"-With that, the time has come! I welcome out the participants for the first match!"
Hearing the voice of Astor's father coming out from the speakers in the changing room I had been led to, I rose to my feet from the bench I had been sitting on. Despite the wild influx of emotions, I was still relatively calm.
To make sure things would seem as 'fair' as possible, the one advantage that I would have was that Levi didn't know who her contestant was, only getting to see me when we arrived at the stage where our fight would be held.
This was also the reason for separate locker rooms, as these had different connections to the stage, with the added benefit of making it more scenic and more impactful for the audience when we walked out.
Knowing that I had to start going, I went to the door that would lead me to the stage. Walking forward through the somewhat long passage, there was, however, one thing that made me a bit uneasy.
Unlike the time I dueled with Hugo, there was no such thing as a protective artifact on my arm, which likely meant that Levi didn't have one either. Now, in a venue like this, with a lot of powerful individuals on the sidelines, the risk of a serious accident was quite low, but I couldn't help but get a bit wary.
"-I present to you, the heir of the Leviathan, Levi Ayim!"
Unfortunately, there was no time for me to think about it further as I had already reached the final door before entering the stage. And as I could hear that Levi had already gone out, I knew that it wouldn't take long before my queue either. And, just like I suspected, Alexander's voice rang out once again, presenting the unknown orphan that had somehow gotten caught up in the mix.
"-Now, a lot of you might have not heard about the young man that is about to come out, but I promise you that you will not be disappointed..."
A smile arrived on my face as I felt adrenaline fill my body, making it extremely hard to keep my claws from coming out on their own, as they were already itching to show themselves to the world.
"-... a good friend of my son, as well as another student at Augustus! I present to you, Aarick Laupier!"
Opening the door, my sight was quickly met by a blue-haired girl whose face paled in an instant as she saw me, seemingly unable to understand what was happening. I, on the other hand, had but one thought in my head.
'This is going to be fun!'
****
[Levi's Pov]
"-I present to you, the heir of the Leviathan, Levi Ayim!"
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Standing on the stage, which had now been secured with mana barriers to ensure that no one in the audience got hurt, I felt myself getting a bit excited to see whoever was going to be my opponent.
Having already repressed the thoughts about how barbaric this tradition was, I allowed myself to just look forward to a fight, to just enjoy the moment.
Standing to the side, it didn't take long until Alexander started speaking again, presenting my opponent with a huge grin on his face. A grin that somehow gave me a very bad feeling.
"-Now, a lot of you might have not heard about the young man that is about to come out, but I promise you that you will not be disappointed! Though he comes from a very humble background, this young man's life hasn't been all sunshine and roses."
Looking around, my gaze quickly landed on my and Will's fathers, both standing on the side of the banquet halls while looking extremely confused. Although it was tradition to give smaller households an opportunity to stand in the spotlight for a bit, they also appeared to think that something was up.
Then, as the yellow-haired man continued to present my challenger, I felt my stomach turning.
"Despite the fact that this young man is an orphan, and as a result hasn't gotten any support from the world, he is still going strong! Not only that, but he is also a good friend of my son, as well as another student at Augustus! I present to you, Aarick Laupier!"
Turning my head towards the other side of the stage, the door which my opponent would arrive from opened up and, somehow, there he was. The love of my life that I had already lost.
'Aarick...?'
Unlike me, who was wearing pristine leather armor in our signature blue, he was just wearing a shabby, gray leather set that most likely had gotten lent to him. Despite this, his white hair still shone when the headlights illuminated him, and his blood-red eyes appeared to look straight through me.
But the worst part was that he was smiling. A smile that I had seen enough times in the past to fully understand what his intentions were.
He wasn't here to just lose. He had gotten up on the stage fully intent on struggling, fully intent on giving it all and then some. Aarick was here to fight, just like he had done so many times in the past. And... that broke my heart.
Because this time, he wasn't fighting against bullies, nor was he fighting against the circumstances that the world had brought upon him.
This time, he was fighting against me.
'I don't want this... Please, someone... anyone...'
****
[Aarick's Pov]
"Now that our contestants have arrived, there..."
Despite Alexander continuing to talk about the show match that was going to happen, I couldn't hear what he was saying. Every single fiber of my being was fully focused on the blue-haired girl holding a spear seemingly made out of blue jewels in her hand.
I didn't care about the fact that she was struggling to accept that I was here, the only thing I cared about was to see how far the distance between us was. To see how much stronger I had become, and how much stronger I would have to become in the future.
Clenching my fists, I kept struggling to keep myself calm, as I knew that if I acted carelessly, it would merely lead to my swift defeat. Instead, I forced myself to take a look around, to make sure I knew what kind of stage we were going to be fighting on.
With flooring made of what I assumed to be reinforced wood, there really wasn't much else to say about it except for the fact that I now understood why it was so much bigger than what was required for a band or something to fit on it.
In the corner of my eyes, I couldn't help but notice Dona standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, obviously quite tense, and maybe even a bit upset, when looking up at us on the stage.
I knew that I should have said something to her, but at the same time... I didn't want to.
Although I wasn't sure if she could have even done anything about this from the start, I still didn't want to risk losing this chance. And therefore, I consciously chose not to consult her at all, afraid that she might do something about it.
"... and with that, I will now exit the stage. After that, the countdown will begin!"
Astor's father swiftly walked down the small stairs to the stage, leaving me and Levi on it by ourselves.
Even now, I could see the small crybaby in her, as the hand that was not holding her spear was trembling a bit. Funnily enough, my own fists were also trembling right now, although for a very different reason.
"-3!"
When the countdown began, Levi forced herself to ready her spear, as she still carried the pressure of representing not only her household but the entire guild that was Leviathan.
"-2!"
Her blue eyes finally made a bit of a switch, narrowing a bit as a result of her mentally preparing herself for the inevitable. Yet, it was clear that she was still not fully prepared, still unwilling to accept that she would have to bring me down.
"-1!"
I, however, was more than ready. Or that was at least what the hands that were struggling to hold back the claws were telling me. For the first time in my life, I had a chance to prove the world wrong. The chance to prove that I wasn't someone who they were allowed to just step on.
And more than that, I had a chance to show the world a glimpse of what they would experience in the future, Lucifer's, and my dream that I would force into becoming reality.
"-Fight!"
Silence enveloped the halls as none of us moved. Instead, we just looked at each other, waiting to see what the other party would do. However, in the end, she was the one pressured to show off, and as a result, the one who couldn't bear standing still any longer.
And so, as she circulated the mana inside her body and raised her free hand, the fight had officially begun. And it began with her sending a spear of water toward me, swirling through the air with more than enough power to inflict severe injuries if it were to hit me.
However...
'That girl...'