The World's most Overpowered Side-Character
Chapter 308: Only One.

"Infinite...?" Zara stared outwards in awe. "How is that even possible?" She mused.

"As explained before, mana is the source of all life and death, it was the first and it will be the last, when eternity itself has ended mana will still remain," Ikaris replied leaning forward when she witnessed someone who managed to block Dina's [Mana Spear] strike with his bare hands, roaring with a wide grin as the two of them began a one-on-one bout while the others surrounding them tried escaping their path.

"It seems there are some diamonds in the muddle after all."

"Oh... that one?" Hudor scrunched his nose and shook his head. "He is no good, that man has nearly exposed himself as Vatui more times than I care to remember, we had to constantly cover his tracks to prevent a leak-"

"He is proud of his clan; proud of his heritage; proud of his race," Zara countered, looking at the man next to her with a raised broe. "If we'd had more warriors like him then we would have not needed to retreat and go back into hiding back then," She gestured to him. "Éloen Cosmo."

"I remember him, he was a part of my personal datail," Cecelia nodded crossing her arms and sighing with a smile. "Cosmo has a strong sense of self and an iron-clad will, princess, he is a fine example of what you seek."

"Cosmo," Ikaris reclined in her seat once more and smiled, she had begun thinking that that Vatui like Cecelia were the examption and that she was an enigma, but if she was vouching for him then he was at the very least worth a second glance, not to mention, he had not opposed the idea of fighting the Emporium; he was fighting Dina for the fun of it, that was evident by the smile on his face even as he was beaten into the ground by Dina who also wore a pleased smile after finally replaceing someone of worth amongst those who had challenged her.

It left a question lingering in the back of her mind though.

"Cecelia," Ikaris called.

"Yes, Highness?" The woman stood at the utterance of her name and looked to her beloved leader with a curious gaze.

"From your perspective, amongst the clansmen before you, who would you say represents the average Vatui in strength, whether that be as a warrior or as a civilian?" Ikaris inquired, glancing at the woman curiously.

"The average," Cecelia mused, fiddling her thumbs as she stared at the mass that had gathered around Dina and Cosmo observing in awe as she battled easily with one of their strongest. "For civilians, I would say the average is the strongest of this multitude, but speaking for the warriors, the average would be Hudor behind me," She gestured to the man and he huffed and closed his eyes.

"Ma'am, I am surely above the average warrior-"

"Can it, you're as average as they come; slightly below average in the intelligence department, no doubt," Zara slapped her hand over his mouth with a deadpan.

"This is a serious matter, I implore you to behave professionally, Hudor," She stared at him askance of the carefree attitude that Cecelia seemed to have while she interacted with Ikaris and the others who had arrived through the glowing doorway with her.

"Then, by Hudor's standards, would Cosmo be considered a cut above the rest?" Ikaris asked again and Cecelia hummed in thought, mulling over the idea of Cosmo being an elite before scoffing.

"Not entirely, no," She shook her head. "Cosmo was among some of the weaker of the forces, granted, he is not weak himself, but he is far from an elite," Cecelia answered.

"Then... the elites-"

"They all died," Cecelia answered.

"Aside from my sister and myself the main forces were completely wiped out by General Flint and his fleet; Her Highness disappearing after the death of the King was a massive blow to the Vatui army's morale, while contrasting our effectiveness falling, the Empire grew stronger with LAW as their support, eventually we were beaten into a corner and failed to recover," She lowered her gaze after Arla's unfinished question.

Arla looked at Ikaris expecting some kind of reaction to what was probably the greatest blunder of her past, but the goddess was sitting there staring at Dina's fight and sipping her tea with an expression of indifference.

"I see," Ikaris placed her cup in the tray and cleared her throat. "Do you know where we can replace others like yourself and your sister or Cosmo?" She asked, aware that Cecelia along with Hudor and Zara were staring at her because of her estranged behaviour.

"While I respect those who would be willing to lay their lives on the line to see the Emporium dragged through the dirt and brought to ruin, I am not looking for soldiers to lay their lives on the line and die for me, I am looking for warriors of the highest degree who can reach never before seen heights of power and destroy their enemies in my name." She declared, bringing with her declarations a rush of mana from her body and a burst of wind crashing from the sky and washing across the chaotic foreground causing Dina to stop mid-kick and release a breath, extending her hand towards Ccosmo and smiling at him.

"You pass, Cosmo," Dina pulled him to his feet and cast [Heal] on him, curing him of all his injuries before his healing factor even kicked in.

"I was utterly defeated though," He complained, staring at his spotless arms in awe.

"Consider yourself qualified to fight by Her Highnesses side either way, what we seek aren't martyrs, we seek powerful allies, with your strength alone you can hold your own against a lot of the average soldiers under the Emporiums banner; you'll be able to do so much more once you've learnt how to make use of your mana." She complimented him and saw his cheeks flush as he held on to her hand.

"If you do not release my hand you won't have one to fight with."

"Understood..." The man let go of her hand with a shocked expression when she showed her true hostility, glancing around at the others who had also taken a fancy to her while she was beating the shit out of them, he saw the sigils on her neck and arms light up and felt a menacing aura as they hummed and emitted azure waves of mana around her causing the loose debris to rise while the skies began darkening whilst clouds raced from all angles forming a spiral above them.

"If you value your lives, keep them to yourself, I will not allow it and ally or not, Master will kill anyone who tries to." She stared at the surrounding Vatui.

"The Princess would kill us for touching her?" Someone asked with their brow raised in what seemed like disbelief.

"She would probably break your arm or leg for it, but no, she is not my master; I am her right hand, her retainer, our master is Sol Vestic," Dina balled her fists suppressing her mana again and taking a deep breath. "Does anyone else wish to challenge me, or was there only one worthy candidate within this multitude of two thousand?" She asked with her expression darker than before.

Like dina, Arla's sigils had also been glowing after Cosmo had shared a lecherous expression holding her hand, and Ikaris's sigils were the brightest, almost like a beacon.

"What is wrong with them?" Cecelia asked, seeing their resonance for the first time with her own eyes.

"There is nothing wrong," Alpha answered in her usual monotonous response.

"Milady is extremely territorial about matters concerning her Master as he is with her, their connection to Dina and to Lady Amastacia has carried the full brunt of said possessiveness over into their link with twice the effect, creating a rather interesting instinct within the three of them, you should be mindful, when their sigils glow they are resonant, when master's sigil on his arm glows they are all entranced, but if their eyes glow be wary and do not approach, your life could end in an instant, this information may one day save your life so take heed." Alpha warned them.

"Their sigils glowing in tandem is a sign of warning, Sir's sigils glowing with theirs is a sign of entrancement, and when all their eyes glow they are hostile and will attack anything and everyone which ventures too close to them, understood," Jenifer made a mental note of the warning and then turned to Keele who was also nodding as she absorbed those words like a gospel.

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"She is truly not the Ikaris of the past, but I do remember her once saying that any man who could get her submission would have her unyielding loyalty," Cecelia mumbled, but Arla being Arla looked at her with a knowing smille.

"In the end there was only one..."