"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Aurora asked, clearly not having heard Anette.
"The Queen asked Anette to bring me here. However, she told me that Anette would bring me somewhere I could stay, so I think she is trying to put us together." Grey stated blankly. For once, he didn't get emotional near Aurora.
- I'm proud, but it's rather odd. - Fallen Star said. Grey had always been flustered near her, so this sudden unwarranted change was odd.
"I see, well then. You can't sleep here, but you can come in and chat." She waved her head from Grey to the door and then addressed Anette. "You can go back to Mom and tell her I don't appreciate this."
Then she leaned close, whispering so quietly that even Grey couldn't hear her.
'Wonder what she's saying.' He thought.
Anette walked off, and Aurora waved Grey into her room, so he obliged. Entering her room, he was bewildered. It was not at all what he expected.
The walls were baby pink, and there was a giant poster bed with giant stuffed animals. He spotted the one he gave Aurora in the mix too. Opposite the bed was a TV, larger than the one in Grey's living room, which was surrounded by LEDs flashing the rainbow. She had a makeup vanity table with an unnecessarily large mirror and a giant beanbag in another corner. There were several doors, which Grey assumed were the bathroom and gym.
It made sense.
The floor was a pig sty, however, with books and clothes everywhere.
Aurora ran to her bed flopping onto it.
Grey closed the doors and watched her with confusion. He had expected her to keep up her act because he was not someone close.
"Aurora?" He began. "Are you not going to keep up the act?"
She lifted her head off the mattress and spoke. "What's the point? You've already seen me like this, and I know for certain that you were aware it's an act."
"Fair, you often forgot to act. But, you did do it most of the time. I'm surprised I'm the only one in the group who knows. Well, the only one who figured it out. Hannah knows, right?"
"Yes, she does. As close friends, I let my guard down around her and she found out. Also, when I fight, I'm terrible at keeping it up."
As they chatted, Grey walked over to the bean bag, plopping down in its folds. It molded around him, creating a nice space to sit.
"So, the real Aurora is a bit of a mess," Grey stated, looking around the room. "Not sure who I like more."
- Oh no. - Fallen Star was no expert, but It and Grey had learned enough from Lucas, and Grey just pulled a big no-no.
"What was that?" Aurora sat up to look at him, a glare on her face.
"Uh, 'not sure who I like more'?" He quoted himself.
"No, no, the other bit."
Gulp-
A small audible gulp was heard in the room. Grey may have been stronger, but he knew women were different. If they weren't, Lucas and Khan wouldn't be so afraid of Samantha.
"Uhh, 'the real Aurora is a bit of a mess'?" He quoted once more.
"Yeah, I thought you said that." Aurora got off her bed and slowly paced toward Grey.
Gulp!
---
'Demoness! The real Aurora is a demoness! Who makes someone do exercise all night!?' As a consequence of his words, Aurora decided that spending the whole night in the gym, doing exercise was the right punishment. 'Would have preferred to be hit. At least it's one and done.'
- Serves you right. Have you learned nothing from Lucas? - Fallen Star scolded.
'Apparently not.' Grey thought.
Before they could continue their conversation, however, the announcer spoke.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO DAY 2 OF THE ROYAL DUELS! YESTERDAY WE WENT FROM OVER 200 PARTICIPANTS TO JUST 64! I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS, JUST KNOW TODAY IS STARTING WITH A GOOD ONE!"
WHOO!
At the words, an elf walked up to Grey.
"Sir, please make your way to the challenger room." She said, pointing in the direction of the room with the weapons.
Grey nodded and walked away.
As the announcer hyped up the crowd, Grey sat, contemplating. 'Even if I didn't want to, I have to use Magic now.'
His muscles were extremely sore. He had worked out for a total of 9 hours, continuously, and he couldn't use Mana to supplement himself. Aurora would choose a worse exercise if he did.
Shuddering, he resigned himself to Mana. 'What can I do?'
"LADIES AND GENTS, IN ONE CORNER, THE MAGIC SUPREME, GREY HEART. HAVING WON WITH JUST MAGIC SO FAR, THE AUDIENCE, THAT'S YOU, TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO NICKNAME HIM! IS IT EXCESSIVE? YES! BUT DO WE CARE? NO!"
'The Magic Supreme?' Grey cringed at the name. 'I've used 3 'Spells'.'
The door in front opened, and he walked through.
"AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE BRUISER, MARKUS BRIGHT! BROTHER OF CARLIN BRIGHT, GREY'S FIRST FOE, HE DOMINATES THE ENEMY WITH HIS MACE! CAN HE BEAT THE MAGICIAN?"
'What are these names? We've all only fought twice!' Grey was disappointed in the elves, however, that didn't stop him from doing what he needed to do.
Grey and Markus stood 100 meters away from each other, waiting for the announcer.
"READY? COUNT WITH ME AUDIENCE!"
'''3!'''
'''2!'''
'''1!'''
'''GO!'''
Markus shot forth at the words, having learned from his predecessors. With Grey, you wouldn't hesitate, and you couldn't be predictable.
He swerved left and right, making sure he never followed a pattern that Grey could anticipate, and closed in.
'Hmm, that should do.' Grey decided what he would do in an instant, so he began to wait.
Markus got closer and closer to Grey, and as he did, he got more and more paranoid.
'What Spell will he use? Can I counter it? Will he wait 'till I'm in front of him?' His mind was in disarray, but again, hesitation would give Grey the perfect opportunity, so he had no choice but to keep moving closer.
Closer and closer. 10 meters, 5 meters, Markus inched closer.
Just as he reached the 1-meter mark, Grey tensed his legs. Markus saw the actions, and his eyes darted to Grey's legs, in preparation for his move.
"LuxPulsus." Grey said.
'Shit.' Markus realized he had been fooled. He thought that Grey would attempt to get out of the way, but it had been a bluff.
A semi-circular dome of Light grew with Grey as its center, pushing Markus into the air. It moved much faster than a normal Spell should have, but the audience was too into the fight to realize.
He flew a good 15 meters into the air and had no way to orient himself. His Elements were Earth and Dark, a nice combination, but of little use at the moment. Earth would be too predictable, and it cost too much to make Dark a solid big enough to save him.
"Venenum Acus." Grey 'chanted', creating a needle identical to the one in the very first round.
It shot forth at Grey's mental command, straight toward the falling Markus. It landed dead center in his neck, entering his bloodstream.
THUD!
When Markus landed, the fight was over. He was out cold.
"OH! WHAT A GOOD PLAY FROM GREY! MARKUS LEARNED WELL FROM HIS PREDECESSORS, RUSHING IN UNPREDICTABLY, BUT GREY COUNTERED JUST AS WELL. NOT ONCE HAS HE USED A WEAPON! CAN ANYONE MAKE HIM!?" The host challenged the remaining competitors, which made their blood boil.
All of them felt it was their time to shine, yet Grey's sudden appearance had stolen the spotlight from them. The worst part —they all knew they couldn't beat him.
Grey walked out of the arena through the way he came, waiting for the round of 32.
---
"Marvelous, truly marvelous! His simplicity in using Magic is amazing. He uses simple Spells and dominates the foe. A great battle instinct." The King praised. "The more I watch, the more fascinated I become."
"Agreed, he's truly an anomaly. An ingenious, ungodly anomaly." The Queen said. "Not jinxing it, but I have high hopes for this generation, if you get what I mean."
"Aye, with him here, so do I."
Aurora sat beside them, listening to her parents chatter. 'He doesn't look tired at all.'
She had put Grey through strenuous exercise because of his words, and it shocked her.
'I had expected him to resist, but he fell in line so easily. I wonder why?' Had she been in his house for more than a day, she would have understood.
The King and Queen continued to talk, but the only thing on Aurora's mind was Grey.
'I wonder how he'll do in the rounds after 16.'