After a week, the door to the colosseum in Arcadia was opened wide for the first time in a long time. Although the colosseum was big enough to fit thousands of people at minimum, there were so many spectators inside the colosseum that there were no empty seats.
âWoahhh!!!!â
The spectatorsâ roars filled the sky. The excitement for the potential end of the sickeningly long civil war made everyone in the colosseum feel like they were in a festival. Since Bercheâs Bloody Battle was essentially a method for the Imperial Knights to get promoted, it had never taken place in public⊠until now because the Imperial Family was trying to mollify the citizensâ nervousness.
Kiser sat on one of the highest seats in the colosseum, giving him the best view of the battles in the colosseum.
âWhoâll be battling first?â he asked.
âWe gave the opportunity to the criminals, Your Highness,â the military advisor Zegar reported.
Kiser tilted his head. âBecause?â
âItâs because the first battle is mostly considered the opening battle,â Zegar explained. âSince weâve decided to do this Battle in public, wouldnât it be good to hear their excuses when the spectators are giving it their fullest attention?â
ââŠYouâre trying to test him,â Kiser mumbled.
Zegar smiled subtly.
âThe criminal will have to appear in order for this to happen.â
âDo you think he wonât show up?â Kiser asked.
âQuite the opposite, actually.â Zegarâs smile deepened.
ââŠHuh?â
âDuke Tremblin has shown up and is standing behind you now, so there is no reason for him to not appear if heâs really alive since he would want to clear his name. Heâs charged with none other than the crimes of abandoning his dying father and foul black magic, isnât he?â Zegar shrugged.
Duke Tremblin, who was standing behind them, still didnât move an inch.
âThenâŠâ Kiser trailed off.
Zegar nodded. âA man who is nominally the Hero King is useless; we need to verify if heâs still as strong as before and if the rumor about what happened at the Great Plain of Kraden is true.â
ââŠWhen you talk about the rumor, you also mean Joshua sustained an unrecoverable injury, right?â
âOf courseâthat is why the opening battle is going to be a stage for Joshua Sanders. To refute the accusations, heâll have to prove that heâs as strong as ever before the eyes of the citizens of the Avalon Empire without using demonic power. If he fails even one of them⊠the stage will immediately turn into a public execution made just for him,â Zegar coldly finished.
ââŠThatâs very thorough,â Kiser quietly muttered.
âItâs my job,â Zegar answered with a wide smile.
âWho is his opponent?â Kiser asked.
âWellâŠâ Zegar tiptoed around Kiserâs question a bit for some reason and chose his words carefully. ââŠwe normally have these battles to promote knights or allow knights to join the order, but weâre doing a test for a battalion commander who wants to be reinstated. Thus, we took volunteersâŠâ
âTo sum up, there are three volunteers, Your Highness,â Zegar reported.
âThere are three?â Kiser repeated. He was surprisedâthere were not many people who could work up the courage to challenge the man known as the Hero King.
âYou should be quite familiar with all the three volunteers, Your Highness.â
âOf course,â Kiser said with a nod. âSo who are they?â
âThe first volunteer is Knight Commander Rod, the man who leads the Imperial Knights and is also known as the Lord of KnightsâŠâ
Kiser had expected Rod to do so, so his calm was undisturbed.
âThe second volunteer is Marquess Arie bron Sten, whom Iâve told you to always be careful around, Your Highness.â Zegar shrugged.
âHmmâŠâ Kiser nodded again.
âThe last volunteer isâŠâ Zegar trailed off.
Someone else interrupted:
âIf those two are defeated, then I myself will be going up against him.â
Kiserâs eyes widened. The voice had come from behind him.
âYou will be fighting, Sword EmperorâŠ?â
* * *
Inside the waiting room of the colosseum, the crowdâs roar told Icarus that things had already heated up outside.
âWowww!!!!!!â
Icarus looked faintly anxious.
âWhy arenât they coming?â
Coincidentally, the waiting roomâs door opened right then. Cain entered, and Icarusâs attention was on him right away.
âHow can you also be late on a day like this?â Icarus shrieked.
âHm⊠WellâŠâ Cain scratched the back of his head.
âForget it! How did contacting her turn out?â Icarus asked.
âI couldnât⊠get a hold of herâŠâ
âO-oh, my godâŠâ Icarusâs jaw dropped. âYou said youâd take care of the artifact!â
ââŠIâm sorry. It seems sheâs really busy. Come to think of it, Iâve thought too lightly of talking to the famous Seven Mages,â Cain said with a nod.
âHave you realized that now?!â Icarus shouted, her face reddened with anger.
âYou knowâŠâ
âWhat are you going to do now? Itâs our masterâs turn soonâŠ! Yes, we have a doppelganger on our side, but he canât look the same as he did three years ago when he appears in front of the crowd!â Icarus yelled in frustration.
âItâs okay. He was much more mature than a man of his age at that time,â Cain reassured her.
âAre you seriouslyâŠ!â Icarus gritted her teeth.
ââŠWe have a much bigger problem now.â
Icarus seemed to turn into stone, suspending her incessant snapping.
âA⊠bigger problem?â
Icarus looked very nervous because when this simple man said they had a problem, it was never an ordinary problem.
âWh-what is it?â she stuttered.
We are "pawread dot com", find us on google.
ââŠThe doppelganger, the fucking spearâŠâ Cain clenched his teeth. âEverything is gone.â
Icarus gaped blankly at Cain for a moment, unable to understand what Cain meant.
âWhattttt?!â
âWoah, woah, letâs calm down a little. The Silver-eyed Ghost Sword and Christian are looking around everywhere and asking everyone, so theyâll probably contactâ
âShu-shut up!â Icarus screamed.
âYes, maâam,â Cain solemnly answered, and immediately fixed his posture.
âHe was definitely beside you until dawn!â Icarus fervently shouted. âYou swore youâd bring him, so howâ?â
âHe went missing when I went to the bathroom for a moment⊠Iâm really sorryâŠâ Cain looked at the ground.
ââŠNow is not the time.â Icarus clenched her fists determinedly. âWe canât just sit around and wait. The battle is going to start soon! We should come up with a Plan B as quickly as possible.â
âBy Plan BâŠâ Cain carefully asked.
âWhat are you waiting for?!â Icarus shouted, pulling on her hair. âWe should be trying to find the best escape route right now!â
âE-escape?â Cain was baffled. âHey, Icarus, you may not be aware of this, but there are Avalon nobles, half of Arcadiaâs citizens, and three princes in this colosseum. I donât know all the details, but if I had to pick the place with the highest security within the Empire right nowââ
âThen what are you suggesting we do?!â Icarus helplessly shrieked.
All their plans had gone awry, and both Cain and Icarus were in a panic. At that moment, someone used an artifact to shout thunderously to all the spectators in the colosseum.
âWeâll begin the unprecedented public Bercheâs Bloody Battle now!â
âWoaaaaahhh!!!â the spectators yelled in reply, loud enough for Cain and Icarus to hear it.
âBefore we begin, I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to His Highnesses for making such a decision,â the host said.
âWoahhh!!â
The hostâs latest remark was met by noticeably quieter cheers. The three princes were the cause of this civil war, so how could the citizens thank the princes? The accurate statement would be that they resented the princes. In many ways, the hostâs remark seemed absurd to the Empireâs citizens. The host felt the crowdâs mood shifting and quickly continued, âThe first battle will now start for the broken-hearted citizens of the Empire! The contender is⊠donât be surprised! The youngest Master of the Avalon Empireâno, the continent! The zenith of countless heroes!â
âWoooaaahhhh!!!!!â
Even before the host could finish introducing the contender, the spectators shouted incomparably louder than before. They didnât even need further explanation. Although he might be an eyesore to the Imperial Family, he was already a hero to ordinary citizens.
âHooray for the Hero King!â
âHurrah for Duke Tremblin too!â
âTwo heroes came forward for the Empire in its crisis!â
The two men had been missing until now, so their reappearance caused a great stir.
âWell, shit⊠I have no other choice.â Cain shook his head.
He had been sticking his head out through the window of the waiting room on the second floor to observe the mood inside the colosseum. After a moment, he had a feeling that he and Icarus were stuck between a rock and a hard place, so he pulled out something.
âWh-what are you doing?â Icarus asked, perplexed.
âDo we have any other choice?â Cain shrugged and put on a robe that only mages would use. âIf I also put on a maskâŠâ
âW-waitâŠâ Icarus hesitated.
âWe have that white spear they called Hertonyaâs masterpiece in our subspace magic pocket, right?â Cain asked.
Icarusâs suspicion turned into conviction, making her gape blankly at Cain. Meanwhile, Cain looked around Icarusâs waist and snatched a small pocket from her.
âY-youâre not going to do what Iâm thinking, are you?â Icarus asked disbelievingly.
âOur heights and physiques are similar, so Iâll be able to fool them for a while.â Although Icarus wasnât sure when Cain had pulled it out, he had already put on a black lion mask when he looked back at Icarus.
âGet as far away from Arcadia as possible while I stall them.â
âAre you crazy?!â Icarus shouted.
âIâm saying this because Iâm not,â he refuted.
âYou donât even know how to use a spear!â Icarus shouted, frantically waving her arms.
âItâs fine,â he reassured her. âI learned a couple of basic techniques over our masterâs shoulders.â
Icarus shook her head. âThere is no way that will be enough to foolââ
âWe donât have much time,â Cain said. He winked from behind the mask, stymying Icarusâs protest. âIâll see you alive.â
âSir CainâŠâ Icarus looked like she was going to cry.
âThenâŠâ Cain looked away from Icarus and was about to jump down to the first floor of the colosseum.
âWoaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!â
âThe Hero King! The Hero King! The Hero King!â
âJoshua Sanders!â
The spectators roared earsplittingly loud again, making Cainâs eyes widen. He quickly approached the second-floor balustrade and looked down.
âWh-what? ThatâsâŠ!â
Icarus also stood beside Cain and boggled at the arena floor. There was someone with the familiar deep blue hair standing in the center of the colosseum with his back turned to the pair.
âWho am I going up against?â the person asked with a low, sonorous voice.
Although the man wasnât holding his trademark red spear, Cain and Icarus had no trouble figuring out who the man was.
âWhat? He was there?â Cain heaved a sigh of relief as he took off his mask.
Icarus, on the other hand, noticed something odd.
âBut something is⊠âHeâs far away from us, but he seems different than yesterdayâŠâ she mused.
ââŠHmm?â Cain examined the man as well and tilted his head in confusion. âWait⊠Can a doppelganger speak?â