(chapter 9) Arrival

I was having some deja-vu as I sat on a bus watching buildings and cars pass by.

Oh, I know, this is just like when I arrived at G.E. High, except…

"Thanks for your training Nova, it helped me a lot and I think I might be close to getting Barrier."

Sitting next to me was Lazuli, wearing camouflage coloured skintight sports like gear while also having her hair tied back in a ponytail. She had also switched out her glasses for contact lenses. Sitting on the seats next to ours was Kuni and Shion. Shion was wearing similar skintight clothes except it was a dark blue with silver star in the centre of her chest. She was reading a book as usual probably trying to ignore the snoring Kuni who was wearing pitch black combat gear that looked like the clothes that swat teams wore underneath their armour.

"Don't mention it plus it was beneficial for me as well as now you owe me sometime in the future." I said glancing back at Lazuli.

"As logical as always," she teased in response. "What's with the cool outfit by the way?"

I was wearing pitch black sportswear with with a black, sleeveless hoodie on top that would materialise a mask over my face if I pulled the hood over my head.

"My whole goal for this Tournament is to hide, remain unidentifiable, fight when necessary and end said fights quickly."

"Oooh the mysterious Lion Rank in black. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?" Kuni said drowsily, waking up and stretching.

I noticed Shion smirk a little at that.

Since when did she find quips like that funny or I'm I the exception to that rule?

"Don't you think the mask thing is a bit much?" Shion said out of the blue.

"I'm the only Lion Rank who's ever entered the Divine Tournament remember." I pointed out. "Because of that, there's a very good chance a lot of the other competitors will gang up on me and "make an example of me". The mask is to stop that from happening and make it hard to pick me out plus I'll blend in with the other Assassin Class Ethereals who'll also be wearing a mask."

"He has a point." Lazuli said gesturing to me.

"True" Kuni said. "your little entering of the Tournament has definitely gotten the low ranked Ethereals fired up over the past two months. I can imagine it's rather annoying for the more entitled Ethereals of higher ranks so showing that a Lion Rank has no chance in a tournament like this will probably cool them down a bit."

Truthfully, I couldn't care less about Ethereals ganging up on me. There was no one in the Tournament who I saw as a threat, if they wanted to pick a fight with me that's their choice, doesn't mean I'll let them leave in one piece though. No, the real reason for hiding my face is that the 6 Demon Ranks will be watching and although I have silenced Ariel, that little agreement of ours does not spread to the others and if they find out I'm here. Let's just say this year's Divine Tournament will be something that won't be forgottenfor a very long time.

"There's only four of us" I pointed out. "isn't there supposed to be five, who are we missing?"

"Oh, Alex is gonna meet us at the site so don't worry about that."

Alex huh? The name of a person I'm familiar with but not this one obviously. It's a very common name after all. Wonder what his abilities are? Well, I'll soon find out.

"How much longer? we've been on this bus for hours." Moaned Kuni.

"About an hour to go." Shion said not taking her eyes off her book. "And if you keep acting annoying like that, I'll make this last hour worse than all the previous."

That shut Kuni up as look of fear flashed on his face briefly before he sat up straight and looked out the bus window.

As you probably figured out, today's the day the Divine Tournament begins and we were all currently heading towards the site of the Tournament, via bus, where we'll meet all the other competitors and enter the battle dimension.

Your no fun Nova, you know that.

Yeah, Unus has a point there, what's the point of going to a battle Tournament if you're not gonna fight?

I have to agree with my extensions on this one, so what if you wanna keep a low profile, if that's what you really wanted you shouldn't have entered one in the first place.

I wouldn't have Trio, if it wasn't for your gigantic ego, I could have purposefully lost against Byron and Kuni, but you just had to be stubborn.

Hm! Spoil sport.

Though, considering some of the 6 Demon Ranks will be there and if my luck is bad enough, you might be able to have some fun. Whether I like it or not.

Two Months Earlier…

I landed onto a concrete floor in what looked like a throne room that seemed to continually shift and change. One second the throne room looked like something out of a medieval castle, the next it, was a fiery room that looked like it was in Hell and then after, an icy throne room like something out of a fantasy novel.

Damn it! Damn it! FUCK!!

Pain racked through my whole body as I clutched the bloody stump that was my shoulder, the pain was so intense I thought I was going to pass out.

Damn him! I thought I had gotten stronger, but I was nothing to him. He was just toying with me. Me! Ariel High, The Devil Ape and one of the 6 Demon Ranks.

"Ariel, you seem… I was going to say bad but considering the pool of blood you've brung into my room I'd say you're doing just fine so could you please leave."

I mustered up the strength to look up tothe find the origin of the sarcastic voice was coming from the person sitting on the white and golden throne at the end of the ever-changing room. It was a young woman sitting there, looking at the of the age of 19, with very smug expression on her face. She had a slender figure, was stunningly beautiful, well-endowed along with pale smooth skin, bright blue eyes and extraordinary long flowing crimson hair that went way past her shoulders.

Two purple and black portals suddenly appeared, one in front of the young woman and another next to me which she stepped out of.

"I'm guessing he wasn't very pleased to see you." She whispered in my ear.

Man, I hate this bitch so much.

"Nice to meet you to, now could we please sort this out." I said pointing to my bloody stump of an arm or lack thereof.

She just stared at me like she was expecting something.

"Or has the great Sin Empress, one of the 6 Demon Ranks, daughter of Viro Cosmos, Kara Cosmos, has she put healing a comrade as something that is beneath her?" I spat sarcastically.

Kara stood there for moment before I suddenly felt myself floating up in the air, the outline of my body glowing purple slightly. She then approached me with a mini sun, about the size of golf ball, in her hand.

"I'm going to cauterise the wound, so you don't bleed to death, but you won't get a new arm until you tell me the information I want." Kara said looking me dead in the eyes.

She then suddenly pressed the sun against my bloody stump.

"ARAAAAAAGGHH!!!" I screamed the pain nearly making me black out. I wanted to kick and flail but Kara's use of Gravity Master held me fixed in place in the air unable to move.

It lasted for what felt like hours but was probably just under a minute of pure torture.

I let out deep heavy breaths after it was over, Kara had deactivated the Gravity Master Skill yet somehow, I had enough strength to stand.

"Now before I fix you up with a new arm," She said casually, as if talking over tea, while walking up to her throne and sitting down. "Tell me everything that happened."

I want to. My god I want to, but his threat ran through my head over and over again.

If I tell her, he's going to kill me and I'm nowhere near strong enough to stop him.

"All you need to know is that he is perfectly safe and as you could probably tell, wants to be left alone." I said after a few moments pause.

Kara stared at me for a long while. It lasted at least 30 seconds before a wide grin spread on her face.

"Heh. Heh-hahahaha!" She laughed slapping the side of her throne. "Cat got your tongue Ariel, hahaha. I'm guessing he threatened to kill you if you talked."

"Then you know why I can't tell you shit! You're a delusional moron if you think I can say anything after he did this to me without even trying!" I yelled getting frustrated.

Kara immediately narrowed her eyes to slits as a white and gold aura slowly surrounded her.

"Quick question Ariel," Kara said, her voice dangerously quiet as the universe started to shake so violently that I thought it would begin to shatter at any moment. "do you think it's wise angering someone who can erase hundreds of Realities with almost no difficulty? Personally, I don't think it is. I could very easily open a portal to the Norse mythology's Hell where it's colder than absolute zero and send you in there. I could create a pocket dimension made completely of fire that's millions of times hotter than the sun and make so you can't die but can still feel pain before casting you in there for a few days. Now I'd rather not use any of those methods to get you to talk so I'll ask you again. What happened?"

Fear took hold of my body with a vice like grip that refused to let go.

Maybe I made a mistake. This is Kara Cosmos after all, excluding Viro and The Yin-Yang King she was the second strongest Ethereal who is literally unbeaten in terms of fighting skill, even surpassing The Yin – Yang King in fighting skill which has led to her defeating him four out of the fifteen times and they've fought.

For as long as I've been a part of the 6 Demon Ranks, I always feared her power and influence specifically.

The image of his face suddenly flashed in my mind just after he had ripped my arm off. Not only was the calm look on his face terrifying, but those eyes. Those eyes that flashed a blood red and bore the worst kind of fear directly into my soul.

I cannot say anything. If I do, I'm sure he'll kill me in the worst way possible.

"I'm sorry Kara but I can't." I pleaded with the eldest Cosmos child, tears beginning to stream down my cheeks. "If I say anything I'll die in the most agonising way possible."

Kara was immediately in front of me before I even realised it and had grabbed my cheeks and mouth with her hand.

"Then I guess I have no choice." She said darkly.

Kara pulled me in close and kissed me deeply before suddenly my mind felt like it was being overrun like it was becoming someone else's until finally everything went blank.

Kara pulled away from the kiss she made with Ariel who was now staring into space, her eyes seemingly dead inside.

"The seven deadly sin Skill Lust." Kara muttered to herself as she wiped her mouth. "It allows the user to completely control and hypnotise an opponent just by a simple kiss."

Kara inspected the now hypnotised Arielas if she was a piece of art in a museum.

"Seems like it worked. Ok." Kara said rubbing her hands together. "Ariel darling, what happened to you and where is the person I sent you to look for currently located?"

Ariel swayed slowly before filling Kara in what happened.

"I see. G.E. High huh. I thought it was weird that I got a message telling me to go to Earth after the Carrion thing and "help out"." Kara said after some time had passed. "And he appears to have added more Restriction Levels on his Limiter. Not only that but he's going around as a Lion Rank who's now got himself into The Divine Tournament. This is very useful."

Kara, standing some distance and facing away from Ariel, snapped her fingers causing the hypnotised Ethereal to jolt, her eyes darting around the room. She was no longer hypnotised.

"Don't say anything. Listen and do what I say, or I'll kill you on the spot." Kara said sounding like a drill sergeant. "Get the other Demon Ranks, especially my brother, and tell them to meet me in the Territory Devil. Tell my brother specifically as well that after a year we've located our dearest younger sibling at last."

Kara looked at her throne as Ariel scurried off before a big smile crawled onto her face.

"Looks like assisting in this year's Divine Tournament won't be such a chore after all. I look forward to seeing you again."

You've got to be kidding.

Me, Shion, Lazuli and Kuni were in the waiting room where all the other competitors were waiting as well and standing in front of me was none other than the 5th competitor from G.E. High, Alex. And it was the Alex I was familiar with.

"So, you finally decided to show up Alex." Said Lazuli sprawled out on one of the many comfy chairs in the room. "Thought you said you were going to meet us here."

Alex had short brown hair with brown, intelligent looking eyes.

"A few mishaps happened that's all." He said as he approached our group. "Nice of you to say hello Shion."

Shion waved away his sarcastic comment still buried in a book.

"Kuni Saber, heard a lot about you Alex." Kuni said offering his hand which Alex shook. "If we ever cross paths when the battle begins, may the best Ethereal win."

Alex nodded and smiled.

"May the best Ethereal win." He repeated Kuni's statement. "And you must be the infamous and only Lion Ranked Ethereal here."

Alex came up to me (I was leaning on a wooden beam) and offered his hand.

Either Alex has got amnesia and doesn't remember you or is actually on your side and doesn't want to reveal who you are.

I looked at Alex's hand for a few moments before looking into Alex's eyes. He didn't need to say it as I could read what he was saying in his expression.

Long-time no see. I'm here to help if you need don't worry.

I don't trust many people, but Alex was an exception as he's proved himself to me over the years that he is loyal.

I took his hand shook it with a firm grip.

"Nova Laos. A pleasure to meet you, Alex." I said, the two of us maintaining the act we didn't know each other.

If this really was the Alex that I know then he's a very strong Mage Class Ethereal indeed. If I remember correctly his Skills were:

Unique Skill: Absolute Intellect

A Unique Skill that grants the user multiple abilities involving intelligence, perception etc.

The Skill makes the user incredibly smart to the point of ridiculous levels, being able to figure out and solve almost any mystery and or problem. For example, the user would be able to accurately guess most of, if not all, the abilities someone has just by seeing them fight for 5 seconds.

User is also immune to all kinds of illusion-based abilities and powers that trick the user's perception.

User can also accurately predict an opponent's moves full seconds before they're executed during a fight while also boosting the user's reflexes to incredible speeds.

User can steal all the knowledge off people he kills.

User also has visions up to a month into the future at random

Class Skills:

Air Magic: A Topic Skill that holds the following Skills.

Air Manipulation: An Active Skill that can manipulate air into anything like barriers, shockwaves, razor sharp gusts of wind, make the user fly, etc.

Storm: An Active Skill that allows the user to create/manifest different types of storms like, Tornadoes, Hurricanes and even thunder/lightning storms.

Skills:

Second Sight: A 10th Tier Active Skill that allows the user to be able read the opponents thoughts/mind.

Ruler's Command: An Active Skill that allows the user to effect/manipulate the opponent's emotions.

Ultimate Illusion: An Active Skill that allows the user to create incredibly realistic illusions.

Alex in an actual close-up fight isn't very dangerous as he lacks the sheer power output regardless of his insane ability to predict an opponent's attacks before they're performed. Obviously, he could easily take out anyone Hydra Rank or below but the same can't be said for Dragon Ranks or higher. Still, he may not be the strongest, but I'd say he's one of the most dangerous Ethereals alive. This is because he can defeat his opponents without the need for a fight as he can create hundreds of contingency plans for every scenario and or set up traps whole days before the confrontation between him and his opponent even happens. This combined with him being a master manipulator makes him one the best strategists in existence. Brains over brawn could not apply more as it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he's close, if not already, nigh omniscient.

"What would you say you specialise in Alex?" Kuni asked. "I already heard you're a Mage by the way."

Alex smiled a little.

"I specialise in strategy and intelligence. More specifically I can accurately predict things 99.9% of the time." He said calmly before sitting down.

"You're the only one in G.E. High that's actually defeated me in a fight." Shion said from her book.

"A combination of foreseeing the beginning of our duel a day before it happened and being able to accurately predict your attacks allowed me to create numerous counter measures against you."

That's Alex for ya.

Dude is not to be underestimated.

I personally think he should be recognised as the strongest Dragon Rank.

Shion put down her book and glanced at Alex with slightly narrow eyes.

"No need to go into details, oh intelligent one but yeah, Nova, he may not have much raw power for a Dragon Rank, but he can take down beings that up to twice as strong as him." She said looking at me for a moment.

"I gathered that." I replied simply.

Maybe an hour or so passed of us simply waiting and making conversation with me mainly staying out of it.

While they were all talking, I was busy inspecting our competition. There were hundreds of thousands of Ethereals competing at least, with about 80% of them Ranked Dragon with each one being exceptionally powerful. I pretended not to notice but just as I predicted, I was the centre of many people's attention. I didn't have to see them to know almost everyone was giving me the side eye.

"Hey you! Ethereal who shouldn't be here."

Oh brother. I mean I knew this was going to happen but not this soon.

I looked over at the origin of the voice who was approaching me. He was a tall, massive brute of an Ethereal with biceps the size of my head, a buzz cut and piggy little black eyes.

Well, this guy is a walking cliché.

The others around me stood up immediately, looking ready to kill this guy, as he stopped inches away from me.

"So, you're the infamous Lion Rank who weaselled his way in here." He said staring into my eyes.

I stared back, not flinching for a moment.

"That's me." I said sighing. "The names No-"

"Nova Laos. Yeah, I know who you are." The brute said interrupting me. "We all know who you are."

He gestured to the whole room which the majority I now noticed was watch this little interaction I was having.

"Ok, then may I ask who you are?" I replied coolly.

"My name also happens to be Nova as well. Ironic don't you think?" The brute sniggered. "More specifically my name is Nova Black, my friends call me Noir for short."

"Ok then Noir-" I started but was interrupted again by Noir slamming his fist into the wooden beam I was leaning on, mere inches away from my face.

"I said my friends call me Noir. I take pride in my name, Nova, because of its relation to The Yin-Yang King himself. Someone as weak as you do not deserve a name like that."

"Im weak, am I?" I said calmly getting even closer to Noir. "Im certainly not the strongest that's for sure however I'm no pushover either. You clearly have many unknown and likely idiotic issues with me so how about we talk about them in great length once the Tournament starts."

"I look forward to it Laos." He said before spitting on the ground by my feet and walking away.

There was a long silence as I heard a number of people bad mouth me under my breath.

"Who does he think he is?"

"You reckon his ego got inflated 'cuz he has the name Nova."

"Since when does a Lion Rank get to act all high and mighty towards someone of a greater Rank."

"I kinda wanna piece of him now."

"Yeah, I'll make him regret that he was born an Ethereal in the first place."

Man, these guys are real assholes. Maybe I'll make a few exceptions to my "only fight when necessary" rule.

I let out a sigh as I rolled my eyes in response to the whole thing.

Shion came up to me and gave a friendly slap on the shoulder. A small grin on her face.

"Never in my life have I seen someone who draws as much trouble to themselves as you Nova. It's even funnier when you factor in that you want to keep a low profile."

Lazuli sniggered, trying to stop herself from giggling while Kuni made no attempt to hide his laughter.

Since when did I become the victim of bullying in this group?

"You guys are such pricks." I muttered light heartedly. "I'm gonna take a leak, I'll be back in a minute."

No more than a minute after I was in the bathroom, Alex walked in to find me waiting for him.

Just as I suspected.

Yep, if there were any doubts that this was our Alex, they are gone now.

"It's been a while, my Lord." He said taking a knee. "Should I still refer to you as Nova Laos?"

As formal and professional as ever. I see he hasn't changed a bit over the last year or so.

"Stand up Alex and yes keep referring to me as Nova Laos." I said blankly as he stood up straight. "I'm guessing you foresaw this reunion?"

Alex smiled and bowed slightly.

"Of course, my Lord. My Skills have gotten stronger if anything and when I saw the image of my reunion with your lordship over 6 months ago. I couldn't contain my joy."

Man, he really hasn't changed at all. Not that it's a bad thing. His loyalty to me makes him one of the most trustworthy people out there.

"Well, that's good to know." I responded calmly. "Now, there's something I need you to do for me."

Alex looked up from his bow, his smile widening.

"But of course." He said with a calm yet excited voice.

"Are you sure? It's very risky." I warned and Alex stood up up straight with a content smile on his face.

"There's nothing I'd rather do more as I am merely a humble servant whose purpose is to serve you my Lord. So, tell me,"

His eyes flashed with anticipation.

"what is your command?"