'He looks like him,' Guilliman thought, looking at the young man seated not too far away from his bound family members.
He was the spitting image of the blackberry young man that Guilliman had knocked out in Clawood Forest. Clearly, he was the one sent for revenge.
"Let's see who will come out on top," Guilliman spoke, but no words came out of his mouth. Yet Vincent could clearly read his lips.
He, too, smiled and responded without sound.
'You're already a dead man.'
These were the exact same words Guilliman had told the blackberry young master before knocking him out.
How ironic.
Panning his head away from the young man, Guilliman walked through patches of individuals standing all around the hall, looking for Victoria and the rest. For this to work, he would need the backing of a noble family.
Soon enough, he found them standing in a corner very close to the platform and also next to the host's seat but not too close.
"Ahh, took you long enough? Even Jemie got here before you," Victoria teased, shaking her head and looking at Jemie, who seemed to be more on the quiet side.
"Hm!" Guilliman shook his head, then looked to where his siblings were tied up, causing Victoria to do the same. For a brief moment, she wanted to say something but was stopped by him.
He would handle that part himself. As much as he hated every single one of them, the blackberry family had no right to try that with him.
It was an affront to his pride, and he would handle it.
"Okay," she nodded and turned to the main stage.
As time passed, more and more individuals from outside made it into the grand hall. At first, there was a good number of level 4 fighters trooping in. They boasted the most talented in their level,
some of whom could even rival slayers at level 5. However, soon enough, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of level 5 slayers. Those capped at Yellow were not to be played with.
With every single one of them that took the test, the upper limit of entry rose by leaps and bounds until finally, not a single one of the new entries was at level 4.
"And that's the last of them. Close the door!" A voice resounded all of a sudden in the darkness of the hall, causing everyone to tense up as the doors were slammed shut.
Those outside grumbled, some trying to fight their way in, but they were swiftly taken down a few notches and sent on their way.
Only those inside had the chance to fight for this opportunity.
"Welcome, the Lord of Blacksteel, Lord Valcrow!"
After a very long silence, a male voice sounded in the now dark hall as the tall silhouette made its way from a dark corner all the way up to the host seat.
This figure carried an air of oppression in his very being, something not so different from what Guilliman felt when he first met Victoria's father. This, of course, was much more surreal and heart-boiling.
The figure eventually reached the host chair, and just when he sat down, the lanterns all over the dark hall lit up, illuminating the entire place.
This was Lord Valcrow, the Lord of the Blacksteel Shelter.
"Thank you all for coming in our time of need. I, the Blacksteel Lord, am grateful," the imposing Lord of Blacksteel spoke, his voice carrying a lot of weight.
"However, I would like to give some sound fatherly advice… and a warning. Many of you are under the misconception that the gate will be a walk in the park where you go in and come out powerful…"
"This is not true. I can say for a fact that a lot of you will die in that gate, so if you are not confident in your ability to stay alive, please step out, as this will be your last chance." The Steel Lord's face shone in the darkness as his green hair became visible to those around.
He was being serious. Gates were no laughing matter. As much as shelter propaganda made it seem trivial, he hoped that everyone here would know just how dangerous it was out there.
They would be cast into an unknown land where they would face a myriad of unknown beasts and terrors, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Yellow gate or not, the death toll wouldn't be small.
"Sigh," after looking around, he saw no hands. No one wanted to leave. He didn't know how to feel about it.
"Brave slayers, I guess it's your time to shine," the Blacksteel Lord smiled, waving to his attendant to take over.
They knew what was at stake. As for morale? He would handle that after the number to enter the gate was finalized.
"So, for the qualifying list, there are a few people that don't need to compete." Stepping forward, a rather lean man with dark skin and an afro on his head spoke, a cold expression on his face.
"These names belong to those who passed the test outside with phenomenal performances. They will automatically be on the list… they are:"
The attendant started calling names swiftly…
"Zerg Blacksteel."
"Roland Wincent."
"Leon Alduwin."
"Viper Blacksteel."
"Wilder Ironback."
Numerous famous names were called out in the next instant, several of which were members of the Blacksteel household. Of course, not all of them were famous—some were relatively unknown.
For example, Victoria was called, but no one seemed to know who she was. That is, except for the Blacksteel Lord, who stole a glance at her.
Even Hamdel was called, but that was the limit. At the end, aside from Victoria, Viper, and Hamdel, no other person was called.
Even the young master Thane was left out.
However, he didn't seem bothered by it at all. Instead, he acted like this was only natural.
"The rest of you have been paired. When you hear your names, you will come out. You will fight one battle, and depending on whether you win or lose… you might get a chance," the attendant said, going back to the side of the Blacksteel Lord.
The first person to fight was a female slayer with a mutant echo shield twice the size of her, and she was going up against someone a whole level above her.
Before the battle began, they all concluded who would win, and it was naturally the one of the higher rank. As much as a good echo was useful, your rank was the most important.
Without surprise, she lost very quickly, but not for the reason everyone thought. She wasn't overwhelmed by sheer force. Rather, she lost because the person before her broke her spirit by summoning his own mutant echo.
"Next."
One by one, several powerful slayers graced the center of the hall and engaged in gut-wrenching combat, some leading to life-changing wounds. But that didn't stop or deter anyone from coming up to fight.
After all, being a slayer alone was a life hazard.
"Guilliman Naldir." Soon enough, Guilliman's name was called, the first in the cohort to fight. As he emerged, he did so under countless gazes.
Soon he stood atop the platform and took off his hood, showing his face.
"Hm? Is that the guy?"
"The wanted posters?"
"Yeah, it looks like him."
"No, why would he come here?"
Guilliman had been told by Victoria how his face was everywhere. Even deep in the forest outposts, his face had been published, so in front of such a crowd, it made sense that he was recognized.
Looking to the side, Guilliman's eyes lingered on the place where his 'siblings' and 'family' were tied up, as if he was expecting something.
And like clockwork, they all raised their hands and pointed at him in front of everyone, as if accusing him of something.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but shake his head and pan his gaze to the new young master of the blackberry family.
The young man stood up promptly and walked to the platform, where he proceeded to take a knee.
"Lord Blacksteel, I wish to appeal for justice!" A torrent of fake tears built up in his eyes.
He sounded wronged and angry.
"Oh? What kind of justice?" The Blacksteel Lord asked, feeling amused by the entire situation.
He knew this Vincent boy. He was the new top talent of the blackberry family. Despite his lackluster past, the rumors stated that he had killed a sacred beast all on his own.
"I wish for the right to avenge my brother's death and avail your court of a criminal!" he fumed, his eyes filled with anger as he pointed at Guilliman before the entire crowd.
It was one thing to kill a beast, but willfully murdering humans was against the laws of the shelter, and yet he was accusing Guilliman of murder.