Parallel Memory

"Winner! Princess Elenia!"

The referee announced. There was a moment of silence as what happened was too quick and too astonishing.

-CLAP! -CLAP! -CLAP!

Then slowly the spectators began to applaud for the wonderful fight that they got to witness.

No one had any hope for Hiro from the start but Hiro proved that he wasn't someone to look down upon. At times, he was able to overwhelm Princess Elenia which isn't an easy task considering Princess Elenia was Rank-S and Hiro was just Rank-A -.

And in the last clash, Hiro gave his all and his attack was tremendously powerful. Pity that his opponent was Princess Elenia who is significantly stronger than him.

Still, everyone can see that Hiro was very talented and very strong for Rank-A -. They also have no choice but to acknowledge that Hiro is the greatest talent that they have ever seen.

King Tranduil also watched the battle with interest. His expectation was great for Hiro and Hiro had managed to deliver on those expectations.

King Tranduil believed that Hiro was truly someone extraordinary. Although it was a pity that he lost against his daughter, he thought that he did pretty well.

Other races' geniuses have mixed feelings. Some acknowledged Hiro's strength, others looked at the result and just scoffed at Hiro for wasting their time.

The participants at Rank-As felt relieved that Hiro was eliminated and that he wasn't their opponent. Otherwise, they knew that they had no chance.

Although getting Rank-S might not have any different impact on their result, at least losing to Rank-S was better than losing to Rank-A - which is a lower rank than them.

Zero, Amelia, and Mia were also watching intently.

Zero was satisfied with Hiro's strength which seemed to have increased dramatically since the last time he saw him.

But he was also surprised by Princess Elenia's power. Although he knew that her bow skill was high, he never thought that Princess Elenia also knew hand combat and also had healing ability.

And there was also her strong barrier which completely blocked Hiro's attack.

"So Close!"

Amelia said frustrated. She didn't like Princess Elenia and the reason was obvious. It was because of how Princess Elenia threatened Zero and also tried to fight with him.

Moreover, Hiro was from the human race, so she as a human was also rooting for Hiro. But alas, Hiro lost in the end.

"Hiro has really become strong but he still falls short. Princess Elenia is not someone we can underestimate."

Mia said. Although Hiro had a good chance, he was still far from being able to defeat Princess Elenia.

Lisa and others went to tend to Hiro's injuries. His injuries were worse than any one and the reason was his body going over the limit.

More than Princess Elenia's attack, it was his own skill which has messed up his body. However, it wasn't a life-threatening injury and can be treated by the healers.

Anyway, Hiro was unconscious and was carried out on a stretcher. Along with them were various healers tending to his wound.

Princess Elenia watched as Hiro was being carried. She watched for a bit before returning to her seat.

"Princess Elenia! Princess Elenia!"

The cheers and applause from the crowd continued as Princess Elenia made her way back to her seat.

King Tranduil, her father, leaned in and whispered, "You did exceptionally well, my daughter!"

Elenia nodded, still processing what had happened in the fight. She had won but she did exert most of her power in order to win. She never thought that she would need to in this contest, at least not against Rank-A -.

"Thank you, Dad!"

Although she had won, she didn't look very satisfied. How could she when she who is known as the greatest talent, struggle against Rank-A?

Anyway, the contest continued. ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Another match which was between two Rank-S happened but the excitement for that battle wasn't as much as Hiro and Princess Elenia.

They had truly gone beyond the level of mere Rank-S - during that fight.

The fight was evenly matched and took a bit of time before the winner emerged.

Then it was Zero's turn.

"Zero Elea of Human Race Vs Elin Ironheart of Dwarf Race!"

It seems like his luck was still pretty great as his opponent was Rank-A.

Zero descended from his seat to the arena. From the Dwarf side was a small girl who was apparently his opponent.

Elin Ironheart, the female dwarf who stood as Zero's opponent, was a striking contrast to male dwarfs who looked old despite their age.

Her appearance was like Loli who is of age 10-12.

Elin was particularly petite, even among dwarves. And she also walked towards the arena without much confidence.

Zero even felt bad for having to fight such a fight but what can he do? He has to fight and win!

Zero summoned his sword whereas Elin brought out her hammer which was twice her size. Even so, she effortlessly lifted the hammer showing just how strong she really was.

"Are you both ready?"

The referee asked and both of them gave a small nod.

"Then let the battle begin!"

-WHOOSH!

As soon as the referee's words hung in the air, signaling the start of the match, Zero moved with lightning speed. He closed the gap between them in an instant, his sword slashing through the air with precision.

It was a blur of steel as he aimed for Elin's hammer, trying to disarm her quickly.

Elin reacted quickly. She already knew about Zero's insane speed and seemed to have countermeasures against it.

She swung her massive hammer with surprising agility for her size, attempting to block Zero's attack.

Zero's blade met the hammer with a resounding clang, and Elin was thrown off balance by the force of the impact.

Elin's eyes widened in surprise. She thought that she would be able to stop Zero with her strength since normally the Dwarf would have higher strength compared to humans but Zero's strength overwhelmed her.

In a split second, Zero capitalized on her vulnerability. He disarmed Elin with a swift, calculated move, sending her hammer crashing to the arena floor.

The audience gasped in astonishment at the sheer speed and skill Zero had displayed. It was as if the battle had barely begun, and yet it was already over.

The referee raised his hand and declared, "Winner! Zero Elea!"

-CLAP! -CLAP!

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, albeit mixed with a few surprised whispers. Zero's victory had been so swift and decisive that it left many in awe.

Elin's eyes welled up with tears as she stood there, her massive hammer lying at her feet.

Zero, standing a few feet away from her, watched not knowing what to do.

As the crowd continued to cheer for Zero's victory, Elin couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She dropped to her knees, her small frame trembling with emotion.

Elin was soon taken away by one of her fellow friends.

"Look at that demon! Bullying such a small girl!"

"That boy has no mercy even for such a little girl!"

"If it was me, I wouldn't have been that cruel. This Zero really only cares about victory." …

The crowd who sympathized with Elina began throwing insults at Zero. Zero glared at those people.

( You think that girl is weak? Look at that hammer and speak again! )

Zero thought. No matter the appearance, the people who are considered geniuses by their race and brought here were all strong and Zero wasn't planning on underestimating them.

And the spectator should also know that but was nonetheless criticizing Zero!

When Zero glared at those people, they looked away and pretended as if they were not the person who insulted him.

Zero returned to his seat, a dissatisfied expression on his face.

Mia leaned in closer to Zero and whispered, "Don't let them get to you. You did what you had to do. It's not your fault that the match was so one-sided."

Amelia chimed in, "Yeah! They are just jealous of your power."

Two of them tried to cheer Zero up.

"I don't really care about them. They can say what they want!"

Zero said, although his mood was affected by that.

"I am just disgusted by their behavior!"

Zero said. He was talking about those people who were insulting him. They just find a way to criticize him even though what they said was not true at all.

Zero had seen similar things in his other life where people find things to criticize you even if you did nothing wrong.