As everyone stood up, looking at the grand city above, everyone suddenly began glowing, and the light engulfed them again. One by one, they disappeared and were teleported away.
When Alfred landed safely on the ground, he opened his eyes and saw himself and the other participants in a vast arena.
The arena was surrounded by colossal golden columns, each topped with enormous torches burning with blue flames. Beside them, the seats were filled with hundreds of shape-like beings. Their bodies are made entirely with different shapes such as squares, circles, and triangles, and they came in a variety of colors including red, blue, yellow, and many more. You could also notice their small, jelly-like hands as they waved to the crowd below.
Nearly two minutes had passed since they were teleported into the arena, and the participants below observed the scene with fascination. Some raised their hands, waving to the crowd above, while others remained silent, waiting for something to happen.
After a few minutes of applause and cheering, a loud step echoed from the side of the arena, just above the crowd, in the podium covered with red and blue patterned curtains. Four giant humanoid lizards wearing plated armor stepped out from the curtain, each holding a black goat-like horn in their right hand. They lined up along the railing and blew the horns, producing a resonant melodic tone.
The crowd watched them with immense pride, falling silent as their attention focused entirely on the four lizards.
When the music stopped, the lizards moved to the sides, two on each flank. Then another lizard stepped forward from the curtain. Unlike the others, he wore a flowing white robe, adorned with intricate golden patterns, resembling that of a high priest. He walked to the center of the podium and faced the vast arena.
He raised his staff slightly and spoke.
"Citizens of Aetherhall!" Then he raised his voice. "Are you ready for the games to begin?"
For a brief moment, the arena went silent.
Then roaring began.
The crowd exploded with noise. Cheers echoed violently through the arena as the shape-like beings waved their jelly-like hands, jumping in their seats.
"Then to finally start this event—" He straightened.
"Let me call upon the one they call the eternal architect of all existence, the beginning and end of all things. The great and mighty creator, the one who judges all."
He paused. "May I call upon our King! Our ruler who has been with us since the beginning of time!"
"Lord Gaundfel!"
A long carpet rolled out from the podium as the curtains were pulled aside. The moment his name was spoken, the crowd erupted even louder than before. Fireworks burst into the sky above the arena, brighter and louder this time shaking the air.
Another holographic board appeared high above the arena, floating beside the fireworks. On it was a dark shadow, its form unclear, with only two glowing yellow eyes visible.
"Is that really Gaundfel?" one of the participants muttered. Alfred noticed his hands trembling in horror.
Some participants kept their heads raised, staring at Gaundfel on the screen, unable to look away.
Then the shadow, presumed to be the deity, spoke. "Dear Citizens of Aetherhall, today marks a momentous occasion. Today, we celebrate the 100th Annual Tournament, the day that will determine the fate of these young and determined champions and the universes they represent."
He paused, allowing the crowd's clapping and cheering to subside before continuing. "We have witnessed countless rises and countless falls, as tension has grown year by year, battle by battle. Heroes have been forged in fire, and legends have been shattered by fate. Since this is the 100th and final tournament, the battles, the challenges, and the stories will be greater than ever before. Are you ready, my Citizens?"
The crowd erupted in cheers again, their voices reverberating across the arena. Gaundfel raised his left hand, forcing the cheers to die down as an unseen pressure swept through the arena. The crowd fell silent, listening closely as he closed his eyes and said,"Then let the 100th Aetherhall Battle Tournament commence!"
"Seems fun," Alfred thought to himself as he looked around the cheerful arena, filled with echoing cheers and layered voices. But as he looked closer at the other participants beside him, he noticed the fear on their faces, terrified by what they were hearing. Alfred could only hide his smile, trying not to offend the others.
Gaundfel, on the other hand, noticed him right away. He smiled and spoke, "Now I know all of you are very familiar with how the games work, but as always, we have brand new talents partaking in the event. Therefore, it is only fair that we explain the rules of the tournament again, do you agree?"
The crowd erupted once more, raising their hands in approval. Some of them even cried, while the majority, squared shaped beings, began slapping their large bodies like drums, producing deep, rhythmic sounds that echoed through the arena.
"To begin, let us explain from the start." As Gaundfel said this, the board above updated, showing a white blank space at first. Then text began to appear, forming line by line in perfect sync with his words, as if the arena itself were displaying automatic subtitles for his speech.
"This tournament is being partaken by ten thousand participants," he announced, with two thousand twenty-nine players already eliminated so far.
"Disappointingly, five thousand universes have refused to join this last and final tournament."
"Unfortunate," Gaundfel added, smirking slightly as he glanced at the crowd.
The crowd erupted again, this time filled with laughter, as if the single word alone had amused them deeply.
"The tournament consists of ten games," Gaundfel continued. "For surprise purposes, of course, each game is currently hidden." He gestured upward as if emphasizing the uncertainty.
"Each round, a set of players will be eliminated, until… only one… champion… remains."
A brief pause followed, heavy with anticipation. "This champion will become the one hundredth champion of the arena."
"Now, you may ask, what about the universes who have not won since the beginning of the tournament?"
The crowd nodded in curiosity, murmurs spreading like ripples through the arena.
Gaundfel smiled wider and said, "Today's tournament is different, because the universe who wins this year will receive an additional one hundred points."
The crowd erupted again, but this time it was different. The participants themselves also burst into cheers, some shouting, others raising their weapons in excitement.
"Alfred, on the other hand, chose to listen closely instead, keeping a calm and focused expression amid the noise."
"Now, that we have already seen our young champions face the first round, KILLING SPREE, let us check the player kills ranking so we can finally determine what kind of potential and majestic killing instinct they possess."
The holographic board updated once more, revealing the top ten players with the highest number of kills:
Mysnous: 176
Artemis: 174
Fredric: 138
Kaelith: 115
Riven: 110
Suthan: 108
Howard: 102
Lyra: 97
Drexil: 95
Selene: 87
"Interesting… very interesting indeed."
Everyone in the crowd shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" in perfect synch, their voices echoing through the arena like wildfire.
"As you can see, Mysnous the Betelgeuse is currently holding the top spot of our first round. I mean, what did we expect from our previous champion, am I right? Not to mention having a proper seat in the Seven Star." Gaundfel laughed loudly, and the crowd seemed to follow him as well.
"But it seems we have some… rather amusing contestants here," Gaundfel muttered.
The board above swiped down, revealing the participants with the lowest scores:
Benjie: 0
Alfred: 0
Laughter erupted—not just from the crowd, but from the players as well. Even one of the lizards men standing to the right side of the podium chuckled.
Gaundfel's eyes narrowed as he caught the lizard laughing. He fixed him with a cold, piercing glare and raised his hand, forming a gun-like gesture with his finger.
BANG!
A sharp, thunderous sound echoed through the arena. The laughter instantly ceased.
The lizard who had just been laughing moments ago now collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony as green blood began to gush from his body.
"Now, shall we continue?" Gaundfel said, his lips curling into a wide, unsettling smile, completely disregarding the fallen lizard.
Gaundfel flicked his hand, and in an instant, Alfred and the other contestant, Benjie, were lifted and placed atop the podium.
Alfred then looked at Benjie and noticed the concern on his face, though it didn't quite match the situation they are in. As he glanced down, he saw Benjie's right leg, a large cut ran across it, with a few drops of blood seeping through his tight jeans, made it barely noticeable at first.
"Everyone, I present… the two losers!"
The crowd erupted into laughter once more, their cheers and jeers echoing across the arena as they watched the two contestants frozen in place on the podium.
Although slightly embarrassed, Alfred didn't let it bother him. "What matters now is me getting home," he muttered quietly to himself.
As he glanced to his side, he noticed the fallen lizard being dragged away by another, as its green blood still dripping on the floor, disappearing behind the red-and-blue curtains.
"Now, citizens… what should we do with them?" Gaundfel asked, his voice echoing across the arena.
Shouts rose from the crowd, each louder than the last. Some suggested punishing them, others demanded they be stripped of their clothes, and finally, one bold voice called out, "Make them fight each other!"
Gaundfel's lips curled into a dark, amused smirk when he heard the last suggestion. He flicked his hand again.
In an instant, all the players below vanished from the arena, disappearing without a trace. Then, with another sharp flick, Alfred and Benjie were teleported back to the arena, this time standing on opposite sides, as their eyes locked onto each other.
The crowd began murmuring among themselves. Some pulled out gold coins, exchanging them quickly, likely betting on the outcome of the battle.
A few seconds later, a weapon appeared on the ground in front of both players.
Alfred immediately bent down and grabbed it, holding it firmly in his hands.
Benjie, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment before slowly bending down to take his own weapon. But the moment he tried to stand, a sharp jolt of pain shot through his body.
"Aghh!" he shouted, stumbling slightly.
The crowd fell silent, their chatter dying down as they tried to understand what had just happened.
"Hey! Fight already!" a circle-shaped spectator yelled loudly from the stands.
"The other person's injured!" Alfred shouted back at the crowd.
"Then kill him already! You now have your chance!" another voice from the crowd shouted back.
"Yeah! Kill him already!" others echoed.
The arena erupted once more, the crowd exploding into savage cheers and impatient cries.
"No!"
That single word brought the crowd to a halt.
"Interesting… very interesting indeed," Gaundfel muttered as he watched the scene unfold.
"This is wrong," Alfred said firmly. "This isn't part of the tournament rule. Not to mention, this is Benjie's one and only chance to save his universe, and you expect him to lose from an unfair advantage? Where's the fairness in that?"
"You're acting like this is some kind of game that you can just bet on." He continued "But it's not. I've seen people die right in front of my eyes. This isn't about your entertainment—this is about the survival of our worlds."
With that, Alfred threw the sword to the ground, the sound of metal striking stone echoing through the silent arena. "I'm not killing him."
A few moments later, the crowd began laughing loudly again, clearly disregarding Alfred's defiance.
"Are you implying… that I should kill you both now instead?" Gaundfel replied. "You cannot proceed to the next round without killing someone. That is simply how my tournament works."
"Then how about this," Alfred said, looking up at the podium and pointing directly at Gaundfel. "First, I want you to return Benjie to his home universe. Send him back safely, exactly as he was before all of this. And if I get eliminated from this tournament, you can destroy both mine and Benjie's universes before the tournament even ends."
Alfred let out a short laugh before continuing. "You can even torture me for eternity for disobeying you."
"What?" Benjie asked in confusion.
Alfred smiled faintly. "But if I win the entire tournament, I want you to revive all the fallen players—and regret ever bothering all our universes in the first place. This means you won't destroy a single universe.
"What's more, if I win without killing a single person."
Gaundfel leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "The audacity… boy."
"Are you scared, asshole?"