NOVPUBTwo days later.
Despite the bad weather, even in the afternoon, the sky appeared gloomy. Yet, the Capital City Ekrite was bustling this Friday. Citizens and tourists alike gathered near Ichrite Academy.
Because a long-absent public event was being held by Ichrite Academy.
Not only did the Hutton Daily of the Alchemy College heavily promote the event, it also attracted many residents of the capital to Ichrite Academy to join in the excitement.
The tickets for the Knight College’s Arena were sold out, and even the periphery of the Jera Memorial Square—where the broadcast could be viewed—was packed with pedestrians. There was no empty space to be found on the enormous square.
A live scene was being broadcast on the huge outdoor screen.
The camera panned from a high angle over an imposing arena, surrounded by law enforcement troops to ensure the safety of the citizens during this large-scale event.
The audience poured into the colossal arena from all directions along the stepped walkways, all to witness the upcoming, breathtaking team combat competition.
The seated audience were ecstatic, creating a tumultuous hum of voices. Occasionally, a wave of cheers louder than the last would burst forth, deafeningly resonating throughout the entire arena.
In the resting area to the left of the field, the team from the Royal Arolan Academy was ready. Their uniforms were neat and uniform. The coaching professor leading them in the guest seats sat with crossed arms, eyes closed in meditation. The contestants smiled and waved at the audience, a sharp determination gleaming in their eyes. It signified their absolute conviction of victory.
The giant screen hung on the side of the arena displayed a brief introduction of the participating players from both teams. Their photos all portrayed bright and hearty smiles. Along with the stunningly passionate battle song, it made the atmosphere even more heated.
At a higher location, the three deans of Ichrite Academy sat in the referee seats.
They were Dean Loren from Sage Academy, Dean Bolao from Magic Engineering College, and Dean Sphintos from Knight College.
The dean of the Alchemy College was still in prison.
"Professor Sphintos, are you sure there won’t be problems with this match?"
Loren’s face was full of anxiety.
He originally thought that he could quickly send the students of the Royal Arolan Academy safely away, but didn’t expect this closing event to happen just before the end.
What’s worse, he heard that Lanci had personally taken over as the coach of the Soul of Fighters’ Club Team on behalf of the student council.
Loren hadn’t seen Lanci for two full days and he feared Lanci might be planning something big.
"Youths, eh. It’s quite normal for them to cause quite a stir. If anything happens, it will be on me."
The elderly man sitting on the far left seemed to be over seventy, but with his towering figure standing up to at least one meter nine, dressed in a black suit, his silver hair hanging loosely before his eyes, and a carefree smile on his face.
"We’ve made enough from ticket sales and advertising fees this time around. I’ll take forty percent, each of you will have thirty percent."
Professor Bolao had no objections and nodded in satisfaction.
"..."
Loren could not say anything else and could only hope that Lanci would behave this time.
Below the grandstand where the three of them were seated, although the match had not yet started, the arena was already seething, like a volcano about to erupt. Each spectator was anticipating the arrival of the hour to ignite the imminent combat competition.
In the front row of the spectator seats near the battle platform.
Two light-haired girls sat side by side, one with an emotionless face, the other looking slightly worried.
"Talia, I haven’t seen Lanci for two days, I’m a little scared..."
Hyperion, clutching Talia’s hand at her side, said.
As Hyperion was an insider of the student council, she easily got tickets for the best viewing seats.
There were many familiar faces around.
Everyone was there to enjoy the spectacle and didn’t mind adding more fuel to the fire.
Even Lanci’s father Noe was sitting behind them with a laugh, holding snacks in his hands and leisurely leaning back in a chair waiting for the show to start.
Ever since Lanci agreed to give special training to the Soul of Fighters’ Club Team, he had asked Hyperion and Frey to go back and report to the President, while he took the fighters alone to a place for professional guidance.
It should be noted that even the three geniuses were only transformed by Lanci for a day, and it was also in a way that mixed teaching with entertainment.
Hyperion had no idea what would happen if Lanci conducted intense transformations alone for two full days.
"There’s nothing to be afraid of."
Talia spoke in an emotionless voice.
She did not understand why Hyperion was worrying all day long.
That guy Lanci couldn’t cause any trouble, she could easily handle him.
Talia disliked watching the excitement and places with a lot of people even more.
But since Hyperion cared about this match so much, she accompanied Hyperion, and it also served as a chance to see what Lanci was up to.
On the grandstand far away on the other side.
A girl with deep red hair was looking at the arena below with a complex and troubled expression.
Cervini’s long deep red hair draped over her shoulders now. She just let down her hair that was tied into a high ponytail, her dress made her resemble an ordinary student, her gaze was no longer aggressive — it had become calm and soft. The students from the Knight College failed to recognize her, occasionally someone would even inquire who the red-haired lady in the school was.
She had certainly decided not to fight anymore.
But for some reason, she found herself clenching her fists once again.
The clock showed it was almost two-fifty.
The official match would begin at three o’clock sharp.
But the Ichrite Academy team was still not seen on the right side of the arena.
"They should be arriving soon, right?"
"If they don’t show up, will it be considered a forfeiture?"
"They could very well forfeit. It’s said that Ichrite’s Fighter was beaten quite badly, but they’ve found a brilliant coach."
"If they forfeit and don’t fight, they’ll have to refund us!"
The sky was as dark as thick ink, engulfing the entire arena, densely packed clouds drifted overhead from time to time, plunging the already dim field into complete darkness.
The fierce wind swept across the field, stirring up swirls of fallen leaves and dust, as if mocking the fragility of humans.
At last.
The entrance of the Ichrite side of the arena was gradually filled with six figures led by Coach Lanci of the Soul of Fighters’ Club Team. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
The mere entrance of these few people quieted down the audience in the entire arena, until there was silence.
Within the black clouds, flashes of lightning occasionally pierced through the dark, illuminating the entire field, the flash of light seemed like the eye of God, scrutinizing all living beings below.
The sound of thunder followed, shaking one’s heart. It was a warning from heaven, telling people that it was a battle where lies were at stake.
Under this sky, on both sides of the arena stood two teams.
Their gazes met each other. Despite the wind roaring like thunder and lightning illuminating the sky filled with dark clouds, the standoff between the two teams was so quiet, it was like the calm before a storm.
On the spectators’ stand, it seemed as if everyone’s breath had paused, only the cold wind passed between them, stripping away a trace of warmth.
Some elderly people tightly gripped their scepters, the women hitched up their coats, and the children held on to their parents’ hands tightly. That oppressive feeling, as if a huge stone was pressing on everyone’s chest, made it hard to breathe.
Even from afar, one could feel the intangible flames akin to dark shadows rising from the five people standing behind Lanci.
Cervini, who was initially hesitating whether to go down and tell her juniors—"she would compete," was left stunned for a moment.
She only felt an immense sense of alienation—
Those individuals, stripped of emotion and memory, passed by her indifferently, without noticing her presence at the edge of the stand.
What happened to her dearest friends?
Far away on the other side of the grandstand, Talia rubbed her eyes.
At first glance, she thought these were five demons who were not good at disguising as humans, their hands seemed full of killing intent, and the coldness from their souls was not concealed in the least.
The last time she saw a creature with this feeling was the Demon King’s Special Slaughter Troops.
Compared to the cheerful youths in the promotional material shown on the screen before, were these the same five people?!
As the two teams at the center of the grandstand got closer and closer.
"I didn’t expect you guys didn’t run away, you really came."
Kuise from the Arolan team was walking in the front, scoffing at the Ichrite Fighters who came to compete.
"..."
Faced with Kuise’s provocation, the Fighters behind Lanci didn’t respond at all.
Or perhaps it could be said, their eyes already lacked the spark of life, their gazes resembled that of someone looking at the dead.
Lanci did not immediately respond to Kuise, but just said a few words to the referee next to him.
Soon, the referee instructed a staff member to bring a document and pen.
The members of the Soul of the Fighters’ Club Team quickly signed their names on it.
"Let’s sign a letter of life and death first."
After Lanci checked the Fighters’ signatures, he handed the "Knight College’s Arena Team Fighting Competition: Disclaimer and Risk Acknowledgment" to Kuise.
