The atmosphere was incredibly tense. The participants stood still waiting for the first match of the third round to be announced. The coordinator drew the first lot.
"Number 4 and Number 270, get on the stage"
Two guys stepped forward. One was a blue haired boy. He wore a simple brown tunic and trousers. The other was Furgison Zerex, one of those dumb nobles. Even though Rain disliked Furgison, he had to admit that his strength wasn't bad.
"Let the match begin"
. . . . .
The crowd roared with amusement when the winner was announced. Furgison won the match. Rain expected this to be the outcome, but he didn't expect the battle to be so close. The blue haired boy, Drake, was only slightly weaker than Furgison. The match was so close.
The coordinator drew the lots and announced the next match.
As time went on, there were various exciting matches, and people were climbing the ladder. There were two people currently taking the lead, Sonia Ramsey and Princess Keziah. It was to be expected, since they were both gifted warriors. They hadn't lost any of their matches, and in all their matches, they won by a landslide.
Rain hadn't had any match yet. He stood at the stands observing each participant. Rain was especially impressed by Lucas, the commoner. In their world, Plamore, it was rare to see a commoner with such strength. Since plasma force was life force, it was not particularly special for humans. Nobles were powerful because they were chosen based on their merits. This just meant, it wasn't the commoners who were weak, but it was the nobles who were strong.
"Number 63 and 87 should approach the podium"
Rain smirked. Finally, it was his turn to mark the earth rumble. He picked his sword and walked towards the stage. As he approached the stage, he noticed something that piqued his interest. On his left two monsters were about to face off.
"Princess Keziah. It is an honor to meet you on the battle field"
Keziah narrowed her eyes.
"Don't play coy with me. Stop the nonsense and let me see your strength, Lady Sonia"
Rain turned towards his own match.
"Match, Begin!"
The air rustled as Rain stared at his opponent. John Doe, an aspiring knight. His family, even though they were not nobles, were popular for their contributions during the war.
Rain gripped his sword tightly. He might have to take this fight seriously.
"I may not like you, but I respect you as a warrior. As someone trained by Princess Cassandra herself, I expect a show"
He twirled his spear, and charged. Rain took his stance, ready to counter.
"Stop!"
A loud voice boomed throughout the arena. When the contestants realized who had spoken all the matches halted. It was the head of the knights, Fenrir Doe. All heads turned towards him. He walked towards Rain's battle stage with a group of knights. The coordinator stepped towards the head knights path and blocked his approach.
"This is the yearly ranking tournament. You have no right to interfere"
Fenrir narrowed his eyes, and pulled out a scroll.
"This is an order from the king. Rain Azaro D'Rudolf is under suspicion for the attempted murder of Duke Rex and must be detained for further investigation"
The crowed gasped. Rain's mind went blank for a second. It took a moment for the situation to register in his mind. He clenched his hands till his knuckles turned white.
"What do you mean?"
Fenrir turned his attention to Rain.
"As I said, you are under suspicion for attempted murder. We have eye witnesses who claimed to have seen you during the attack on the Duke. We have to investigate you"
"I'm not going anywhere where with you. I didn't do anything. I have no reason to try to kill a Duke"
"Come with me. This isn't the place to say all your excuses. If you can tell me where you were early this morning and have an alabi, I'll leave you"
Rain stared at Fenrir. None of this made sense. He was being framed, damn it. Couldn't anyone see it. He had been among the audience from morning till now watching all the battles, but there was no way the people would risk testifying for him. He could only rely on himself. But who would want to set him up?
Fenrir was a knight who prioritized honesty and chivalry, there was no way he would plan this. Rain looked at the VIP stands for his last hope. The energy drained from his face. Cassandra wasn't there, meaning he was all alone. Just like back then.....
"I was here all day. All participants were supposed to here from morning. There's no way I could have attacked the Duke"
"Hmm... You could have simply slipped away after appearing. If you don't have an alabi, everything you say is pointless"
Rain looked at the other contestants, and true enough, no one backed his claim. He bowed his head and gritted his teeth.
"I don't care. I'm not going anywhere with you"
Fenrir frowned. Blood lust begun to ooze out of him.
"Then I'll brake every bone in your body and drag you with me"
Rain lifted his head.
"Do you really believe..."
He paused and looked him in the eye.
"-that you can touch me with that level of strength. Come back and try after fifty more years"
Fenrir flinched. What was this pressure that was suppressing him.
"Stop, Rain!"
Rain whirled around to find Princess Cassandra approaching him with her guards.
"M'lady" Rain said, bowing.
"I told you to stop that" She sighed "Just lift your head"
Princess Cassandra glared at Fenrir.
"No need to use force. He'll go with you" She turned to Rain. "Right?"
Rain nodded. The guards surrounded him, cuffed him up and dragged him away.
Fenrir walked behind them, but stopped beside Princess Cassandra.
"I don't know what training you made him go through to become such a monster, but I would have lost an arm, at least, if I had fought with him"
Princess Cassandra quirked a brow.
"An arm?"
"Why? Don't you know the strength of your own apprentice?"
"First of all, he's not my apprentice. Secondly, I do know. And that's why I know that you wouldn't just have lost an arm. You would've been annihilated"
With this Princess Cassandra walked off.
Rain stared at the ceiling of the dungeon he was thrown in. He didn't understand what was going on, but apparently he was supposed to stand trial the next day. It was like they were in a hurry to get rid of him. He wasn't worried though. He believed in Princess Cassandra, and that she would come to his rescue. Just like back then.
. . . . .
"High priest, it is done. Everything went according to plan"
The high priest, clothed in black, knelt before an altar made of blood. He turned to his henchman.
"Let the games begin"