Lucia's eyes flew open in surprise at the man's decration. She gnced at Sophie as if to ask her, "Why didn't you tell me this," but was only met with a simple shrug.

  “Furthermore, Louis has betrayed the people of the Vel Empire. In secret, he has aligned himself with the enemies of our Goddesses. Today, people from all walks of life gather: Fairy mercenaries, Ferefolk knights, and those who are loyal not to the crown, but to the people of this country. We meet for a common purpose: to see the success of this revolution.”

  Gabriel's words echoed throughout the quite sizable room and awed most of the Ferefolk in attendance. The Fairies, however, had a wider range of reactions to his words. Some looked indifferent, while others seemed just as mesmerized.

  Then, Gabriel went on to give the date for the pnned attack. It would be occurring ten days from now, on Crepusday, a Nebu Night, and the two-week eve of Lucia's arrival in this world.

  As the meeting proceeded, Yves got visibly agitated and caught Gabriel's attention.

  "Is there a problem, Yves?"

  It took a few seconds, but upon hearing his name spoken aloud, Sophie slowly rotated her head to face Lucia. In response, Lucia copied her earlier shrug.

  "Yeah, I have a problem; where is the evidence for this? You promised me more evidence at our next meeting! You expect the people to simply accept this coup?"

  Yves's gravitas matched Gabriel's; his voice was loud and assaulted the story that had been id out thus far.

  “The evidence is my divine blood.”

  After looking around and seeing that his answer was unsatisfactory, Gabriel sighed.

  "Very well, I saved this for today, when all of you would be here so I would not have to funt it so lightly again."

  Gabriel subsequently grew rge green wings that glowed. He took a deep breath and stared Yves down while the markings on his face shone a vibrant emerald.

  "You Fairies can confirm I am not one of you, correct? I usually have no such wings but can activate them at will."

  Each Fairy in the room began checking their status windows except for Sophie. In the area that would list nearby Fairies, Gabriel's name was completely missing. In addition, his profile was listed as a Gaian Ferefolk instead of a Fairy. While this occurred, many of the Ferefolk looked on in confusion; it seemed that many were unaware of a Fairy's status menu.

  Still not accepting the evidence provided, Yves challenged him once again.

  “This may represent that you are a Demigod, but it does not bring truth to your cims against the crown.”

  The Ferefolk scanned Yves with suspicion. They were very trustful of the demigod, especially after he dispyed his wings. On the other hand, Yves represented the Fairies and their skepticism of Gabriel and his tall tale.

  "If my divine lineage does not convince you, then you are no ally of mine. I was there, myriads ago, when that traitorous cur killed my mother and father. We demigods live much longer than you Fairies do, you see. We experience ten times the pain. We see all those around us die and perish. We witness the fall and beginning of every era, granting us immeasurable wisdom. You are a child to me, and a petunt one at that."

  Gabriel drew his sword bathed in emerald light and pointed it directly at Yves.

  "The people need not even believe this "king" murdered my parents. All I must show are the many human experiments he has conducted to pass his consciousness to a younger body. After they see how he has mutited his own citizens, there will be no questions. The evidence will be gathered and presented to the people after I kill Louis. So I ask you, pretty boy—are you with us, or are you against us?"

  Yves colpsed back into his chair and murmured a few words before becoming silent. It seemed that even Yves had been moved by Gabriel's pure ferocity. During this entire debacle, Sophie had begun getting bored and groping Lucia's breasts. Everyone had been mostly unaware of this, as the focus had been concentrated on the two men—that was until things had settled down.

  The color of Lucia’s face became closer to that of an apple with each passing second. More people had started to notice that Sophie had been feeling her up the entire time, and eventually, Yves did as well.

  "Can someone please stop them? This is inappropriate for a meeting like this!"

  Yves shouted while interrupting Gabriel once again. However, this time, it looked as if Gabriel was genuinely angered by the interruption.

  “Get out of here.”

  The demigod spoke only loud enough for the amber-eyed Reaper to hear. His words' ck of vigor only made them more terrifying.

  “She is blemishing Lucia’s honor!”

  "I care not what Sophie does. She is integral to our pns."

  At this point, Lucia’s face had turned from an apple into a tomato. The entire room brought its attention to her and the girl beside her doing the groping. Although it was only noticeable to Lucia, she felt moisture growing in her nether regions.

  There is no way this is turning me on… There is just no way.

  “What about Lucia!? She is not her property!”

  Yves shouted at the demigod, begging him to admonish the perverted woman beside him.

  “If you have a problem with Sophie’s behavior, you may deal with it after this meeting. Now, if you interrupt again, I will forcibly remove you from this room.”

  Dejected, Yves fell into his seat and remained quiet for the rest of the meeting. Sophie locked eyes with him for a moment and stuck her tongue out, which only angered the Reaper more. Luckily, he was able to keep himself quiet while Gabriel went on to introduce someone.

  “This is Alfnor, leader of the Holtheir guild.”

  A Sylvan man next to Yves stood up. He had short silver hair and looked rather meek.

  “H-hello everyone… M-my guild will be r-responsible for m-m-maintaining communications between different squadrons during the battle. W-while us Fairies are able to communicate with each other naturally, Ferefolk do not have the same abilities. On top of this, we will be establishing an efficient system of delivering messages between Gabriel and the Fairy guilds present here.”

  While Alfnor stumbled through his first two sentences, he became more confident as he spoke.

  “Furthermore, if you have any questions. Feel free to ask!”

  He ended his speech with a welcoming smile on his face.

  He seems shy. How did he, of all people, become a guild leader?

  With the introduction out of the way, Gabriel started to wind down with his speeches. However, in the st few moments of the meeting, Yves exploded in rage.

  “Get away from her, you pervert!”

  His words of anger were directed at the Sylvan sitting across from her. Sophie, however, looked nonchant and barely looked in his direction.

  “If you wanted her so bad, you should have taken her while you still had a chance.”

  Sophie countered his insult by instigating him further and continuing to fondle the purple-haired woman beside her.

  “Plus, she enjoys it, right Lucia?”

  Her sultry words only embarrassed Lucia further as Sophie snuck her hands down below the table. Lucia could feel a hand caressing her thigh as it moved closer to her crotch, and instead of responding, she let out a small moan.

  I’m way too embarrassed to say one way or another right now.

  Yves watched this scene with horror in his eyes, and then he went on to calmly address her.

  “That’s enough. Sophie, I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you must end that behavior.”

  “And why should I accept that? What do I have to gain from accepting this challenge?”

  “I will… Let you have full domain over Angel Dirge. We will do anything you say.”

  For a moment, Sophie hesitated before mounting her answer to the amber Reaper.

  “You have a deal.”

  ???

  The meeting ended abruptly after Gabriel became frustrated with the constant interruption. Given what was about to occur, he decided not to punish the Reaper.

  Despite being in the same room, Yves never actually examined Sophie's profile in his status window. So when he finally discovered her level, he began panicking.

  "How am I supposed to beat someone two hundred levels higher than me!?"

  The amber Reaper, who once considered himself among the highest-level Fairies, questioned himself as he prepared for battle. The room surrounding him was built explicitly for dueling as it was lined with shelves of potions and other useful items for fighting. Valeria was home to an arena used for both duels and sporting events. While it had mainly been used for non-violent sports, the arrival of the Fairies had created a new era of dueling. And so these "preparation rooms" were restored to their former glory.

  On the other end of the arena, Lucia watched over Sophie as she rexed in the opposing preparation room.

  “This is gonna be sooo boring.”

  The sylvan girl rested her head on her hand while letting out a sigh.

  "Hey, Lucia."

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think I should use this here?”

  She unsheathed the glowing bde from her back and was immediately halted by Lucia.

  “No, no, no. Why would you even joke about that?”

  Sophie let out a small tsk.

  “Maybe I am a little jealous that guy saw you half-naked? Okay?”

  Lucia stared at her in awe.

  I know Alice is overprotective of me, but to get this jealous over that?

  “I’m actually half lying, I accepted the duel request for another reason as well.”

  “...What’s the reason?”

  Just as the conversation became more substantive, someone from the arena walked in.

  “Sophie Embershard, it’s time for your duel. Get out there.”

  "Looks like we'll have to continue this ter, Lucia. See ya!"

  While Lucia tilted her head in confusion, the Sylvan woman set foot into the arena.

  The arena was considerable in size, and each side was decorated with various Valerian insignia. What surprised Sophie, however, were the five Fairies staring her down on the other side of the enormous colosseum.

  The bck-haired girl saw Yves in the group but wondered who his friends were.

  “What is going on here?”

  “If you want all of Angel Dirge, I think it only makes sense that you let them join our duel.”

  Around Yves were four of his guildmates, all rearing for battle. Sophie quickly analyzed their statuses before answering his request. Two Sylvan women, Charlotte and Featherine, sat to his immediate left and right. Their csses were "Frost Dancer" and "Fme Dancer" respectively. On the far right side sat Saphie Evertear, an Umbral who shared the Rune Fencer css with Lucia. A Gaian of the "Schor" css stood on the far left, her name was Hinori. During Sophie's analysis, she realized that Yves was surrounded by members of the opposite sex; she couldn't tell if this was a purposeful decision by him or simply coincidence.

  Either way, none of them exceeded Yves’ level of 43, so she had little worry that they would be able to overcome their sheer difference in power. Therefore, she accepted the request of the amber-eyed man.

  “Sure, whatever.”

  And so the group of five steeled themselves on the other end of the arena as an announcer began a countdown.

  “Five. Four. Three. Two. One… BEGIN!”

  Duels in FOO could be modified from individual bouts to team battles with any number of Fairies on each side. In this case, the duel consisted of one extremely high-level pyer facing off against five comparatively lower-level pyers. Although even with five pyers, the chances of Angel Dirge winning only increased marginally.

  It seemed that Yves had an ace up his sleeve however: He activated a Reaper skill by the name of Phantom Edge, granting his scythe an opposing bde on the other end of the polearm. Then, both Charlotte and Featherine enchanted his weapon. Now, his scythe carried both the elements of frost and fme on its bdes. While Yves received his buffs, Saphie charged towards Sophie with the Shining Lunge skill. Unfortunately for her, Sophie drew her sheathed right bde and sshed in one clean motion, cutting the girl clean in half and reducing her to crystals.

  The levels between the two groups were simply too far apart. Hinori attempted to revive Saphie with the Schor's "Resurrection" skill, but the bck-haired Sylvan cut her in an instant.

  “Behold the power of an Overture css.”

  While Sophie was aided by the sheer magnitude of her level, her special css allowed her to teleport instantly behind foes. The "Demonic Dual Duelist" specialized in fast teleportation and movement, and with each kill, she would receive a "Demon Heart" which only furthered her power. What made this even more impressive was the fact that Sophie had done all of this with only her non-lethal bde, as she wanted to avoid permanently ending any of their lives. She was not even using the full power of her dual-wielding css.

  With his two dancers by his side casting supporting skills, Yves jumped towards Sophie whilst activating his Reaper Bze skill. Both of their weapons traded hits, with neither gzing skin, but Sophie then activated another Demonshift, allowing her to teleport behind the Fme Dancer. In the blink of an eye, the Dual Bder appeared behind Featherine and immediately killed her with a stab to the back.

  Yves was now left with only one ally. With his chances of defeating Sophie dwindling, he activated his Avenging Thrust skill in desperation. Surprisingly, he nded a single blow, reducing Sophie's health by a miniscule one percent. In return, the girl sshed cleanly through his throat, turning him into crystals.

  When Sophie went to finish off Charlotte, however, Yves activated Edge of Death, puncturing a hole in his foe from behind. The added status effects from the frost slowed Sophie a tad, but her health still sat above 95%. The duel was reaching its end as Yves had run out of tricks. After another activation of Demonshift and an effortless stab, Sophie found herself with only Yves left.

  "It looks like you lost, huh?"

  “Oh, shut up.”

  In a clean motion, Sophie brought her bde through Yves's chest, ending the duel.

  While the entire debacle ended predictably, the crowd at least enjoyed the show. The stadium was filled with the resounding cps of the mostly Ferefolk onlookers. At this point, it was also firmly into the afternoon, so many of the Ferefolk felt satisfied by the entertainment and had begun to leave.

  Before Sophie walked back to her preparation room to see Lucia, she scheduled a meeting with Yves concerning the future of Angel Dirge. Then, it was time for Sophie to finally expin her "other reason" for attempting to gain control over Yves' guild.

  "So, Lucia, are you ready to hear my pn? Originally, I was pnning to put myself in the position, but you would be much better suited for it."

  Instead of a response, Lucia let out a confused hum.

  "Lucia, I will make you the queen of this country."