The manatech activated soon after the barrier disappeared, instantly fixing the damage. At least there was no mess to clean up, and mass casualties were averted.
That…was too close.
“Hm. Not doing that again.”
We definitely went too far. Now, how do we get back down?
“Any ideas?”
I don’t have much mana left. The most I can do is cancel the momentum of your freefall with telekinesis.
“That works.”
I didn’t have enough left to telekinetically glide Fran down to safety. She was practically out of mana, too, having been kicked out of Awaken. I let her fall, then stopped her with wind spells and telekinesis just as she was about to hit the newly erected dome. It worked, and she got away with only a mild shock.
“Phew.”
How’s Phelms doing?
Did he survive? The ring was completely destroyed. It looked like someone had a field day with an excavator.
“Wow wow wow! Did she really just do that?! I’ve been in this commentator box for a long time, but that was the first time I’ve seen my life flash before my eyes! The barrier was destroyed from the inside out!”
Good thing the commentator was still alive. He proceeded to describe the situation, while most of the audience were still in a panic.
“And our beautiful stadium has been reduced to rubble! Who would’ve thought a twelve-year-old girl could do such a thing!”
We got a better look at the stands now. Things were quite awful—some people were crying, some frozen in place, and some were still frantically trying to escape. But the commentator’s voice reassured them. Their sanity restored, people returned their attention to the ring, anxious to know what had happened, and what would happen next.
“And would you look at the crater inside the ring! Phelms has been raised by the Cradle of Time! The dragon of pure lightning was too much for the Dragon Hunter! With the spectacular display of her namesake, third place goes to the Princess of Black Lightning: Fran!”
The crowd roared with applause. These folks sure took things in stride. They had almost lost their lives. It must’ve felt more like a roller coaster ride than a plane crash.
Let’s get to the ground.
“Hm. Jet.”
“Woof!”
Jet popped out of the shadows and hunkered down in front of Fran. He wasn’t much use in the fight, so the least he could do was give her a ride. The applause rose when everyone saw Fran riding her direwolf. It all got to Jet’s head, and he started to make a victory lap around the arena. The audience lapped it up. Admittedly, it made for a pretty picture.
Fran, wave to the people.
“Hm? Like this?”
The crowd roared with appreciation as Fran waved in a random direction. She was like a rock star.
“Fraaaaaan!”
“Black Lightning Princess!”
“I want you to be my sister!”
Indeed, my little girl shone brighter than all the idols back on Earth. No, you cannot have her as your sister.
We wandered around for a bit, unsure where to land now there was nothing left to land on.
Oh no. What are they gonna do for the finals?
The finals were delayed for three hours because of Fran. The giant crater we left behind took a lot of time to fix. We watched from above as the Land Mages and dwarven craftsmen repaired it.
“Looks like they’re almost done,” Rigdith said.
“Hrm.”
“You’re still eating?”
“Urmph. Mmm.”
“Okay, got it. Enjoy your meal.”
We had been invited to the Beast King’s private room. I thought that we might say a quick hello…but they seemed to have figured out Fran’s weakness for food, and a scrumptious buffet was waiting for her when she entered. Fran was helpless against this temptation. She agreed to watch the finals from the Beast King’s room, having been roped into his plot. Rigdith seemed like a nice guy, and Fran could actually make conversation with him. He probably set this whole thing up.
Fran was the girl of the hour in Ulmutt, especially among the beastmen. All of them were quiet the day before, but everyone wanted to talk to her now. Some of them were forceful, and some of the nobles used their position to be rude to her. You could never quite avoid those idiots completely.
But what if she was sat right next to the Beast King? No one would dare pull any weird stunts. The only thing abusers feared was someone more powerful than them. Even if Rigdith was interested in Fran, he knew she had the tremendous value of being the first Black Cat to evolve in centuries. He wasn’t going to let idiot nobles give the Beastman Nation a bad name. In fact, he might gain their admiration by winning her over. It was a win-win deal, so we played along.
Fran was the most famous Black Cat in the world. She had achieved something denied to her tribe for five hundred years. I wondered if she knew the trouble her popularity would bring. She had wanted to display her Evolution during the tournament and change how people saw her tribe. She was aware that nothing would be the same afterwards, but she wanted to better the lives of her tribesmen.
Fortunately, her acquaintance with the Beast King should ward off anyone that might take advantage of her. It helped to have friends in high places.
“Here’s your food.”
“Hm. Thanks.”
For some reason, Gaudartha was serving her faithfully. He patiently got her another plate of roast beef when she asked, and even got Jet some raw meat. The burly bodyguard was acting like a butler. When we asked why, he said it wasn’t only because she’d beaten him, but because she was a member of the Ten Tribes. He was also used to the inherent laziness of Black Cats, thanks to the long years he spent under Kiara’s tutelage. Serving Fran came naturally to him.
The Beast King
