The Nest tournament was in its closing moments; the finals was to be held at the Enix Colosseum and was a very anticipated moment for everyone to watch.
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The Colosseum -having a max occupancy of about 30,000 spectators- had 300 extra people occupying the arena.
This was the case because of the new prospects making it through to the finals; with the likes of Damian, Jason and Vincent partaking in the finals, no one wanted to miss it any any cost.
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People of different species were present to watch the finals unfold; from humans to elven to pantherines -which are humanoid creatures with cat-like features- to even lizardmen -humanoid creatures with reptilian characteristics- were in their numbers to watch.
Dante, Principal Victoria and the Council of Mages were seated at the top row of the colosseum with a special seat reserved for the Emperor.
Suddenly, large blasts of trumpets were blown as the Emperor's arrival was announced in the arena.
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He goes by the title of Emperor Claudius XV, and is known to have a calm but strict sense of justice and was regarded as a father figure to the people.
He was a middle-aged man with red hair and a beard, wore a golden crown on his head and had a scepter with a red ruby on it.
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Everyone got onto their knees as he appeared onto the arena and went to his reserved seat.
He was accompanied by his beautiful wife Miranda and his eldest son Marcellus, who was the same age as Jason.
Everyone applauded and cheered as they got up from showing their respects to their Emperor, who also showed his appreciation to his people.
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The contestants were positioned at their stations with their respective team members: Team Peregrine at the West Wing, Team Phoenix at the East Wing, and Team Kumo at the South-West Wing.
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A young handsome male elf walked to the center of the colosseum and announced, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the Nest tournament finals!!," which was greeted by a large uproar of applause from the spectators.
He continued, "As you all know already, this is the finals of our 130th Nest tournament and what a day it is indeed!!"
"The rules are simple: Each team will be disbanded and each individual will be placed randomly into a group of three with two other participants from the opposing teams."
"The entire final starts as a qualifying round in each group, where the winner of each group commence automatically to the finals."
"The last round will have the winners of each group facing each other in a three-man showdown to decide the ultimate winner of the competition."
"Naturally in normal circumstances, the winner represents the kingdom in The Iron Arena against the top warriors from other empires, but that's all going to change!! Because this year, the tournament is accepting all the finalists of today's tournament!!"
"So to my contestants, do your best, everyone!!," and was met with an even bigger uproar of excitement from the spectators, which made the atmosphere more thrilling and adrenaline-rushing.
Before he left, he told the candidates, "As per tradition, all contestants must walk towards a the center of the arena and face the Emperor while making the Creed of Allegiance."
Upon saying this, each candidate walked up to face the Emperor and his family and placed their right hands on their chests, saying in unison,
I pledge my life to defend the honor of our beloved Emperor
To fight with all my strength and will
When my bones shall get broken, my will shall not be shattered
When my body gets battered, my soul will not be altered
I will fight to defend the him out of Pardour and the whole Ravenbrook
Even to my dying breath!!
That left the audience more excited than before, and everyone joining the contestants in the same stance as they also recited the Creed of Allegiance and applauded louder than before when it was finished.
The male elf presenter then said, "On that note, let the finals begin!!!!!"