This memory made the Hero realize that if this princess considered him her friend, he would have to live up to her friendship.
He took his guardian by the shoulder and made her approach the ledge, Al-Ryanis made his princess sit.
- But why?" asked the Fairy.
The Hero thanked her for defending him by giving her a thumbs up and smiling. The Fairy looked at him with incomprehension, his mouth open, then returned his smile and said: "You're welcome!
They watched the match although this bloody fight still enraged the Hero, he would do nothing out of respect for the Fairy. He understood that his intervention could harm the princess.
On the ground, Tarkus left the Siamese Amazon almost for dead, the crowd was speechless, witnessing so much violence, they were frightened by such barbarity. The cyclops lost his metallic form and went to meet Zetzgriker, who fled and threw bombs at him, which the cyclops warrior defied with simple blows of a metal bat.
The dwarf tried to dive into the hole the moth had made, but before he could reach the hole, he was stopped by a blow from a spiked club right in the jaw, breaking two teeth in the process.
Zetzgriker lay on the ground with Tarkus's weapon embedded in his chest. Despite his cries of pain, Tarkus seemed to show no mercy to his opponents after he had successfully demonstrated his supremacy over them.
- I ab... I a...," the dwarf tried to say.
- Shush! Shush! Shhh ! intimated the cyclops, I don't want this match to end too soon, he said with a carnivorous rictus, I would have been much more lenient if we had the right to kill each other, but well, this time, I can only enjoy your suffering. So enjoy and thank the Queen for your situation.
- What a bastard, this guy!" said someone behind the Hero, "nothing forces him to be so violent!
- Of course I do!" a woman giggled, "He's just showing the power of the person he represents.
Everyone turned to the person who was satisfied with such an abominable spectacle, they saw a princess who had an empty seat next to her, she must have been the mistress of this foul one-eyed beast.
- Stop talking such nonsense, Thoosa, reprimanded one of the champions, already what did you do to Tarkus to make him so violent?
- I don't know what you're talking about," giggled the haughty fairy princess with the purple corkscrew pigtails.
- Everyone knows how much he loves Selma, even though he has to put up with her sister, but never, ever, would he have been so violent towards his competitors," another champion snapped, "what other witchcraft have you used on him out of sheer jealousy?
- Roh! said Thoosa revolted, what can you be a killjoy! When you know very well what is at stake in these fights, you still want to talk about honor when it doesn't matter? Bullshit! she laughed, you want to know what I did to her? Nothing of very nasty in truth, I only made increase its testosterone, its ferocity and do not make flow the adrenalin in its veins, in addition to a small bewitchment, she says with a lascivious voice, one can well say what one wants but humanity is well the best in the worst.
The Fairy had heard this kind of phrase from the late Judge Triface before. She and the Hero came to the same conclusion, it was the same process that had been used on the lizard-man to mutate him without turning him into a monster.
- Hey! the wingless one! called Thoosa while addressing the Fairy, you had better declare forfeit for your coward of fiancé, he is going to be massacred! laughed she with a laugh of hyena.
The Fairy shook with terror as the vision of Selma-Keltna being beaten came back to her mind. She did not want her lover to suffer the same fate, and wanted to forfeit, but the Hero prevented her from doing so.
- Are you crazy? said the Fairy vehemently to the Hero.
- Yes. Are you crazy, son of Adam, not to let her give up when you can see the slaughter to come, mocked Thoosa, is this how you thank the only person who cares about you? I don't know if you're dumber than her or worse than me, only wanting to harm her.
The Hero took his slate, wrote and showed it to the Fairy:
Trust him!
- But you have seen that it is not that strong!
He has a plan.
- A plan?
The Hero nodded.
- A plan? said Thoosa, you have seen that no stratagem works on my colt, she laughed, do not believe that the miracles you have performed can be reproduced by other normal people, but especially by him.
It was not what he was saying, he knew very well that this guy did not have a chance against this big guy that is Tarkus. What he was saying was not that he had a plan to defeat him but to win.
That's why he wouldn't let the Fairy give up on his champion, she would shatter his dream without even knowing if she could have made it come true.
The only thing he feared was that this fool would fail in his lousy plan, he didn't want to lose the princess's trust because of a bad bet. He trusted him, not in the hope that he could perform a miracle against that monster Tarkus, but because the dream of the Fairy had touched him in spite of himself, and he could not let her give him up so easily.
As Tarkus drove his kanabo into the chest of the dwarf, who was struggling like a torture turned on his back, a mound of earth was formed and out of it came Morgul, paw forward, about to strike him with his chin, but Tarkus dodged it, grabbed him with one hand, sent him to the ground and crushed him with his foot, making him writhe in pain. Then he put a heel blow in his skull to knock him out, then shattered the head of the dwarf who fainted under the shock.
Tarkus spread his arms wide, delighted with these fights where he could express all his madness. He turned to Beneltig and gave him a big smile, his face painted with blood.
- I thank you for everything.
The biggest of the cowards had done nothing of the carnage that Tarkus had perpetrated with his help. He was trembling in front of the monster he had supported, who was staring at him with a terrifying look, but also, amused by the situation. He had only held his sword in front of him, hoping with all his heart not to be taken to task by the outburst of violence of this man who was more like the empty head of Poseidon's son than the race of sinners who were known throughout the continent as friendly and warm-hearted beings - at least, for half of the population.
Witness.
That was all he could be.
If he had pretended to be an active actor like Selma-Keltna or a passive one like Zetzgriker or Morgul, he would have ended up in the same state as them.
The best solution was his plan...
Yes, there was no other way out...
Tarkus came towards him to fulfill his promise, he observed that the medusites on his armbands were glowing with a thousand lights, an incredible flow of pure energy was coming out of them. He wondered what else these magical objects could do for him, they were so fabulous offensively and defensively.
Arriving in front of him, he asked:
- Would you rather I knock you out with a right or a left?
Beneltig was shaking all over his body, the threat that was Tarkus was perceptible by the aura that he emanated. But he had to stop being afraid, for once in his life he had to go through with a risky bet.
Clenching his teeth, he said between them in a trembling voice:
- Neither of them.
A great cry of surprise resounded in the stands, everyone in the princely boxes could not believe their ears, the Hero bit his lips as he watched the answer of the main source of his bet. He didn't even dare to look at the Fairy, whose face must have been decomposed by fear.
Did he really claim to be able to defeat this drugged and bewitched monster like Tarkus whose strength was phenomenal?
Dumbass!
The cyclops seemed disconcerted by the answer of the male fairy, he squinted with incomprehension at the gleam in Beneltig's eyes.
- Have you become senile at your young age, Mr. Coward?
- No, replied the warrior-fairy, I intend to win this match.
- Stop this false determination and accept your destiny, spat Tarkus, already I offer you a professional reconversion, the more I would allow you to dabble in lust, and you, you dare to refuse?
- That's right.
- So I'll take everything from you to your bride, he raged.
Tarkus put a blow in the shoulder of Beneltig who was propelled to the ground, he tried to trample his leg but the fairy dodged his foot and got up immediately and wanted to put a kick on him but suffered the same attack with the other foot but suffered the same counter from Tarkus, he hurried to remove his shoes not to be changed into metal, and resumed his assault, this time trying to hurt him with his sword. However, Tarkus stopped his blows with his armbands, but their effect was ineffective against Beneltig's sword, which was made of steel, they could only weaken the alloy.
But the champion of the Fairy was in search of something else by attacking in the same way, like a madman, on Tarkus who bent the knee. This one thought that his adversary had lost his head.
Fortunately, no, he got to where he wanted to go after hitting Tarkus' armbands like a blacksmith on his anvil: his sword turned into a diamond.
While everyone was worried about the most cowardly of all the champions, the queen finally understood Beneltig's ploy and smiled at his stupidity.
With the fairy's sword turned into a block of diamond, Beneltig threw it to the ground and decided to fight with his bare hands. Tarkus, mad with rage, became so angry that drool ran down his mouth.
The Hero noticed that Thoosa was worried to the point of biting her nails painted with varnish, was she afraid that her foal would kill Beneltig or... If it was the second option, it would be extremely funny.
The cyclops got up and charged at Beneltig, the fairy put a right hook in his mouth and tried to put him by the left, but his blow was blocked by the medusite-strewn armband, and Tarkus counterattacked by returning blow for blow.
They could see a tooth belonging to Beneltig fly out and his body crash to the ground.
The heart of the Fairy leaps suddenly. Her face was torn by the fear of seeing her lover lose his life. She could hardly breathe properly.
And all of a sudden, while she had been reluctant to speak all along, the Hero exhaled all the air in his lungs, and winked at the Fairy, before yelling:
- Come on Beneltig! Get up, you have to fulfill your princess' dream!
They were all stunned by the human's speech, they who thought he was mute did not expect to hear him speak, he that he seemed to them dull and dark, had a voice, perhaps serious, but singing. The Fairy recognized this voice that she had heard when she had made him take his bath, he had indeed spoken to her.
- You...you...talk?
- It's not the moment to concentrate on me, kid, but on your servant knight who is in a very bad position, he retorted by pointing at him, it's still really practical this Vision Sharing !
The Hero's words gave the Fairy, who had lost all hope of seeing her dream come true, a boost of confidence and encouragement from her human friend.
- Go Benji! Get up, you can do it!
The champions and princesses knew about the Fairy's dream, all thought it was stupid and she was stupid for being represented by the worst crybaby ever, but the fact that this Man could get her spirits up to the point where she instantly regained her determination to fulfill her dream and believe in her champion, held more desperate hope than true confidence.
They did not understand why she was determined to become queen because of a probability given in a humorous tone ten years ago. But the look in her eyes, which blazed with determination, showed her willingness to do anything to achieve the impossible, even to believe in a feckless man like Beneltig who challenged a demon like Tarkus - it wasn't even David against Goliath, it was Long Nose against the most powerful creature in the world.
The audience, moved by the desperate cheers, also began to cheer the notoriously cowardly fairy, followed by some of the champions and fairy princesses, except for Diasirée, Mnemma and Roxanne, and a minority of the other princesses did not show the urge to do so. Thoosa clenched the armrests of her seat and clenched her teeth with all her might.
The Fairy shouted the name of her hero until she was in tears. Her clamor was so passionate that the Hero could not but admire her. Even if he thought it was incredibly stupid to believe in an impossible resolution, in a miracle in short... and it was because of this stupidity that he liked her so much, he liked people as stupid as him!
The only one who was bothered by so much hype around him was Beneltig himself. He had no interest in receiving encouragement, especially his project.
The process was too slow for his plan to work, he would have thought that as soon as Caesar noticed, he would have stopped the fight. But apparently he needed an "integral" to intervene.
He got up and confronted Tarkus, more crazy than before, he couldn't stand that everyone had rallied to the cause of this cowardly fairy. He was going to knock them down so that they would understand once and for all that he was the strongest.
The cyclops hit Beneltig in the arm but this one resisted to the pain of the blow of this one, Beneltig then took the initiative to retaliate against his adversary who parried his blows by making him hit his armbands, which the fairy did with determination.
And after a series of impressive blows, not by their strength but by the number, Tarkus discovered that the fairy full of cowardice had played with him, he discovered with amazement the plan of his assailant: to be changed into a diamond block. The process had been accelerated because he had let her do it without him noticing. The diamond began to cover Beneltig's entire body more and more rapidly.
- Check and Nat!" exclaimed the Fairy.
And "checkmate", moron!
Tarkus couldn't believe that he had been fooled by a loser like him. He, the "strongest" of the champions could not be defeated by a loser like him.
Trying everything, he tried to pierce the space still not covered with diamond, he was stopped by the special services of the kingdom which embraced him.
Caesar declared the match over, disqualified Tarkus for using level three magic directly on his opponent, and Tadzi proclaimed Beneltig's victory. The Fairy fell to her knees, stunned by her champion's victory, and out of breath, her voice hoarse with cries of encouragement for her beloved. The Hero ruffled her hair and said:
- Congratulations on the success of this project.
She burst into tears and threw herself on top of him again to cry.
- Not again! You're going to get me snot and tears on her top again.
Thoosa can be heard sighing with relief.
Tarkus, enraged to see himself disqualified, was going to use all his strength to kill the fairy with a single blow of his iron club, the Hero, while he was preoccupied with the wingless fairy who was emptying all the tears of his body on him, felt the murderous urge of Tarkus, he tore himself from the arms of his guarantor and jumped into the arena to stop the cyclops.
Thoosa noticed at the same time as the Hero that her protector had become completely deranged, he had lost his mind and was about to commit the irreparable, she shouted at him to stop but Tarkus had become hermetic to any discussion, his only desire was to pulverize Beneltig - did he really have the strength to break diamond? Surely... Determined to stop him before it was too late, she flew to meet him.
But long before the Hero or Thoosa arrived, Tadzi and Caesar arrived on the scene and stopped Tarkus from killing, Tadzi threatened him with a blade made from his arm and Caesar with his leg.
- Dirty kid, you'd better stick to that, warns Caesar, because the next time you do something, you run the risk of meeting Cetin, who will take you to meet the Source of Life.
Refusing to stop the fight, Tarkus made big gestures with his arms clearing them from his way and ran towards Beneltig locked in the diamond, he was going to put a blow in the stone, but the Hero interposed himself between the club and his target, simply stopping the blow of the enraged cyclops warrior with his forearm, then to the great surprise, the weapon broke in contact with it, an end hitting the diamond. The surprised cyclops stopped dead, the look that the Hero sent him must have been also for something, the organizer and the presenter took the opportunity to put Tarkus down by kicking him in the throat from Caesar and blocking him with pieces of slime.
The Hero huffed, he didn't have to fight. He turned toward the dressing rooms and waved to the Fairy who was watching him. She too breathed a sigh of relief.
The cyclops remained quiet and was transported by guards, the other competitors were taken away on stretchers by doctors, three princesses ran out of the boxes to see their champions, one of them, a blonde who must be Cynthia who had not stopped shouting at the sight of the amazon who was being beaten by Tarkus.
Thoosa was depressed by what she had just seen, the wingless fairy had managed to win thanks to an excellent stratagem well orchestrated because of Tarkus's credulity and ignorance of magic. But what shocked her the most was the weapon of Tarkus that broke when it met the human's arm.
- Wingless fairy, where did you find this man?
The Fairy turned to her former rival and replied with a small grin of pride:
- It was not me who found it, it was fate that brought it to me.
The queen laughs out loud at the victory of the most cowardly of all champions.
- But who would have thought that this coward would be the big winner of the opening match? she said ironically, surely me considering the money I just got thanks to his victory.
Globox and Detsine were raging with anger, they had bet a fortune on much better fighters than him.
- It is unfair! Detsine insisted, he does not deserve his victory!
- Yes, confirmed the queen-fairy, it is unfair, really unfair, but to say that he does not deserve his victory...
She resumed her tearful laughter.
- I'm sorry to say that he knew how to play by the rules. As dear Thoosa said: "You know very well what is at stake in these fights, do you still want to talk about honor when it doesn't matter anymore? This little guy knew how to play with the rules, you can only blame yourself if you bet on fights that were much more permissive than usual, did you really think that the fights would be like in their training sessions? You've got it all wrong, right down to the...
- I hope you say the right phrase, my queen," Sawyer warned him.
- The last word starts with a "u".
- No, that's not it.
- So I'm canceling my expression. But you two are fools, so thank you, for the money.
Furious at being confronted with their own greed they left the royal lodges, muttering insanities against Beneltig and Tarkus.
- Is it serious to leave one's post when one is in charge of the queen's protection?" asked Sawyer to the queen.
- Don't worry, we have a rule that as long as one of you is by my side, the other can go do other things, like sulking in this case," she laughs.
Sawyer sighed in exasperation but was pleased that his protege and best friend was smiling again.
- Did you really bet?
- No, I told the other madwoman to do it like that, she could feed many families in the Nether, she yawned.
- So the dice were loaded?
- No, I told him to consult the oracle.
- This is not allowed.
- I am the queen.
- Not her.
- I gave him a royal dispensation," she said with a haughty tone and fanning herself with her fan.
Sawyer shook his head. The queen became more serious.
- Until the decree is passed, this is one of the only supports I can offer them.
- Well, your good mood is gone as quickly as it came?
- So, I'm serious for two minutes, I'm pouting? You're overreacting!
- It is rare to see you as angry as you were during the beginning of the fight, Sélia, declared the guard, don't lie to me and tell me what is wrong. I know you. What aspect of your life is it about? Sentimental? Professional? Royal? Culinary?
The queen turned to her bodyguard and looked him straight in the eye and said:
- Marrynelia woke up.