The battle royale was underway, the Dragon’s Nest Stadium was filled with all of the top members of the three clans to observe this event. Normally, a battle among children wouldn’t be enough to do such a thing but this battle was an exception. This battle was arranged by the person widely considered to be the Future Clan Leader and a household name, Miko.

“If it’s him then there’s gotta be some ulterior motive to this contest.”

“Maybe he wants to recruit his generation into Renacido?”

“Or maybe he’s fed up with the comparison between him and Krul and wants to differentiate himself from the rest of his generation.”

“I wonder which it is?”

“Either way, it gotta be interesting.”

Momo sat with the rest of her generation listening to the audience’s conversations. She frowned.

(Until recently you all got worried whenever Miko made a move, and now that you know he’s on your side you're all excited…the same people who prosecute him in the past?)

“You seem upset.”

Her cousin, Christensen sat up and took off the sleeping mask over his eyes.

“I’m surprised that you’re up. I thought that you’d sleep through the whole event.”

“My cousins are out there doing their best, I’m not heartless enough to not watch over them.”

He turned his head to his right.

“Not to mention, that these two have shown up.”

Momo followed his gaze and saw two men approaching their section. The two towering figures looked like bikers dressed in black leather with purple skulls on their jackets. One with a glaive on his back and the other with a machine gun. With their purple and azure dreadlocks and sinister expressions, these two carried a strong air of intimidation.

“I didn’t expect for you two to come.”

Christensen spoke to the two before they could reach him. The others noticed them and showed various expressions. The taller of the two showed a huge grin.

“Everyone is here, so naturally we would come too. Isn’t that right, Dario?”

The man called Dario nodded without much expression. He turned to the field.

“Plus, we want to cheer for Rin on as his older brothers.”

“Dario, Karim!”

Alec appeared between them and wrapped his arms around their shoulders.

“I’m glad to see the Infamous BloodHounds of Niflheim making an appearance here. I knew the two of you couldn’t resist cheering on Rin.”

Karim casually thrust his elbow at Alec’s face. Alec evaded it and distanced himself.

“You know that I can’t stand you, so I appreciate it if you stop being so touchy and friendly.”

He dusted off his shoulder while Dario did the same.

“He knows, that’s why he keeps doing it. How about listening to my proposal of killing him in his sleep?”

“Oh, we’re killing Alec? I’m in!”

“Me too!”

Al-Shura and Kouta pulled their weapons. They were serious.

“Hahahaha! You guys can’t kill me even if I was blind and limbless.”

(Alec, it’s because you’re like that why they want to kill you…)

Momo sighed.

“It’s better you guys settle down and not piss off our respective Branch Leaders. Do you want to be disciplined in front of all the other royals?”

“……..”

Everyone silently sat down after Christensen’s words. He folded his arms behind his head.

“Let’s sit back and enjoy our little brothers and sisters fight.”

Meanwhile, Ace found himself in a forest area. He quickly climbed a tree and stood at the top. A green sea opened up before him.

“There’s nothing but trees in this dimension, huh?”

He closed his eyes and a green aura covered his body. His five senses sharpened and spread out around him. A mental image of the area formed in his head. It was as if he was looking at a 3D map. He opened his eyes and deactivated his Beastly Vita. His body flickered. He reappeared several hundred meters away. In front of him was a group of soldiers wearing the #1 on their uniform.

“These are our soldiers huh? Alec said that Miko needed to locate them to control them. I think it’s safe to assume the others can remotely control their soldiers freely.”

He looked at the ten soldiers and swung his hand in front of him. Their heads flew off their shoulders and rolled on the ground.

“Wha?!”

Gasps could be heard coming from the audience.

“Why did he kill off his own soldiers?!”

“Now that I think about it, the rules stated that you gain points from killing soldiers…It never said that you couldn’t kill your own soldiers.”

Ecko smirked.

“Which means—”

(Special Announcement! The Primus Branch has killed 10 soldiers! As a result, they have earned 10 points!)

“What? You can gain points from killing your soldiers?”

Sophie looked at Alec questionably.

“I never said you couldn’t.”

“You conniving mother…”

She sighed and looked away.

“I wonder if that guy did what he did because he knew the results.”

“Nah.”

Momo spoke up.

“It’s possible that the thought came to him but that’s not the reason why Ace did it. He did it because they put Miko at a disadvantage. That alone is enough for him to kill them.”

“You sound like he would do the same thing if they were real—”

“He would.”

Momo turned to the others.

“Ace and Sora, those two won't hesitate to kill anyone for their family, and Miko is their brother. Do I need to say more?”

“……..”

Ace walked away from the soldiers’ bodies and leaped into the air.

(Finally is Krul, Yaya, and Maki from the Quartus Branch. Listen to me carefully, if you encounter this group and escape is an option, take it.)

Miko and Tia’s words played in his head.

(Krul was born from the union of my son and Echo’s eldest daughter, Shina who is also his Proxy. He’s probably the closest to a True God in this era.)

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

At the same time, Miko was flying through the air over a desert area.

(Looks like either Ace or Sora decided to kill my soldiers.)

He laughed. His nose wiggled and he stopped. He scanned the ground while floating in the air. A figure caught his eye. He immediately descended and landed in front of them.

“To think that you’re the first person I would find.”

“I’m surprised too. I caught your scent but you appeared before I could search for you.”

Kristen replied.

“Have you encounter anyone?”

“None, you?”

Miko shook his head.

“Well, not until now. Right?”

“…So, you sensed us?”

A man with short azure hair, a slightly muscular build, and bandages wrapped around his entire body except for his neck and head. This person walked from behind a boulder.

“Nen? But I didn’t sense him?”

“Normally you wouldn’t right?”

Nen nodded.

“But your brother was able to even though I erased my presence perfectly.”

“That’s because I was searching for you specifically. Because of your unique constitution, you’re the most difficult person to find if you decide to hide. So I decided that I needed to start with you. I don’t want an assassin’s bullet when I’m in the heat of battle.”

He smirked.

“I don’t want an arrow in the knee either, KC.”

A man slimmer and shorter than Nen walked out with his hands in the air. He had on a pair of gloves that had at least three of the fingers exposed.

“You can’t blame me for trying.”

“No being ambitious can never be bad. Look at me, I’m the walking definition of hubris.”

He grinned.

“But this is a perfect chance. I wanted to fight you two first. It’s better that Kristen is here to help me out.”

KC smiled and leaped back. He positioned one hand in front of him and pulled back the other. Miko grabbed Kristen and leaped to the side. A hole opened up in the ground after it exploded. Dust covered the field. Nen rushed out of the dust and threw a punch at Miko’s head.

“Kristen duck!”

Kristen threw himself to the ground. Overhead he could hear something cutting through the wind; an explosion quickly followed it. He looked up and saw Miko stop Nen’s fist with his arm. He countered with a hook to Nen’s side. Nen lifted his knee and blocked it. He leaped back. Miko pulled Regis from her sheath and swung it in front of him. A metallic sound reached Kristen’s ears.

(Invisible attacks?)

He instantly activated his vita and spread it out. Miko’s body flickered. He popped up in front of Kristen and slashed the space in front of him. A clang resounded and sparks flew. Kristen’s eyes widened as Miko kicked him away. An explosion erupted.

(I wasn’t able to detect it despite using Vita to expand my senses?!)

Miko landed beside him with a grin on his face.

“It’s no surprise that you can’t detect them. He’s using a legendary weapon.”

“Well, I’m surprised.”

The dust settled and Nen and KC reappeared.

“It’s the first time I’ve used this bow here. Only people who should know that I have it are Nen and KC.”

A silver and black bow appeared in KC’s hand. It had no strings to pull which surprised many in the audience.

“You gave him your brother’s bow?”

Alexus turned Rouge.

“No…”

Rouge’s pupils were quivering in his head.

“I don’t have the authority to do that. I didn’t even know that it was unsealed.”

“If you didn’t, then..”

The branch leaders looked where the Guardians of each branch sat. The Secundus Guardian, Alisa was being stared at from all directions.

“Alright, I gave it to him. His archer skill was so impressive that I was curious if he could handle it. He surpassed my expectations so I regret nothing.”

The Guardians sighed.

“Do you realize what kind of weapon you gave a child?”

Alisa nodded.

“Listen up, Kristen.”

Miko sheathed his sword on his side.

“That bow that he’s using is called the Silver Stroke. It belongs to Rouge’s older brother and original heir to the Secundus Branch, Roland Dragna. It was given to him by his grandfather, Augustus who had Hephaestus himself forge it. That bow has the ability to make itself and its attacks invisible. You can’t use magic or Vita to sense it either.”

He pointed at his head.

“The only way to evade it is to sharpen your instincts to the point where you can sense danger even from an invisible attack.”

“…I’m really surprised. How do you know about this bow when it was sealed away and erased from history….Tiamat, huh?”

“Sealed?”

Darwin turned to Joesph Flameheart.

“What does he mean, Master?”

“…During the Great War, Roland sided with his father, Denzin, and betrayed the clan. Augustus eldest son, Cladius killed the two of them sacrificing his life in the process. Roland’s bow was sealed because it couldn’t be destroyed. There wasn’t a law that said that it couldn’t be unsealed but…It was still a bow that tasted the blood of Dragna and gods alike. No one with the right mind would unseal something that was a symbol of their House’s betrayal.”

“Well, I’m the head of House Roland.”

Alisa smiled.

“I’m free to do what I want.”

“Kristen, you’re going to fight KC.”

Kristen turned to Miko.

“You want me to fight against such a weapon?”

“If you had Beastly Vita then it wouldn’t be a problem since you would have the beast-like instincts needed to defend yourself.”

He firmly-hit Kristen’s chest with his fist.

“But you don’t, so you’ll have to sharpen your instincts if you want to survive.”

Miko grinned.

“You can do it right?”

Kristen looked at him and smirked.

“Just who do you think I am?”

He faced KC.

“I can become a beast with a snap of my fingers.”

“That’s my boy.”

Miko faced Nen.

“I’ll be your opponent.”

Demonic Vita covered his body.

“I’ve been itching to fight you who like me couldn’t use magic and had to turn to vita to become strong.”

Miko shook his head.

“You had worse than since your biologically incapable of using magic. Yet, you trained yourself to madness and became the most powerful martial artist of our generation.”

Miko’s eyes became slit and his teeth turned into fangs.

“I’m gonna enjoy this!”

Nen looked at him for a bit before smiling.

“Not as much as I am.”