Capital City Astra, Rex Mansion.
"Ugh… master Link lost… sigh~... It seems he really has found a great rival this time…"
Stella was feeling quite anxious for Link right now. This is the first time she has seen him getting this much injured after all.
Usually, Link is very tough, and he rarely ever gets heavily injured, but today he was beaten half to death by Rio.
This tournament really ended in a shocking way. Who could have expected that the rumored 'unbeatable' Link would end up getting defeated by Rio?
Although Link didn't win, Stella didn't care about that much. She was more worried about his health.
Rio's last attack clearly pierced his heart in go with 'Sword Intent', and that was a devastating blow, which could not be overlooked.
Even an S-ranker will have difficulty healing a wound created by a legendary rank skill.
Riya's healing power will be more effective on him instead, as she has the 'Heart Of Eternal Nirvana' now.
But as Riya hasn't returned yet, thus, it's going to take some time to heal Link from those injuries.
"It's clear that Rio likely didn't suffer many fatal wounds when compared to Link… I don't know how long it will take him to recover now… sigh~"
The more Stella thought about it, the more worried she became. She doesn't know how Link is now, thus, it's causing her a lot of anxiety.
Hearing Stella's worried tone, Olin couldn't help but shake his head.
"Master Ashtel is there to watch over them. You don't need to worry about his safety. Nothing will happen to young master Link under his watch…"
Only after hearing Olin's words did Stella feel a bit relieved.
She has raised Link like her own grandchild, so she's always worried about his health.
She is the one who instilled the idea of being punctual in Link.
Link used to train day and night like crazy. She had to scold him to make him focus on his health.
Only then did Link start following a proper schedule. Otherwise, he was just training like crazy all day long.
"Sigh~... This child is just as stubborn as his father used to be… he never listens. I told him to not push himself too much during fights before he left… and see! He didn't listen at all!"
Hearing Stella's words, Olin smiled a bit and said in a calm voice.
"Hehe… I think the only reason he was forced to push his limits so much was because of that kid Rio… young master Link likely didn't want to lose to him…"
Olin's words made Stella feel distressed.
Link has never faced such a thorough defeat before. She was worried that this defeat might end up creating a dark shadow in his heart.
Link has always been unrivalled and unstoppable, his strength has made him shine all over the world.
But today, he lost to Rio fair and square right in front of the whole world. This might really become a source of great regret for him.
"Sigh~... I just hope that little girl Riya will cheer him up a bit… this fight might really have dealt a heavy blow to his pride…"
Hearing Stella's worried voice, Olin shook his head and laughed a bit.
"Haha, you are worrying too much. With young lady Riya on his side, I don't think he will be affected much… instead, this might serve as a source of great motivation for him…"
Stella also felt a bit relieved after hearing those words. She glanced at the sky through the nearby window and said in a calm voice.
"I hope so too…"
…
Rex Mansion, Bodyguard's changing room.
"D*mn! Boss has lost!?"
Several of the bodyguards couldn't believe what they were seeing. Link losing in a fair and square fight was indeed very difficult to digest.
They were all feeling worried about Link's wellbeing.
Seeing the worried looks on the guards' faces, Boris tried to cheer them up a bit.
"Uh…d-don't worry guys, young lady Riya is there too, she definitely won't let anything happen to him…"
Only after hearing her name did the bodyguards heave a sigh of relief.
(They actually trust Riya's healing skills more than an S-rank healer's…)
All of the bodyguards prayed for Link's swift recovery as they didn't think that someone like Link would get upset over a small loss like that.
To them, Link is the most dashing and awe-inspiring idol, who works hard to live up to his father's expectations.
(The reason why all of them were ready to give their lives for Link in the original plotline was because they care about him a lot, and those who care about a villain, die in the hand of a protagonist eventually.)
…
Eastern area of the Human Empire Underground Tavern, Novo.
*Crack!*
A glass of wine fell from Irvin's hand and the wine splattered all over the ground, but Irvin didn't even bother looking at that broken glass. He was so shocked from what he saw on the smartphone screen that he didn't even care about that precious wine anymore.
"H-he defeated the son of the strongest SS-ranker!? D*mn!"
Irvin has just seen the video and has found out that Rio had defeated Link after a long one-hour duel. This was so shocking that he couldn't help but widen his eyes and watch it over and over.
"Such insane mastery over 'Sword Intent'... this guy is a monster…"
Irvin's shock is justified. When an individual uses their trump cards, their strongest moves, they are basically using their strongest attacks.
Usually, it is possible to divert the trajectory of a normal attack or skill mid-way, but it's very difficult to do so when you release your final attack methods.
But Rio did the exact opposite, not only did he stop his 'Sword Intent: Overload' mid-attack, he even changed Link's attack's trajectory before activating his 'Sword Intent' once again.
This may sound simple, but it's very difficult to accomplish.
Stopping your own attack mid-way is like making the flow of your mana go in the reverse direction, which can cause internal wounds in your body.
And final attacks usually consume a lot of mana. If you make all that mana go in the reverse direction at such speed, it will cause damage to your own body.
(Imagine putting two water pumps on both ends of a water pipe and using them both at the same time… it will obviously cause trouble, no?)
Irvin glanced at the rusty knife on a nearby cabinet shelf and thought to himself.
'Like father like son… a dragon will obviously give birth to a dragon… but it seems that you might get surpassed by your own son, boss…'
Irvin walked over to the knife and stroked it with his old hand.
'I am sure you would have made such a funny face after seeing Rio surpass you so fast… it would have been a spectacle to watch…'
A pleasant smile appeared on his face as he remembered a conversation he had with Kevin in the past.
…
(Sudden Flashback)
They had all worked hard to hunt a wyvern, but there was clearly no sign of worry on their faces. Instead, they were behaving quite nonchalantly.
Irvin wiped the blood from his face and questioned Kevin, who was standing above a wyvern corpse in an amused tone.
"Hey Boss, how will you feel if your kids surpassed you in the future?"
Kevin's dark black hair waved in the air and a smirk appeared over his face after hearing those words.
"Hahaha… no, I don't think my children will be able to surpass me… they can only look up to me in awe for their whole life… I am that amazing after all! Hahaha…"
Irvin shook his head and didn't think too much about those words at that time.
He was also not sure if anyone could really reach Kevin's level of assassination skills at all.
At that moment, Irvin could only shake his head before going back to work.
"Well, we will see about it in the future then!"
…
(Back to the present.)
"It seems… your son has totally thrashed your judgment… he will surpass you soon enough…"
Usually, Kevin was always right, and his intuition was very accurate. But it seems when it came to his own kid, Kevin was not as perceptive as always.
He didn't think that Rio would become so strong in the future that his name would spread far and wide.
Today, after winning the championship, Rio is bound to get fame from all over the world, which is a great feat in itself.
Moreover, it is very likely that Rio will go much farther than Kevin ever went in his prime. Rio has that much talent.
Irvin sighed and glanced at the photo of Rio raising his sword towards the sky, and his eyes brightened a bit.
'I wonder when I will be able to meet him in the future… also, that sword he's holding… I must tell him the secrets about it…'
Although Rio knows most of the things about that sword, Irvin still has a few more bits of information about it with him, which he found out from Kevin during some casual talks.
…
Elven Capital, Stadium infirmary
Unaware of all the things happening outside, Link and Rio were both lying on their respective patient beds right beside each other.
They had both exhausted their mana, so they were sleeping like dead logs and didn't even know that their patient beds were located right beside each other.
Lia and two others rushed to the room soon and heaved a sigh of relief after seeing them resting fit and fine.
...
...
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here, it seems that this battle between Rio and Link really stirred up a lot of people's hearts.
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones.