My Soul card is a Reaper-Chapter 892: The Battle for Heirship (Part-2)

In the stands…

As the fierce battle unfolded on the platform below, in the spectator's section, Azzy sat on the edge of his seat with his eyes fixed on Affea as she stood in the center of the arena, still unmoved despite being targeted by three competitors.

He narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself, "Come to think of it, I never heard about her awakening…"

He turned toward his father, Vesyrn, who sat with his arms folded and his gaze on his two daughters.

"Dad," Azzy asked quietly, "do you know what Affy's Arcana spirit was?"

Before Vesyrn could answer, a cold voice snapped from the side.

"What would he know?" scoffed Izora with her eyes flashing in anger. "He was already gone by then. Busy with his new family."

The words cut deeper than she may have intended. Vesyrn, however, said nothing. His face twitched faintly, but he didn't respond.

Azzy let out a tired sigh. "Mom… please. We've already gone through this."

Izora fell silent, crossing her arms and looking away.

After a pause, Vesyrn finally spoke, his voice low and a little heavy. "Actually… Affy didn't have one."

Azzy blinked. "What do you mean?"

"She didn't awaken an Arcana spirit," Vesyrn said quietly. "Whatever power she has… it came from her inborn abilities."

Izora, still looking ahead, softened a little as she continued from there. "She trained harder than anyone I've ever seen. Because she had no Arcana spirit, she made her inborn power her strength."

Azzy leaned back slowly, his brows furrowed in thought. 'No Arcana spirit?'

He turned his gaze back toward the arena. Affea remained still, her arms folded as if no one on the battlefield was worth her time yet.

And then it clicked. Azzy's breath hitched slightly. 'So that's it…' he thought.

The intervention…

Before she was born, Azzy had already seen her death. It was his sacrifice of graviton particles and feeding them to her that changed her fate, and as a result, her birth was possible. No one knows of this secret, and he hadn't told anyone, including his parents or even Leah.

Now, a quiet understanding settled in his chest.

"I guess my intervention for her safe birth wiped off her Arcana spirit completely…" he realized. "But gravity is different from other elements. It is one of the fundamental forces of nature. That's why she can control them so freely, as it was the same as divinity or natural energy."

Meanwhile, on the battlefield…

Malgrim's skeletal undead servant charged across the ground. Right beside it, Elon raced forward, his golden Lightning Saber crackling with arcs of electricity, while Sierra soared just above them, mounted on her blazing Fire Pegasus.

Their destination was clear: Affea. The immovable girl at the center of the arena.

Fiona's eyes widened as she saw three immediately gang up on her younger sister. "Orion!" she called, turning her gaze to the towering golden Buddha figure beside her. "They're ganging up on Affea. Let's help her."

But Affea didn't flinch. Didn't move. She stood there, arms folded, her posture as relaxed as if this were a tea party.

Then, with a soft breath, she spoke.

"Gravity Suppression Field… 1000g."

BOOM!

The air distorted as an invisible ripple blasted out from her, like the world itself had suddenly been rewritten.

And then it hit.

The undead servant was the first to collapse. Its legs shattered as it hit the ground with the force of a meteor.

Sierra's pegasus neighed in agony as its wings snapped under the crushing force, crashing to the arena floor with its rider tumbling beside it.

Elon was slammed face-first into the ground as if the very sky had pushed down on him.

Even Malgrim, who was watching from two hundred meters away, suddenly found himself on his knees, his ribs creaking under the weight. He groaned, sweat pouring down his face.

"This girl's range… even reaches here? Ugh… This is so unfair…"

Orion's golden aura rippled as he struggled to maintain balance. He wasn't down on his knees, but his body trembled, muscles locked in place. He couldn't take a single step forward.

Only Fiona remained unaffected. She blinked, stunned, as she stood in the heart of the field, feeling none of the pressure the others were enduring.

Then came Affea's voice again. "Fiona. Go ahead and take them out."

Fiona didn't hesitate.

Chione, the 100-foot divine ice giant, moved at her command. A freezing wind burst forward like a tidal wave with a motion of its hands. In an instant, ice engulfed Elon, Sierra, and the groaning Malgrim, encasing them in solid crystalline prisons.

Affea then extended her hand, giving the finishing touch.

"Repulsion."

A boom of warped space burst outward from her palm at once. Spacetime bent and twisted violently around the three frozen figures, as if the world itself had rejected them.

Then, whoosh!

Like pebbles skipping across a lake, the three were launched—each one catapulted outside the barrier of the arena, all of them at once.

"Wha…"

The crowd gasped at the sight of this. The fight had only just begun, and half the participants were already eliminated in under a minute.

And then Affea shut her eyes again, and with a snap of her fingers, the gravity field finally faded. Orion staggered slightly and exhaled in relief as the pressure on him was gone. His golden aura pulsed again, restoring his composure.

Fiona jogged back toward Affea, still stunned by what had just happened.

Affea didn't gloat. She simply crossed her arms again and turned to look at Orion.

Now, with only three remaining, Orion also turned serious. Orion and Fiona glanced at each other as if they were thinking the same thing. They fight against each other, and the remaining shall fight with Affea,

However, just as Fiona prepared to enter battle stance and a wave of icy blue aura gathered around Chione, Affea suddenly raised her hand.

And smiled.

"I forfeit."

The words that escaped her mouth were soft, but they echoed through the silent battlefield like a thunderclap.

Gasps erupted across the audience. Murmurs followed immediately like ripples on a pond. Affea calmly turned and walked toward the barrier, stepping out on her own accord without a scratch on her.

"Why did she quit suddenly?"

"Wasn't she dominating the fight?"

"Maybe she's not interested in the throne…"

"Or maybe—her gravity didn't work on Fiona?"

"She wanted to help Fiona and Orion. But is that fair?"

"The others ganged up on her first! Why can't she help others?"

"I mean, frankly, I'd want Lord Azrael's bloodline to continue leading us anyway…"

Affea paid none of them any attention.

Azzy stood near the VIP box, brows furrowed. "Affea!" he called out.

Exiting the barrier, she took a giant leap and landed before him. "Brother."

"What does this mean?" He asked, looking as if he wasn't pleased by her actions.

Affea replied with a shrug of her shoulders, in indifference. "I'm not suited to be a candidate, and I have no interest in the throne."

Azzy's eyes narrowed. "Then why did you even participate? Was it just to help Fiona? What if I had announced a one-on-one battle instead of a royal rumble battle like this? What would you have done? Would you have gone all the way to the finals and surrendered then?"

Affea shrugged lightly again, her expression composed but firm. "That would depend on my opponent, Brother. I can't let someone I don't acknowledge become the heir of the Garcia family. I refused to let someone like Malgrim represent us. That's all."

Azzy's voice dropped, serious now as he said. "You really think sitting on that throne means anything? In the near future, the merger between us, the Elves, and the Minamoto will make this monarchy useless. We're not going to be sovereign anymore. This throne will be symbolic at best."

Affea didn't flinch at all. She ourightly replied as if she had already thought of that. "Even more reason that whoever wears the crown should be someone admirable. Someone who represents us with dignity. Someone like Brother."

She glanced past Azzy, watching Fiona still standing inside the barrier with a confused look on her face.

"And luckily for Brother, you have such a candidate. I saw Fiona for years, and believe me when I say Fiona makes a better leader than I do. She didn't grow up here—she wasn't bound by our traditions or expectations. Just like you, she's seen the outside world. Most importantly, she wasn't hungry for authority or power. That makes her an ideal ruler."

Meanwhile, Inside the barrier, the crowd's attention locked onto the final two contenders—Orion and Fiona.

Fiona cracked a grin, her boots sliding slightly across the dust-swept ground as she squared her stance. The familiar icy shimmer of Chione pulsed behind her, looming like an ice queen deity.

"Back in the tournament," Fiona said with a mischievous glint in her eye, "we pretty much ended in a draw. But this time… I'm hoping for an easy win."

Orion stood across from her, his eyes still closed. A soft breeze stirred his hair.

He shook his head slowly. "I don't think you will."

Then he opened his eyes.

Raising his right hand, a faint golden glow pulsed at his fingertips—then burst into brilliance. In a shimmer of blue-silver light, a mythril bow materialized in his hand.

Fiona's eyes narrowed in surprise.

"That bow… wait—" she murmured, recognition dawning. "I remember it. It used to be a simple one. How… how come I can sense a spirit inside it now?"

Orion didn't respond. He simply pulled the string back.

"Expand," he whispered.