Ethan wouldn't feel bad if the Emperor decided to betray him and turn him over to the council, after all, the entire empire was being threatened with destruction.Who would choose one man over an entire nation?Yet, the Emperor did something unexpected as he remarked. “Are you looking down on me, Ethan?” “Of course not.”“Then why do you make me out to be a weak-minded fellow without balls?”“Hmm.” Ethan furrowed his brows.“Lumina was once a proud empire that stood at the top of the world. We were once conquerors of the seven seas and all across the earth paid tribute to us. Sure, we may have lost our splendor and glory, but that doesn't mean we are so easily bullied. If the GK Council has decided to shred all pretenses, then we shall not hesitate to make them taste steel and blood.”Ethan's expression shifted as he realized something at that moment.He was no longer alone in his fight to the peak.He had gotten dependable allies and so, could rely on them to help him when the going

Once the Emperor was done talking, Ethan did not waste any time in making the next plan of action. According to the Emperor, the island was run by Northland with its administrator being a familiar face.Last Spice.He had encountered her during the auction that Poltergeist had hosted, and back then, he had made the worst impression, which meant that she was sure to have a grudge against him.But that didn't mean he was going to change his mind about going to the island.Even as it was clear to see that the island was a death trap, Ethan didn't hesitate for a second to book the ticket he needed to get to the harbor where there would be a ship waiting to take people to the island for the auction.There was no other way to get to the island so he could only hope that he would be able to sneak onto the ship without issues.Aquila suggested coming along but Ethan decided against it as he felt that it would be too dangerous for her.It would be better if he went alone so that he would be a

Just as he suspected, his infiltration had failed. Since Lady Spice was working for the GK Council and they were expecting him, there was no way they wouldn't tell her about him.It also didn't help his cause that Poltergeist was in their grasp so it would be easy for Lady Spice to verify that he was the same person that had messed with her the last time they met.Though unfortunate, he expected it and so didn't panic, maintaining his composure as he inquired. “What now?”At this point, the others were curious about their conversation, struggling to figure out why Phantom had been approached out of the blue. “The lady would like to meet with you.” the man replied. An audible gasp escaped the lips of everyone present as they couldn't believe their ears, pleasantly surprised at the name mentioned. To think that the Lady Spice would wish to meet with Phantom.Mister Gary was thankful that despite everything, he had stopped his son from attacking Ethan else they would have ended up in

By the time Ethan arrived at the auction venue, others were already there with several making conversations and forming cliques in the process while keeping wide berths from those that they considered enemies.His presence quickly drew the attention of quite a few parties as they couldn't help but ponder the depths of this young man who had dared to show up at such an esteemed gathering.Every other attendee was connected to a ridiculously rich family with no single person which meant that Ethan stood out as an outlier.Due to his disguise and the fact that he wasn't using his real name, they were unable to determine who he truly was and what right he had to be in their midst.Some had even begun to speculate that he was connected to the GK Council or perhaps he was connected to Lady Spice but even then, they didn't feel like he belonged in their midst. His heroics were enough to make many ponder if he was truly all that considering he had gone against the Gunther family and gotten o

Ethan's heroics had done well to draw many to him with the other leaders approaching him, especially Gary and his son Daniel.Gary was the first to approach him, using the pretext of forcing Daniel to apologize to Ethan for his actions earlier.Ethan naturally knew what he wanted and so did well to keep a distance, accepting the apology while making it clear that he wouldn't back down from the auction.“If I may ask, what makes the invitation so important that you are willing to stand alone?” Gary inquired.Even as others had decided to leave Ethan, considering he wasn't planning on joining their camp, Gary had stayed, causing Ethan to question him.“Why are you still here?”“I asked first.”Ethan rolled his eyes before responding. “I have to save someone and to do that, I need the ticket.”Gary's eyes flashed with understanding as he inquired. “Someone you cared about is taking part in the Gauntlet?”Ethan raised a brow causing Gary to cough awkwardly. “Ah, sorry, it's my turn to ans