they'd been here so long they'd become pretty attached and probably wouldn't leave even if it meant taking a pay cut but, thankfully for them, Rud didn't know that. As for why the sect wasn't flourishing with such capable elders around... Well that was simply because the disciples and potential disciples in the local area kinda sucked. Actually, there was no 'kinda' about it. There were very few well-renowned clans and families in Red Sun and the talent pool really just wasn't there. What the sect really needed was more fame to draw talented disciples in from around the country, maybe even abroad if they could manage it. But that was precisely what the international was for! If they could win it even once, never mind the potential for two wins this year, it would bring them a lot of attention. Not only would they be able to recruit more disciples with higher standards, but they could also maybe expand the number of elders present within the sect for a cheap price. A lot of talented cultivators would be willing to work for a sect that won the international even if it meant not getting paid quite as much.

Bellona, satisfied with her food, got up to leave and presumably get changed in preparation for the upcoming fights. Ares finished his own food and followed her into the corridor. "Ah, hey, look, I'm sorry about the chest jokes. I insult people a lot but I try not to go too far and touch on nerves; but I trust Enyo's judgement on this and if she says I should apologise then she's probably right. I promise you it wasn't even remotely serious, I have nothing against flat chests!"

Bellona chuckled. "Ha, Enyo said you'd say those exact words. You two are really close, huh. I'm happy for you. As for the chest thing, don't worry about. I don't take revenants seriously, but I guess its reassuring to know it didn't come from a place of bad taste. Seriously, those stupid clan members never shut up about it! I get that they didn't like me, but ad hominins? Really?! Where's the justice?! Hmph, flat this, flat that. I showed 'em when I knocked them flat on their asses."

"Enyo did mention you're not on the best of terms with the clan, I guess that was actually an understatement. I thought the Legion clan was pretty uptight but also rigorous in their fair treatment of all. Guess not everything's perfect."

"Yeah... But on the bright side, its where I got the idea for my witch outfit! They kept calling me witch 'cos they hated my magic. That was what they said anyway, but really it was just because they were jealous. When I was young and first discovered my magic everyone thought it was restrictive, hard to make use of, and generally worthless. I really liked it though so, even when my father demanded I use variety cultivation, I secretly went with dedication instead. He was furious, absolutely livid when he found out. He probably would have hit me if mum wasn't around. Never really spoke to him after that while I was growing up. I did everything I could do avoid him while trying to convince my brothers and sisters to do the same. In particular, I was really worried about Enyo, but thankfully you sorted that one out when all was looking pretty hopeless for her. Really, thank you, you did what I couldn't and got her out of that life. I'll never not be grateful for that. As for the clan... The longer I spent practicing my magic, the more interesting it became. It felt like the limitations and the shackles of the magic just kept falling off and, after a while, people were seriously impressed with it. My father still held a grudge, though, so that was when the rumours started. Rumours that I was a revenant sympathiser, or a coward who didn't want to fight, rumours that I was a bad person, etc... Even though I'd trained the hardest of everyone, I went from hero to zero because of petty spite. I didn't care too much, though, as mum was there for me. She always reassured me and, when I joked to her about wearing an actual witch's costume, she even went and got one for me because she also thought it would be hilarious. I thought I'd just wear it as a joke, but seeing everyone's disgusted expressions made me overjoyed. Plus I really liked being different from everyone else. Maybe that's silly, and maybe I'm just an attention seeker because I was fond of my brief time in the spotlight, but so what? It's not like I'm hurting anyone. Eventually, the clan gave up on calling me a witch as they came to terms with the fact that it meant nothing to me anymore. I embraced it so, instead, they took to insulting my chest as there wasn't really anything I could do about that... Well, I could fix it with my magic, but that would have just proven to them that I cared. I'd always felt a disconnect between me and the clan, like I never really belonged there to begin with. When it came time to sign up for chasing down the reborn revenants in Sheryashka I was probably the first to put my name down as I'd reached a boiling point. All I really wanted was to leave and get as far away from them all as soon as possible. I ended up accidentally going to the same place as some other Legion members that I had a seriously bad history with, constantly arguing and fighting each other, and I went overboard. There was no longer any rules, restrictions, or family members to bail them out and have a go at me with so, in anger, I went too far and accidentally killed one of them. Ha, its pretty safe to say I can never go back 'home', not that I ever really saw it as such, anyway. I know I'm in the wrong, and that I did something stupid, but what does it matter what I think or feel? They'll never forgive the 'witch' anyway, so why bother trying to placate them? Might as well just distance myself from them for good. I ended up in Red Soil and found Gladius and Charity, some of the few people I didn't utterly despise in our clan, so I stayed there. Trew eventually found me but, luckily for me, he didn't know about the murder thing. That or he pretended not to because he wanted information out of me, I don't really know. I usually don't wear the Legion armour anymore but I did in Baja forest because I didn't want Trew hassling me about not wearing it during missions and blah blah blah. So yeah, that's my uninteresting story. Not much to say, really. Oh but, if you're truly sorry then do me a favour? Keep an eye out for a guy, good looking preferably but not necessary, who's magic works well with mine and has a thing for flat chests. They seem to be really rare nowadays 'cos I can't find one to save my life."

Ares shrugged. "I mean, I don't even know what your magic is... But I can try? If I find someone who fits the bill, I promise I'll kidnap him and bring him before you. I'll even turn a blind eye to whatever you do to him after, may God have mercy on his soul."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Bellona snickered which momentarily gave Ares pause as she looked very similar to Enyo just then. Not in terms of their facial features or anything, just in terms of mannerisms. "Sure, you do that... I think I'll stick to relying on Enyo. She said she had an idea and that she would get back to me. If I can't trust her, then who can I trust?! Anyhow, good luck in the fight today. I've seen your magic and, impressive though those Shock Beads outside the cave in Baja were, you're going to have to show me something new if you want stand a chance."

"You're supposedly invincible, right? We'll see about that. The destruction pillar is more special than you know. Don't worry though, when you lose miserably and come begging me for an an explanation I won't mind giving you one." Ares fiddled with his fingertips, blowing on them to act cool and aloof even though, as per usual, he just looked like a smug fool.

"Hmph, don't think that beating Sadie means you can beat me..." Bellona turned around and entered the room, leaving Ares with a pretty incredible piece of information to digest. "... I've fought Sadie plenty of times and she's never even landed a single hit on me!"

Thud

The door shut as Ares stood there, gawking like an idiot, stunned by her claim. Ares had beaten Sadie without getting hit before... But never getting hit across all her training sessions?! Bellona lived with Sadie for Christ's sake! How many years and how many fights... And not one single hit?! What on earth is her magic capable of?! No, nonono, don't get discouraged. Have faith in your own magic. You are a fundamental pillar wielder. You can't possibly lose this, Ares. So what if she's invincible? Just kill her anyway! Invincible my ass... Nothing is invincible as long as I exist, nothing. After giving himself a pep talk, he went and cleaned up all the dishes. Meanwhile, Enyo had tracked down her sister.

"You know that thing we talked about yesterday?"

Bellona finished fidgeting with her hat, making sure it was on properly, and turned to Enyo. "Hm? Yeah? What about it?"

"You'll see. Today, you'll see that someone with a greater magic than you does exist. I know you don't think its possible... But you'll see."

"... Ares?"

Enyo smirked at Bellona. "Who else? Don't think I've forgotten what you said back in Baja. There was a lot going on, and we talked a fair few times, but I remember. Well, like I said, you'll see. You're going to lose today, and its not going to be easy for you to accept it for a variety of reasons, but you are going to lose. That much is true; and it won't even be because of me." Enyo threw her hands in the air and made an 'I don't know' pose by raising her right shoulder and leaning on it as she turned to face the door. "You live here now so having a conversation with me is pretty easy. When you finally want to talk about what's going to happen today, let me know and I'll kick Ares out of the room again. Don't worry about it too much and get into your own head about it like I know you're inevitably going to. I know why you'd be hesitant to talk, but don't be. You bottle things up for long periods of time when you really shouldn't. If you hadn't made that one off-hand comment to mum about the witch clothes you'd still be getting tormented over it. You're good at pretending nothing ever bothers you but I'm your sister, Bellona, and I know that's not actually the case. I can already tell you're going to be a stubborn mule about it, but I'm letting you know here and now that I really won't care whatever decision you come to, whenever it is you actually finally come to it. Do with that information what you will, maybe it'll help you sleep easier tonight, probably not though as you're quite difficult like that... Hahaha, its funny to think the shoe is on the other foot now. Maybe you'll be the one getting hassled by Rhea. Don't think I'm not going to tell her though, if anyone can talk some sense into you it will be her. Of all of us, You've always been the closest with her so I'm sure she can get through that façade you put up. Well, whether or not saying this was was worth it when you're just going to keep claiming you don't know what I'm talking about, for however many years to come, is its own problem. I'll leave you to your own devices but, like I said earlier, and I'll say again now, I'm ready to talk whenever you are."

"... I really don't know what you're talking about..."

Enyo sighed as she closed the door behind her. "Sure, if you say so. Silly girl."

About an hour later and everyone, including Charity and Gladius who had just arrived, was ready to head on over the the area being used for the fights. It was the same place that had been used for the disciple selection process but it would be cordoned off slightly as it was way too big for just ten people to scrap in. The actual size of the combat zone was akin to a coliseum, roughly. Ares had once joked about having a chariot but maybe it would have actually come in handy! He bemoaned not having a chariot aloud which caused all the Legion clan members, including Enyo, to freeze on the spot and stare at him for some reason. Gladius was the first to defrost. "You... Are you a prophet?!"

Ares tilted his head and put a finger to his bottom lip in confusion. "No? At least not as far as I'm aware. Why?"

"... No reason..." Gladius was nervously sweating as he looked away from Ares.

Ares couldn't help but be curious about the way everyone was acting but he decided to ignore it for now. If they were calling him a prophet then, naturally, he would figure out why eventually! Whatever it was would have to come to pass at some point, and probably today at that.

The group, and quite a large one at that, made their way to the training ground. Aside from some rough, impromptu fencing used to lessen the arena size, it was pretty much the same bland, uninteresting place it was last time. There would be a much more grand location for the national and international and the number of spectators would be far greater than the current turnout. It wasn't a small turnout by any means, just not enough to warrant opening the arena-proper just yet. The cultivators who came to view the regionals were seated on small, earthen benches that had been made by magic. The effort was pretty minimal but no one seemed to be bothered by it. These people were the ones who visited every year to watch as they were either interested in the youth of today or because they had a lot of regional pride for whatever reason. There were probably also a few spies sent from other sects across the country that were scouting the competition, but there wouldn't likely be too many here of all places as the sect's past performances weren't anything noteworthy. Of course, when word spread about what would inevitably happen here... A lot of sect masters were going to be really regretting their laziness and poor decision making. Just hearing the rumours and having a detailed, first person account were worlds apart in terms of usefulness for preplanning countermeasures.

When the group arrived, they realised they were the last to do so as the other sects were already here. There were only four competing sects but a fair few elders and all the sect masters had turned up, so it was a tense atmosphere in which you could hear a pin drop...

Ping

Not that anyone knew exactly where Ares got a pin from... Was he making light of the situation by making a silly joke? Was he trying to make the opposition lower their guard? Who the hell knows when it comes to Ares?!

Aejaz was already looking for 'donations' to the A.A.F, Allie's alchemy fund, an 'organisation' that would one day rival the resource wealth of the A.O if Aejaz had any say in the matter.

As for the other contenders, Ares didn't pay any attention to the Red Sea's sect as he noticed the pairings had already been decided. The Red Sea sect was going up against the Legion clan so there was no reason to remember their names unless he was planning to put them on their tombstones later. They weren't going to win, that was basically already a foregone conclusion. As for 'Celestial Utopia', the sect from Red Sky with a pompous name that was far too imposing for them, there was nothing that really separated its cultivators from the pack. Ares knew it was the regionals and that he shouldn't expect any interesting characters to pop up here but, nonetheless, he was still a bit disappointed in these Lightning and Water Guy wannabees. Oh well, at least there was the Legion clan to entertain him after these non-descript nobodies were kicked out of the running.

"Hello, sorry I'm late... Got a little lost in thought and lost track of time." Trew came up behind everyone and gave them the shock of their lives, not because he'd spooked them with his presence, but because his attitude was wrong! All wrong! So wrong in fact, that Bellona had to ask,

"Who the hell are you!?"

Trew scratched the back of his head with a wry smile. "Trew? Shrew? Guess it doesn't really matter..."

Bellona face twisted into one of disbelief as she turned to Ares and jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. "OI, what the hell did you do to him!? I'm still technically from the Legion clan you know? If you're blackmailing him or threatening him, I won't let it go on!"

Even Leo, who'd only 'met' Trew once, went up to him and sniffed him with narrowed eyes.

Meow (As unbelievable as it might sound, this is indeed the same dickhead from yesterday... While I'm at it, why don't I sniff Charity and check to see if she's still the same bitch as yesterday?)

Charity didn't know what the furball was saying but that didn't stop her from side-eyeing the living plushie and growling at it under her breath. She didn't even bother asking for a translation, she was completely fixated on having a stare down with the tiger.

"Leo! Stop being mean to our friends!" Allie berated the treetop tiger who had essentially become her pet. Allie played with him regularly and even aided him in his cultivation by feeding him various pills. Allie was currently working on a 'necklace' of sorts to give to Leo. It was still in the early stages but would be incredibly beneficial for Leo. It looked like a rosemary but, instead of beads, it had a bunch of pills strung along it, all of which Leo could consume if he ever got into a fight. It was like having a mini tool kit at his disposal. Allie and Leo got along really well which was a small problem for Aejaz who had to keep heartlessly removing him from the room whenever he wanted some alone time with Allie. Leo would always meow begrudgingly at Aejaz who had to grin and bear it all the while knowing the little loud mouth was probably hurling insult after insult at him. Leo also got along with Appa too, though, so he would just go and look for it when he was bored as Appa also liked playing with him. Hide and seek was always fun because Appa could float to strange places and Leo was small enough to hide in unusual spots.

While everyone was playfully bickering with one another, Rud and Teng had given the customary greetings to the other sect leaders who were enraged, not that they expressed it verbally even though it was clear as day on their faces, that Yulo hadn't received them personally. But why should he? These sect masters who were, at most, dipping their toes into the transition realm were literally just ants to Yulo. He didn't have to show them respect and he was way too busy to care. If he wasn't busy, there would have been an even lower than zero chance of him coming as rest was hard to come by in this sect. Being in a managerial position in a sect that was short on staff was not a walk in the path. Still, Yulo was hoping that would all change soon. The reward from the international, regardless of whether it was at the outer court or core level, maybe even both, would be enough of a boost to the sect's treasury that they could solve their immediate issues; and the popularity gain would solve the long term ones.

Once the introductions, which were brief as this was still early days in the tournament, were over, Teng and Rud gave the stage to the same man that had taken a photo of Ares, Aejaz, Enyo, Esme, and Li Li for advertisement purposes earlier. He was the overseer of the regionals and nationals who would make sure there was A: no foul play and B: No funny business regarding the details of the winning group. He would also be explaining the rules of this year's competition so Ares stopped bickering back and forth with Bellona and Enyo and paid attention. Really, he just wanted to know what the rules were so he could figure out all the fun ways he could use them to his advantage to mess with people! Unfortunately, there wouldn't be many, but that didn't mean he wouldn't still try! And if nothing else, when it really comes down to it, surely its the thought that counts, right?