Chapter 350: The fight from within [1]

Chapter 350: The fight from within [1]



Coming out of the apartment I felt incredibly refreshed.

The warm and humid air didn't seem to bother me like it usually did. Touching my face to make sure that my disguise was perfect, I headed for the Colosseum.

In all honesty, there was no need for me to touch my face.

My disguise comprised of an illusion.

... It's just as packed as yesterday.'

There was a long line at the entrance of the Colosseum that stretched very far. I took one glance at the line before heading for the private line where I was let in without any problem.

There were perks to being a finalist.

"This should be my seat."

It sat right in front of the platform, allowing me to get a good look at the upcoming fight.

Despite not participating, I was a little nervous. In all honesty, I wasn't sure whether Leon could win the match.

...I wasn't sure if I could beat the current Aoife.

She was already strong, but with the addition of the statue, I found her extremely difficult to deal with.

Especially since I didn't know what sorts of cards she had.

This was the perfect chance for me to see the full extent of her strength.

'Well, if Leon wins then I don't have to worry.'

To some extent...

I still needed to deal with the Angel whose goal was starting to become clear to me.

I just needed to find a way to deal with her.

....That was what I struggled with.

"Hm?"

Amid my thoughts, someone sat next to me. I glanced in his direction for a brief moment before looking away.

I couldn't recognize him.

However, he appeared to be rather tall with long brown hair and hazel eyes. His appearance could be described as average at best, with a mole by the side of his nose.

"How are your injuries?"

But it seemed like he could recognize me. Tensing a little, I didn't show it on my face and kept my gaze fixed on the platform beneath.

"....Do I know you?"

"You do."

|||||

He knows me....? All sorts of thoughts churned in my mind as I thought about his words. From someone potentially being from the Inverted Sky to the Faceless Man. However, I was quick to dispel the second thought.

If it was the Faceless Man then I wouldn't feel so at ease.

Someone from the organization then...?

"Looks like you can't recognize me."

11

".....

The silence that came after his words was enough of an answer for him as he pinched his throat.

"How about now?"

"Ah."

A voice I could distinctively recall echoed in my ears.

Turning my head, my eyes widened.

"How did you manage to recognize me?"

"It wasn't that hard."

Kaelion tilted his head and massaged his neck.

"This area is only reserved for a few people. While you did change your appearance you didn't change your height. I doubt that anyone else from the Summit is keen on watching the match, especially not Caius, so I guess that it was you. And I was right."

"Right..."

I felt a lot more relaxed upon hearing his words.

For a moment, I really was worried that I was going to be tangled in something troublesome.

I already had a lot on my plate, and so I wasn't too keen on dealing with other stuff.

Leaning forward, I kept my eyes fixed on the platform.

"What brought you here?"

"....Same reason as you, really. I wanted to watch the match."

"Oh."

"Your match yesterday was rather boring."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I guess."

It couldn't be helped. Nobody could really see what was happening inside of our minds.

But...

That aside, Kaelion appeared strangely chatty. He didn't strike me as that kind of person... "Do you want anything from me? Are you worried that I'll reve-"

"Nah."

Kaelion waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't care about that at all. If you tell them, so be it. In the end, my value trumps everyone else that the Empire brought. I may have betrayed them, but betrayal is common where I come from. I'll at most be sent to the camps."

Camps...?

I was a little intrigued by the word but didn't probe any further.

"So you're just here to watch?"

"Yeah."

He briefly glanced at me, his lips pulling slightly at the corners as he leaned his body back

onto the chair.

".... Just here to watch."

***

"Hooo."

Her eyes started to lose focus as she went in and out of consciousness.

This was torture for her and she wanted nothing more than to get out of this place.

'S-someone...'

Kiera's mind blacked out for an unknown period.

"Kiera."

Waking her up from it was a familiar voice.

'Uh...?'

Weakly raising her head, the first thing Kiera saw was a lock of purple hair.

'...Evelyn?'

Surprised, she blinked slowly.

She couldn't quite grasp what was going on. What was she doing here? Did she also get

trapped...?

"Kiera!"

But her voice seemed so close.

And...

"Uh?"

Kiera felt her voice return.

The realization shook her mind and she regained clarity for a brief moment. It was then that

she fully realized what was happening as she saw Evelyn stand before her with her hand

pressed against her chest, a purple magic circle appearing in front of her.

"Y-you..."

"Shh."

Evelyn mumbled, her eyes darting around frantically.

It was as if she was afraid of something.

Kiera couldn't quite understand what it was, but she didn't have to. Within moments of

regaining clarity of her mind, the hands that were grasping her body shot toward Evelyn at

lightning-fast speeds.

"....!"

Evelyn's eyes constricted and she pressed her foot down, dashing away and narrowly avoiding

the attack.

".....

Kiera watched all of this in silence, her mind frozen.

But she quickly snapped out of it.

Feeling sensation return to her arms, she twisted her torso and elbowed the area behind her.

Bang!

Kiera felt her elbow hit something hard.

"Ukeh!"

A wave of pain hit her arm, but she held the pain and smashed her elbow back again.

Bang!

A crack accompanied her strike.

Kiera propped her elbow forward once more, readying herself for another desperate strike.

But before she could summon the strength, a sudden jolt of shot through her. Her lower half

- she could feel it again. Control was returning, creeping back as she regained the sensation

of

her legs. Kiera stopped whatever she was doing and pressed her legs forward, shooting where Evelyn

was.

"Ukh."

She stumbled several times, and just when she thought she was going to fall over, Evelyn

appeared, gripping her shoulder and helping her up.

"Y-you..."

"It's a long story."

Evelyn replied, her expression stern as she looked around the darkness that surrounded the

two of them.

"We better hurry."

"Ukh..!"

Propping Kiera's arm over her shoulder, she hurriedly pulled her away from the spot, moving

as quickly as she could.

As though the camera was panning out, Evelyun's figure grew smaller and smaller as she ran

away with Kiera.

All noise ceased from that point as the darkness shattered.

What replaced the darkness was a gray-eyed figure who stood on the opposite end of a large

platform.

His expression was serious, while thousands of people stood around them.

Roooooar-

The roar of the crowd reverberated throughout as Aoife looked around, her lips slowly pulling

into a small smile.

"Hihihih."

A childish laugh slipped from her lips.

How...

Naughty.