So, Zen… wipe the royal daughter out in a second? Or make it a dramatic fight?
Though… no, wait…
I recently called myself an idiot for doing that.
But if I beat her instantly—my reputation will definitely crash.
Then again, her sister lost to Mira too—and she’s alive.
Fine. We’ll see.
I stepped onto the arena.
The trio—Rainword, Levander, Arvent—were together again, whispering.
— Who do we bet on? — Arvent drawled.
— Betting on the Helvards isn’t profitable, — Levander said darkly. — The commission will take everything.
— Those two are monsters, — Rainword said. — Rumors…
— What rumors? — Arvent, nervous.
— Thousands of soldiers saw them. That’s not a rumor.
I caught Elinia’s gaze.
She was… different.
Her eyes glittered with impatience.
And yes:
Artifacts.
Bracelets on her wrists—acceleration runes.
Rings—mana control.
A necklace—amplification.
Clothing—echo-shield + magnetic field.
And the judge announced:
— Princess Elinia—disqualification for artifacts!
PAUSE.
— But! At her request, the fight may be held if the opponent agrees.
The crowd:
— SAY YEEES!!!
I thought.
Hm. It’s interesting to see.
And said:
— Yes.
And the arena exploded with screams.
Count:
— One!
— Two!
— Three!
— FIGHT!
And the ground under my feet immediately crackled.
An electric field rose like a living net—she’d planned this in advance.
I jumped back.
Twenty iron golems rushed me.
And their arms tore off like magnets, slamming and accelerating their bodies.
— Brilliant, — I breathed out.
A minute later there were thirty.
All under Elinia’s full control—
the artifacts were clearly helping.
I struck with current.
The golems shuddered and fell.
— Jerk! — Elinia shouted. — You changed the magnetic field!
And she was already right there.
Under me the sand turned to stone.
A wall rose on the left.
A splash of water on the right.
Fire from above.
She used everything.
Emotions? Or is there… a desire to impress? Or to kill?
I decided not to end it yet.
I put up a block.
And the moment her fist touched—
BAM.
Explosion.
She was thrown back three meters.
But she was already flying back.
All elements—at once.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Fire.
Lightning.
Water.
Wind.
She hit like she was mad, as if proving something… not to me… to the world.
After five minutes, blood ran from her nose.
I exhaled.
Yeah… the artifacts demand more mana than she has. Problem.
She stepped forward again.
And stopped a meter away.
And smiled like… like she was about to kiss me.
She raised her hand to my face…
And whispered:
— Hey, Zen… will you invite me for a walk today?
And that’s when—
my brain froze.
Is this my romance arc starting?! With a princess?!
That’s every guy’s dream… but not like this!
Is it a trap? Does she really—
Yeah, right.
Her fist slammed into my chin so hard I actually heard the sound:
TYN!!
She smirked:
— Didn’t think my sister’s advice would help THIS much.
You’re predictable.
…I got played? Seriously? She used that kind of cheap trick?!
That’s a strike below the belt…
While I was thinking—she rushed in to finish me.
I sped up the left wall—
and it smashed into her so hard that if not for her artifact-clothes,
the princess would’ve turned into a pancake.
— How dare you play with a boy’s WEAK heart?! — I snapped.
And dropped a huge stone cube on her.
It won’t kill—just pin.
The judge inhaled:
— The winner will be—
CRACK.
Stone shattered.
She stepped out.
Covered in blood.
Eyes barely holding focus.
This is bad.
And then…
dozens of Elinias appeared around me.
— Seriously? — I exhaled. — Noy… you’ve sunk that low?
I dispersed it with a snap.
Noy fainted right in the stands.
But while I was distracted—
Hit!
The automatic barrier saved me, but inertia is inertia—painful.
She came close again,
but didn’t strike.
While I was flying back, she leaned right to my ear…
and whispered:
— Dummy…
And exhaled pollen into my face.
Everything inside went blurry.
Emotions tore sideways.
My head turned to fog.
And in that chaos…
I felt hundreds of tiny hits across my body.
And something inside me cracked.
My eyes flickered red.
Again.
Again.
And I struck.
Straight at her.
She flew across the whole arena and slammed into the wall.
Slid down.
Not getting up.
The crowd had fallen into silence.
I covered my face with my hands.
What’s happening to me?.. why… why can’t I control my emotions?!
But my body moved on its own.
I jumped—
straight to finish her for good.
And I heard:
— ZEN! STOP!!!
Norris stood in front of Elinia.
— Move, — I said in a чужой voice.
— Or you die.
Red flickered.
Pressure rose.
But suddenly…
HEART—
BAM.
And everything calmed down.
My eyes became normal.
And I saw:
Elinia—half-dead.
If not for Norris—I would’ve killed her.
The crowd exploded:
— HORROR!!!
— BEAST!!!
— MONSTER!!
— NOT HUMAN!!!
And in that moment…
I was afraid for the first time not of the crowd—
but of myself.
The crowd had been silent a second ago,
and now it was like a wave of rage broke off its chain.
A roar.
A blast of voices.
Nothing distinguishable anymore—
only the essence, only the poison.
— MONSTER!
— GET HIM OUT!
— HE’S NOT HUMAN!
— DANGEROUS!
— PEOPLE LIKE THAT SHOULDN’T LIVE WITH US!
Every word hit my ears harder than Elinia’s blows.
And I…
I stood in the middle of that chaos and couldn’t understand:
*What did she give me?
What kind of pollen is that?
Why did my emotions explode?
Why did I… almost… kill her?*
I controlled myself… always…
Or did it only seem that way?
I looked at my hand—the one I hit Elinia with.
It was shaking.
A little.
Barely noticeable.
But shaking.
Not from exhaustion.
From fear.
Fear of myself.
She played dirty.
Used artifacts.
Pollen.
Noy’s illusions.
Dragged her sister into it.
She wanted to win at any cost.
But…
But me?..
I let emotions break out.
Let my power strike harder than necessary.
Let myself lose control.
And that was the worst part.
I walked toward the exit without lifting my head.
The air around was thick like fog—
still vibrating from the crowd’s screams.
Ugh! MONSTER!
He would’ve killed her!
How dare he be among people?!
Exile him!
People’s shoulders jerked away from me.
Like I was contagious.
And then—
SPLAT!
Something wet hit my side.
A tomato.
Seriously?
I automatically flicked my hand—
and the tomato flew back so fast
that the person who threw it
was launched sideways and fell.
Unconscious.
The crowd gasped.
I clenched my teeth.
Great, Zen. Perfect.
Make it worse than it was.
I didn’t care.
About the crowd.
About their fear.
But not about me.
What if I really am dangerous?
What if everything my father said, Mira, the elves—
all of it was a mistake?
What if…
— Zen!
The voice—soft.
Warm.
Certain.
Mira.
She stood right by the exit,
as if she’d been waiting there the whole time.
And before I could say anything,
she stepped forward and hugged me sharply.
Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper:
— Zen… it’s not your fault.
I froze.
She held me tighter,
as if physically pushing away the noise, the poison, the pressure of the world.
— It’s not your fault, hear me? — she repeated.
— That wasn’t you losing control. It was her pollen. Her sister’s trick. I know that crap. She tried it on me too… until I almost snapped her neck.
I snorted despite myself.
She leaned back a little,
lifted my head by the chin
and started gently scratching through my hair.
— That’s it… good… breathe. It’s fine.
In that moment it became…
unbearably warm.
And even scary—how easily she peeled the tension off me.
Mira continued:
— You think you’re dangerous? That you’re страшный?
But you know what?
She poked my chest with a finger.
— As long as I’m with you—no one will ever touch you. And none of your friends will get hurt. Not a single hair.
And she hugged me again.
And for the first time in all of this…
I felt that I wasn’t alone.
Felt that there was someone
who sees me whole—
with all the cracks—
and still stays.
Mira pulled back, slapped my shoulder.
— Alright. Enough sulking, little brother. I’m up soon.
— Will you… give Finn a chance to show himself? — I asked.
She put on the deepest thinking face.
— Hmmm… I don’t know… I don’t know… we’ll see…
And she smiled that wide, shameless grin,
the one that always made me forget everything.
And in that moment it got easier.
Actually easier.
