The Azra-El Series Ch. 19

"You cannot leave a party without making a spectacle, can you?" Elyssa asked him as they soared towards their mansion.

"Oi, don't blame me. I had no choice."

***

Once the two angels reached the mansion, they decided they had enough excitement for one day, and headed straight to Elyssa's room.

Since it was still early in the evening, Elyssa pulled out the latest book of the "Night Angel" series as they huddled beside each other in her bed. The illustrated series was written by an anonymous author from D'Warka, and thus, the latest books were always available first at the water city. Elyssa had purchased it the day she arrived.

There were forty books in the series, but Blaze had only read the first two books. However, Elyssa filled in the details as they read.

Nychta Iustitia, the alter ego of the Night Angel, worked as a reporter in a fictional city that housed both angels and demons. She was an idealistic young angel who believed in justice and equality, regardless of race or nature. However, as the Night Angel, her ideals were constantly challenged, and she was often forced to make decisions that did not entirely align with her ideals.

Her difficult choices were the main reason Elyssa was enamored with the series. She loved to talk about what she might do if she was put in her shoes.

As the two read, they ran into a new character, a young angel who displays Righteous Fury to defend a yaksha.

There was also a character named "Ellie" who accompanied the Fury in the novel and provided comic relief.

"Why does it seem like I am the sidekick?" Elyssa complained. It wasn't a surprise that the new book made a reference to them. One of the entertaining aspects of the series was that it referenced real life occurrences on Azra-El.

"Too bad, Ely. Heroes need sidekicks. I am obviously the hero of this novel," Blaze laughed.

"Night Angel is the heroine of this novel."

"Well, I am a hero in real life. Ah-hahaha."

"More like an evil mastermind... Tell you what?" she said impishly. "How about we agree that both of us are heroes in real life? Siofra can be our little sidekick. Tehe."

"Don't let her hear it... Anyway, have you ever considered that it may be better for the angels to have a government led by a group of individuals elected by all angels? You know, instead of monarchies?" he asked.

The city where Night Angel resided was inhabited by all sorts of sentient beings, including demons, and it was governed by elected representatives akin to the democracies of Earth.

"You mean a Tsekki?"

"Tsekki" was the Azrael word for "republic".

"Yeah..."

"It makes sense that a Tsekki might be the best option in a diverse city like the fictional Ffaraon, but I do not see any reason for the angels to emulate it. Do you not think it would be inefficient?"

"What do you mean?"

"You probably have not come across this bit in your history lessons yet, but some countries attempted the republic form of government a few thousand years ago. It worked well initially, but they soon found out that angels with the most charm tended to get elected more often than angels who were actually good at the job."

"So, having one ruler is better? That makes no sense. In a republic, at least the people get to choose who they are ruled by."

"Well, not all countries are true monarchies, and most angel societies are governed by a meritocracy. The monarchs do not have all the power, though Xian might be an exception.

"Think about it this way: Why would most angels know anything about how to ideally govern or how to ideally build bridges, or anything else that needs specialized knowledge? Through meritocracy, we ensure that the right people are doing the right job."

"Then, why do you think it works in Ffaroan?"

"It is a fantasy, Blaze. Besides, I am not saying that it does not work. I am just saying that it is not the best option for a society of angels. Most angels are trustworthy and virtuous. You can depend on them to work for the betterment of all, even if your ideals do not match theirs. Yes, we have tainted angels, but they are a minority, and most of them do not really attain power."

"What about liberty, then?"

"Meritocracy gives the most liberty. It has been proven."

Blaze wanted to argue, but he realized that he needed to do more research before he could make an argument. He was convinced of the efficacy of democracy amongst humans, but angels weren't human.

"Aranya is not a true monarchy," Elyssa continued. "The queen is a representative head of sorts. She does not have supreme power. Her generals- some of whom, like my mom, have reached those positions through merit alone- make most decisions. It seems to be working.

"Tsekki governments did not work for us. It was during the later days of the Republics that the demons began to expand and grow. No one could come to a consensus over what needed to be done, and it was too late by the time they did. So, no one really considers the Tsekki governments anymore."

Blaze wasn't convinced. Maybe a democracy needed a good economic system to sustain it, and he was sure that the angel economic system was nowhere as developed as it was on Earth.

"What about the Malakim misusing their power?" he asked, instead.

"The thing is, they do not think that they are misusing their power. Most Caledonians do not think so, either. So, would it be any different if the Malakim were elected, instead? The Malakim feel that their tainted are doing necessary evil for the greater good of the HU.

"Anyway, I hear the next book is going to be even more interesting. There will be machines that can fly and move merely on mechanical power. I wonder how the author is going to explain that? Can you imagine anything flying without wings?"

"Yes." Wait. She is talking about concepts that seem very familiar. Is this writer possibly from Earth?

"Elyssa, who is the author of the Night Angel series?"

"She writes anonymously, so no one knows. The first novel was published around 60 years ago, so she must be older than that."

The two made it halfway through the book before they fell asleep. Though they had tournament matches the next day, neither of them was worried. They had already made all the preparations they could.

oOo

The next morning, Blaze and Elyssa took a carriage back to his hotel. He had a light breakfast and changed into the latest batch of clothes produced by the Blazing Furies Co.

For once, his new clothing was masculine, as Agatha wanted to draw out Blaze's unique taste in attire. His high-collared white shirt, though barebacked to give free movement for his wings, had a distinctly masculine shape to it. A cerulean quetzal was printed on the front as the logo. A black jacket with back slits went over the shirt. His shorts were simple, but their red color perfectly matched the red in his wings.

Jie Er opted to stay at the hotel, and Blaze didn't question it, especially since the HU seemed to be under the suspicion that she was a Princep. However, she walked Blaze to the hotel's roof to see him off. From there, Blaze and his gang, accompanied by Agatha and Thyra, took a Gryphon carriage to the stadiums.

The stadiums were located to the south of the East Cloud District. There was one massive colosseum-like stadium at the center, surrounded by numerous smaller arenas enclosed by grassy viewing grounds.

Fiora stood waiting for them outside stadium seven. Azalea and her Undine friends were floating in a nearby canal, looking to the skies for Blaze. There was also another group of Undine, hired by Agatha.

"Where's Alice?" Blaze asked the headmistress, on landing.

"You are not the only one who has a match this morning, Ms. Blaze. Alice is with Ms. Priscilla."

Blaze introduced the merangels to his headmistress as they walked to their dugout. Agatha and Thyra setup shop near their dugout, while the hired Undine spread out to hand out pamphlets. The front of the pamphlets advertised Blaze's clothesline and the new store in D'Warka, while the backside talked about his gauntlets, extolling them as a masterpiece made by the protegee of the renowned Valinna Strom. Thyra seemed a bit embarrassed by it, but Agatha had insisted.

Angels began to fill the grounds around the arena while the referees waited for the clock to strike nine.

Spears were the most common weapon in the army, but the tournaments usually tended to feature variants of swords and shields. However, as fate would have it, Blaze's first opponent wielded a halberd, a cousin of the bardiche.

"Nizhny Staritsta," Aahna pointed at a stocky, blonde-haired angel at the far side of the arena. She had her halberd planted into the ground by her side and she stood with folded arms, while staring at him intensely. "She is most likely not worthy of being your opponent, but her halberd skills are not to be underestimated. I suggest you use a long spear or a two-handed sword."

Blaze looked at Aahna in surprise. "You know her?"

"Well, we took the headmistress' help to gather information about all your opponents. The four of us even discussed the best ways you could fight your matches. Leave the scouting to us."

What faithful minions, I have! I need more.

"Sounds like a plan," he nodded in approval.

Taking off his jacket with the flair of a 90's teenage movie jock, Blaze pointedly adjusted his gauntlets over his forearms, before pulling out a long, black metallic spear from his space ring. Jie Er had purchased him an array of weapons to pick from. The black spear was blunted for the tournament, but it was still a mean-looking weapon, with four small blunted spikes coming out from underneath the spearhead.

He glanced at Fiora, but she did not say anything besides giving him an encouraging smile.

Blaze sighed and stepped into the arena as he brought out his conspicuous red-white wings. An audible gasp swept across the stadium, though most attending knew that it was the Blazing Fury's match.

Nizhny manifested her wings and jumped into the air. In addition to the halberd in her hands, she had a dirk at her hip.

Blaze met her in the middle.

"Good luck," he said to her, returning her customary ama.

"May the best angel win," she said, before the umpire made them separate.

All the matches started with the combatants separated by two hundred feet at a height of one hundred. The dome within which they could fight was confined to a height of a thousand feet and a width of five hundred.

"Begin!" the umpire yelled, and Nizhny shot towards Blaze with the halberd pointing towards him.

Blaze switched his grip on his spear, wound up, and threw it with a mighty grunt. To say the least, his opponent was taken by surprise.

Throwing away your only weapon at the start of the match made no sense. However, Nizhny managed to swerve out of the way and came to a swooshing halt.

The spear fell and lodged itself into the ground, and an abrupt silence filled the stadium. Aahna smacking her forehead echoed in the silence.

"Er..." Blaze said, looking at his baffled opponent, "you were supposed to go down to that!"

His remark made her even more confused.

Suddenly, he made a move towards his spear on the ground. Nizhny reacted quickly to cut off his path.

"Just kidding," Blaze stopped in mid-air, giving his opponent a cheeky grin. "Ta ta," he squeaked, waving his arm, and zipping off towards the opposite side of the arena. He quickly began to manifest energy in his palms.

"Why did she even bother taking that spear?!" Aahna cried in exasperation, from the dugout. It was as if he only took the spear with him to make fun of her suggestion.

"Blaze likes to act stupid, Ms. Aahna, but do not mistake his actions for whimsy. He is a master of unsettling his opponents, and he keeps them guessing," Fiora said. "He is also not as immature as he pretends to be."

"But... are his actions not a little disrespectful towards his opponent?"

"The demons will not show you any respect on the battlefield, Ms. Aahna. It is better for Ms. Nizhny to learn that from him, rather than some demon, do you not think so?" Fiora said sagely.

"I think he is just having fun," Elyssa chuckled, disagreeing with Fiora's assumptions about Blaze's deeper machinations. She had long come to enjoy his antics, though she would never say that in his presence.

As an energy zweihander— a two-handed sword with a wide guard— manifested itself in Blaze's hands, he slowly turned around to face his opponent. Blaze the Barbarian, he declared in his mind, wishing he could tear off his shirt and flex his pectoral muscles.

However, since he couldn't do either, he pointed his sword at the skies and screamed at the top of his lungs, "I... HAVE... THE POWER! ...Blaze-man."

Unfortunately for Nizhny, and fortunately for Blaze, purple lightning did not rain down from the skies to strike down his idiocy.

His opponent and his audience were completely flummoxed. They knew that the Fury was young, but they didn't expect him to be a child at heart. Didn't the Righteous Fury require strong convictions to manifest itself?

For a moment, Nizhny almost believed that his words brought him some mystical power. However, nothing of that nature happened. No gravity-defying hair, no golden aura surrounding his weapon, and not even a boost to his muscles.

Aahna and the rest looked like they wanted to hide somewhere, while Fiora tried her best to maintain her usual composure. On the other hand, the merangels simply continued to loudly cheer for him.

Blaze charged his opponent with his two-handed energy weapon. The flustered angel from Angalnebo sent out a half-hearted thrust towards his chest.

He blocked the blade of the halberd with the wide guard of his sword, parried the shaft to the side with a twist, and then slashed down on the angel's body.

Nizhny's body reinforcement shattered, and Blaze brought up the tip of his blade to rest against her shoulder.

"Match decided. Victory: Blaze Er Lokra," the umpire declared.

Thus, came an end to the anticipated but unexpected outcome of the Fury's first bout in the tournament. Nizhny gave him a dirty look before flying back to her side of the arena.

"Man, I am too stronk!" Blaze announced, as he returned to his own side.

Most of his friends simply shook their heads and turned around to leave as a restrained scattering of applause swept around the stadium. The match wasn't exactly as exciting as the audience had hoped it would be.

"All of you are just jealous of my strength," he let his groupies know.

"That's right. Blaze is too stronk! You defeated her in one move. Amazing!" Azalea cheered with complete conviction.

Suddenly, he noticed that Azalea and her friends had walked from a different place than where his Aranyan friends had been sitting.

"Why were you guys over there?"

"This area is apparently reserved for angels," Azalea answered without missing a beat. There was no protest in her voice, only acceptance.

Blaze glanced at Fiora and found her to be a little uncomfortable with the situation.

"Nonsense," he said to the merangels. "You are all here to watch and support me. You shall sit with the rest of my friends, right guys?" he asked his friends.

"We were sitting together, but the stadium manager came over and asked them to move," Aahna answered.

"It is fine, Blaze. We don't mind," Bayou said, shrugging her shoulders. "We are used to it. It doesn't bother us."

"Well, it bothers me. I-"

"Blaze, we are not in Aranya," Fiora reminded him.

"Well, if the Caledonian angels don't want you to sit with them, we should go over and sit with the merangels," he said to his minions, without leaving any room for argument.

"I will," Rachel responded immediately. She had been the one in his group to be initially hesitant over their relationship with Siofra, but that didn't mean that she was a hypocrite. Blaze had found that out about her quite early during his time at Tir. The girl held strong opinions, but she was kind at heart.

***

Everyone from Tir won their first matches of the tournament. Blaze had to pick between Elyssa and Siofra matches because of the scheduling, and he picked Siofra's match. However, her fight was quick, ending in under a minute. Her speed had her opponent and the audience completely baffled. The pixie was fast enough to match an archangel over short distances.

Asherah allowed Blaze to give his friend a few congratulatory words, before she took her away.

Elyssa's match was also equally one-sided. Just like Blaze, she had defeated her opponent in one hit.

Blaze had the second fight of the tournament that same evening. None of the other participants had two fights scheduled on the same day, but somehow, he had been the unlucky one to have two matches.

When they arrived at the stadium that evening, his entire entourage moved to the area allotted to the merangels, though there were only a few merangels at the match. The thing that Blaze didn't understand was that the place wasn't even that different from where the angels sat. The viewing field was a simple stretch of lawn grass.

Agatha and Thyra quickly set up shop near the dugout, waiting for customers. Agatha had made a few sales in the morning, and she hoped they would only increase in the evening.

"Dohna Lhamo from Lanoan," Aahna introduced Blaze to his second opponent.

Lanoan was a country to the south of Aranya. Located on the Anoan Plateau, it was a beautiful land known for its wide-ranging grasslands, undulating hills, and hordes of free-roaming Pegasi. The Lanoans had once lived as nomadic tribes before settling down into cities.

"She attends the renowned Tholing Academy, and wields an unconventional and dangerous weapon called the 'urumi'," Aahna continued. "She is the ninth seed of the USMAT, so do not underestimate her strength. And, please, do not try to fool around."

"What's an urumi?" Blaze asked.

"It is a whip-like flexible sword, originating from the Yakshas. It is a difficult weapon to master, but if one manages to do so, it can be a tricky weapon to counter. I suggest you keep your body reinforcement up at all times.

"A small shield and a maneuverable weapon will be your best options. A longer pike may also do the work, but it will be less defensive. The important point to remember is that her attacks can come from awkward angles, when you least expect them."

"Hmm," Blaze wondered, looking at the dark-haired angel on the other side of the arena. Aahna's suggestions were good, but he felt that his opponent would be familiar with common counters. More importantly, he had never faced an urumi before. So, even if he chose a counter, he wasn't sure if he could use it effectively.

Dohna was a little taller than him, and her general features reminded him of Rin and Lin from Rebecca's regiment. "Headmistress, is she stronger than Prissy?"

"That is a tricky question," Fiora answered. "They use very different weapons. I would not be able to gauge who is stronger without watching them fight each other. However, I do reckon that they are equally talented."

"Hmmm..." Blaze hummed as he donned his gauntlets. Though he wasn't bad at using a shield, it was simply not his style. Moreover, the tournament only allowed for a maximum of three tools, so his two gauntlets left him with few options.

A dagger? Nah, too short.

He came to a decision and brought out a weapon that he had only brought out during his training sessions with Ragna's mother.

"Is that a real Txiki needle?" Kida asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.