As the next two contenders entered the stage, we all watched in anticipation.
"In the first corner, we have a mage from the Forest who has climbed her way into the second round after a stunning and quick first round with the Silver Shark's Marley!"
When she entered, she was a tall specimen. Standing at six-foot-five, toned muscles, and healed scars decorated her exposed arms and core. Her clothes were a mix of hunter and military styles as she entered the ring. She was wearing an olive tank top, and her pants were earth-toned and baggy. Her boots were thick and platformed. And her hair was gray, tied up in a ponytail with split bangs over her bandaged eyes; the scar on her lip, along with her sharp jawline gave her an androgynous kind of look.
"She is labeled as the fastest mage in the Valley. Will Lance be able to handle her extreme speed? Please help me welcome back into the ring, your Head of Forest Guard, Cecillia!!"
As we watched her, almost everyone had a look of disdain on their face, but I and a few others did not want to judge too quickly. Despite not answering their questions, her refusal didn't mean she was the culprit.
The others who thought the same as I were: Nash, Ryo, Zeno, and perhaps Alphonzo… well… I had no idea what was going on in that guy's head half the time, but it didn't seem like he had a conclusion as to who was the culprit as of yet. This match, after all, seemed like more of a test than anything else.
The room felt safer with him in it, observing… ever so vigilant. I hated the effect he had on me.
Before the match had started, Henza had passed by Nash and greeted him. "Pleasure seeing you again." There was a hint of jab within it.
"You two know each other?" I asked incredulously.
Nash glanced at him with a scowl, and Henza smirked as if he had seen his response coming, or so he thought…
"Sorry, who are you?" Nash asked, almost politely.
Utterly dumbfounded, Henza replied, "You're joking…" He looked at him intently to see any lies, or maybe even a jest. He did not. "You really don't remember who I am?"
"Hmm…" Nash pondered, crossing his muscular arms and tilting his head, trying to remember.
He did seem to recognize his voice, thinking about where he had heard it from. About a month or so ago, he told me he had fought someone who was overly-bandaged who then turned into some dark, wild-haired demon. He studied Henza's face…
"Oh!" Nash said as if remembering.
Henza raised a brow. "Precisely," he said, maybe a bit too quick before clarification.
"You're one of my fans from the event a month ago! How are the gains?" Nash obliviously concluded.
I burst out laughing.
Henza, as if someone had smacked his head from behind, fell over at the sheer obliviousness of the man.
He then composed himself. "No matter… If you suspect anything while the match begins, be sure to notify Alphonzo or me," he said lastly as he turned around with a hand in his pocket and waved the other above him without looking.
Nash blinked and then focused back on the screens.
"And in the other corner!—" the announcer went on, "we have returning into the ring, the golden-clad warrior of the Golden Rose Knights. The right hand of the Valley's princess herself! Please help me welcome back 1st Vice Captain of the Golden Roses, Lance!!"
Hesitant cheers sounded from the audience, remembering his aggressive first match. They all seemed to wonder if that was going to be the case again here with Cecillia as he slowly made his entrance.
Lance had a noticeable scowl upon his face. He looked like he was going to murder someone, but for the time being, the Sensory mages stationed all over the front rows of the arena had not sensed hostility—rather, it was on the cusp of becoming that way, so they were wary regardless.
The face he wore was the complete opposite of what his attire had boasted. His proud golden armor glinted off the high sun, and his sheer cape fluttered from the soft breeze that flowed into the ring. The true look of a knight in shining armor, but with a fucking vendetta.
When he finally made it feet away from Cecillia, he stood there and crossed his arms. He looked as if he was looking down on her with the way he held up his chin.
"For this round, we will not be changing the environment of the ring. Though we have fixed the ring to its previous state, the magic circuits for it had been damaged from the last match, and our mages are hard at work putting it back together as we speak. We anticipate it to resume, hopefully, after this match! We thank you for your patience on the matter…"
That was also a stall. And a believable one at that. They didn't want any distractions while they built their case…
From where she stood, Cecillia readied herself in a fighting position, preparing for the announcer to commence the battle.
"Now… let the first match of the Valley Tournament's second round begin!!!"
The minute he said this, Cecillia disappeared entirely, leaving only a trail of dust from where she had once stood.
Back in the Warriors' Keep, we had all been cautious. Just in case she had somehow made it in here with us to take someone else… and if I had to speculate… the one going next, due to the fact that he had exposed the culprit's route of attacks, would be Alphonzo himself. In theory at least.
If everyone's speculations are correct, her ability was closely related to the Dimensional Territory sub-space rifts… meaning her ability was more than just 'Timeskip' magic, as Goro had stated. However…
After a few short seconds, Lance had disappeared as well.
The crowd gasped, and from the Keep, Viper yelled, "I fucking knew it!"
"Wait," Henza spoke from behind.
"What do you mean, wait? Lance just disappeared! His magic doesn't do that!"
"I understand, but just wait…" Henza said like the utterance of words was a chore.
I watched him from where I had been standing, next to Nash, looking back to where Jo had been sleeping on the couch. Nyx was there too, but just in case—I kept an eye.
***
Back in the empty ring, there was nothing but silence. The audience sat in anticipation, keeping their eyes on the ring ever so vigilantly so as not to miss anything.
Where the Black Wolves were, Code had switched thoughts with Brand.
Did you notice too? Brand thought.
Aye. Just waiting to confirm… Code communicated.
You don't think…?
There was silence between the two as Code continued to ponder.
But then…
Without an inkling of what was coming, a loud collision ensued from the ring, and smoke filled the air.
The audience was awestruck, watching intently at the occurrence.
In the smoke, there were two silhouettes… one standing over the other, and the other on the ground, at the center of the crater. Everyone's eyes were glued. Whereas the others in the Keep were vigilant of their surroundings.
As the smoke continued to clear, the figures within became more visible. From within, Lance had been standing over Cecillia with an armored hand on her throat, and a trail of blood running down her mouth.
The crowd gasped again as they bore witness to the sudden appearance of the two contenders, the match appearing to be already over in a matter of seconds.
Lance slowly stood up straight with Cecillia still in his grasp; he walked out of the crater agonizingly slow, dragging her body as he did, and she didn't struggle. She appeared to be unconscious.
When he reached the edge of the crater he had caused, he threw her onto the arena, and she thudded feet away from him, facing upward. Even with her bandaged blindfolds, just one glance at her was all the announcer needed to see before—
"Wow! And just like that, in a matter of seconds, the winner of this match goes to Lance of the Golden Roses!"
The crowd roared, and Lance walked away completely uninterested. He threw his hands in his pockets, which were somewhere hidden within his clad gold armor, and walked off with his eyes closed back into the Warriors' Keep.
***
Greed:
"That's our Lance!" Viper shouted. "Holy fuck, how did he do that?"
"At least he was a lot calmer than what was reported…" Rex commented with a bit of slight in his tone. I could tell he was anticipating Lance to beat Cecillia to near death like he did his subordinate.
"He's less aggressive with women, regardless of how powerful they are," Viper addressed.
That crash and how he dragged and threw her in the ring was anything but 'less aggressive', but I suppose if you compared it with how Maine had turned out…
"So much for being the Head Guard," Nash said. "But I guess that's just how powerful the members of the Golden Roses are."
I said nothing, remaining vigilant. Times like this were the exact ideal opportunities to strike. And I wasn't too convinced the culprit was Cecillia.
But nothing happened. And nothing continued to happen, even as Lance had entered back into the Keep. Both Viper and Love went over to him, praising his performance, whatever and however he was able to counter one of the fastest mages in the Tournament.
I looked over to Alphonzo and Henza, who hadn't said anything since the end of that match. And as I watched everyone else, they all seemed quiet, remaining as they were.
The Keep was awkwardly silent. No one was letting their guard down, even though Cecillia was still in the ring, being retrieved by the healer mages and put away on a stretcher.
It was at that time that I saw Snow leaving for the halls.
"And where are you going, doofus?" I called out to him.
He glared at me and said, "I'm gonna make sure Cecillia actually makes it back here and doesn't take out the healers on the way." He had a point with that. There were no cameras within the hallways, so this would be a good move to ensure. "Wanna come?"
I appreciated the invite and was about to follow suit, but before I could make a move, I sensed a flick of a finger in the room, and in an instant, Snow was bonded within a yellow bonding ring.
I whipped my head over to Henza, and Nash had reacted too, as if he finally remembered just who Henza was. And in a literal breath, we were both at his face.
Invisible gust rushed past him as we arrived.
"Let go of Snow," I sternly ordered, fist inches away from him, just like earlier in the halls. And Nash had a similar fixed gesture as well. Had we continued, the strike from us both just might have been overkill.
But like before, I didn't choose to stop…
Henza continued to look past us with a bored look. If I had to commend the guy on anything, it was his superior poker face. Or perhaps, he truly wanted to die as he says.
He sighed. "I wish you two would just follow through and end me, I'm so very tired…" he spoke with such utter disregard for his own life.
I replied, "That's exactly what I was going to do, but…"
When I looked down, those same chains had stopped me, protruding out from mine and Nash's shadows, onto our ankles.
"Alphonzo, what are you doing?" I shouted to him from where he was, leaning by a wall of the Keep.
"What are you doing, is the real question," he responded.
"Henza just stopped Snow from checking on Cecillia on her way back—"
I didn't even get to finish my sentence before Alphonzo interjected, already knowing what I was going to say. "I am aware. And it is a good precaution, but I was the one who gave Henza the order to bind Snow."
"You what?" I retaliated.
"From my perspective, you are all suspects. If any of you leave my sight and a vanishing happens, I am forced to place you higher on that list of accused. It is my duty to catch this culprit in the shadows while the Valley conducts its Tournament with ease. If any of you make that any more difficult than it has to be, I am forced to restrain and disqualify you from the Tournament entirely—per Daz's orders." He scanned us all and then locked his crimson eyes onto me with that dreadful glare. "And if you force my hand, acting captain, I'll personally make sure your Guild is abolished without any further delay. You are well past the point of grace anyway—it will be easy and swift work."
Nash and I remained silent as he said this. When I looked at the chain that halted him, I knew he could break it, but he was being smart and listening to reason so as not to waste one of his Lives on a trivial matter.
Nash relaxed then, and Alphonzo released him shortly after.
"At least the subordinate listens. Unlike their captain," Alphonzo affronted.
I glowered at him, retracting my fist as well—the only movement I was apparently allowed to make. I then threw my hands into my pockets as Alphonzo took his time to release me from the chains and said, "Alright, well if not us to go, then who?"
"I'm glad you asked." He nodded to his subordinate. "Henza, you may go."
Henza stuck out his hand and pulled it back, reeling in Snow, who was still bonded, and dragged him further in. Only when he was in the middle of the Keep with us did Henza release him.
Snow checked his movements and then looked at me afterward like I had any say on the matter. I merely shrugged at him then commented to Alphonzo, "So, you don't trust us, but you trust a traitor's lapdog?"
"Ouch…" Henza replied sarcastically as he proceeded to the exit where Snow had once attempted to leave through.
Alphonzo didn't say anything for a moment, but then finally replied, "Henza's on a tight leash. Be grateful all you have to do is sit like a good 'Black Dog' without one."
I clicked my tongue in response, and just like that, I felt like I was in court once again.
"Let me go with him," said Nash out of the blue.
Alphonzo raised a brow.
"On a scale of one to ten—and ten being absolutely-do-not-trust, where am I on that spectrum?" Nash asked. A very well thought-out question. Even I raised a brow at that in amusement.
One could not ask it without knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, the answer before you even dared ask that to the Vice Chairman of the Valley Parliament, lest you want your words turned against you.
"About a two… almost a one. In fact, I trust you much more now after that question alone," Alphonzo replied.
"Then it's settled. I was the one who turned him in after the incident, after all," Nash cleverly added. "Besides, you need someone to hold that leash while you stay in the Keep, do you not?"
I smirked and just let Nash do his thing, turning away and waving a hand at him afterward. He followed after Henza, waiting for him.
"I take it you finally remember who I am?" I heard Henza ask as they proceeded onward into the halls.
I didn't hear Nash's response, but I could only imagine he was playing it cool.
Alphonzo watched them leave, saying to me, "You have good comrades."
"Aye," was all I said, not stopping to small talk.
I could feel Alphonzo's crimson eyes studying me as I walked away.
And then suddenly, as odd as the timing was when Nash and Henza had left completely, I heard a cry in the room, "There's no fucking way… I was paying attention the whole time!"
I faced her with a tinge of confusion at her sudden outburst.
Like a frantic child with a tantrum, Viper shouted, "She vanished! Love fucking vanished!"