For example, the Sword of the Black Furnace consumes an astonishing amount of prana. An ordinary Genestellar would have their prana drained instantly, and only someone like Roy, who is naturally endowed with immense prana, can wield it.
But the Sword of the Black Furnace is still relatively manageable. A large part of its cost lies in the high threshold for use, coupled with its reclusive nature, making its wielders extremely rare. As long as it acknowledges you, at least there won't be any torment waiting for you.
Pan-Dora, however, is different.
Even if you become Pan-Dora's master, Pan-Dora won't let you off easily.
No, it's more accurate to say that precisely because you've become Pan-Dora's master, you will be subjected to even more severe torment.
The wielder will be trapped in the nightmares it weaves, constantly experiencing potential deaths they might face in the future. The fear and pain are etched into the wielder's very being, making the experience unbearable.
It's said that Claudia's predecessor only lasted three days before losing their sanity.
Yet Claudia has held Pan-Dora for nearly three years.
This means she has already experienced over a thousand different deaths in her dreams.
A price no normal human could endure, yet Claudia has borne it for three full years!
The reason Claudia relies so much on Roy is likely because he is the only one in all these years who could break into Pan-Dora's nightmares and save her from death.
"Do you have something to say?"
Claudia recovered, her charming smile returning as she gazed at Roy with amusement.
"...No, anything I say would be inconsiderate."
Roy remained silent for a long moment before shaking his head, refusing to comment.
No matter what, Claudia wasn't being deceived by Pan-Dora. Continuing to wield it was her own choice, the result of her determination.
If Roy were to tell her to abandon Pan-Dora here, it would be tantamount to denying her three years of perseverance.
"Hehe, I thought you were going to try to convince me to give it up. I'm so glad it was you who broke into my dreams!"
Claudia chuckled softly, her eyes shimmering with an unusual light as she looked at Roy, her gaze filled with rare tenderness and attachment.
Roy didn't respond.
He met Claudia's gaze—unflinching and boldly expressing her affection.
"...Claudia, what is your wish?"
"My wish?"
"Yeah, your wish for winning the Festa."
"Oh, that."
Claudia turned around, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked ahead of Roy, as if deliberately avoiding his gaze.
"My wish was to find you. Didn't you know that?"
No.
Of course Roy knew.
When Claudia proposed teaming up with him and said her wish had already been fulfilled, he understood—her wish had been to find him.
"But that was your previous wish, right? Now you can have a new one. No one said you can only have one wish. Haven't you thought about what you'd wish for if you win this time?"
"Well... that's a secret!"
Claudia turned back to Roy and stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Training continues tomorrow—don't forget!"
After saying this, Claudia turned and left with a bright smile on her face.
Roy stood still, silently watching her retreating figure.
A sense of dissonance lingered in his heart, refusing to fade.
Claudia had been acting very strange these past few days.
That Claudia was deeply in love with him was a fact obvious to anyone.
Yet at the same time, she seemed to be hiding her true feelings behind a veil, making it impossible to discern what she was really thinking.
"Haah..."
Roy sighed, a faint unease stirring in his chest.
If this were some unrelated person, he wouldn't care less whether they lived or died.
But this was Claudia—he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
...
Time flew by, and soon it was the seventh day.
"Aah..."
Yabuki Eishirou sighed with a troubled expression as he arrived at the Sirius Dome's competitor preparation room.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Yabuki."
With a click, the door to the preparation room opened.
Yabuki's eyes took in the spacious, hotel-like interior of the room. Inside were not only Roy and Claudia, who would be competing today, but also Julis and Kirin, who had come to cheer them on.
"Ooh, what a full house today! Even Her Highness and little Kirin are here!"
Yabuki entered the room with his trademark frivolous grin, greeting everyone.
"Because today is the third round..."
Kirin lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"It determines whether they advance to the main tournament, so we came to support them."
Julis sat with her legs crossed, exuding an air of regal poise.
"And you? What are you doing here?"
Julis's gaze fell on Yabuki, her eyes cold as if looking at a pest.
"Here to leech off the championship candidates for news like the parasite you are?"
"Hahaha, Her Highness really has it out for me, huh!"
Yabuki broke into a cold sweat as he found an empty sofa to sit on.
"If you didn't shamelessly cling to Roy for news every time, I might think slightly better of you."
Julis smiled faintly, though her expression was laced with sarcasm.
"Well, it's not that big a deal..."
Kirin forced a smile, trying to mediate.
Claudia smiled without speaking, while Roy looked completely indifferent.
As championship candidates, Roy and Claudia's team were the hottest favorites of this Festa. Countless top media outlets from around the world clamored for interviews with them, to Roy's great annoyance. Just as he was considering rejecting all interview requests, Yabuki showed up, shamelessly begging for an exclusive. To simplify things, Roy granted him the rights, ensuring that public opinion would see him not as dismissive of the media, but as someone who took care of his friends.
More sponsorships and ads would be welcome, of course.
Thanks to securing the exclusive interview rights with the championship candidates, Yabuki had gained a massive wave of traffic after releasing his interview footage from the second round two days ago.
Today was the third round of this Festa—winning this match would secure their spot in the main tournament. The potential for more views was too good to pass up, so Yabuki had eagerly rushed over.
"Sigh..."
Though seated on the sofa, Yabuki's mind wandered far away, and after a long while, he let out another deep sigh.
"Something on your mind?"
Claudia looked him up and down for a moment before suddenly smiling and asking,
"Sort of."
Yabuki snapped out of his thoughts and scratched his head.
"You all know I actually ran away from home to come to Asterisk City, right?"
"We didn't know that."
"Your Highness, could you cut me some slack?"
Yabuki gave Julis a pleading look, his expression full of misery.
Julis arched her delicate brows—she was just stating the facts.
"So?"
Claudia asked again with a smile.
"My old man came to Asterisk City."
Yabuki glanced at Claudia, paused, then put on an exaggerated look of distress.
"Ah, what a headache. No idea if that old man will drag me back. Honestly, I'm doing just fine here—I don't want to go home at all."
"Is Yabuki-senpai's home not good?"
Kirin asked curiously.
"No, it's just that the family's too big—it feels really lonely. And if my old man really forces me back, he might make me inherit the family business!"
Yabuki said with clear resistance.
"...I think I'll take back that exclusive interview right."
Roy shot him a cold glare.
***
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