Naturally, there wasn''t a single person who wasn''t sat in stunned silence on the side-lines. The Red Sea sect, in particular, were thanking their lucky stars they went up against the Legion clan instead of the nuke-packing Ares. Getting hit by the meteor was much easier to accept than whatever that last attack was. The few spies who were here for reconnaissance began scarpering out of their seats and stumbling over each other to leave the sect. Yeah, there was one match left... but who cared about those losers?! There was a seriously colossal problem in the outer court division this year! Hell, their own sect masters across the country were probably well aware as they could bloody well see the explosion from their home towns! The elders of Red Sun were once again floored by the limits of Ares'' magic which were far higher than they had previously guessed. Rud in particular was not all too pleased as this just gave Ares more leeway to be as annoying as he wished without being punished for it... He might as well be the sect master at this point. Speaking of the sect master, Yulo''s appearance was timely as always. To be fair, he knew this was coming beforehand so him being here was to be expected, if anything. As for the technical he cast, Cylindrical Dispersion, he''d spent a good chunk of his time learning it ever since Ares joined the sect for situations exactly like this. He didn''t even need to see the future to know an art like this would be worth its weight in gold with a person like Ares around. Did this somewhat reduce his existence to that of an Ares babysitter, having to constantly keep an eye out for the explosive menace''s antics? Yeah, a little, but it was worth it. After having witnessed first hand what Ares was capable of, how could it not be worth it?!


    In terms of scale, there was only really three other people in Red Sun capable of creating an attack like that. Yulo himself was one, but he refrained typically as the other two people, constantly waging an invisible war in the middle of the city, were already making things complicated enough as is. This wasn''t something most people were aware of, but the city''s mayor and Hans were constantly battling one another in the skies of the city with invisible apparitions. Even now, Hans'' Invisible Ifrit was lording over half the city. It kept the mayor at bay, but was also useful this time of year when stronger cultivators rolled around for the international. Those with enough strength to see it were hesitant to cause trouble and that deterrent singlehandedly did a lot of good for Red Sun. Of course the mayor was no slouch either, but he generally avoided summoning his own apparition unless Hans made a move first. Hans'' Invisible Ifrit only cost mana when it actually started doing anything, so it could stay out permanently, residing over the residents heads with them none the wiser. The mayor was not in a position to drain his mana day in, day out so he turned as blind an eye to it as he could. For the sake of the sect, Yulo acted as somewhat of a stopgap between these two as a war between them would affect the entire city, and thus his own sect. Although the general level of cultivators in the Red Region wasn''t altogether too high, three of the strongest transition realm cultivators within the entire domain residing in the area created a bit of a predicament that couldn''t be solved without outside intervention. This meant that, when the mayor saw an explosion that defied logic on his doorstep, he would inevitably go and check what happened primarily for his own safety. Hans wouldn''t bother, though, as he was more than familiar with that golden colour. If anything, he was rather pleased as Ares was on his side, after all. Give it a few years and maybe the lad could even help him finish of the stupid mayor once and for all. Ares was aware of the apparitions as he''d seen them with his Omniscience, but there was nothing for him to do given his poxy cultivation, so he paid it no mind for now.


    As for the other spectators, well Eagerton was practically frothing at the mouth as wrote down a thousand words a minute, all of which were completely unorganised but he would deal with that later. Right now, he just needed to get everything on his mind onto a piece of paper before he lost any of it. This was a mad scramble as he''d never been so inundated with ideas throughout the entire rest of his life. Still, he was overjoyed as that last explosion had blown away most of the shackles weighing him down and now his pen was gliding across page after page. Then there was Fate... Who was very much not happy that ''dumb dog Ares'' possessed this much power and was unwilling to lead the clan out of its conundrum. Realistically though, there was nothing she could do about it other than keep thinking up underhanded means to twist his arm! That or maybe sick her mother on him, she had a way with violence like no one else! Still... She couldn''t help but be curious as to how a revenant with this much power had gone under the radar... Was someone in the clan keeping him a secret for some reason? There were some wily old foxes from the Atria era that always seemed to be scheming something or other... Fate decided to ask her mother about this when she saw her next time. Last time she visited home, she only got a chance to speak to her over eager father who took the Beads and bounded off with them like a dog stealing a chew toy. he came back after testing and practically begged her to talk to the person. He then Blinked off to wherever to do whatever... Probably beat up one of his sons for fun again knowing him. Last on the list was Sadie who''s only words were ''Sweet Jesus''. As a weapons master, someone who didn''t really use magic, even she couldn''t create an attack like that! Sure she could have flicked it away if Yulo wasn''t here, as her cultivation was monstrously high, but she absolutely could never replicate it. Overheat was probably the magic she knew that could come the closest, but as someone who never really trained in magic it just wasn''t in the cards. To have been outdone by a cultivator who was around eight or so entire REALMS below her was distorting her world view... But actually, was it really a problem? There wasn''t a single other cultivator who could do that at Ares'' level, it was just because of that damn pillar! Sadie shook her head and realised she wasn''t the issue here, that damn fundamental thing was! She reassured herself that was the case, but still made a mental note to create an attack that was bigger in her spare time because she didn''t want to be embarrassed about it...


    Ares got up and dusted himself off. He had no mana left, so he had to walk all the way over the side where everyone else was instead of simply Shifting over. As he meandered merrily, he checked his cultivation which, sure enough, had gone up again. He was now at the tenth stage of his fourth realm of cultivation, meaning his next cultivation increase would put him in mental accumulation. It didn''t even seem to be far away as the Perish Wheel put in a lot of work. In fact, if Ares hadn''t been at the boundary between realms, he probably would have gone up two stages in one go thanks to that little stunt. The art was far more successful than he could have ever imagined. It was an incredible trick to have up his sleeve, but the mana cost was proportionate to its power level. Ares really didn''t have the mana pool to be flinging that thing around with reckless abandon. Grand Annihilation was still the best bang for his buck mana wise. He also got a chance to test out Black Blossom, which was nice. It was nothing more than an extension of the weapon coating magic he''d used previously, but it was strong and gave him options. It was especially useful now that he had a variety of weapons at his disposal, all of which could be used in conjunction with the art. Ares was starting to realise he didn''t have many low cost arts though, which was certainly a problem in its on right. Echoes and the Black Ice Bane would probably be enough to keep him going for now, but he needed options at some point. His best bet was to get a hold of some treasures, but for now he could just relax and celebrate his win. It would be another few weeks until the nationals, so there was plenty of time to worry about the small details at a later date. As for the training he was going to be doing, he could already envision Sadie lecturing everyone for being disjointed and not working together. It wasn''t really anyone''s fault as the circumstances during the match made putting all the workload on Ares unavoidable. Still though, the focus going forward was inevitably going to be about working together to stand a better chance in the fights to come.


    Ares arrived by his team who were looking peeved off at having been blown to smithereens by him. Enyo, in particular, was fuming. She opened her mouth to begin lecturing Ares, but he deftly snuck something into her mouth. She tilted her head in confusion as she bit down into the mysterious object before letting out a cute squeal of delight and smiling with radiance equal to that of the golden sunset behind her. Ares wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead and sighed in relief. Placation successful. I repeat, Operation Meeble is a resounding success. Enyo munched happily on the mini dessert and all of her agitation faded away into nothingness. Everyone else felt the cruel sting of betrayal as Ares was never going to show repentance if anyone other than Enyo tried to force him. They''d been sold down the river with no paddle! Then again, they figured they would also get a chance to taste the Meeble if they bottled up their resentment, so the conclusion was peaceful, even if it involved a serious case of appeasement. As for why Enyo was currently staring at Ares with beady eyes and a bit of drool on her lip, the Meebles were made of mint. They were round choux pastries with mint ice cream in the middle, topped with a warm chocolate drizzle. Enyo became putty in Ares'' hands whenever he brought out the mint, he was basically cheating death here. The onlooking spectators were also drooling, but whether that was because of the food or because of Enyo was up in the air. Ares was tempted to go and steal Bellona''s treasure and use up its reserves to cast another Perish Wheel at the spectators. Go drool over someone else! Enyo was still getting used to having her helmet off so it was lucky she gave zero shits about anything other than the Meebles right now, otherwise she would be putting the helmet on at lightspeed. She''d made a lot of progress though and Appa was the person to thank for that. It was looking more likely, day by day, that she would be able ot have it off whenever and wherever by the time the international rolled around. Ares certainly thought it would be funny to dance with a fully armoured knight at the party, but it would take away some of the charm in the long run so he didn''t encourage it. Ares booped Enyo''s nose. "You can have more when we get home. Same applies for everyone else, if you want some, you can come around after. There''ll be plenty of food as today''s a day to celebrate, after all."


    Meanwhile, Mr Clipboard had gone back up in front of everyone and coughed to draw attention his way. As a strong cultivator himself, although he was impressed, he hadn''t been too phased by an art of that scale as he''d seen his fair share in this world. He''d come back to his senses quickly so he could do his job. "First and foremost, congratulations to Red Sun for coming out on top during the regionals, your performance was exemplary. Red Soil should also be commended for putting up a respectable fight and giving a strong showing. The nationals will be held in two and a half weeks barring any unforeseen circumstances. They will be held in the ''Scorched Grounds'' coliseum..." Every major city in the red region had a coliseum of sorts, Scorched Grounds was the one owned by Red Sun. "...Should anything change regarding the schedule, I will contact you personally. As for Red Sky and Red Sea, I''m asking you now if you want to compete for third place."


    Naturally Red Sky were jumping at the opportunity. How incredibly likely was it for that walking WMD to win the international?! Even if their sect wasn''t altogether too special, people would be curious enough to at least check if they knew they lost to the eventual winners. The sect''s potential would be fundamentally unknown as their one recorded match was against an impossible opponent! It was underhanded, but who cares about that?! Red Sea weren''t as interested because they hadn''t lost directly to Red Sun. It was Red Soil that did them in so they had less to gain and it wasn''t really worth their time. Plus, politically speaking, if they just gave the win to Red Sky, there were benefits on the horizon as the sect master would owe them one. The sect master of Red Sea glanced over at the Red Sky sect master and nodded his head. The gesture was returned and their conversation had been settled so the sect master openly bowed out of the competition, taking fourth. The man with the clipboard made a quick note and gave his closing remarks. "Today was well fought by everyone. You''ve all done the red region proud so hold your heads high whether you won or lost. Be sure to prepare yourselves either for the next stage of the competition, or for next year when you can try again to claim victory. I officially, in my capacity as overseer, declare the regionals at the outer court level are over. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours." The man took a bow and left. Once again, he happened to run into Teng who''s enthusiasm was leaking out of him and infecting the other sect elders who were running around and sorting out various things related to the upcoming nationals. "Ha, looks like you''re gonna be busier than I am."


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "I don''t think any of us have ever been this glad to be swamped with work!" Teng looked as though he were about to hug the man and jump around in joy. "It feels good placing your faith in disciples who pay you back tenfold. We really lucked out with some of the recent additions to our sect."


    "Mhm, Ares the obvious biggest catch aside, having the meteor lady and the Eagerton / Edgerton duo is a massive win. Speaking of, Eagerton''s match during the disciple selection was pretty incredible. It was a shame it ended so fast, but it ought to be fun watching him and his brother during the regionals for the core disciples tomorrow."


    "Ah, the brother duo is certainly something else. Part of me wishes we had some inner court disciples to fill the void that''s missing there, but I recognise that''s pure greed. We have it good enough as is currently. Anyway, the elders are going to be celebrating tonight and popping some bottles of wine. If you''re interested, feel free to stop by."


    "Ah, I might do just that. I haven''t taken some time off to kick back in a while."


    As everyone began departing form the scene, Ares looked at Bellona, who hadn''t moved yet, and turned to Enyo. "I didn''t know your sister was a bird watcher?"


    "Haha, idiot, how much easier things would be for her if that were true. Just leave her be, she''ll come back on her own later. Oh, but you are definitely sleeping on the couch again today, I''ll tell you that now in advance. Also, don''t talk to her about her magic for a while, she might genuinely burst into tears on the spot if you do."


    "Uh, alright... Should I even ask?"


    "Nope. I''m sure you''ll find out one day, but today is not that day."


    "Alright. But her magic is seriously cool... All the incredible explosions we could make... Ah, but her magic is equally terrifying. Watching my Grand Annihilation shrink like that hurt my soul. I never usually go limp, damn it!"


    "Yeah, well you better not make it a habit, or I''ll fix it myself. Seriously though, don''t bother her about her magic. It''ll be a good thing for you in the long run if you just let her brood for a while. I''m sure after that she would more than happily assist you with your explosive escapades. That aside, you better have more of those little mint balls ready. I''m only forgiving you for blowing me up on the condition you have more."


    "Plenty. I did mostly make them for you after all."


    "Have I ever told you I love you?"


    "A few times, but who''s counting? I like hearing it every time."


    Enyo and Ares chatted away as they walked off together. Bellona turned and sighed at their backs before looking at the setting sun again. What on earth am I going to say to Rhea? She is seriously not gonna let me go, and she absolutely, categorically won''t accept me trying to avoid the situation. Oh man, she''s going to beat me senseless... Whatever, I''ll worry about it when it comes to pass. Maybe she''ll say something entirely different to what I''m expecting... Oh who am I kidding, I''m screwed. Maybe I can keep an eye out for big sis'' Pele when the international rolls around and try to talk to her about this first. Then again, will she even be helpful, or will she just rat me out to Enyo?... Why am I trying to lie to myself and pretend Enyo doesn''t already know, she damn well knew yesterday before I even did! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! To hell with this! Getting stuck in my own head like this is going to push me to the brink of my sanity! I''m going to bed. I''ll worry about this tomorrow. Bellona also started to leave when...


    Rumble


    …


    Shit... I''m hungry... But I don''t wanna deal with everyone else that''s going to be at the house... Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I can ask Enyo to bring me some food... But she isn''t going to leave me alone afterwards... Bellona felt like tearing her hair out as she found this situation even more annoying than having lost the damn fight! She grumbled under her breath the entire way back. When she arrived, the house was pretty damn noisy as pretty much everyone had turned up. The residents of the house, the entire neighbourhood, the rest of the Red Soil team, Sadie, and even Trew''s new partner... The house was seriously packed to the brim with people and Bellona wanted nothing to do with any of it right now even though usually she''d be all over this kind of party. She took out her set of keys that she''d been given by the logistics department after clarifying she would also be living here, and slunk in stealthily through the door. She used the mana in her treasure to teleport past the living room and end up in front of the door to Ares room. She had no reservations in opening it and entering it without permission as she knew her sister would have already kicked Ares out tonight. She went inside, closed the door, and threw herself horizontally across the bed before grabbing a pillow and burying her head into it.


    Rumble


    Man this sucks.


    Thump


    Bellona looked up as someone lay down next to her on the bed. "I hate you."


    Enyo snickered as she poked Bellona who hid back in the pillow. "Not as much you hate yourself right now."


    A groan slipped out from the pillow.


    "Do you want to talk about it?"


    "No." Bellona''s muffled voice replied in the negative. "I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "Hmph, you think I was born yesterday? Here, take this." Enyo dangled a Meeble next to Bellona''s head.


    Bellona glanced up at the pastry before sulking and diving back into the pillow. "No."


    "Take it."


    "No."


    "I know you want it."


    "I don''t."


    "Yes you do."


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about..."


    Enyo rolled her eyes at this childishness. "Stop being difficult and just take it already."


    Bellona reached out but hesitated to grab it. "... But its yours."


    "And I don''t mind sharing it. That''s my decision to make, not yours."


    Bellona gently took the Meeble and ate it. "... It''s good."


    "Yeah, I know. And I get to enjoy it whenever I want. You live under this roof now too, so there''s no reason for you not to be in the same position as me. Actually, you can already have whatever you want anyway. Ares won''t say no, even if I have to convince him, but he''ll come around."


    "I don''t like this conversation. This conversation is stupid." Bellona retreated back to the pillow.


    "No, the conversation is mature; unlike you who is choosing not to have it."


    "I don''t want it."


    "Yes you do."


    "No I don''t."


    "I see we''re back to square one again... Why do this to yourself? I wouldn''t if I were in your shoes."


    "That''s selfish."


    "Then be selfish, I don''t mind indulging my little sister every now and then." Enyo patted Bellona on the back which just made her curl up and bury her head into Enyo''s chest.


    "I hate you."


    "Mhm, I hate you too, but it''s not about who we hate, is it?" Enyo ruffled Bellona''s hair and laughed to herself. "How long are you going to mope around like this for? I''m letting you know now that I don''t plan on waiting for you to make a decision before I do what I want."


    "Good. You shouldn''t. Also I''m going to mope like this forever. Leave me alone." Bellona''s words were contrary to her actions as she snuggled closer to her sister.


    "You aren''t fooling anyone and I wouldn''t let you act like this forever anyway. Forget Rhea, I don''t like seeing you tear yourself up over this. If push comes to shove I will shove you. Just as you wanted what was best for me, I want what''s best for you. We both know what that entails but you''re just delaying it all pointlessly because you''re concerned about something no one else is. The only reason I''m not hassling you more than I already am is because I know it will happen eventually, regardless of whether its me or you that makes it happen. I know you''d just sit on the side-lines and hold your tongue, watching in misery until the end of time if you could; but I will not let you live like that. Even if I cared about the thing you think is a problem but isn''t, I still would never, not in a million years or even more, let you ever live like that. I know you''re going to make this harder than it needs to be, but just keep that in mind. Don''t sit there thinking about what could be, but instead sit there thinking about what will be; because I don''t want you to be needlessly depressed until it does happen."


    "... I''m hungry."


    "I figured you would be. Here..." Enyo put a spatial ring full of food into her hand. "Eat this and then we''ll continue talking about this until I''m satisfied with your response."


    "Are you kidding me?! That''s torture... Go and have fun out there instead of bothering me in here..."


    "No. They may be out there, but you''re in here. They don''t need me right now, you do. There''s only one other person I would let be in this room instead of me, but you aren''t ready for that yet."


    Bellona stopped nibbling on some food and kissed her teeth. "Tsk, I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "Oh? Then perhaps I should spell it out for you? Maybe I should even go and get the other involved person and explain it in vivid detail, sorting this ''problem'' out once and for all?"


    "Don''t you dare. I''ll fling myself into space and drift until I die in the middle of nowhere."


    "Rhea would never let that happen. Also, good luck with her. I''m on her side and you know it so don''t expect me to save your ass, I''m going to be fanning the flames if anything. If you think this conversation is stupid, then that one is going to be the dumbest thing you''ve ever heard."


    Bellona finished the food and went to lie down properly on the bed.


    "Ah, nope, don''t even think about it. That''s my side of the bed and you''re sleeping on the other side today whether you like it or not."


    "Tsk..." Bellona begrudgingly lay down where she was told. "... Fine, but this is my side of the bed now. Blehh!" She stuck her tongue as she scrunched her face.


    Enyo smirked and scooched on over despite the protests of Bellona''s hands which were unable to shove her away. Enyo and Bellona were lying on the same pillow now and Enyo jabbed Bellona in the chest. "See? There''s plenty of room for both of us here... Even at the same time."


    Bellona''s eyes widened. "You can''t be serious?!"


    "You have no idea how serious I am..." Enyo licked her lips. "Maybe we can even kick Ares out more often..."


    "You''re a freak! Where the hell is my sister?!"


    "You''re looking at her, she''s just not the innocent girl she was last time you saw her. I''ll have you know I''ve had all kinds of things done to me since then, do you want to hear about it?... Are you curious?"


    Gulp


    "... Maybe..."


    And thus, their conversation went long into the night with Enyo not sparing a single detail. Bellona learnt a lot about her sister that night, maybe even too much, but it did explain a lot of her current personality. Ares had twisted this woman into a nympho, and he hadn''t even gone all the way yet! Bellona decided not to sleep in this room again tomorrow because Enyo looked ready to explode if she couldn''t get Ares back in here by then; and who knows what would happen to Bellona if she stayed in his stead...