August 7th, 1872 (3 Days before the brawl)

"I just want to see my brother," said Senshi. He was granted a lounge area to sit in with other prisoners who were awarded it out of good behavior or participation in the brawl. Senshi was talking to a guard placed right outside the lounge area entrance, ensuring to keep watch of any suspicious activity. Granted, it is a pretty furniture area with many objects that can be used as weapons.

"Sorry, your brother is currently undergoing his yearly test. He'll be available to talk to you again the day before the brawl. In the meantime, please focus on yourself." Responded the guard. His look, direction, and eyes never left their position.

"That's my brother, though. You don't get it. I have to protect him," yelled Senshi, quieting a loud room.

"Let the guy talk to his bro," shouted a lady chewing gum as she walked from where she was sitting toward Senshi and the guard. She had short yellow hair and rare green eyes, even without being an Aestari. Along with the other six prisoners in the room, she wore the normal white shirt and jeans. Senshi looked at her in shock, surprised she actually cared for what he was trying to get.

"If I had a little brother, I'd want to see him too.". She said, blowing a bubble with her gum.

Still in shock, Senshi slowly turned his head towards the guard. "Y-yeah. What she said."

The guard sighed and gripped his rifle even harder than he did before.

"I'm sorry, but as much as I wish I could, I am not allowed to interfere with testing," the guard replied, staying in his same still position.

"You'll be fine; just hang out with us. Are you participating in the brawl?" she asked, twirling her hair.

Senshi immediately looked to the side, answering quietly. "Yeah, I am."

"Great, we all are. What's your name?" She questioned, staring directly into his eyes.

"Why do I feel… Weird inside? No, I can't be attracted to her… Right? I have a mission: to escape and be free from this place. I can't form any relationships; I mean, come on, I'm going to be slaughtering these people!"

"Why are you trying to make friends with me? We'll fight each other in a few days," Senshi answered.

"What, I can't be polite anymore? My name is Cindy. It was supposed to be Candy, but my parents changed it, I guess." She added. "What are you here for? You look pretty scrawny, and you don't seem like you'd commit any major crimes."

Senshi's facial expression dropped, he moved his eyes towards her and responded.

"I'm here because of my family." He said, slowly placing his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, wait. You're one of the special clan members, huh?" Cindy said before waving her hands toward the guys talking behind them. Two others came towards them to join the conversation.

"You don't think you'll have some advantage, right?" Cindy said, her hands folded.

"Are you trying to intimidate me with your big bodyguards?" Senshi said, sizing up both of the men behind her.

"Yeah. I wanted to be nice, but you scolded me for it. You look pretty scrawny. We'll make sure to target you," Cindy said before turning her back and walking towards the sofas near the bookshelves. The two men stared at him down for a few seconds before backing off and walking in the same direction.

"They're lucky I didn't kill them right then and there. I couldn't've because they'd probably remove me from the brawl."

Senshi stood near the guard, before walking towards another seat towards the right side of the room.

"Make Way!" said a loud voice from down the hallway. All of the prisoners halted their speech before looking towards the entrance. A man with luscious yellow hair and a black cape over a white shirt walked into the room, a katana sheathed on his side and two knights behind him. The entire room fell to their knees and kneeled before him, knowing his royalty and power.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I'm looking for..." Percival said before pausing to check the papers that one of his guards held for him.

"Ah, Yes! Senshi!"

Senshi looked around the room and pointed to his chest.

"You're looking for… me?" Senshi asked, confused as ever.

"Yes, I am!.. Why aren't you kneeling?" Percival asked.

Senshi looked around and saw everyone in the room kneeling, puzzled. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Oh? Heh, you've got some nerve. I want to speak with you. Privately."

***

"So, you broke the ball?" Percival asked, standing in front of Senshi, sitting atop his bed.

"Oh, yeah. I squeezed it, and it broke immediately."

"Do you understand how strong that ball is? The average human or even Aestari couldn't even break it." Percival added, fidgeting with his enormous amounts of jewelry.

"Yeah, I knew it was pretty cool. Why did you want me?" Senshi questioned before putting both hands in his pockets and blowing air off.

"You realize I am the Prince of Scredmore. You should keep your mouth shut and be patient. I can free you right now if I really want to," Percival grunted.

Senshi's eyes lit up massively, and he fixed his posture, awaiting Percival's continuation.

"Good, now. Do you have any combat experience?" Percival wondered, a smirk appearing on his face.

"No, not really. The only time I've experienced combat was when I practiced with my dad before his death." Senshi responded before losing the excitement in his face.

"Oh, I'm truly sorry you had to go through that; it must be very tough!"

"Yeah, right. Someone at your place in power wouldn't care at all for what a dirty prisoner like me would have to say. All of the staff here act like they're sad about what happened; the people of their same rank killed my parents, and they watched. They watched their death with exquisite food."

Senshi sat quietly without response.

"Now look, I'm going to offer you a deal. I've bet a lot of money on you, so I want you to win. Take this." Percival said before grabbing a blade from his pocket.

"You'll win; nobody else will be given weapons except for items thrown by the crowd."

"People are going to be watching us? A crowd?" Senshi questioned, his eyes widening.

"Yes, it's all for their enjoyment! But you'll be the highlight of the show. Just imagine it!" Percival shouted before standing up and moving around the room, doing visionary symbols with his hands.

"Just imagine it: You become a Scredmore celebrity, you get my thanks and even the King! And most of all, you'll be freed from prison!" Percival said excitedly.

"Wasn't the king the one that ordered the death of my parents?" Senshi said, staring down Percival.

Percival frowned before sighing.

"It's not what you think; some things just have to happen for a reason."

Senshi balled his fist up, his eyes dead set on Percival.

"Let's not get violent, now. I can kill you before you notice it. I'm a trained swordsman, you know. When you get out of prison, I'll show you around Scredmore. You've missed a lot." Percival continued, before leading his way to the door of the room.

Before walking out, Percival stopped in his tracks.

"I'm rooting for you, my friend." He said, walking out of the room. "God, get this disgusting dirt off of me." He mumbled. The door shut, leaving Senshi with a blade on his sheets.

Immediately after they left, Senshi tore the room apart, destroying cabinet after cabinet and punching it. His immense strength showed itself in every punch.

"I don't need your stupid knife; I'll win using my bare hands," Senshi said, holding the knife and his hand and gripping it. Blood poured from his palms before the knife cracked.

***

August 9th, 1872 (1 Day before the brawl)

"Your brother is here, " said the guard. Senshi was punished for tarnishing his room, so he was not allowed to leave until the brawl.

"You weren't supposed to be able to see him, but Prince Percival made the order." Added the guard before closing the door behind him. Nale walked in slowly, his hair cut to bald.

"What did they do to your hair, Nale?" Senshi shouted, jumping out of his bed to hug his brother and taking a look at his head.

"They cut it off. I scored badly, " Nale said, holding his hands together in fear.

"That's good; maybe they were being light on you. It's way worse as you get older. That's why you have to make sure you study. Was the test on Social Basics?" Senshi replied.

"Yes, it was. I scored a Thirty-nine out of One hundred." Nale whined, tearing up. Senshi wiped the tears off of his face.

"Don't cry, Nale. A lot happened these past few days, but I want to tell you. I'm going to get us out of here." Senshi reassured Nale.

"What do you mean?" Nale responded, his face lighting up.

"I'm going to be playing a game with some people. Once it's over, I'm getting out. I'm going to come back for you before they can do anything bad. Got that? I made a promise to Mom and Dad that we'll be free one day; this is me fulfilling it," Senshi said, holding his brother on his knees.

Nale hugged Senshi, crying tears of joy.

"I believe in you, brother! I don't wanna be here anymore; I hate it!" Nale shouted, holding onto Senshi.

"Yeah, I hate it too."

***

"I hope everyone enjoys the meal; I cooked it myself!" Said Talia, raising her glass of whiskey in a crowd of Nobles.

The room was full of rich and powerful people. It was a large ballroom on the 2nd floor of the Royal Family's castle. On a large round table in the center of the room, many plates of food sat atop. The room had the scent of many tasty treats, such as Steak, Turkey, Salad, Pumpkin Pie, and more.

The majority of the nobles were speaking about the tournament in the morning. Many talked about Cindy's combat prowess, Mark's large frame, and even Senshi.

"I mean, have you seen Senshi? He looks like a little twig. I'm sure he'll get ravaged when that Beast enters the ring," Said The Warden.

"We've never seen someone survive against a Nocturnal, right? Ever since we started this entire thing." Said a noble within the crowd.

"You guys have yet to see what Senshi can do! I felt some fear when I saw him look at me. His eyes glow. Because he's an Aestari." Said Percival.