The "Heaven's Arena Tournament" being made up of twelve participants, brought about the need of a three contestant fight. This led to the tournament being divided into three Blocks which the Supreme Beings called "Block-A", "Block-B", and "Block-C". This meant that the third and final round of the tournament would be a three-way fight between the "champions" of each Block.

During the time between the exhibition match and the beginning of the first round, the structure of the Blocks was made aware to all present, with each Block being composed of two matches in the first round. The matches of "Block-A" contained Lyra Aecan vs Josep Bret, and Jethro Brandt Dale Raeven vs Clanea. Then there was "Block-B" with Lyla Alvein Dale Aindra vs Khuar Diomea, and Crawl vs Berenice Rockbruise. Finally, "Block-C" had contestants Raw Raw vs Thoga Shasha, and Sariel Ibutan Omega vs Zarm.

As they waited for their fights, most of them decided to remain in the private chambers provided under the arena. These were small rooms that allowed them to do some time alone, light training, change, and shower. In Lyra Aecan's chamber, she was pacing back and forth, her mind still focused on her confrontation with Sariel. Keeping her company was the armor controlled by her tutor and mentor, the Platinum Dragon Lord.

"You have to calm down." He instructed sagely.

"What? How?! That bastard just walked all-over everyone, and even has the gall to speak of the Supreme Beings in such a way. People like him do not deserve to take part in this tournament." Lyra spat back in agitation.

"Behave, Lyra. You cannot go into any of these matches with this mentality. If you are not focused on what is currently before you, it will cost you." The Dragon Lord pointed out calmly, but she frowned as she replied.

"Tsk! But I want to give him what he deserves!"

"That's enough! You can't even be sure you two will even meet in the finals." He roared, finally getting her to calm down.

"I... I understand... You think he will lose before that?" She ask hesitantly.

"Hmm. Most likely not. However, his ego might cost him along the way. The same goes for you. If you don't focus you might lose to opponents that are below you. Now then, why don't we discuss your first opponent?" The Dragon Lord suggested in a teacherly manner.

"Yes... I'm looking forward to showing them what I can do." She said with a confident look.

"Well, given who your opponent is, you probably won't be able to show that much."

"Eh? But I thought Werewolves were considered fierce adversaries?" Lyra replied in curiosity.

"True. However, the gap in strength is still considerable." He replied matter-of-factly, causing her to frown again.

"Then... I guess I'll have to find some other way to calm down."

"I'll have to leave you alone while you do it. I must return to my booth." He informed, then walking up to the door.

"...Fine."

In Josep Bret's chamber, he was naturally accompanied by his Watcher Leah, whom was standing near the door, having just recently arrived. He was sitting in the middle of the room cross-legged, with his armor removed, and was only wearing simple gray pants. He was in the process of deep mediation, yet he was still able to pick up on everything around him, and even respond as needed.

"I've gone and asked them if you're allowed to transform. And much like we expected, your opponent has not been informed of this." Leah informed stoically.

"Even when you mentioned that despite being able to transform at any time, I cannot fully control myself?" Josep asked in a neutral, almost unemotional tone.

"The referee has been warned. She will take care of it if the need arises."

"As if it would be necessary." Josep mumbled with a somewhat displeased tone.

"What's with that attitude?" Leah asked in grousing tone.

"This is not a situation where we can win." Josep said pointedly.

"Indeed. A second victory is no longer possible. We've failed our main goal. However, we are here to represent the Capitoline Kingdom, and we won't lose without a fight. Especially when you're one of our top soldiers, and one of our most dominant Alphas."

"Yes... I'll do my best to make her remember us." Josep informed resolutely, getting up from his meditation.

"Good... Now get ready. The match will be starting shortly." Leah said in an almost commanding tone.

"I am fine like this." He stoically said, turning to look upon his Watcher.

"Oh? Is that so? I know you're resilient as a wolf, but she's far stronger than what you're used to handling. You should be equipped."

"No. I will show her our worth as individuals. I'll show her what our strength is. No more, no less." Josep firmly said, causing Leah to roll her eyes at him.

"If you insist."

Eventually the two fighters made their way to their respective entrances, all the while Mar's voice echoed through the arena as she excitedly announced the beginning of the Block-A matches with Lyra Aecan vs Josep Bret. A lot of focus had been placed on Lyra, as many had been drawn to her interesting nature as a dragon-elf hybrid. A rarity even within the diverse nature of the Empire. Touka had already placed herself in the middle of the platform, which was still on the ground. She stood perfectly motionless as she waited for the fighters to arrive.

NJPW - Devil's Sky

As music filled the arena, the gates to Lyra's entrance began to open. The crowd already filled with the voices of the people that had taken a liking to her. Especially after her confrontation with Sariel. As the gate fully opened she marched out, showcasing armor with clear inspirations from the black armor Alucard was known for using. Though hers lacked a hood or cape, and was made to accommodate her wings and tail. As she walked towards the platform, she looked around taking in the very surprising reaction from the crowd, with her eyes sometimes going to the upper floors where she knew Alucard was.

Stopping on the platform, she briefly looked at Touka, being somewhat overwhelmed to find herself in the presence of someone who works so closely with someone she saw as such a great source of inspiration and respect. Not to mention that she was also happy to be in the presence of someone else who worked to free the elves from Malekith's rule. Eventually her music ended, and the time came for Josep to enter the arena.

WWE - Slow Chemical

As Josep's gates began to open, the reaction was much smaller than his opponent's, coming mostly from his fellow countrymen, or those that found him attractive. When the gates were only half-open, he began to march towards the platform, getting a much more audible reaction when they saw that he wasn't wearing any real kind of gear. Yet, all noted the determined and fiery look in his eyes. The eyes of a man who was about to try and prove something, even if he had arguably chosen the worst way to do it.

When he finally came face-to-face with Lyra, the music ended, and Touka approached them, her eyes going to both combatants in turn as she spoke.

"Do you understand the rules?"

"Yes." Both replied.

Giving them a nod, Touka lifted her arm, signaling for the platform to be raised. As this happened, Lyra noted that Josep seemed to be relaxing his muscles, leaving himself completely open in the process. Something she didn't fully understand as her left brow twitched.

"Now... Combatant's get ready…" Touka began.

Throwing herself back, she distanced herself from the duo. However, as she did Josep also jumped back, and away from his opponent. His body began to convulse, growing in size, along with his muscle volume. His face twitched and cracked as it took on more canine features, and lets out growls that sounded like those of a wolf and a man in pure agony. Black fur erupted from his skin, covering him as his body continued to transform.

"…Set…"

He was now on all his fours, his transformation almost finished, with him now looking almost as if he could snap Lyra's slim frame in two. His sounds took on a more primal and animalistic nature, until finally the arena was filled with a loud and dominant cry.

"Go!"

It was Lyra's first time seeing a werewolf transform, as she had only read of the subject. She honestly never thought it would look and sound as painful as it did. As someone whose greatest source of combat experience were sparring sessions, she might have fallen into an unseen pattern. One that led her to not act right away, instead focusing on her curiosity of the transformation.

This costed her, as Josep took the opportunity to exploit a much needed opening. While he wasn't exactly in control of himself when he transformed, he had gone to all fours beforehand for a reason, and trained his body to act on "muscle memory". Putting all his strength into his limbs he jumped at Lyra, managing to tackle her onto the ground, so he was now straddling her.

Letting out a thunderous roar in her surprised face, he invoked the [Monk] ability [Natural Steel Weapon] to give his claws enhanced cutting power as he began to wildly claw at Lyra. Using her arms to guard, Lyra took these blows with relative ease, even if she was surprised to see his claws go through her armor. Still, this wasn't something she hadn't experienced before, and while she wanted to see if he could actually do anything to her skin with the attacks, she knew that she couldn't just take them.

Opening her mouth to twice the normal levels, Lyra managed to push her opponent's arms aside and unleashed a stream of orange fire on him. Taking into account her nature as a half-dragon, one would not be surprised to see her able to do this. However, it was necessary to understand that she used this weapon rarely, so it wasn't as strong as one might've expected for her level. Yet, it was enough to force Josep back, as the werewolf staggered back, still covered in some flames.

"Heh. You actually got me by surprise there." Lyra said with a grin, easily getting back to her feet.

Josep said nothing in reply, only making animalistic sounds as he did his best to rid himself of the flames. Either way, Lyra didn't really care for his reply as she closed the distance between them, going for bare-handed strikes of her own. Getting close to him, the duo began to exchange several blows that were naught but a blur to the untrained eye.

Josep constantly switched between rigorous, well measured, and precise attacks, to a more wild and arguably dangerous fighting tactics. This went on for a minute until his right hand wrapped around her left wrist, beginning to apply strength and pressure on it, to which she simply grinned with her fangs almost shining.

"Got you." She declared.

Her wings unfurled and began to flap, showing their impressive strength as she began to take flight, ultimately taking to the air with Josep still hanging onto her. This didn't stop her, as she continued to ascend even higher, having confidence that she had accurately assessed how resilient he was and that the fall wouldn't kill him.

On his end, Josep looked on in genuine surprise at the sudden turn of events, with his mind overcoming his animalistic side, and quickly going through possible escapes. As he noticed that he was the one holding her, not the other way round, he wrapped his other hand around her right arm, before pulling as hard as he could so he actually managed to move upwards, so he was now facing her.

Moving quickly, his right hand went to her throat in an attempt to ensure she couldn't breath fire on him again. His left hand then turned into a fist that quickly made contact with her face, with the blow's massive impact echoing throughout the area. To this Lyra grinned in excitement, and replied by lifting her knee, striking Josep's gut.

The impact echoed across the area as air forcefully exited his body, and his form being sent just enough away from her to make sure he wasn't grabbing onto her again. This led to him simply falling back onto the platform. Seeing as how the fall wouldn't kill him, and even thinking that he might actually be able to get up from it, Lyra then rocketed after him.

Clenching her right hand into a fist, she moved it back as she delivered another blow to his chest, adding onto the force of his fall. Then she did a mid-air spin, and proceeded to ram her knees into his gut. With the power of the blows, even if Josep was conscious after taking them, the following crash left him unmoving. She knew that he had several broken bones and other injuries that would have likely killed a humanoid, but thanks to his nature as a werewolf he was alive.

When Lyra landed on the platform, she calmly watched as Touka examined and made sure her opponent was stable, eventually stepping away from him as she declared him to be knocked out. Having done this she used a scroll to heal him, with her also offering a scroll to Lyra, to which she declined with a smirk.

"I'm fine. I should've used something to block the punch to the face, but I'm fine."

"...!"

The sound of coughing signaled that Josep had regained consciousness, along with reverting back to his human form. Still feeling the effects of Lyra's attacks, he staggered back up, his attention going to the entrance he had emerged from below the platform.

"So, what kind of idiot comes into this fight with no gear?" Lyra asked approaching him.

"What difference would it have made?" He stoically asked back, looking at her.

"Huh… Fair point… Still, I was pleasantly surprised by what you were able to do. I wasn't expecting to have to do as much as I did to take you down." She pointed out with an almost elated expression.

"Then I was successful. In the face of a superior foe, I believe one should try to do what they can in order to make them go beyond their expectations. It is also a way to help me improve."

"Then, why not wear gear?" She asked with a slight head-tilt.

"As you agreed, given the situation, it would've been a waste." He replied with a slight smirk.

In Alucard's chamber, Zesshi seemed very pleased with the outcome of the match. After all, this hybrid woman Lyra who was related to her, had easily defeated her very first opponent. So much so she was happily clapping for her.

"Yes! I knew she would easily win! As I told you, she'll make it to the finals for sure." Zesshi declared with a somewhat accusatory tone.

"Indeed, she can make it to the finals, but winning them…" Alucard began, but stopped when Zesshi pointed a finger at him.

"She doesn't need that type of negativity. Especially coming from you." She said with a huff.

"Zesshi, Alucard is simply pointing out the fact that given the presence of Sariel, her chances of winning go down drastically." Talia objectively pointed out, since Alucard seemed to have been left dumbfounded by Zesshi's reaction.

"Hey now. The same goes to you. We're her family after all. So we have to cheer her on." Zesshi firmly declared, her finger now going to Talia.

This was enough for things to become clear in Alucard's mind. Even if he had already suspected this, Zesshi had definitely taken a liking to Lyra, since having discovered that she was essentially her niece. Not to mention the fact that from what he could see of her personality, they were very similar. Knowing this, he got up and placed his hands on Zesshi's shoulders, and slowly and gently pushed her back into her seat.

"Understood. Now, why don't you sit down so we can cheer her on together? I mean, there's really no need for you to be standing." Alucard said with an amused smirk as she sat down.

"Hehe... Alright…" Zesshi said with a resigned chuckle.

When Lyra went back through the gate she had emerged from, she was greeted by the Platinum Dragon Lord's armor. His armor's arms were crossed, and he seemed to have a somewhat stern air about him.

"I told you not to underestimate him, correct?"

"Yes." Lyra replied with a small, reverential bow.

"At least you understand it. And you were able to handle the situation rather nicely despite that. You did good."

"Thank you."

"I also hope this helped you relax." He said, now with a calmer tone.

"Yeah... Surprisingly, it did. He was better than what I expected. It was... rather refreshing." Lyra replied rather confidently in a pleased tone.

"Good. Still, don't let that confidence go to your head."

"Of course. I have learned much from this encounter."

"I'm glad. Then, let's go back so you can rest and prepare for the next match."

When Josep went back through his entrance, he was naturally greeted by Leah. She had a rather neutral expression, which really didn't tell him much of what she thought of his performance.

"You lost." She plainly pointed out.

"As we had discussed." Josep said in a neutral tone.

"Hm. True. And it seems your opponent was very amused by your display. Meaning you probably succeeded in what you wanted to do."

"That seems to have been the case."

"Then, you did good, Josep. I say you earned a rest. Why don't you go back and shower, put on something more presentable?" Leah suggested in a more light-hearted tone.

"Very well."

Through the air echoed Mar's voice as she announced the next match of Block-A, Jethro Brandt Dale Raeven vs Clanea. The platform was still on the ground, with Touka once more awaiting for the participants to arrive.

Dragon Ball Z OST - Imperfect Cell Theme

The first to be announced was Clanea, as the music bathed the arena and the gate to her entrance began to open. It didn't have to open much before she used her naturally flexible body to emerge through it. She was now wearing a small leather breastplate, that only covered her bust, and around her waist was a small pouch.

Clanea made her way to the platform very slowly, as if it was a strange performance with the objective of either to captivate or scare those gazing upon her. She didn't get that much of a reaction, mostly because how she was presenting herself to the crowd, and that there were just a few of her kind present.

Stopping at the platform, she eagerly looked towards the gate where her opponent would soon emerge. She could already imagine how interesting a match this would be. Especially with the proposal she had in mind. Eventually her music stopped, as Jethro's gate began to open.

NJPW – Stardust

Jethro waited for his gate to open completely before he emerged, presenting a confident smile for all to see as he bore a golden colored armor and an ornate sword that rested on his shoulder. His reaction was more audible, as there were many of his countrymen present, along with his pristine looks also gaining him some attention. Not to mention those that identified with his "tastes".

His gaze soon fell on Clanea with his smile widening, as his mind went to the "quality time" they would soon be spending. Arriving at the platform he looked up at her, their eyes meeting and staying glued on each other, even after the music ended, and Touka approached.

"Do you understand the rules?"

"Yes." Both replied with a smile.

Giving them a nod, Touka lifted her arm signaling for the platform to be raised. The two fighters never moved or looked away from each other. A certain tension started forming between them. To the point one might believe they would lash out at any moment.

"Now... Combatant's get ready…" Touka began.

At this Jethro finally moved, as he let his arms go to his side and he adopted a stance. Meanwhile Clanea moved slightly backwards, just to keep a comfortable distance between herself and her opponent.

"…Set…"

Clanea relaxed her body, which one would not expect of someone who was just going to go into a fight to do, while Jethro was already thinking of his next move.

"Go!"

"I have a proposal." Clanea informed, even before he could react.

"Well… I suppose it is only fair to listen. Especially when you agreed to mine." Jethro replied, relaxing his stance slightly.

"I accept, however I would like a gift, if you will. I would like you to lose this match for me. If you do so, I will give you exactly what you want and more.~" She said with a mischievous tone.

"My lady... I-I cannot accept such a thing. Not even for such enviable pleasures." Jethro declared, though Clanea still seemed unfazed.

"Really? But I thought you said that your body can rise to any challenge. Is this challenge to much for you~?"

"I never expected you to ask something like this of me. How can you expect me to agree to such a thing?" He said with disappointment in his voice.

"And you expect me to do as you want so easily? Is that what you think I am? Easy? Just another thing for you to use?" She countered as he narrowed her vision on him.

"That wasn't what I wanted you to think. I never thought that of you, and do apologize if I have offended you. That was never my intention. Still, I cannot just give up. Especially when I have on my shoulders the expectations of my people." Jethro resolutely said.

"Aaaah... And I was really looking forward to our time together…" Clanea said, with almost a sob in her tone.

It seemed like her proposal had failed, but she was already somewhat expecting this. She didn't take him for that shallow of a man. That was why she had a backup plan, since during their conversation as she kept him focused on her face and eyes, her hands went to her pouch from where she took two small orbs.

"…Then... Shall we begin?" Jethro asked, unsure of what to do next.

"Hmm... Lets."

Clanea said this in a very calm voice, as she threw the orbs at his hands. Since he was not expecting this move, she landed two clean hits that easily broke the orbs' outer shell, causing webbing to erupt from within. The webs enveloped his lower forearms, connecting to the ground and his sides, effectively immobilizing him.

"W-What!?" Jethro cried out in surprise.

"Now stand still. I don't want to miss this.~"

As she said this, she took three darts from her pouch, throwing one at Jethro and hitting him in the side of the neck. Right away he felt something strange in his body, as it began to go numb, and his shoulders assaulted by a seemingly unseen weight.

"That's a small dose of my poison. It should handle you." Clanea informed with a large smile.

"D-Damn…it…" Jethro mumbled as he fell to his knees.

"Oh, my dear. You should have taken my proposal.~" Clanea chuckled, as her opponent fell forwards.

Jethro was down, and Touka went to examine him. She was able to see that he in fact wasn't going to get back up for a long time. With nothing else to do, she announced Clanea's victory, healed Jethro, and also freed him from the webbing. Even so, Jethro was still unconscious, and would be for some time. Meaning Clanea would have to speak with him later.

Back in the Re-Estize Kingdom's chambers, Lung was left in a silent state of shock, as he saw his worst fears come true. He had imagined something like this happening eventually, but he never expected to see it happen in a place like this.

"M-My King, my Queen, I apologize for Jethro's behavior." He said in a servile manner.

"It… It was a calculated risk, Lung. While your son is highly skilled, something like this happening was a possibility." Climb said with a calm, reassuring tone.

"It is as Climb says.~ And he did put up a good effort. You can't fault him there." Renner added with a radiant smile.

"T-Thank you, my lords. I'll make sure he understands that once he's awakened."

"Do so. Go to meet him once he wakes up. You should tell him that as soon as possible." Climb said in a regal manner.

"As you wish."

It was at this time that a small bark echoed through the room. It came from a large pillow and blanket that was located near the corner closest to Renner. On there was a small dog, with light brown fur and blue eyes. Its name was Trepa, and he was known for his well manner behavior, and normally spending most of his time sleeping. Meaning that in some situations it was as if he was not even there.

That was until he would wake up and want something. In this case as he got up, walked toward Renner, and jumped into her lap, doing his best to rest upon it. It was obvious he had decided to choose another place to sleep, to which Renner was more than willing to accept as she began to lovingly pet it.

"You are dismissed, Lung. Go see to your son." She said with seemingly renewed spirit.

E-Rantel. It was the beautiful and imposing capital of the Sorcerer Empire, and it had grown vastly in size during the interim 100 years. So much so, that as it was before it couldn't possibly hold a third of the current population.

As it was now, E-Rantel had sections that was sometimes referred to as "Old-Rantel" and "New-Rantel". The term "Old" referring to the area occupied by the original city, and "New", referring to what was added around it. A wall separated "New-Rantel" from the outside world, and another wall separated New from Old.

Naturally most of the population lived in "New-Rantel", with only three types of individuals being able to live in "Old-Rantel". The first were individuals that due to either their job or circumstances, were allowed to remain in that area. The second were those individuals that for one reason or another could be referred as an "elite", where they had essentially earned their place there. Finally, there were those that were, directly or indirectly, connected to Ainz. The NPCs of Nazarick were a prominent example of this, as well as family members of Ainz or the NPCs.

Of the small team of the Demon God's forces that arrived in the area, while they all had entered "Old-Rantel", only one had made it into "New-Rantel". This being the Ring of Limbo, Immor. This was necessary on his part, since his role in the vanguard required a great deal of preparation, which could only be done in this area of the city since it would be the focus of their eventual attack. Having the appearance of an Overlord, along with his robes, he was able to make his way through the several alleys with little trouble, so much so that he was already done with half of his preparations.

Immor was moving through an alley when he came across some citizens of the city. There were four of them, first with two humans, one male and the other female. The others were a male lizardman, and a female elf. They were drinking and relaxing, due to the prolonged break. Nothing that would concern him.

However they were positioned in such a way that they were blocking his path. Letting out a sigh, Immor went to try and walk past them without drawing attention to himself. As he was making his way towards the group, the drunken lizardman stumbled towards him, effectively and intentionally blocking his path.

"Hup! H-Hey ther'…" He began, taking another drink from his bottle.

"…Why don'tcha sho' us sum magic?"

"Hey, let 'em be." The human female said with a sigh.

"Aw, come on. I'm not askin' much. I've seen some these liches show magic to sum kids when they ask." The inebriated lizardman argued.

"Buy ya' ain't a kid now, are yah?" The human male asked, finishing his bottle.

"I need to go." Immor said in a restrained growl of annoyance.

"Oi. Why ya' gotta be like tha'? Just show us some magic." The lizardman said in an insouciant manner.

"Hmph! Very well." Immor derisively sighed.

Suddenly he vanished, appearing in the middle of the group after having pushed the lizardman aside. His movements were instantaneous in their eyes. This was followed by a feeling of sudden weakness that began to overwhelm their bodies.

Soon they were crying out for help as they saw their bodies age and wither, with the same happening to the area around them. Soon all strength left their bodies, until there was nothing left to wither, and they were nothing but ash. The final individual to suffer this horrible effect being the elf, who cried with all her might for help, but it was like there was a bubble around them that blocked all sounds of their cries, as she too withered in to naught but dust.

"Hmph. A civilized people?" Immor mumbled as he looked around at the small piles of ash.

"Nothing but savages." He declared in a sardonic tone, continuing on his way.

Meanwhile, in an area of "New-Rantel", a commotion had fallen upon several smith shops and other businesses that worked with metal. It seemed that someone had been going around stealing metal ingots and other materials, as most citizens would notice a single stranger enter these places, and shortly thereafter, every piece of metal would vanish, as if with magic.

This came to a point where city guards in the affected areas were combing the districts looking for the possible culprits. These guards were not composed of undead, because even if there were several in the city, they were only mobilized when something of a grander scale was to happen. Plus, their low intelligence made them ill-suited to any kind of investigations.

During this, two male human guards made their way through the affected areas, and they had stumbled upon a large individual in armor sitting alone in an alley. Sensing something suspicious about this individual, due to the strange attire and demeanor, they slowly began to approach, with one of them speaking.

"Sir, are you alright?" He asked.

"I am." The figure replied with an unemotional tone.

"What's your name?" The other asked.

"Zod."

"Then, Zod... Do you know anything about the robberies that have been happening in the area?"

At this Zod looked at them, as if keenly examining them as threats. This was to the point the guards were feeling on edge, even considered unsheathing their blades.

"Robberies? I was just eating." Zod replied nonchalantly.

"Huh?... Wait... T-Then you ate the metal?" One of the guards hesitantly said, seemingly piecing the events together.

"Yes." Zod replied in a bored tone.

The guards instantly drew their blades, which led to Zod getting up so he was now standing tall before them.

"Don't move! You're coming with us." One of the guards sternly said.

"I can't. I have work to do."

"Oi! He said…"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, Zod lifted his right hand, pointing his joined index and middle fingers at them, which shot out into elongated spears as they pierced both guards. The spears went right through them and out their backs, with the ends curving into hooks which were then pulled into Zod.

He then took on a more slime-like form as he absorbed the duo into himself. For a few moments they stood there, until eventually both their bodies were "spat" back out, with everything that could have been remotely metallic removed from them. This had included their enchanted armor, swords, personal possessions, right down to even the iron in their blood, as their steaming corpses fell to the ground like puppets whose strings were cut.

"Hmm... This a problem... I should go somewhere else. They may find me..."