Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

“So here we are” Yamato said as they reached the seventh floor, 

Awaiting them in the room were a trio of students, each of them wearing the same outfit as before but this time with a black cloth tied on their forehead, signifying their belonging to the advanced classes. Also in the room, in a scarlet dōgi that had a lotus mark on the left side, with flowing scarlet hair she was currently tying into a bun was Master Aya, the master of this floor, and the younger Kurosawa sister. 

“I hope the fights from before did not bore you” Aya voiced as she stood up from her stage and bowed to the pair that just came in

“For it seemed that one of them made you shake the entire tower” she added with a wry smile 

“Nope. I liked facing them, reminded me how it felt when I was in training” Ophelia replied with a smirk

“Oh? You had training like this before?” Aya asked, her curiosity piqued as she sat back down on the stage

“Indeed. Before I became as good as I am, I spent months fighting my ruthless instructors, but instead of one on one fights, they would fight me all at once. Forcing me to think on my feet and get better after getting knocked down” 

Ophelia’s words surprised Aya, and the three students in the room, Yamato as well was surprised as Ophelia had only told her she was trained by the best, but never fully described it. 

“If it were not sparring matches that scarred my skin and broke my bones, I was sent out to hunt monsters. Big ones. To kill and bring back, So this, this is much more enjoyable” Ophelia continued as her smirk turned into a big smile. 

“Heh. I am glad you have enjoyed it so far Miss Ophelia. But I believe the fun stops here. No one has been able to defeat the advanced classes before, with the exception of Lady Yamato, the best of the best in the village. So hearing that you had defeated her was unbelievable. Of course, we do not wish to discredit her, but we seek to see it for ourselves. I do hope you understand our reasoning” Aya said with a steady expression, 

“Of course. I respect that, so tell me, what should I be expecting of the advanced class?” 

“Fufufu, it is best to just show you no? So shall we begin?” Aya said with excitement in her tone 

“Alright then. Show me what you got!” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Steeping onto the mat, Ophelia decided that this time, she shouldn’t just wait for them, the itch to go on the offensive had taken its toll on her patience and now she wanted to go a bit more aggressive, her perception of time slowing down as her senses and reactions ramped up. 

‘Hmm, what to do what to do’ she thought as she scanned her opponents before her, her senses picking up traces of magic being casted as they mumbled, their mumbling being so minuscule that one would mistake it as silent casting. 

‘Yamato did say that the advanced classes teach magic, surprisingly good magic at that’ she continued to think as she used <Appraisal> on her opponents

‘Huh. all of them are on the lower side of A-Rank…but they have much higher stats than the other A-Ranks from earlier by the looks of it. 

‘Well, if they want to play with fire. I will give them an inferno’ 

“Alright. Begin!” Aya shouted, 

DASH!

BAM!

THUD!

THUD!

CRA

As soon as the word left her opponent's mouth, Ophelia dashed forward and elbowed the student in front of her, with the force of the blow sending him crashing to the wall of the stage before bouncing back and allowing her to finish them with an axe kick that drove them into the floor. The other two students and Aya were surprised to see that their opponent was now in between them and tried to cast their spells and go on the attack. 

“Hup!” 

BAM!

“AGH!”

“Hup!”

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

“Gughghhh!” 

THUD!

“HAIIEEE!” 

BOOM!

“Ughhhh”

THUD! 

{!}

Ophelia however gave them no such chance, immediately, shifting her footing and lunging forward. She landed a straight punch to the gut of the student on her left, sending them staggering back, before quickly using her back foot to shift and spring her up as she jumped at the other student, hitting them with a three-kick combo as she descended, one of the head, one of the side of the chest and finally one on the knee, bringing them down to on one knee, without even a chance for them to react, she swiftly turned around and launched a faster straight punch at the still dazed student from earlier, the blow booming throughout the room and sending the student crashing into the wall. With one last turn, Ophelia saw that the student on one knee had collapsed, their body unable to recover from the blows. 

“Huh. That was easy” she remarked as she looked at her now most certainly unconscious opponents, 

Yamato and Aya both had faces of shock and confusion as they could barely see what had gone down, to them, all Ophelia did was move in a blur, and in the next moment all of her opponents were embedded on the floor, collapsed on the ground, or embedded into the wall. 

“Ho…how?” Aya mumbled as her eyes quickly shifted to her students, then back to Ophelia, then to Yamato. 

Yamato simply shrugged as she too did not even see what had happened. All she heard were the screams and the shouts. 

“Well. I believe I fight you now Master Aya” Ophelia said with a smirk as she helped the unconscious students and moved them to the side, using her magic to heal any injuries they sustained and to fix the damage she had done. 

“R..right. You may have gotten lucky defeating my students, but as their master, I am on a whole different level” Aya stuttered as she rose from the stage and stepped onto the mats, her mind rattled and spirit shaking, but doing her best to stuff it down and bury it. 

Going into a fighting stance, Aya quickly muttered and conjured flames to appear on her fists and feet, her red hair and ears glowing the same aura. 

“Hmm. <Elemental Fusion> a rare spell. Only the best of fighters can master that at S-Rank, surprising to see you use it at A-Rank” Ophelia commented as she examined her opponent, 

“Enough talk Miss Ophelia, time for a lesson” Aya replied, her fear now gone and replaced with the drive to avenge her students. 

“Alright. I will play your game. Heck I will use your rules as well” Ophelia stated with a smirk as she too entered a fighting stance, coating her own fists and feet in a deep crimson aura, much to the shock of Aya. 

“Hup!” 

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

PAK! PAK! PAK! PAK!

“KYAAA!” 

BAM! BAM! BAM! WOOSH!

PAK! PAK! PAK! DODGE! 

Aya lunged forward, her fighting spirit alight as she launched a flurry of kick and punch combinations, the first of which was two punches followed up two kicks that were easily blocked by Ophelia, gracefully and expertly parrying the attacks sent her way, their fists and feet colliding, sending sparks of fiery orange and crimson red all over. Noticing that her first combination was simply parried, Aya switched it up, going faster as she intended to outpace her opponent, hoping that she could match the speed she had seen earlier. 

Unleashing another combination, at a faster pace, throwing several high and low punches, quickly interchanging between them before switching to a jumping-turning roundhouse kick that Ophelia dodged by ducking under it, much to Aya’s dismay. 

“That was a good combination, you almost got me there. But now it’s my turn” Ophelia remarked 

“Grr”

BAM! BAM! BAM! SWING! SWING! SWING! 

PAK! PAK! PAK!

Aya unleashed another flurry this time pulling out a tessen she hid in her sleeves, the fire inside her slowly waning as her blows were easily blocked and parried, tiring her more and more, until Ophelia saw the perfect opportunity to counterattack. 

“HAIIEEE!” 

BOOM!

“AGGHHHH!”

THUD! 

In one swift motion, Ophelia landed a fast and powerful straight punch, the impact booming throughout the room as before, sending Aya flying and crashing into the stage, her body screaming in pain. 

“Thank you for the fight” Ophelia said as she bowed towards her unconscious opponent, before turning to Yamato

“One last floor Miss Ophelia. One last floor” she said with a nod

“Yeah. one last floor” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Arriving on the last floor, Ophelia saw that Master Emi was standing in between Koga and Iga, both of whom were wearing the same clothes as the students from earlier. 

“So you have made it here. I felt my sister's pain and for that I shall pay you back tenfold” Emi stated as she locked eyes with Ophelia, coating her fists and feet in the same technique that Aya had used, brandishing her own tessen

“Well, it was a pleasant fight Master Emi, she showed me what the advanced classes were made of” Ophelia replied with a small smirk as she stepped onto the mat

“Hmph. this time you will feel our wrath” Emi added

“We shall see” 

At Emi’s gesture, Iga and Koga brandished their katana and naginata, their eyes narrowed and their mouths muttering incantations.  

And without hesitation, all three of them rushed at Ophelia, Iga’s katana glowed a bright blue as she raised it at her opponent, a chilly aura surrounding the blade as it glided through the air, Koga on the other hand, with his naginata at the ready had it charged with electricity that danced around the blade and the connector near the head, while Emi had flames around her tessen like her sister. 

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

THRUST! THRUST! THRUST! 

SCHWIING! SCHWIING! SCHWIING! 

As they closed in, they surrounded Ophelia before unleashing their attacks, each attack at different angles that would ensure a hit on their opponent if they tried to dodge, but unfortunately for them, Ophelia was no such normal opponent, being able to twist and turn her body in quick reactions as her perception of time slowed as she dodged the blows, a smile on her face as she saw that the attacks were more complicated than before. 

{!} 

“Faster both of you!” Emi shouted as she noticed they had failed to connect any attack 

“Yes Master!” the siblings responded as they sped up, this time mixing in spells into their attacks

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

“<FREEZING WIND>” WHOOOSH! 

THRUST! THRUST! THRUST!

“<ELECTRIC BLAST>” CRACKLE! CRACKLE! BOOM!

SCHWIING! SCHWIING! SCHWIING! 

“<FIRE BLAST>” VWWOOOOSH! 

In an even faster display than before, the three of them unleashed spells as they continued their attacks, Iga’s <Freezing Wind> created a  very powerful and very cold gust of wind that blew against Ophelia, hoping to either freeze her or send her flying to set her up for the other two attacks. Koga’s <Electric Blast> simply shot a bolt of lightning from the tip of his naginata as he thrust it towards his opponent, while Emi’s <Fire Blast> sent out an immense wave of fire that burned anything it hit. 

Ophelia’s smile widened as she felt the attacks, dodging them with proficiency and grace, but still being able to feel them as they passed her skin. After dodging this set of attacks she backflipped to make some space between her and the trio, her eyes locked on them with a smile. 

“Nice magics. Time to show you mine” she uttered with excitement and a dangerous tone,

“Quickly! Stop her!” Emi shouted as she detected the danger, rushing forward with her students. 

“Too slow” Ophelia muttered as she smiled 

‘<Grav Crush>’ Ophelia conjured in her mind 

VVVWWWWWOOOOOOOOOM!

{!} 

“AGGHH!”

THUD!

“GUGHHH!”

THUD!

“GRAAAGH!!”

THUD!

As the trio rushed her, they suddenly felt immense pressure bearing down on them, forcing them to their knees and then to lay down on the floor, their bodies shooting up their nervous systems warnings of extreme pain. But this was not only done on the trio, everyone in the tower, except for Yamato, felt the immense and painful pressure of Ophelia’s spell. The tower visibly shaking to those outside, shocking them. 

[Hear me now] Ophelia’s voice boomed in their minds 

[I am Ophelia Erstad. The successor to the throne. As instructed by your village leader I dueled with all of you to show you that there are forces outside your tribe that are stronger than you] she continued 

Pulling back on the spell <Grav Crush> giving everyone a chance to breathe and stand back up, the tower as well stopped shaking. 

[I implore you all to learn from this experience, do not look down on those outside your tribe and believe they are weak. As I demonstrated, there are far stronger people out there who can and will defeat you. Take this chance to mellow out and temper your battle hunger and cravings. Help raise the other tribes to newer heights and more. But do so after I have secured the throne and rid us of those who seek to send us into oblivion] 

[I thank you for these trials and I hope my display has earned all of your respect and loyalty. I bid you good day] Ophelia finished as she looked at Yamato who was smiling and nodding. 

“Thank you Miss Ophelia, I believe I could not have said it better myself, but I will ensure any stragglers get the message” 

“I believe there will be none but do as you wish Miss Yamato” 

“Please. Just call me Yamato, Your Majesty” Yamato replied as she took a knee, 

Looking around Ophelia saw the trio also had gotten on a knee, all of them bowing their heads as they faced her. 

“Very well then”

………………………………………………………………………………………………

“So that was that” Ophelia said with a smile as she recounted what had gone down, 

“Nice. you really did teach them a lesson” Olertin remarked as he took a sip from his teacup, 

The two of them were now inside his office in the castle, enjoying some tea and snacks that Ophelia had brought out, 

“Well, that makes three to eight by my accounts, not a lot hehe” Olertin joked as he counted the tribes that were still against his successor, 

“Ah yes, the Cyclops tribe, the Dwarves, the Wolf Beastkin, the Dragonkin, the Arachnia, the Sirens, the Lizardmen and the Harpies. If my memory serves me right” 

“Indeed, but the Human tribe is very little but they do support you as they support me, so that is four to eight, not bad” 

A small tranquil silence filled the room as the two of them drank some tea and ate the snacks for a few good minutes, both of them thinking about the trial that lay ahead, 

‘This entire thing is a disaster for our first major crisis’ Olertin thought as he let out a sigh, drowning it in a delicious sip from the tea 

‘If the Divine Beast is stronger than an SS-Rank, would it be as powerful as me? That is kind of exciting really’ meanwhile, Ophelia’s thoughts however were more attuned to thinking about the encounter, her heart and mind racing with excitement to finally be able to go all out without repercussions. 

“Uhh. by the way, do you have a plan?” Olertin asked, breaking the silence

“I do, the question is, will it work? And for that, I do not know” Ophelia replied looking stumped 

“What is the plan exactly” 

“Well, as I said before, to tame the Divine Beast and then use it on the traitors, specifically Valantros and Lowe. I can forgive the others as they were just won over by the duo, but I will make an example of them” 

“By executing them?” 

“Uhuh. From my experience, traitors are people who do not deserve a second chance. A traitor is what got my parents killed, so you know where I am coming from” 

“I see. And what about the rest?”

“Well, I will give them a chance. Either swear loyalty to me, retire from their position and place someone more cooperative with me or simply execute them as well” 

“Well, that is very harsh and cutthroat wouldn’t you think?” Olertin asked, an expression of worry on his face

“Your nation is very small. Unless it has a powerful and smart leader who can lead them and show them the line they have to toe, it will be easier for your people to suffer more from those slavers to the south” Ophelia replied sternly as she took a sip of her tea. 

“I see, heheh. I was right in choosing you and trusting my vision, if it were anyone else I am afraid the little hope we had would be gone and everything would be in ruins” Olertin remarked as he stood up and began walking towards the door 

“Walk with me, if you will”

“Of course” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Walking around the town, Ophelia walked side by side with the old king who waved at the people in the town. Behind the duo were Erhet and Mercy who trailed behind and acted as bodyguards, their eyes and senses on high for anything that could threaten the people in front of them. 

“Your Majesty!” a worried voice called out from behind them, 

“Iris?” Olertin exclaimed as he turned to the voice, seeing the dragonkin panting as he landed 

“What’s wrong?” He continued as he walked closer to his friend, noticing that he had damage on his armor with several scorch markings on his wings 

“The slavers, their back!” Iris exclaimed as he fell to his knees

“My men can’t hold them anymore….they are near the Arachnia cave to the south…two dozen of them, all of them capable of using magic” he added as he fell on his back

“Please….save them” were the last words he uttered before he fell silent 

“Iris!” Olertin shouted as he knelt near his friend, 

“He is fine Your Majesty, he is unconscious. But he will need medical attention” Mercy told him as she kneeled beside him

“Damn slavers! Why now?!” the old king remarked, anger in his growl, forcing him to cough hard 

“Miss Ophelia, I will take care of them, go now!” Mercy asked as she looked up at a concerned Ophelia 

With a nod Ophelia grabbed Ehret by the arm and used <Scan> a spell that could map out her surroundings in an area she sees fit, basically allowing her to scan the entire world if she wanted, although she has done so several times. Looking through the spell, she locates the Arachnica cave and follows up using the spell <Identify> which allows her to see clearly who and what is there and gives her a crystal clear picture of what was going on, seeing the group of six soldiers helping several Arachnia fighting off two dozen slavers in heavy armor bringing with them large iron cages. 

“Erhet hold on tight” Ophelia said with an angered tone as she snapped her fingers, her clothes transforming into a set of pitch-black armor with red linings and jagged and sharp lines, giving off the vibe of an evil and impending doom. 

“Time to rid the world of a problem” she added as her helmet formed around her and she snapped her fingers again, using the spell <Transport> directly teleporting them to the scene of the fight. 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Damn it, there are too many of them!” One of the soldiers remarked as she dodged a fireball, before exchanging blows with a slaver that came in close with a sword and shield 

“Where is Sir Iris!” another remarked as he thrust his spear towards another slaver 

“He went to get help! But I don’t think they’ll arrive until we are all dead!” one of the Arachnia shouted as she fired from her hand a <Wind Spear> that impaled another slaver and pinned them to the ground. 

“At this rate, they will overrun us and then sack my home!” The largest Arachnia remarked, she was draped in a white silk robe with golden accents, firing off several Wind Spear’s at the slavers. 

“Lady Tarantina, I suggest we pull back into the cave, we can funnel them in through the narrow entrances! AGGGGH!” another Arachnia suggested before she got  hit by a fireball to the gut, sending her sprawling onto her back 

“Dammit!” Tarantina remarked as she fired off more spells and ran to the downed Arachnia, checking to see the damage on her tribesmen, seeing that the spell almost blasted right through her, leaving a large scorch mark, melting the armor she was wearing. 

“Damn abominations! Die already!” a slaver shouted as he charged Tarantina, who was still checking the downed Arachnia. 

FLASH! 

RUMBLE!

SCHIIIINK!

“Ughhh! *cough* *cough*” 

SHIINK! 

THUD! 

{!}

Suddenly, in a blinding flash of light followed by a loud rumble, the slaver found himself impaled through the chest, his feet of the ground, he was hanging in the air thanks to the head of a halberd that had pierced him straight through and now found himself unable to move. Coughing up blood, the slaver went limp, the last thing he saw was a tall lamia standing behind a figure in pitch-black armor with red linings. 

“Erhet. Protect the rest, I will deal with the slavers” Ophelia commanded as she walked towards the slavers 

“Understood” Erhet replied as she slithered away, cleaving through any slaver that stood in her way, rounding up the defenders. 

“To think you would have become so confident in your expeditions. You decide to invade my territory” Ophelia muttered as slowly walked forward, deflecting the magical attacks coming her way. 

“What are you?!” one of the slavers asked as he charged her, 

SWING!

CATCH!

{!}

BOOM!

THUD!

RIIIIIIIP!

Catching the sword the slaver swung with her hand, Ophelia followed up with a punch to the gut that shattered the armor, sending bits and pieces flying. Causing him to fall to his knees and clutch the impact area, immense pain shooting through him. 

“Me? I am your demise” she answered as she dug her sharp gauntlets into the man and ripped him in half, sending the others into a panic as they tried to flee

“Where do you think you're going?” she muttered 

SNAP!

“HUGGHHHRR” 

With the snap of her finger, all of the remaining slavers felt their necks tighten as they were all lifted off the ground, clutching their throats as they felt them tighten more and more. Some of them were kicking the air while others tried speaking but to no avail, their faces began turning blue as the oxygen in their body was running out

“Die” 

BOOM!

After uttering those words, the slavers all exploded into red mist, their entire bodies disintegrated, and even the armor they were wearing perished along with them, leaving nothing but red mist floating in the air that soon fell down. 

“Who…who is that?” Tarantina asked the lamia beside her

“That is the successor of His Majesty. Miss Ophelia” Erhet answered 

{!}

“She…she is amazing…and to think I was about to go against her” the Arachnia tribe leader added as she saw the figure in menacing armor turn to face them and began walking, the iron cages behind the figure all turning to dust after a snap.  

“Hello again Miss Tarantina” Ophelia said as she reached the group huddled near the entrance to the cave, 

“I greet the successor” Tarantina answered with a deep bow as she knelt on all her legs.

“I offer you my thanks for saving us…and I ask for your forgiveness for our first meeting. I believed the lies of Valantros and the others. I am truly sorry” she added

“Hmm. I am tempted to say no and execute you where you kneel, but I shall forgive you if you tell me what is it they have planned?” 

“They plan to rid you of this place after you fail the test. Allowing Valantros to take charge and rule us” 

‘Huh, so it really is like that. I should plant invisible surveillance markers to monitor them, why I did not do that more thoroughly since the beginning is a mistake on my part’ Ophelia thought

“Hmph. a bold plan, but they forget one important thing” she remarked as she crossed her arms

“And what is that?” the Arachnia asked 

“I don’t plan to fail” Ophelia answered, her helmet pulling back and revealing a serious expression with a grin on her face.

A/N: Hello! we are slowly reaching the end of Ophelia's side stories for this first volume! after which we will continue where we left off with Amelia and the rest and then slowly but surely reach the end of said volume! I thank you again for reading and enjoying what I make and I hope you will continue to like it, as always, enjoy your day and stay safe!