HOLY EMPIRECATHEDRALSCHOOL OF GUARDIANSThe sound of a palm hitting a cheek resounded inside the empty halls of the pristine building. The ensuing festivities outside the prestigious cathedral were muted by the roar of the thunderclap along with the bolt of lightning that lightened up the dark room wherein two figures loomed against each other—the first one was kneeling before the other party. It was a common scenario for those who were standing behind the grand doors of the room wherein the two people were confined to ‘talk’.“I told you to win! Is it that hard to do? You are my son! Doing this should be easy yet you lose to someone with unknown origins, you pathetic son of mine! The School of Guardians is your territory, your domain! This is your practice ground before you take my responsibility as the pope of the Holy Empire!” A clean-cut silver hair glinted against the zap of light from the single bolt of lightning. With his wide back against the windowpanes, his gray eyes were
Wearing his worn-out cape that was still colored in purple, Merlin threaded the Sinner’s Café at the downtown of the Regalia Territories. His steps were shaky but light. It was as if he was so used to camouflaging his presence—something that reminded Cielo of his past again when he became a useless fool.“Do you want to order some more for the visitor you’ve been watching, Young Master?” Lana, Sinner’s café owner, attended to Cielo ever since knowing that he was Cielo Regalia.Because of this, Cielo was given the privilege to use the private lounge of the Sinner’s Café that was located at the top of the place—overlooking the entire café both from inside and outside while the oblivious folks could not see him at all because of the double mirror that served as the wall and floor of the VIP lounge.‘So this is why Velicia recommended this place to me. She wanted me to know my people, the dwellers of the Regalia Territory.’And as he observed them, he realized that his people were cunning
Cielo stared at the matrix displayed on the digital board. Twelve names were on the board, drawing the attention of the warriors. The bold words ‘Advancing Round’ were specifically highlighted at the topmost part. Because of this, it would be impossible for anyone to fail to notice the rules below it.[ADVANCING ROUND MODIFIED RULES:SUMMONING A BEAST IS ALLOWED. SUMMONING A GUARDIAN BEAST IS NOT ALLOWED.USAGE OF A WEAPON IS ALLOWED.KILLING THE ENEMY IS NOT ALLOWED.USAGE OF SKILLS BESTOWED BY THE GUARDIAN BEASTS IS NOT ALLOWED.WHOEVER STEPS OUTSIDE THE WHITE RING IS CONSIDERED DEFEATED.THERE ARE ONLY FIFTEEN MINUTES IVEN FOR EACH FIGHT. AFTER THE FIFTEEN MINUTES, IF THERE ARE STILL NO KNOCKOUTS, THE JUDGE WILL COMPUTE THE DAMAGE RECEIVED FOR EACH FIGHTER AND DECIDE A WINNER FROM IT.RULES FROM THE ADVANCING ROUND ARE SUBJECTED TO CHANGE TO THE FOLLOWING ROUNDS.]Cielo’s brows twitched. He did not know whether to laugh or cry at the blatant attempt to downsize the powerhouse of th
Ciel followed where Toshii Wanran and Xerxex Hiperia were looking at. He was met by the gaze of Velicia. Sneering secretly from the cowardice of Toshii Wanran, his agitation had long been doused by the young overlord’s actions.“Let us test your theories on the battle stage during the Advancing Round.” Ciel could not be bothered by Toshii Wanran’s childish antics. When he turned around, he did not forget to glance at Xerxex Hiperia before giving the latter an acknowledging nod. He strode toward the ever-silent and enigmatic Velicia Aberon.“Those old folks are ridiculous,” spat Ciel as he pushed the wheelchair away from the crowd. His voice was low enough not to be heard by anyone except Velicia.Velicia grunted. Her chin lay atop her palm as she looked ahead without putting anything or anyone before her seriously. “You have nothing to be afraid of. You can beat them with your strength and agility… though it will be a tad bit hassle for you compared to using your God’s Eyes. But think
While the leaders of various forces were engaged in a battle of wits and nerves, Velicia and Ciel were relatively calm despite being the focus of such a change in the rules of the Advancing Round.Standing below the ring, Cielo observed the changes of the ring. The far cry from the previous battle ground was obvious.The arena had a bigger circumference with a floor made of diamond. Aside from being extravagant, diamond provided a greater durability during the incoming battles, further ensuring that the battling ring could withstand any force – especially that the skills of the guardian beasts were temporarily sealed due to the existence of the new rules.Ciel looked around while he stood behind Velicia’s wheelchair. Each of them situated behind the banner of their clan.“Compared from the previous round, this Advancing Round allowed outsiders to watch,” said Ciel. His eyes scanned the surroundings like a hawk before it landed to the side where the Free Cities’ banners were located. A
As soon as the matrix was displayed, the arena’s ground shook. Every warrior near the vicinity jumped away from the center of the shaking exterior. When the competing warriors and even the audience exclaimed in panic, the surrounding coordinators and guards of the event did not seem to be fazed at all.Seeing this, the warriors immediately calmed down followed by the majority of the audience.Another huge screen appeared at the center of the arena, showing everyone the new rules of the advancing rules. Despite the smoke that shrouded the arena’s battleground, the big and bright words on the huge screen allowed everyone to read it clearly.Compared to the previous announcement, there were two new rules again.The first newly added rule: The light will be switched off in the battleground, rendering zero visibility for the warriors.The onlookers would not have to worry, given that a dozen of night mode cameras appeared. The screens intended for the audience were not visible to the warri
Cielo wouldn’t kill anyone. When his opponent was about to suffocate, he retracted the silver wire. In the dark, no one could see what he was doing but it did not mean the audience could not. On the other side, the warriors of the Group A only heard the young man let out a deep mumble from his throat. He seemed to be in excruciating pain, so painful that he fainted.The remaining warriors of the Group A thought the young man died.There was one less stone in Cielo’s hand. Cielo stood at the original position where Toshii Wanran and the other warriors were before they moved back.He started to smile. It was a cold smile. His light voice was filled with killing intent. “Why? We haven’t even started but you already want to run away in fright? Are you sure that you came here to fight?”“Toshii Wanran, I don’t know what to say about you. You’re a coward but unexpectedly, the people you brought are cowards too. I really look down on you. How about this? I won’t make things difficult for you
“Young Master Regalia, please spare me. Please spare me. Please be kind and let me go this time. Young Master, please spare me, please spare me.”It was at this moment that the light in the arena for Group A lit up.The light was too bright so Toshii Wanran and the other warriors had to squint their eyes. The light lit up the young men that had fallen to the ground before this.Their arms were all in a weird position. All of them lay on the ground with painful expressions on their faces. They weren’t able to lift their hands to take off their clothes that were stuffed in their mouths. They could only move their bodies and legs against the ground while making sounds from their throats. It was fairly easy for Toshii Wanran and the other people to think that they were human-eating monsters crawling around them.No one cared about them. Toshii Wanran was so frightened that he kneeled to beg for mercy. Why would he have the time to bother about these people?Cielo stepped in front of the s