Three days went by swiftly. Although everyone didn't mention a single word about Theo's cousin, all of them knew they were still thinking about her. They simply wanted to know who she truly was.
After a series of simple checks, they all found out about her identity.
Nella Griffith, her name was real. And just like Theo, she had been living a quiet, humble life because both of her parents were still with her. She was the representative from the United Kingdom because she was well-known to be a genius of Magic Power coupled with the blessing from the Goddess famous for her magic and spell, Hekate.
Other than Alea's level advantage, there wasn't a single of her traits that were actually superior to Nella.
They finally realized that Nella was actually one of the strongest contenders in the entire competition. That was why the group kept thinking about Theo and Nella's relationship.
With a blood relationship, they would think Theo was a spy sent by her, but Radvils dispelled that thought because there was no reason for them to use Theo as a spy. Their country was simply too weak.
In the end, they continued their training according to Radvils' menu, adjusting their body to Italy's environment.
…
The awaited day had finally come.
The city was filled with euphoria and cheers as they all had been waiting for Grand Gaia to start.
Many drones and small planes were dispatched in the sky, flying banners upon banners. More than a hundred flags were standing tall in a grand fifty-foot-wide entrance.
Still, compared to the building behind it, the entrance looked small. The building was a gigantic circle. The size alone might go as far as thirty thousand square feet, similar to that of a soccer field.
But they had looked inside the building and found that instead of a giant green field, there was only one round arena where the students could fight each other. In other words, the stadium could hold more people inside.
Due to the traffic, all countries were to arrive at one middle point where they did a parade for thirty minutes before entering the stadium. Of course, all people were to remain on the bus to protect the safety of the students.
Theo looked at the window and saw many people cheering for many countries, not just their home country. Their cheers were shaking the ground as the theme song kept replaying over and over again until they reached the stadium.
Theo had no interest in them, so he calmed himself down with his headphones.
Ellen got a bit carried with the atmosphere, slightly pulled his headphone and whispered. "You're not going to wave your hand to them, Theo?"
"You can hear their cheers. It's obvious they don't have any thought about us winning. All their eyes are on other great countries like China, the United States, and so on. That's why I don't really care about them." Theo shrugged and closed his eyes after putting his headphone back.
Ellen showed a small smile and left him alone. Although what he said was true, it was hard for them not to get carried by the atmosphere.
After a long parade, they finally arrived at a special parking lot where only the buses from the respective country could enter.
As soon as Theo came out of the bus, he heard someone shouting.
"Please go to your own line. Simply follow the person holding your flag for the opening ceremony."
Theo looked around and found men and women holding national flags and those in the front already lined up neatly. Theo searched for the person carrying their national flag and walked to him.
Ellen and the others soon followed, leaving Radvils in the bus.
…
Meanwhile, in the stadium, a huge show from the marching band entertained more than a hundred thousand people who kept bursting into cheers.
The hype continued until the performance finished and the speaker announced. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Are you ready?"
"We are ready!"
"We shall now hold the one competition that most people can't forget, the Grand Gaia Tournament. I'm sure that you can't wait anymore, so without further ado, let's call all participants to enter the stadium!"
The cheers erupted as they all kept shouting each country's name, echoing inside the stadium.
Each country's representatives began to enter the arena in succession, starting from the host, Italy.
All big and powerful countries showed off their faces. They all looked proud as they wanted to show they came here to win.
Theo and the others were among them, but they didn't get the attention like the others because people thought of them as cannon fodders that would soon lose. Only those from their own countries would actually cheer for them.
As soon as all participants entered, a black-haired girl wearing a one-piece red dress walked into the arena with a smile on her face. She was accompanied by a bald elderly man, but almost everyone recognized both of them.
"Look. It's Sheira!"
"That's right. It's Sheira!"
"She is the Diva of the younger generation. Unfortunately, she can't participate in this tournament. But I'm settled with her as the host."
"The one beside him is the Mythical Ice Emperor, Diego Mastandrea. With him as the referee, everything will be fair."
A blue screen appeared in the stadium as if they were hanging on the ceiling. They all zoomed to either the participants or the two people who just entered.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Sheira, I will be your host for this tournament. I am accompanied by an honored guest, who will also act as a referee in this competition. Please give a big applause to our Mythical Ice Emperor, Sir Diego Mastandrea."
"Uoh!"
They all shouted, whistled, and did everything in order to create noise for the hype. Sheira and Diego just waved their hands with a smile in all directions.
"I am sure that all of you can't wait anymore, so I won't take much of your time with my boring speech. Without further ado, I announce that the 16th Grand Gaia Competition officially starts!"
The cheers kept coming. Even her voice got overpowered by the shouts and she needed to raise a bit of her voice. "There will be a total of 104 countries participating in the Grand Gaia. Unfortunately, only eight can come to the grand stage. In the first round, we will eliminate 96 countries just like in previous competitions. Now, I will tell you about the first round…"