Harem Tournament of Champions

Kritz raised his head to the sky, the dark cloud only told sad stories that would rain down its tears on the land.

Pit!

His head was forced back down on the tiny droplet of rain that dropped on his shoe.

"It's going to rain." His voice was low and weak as he mumbled to himself.

Pat!

Tears slowly trailed down his cheek as he stared at the balcony of his lord's room.

Forcing a smile, he let out a satisfying breath of air. 'my pleas have finally been heard by the celestial beings.'

Pit!

Pat!

Pit!

Pat!

Opening his arms wide, he anticipated the downpour–the sad tears of the sky as he would name it.

'You would rightly regain all that's yours!' He nodded to the resolve to be at his lord's side when all of this is realized.

He had been a little boy dressed in a ripped coat over a wool cover that he had torn off a sheep. It was a nasty mess of stains and dirt. The right leg of his pants had been torn at the knee and the left leg was full of holes.

He had been wandering in the outskirts of the outlands–a stray kid without any hope of survival, treated with scorn as a foreigner without any recollection of his family.

The constant downpour of the season was the only moment that he could use to confidently hide his teary eyes at the scorn he had endured.

No one wanted a frail and pale-looking boy with eyes that rivaled a beast, he looked nothing like the 7 beastmen tribes.

Because of this, he wore a small scarf around his neck and has it wrapped around his face in a way that covers his whole face, leaving only a little space for him to see through. It was ragged and stained but had managed to keep the smell to its barest minimum.

He had remembered pleading while looking to the sky, begging to be taken to a place where he could find peace.

Clip!

Clop!

The sound of a horse strutting in his direction had been the turning point in his life.

It had been the day the very thing that repulsed others had been readily accepted by lord Hisha and raised in the citadel.

"Peace..." Kritz recalled, feeling the downpour on his face mask the tears that flowed uncontrollably.

He had always tried to be the anchor to his lord, feeling they were similar in some way.

Lord Hisha had no family, nor did he know who they were, he had worked his way up the rank of the once anarchical land of Kurg.

Established order and ruled over all that inhabits his territory. He had buried deep within him the hurt, the pain he once felt toward everyone, and had created a community where creatures and humans can thrive.

He had always wondered how he had been able to stomach all his loneliness before he could get to where he was now.

'How times have changed.' Kritz shook his head to the memory.

He had vowed never to make his lord feel such loneliness and had been glad he was finally taking the step to getting companions who could give him the comfort, the family he wouldn't be able to achieve on his own.

Looking across the stationed post at every door were two guards.

Their blue jacket perfectly wrapped around their body. It had an intricate, but subtle plaid pattern, giving the jacket a stylish casual look.

The 6 buttons of their double-breasted jacket are all buttoned up, giving them a sophisticated look fit for the guards of the Supreme overlord.

"Would you look at that?" One of the guards nudged the other on the side to get his counterpart's attention.

He had white, short hair almost fully covering a chiseled, wild face.

Expressive brown eyes, set charmingly within their sockets, watched his counterpart in mischief.

"What now, Gad?!" The second guard snapped in irritation.

The downpour drowned his words.

"What did you say, Loid?!" Gad yelled back enthusiastically, the raise of his lips leaving a bittersweet memory of his fortunate adventures.

'Exactly what I was trying to point out, you dimwit!' Loid deadpanned in his thoughts.

Golden, well-groomed hair tight in a ponytail reveals a furrowed, displeased face. Piercing green eyes narrowed at Gad to the disturbance he had just gone through.

Gad had a grin, finally understanding why Loid was acting all cranky. Inching closer to Loid, he unintentionally gave him an uneasy feeling.

"If you take any step closer, I would crush your bones from the inside. Either you speak at your station or don't speak at all!" Loid threatened, spiral white energy raised from his palms forming the shape of a bone he intended to break.

Gulp!

Gad nodded his head and complied with the advice. Rubbing his palms, his hands cupped like a person begging for alms and spoke for a few seconds into it.

Loid raised a brow at his counterpart's action but said nothing as he waited for what tricks he had up his sleeves.

Raising his head, he had a dubious smile that instantly made Loid regret the little chit-chat they were having.

Opening his palm, a transparent fluid-looking slime hovered in the air and moved closer to Loid.

Loid felt he was about to lose his lunch having to witness his counterpart's disgusting ability.

"Is that..." Loid paused, pinching the bridge of his nose as he continued. "your saliva?"

Gad nodded his head, "a clear and better way to convey my thoughts without going closer, isn't that great?!"

Loid's eyes widened in horror at the floating saliva, his regret only doubled as he had forgotten one of the weird perks of Gad's ability.

His eyes followed Gas's finger-pointing above him to listen to the words he had spoken to it.

~Look at the lord Hisha's attendant, he looks a tat sad~

Getting the information, Loid looked over to his left at the direction in which Gad pointed in sync with his information.

The floating saliva moved away from where it was and dropped onto an unlucky bush.

Tzzzzt!

The plant melted under the acid saliva that had dropped onto it, green smoke evaporated.

Loid stared at the plant for a while, trying his best to hide the shock he couldn't get over with Gad's ability. He contemplated what he had wanted to say before the slight distraction.

"Uh... Loid?" Gad called back his attention, blinking innocently and waiting for his response to what he had said earlier.

"What about it?" Loid questioned with a raise of his brows, turning his attention back at Kritz.

"Who would have thought a loser could be highly favored and nurtured by our lord?" Gad called to his notice what he was so desperately trying to lead him on.

"Loser you say?" Loid let out a dry laugh at the term.

They had all thought this way when Kritz had first arrived at the citadel but was all shocked when he had easily defeated all of the opponents that had been paired against him.

Gad grimaced at the thought and how wrong he was to use that word for Kritz, he was far from the outward loser they had all thought over six centuries ago.

"You of all people should know the sort of strength he possesses, he was personally trained by lord Hisha, you dimwit." Loid hissed as he watched Kritz sneeze and stare at the sky.

In a flash, he disappeared from their sight. A black mist spiraled before dissipating.

Gasp!

They straightened their posture in a hurry, feeling that they had just triggered a sleeping devil in the form of Kritz.

Kritz would only disappear in such a creepy manner when he sensed a strange occurrence or feeling about him, which could be within a 10-meter radius, he would sneak up on his target.

"Do you think it's because of us?" Gad hissed to Loid in a panic.

"Shh!" Loid snapped, his heart thumping as they looked around them for any sign of Kritz.

If they could catch a glimpse of him at a distance–safely away from them, they would be sure that they were safe from those eyes and demeaning aura that seethed off him.

Zzt!

Kritz materialized in front of them, not minding the rain that doused his body. His arms were folded and his brows creased in displeasure.

They both jumped back in fear and yelped at the sight of him at close range.

His glowing red eyes only seemed to gleam brightly as he stared down at the two guards. "Which one of you two were talking about me?"