Final Showdown I

The arena looked very different compared to the other two times that Kies came here. For the first time, the seats of the colosseum were packed. There wasn't a single seat that wasn't taken. There was still plenty of time before the match began but people were already here and waiting for the fight. Kies saw the excited and anticipated looks on their faces.

Kies walked down the aisle and noticed that there were quite a few people who were standing up. Upon making it to the very front of the arena, he saw that even the seats there were all taken.

"That sure is a lot of people..."

"Cuse' me, son."

Kies moved out of the way for a person to walk past him. He was tall and well-built... Just like most of the other people in the place. It was harder to find someone who was out of shape than it was to find someone that was packed with muscles.

Kies surveyed the crowd for any familiar faces and spotted Nyana sitting on top of one of the walls of the colosseum at the edge. The elf was staring blankly down at the arena. Kies wasn't sure why she was up there but it might have something to do with all the people around. Even before, when there weren't as many people, she would get looks from nearly everyone. Spectating the fight from up there didn't look like a bad idea. Not only was it a good place to get a great view of the fight, but there were also no people up there to annoy you.

Since Nyana was here... Kies looked around for the other three. Were they here as well? There were far too many people for him to find them. Wait... Why was he trying to find them with his eyes when he could just find them with his magic? Kies summoned a current of wind and had it fly around the arena. It picked up on the fragment's location which was not too far away from him.

Now that none of them were wearing their masks, they blended into the crowd perfectly. From the looks of things, Iris recovered and was back to her normal self. Sirks didn't look too pleased to be here, but if Kies had to guess, it was probably because he wanted Iris to be at home resting instead of being here.

Good, nothing is bothering them so he didn't have to worry about them. This means that he could focus on his fight.

Now then... Where was his opponent? Kies looked around for Rui. She should already be here by now. From what he knew of her personality so far, she wasn't the type to arrive late for anything. It was the opposite. She struck him as the type to be early to everything.

"I don't see her anywhere..."

Kies gave up on trying to find her and walked all the way to the back of the colosseum in search of a place with fewer people. He found a spot next to a pillar where a massive banner was dangling from it, blocking part of the view for the arena, making it an unpopular spot to watch the fight from.

Kies leaned against the wall and waited. There was still a lot of time before his match but he had nothing to do, and so here he was, just standing here, waiting for something to happen.

It might not have been his intention, but the people next to him were all talking so loudly that he overheard their conversation. The polite response here would be to walk away or ignore them, but boredom got the best of him and he listened in on their conversation.

It was two men, and judging from the clothes they were wearing, Kies took a guess that they were mercenaries. He didn't recognize the two and was pretty sure that he hadn't met them before.

"-Win or lose, it doesn't matter who wins this fight, I will be the winner no matter what," the first one confidently said, pounding his chest proudly.

"What are you saying? Didn't you put all your money on the Iceblade?" the second one asked.

"Yes, I did."

"So then, if she loses then won't you lose everything?"

"No."

"Huh?" The second mercenary wasn't getting what the first one was saying.

The first mercenary wiggled his finger and smiled. "I bet on both of them," he said.

"What? Why would you do that!?"

"For the exact reason I just told you. I win regardless of who comes out on top. You see..." The mercenary held his hands out for a visual demonstration. He waved his left one and said, "I bet most of my fortune on the Iceblade. If she wins, I get a bit of money back."

"Uh-huh..."

"And..." he continued the demonstration with his right hand. "If that other 'guy' wins. His odds are so low that even though I bet hardly anything on him, I will still win more than the amount that I bet on the Iceblade!" he laughed, smiling gleefully at his genius plan. "Bet those idiots didn't think of that! Ha!"

"Wait... Is this real!?"

"Yes! I looked into it myself!"

"Arghhh! You should've told me about it then!"

"Sorry mate, but I only thought of the idea yesterday, and it was when you were out hunting too."

"D*mn... You could've placed some bets under my name..." The second mercenary was disappointed about missing the opportunity to make money.

Upon hearing about this piece of information, Kies was rather intrigued, not by the amount of money that he would be making, but the fact that something like this was possible. Whoever was in charge of the math for the bettings, that person needed to be fired. Betting on both contestants would result in a profit. He was no expert when it came to things like this but he was more than certain that this wasn't supposed to happen.

"Not my problem though..." Why would it be? The people behind the tournament were giving him a massive headache and he was doing all he could to return the favor.

Nothing else worthy of note happened while Kies was standing there. More people flooded the colosseum until there was hardly enough space to even walk around. Even the unpopular spot that he was in started to get crowded and he had to move to the entrance where people were still entering because it wasn't as crowded.

Finally, it was time for the match to start. Kies caught sight of Rui as she entered the colosseum. Everyone around her moved to make way for her and another man who was following behind her. He didn't recognize the man but when he felt the magic aura he was giving off, he immediately figured out who it was.

Wearing the same uniform as the Iceblade, the royal guard gave off just as scary of an impression as her. Kies and the man's eyes met for a second and they stared at each other as he walked by. At first, it looked like the man was trying to figure out Kies' identity but the confusion wore away as he also realized who Kies was. They silently nodded to each other, acknowledging each other's presence.

The two royal guards walked down into the arena and the tension followed them. When he got far enough away so that they wouldn't be able to hear what others were saying, the audience collectively let out a deep breath as if they were all holding their breaths the entire time.

"That couldn't be..."

"When did 'he' get back!?"

The royal guard's appearance caused a massive commotion within the arena. People pointed at him and whispered to each other in disbelief. Only Kies was left out in the dark as to who the man was. The only thing he knew was that the man was the one that Iris fought who then he defeated. He was the one who had the cloak on and the only other person besides his team that was hiding his identity.

A loud "Contestant 5555, please come down to the arena within the next thirty minutes. I repeat. Contestant 5555, you have exactly half an hour to make it down here or else you are disqualified."

Half an hour... That was plenty of time to get to the arena. "Excuse me." Kies started moving towards the arena but there were too many people and he couldn't.

"..."

It might really take the whole thirty minutes for him to get down at this rate. Kies gave up on trying to push his way through the crowd and instead found a small clear area to use his magic.

"Hey, what are you doing!?" Some of the people nearby noticed that Kies was doing something and drew their weapons, expecting a fight. But thankfully, it wasn't what they thought it was. Kies leaped up into the air, soaring over the audience. Everyone's heads were turned up as they watched him fly past their heads and landed in the arena.

There, he found Rui standing and waiting for him. "Flashy entrance," she remarked cooly. "Do you always do this?"

"I try not to," Kies responded. But he always ends up looking like a showoff anyway which he really didn't like.

"Also, you're a lot older, contrary to what I thought..." she added. Now that Kies wasn't wearing his mask or cloak anymore, Rui almost didn't recognize him. If not for the magic that he just displayed, Rui would've thought that it was someone else. "And... Did you get taller too? Last time I checked, you were shorter than me too..."

"Wasn't I always this tall?"

"If you say so..." Rui shook her head and drew her sword. "That's enough talk, let's give the people what they want."

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