Against the World II: Transgression
Chapter 23: The Laugh of the King, part 2
...—Night | Wild Arena—...
Although it is an annual tournament (routines are held every year), the time of the tournament is only one day and a half nights. The preliminary round will be conducted from the spear-high sun (which is also the final registration limit) until the afternoon, and only two participants will be obtained to participate in the final round. Meanwhile, the final match will be held at night, and the king will watch it live.
Today there are a total of 148 participants who registered in the tournament. The number is divided into two parts: the right group and the left group, each consisting of 74 people. Evil Mask became the champion in the right group, while Azet became the champion in the left group. They are both finalists who will compete tonight and will be witnessed by Minner Ertharossa the king.
Azet—or more precisely Xavier— has been present in the arena and is now sitting in the audience seats on the west side of the arena. Meanwhile, Evil Mask—or the original Alice—has been sitting quietly on the opposite side of Azet. And in the middle of the arena, an Eagleman was standing with both wings that stretched wide—wasit who last night became the host had sat quietly in the bleachers.
The final has not yet begun because the seat reserved for the king is still empty. The referee had said that the king would arrive soon, so his wings stretched out. He was there in such a state so that the spectators would not make an uproar over the long wait.
“Your Highness Minner has arrived! Your Highness Minner has arrived! Your Highness Minner has arrived!”
The funeral that came from the soldiers spontaneously made the spectators turn their faces to the entrance of the arena. A well-built man who exuded dignity and strength stepped alongside a maid-clothed woman. Behind them were four elite soldiers who were always in a sprightly state. The spectators stood up to pay their respects.
Minner was quickly ushered into the seat reserved for him— in the topmost audience tribune section, precisely on the north side of the arena floor.
“You are welcome to sit back!” the maid-clothed woman shouted right after the king had seated himself in the magnificent chair. “And the referee, please start what is your duty.”
The spectators simultaneously sat down, and the referee immediately retracted his wing span.
“Dragonoa always conducts tournaments every year in the hope that everyone who arrives in Dragonoa can show their abilities. This tournament was sanctioned by His Excellency Minner Ertharossa, therefore he was also present in every final match in every year.” The referee began to monologue. “The top prize of this tournament is only awarded to the 1st and 2nd champions of the tournament. The champion is entitled to 1000 pieces of gold, while the other finalist only gets 500 gold coins. Despite the prize money, the essence of the tournament..”.
Minner, who has been sitting in his chair, did not pay attention to the same referee monologue as his monologue last year, his eyes have led to observe the two finalists tonight.
Minner's first glance fell on the woman in the mask who had an evil smile on, Evil Mask.
Minner could not say how strong a woman—yang from her posture still looks young—itu. She did not look so strong that Minner had to be as careful as El, let alone Vermyna who had been transformed into a figure that he could not understand. However, he also did not look weak so he could guess just from looking at it. That woman is a strong lumyan. Minner heard a whisper that her granddaughter had lost heavily last night, which meant that at least the woman was on the same level as Leostya—or perhaps stronger.
Then Minner's gaze shifted to the individual who would be his opponent of the Evil Mask, and instantly Minner's body was slightly formed—more so when the plain black masked man who did not show a single strand of hair also looked at him.
Didn't Vermyna say El was killed at the hands of Twelfth Commander Xavier von Hernandez? Isn't it because El was killed that Vermyna decided to take over the New World Order?
Hm...if I think about it, didn't Evillia give a definite answer when I asked if El was dead?
When Minner asked the Elf Kingdom queen, the queen just looked at her flatly and asked back: “Are you unable to understand what Vermyna said?”
Minner refrained from frowning. Maybe this was all just their plan to deceive the empire? Or, Vermyna and Evillia really think El is dead and they don't think El can save himself? Or perhaps, El defeated Vermyna and she felt she had no other choice but to fake her death—which means Vermyna lied about taking NWO from El because she had no other choice?
“Leostya, the masked man who will win,” Minner whispered in a volume that only Leostya could hear standing to his right. “Once the fight is over, invite him to meet me. If she refuses, tell her that I know who she really is.”
“But what if Evil Mask wins, Your Majesty? Does he also have to be invited?”
“Victory of Evil Mask will not happen,” Minner response is short, solid and clear.
“So, huh? All right, I understand. Servant will carry it out as you instructed.”
Minner nodded to hear that Leostya understood, and at that time the referee had finished monologuing ‒ both finalists were already on the arena floor.
“Then from that, the 247th final match between Evil Mask vs Azet, start!” exclaimed the referee, rushing away to the edge of the arena.
At the same time, a spear of light was created in the Evil Mask's right hand, while in his left hand was already embedded a sword of light. The Evil Mask's own body was already clad in light armor. On the other hand, two whitish blue lightning swords were created instantly in both hands of Azet. And, in such an instant, the two had already met right in the middle of the arena with both weapons banging against each other.
Yellow lightning and blue sparks colored the arena. For ordinary people who had never moved at supersonic speed, it was impossible for their eyes to catch the movements of the two individuals. But Minner was different. His eyes clearly saw how the Evil Mask and Azet (or El) clashed against each other's armed abilities. From what Minner saw, the two seemed balanced. Unfortunately, Minner knew that El was just messing around.
For El to take it seriously, the Evil Mask had to bring out an ability greater than that.