Rebirth: Childhood friend of the heroine

As Alex predicted the next two rounds went as planned. He and Rebecca seamlessly trod through the battles within seconds of commencement.

They didn't need to drag the battle; rather, they just cut off their enemy's legs and ended the match right away.

Well, generally, Alex would have liked to farm some Soul Points, however, considering the strength of these being, he wouldn't gain much and only would end up prolonging the battle.

The audience might have been complaining and disgruntled, however, they had a reason to be patient and feel the hype from this contest.

And that hype arises from the final battle that would bring the strongest warriors across each other.

"Agh!!"

"I can't move!"

The two beastmen groaned in pain as they levitated high in the air, and couldn't fight against the invisible force at all.

Just like Alex and Rebecca, a certain someone was also quick with his matches as he used his skill to end the battle before it could properly begin.

"He is not a human, right?" Alex asked as he gazed at Rui, who was toying with his opponent while his partner remained completely nonchalant, even going as far as sitting in the middle of the arena and waiting for the battle to conclude.

Rebecca removed her eyes from her dagger and glanced at the arena before saying, "He is a half-vampire; a special case. It's very rare for a human and a vampire to produce a baby, yet Rui was born, proving those rumors to be wrong."

Alex raised his brows, "Is he the only one with Vampire's blood in him? Then why was Luke engaged to you?"

In Alex's eyes, there was no comparison between Rui and Luke. Although Luke was a strong warrior, looking at Rui, anyone could tell that the telekinesis user is far superior when it comes to strength.

So naturally, Lord Steelhound should have chosen the stronger one for his daughter, no?

Rebecca felt reluctant to talk about those people, however, since it was her Darling who asked, she didn't make him wait,

"Our clan and the Greyhart family have an alliance since both of them are in the same boat. Lord Greyhart participated in the courtship contest and won the heart of a vampire. Naturally, after it was discovered that he was a human, he was being chased away—however, the lady was already head over heels for Lord Greyhart. As such, she followed him back here, severing all the ties with her family."

Alex raised his brows, "So Lord Greyhart had more than one wife?"

Rebecca nodded, "Although Rui was the strongest of them all, because of his unstable mind and lack of respect for human lives, my father instantly rejected my engagement with him."

Rui relished the thrill of slaughtering those weaker than himself, treating it as nothing more than twisted entertainment. When Victor uncovered his depraved tendencies, he wasted no time rejecting any proposal that could tie the lunatic to his daughter.

Alex now understood the whole situation with the Greyhart. However, he was curious about something.

How did a human win the courtship contest while competing against the vampires?

"What are you thinking?" Rebecca asked, as the semi-final match came to a conclusion and the management staff went to clean up the arena.

Alex glanced at the girl, and asked, "Did you like him? Luke?" He killed Luke during a battle and never asked what Rebecca, the one he was betrothed to, felt about it.

Rebecca heaved a sigh, "I met him twice, and already knew what kind of person he was. Knuckle-headed, someone who loves to do first think later."

"And you don't think I am similar to him?" Alex chuckled, "What made you like me?"

Rebecca, with all seriousness, muttered, "You don't see women as just an object to take care of the house and produce babies. I have seen how you respect the women close to you...giving them the right to speak even in serious matters. And most of all, you care about the one you love, above anything else."

Taking a pause, she added, "In a way, you are like my father...that's why I respect you."

Alex was...rendered speechless.

For a long time, he just stared at Rebecca, until he heard the announcement,

"Now, onto the final match to decide the two brave warriors of Dorhales! Please come on the stage, Team White Fangs and Team Ghost Grip."

"Let's go." Rebecca urged as she held his wrist and pulled him toward the stage.

Alex shook himself out of his daze and decided to focus on the match. He was against a half-vampire, naturally, the competition would be tough. And to win this tournament, Rui was the first obstacle.

Rui gazed at Alex as if he was looking past his mask and staring at him in the eye.

Beneath his indifferent facade, Alex caught a glimpse of a maddening look lurking in his eyes. The guy was unstable—that much was obvious—but the bloodlust radiating from him was all too familiar to Alex, a sensation he had encountered many times before.

Rui wasn't an enemy worth losing control over. And if Alex ends up again going into 'that' state, then he seriously needs to rethink his life decisions and do something about his feeble self.

"There is no time limit for this match." The referee voiced as he asked, "Are the contestants ready?"

Rebecca gazed at the guy standing beside Rui as she voiced, "I will go for the other one." Alex hummed in response and gave a nod to the referee.

The referee took a deep breath, raised his hand, and while bringing it down, he cried, "BEGIN!"

Rebecca dashed forward, her daggers appearing in her hand, as he neared the green-haired individual close to Rui.

This time the long-haired guy didn't interfere, as Rebecca swung her dagger and aimed for her target's neck.

*CLANG*

A small glowing barrier appeared at the spot where she tried stabbing him, as the man uttered, "Quite vicious you are."

Swinging his fist, he aimed it at Rebecca's torso, but the vampire princess easily tilted her body and slashed the attack, before slashing her dagger in a horizontal cut.

However, the man again chanted a barrier, which she struck and pushed away with both of his hands.

Rebecca's eyes glinted as she closed the distance again, her movements a blur. She feinted to the left and slashed to the right, her dagger carving a clean arc aimed at his ribs.

*CLANG!*

The glowing barrier shimmered into existence just in time, deflecting her attack. The green-haired man smirked, his lips moving rapidly as he chanted under his breath.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, 'Let's see if you can dodge this...' She threw her dagger straight to his forehead and jumped into the air at the same time. Showing her nimble movements, she threw the other dagger while being airborne and shot several blood threads in his direction once she landed behind him.

The man was overwhelmed by the number of attacks advancing at him at once, so he ended up shielding his whole body with a barrier, closing off his senses just to ensure nothing stabbed him to death

*CLANG*

The sound of metal hitting the ground resonated, and the participant felt something nearly breaking his barrier from behind.

The audience gasped at the restless assault of the pretty girl who, for the first time, was forced to use her skill.

The green-haired man's barrier flickered as the relentless assault pounded against it. Rebecca stood poised, her crimson eyes locked onto him, blood threads coiling around her fingers like living serpents.

Inside his barrier, the man's chanting faltered. He couldn't see or hear anything, but he could feel the vibrations of her attacks. The pressure was suffocating.

"Enough!" he growled, dropping the barrier in one swift motion to conserve his energy.

The instant the barrier faded, Rebecca was already in motion. Her silhouette blurred, and before he could react, her boot connected with his back with a resounding THUD.

The force of the kick sent him hurtling forward like a ragdoll.

Alex kicked the man with enough force to send him skyrocketing toward the ceiling of the barrier, leaving the man unconscious.

*Clap* *Clap*

As his partner fell to the ground, unconscious and defeated, Rui clapped to congratulate the two. Find more chapters on empire

"Nice work, Rebecca. You truly are worthy of Greyhart's name." A smile bloomed on his face as he continued to clap with his eyes crescent.

Alex summoned his blade before he lunged toward his enemy—however,

*STRETCH*

He was blocked from attacking the individual as an invisible forcefield stopped him mid-track.

Rui smilingly looked at Alex and asked with a tilt of his head, "Are you prepared to die?"

"How can you talk this much?" Alex was genuinely annoyed as he leaped back and launched his sixth stance—dancing through the arena, he tried attacking the chatterbox from different angles.

The audience gasped upon seeing his unnatural speed which didn't allow most of them to keep track of the swordsman.

Rui was nonchalantly standing there, his telekinesis forming a barrier around him as he easily parried the attacks.

Alex stood back at his initial spot, thinking of a way to get through his defense....when suddenly,

*BLINK* *BLINK*

Alex's eyes widened as he took out the beacon, and found it was blinking rapidly.

"Celestria...is in danger?"

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A/N:- Thank you for reading.