The colorful lights of the colosseum spark the night. The crowd chants all over the atmosphere, and everyone is as lively as always in this kind of event. The trumpets blow and the drums roll. This will be a long evening for everyone.
"Welcome to the Entry-Grade Battle Fiesta for this year!" The emcee shouted.
The emcee is a homosexual man with a handsome suave mustache and bearded face. It was all displayed on the colosseum jumbotron. He is beautifully sitting in front of his desk and tasked to be this tournament's commentator.
As soon as his smooth loud voice was heard by the fans, the crowd replied with a loud cheer! Horns blew and confetti showered around. Battle Fiestas like this is treated like a football/soccer sport so there is no shortcoming in the fans' reactions.
"For this annual Battle Fiesta, we will see the best Kaiser and Gladiator duo who will dominate the colosseum! Only one Kaiser and one Gladiator can only be the champion! Who will it be?" The emcee roared.
"Ole ole ole ole!" The fans sang a song of pure joy.
"Let us now welcome all our participants in this year's Battle Fiesta!"
The dark arena was immediately lit up by hundreds of spotlights. I saw myself at the center of the far-reaching battlefield when I opened my eyes. I am surrounded by a hundred Kaisers and a hundred Gladiators and Gladiatrices. The audience shout and howled as they saw all the contestants.
"Let's smile and wave, Elzane." I heard my Gladiatrix mutter.
When I looked to my right, I saw my betrothed and my partner Raynevere holding my hand. I was so overwhelmed by my emotions that I forgot that my fiance was right with me.
"Yeah!" I nodded right back. Then I waved up in the skies together with my Gladiatrix.
We were not the first ones who waved their hands to the fans. More than half also waved as this is a Kaiser and a Gladiatrix's way to stardom. Being able to enter a Battle Fiesta is already a privilege. My dream of entering the Battle Fiesta as a contestant is already my dream come true.
I looked up and saw various faces cheering for us. There are children, teenagers, adults, and even geezers shouting with joy. Their contagious enthusiasm makes me want to fight with all my might in this Battle Fiesta.
That's what I'm going to do anyway. I have to win so that we can take back Treenity Innovations. Obtaining the Ultimate Grail is a nice bonus, but I still dreamt of getting that one.
When the audience slightly calmed down, the emcee started to explain the rules.
"The Battle Fiesta is divided into two parts: The single elimination and the playoffs. For this night, we will be conducting the single elimination until there are only eight teams from the original 128 teams. Those eight teams who have shown their skills and talent in battle will be able to enter the playoffs and will be promoted to High-Grade!"
If my impromptu math is correct, we will have to fight four times for this single elimination bracket to enter the playoffs.
"Since we have many contestants for this year, we will divide the teams into two huge brackets! Bracket A and Bracket B! The computer will generate the matches randomly, so now pay attention to the jumbotron!" The emcee said.
All of us looked at the big screen. The computer randomized the teams until the contestants are all divided between two brackets. The names on Bracket A were displayed on the jumbotron, and it didn't take a while before we saw our names.
"Look, Elzane! We are on Bracket A!" Raynevere said.
"R-Right!" I answered. Then I glanced to my left where I remember Himeno Yuusha's previous position.
The purple cat is still there, her arms crossed. And our eyes met. I bet she's mad that her plan to separate me from Raynevere failed since we still showed up in this Battle Fiesta. She briefly glared at me with disgust, but then shifted her attention back to the big screen.
When I looked back, I saw Himeno Yuusha's name on Bracket A.
"It seems that our fight against Miss Himeno will be tonight," I muttered.
"It's quite okay for me. Tonight will be the night when the president of Treenity Innovations will be decided. I'm quite excited and scared at the same time." Raynevere forced a smile.
I looked at my trembling hand. This is no good. I'm too nervous. What if I screwed up activating a Command Card? What if I let my guard down and make myself an easy target? What if I don't draw the right Command Card for the situation? Those questions ran inside my mind in an endless loop.
"Elzane, are you nervous?" Raynevere immediately went to my field of view.
"Y-Yes. I think I'm going to crap my pants. And my bladder is about to burst."
"Wait, didn't you take a dookie and peepee ten minutes ago?" Raynevere asked with naivety.
"Well, this is me when nervous!" I cried.
"Don't worry, you're not alone. I am nervous too. And probably all people stepping into this arena are more nervous than us. We are all the same, and we are equal on this battlefield. Nervousness is part of the game."
Raynevere sure knows what she's talking about. She's already trained to be judged by the crowd due to her pageantry. But she's right about the other contestants being nervous. It's just our bravery that will keep us on our toes in this fight.
Suddenly, I heard a loud cheer from the audience.
"Go for it, Raynevere and Elzane! Beat that purple cat for us!" Esthesia and Firius yelled from the audience's seats.
Having them cheer for us is a good boost to our morale. Both of us waved to our number one and number two supporters. I just remembered that this fight is not selfish. We have to win for Esthesia, Firius, and even for Master Siferas and Big Bro Nigel. We will also dedicate this fight to Raynevere's clan, her deceased father, and her missing grandfather.
I pumped my fist, ready to fight!