Chapter 329: Quarter-Finals [2]
The next day.
3:11 PM.
The white sun silently stared at the land beneath, overlooking the entire city with its oppressive gaze.
Grimspire felt eerily silent, its deserted streets illuminated by flickering lamps across the cobblestone streets. The town resembled a ghost town, with a heavy tension hanging in the air. Scattered across the cobblestone were fliers, their edges curling in the wind.
Displayed on the fliers were two simple lines;
[Julien Evenus of the Nurs Ancifa Empire versus Kaelion Mandrale of the Aurora Empire]
[Amell Mantovaj of the Verdant Empire versus Leon Ellert of the Nurs Ancifa Empire]
The Four Empire Summit was reaching its climax.
All residents were at home, waiting for the match to begin while others were waiting in line to enter the 'Colosseum'.
As one of the many relics of the Rilgona Monarchy, the Colosseum was well maintained and only used for special occasions just like the Angel of Sorrow.
Only the top of the top were granted the ability to fight on such a massive stage.
"....It looks like all the seats are sold out."
Gael glanced at the stands that were slowly starting to fill up. The 'Colosseum' could host a total of fifty thousand spectators. There had been expansions in order to provide seats for more people, but this was the current limit.
"As it should be."
Theron similarly glanced at the stands beneath with a thin smile. He appeared rather leisurely.
Elysia who sat next to him seemed rather unsatisfied.
She didn't even bother hiding her displeasure as she eyed the two of them. Theron glanced at her from his seat, amused by her reaction.
"What do you look so mad?"
"....Are you seriously asking me this?"
"I guess not."
Theron chuckled slightly.
The reason for her dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that Caius had been granted the 'Free Pass' alongside Aoife. This meant that the two of them had directly qualified for the semi-finals without any need to perform.
Glancing to his left, Theron pointed at Lucian who sat with his eyes closed.
"He doesn't seem to have a problem with the arrangement."
".... You don't think?"
Elysia glanced at the arena beneath and clicked her tongue before murmuring.
"I wouldn't be complaining either if I had the easier pick."
***
3:23 PM.
The recording devices had all been spread, hovering around the arena grounds, covering every inch of it from different angles.
Unlike the earlier matches, the recording devices had undergone significant upgrades. These new versions were not only more durable but also capable of capturing the fight in higher quality. They could slow down the action to the millisecond, allowing the audience- especially those unable to keep up with the speed of the combat-to see every detail of what was happening.
"Welcome everyone at home who is watching. I'm happy to see so many people tuned in to watch the fight."
Karl glanced at the viewership and almost had a heart attack.
More than one hundred million people were watching at the same time. This was a number that he had hardly ever seen in his career as a commentator. To make matters even more shocking was the fact that the match had yet to start.
The numbers were bound to increase further down the line.
"Hoo."
Karl took a deep breath.
But still, despite the large number, he had to maintain a professional smile as he introduced Johanna who sat beside him. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Tonight, as many of you are already familiar with her, Johanna will join me to comment and narrate on the match."
"It's nice to be here."
Johanna acknowledged with a small nod. Following her introduction, the broadcast shifted to the arena where the audience could be seen.
Unlike before, the stands were now practically filled. The noise could be felt through the small lens of the recording device as a heavy sense of tension lingered in the air. There were a lot of spectators from each Empire, each supporting their respective members.
At this very moment, however, a single name stood out from the rest.
"Kaelion!" "Kaelion!" Kaelion!"
***
3:25 PM.
Caius sat in the stands, lazily watching the fight with his arm hanging over the chair beside him.
He wore a disguise, masking his features.
As his eyes set on the arena, he covered his mouth and yawned.
"Huam."
His eyes watered slightly as he cast his gaze down.
'....I hope this doesn't disappoint.'
"Oh, right."
Squinting his eyes, he suddenly recalled something.
"I'll have to visit Carmen soon. He should be up by now."
He felt curious at how Julien had managed to beat him.
***
3:29 PM.
In the Nurs Ancifa locker room, Leon sat quietly, his head bowed under the weight of a towel draped over him. The room was filled with a tense silence as he meditated, his mind filled with thoughts about his next opponent.
'... How should I go about this?'
His opponent was extremely tough. Amongst the toughest he had ever gone up against. He
was so strong that Leon wasn't even certain about his own victory.
But still, he knew that by this point all of his opponents were going to be strong.
At least he didn't go up against Caius.
That guy... Leon was even less certain about his victory. Caius was something like a monster. While Leon had never gone up against him, his 'intuition' told him that he'd lose.
It was something that baffled him.
Not even Julien had ever given him such a feeling before.
"Haa."
It was the thought that he wouldn't have to go up against Caius that helped Leon calm down a little. Lifting his head, his gaze eventually settled over to a certain figure.
Leaning his head against the wall, Julien sat with a blank look on his face. His hazel eyes were now a red-hue while his hand opened and closed repeatedly.
".....
Leon watched him in silence, unsure of what to say.
He was starting to become used to the 'daydreaming' Julien. Every chance he got, his mind
would start to wander elsewhere.
He seemed to be on the verge of grasping something, and recalling what he had done the day
prior, Leon understood that it was something big.
For that reason, he remained quiet.
Closing his eyes, Leon mimicked Julien and rested his head against the wall.
||
As Leon closed his eyes, the room fell into silence.
***
3:33 PM.
In the Verdant Empire locker room, Amell quietly stared at the documents that were
presented before his eyes. He quietly read them over and over again until he had everything
memorized in his mind.
For good measure, he read the files again before placing them on the bench beside him.
He sat in silence before mumbling,
"It's him."
||
A girl with platinum long hair and blue eyes quietly sat beside him. Though her face was pale, she looked to be faring much better than before. It was his fiancé', Agatah.
Having recovered enough to get out of the nursery, she decided to help Amell prepare for the
match.
But there was only one problem...
|| ||
Staring at Amell in silence and seeing his body shake, she bit her lip.
Could he even fight in his current state...?
***
3:35 PM.
"You should already be aware of who you're up against."
Professor Thornwhisper eyed the quiet Kaelion who sat with his head held low, his hand grasping onto a small necklace that he quietly fiddled with.
"There's not much information about him besides the small clip during the mid-terms and
the few fights that he participated in recently. He should be of no concern to you."
The Professor went on to highlight several points to be careful of. "His thread ability is quite tricky to deal with but you should be able to handle it without
much problem. The most worrisome thing is his Emotive Magic but with the necklace, you should be able to reduce the impact by a lot."
The Necklace wasn't necessarily created to completely counter Emotive Magic. Its main objective was to help counter mental attacks which was what Emotive Magic thrived in.
....With the necklace, Kaelion had to at best endure a small headache whenever someone used
Emotive Magic.
The more powerful the magic the greater the headache.
"Your plan should be simple." Professor Thornwhisper's tone lowered, prompting Kaelion to lift his head.
"Get close to him. Bring him closer to him and engage in a close combat fight. If you can
manage to do that, then the fight is all yours to win. But do be careful. Don't give him a chance
to grasp you and use his Emotive Magic. Even with the necklace you should still be careful."
Julien was but a mere mage.
While he was great in long-range attacks, his weakness was obvious. It had been displayed in
the previous matches, and it was close-range combat.
So long as Kaelion could bring Julien to a close-range match, then the fight was as good as
over.
The only thing that could turn this fight around was Kaelion.
"Do you get it...?"
"
||
Kaelion didn't answer.
He soon stood up and walked past the Professor.
Clang!
The locker door suddenly flung open, flooding the room with the harsh glare of bright lights
and the echo of distant noises.
Kaelion didn't look back as he quietly left.
***
3:37 PM
"It's your turn."
Leon glanced Julien's way. Finally, his eyes regained clarity and his expression relaxed. As his
chest heaved up slightly, turbid air floated out of his mouth as he stood up.
"....Right, there's a match."
He brushed his hair back and fixed his uniform.
It was only now that he seemed to be aware of what was happening. Leon stared at Julien
speechlessly.
That was when Julien cast him a small glance and walked past him.
There was no need for either of them to say anything. With just a glance they understood what
they wanted to say.
'....Hope you lose.'
'Fuck you.'
***
3:39 PM.
As the referee appeared in the ring, the entire Colosseum turned quiet. All with the exception
of the broadcasting studio.
"The first match of the day will be that between Julien Evenus of the Nurs Ancifa Empire and Kaelion Mandrale of the Aurora Empire."
His voice was the only thing that everyone could hear as all eyes were fixed on the two figures
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that stood on opposite ends.
A strange tension lingered in the air at that moment as some of the spectators sat up straight.
||||
As Karl introduced each side, his voice also gradually faded. His eyes soon locked toward the
referee like almost everyone else's.
Feeling the tension that lingered in the air, he took a small sip of his water.
Unknowingly, his mouth had grown dry.
***
3:40 PM.
The Referee raised his hand and shouted,
"Begin!"
The Quarter-Finals of the Four Empire Summit, and the match between the two
representatives of the two biggest Empires officially began.
First round, Julien Evenus VS. Kaelion Mandrale!
