Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 12: Sun City Regionals: Preliminary (1)

After a bit more waiting, contestants and teams were finally given the green light to make their way up to the main stage.

The tournament hall was massive, an open stadium divided into dozens of smaller arenas, each separated by reinforced barriers held by a single Defensive-type Master.

Crowds filled the stands on every level, voices blended together into a constant roar that only grew louder as contestants began moving into position.

Aren checked his phone.

Arena 17.

He slipped it away and looked up.

This was one of the events people waited all year for. The regional tournament didn’t happen often, and when it did, Sun City showed up in full force. Even now, the stands were packed to the brim, spectators leaning forward in their seats, eyes bright with anticipation.

Once the arenas were filled, the announcer’s voice boomed across the entire stadium.

The noise died down almost instantly.

"Attention, contestants," the voice echoed. "The rules are simple."

No killing.

No excessive violence.

Victory conditions were limited to knocking out the opposing team, getting them out of bounds, or forcing them to surrender.

That was it.

"With that," the announcer continued, "the Sun City Regionals officially begin!"

The crowd erupted.

Cheers thundered through the hall as matches across the stadium started simultaneously.

Aren stepped into Arena 17 with Lily and Luna at his sides.

Their opponents were already there.

A boy stood at the front, posture relaxed, sunglasses sat confidently on his face despite the indoor lighting. He wore a fully traditional red robe, expensive and unmistakably tailored.

A rich young master.

Two girls stood just behind him, flanking his sides almost protectively. One wore a red hairpin while the other had a small blue bowtie fastened at her collar.

Aren’s gaze swept over them once.

As expected.

The referee raised a hand. "Prepare."

ether stirred across the arena.

Aren’s eyes narrowed as the other three summoned their Bloodlines immediately.

They all have Two Lines...

Sunglasses’ Bloodline was the easiest to spot.

Imperial Blazing Peacock.

A Bird-type Bloodline, pushed heavily into the Fire element. Aren suppressed a sigh.

Bird-types already struggle defensively. Doubling down on the Fire element made that weakness even worse.

Red hairpin stepped forward next.

Scarlet Needle Wasp.

A classic Bug-type, a great harasser, meant to whittle down opponents over time. It should’ve been paired with the Poison element to maximize her role.

Instead, she chose the Fire element, probably due to her Young Master’s whims.

Usually, Bug-type and the Fire element never go well together due to their natural imbalance and weakness. This caused her Bloodline to just be middling at best.

The real crux of their team, however, was the girl with the blue bowtie.

Azure Shell Turtle.

A Tortoise-type Bloodline that was already good at defense, choosing the Water-element to complement it was a textbook strong combo, no matter how you look at it.

However, Aren noticed something...the Mystic herself seemed to be a bit timid, hiding behind her Young Master instead of fulfilling her job.

That was something he could exploit.

Aren moved first.

The air around him distorted as his Bloodline answered, pressure rolling outward in a violent wave that carried a swallowing pressure.

Lily followed immediately after.

Soft green light bloomed beneath her feet, vines coiling into existence as life energy spread outward in a steady pulse.

Then the temperature dropped.

Frost crept across the arena floor in thin, branching patterns as Luna’s ether expanded without warning. Ice gathered in the air itself, shimmering faintly as her Spirit-type manifested.

A murmur swept through the stands.

Gasps followed.

Even from a distance, the difference was obvious.

Several spectators leaned forward unconsciously.

"...Is that Luna? The Cold Northern Emperor’s daughter?!"

"And that Fairy-type—wait, isn’t that Lily from Central High?"

But most of all, everyone had only one thing on their mind.

"...What is that?"

A pause.

"...A Dragon-type?"

"No way. In Sun City?"

The murmurs rose, sharper now, edged with excitement and doubt.

"Is he a genius?"

The crowd buzzed, attention locking onto Aren as if pulled by instinct alone.

The girl with the red hairpin stiffened.

Her Scarlet Needle Wasp buzzed erratically as she adjusted her footing, eyes flicking between the three opponents

The girl with the blue bowtie got into a defensive stance, water ether already surging around her as she also took a step back.

Only one person on their team didn’t retreat.

The young master laughed.

"So this is it?" he said, adjusting his sunglasses as his Imperial Blazing Peacock flared to life.

Fire erupted behind him in a radiant display, feathers of flame spreading wide like a firework display.

"To think I get to take down three geniuses at once."

His confidence swelled, fed by the crowd, by the spectacle, by the belief that this was an opportunity rather than a warning.

"Well," he said, shifting his stance, flames coiling tighter around his body, "don’t mind if I—"

He vanished.

"DO!"

The arena floor cracked beneath his feet as he blitzed straight toward Aren.

The impact came a heartbeat later.

Aren raised his arms just in time, crossing them in a high guard as the young master crashed into him head-on. Fire exploded outward on contact, heat washing across the arena as his fist collided.

Before he could retaliate, movement flickered at the edge of his vision.

The girl with the red hairpin struck.

Her Scarlet Needle Wasp flared as dozens of small, flickering flames split off from her position.

Small will-o-wisps curved through the air in unnatural precision. The spread wide, then closed in, pressuring Aren from every side.

Before they could reach him, vines erupted from the arena floor, snapping upward around Aren in overlapping layers.

They wrapped around him tightly as the wisps converged. Fire slammed into the barricade. The explosion resounded across the stadium, and the crowd went wild.

The young master clicked his tongue and jumped backward.

Smoke thinned as Aren stepped forward from within the vines, unharmed.

He looked back at Lily just to spare a second to thank her before focusing on their formation.

The girl with the red hairpin had drifted farther than she should have.

She was focused on maintaining distance, fire ether burning in her hands as she was lining up the next volley, unconsciously separating herself from the protection behind her.

There.

Aren didn’t raise his voice.

"Luna."

She understood instantly.

Cold surged.

The air between the teams crystallized as ice erupted from the arena floor, rising upward in a jagged wall that slammed down between the red hairpin and her teammates. Frost seeped in across the ground, sealing the gap completely.

The young master turned, startled.

"What—"

Too late.

Aren was already moving.

He crossed the distance in a few steps, fists driving forward in a relentless barrage. Red hairpin barely had time to react, her Scarlet Needle Wasp twisting and turning as she dodged.

She managed to block some, but was already losing ground.

With a sharp cry, she gathered fire at point-blank range, ether spiking violently as she prepared a last-ditch explosion.

Aren stepped inside the blast radius.

His right hand moved faster, striking the side of her neck in one quick motion.

Her ether collapsed instantly.

The fire guttered out mid-formation as her body went slack, collapsing to the arena floor before the explosion could form.

The referee blew his whistle before announcing.

"Contestant Mia Harper, disqualified!"

Aren straightened as he dusted off his pants.

One down, two more to go.