The Gamer's POV

Some time later...

——

The airship had docked at a massive sky-dock jutting out from one of the buildings in the New Verona Cross.

If one looked over the edge of the sprawling platform, there would be a massive colosseum visible right at the heart of the lower city.

From up here, one could also see four major roads stretching out from the walls of the colosseum. The straight, wide streets led toward the distant edges of the city, perfectly intersecting to form a massive cross that gave the city its name — New Verona Cross.

But that aside, at the moment, the colosseum was bustling with people. Every year, the residents and countless visitors from across the province would come here to watch the Triad’s Supremacy Games, an annual tournament hosted by the three Bastions who would send their Cadets to the Isola Bella above them.

As for how they witnessed the action unfolding in the ruins above, it was through the help of magi-tech similar to the whisper-globes. Several large screen projections hovered high in the air above the arena, broadcasting every moment of the trials to the cheering crowds below.

At the moment, however, Cedric could be seen walking alongside the cadets of his bastion through the long corridor leading to the arena. He was dressed in his regalia just like every other cadet; and while Aika rested on his right shoulder in her raven form, Arlo rested on his left.

After several steps, the light of the sun shone on Cedric as he stepped out into the open air of the cheering arena. His head was lowered, and his conical hat cast a deep shadow over the menpo mask that covered his face.

He looked up to see that in the center of the vast stadium floor, twenty other cadets were already standing in loose formations, awaiting the start of the ceremony.

Cedric exhaled deeply.

’Oh, how I hate arenas.’

The noise... the cheering noise of the crowd was just so fucking annoying.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the master of ceremonies cried out, raising his hands as the crowd’s cheers reached a deafening crescendo. "Please welcome the Cadets of the last bastion. The Bastion of Crimson and Silver!"

The noise exploded as the ten Cadets reached the others.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cedric could see Leon, who was next to him, looking around with a proud, radiant smile on his face.

The Princess was also nearby, and it was obvious that most of the cheers were directed right to her.

Cedric lifted his gaze to one of the screens as the announcer continued speaking, introducing the ten of them.

On the massive holographic display, he could see the names of those from his bastion flickering into view, along with their ranks.

.

.

[Bastion of Crimson & Silver]

.

.

[Third Year]

: Lucky Von Caprio — Rank 2

: Amadea Volpe — Rank 3

: Vivienne Almira — Rank 5

: Dante Niccolò — Rank 6

: Alessia Vance — Rank 8

.

.

[Second Year]

: Leon Von Caprio — Rank 1

: Aurora Beaufort — Rank 2

: Xavier Von Caprio— Rank 3

: Feyre Moretti — Rank 6

: Cedric Mortimer — Rank 199

.

.

’Hm? One hundred and ninety-nine?’ Cedric arched a brow upon seeing his rank for the first time since moving to the second year.

He had thought he was still in the thousands, and because he had been too focused on other things, he had been completely unbothered to check the exact number that he ranked. After all, many people already knew how strong he was, so a trivial number on a screen did not really change anything for him.

But then, as it turned out, during the past weeks since the session resumed, the rankings had been shuffling constantly, and he had moved up automatically without even knowing it.

’Well, I guess it makes sense,’ he thought. A lot of his peers had died in the last eclipse. Then there were the ones who hadn’t been part of his eclipse, but rather the one before it. They hadn’t faced the same misfortune his group went through, but because of that, they missed out on the opportunity to evolve to grade three and were still stuck in grade two.

But setting this aside, the fact that someone who was ranked this low was representing the bastion was bound to draw attention.

And just as expected, the crowd began talking about it.

Cedric, however, did not care about the minor commotion that it was causing. He simply stood there, hugging his nodachi to his chest as he shrugged inwardly.

After a few seconds, he turned his gaze away from the spectators and looked toward the highest tiers of the stadium, specifically to where he figured the elders would be sitting.

He could see five figures standing out clearly from the crowd. Each of them sat in a VIP box of their own, and they all exuded a powerful, distinct presence.

But Cedric did not linger on them. Instead, he swept his gaze further up toward an even more elegant VIP box.

During the earlier announcements by the master of ceremonies, a particular monarch who had suddenly graced this competition with his presence had been introduced.

He sat prominently at the center of the high pavilion. The man looked to be in his thirties with long, vibrant red hair, and faint blue flames kept dancing along his red eyelashes and brows.

One of his eyes was a piercing blue, while the other was a fiery red. He was dressed in flowing red robes, and everything about this man’s features carried an undeniable air of absolute authority.

Upon seeing the man, who was sitting with his chin resting casually on his palm, Cedric hunched down and suddenly broke down into a quiet, maniacal laughter.

It was a breathless laughter that looked like that of someone who was slowly losing his mind.

But Cedric was far from losing his mind.

In fact, after just a few seconds, he suddenly stopped, and his amusement cut off instantly into a chilling silence.

Slowly, he looked back up at the box and reached up to his face. Then, he took off the menpo mask, revealing one of the widest grins he had ever worn.

At the moment, he didn’t have his usually reserved or calm demeanor. Instead, he looked like a man possessed, fueled by a sudden, wicked thrill.

After a few seconds, he raised two challenging fingers and pointed them directly toward the Demigod seated above. And when he was sure he got the man’s attention, he extended both hands wide like a jester and gave a deeply mocking bow to his father.

...The Monarch.

Marquess Anele Martini.

When Cedric raised his head again, one of his ravens suddenly landed from above at the edge of the VIP box.

And then, it opened its beak and spoke in a clear male voice.

"I’m back from the grave, and oh, how I’ve missed you, old man." The bird tilted its head and added, "Tell me, did you miss me too?"

...Up above, the Monarch remained completely indifferent, staring down at the arena with a cold, unbothered gaze. Until, slowly, a wide grin spread across his face.

Seeing that, Cedric’s smile slowly dimmed, and the raven spoke again.

"I’m glad. So wait for me, old man. Someday, I’ll come greet you properly. Only, by then, you won’t be looking down at me.

"And when we are done speaking, unlike me, you will not come back from the grave," the bird delivered calmly, before Cedric covered his face once more with his menpo mask.

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