Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 303: End of the First Phase [2]

The Plaza was quiet.

Not a sound could be heard. All eyes were toward the entrance of the Plaza, awaiting the incoming participants to see who would make it to the second phase.

Discussions were already starting amongst the upper echelon.

Gael in particular looked nervous.

‘She’ll make it, right?’

He started to chew on his lips.

‘I heard that she’s the Black Star so there should be no problems. Yeah, I’ve also taught her quite a bit myself so I know her level, but she did spend quite a bit of time acting. Maybe she didn’t pay much attention then and lagged behind others. What if she got a boyfriend? Then things will become even worse… Oh, no,no,no. If she got a boyfriend, what do I do? Father will probably not care, but I care. She might get scammed given how innocent she is. Oh no…’

Gael’s thoughts were a jumbled mess. He wasn’t one to overthink often, but when it came down to his sister, he tended to overthink to the extreme.

Almost to the point where one might think he was insane.

Thankfully, he was able to hide his thoughts rather well as none of the people around him noticed any changes.

“Who do you think will arrive first?”

Elysia, the crown princess of the Verdant Empire, spoke in a quiet tone.

Today, she was dressed in simple clothing—a light white shirt tucked into a pair of brown pants. Despite the simplicity of her clothing, a regal aura surrounded her, making her presence stand out from the rest.

Her light red hair caught the sunlight, and her piercing blue eyes gazed intently at the plaza, her thoughts hard to read.

“….I’ve got two cute little juniors from my Empire. They’re quite talented but knowing them, they’ll probably arrive a little later.”

“Is that so?”

Gael tried to act engaged, but all he could think about was Aoife.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to think of what to say as Theron, Aetheria’s Crown Prince lightly spoke.

“It should be Caius.”

Theron wore his usual thin smile, his deep yellow eyes glinting with a quiet pride as he casually brushed back his black hair. He was dressed in light, simple clothing—a black shirt and brown pants that, despite their simplicity, only served to enhance his striking appearance.

With looks that didn’t lose out to anyone, he leaned back in his chair with an air of confidence.

“Caius?”

Gael snapped out of it and finally turned his head in Theron’s direction.

There weren’t many names that grabbed his attention, but if there was one name that could make him snap out of his thoughts about his sister then it had to be Caius.

Each Empire had its own talents, but only a few truly stood out.

Ranked first amongst the contestants, with a talent enough to rival Delilah’s, he was a name that Gael couldn’t forget.

He therefore said,

“….Right, he could be a valid choice, but speed doesn’t really matter. What matters is that they qualify for the second phase.”

“That’s true.”

“Ehh… I guess you have a point.”

Theron smiled and rested his cheek on his propped-up hand.

“Still, it’s nice to be first, right? It’s also nice to have a lot of the members be from the same Empire. How funny would it be if they were all from the same Empire?”

Theron laughed lightly.

“It would be funny, but you know that’s not possible.”

The contestants were scattered quite far from each other. While they could see their exact locations, trying to join up together was an impossible task since there was no means of communication.

“It’s a pity.”

Gael smiled while turning his attention back to the entrance of the plaza.

‘….I’ll be happy with just a few.’

The Nurs Ancifa Empire was usually ranked last in the Summit events. It was something that was attributed to their policies in order to keep the Royal family in power.

Gael understood this all too well and felt a pang of guilt, but it was necessary to maintain their strength and prevent a coup d’état. Of all the four Empires, their Empire was the most balanced Empire.

They didn’t need to worry about internal fights and squabbles like the other Empires, allowing them to focus all their attention on the Mirror Dimension.

Throughout the years, with the lack of internal fighting, they were able to become the strongest Empire. While their general individual battle strength was indeed weaker than some of the other Empires, it wasn’t divided into different factions like theirs.

This was what truly made them stronger than the other Empires.

“Oh, someone is coming!”

As Elysia pointed out, toward the entrance of the Plaza, two silhouettes appeared.

Their features were hard to see, but as they appeared, the smile on Theron’s face thickened.

“See? They’re indeed quite fast?”

He laughed lightly.

Finally stepping into the plaza, a young man with striking blonde hair and deep yellow eyes made his entrance. The white sun hanging behind him cast a brilliant glow, accentuating his presence.

He surveyed the area with a satisfied smile before turning to face the girl behind him to mouth a few words.

Most probably about how they had come first.

“….Not that it wasn’t expected.”

Gael ignored him and continued to keep his attention fixed toward the entrance. With the aid of the map, he was able to see that more and more dots were starting to near the area.

It was only a matter of time before the Plaza would be flooded.

“Oh, wow!

As anticipated, moments after Caius’s appearance, several other figures emerged from behind them. Leading them were two figures. With deep gray eyes, coupled with his appearance and the appearance of the girl beside him, it was hard not to notice them.

At the same time, over half a dozen figures appeared behind them, walking solemnly, and further adding to the tense atmosphere.

Their presence took over the entire Plaza.

Clap! Clap—!

Elysia clapped her hands joyfully. They were members of her own Empire.

In total, there were eight, and Elysia looked extremely happy with the outcome. Following their appearance, more and more participants started to show up.

The next figure to emerge was difficult to recognize. His entire body was covered in scratches and smeared with blood, his long hair obscuring his face. Despite his disheveled appearance, Lucian’s satisfied grunt confirmed that he was indeed someone from the Aurora Empire.

Gael, who was familiar with most top profiles was more or less able to guess who it was.

Their top-ranked prospect; Kaelion.

‘Still, nobody?’

Gael looked at the Plaza. There were now twenty people, and there had yet to be one from his Empire.

He was starting to grow worried.

Surely…

“Ah!”

His eyes lit up brightly as he noticed a couple of figures approaching. In particular, his eyes were set on the young girl with familiar red hair and yellow eyes.

Gael’s chest swelled with pride the moment he saw her. Though he had maintained a calm exterior, beneath it, he had been anything but calm. Her presence eased much of the stress and worry that had been weighing on him.

Trailing behind her was someone with striking purple hair. The two moved forward in silence, not exchanging a single word, but their arrival captured the attention of everyone in the Plaza.

“It looks like there’s someone from each Empire.”

Elysia was the most satisfied at the moment. The current ratio was eleven from the Verdant Empire, three for the Aetheria Empire, six from the Aurora Empire, and two from the Nurs Ancifa Empire.

Her Empire was leading quite well, and so how could she not be happy?

“Hehe, this is good.”

But her happiness didn’t last for very long.

Just as she began boasting, a group of half a dozen figures appeared at the entrance of the Plaza. Gael’s expression lit up as he recognized the familiar ‘Haven’ crest on their shoulders.

‘They’re from my Empire!’

Leading the group was a girl with striking platinum-colored hair and deep red eyes. There was a certain calmness in her gaze that made her stand out from the rest. Flanking her were several figures from various Academies across the Empire, each one following her quietly.

There were a total of seven of them, adding up to nine from their Empire.

While they still weren’t first, this was a lot more than anyone had anticipated as the surroundings grew a little quiet.

There were now twenty-nine participants already.

This meant that there were only nineteen spots left. Suddenly, the surroundings grew tense. All eyes were on the plaza.

What would the final ratio be?

***

In a different corner, Delilah and Atlas observed the newly arrived members. Atlas’s face was lit with a smile, while Delilah’s expression remained impassive. However, a keen observer would catch a subtle glint in her eyes as she set her gaze upon the figures from their Empire.

If Julien had been present, he’d have been able to tell what she was currently feeling.

Satisfaction.

Just because she did what she did in the past didn’t mean that she hated her Empire.

Contrary, she was quite happy with it.

It was just that she cared more about her cadets.

“Two more have entered. Time is getting shorter.”

Atlas murmured while taking a sip of his tea.

Delilah kept her gaze on the plaza as she silently pursed her lips.

Their Empire had now a total of nine spots. This was a good number. Especially when considering that in the past they only held between four and five. It was much higher than before, but there was a problem…

“If Julien and Leon don’t hurry up soon, they might not qualify for the second phase. That would be a little problematic.”

Indeed.

The problem was that Julien and Leon, their two best members were nowhere near in sight.

‘Did something happen…?’

Delilah glanced at the map but quickly closed it again. All she saw were dots, and she didn’t know which one belonged to Julien and Leon.

The first phase was always like this.

It was only when the second phase started that everyone would get to see the broadcast and progress of the participants.

Delilah felt a slight sense of unease as she looked at the entrance.

“There’s eleven more spots left.”

Atlas’s words from beside her were like an alarm that reminded her of the dwindling time that was left before the two of them would fail to qualify.

“Nine spots.”

Thin webs formed across the teacup in her hand. Unknowingly, she was starting to lose control of her power.

“Six spots.”

Delilah let go of the cup and started to stand up.

Her expression was colder than it had ever been.

“Five spots.”

Atlas’s voice continued to faintly echo as she found herself standing up.

“Fo—Would you look at that?”

He suddenly laughed, and Delilah’s head flicked toward the entrance of the Plaza.

“….Those two have finally decided to show up.”

Her eyes paused on two figures.

They looked like a total mess, with their hair scattered and their clothes ripped. In particular Julien. He looked to be in the worst state.

“…..”

Something twitched within Delilah as she sat back down.

“Is everything alright?”

Noticing the peculiarity in Delilah’s expression, Atlas turned to look at her. She didn’t answer and rummaged through her pocket before taking out a small chocolate bar.

Her face contorted with a mix of longing and pain as she glanced at it, but after a moment’s struggle, she managed to set it aside.

Atlas, aware of her complicated relationship with chocolate given how they both attended Haven at the same time, tilted his head in curiosity.

“Are you not going to eat it?”

“No.”

“…Saving it for later?”

“No.”

Atlas frowned.

“Then…?”

“Not for me.”

“….”

Following the strange silence, Delilah raised her head to look at Atlas who for the first time she had known him was looking at her with wide eyes. He appeared to be in slight shock.

She frowned.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“….”

But Atlas didn’t answer.

His shock was hard to describe. Was this really the same Delilah that would rather die than share her chocolate?

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