Parallel Memory

"Princess Elenia of the Elven Race VS Zero Elea of the Human Race!"

"Then I am off!"

Zero said as his name was announced. "Good Luck!"

"Be Careful!"

Amelia and Mia said worriedly. They were also a bit worried since Zero's opponent is Princess Elenia whose power they still don't know. Moreover, they also know about the conflict between Zero and Princess Elenia. It isn't possible for her to go easy on Zero considering what had previously happened.

Hiro and his group also looked at Zero with worries. Zero's opponent was perhaps the strongest in the entire competition. Sylvia and Hiro had also suffered defeat at her hands. "Do your best!"

Sylvia said to Zero, although it might not have been heard by Zero.

"Zero, Give it your all!

"Zero, show them what you are made of!"

Lisa and Misha also cheered loudly for Zero. Although Princess Elenia was the strongest, they still held hopes that Zero would be able to win just like his battle against Elrond.

But other than them, not many were hopeful including the humans. They discussed the probability of Zero winning which wasn't very high according to them. Zero walked calmly amidst all the chatter around. He had heard Lisa and others cheer for him as there were only a small number of people doing that. Others were only talking about how inevitable his defeat was and that he should maybe give up.

Anyway, he had no time to pay attention to other things as his opponent was a strong one.

He was pleasantly surprised to know that his opponent was Crazy Princess.

Although many were thinking about how unlucky Zero was and were pitying him, Zero wasn't very worried.

However, he is very annoyed that he has to face off against someone like Elenia who he thinks is crazy.

Although he didn't like Princess Elenia for what happened previously, but he was also thinking about why that happened.

( Is there some problem with my expression? )

Zero thought. He was obviously not looking down on Elenia or anything but still, it seems like Princess Elenia thought as such.

He began thinking that maybe his expression was a problem.

He remembered his talk with Amelia about how his expression was stern and that maybe he should smile to get along with others.

( Maybe I should try that? )

Zero thought as he walked towards the arena. As he stepped onto the grand stage, the crowd's cheers and anticipation grew even louder. Zero noticed Princess Elenia standing at the opposite end of the arena, her expression a mix of determination and excitement. "It seems like fate for us to fight! I will finally teach you about what happens when you underestimate me."

Princess Elenia said which showed how eager she was to fight Zero. Zero wasn't very interested in that and thought that maybe he should try to clear his misunderstanding and let the crazy princess know that he wasn't looking down on her.

Alan decided to make an effort to appear more approachable and friendly, so he tried to muster a smile. However, what he thought was a friendly gesture came off as a smirk to the onlookers, including Princess Elenia.

The crowd's cheers were momentarily hushed, replaced by a collective gasp. They were all surprised by how confident and arrogant Zero was.

"Look! Zero is unfazed even as Princess Elenia is his opponent. He must have some hidden trick up his sleeves."

"That Zero is indeed confident. As Rank-A, he is even looking down on Rank-S Princess Elenia."

"Previously, he was mocking Princess Elenia. I thought that was because he knew that Princess Elenia wouldn't attack him. It seems like that was not the case and he doesn't really consider Princess Elenia as his opponent." "Zero's arrogance knows no bounds. It's like he's not taking this match seriously at all. Princess Elenia deserves more respect. How dare he look down on our Princess."

…

The spectators all began chatting after thinking about how Zero was looking down on Elenia. They all thought of his smile as a smirk.

Elenia, who had been preparing herself for the battle ahead, saw his expression as an arrogant and mocking sneer.

"You dare to mock me with that smirk, Zero? You'll regret underestimating me again!"

Princess Elenia yelled angrily. It was her second time having Zero look down on her. She was angry at Zero who was acting as if he was superior to her and mocking her with that smirk.

"..."

Zero blinked in confusion, not quite sure how his attempt at friendliness had backfired so spectacularly. He had expected a bit of tension given their previous encounter, but he hadn't anticipated such a hostile response.

Zero was also oblivious that his smile was looking like a smile and thought that Crazy Princess was having another misunderstanding even though he was trying to be friendly with her.

"BUHAHA… "

Amelia couldn't hold her laughter. Among all the people, maybe only she and Mia knew that Zero was trying to smile. And hearing other comments about his smile was only making it worse for her. On the stage, there was a weird misunderstanding happening. Princess Elenia seemed to be angrier and Zero was oblivious to why.

"You see, Zero," Princess Elenia said, her tone cold and threatening, "I'm not like Elrond. You might be feeling very confident after having defeated Elrond but don't think that I am the same as him. Prepare yourself!"

Zero, still trying to make sense of the situation, nodded slowly. He decided that the best course of action was to let his actions speak for him during the battle.

"Are you both ready?"

The referee asked.

Zero and Princess Elenia nodded while taking out their weapons. This was the first time that Princess Elenia took out her weapon at the start.

This showed how serious she was!

"Then let the battle begin!"

The referee finally signaled the start of the match.

[ "Aurora's Grace" ]

As the referee's command echoed through the arena, Zero and Princess Elenia sprang into action. Princess Elenia quickly notched an arrow to her bow, her eyes fixed on Zero. She wasted no time to use one of her powerful attacks on Zero.

With the anger she felt, she was in no mood to play around and wanted to show Zero how strong she was.

Zero, on the other hand, took a defensive stance with his sword, ready for whatever Princess Elenia had in store. [ "Dual Art: Peerless Ice Strike" ]

The first arrow Princess Elenia released seemed to blur as it streaked toward Zero. But he was prepared. With remarkable agility and reflexes, Zero deflected the arrow with his sword, sending it harmlessly off course.

The crowd gasped in amazement at Zero's lightning-fast reaction. Even Princess Elenia was momentarily taken aback by his skill. Zero's nonchalant smile had transformed into a focused and determined expression.

He always has a stern expression on him whenever he battles since he was trained to take every battle seriously. In the Tower Of Obelisk, he could die whenever he battles, so he always has this stern expression.

Elenia quickly followed up with a barrage of arrows, each one faster and more precise than the last. [ "Frozen Shadow Dance" ]

Zero was forced to dance around the arena, expertly dodging and deflecting every arrow that came his way. It was a breathtaking display of skill on both sides, with Elenia's archery and Zero's swordsmanship in perfect harmony.

He also tried to sneak on Princess Elenia with this skill but it seemed like Princess Elenia was already ready.

[ "Tempest Veil" ]

She protected herself before Zero could sneak attack on her. Zero didn't attack and created some distance, safe from the Tempest Veil.

"Humph!"

Princess Elenia watched Zero back off. Zero also kept his eyes on Elenia as she could attack him from anywhere.

[ "Glacier Shadow Slash" ]

Zero attacked in an attempt to distract Elenia. Princess Elenia took the bait as she was now focused on destroying Zero's attack. She used her own attack to destroy Glacier Shadow Slash.

During that time, Zero gathered his mana for another attack.

[ "Dark Icy Surface" ]

He began freezing the ground of the arena. It was to give advantage to him while also having some chance that Princess Elenia would get hit by this attack.

Princess Elenia destroyed Zero's attack. She also saw Zero's using another skill.

After destroying his attack, Elenia channeled her mana and just floated in the air. She was easily able to avoid Zero's Dark Icy Surface with that. Every Rank-S could fly and Elenia could as well. She looked down on Zero from the air. With her in the air, she has an advantage, considering she was a long-range fighter.

She has a smirk on her face as she thought that Zero wouldn't be able to do anything since she was in the air and he was sitting suck.