Proudly entering the arena, in his bright red mech, Greg spun his spear around attempting to showboat for the crowd. Looking at him with pity, instead of enthusiasm, he slammed the blunt end of his spear into the ground with a loud crack. Irritated that they were looking at him like he was dead man walking, he began yelling at everyone out of anger.
"What the hell is with all of you people?! The Viscount is not God, he can be beaten!! I will be the one to take him down!!", Greg berated them, before turning to me, "Today will not end like our previous encounter did. I will crush you and free Marie, prepare yourself Viscount Stark!"
"Uh huh, sure Greg. The day you beat me will be the day pig's fly.", I retorted, already annoyed with him.
"What was that, you piece of shit!! I will show you the pride of the Seberg Family here today!!", Greg shouted, boiling with rage, "Referee, get this match started already!!"
Noticing Earl Seberg fuming in his booth, he looked ready to jump over the railing and throttle his son himself. Chuckling softly, as the referee quickly ran to the podium, I focused my attention closely on Greg ready to mop the floor with him.
"My apologies for the delay, are both combatants ready?", the referee asked.
"Yes, just start it already!", Greg snapped.
"I am good to go.", I answered, in a respectful tone.
"Alright, as both combatants are ready I – ", the referee began to say, as Greg suddenly lunged forward without any regard for officiant.
Charging straight at me, Greg aimed right for my cockpit with his spear intending to kill me instantly. Not bothering to dodge, as I knew he could not penetrate the armor let alone scratch the paint, his spear tip bounced right off my mech like it had struck a rock wall. Refusing to give up that easily, Greg unleashed a flurry of thrusts and slashes on me trying to pierce my armor.
"Mister Seberg, I have not started the match!!", the referee protested.
"Greg, what the hell do you think you are doing!?", Earl Seberg roared, over the sound of the fight, "You have already brought enough shame upon our house, do not drag us down even further!!"
"Stop it Greg, get back to our corner immediately!", Julius commanded him, "We are here to fight for Marie, not settle our personal grudges with the Viscount! Cease this immediately!"
"The fight has already started; I am not backing down now!! Stark has continuously made a mockery of us in front of our peers!!", Greg rebuked them, "I refuse to stand here and let him continue to do so!!"
'The only one making a fool of you here is your idiot self…', I thought, continuing to stand there without moving.
Letting him have it for a good five minutes, Greg spewed hateful, vile words at me for destroying all their lives. Telling me I should have just minded my own business; he insinuated that I had no right to steal their happiness from them. Going on and on about all the things I had done to wrong them, I was not sure if he would ever shut up. Just as I was about to put him in his place, his prized spear finally broke under the immense stress he put on it through in such a short time. Watching fragments of it fly all over the place, people in the crowd had to use Barrier Magic to prevent themselves from being skewered by them.
"No! No!! No!!!", Greg cried, backing away from me, "That was my favorite spear, you piece of shit. It was a family heirloom given to me by my grandfather!"
"Why are you blaming me for your actions? I have not moved an inch the entire time you have been trying to kill me. You were the one that pushed your weapon beyond what it was capable of, not me.", I corrected him, "Now then, I think you have made a mockery of yourself and your family for long enough today. Go take a nap in the infirmary for a few hours…or days."
Placing my right hand on his head unit, I proceeded to crush the entire mech like a soda can. Violently exploding at the halfway point, Greg was rapidly ejected from the cockpit in a ball of fire. Filling the arena with his screams of agony, the medical teams quickly ran out to save him. Using the spell Water Ball to quench the fire that engulfed him, the medics quickly got him on a stretcher and carried him out of the arena.
"The winner is, Viscount Stark!", the referee said, with a horrified expression.
---3rd Person POV, Royal Booth---
Listening to Greg's horrible screams as they carried him off, Mylene looked at her two boys with dread. She wished she could just pardon Marie and avoid watching the bloodbath that was to come, but her responsibilities as Holfort Kingdom's Queen, she had to ensure that justice was carried out.
'Why Julius…why are you making me sit through this…', Mylene thought, weeping in her heart, 'I do not want to watch my beloved son die!'
As she sat there hiding her emotions behind a stoic expression, a knock came from the door.
"Who is it?", Mylene asked, in a shaky tone.
"My Queen, Angelica Redgrave and Clarice Atlee wish to see you.", one of her guards reported, "Do we have your permission to grant them entry?"
"Please let them in.", she replied, quickly wiping her eyes.
Opening the door for them, Angelica and Clarice calmly walked through the door together. Getting up and walking over to see them, the moment the door shut, both young women pulled Mylene into a hug. Feeling the concern for her in their embrace, Mylene's stoic expression shattered. Having come to see them as her own daughters, she could not hide the pain she was in from them.
"Those stupid idiots!! Why could they not be reasonable from the beginning?! I watched them grow up, I was there when they took their first steps, and I can still see bringing me their handmade gifts on my birthday!!", she cried into their arms, "I never wanted things to come to this!! All I ever wanted was for them to be happy, and I believed they were happy with both of you!! I am so sorry my sons hurt you, I am such a horrible mother!!"
"This is not your fault, they made their decision a long time ago…they just did not bother to tell anyone till three days ago.", Angelica remarked, holding Mylene closely, "You are an amazing woman who has become like a second mother to both of us. Please do not give up on them, they will need you more than ever after this is over."
"Even though we are no longer going to be family, I hope you will allow us to continue thinking of you as our second mother.", Clarice said, with a warm smile, "I do not wish to lose another mother…"
"Of course, no matter what happens I will always see you as my own flesh and blood!", Mylene stated, as she began collecting herself, "Will you girls please stay with me till this is over? I do not want to be all alone here."
Happily agreeing to her request, the three of them took a moment to wipe their eyes before taking a seat beside one another.
---Victor POV---
Watching Jilk part ways with Julius, I had Luxion dispatch one of his drones to follow the prince's half-brother. Recalling that he used underhanded means to try and win this duel in the OG story, I wanted to know who he would target so I could take proper precautions. Trailing him down the long corridor into the hanger, a man in a black hooded robe waited for him by his green mech.
"Luxion, are you detecting any other signs of life in the hanger?", I asked.
"Perfect, when I expose Jilk for the schemer he is, I want you to have the drone kill the hooded man. Do it quick and silently please.", I commanded him, "Dispose of the body afterwards."
Continuing to watch the feed in silence, as Jilk approached the man, he tossed him a small bag of platinum coins. Quickly counting the coin to confirm he had been paid in full, he nodded to Jilk once he was satisfied.
"Remember, do not kill his siblings or the scholarship student. I only need them to assist with forcing the Viscount to surrender.", Jilk said, "After he agrees to stand down, I will signal you to retreat."
"My men have been briefed on the plan, do not worry about it. You paid us for a job, we will carry out your orders to the letter.", he stated, with a slight nod, "All I need from you is to drag out your entry by a minute or two. That is all the time we need to secure our targets."
"Very well, I can handle that.", Jilk agreed, climbing the ladder to enter his mech.
Cutting off the feed to my Gundam there, I immediately contacted Commander Yoma to ensure she saw what I did. Answering the call after the first ring, Yoma rose from her seat and saluted me.
"Viscount Stark, I presume you are calling about the intelligence you collected just now.", she said, with a coy smile, "My men are already in position to seize the assassins the moment they make their move. No one will see anything; I assure you of that."
"I knew you were the right person for the job.", I chuckled, "Tell your men they are free to use lethal force, if necessary, to eliminate the threat."
"I understand sir, I will let them know immediately.", she promised, ending the call.
As the Commander of my Special Operations Forces, a job like this was right up her ally. One of the second wave of clone troopers I made, she was unique individual created from the genetic material of a former scientist in Luxion's base and clone troop DNA. As one of only a few female clone troopers in my military, she had earned her place as a Commander by demonstrating her cunning mindset, ingenuity, and willingness to do whatever it took to get the job done. On more than one occasion, she had gone into the field with her troops to aid them in their missions. Whether it was playing the damsel in distress or seducing a corrupt nobleman, no matter what I asked her to do, she had always found a way to get it done without leaving any traces behind.
Patiently waiting for Jilk to make his appearance, I watched my men stealthily drop the assassins one by one. Pretending to be members of the wait staff, they carried several glasses of red wine with them as they approached their targets. Tripping over nothing they 'accidentally' crashed into the assassins sending wine and glass shards everywhere. Stabbing them in the heart while their guard was down, my men quickly spirited them away under the guise of trying to save their clothing. As the color of the wine was nearly identical to the victim's blood, no one paid it any mind as they continued chatting amongst each other blissfully unaware several murders had been carried out behind them.
'This is honestly depressing, what sort of assassins did Jilk hire?', I thought, as my opponent slowly walked onto the field.
"Jarvis, I want you to hack into his mech suit and make some adjustments to his audio setup. When he goes to contact me over the radio, I want our audio to be fed through both his internal and external speakers. Also temporarily kill his external microphones so no one lets him know his microphone is live.", I asked him.
Completing the task just as Jilk stepped into position, the idiot immediately called me creating a brief ear-piercing shriek. Going completely unnoticed by him, as his mech's sound dampen blocked it out, he began to speak to me casually.
"Can you hear me, Viscount Stark? I wish to discuss a matter with you before the duel begins.", Jilk said, believing we were talking properly.
"Yes, I can hear you.", I replied, trying not to laugh as Julius danced around like a fool behind him trying to get his attention.
"I wish it did not come to this, but you have left me with no alternatives. A group of highly skilled assassins currently has your two siblings and the scholarship student you keep around you at knife point.", he told me, not bothering to confirm it for himself, "If you surrender to me now, no harm will come to them. Please do the right thing and stand down, I do not want them to die today."
Listening to him threaten me, the stadium became eerily silent. Watching my siblings and Olivia look around in a panic, Roxanne jumped up and immediately started watching Olivia's back. Letting his words sink in for a few minutes, I continued the charade for a bit longer.
"You would take my friends and family hostage to win this duel? Do you have no shame?", I asked, "Greg and you have made a mockery of this trial. Any remaining respect you had to your names is gone now."
"I do not care what you or anyone else thinks. Protecting my brother Julius and saving my beloved Marie is all that I care about!", he said, "Now what is your answer? If you do not make it quick, I will have them kill the scholarship student first."
"Clarice, do you see now the sort of man your ex-fiancé is? He would threaten innocent bystanders to force my hand into surrendering.", I said, after activating my external speakers, "He is nothing short of a cowardly rat!"
Confused by what I was saying, Jilk glanced over to the stands for the first time since he stepped out and noticed everyone focused on him. Looking down at his controls, he noticed that his external speakers were turned on. Immediately starting to sweat bullets, he turned around to explain himself to Julius. Before he could utter a single word, Julius turned away from him in shame.
"Julius, I did this to ensure you did not need to fight him and to free Marie!", Jilk said, knowing full well that he screwed up, "Please forgive me!"
"I put my named on the line to save Marie in an honorable fashion. Brad and Chris understood this and followed my example. Greg and you have trampled upon our honorable deed, and sullied our good names.", Julius said, hanging his head, "I am ashamed to call you my brother and friend…"
Hitting Jilk like a Mack truck, Julius' words knocked the wind out of his sails causing him to falter. Out in the stands, Clarice's subordinates began calling him a dishonorable asshole and spineless coward. Looking up at the Royal Booth, Jilk watched the woman who took him in and gave him a home turn her back on him for the first time.
"You are a terrible son and even worse fiancé!!", Clarice screamed, as Angelica tried to console Mylene, "I hope you burn in hell for this!"
"I…I…", Jilk stuttered, watching his whole world come crashing down.
"Jilk Fia Marmoria, for violating the sanctity of this trial, you have forfeited your right to participate in this duel and will be handed over to the Royal Guard to await your own trial.", the judge said, "Guards, seize him at- "
"Wait a moment, I formally request my own duel with Jilk. He threatened to execute two of my family members and one of my closest friends. He will pay dearly for dragging them into this, unlike this coward, I am not afraid of fighting to the death.", I remarked, stepping out of my cockpit in only a pair of jeans, "I challenge you to a duel of swords, here and now! What say you?"
Unable to reject my request now, having utterly humiliated himself, Jilk opened his cockpit door and stepped outside.
"I…I accept your challenge.", he said, meekly.
Glancing over at the judge for his approval, he turned back to his colleagues for their input. Discussing it amongst themselves for a moment, all of them unanimously gave him the thumbs up.
"Very well, your duel has been approved. Please step out of your mechs and meet at the center of the arena.", the judge ordered us.
Jumping down from my cockpit, with three swords fastened to my hip, I landed softly on the ground and proceeded to the meeting point. Using the built-in ladder to climb down on his mech, Jilk nervously walked toward the judge knowing he would lose this fight. He was skilled in the use of firearms, not swords, fighting a Sword Master like me was suicide for him but he had no option now. Having torn his honor and dignity to bits, all he could do now was accept the decent death he believed I would give him with open arms.