Chapter 124 - Unexpected Spectators

"Hey, Arthur, can you put in a good word for me with your uncle? I've been trying to get my hands on the first Vision of Shadewalker sequence, but it is impossible to get in touch with Nightshades directly."

Arthur weighed his words for a while before replying, "Hmm, I can try, but there's no guarantee my uncle would bother tapping into his network for outsiders."

"Hey, man, just try, okay? I am slowing down my team a bit too much right now. Worse, I am assigned to the same team as Victoria. She's outperforming me in every department. Dad's not happy that a new family like hers' can produce someone as talented as Victoria—"

Arthur suddenly gripped Gareth's shoulder and gave him a menacing look before light footsteps approached them.

A girl almost as tall as Arthur himself, clad in tight black leather and red velvet inners, walked towards them, knives floating all around her. Arthur's face quickly turned all smiles and he greeted her first, "Hey, Victoria."

Gareth cowered for a bit, but Arthur pushed him, and the man turned around, greeting her with a sheepish smile. She smiled back at both of them—her way of acknowledgment probably, but didn't stop and walked past them, the black cape with golden etchings of an eye fluttering behind her.

Gareth was happy to see her go, but Arthur wasn't about to squander another opportunity to network with this powerful girl. Not just that, she was also a member of the new nobility. The ones that filled in the vacancies created by those who were eradicated by the anomalies of Duskfall.

So he tugged at Gareth and tried to match her stride while keeping away from those knives before speaking, "Are you heading out for another mission?"

She shook her head slightly before replying in a clear voice, "The Kingsmen candidates are about to go against each other."

Arthur almost stopped in his tracks before realizing what she meant. He recalled that conversation between Vern and Lucian. They were going to fight, weren't they?

He hadn't seen them for a while, so he assumed they were too busy with their training or something. But this? An excited gleam flashed through his eyes as his steps quickened, and he quickly inquired, "How do you know? Also, where are they fighting and when?"

"Next to the central garden in a few minutes."

Hmm, she completely ignored the first part of my question. Well, it didn't matter for now. However, it was an odd choice for a fighting arena. Why not just fight indoors? The former royal palace even had a dueling arena.

His mind whirled, and he tried to figure out how to turn this into an opportunity for himself. Everything was an opportunity if one was willing to put in the work. So he unveiled his perception, and hundreds of light streams flowed around him like wind.

Hmm, there's indeed a congregation around the central garden. It wasn't much, but who cared? He stopped wasting time and turned to Gareth, "Quickly spread the news around! The sole wielder of both Old Blood and Subjectivity is about to showcase his combat prowess. Tell them to spread it further."

Gareth stopped in place, and it soon dawned on him. He gasped and spoke out in protest, "But I don't wanna miss it! Can't I just join you guys?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes, "I was thinking about meeting my uncle tomorrow…"

Gareth shut up and gritted his teeth before turning around and sprinting away, vigil's cape billowing behind him.

Arthur continued to think about how to get more people to watch this so he could gauge their reactions and understand their stance on mixing these two power systems.

Suddenly, Victoria interrupted him, "Hmm, you didn't say anything about the other fighter. Is he not good?"

Arthur liked this question. It told him that she didn't know Vern or Lucian personally. Not letting any of that show on his face, he expressed his genuine opinions, "Hmm, I wouldn't say that. The man's cleansed a second shade polluted abomination all by himself."

Victoria gasped, her thin lips parting to say something but didn't. Soon, her pretty eyebrows scrunched together, "How…did he? Is he a latent Observer? Or was the tainted monster he fought a very weak second shade?"

Yeah, she knew nothing about Vern. Arthur shook his head, "You see, this is why I didn't ask Gareth to advertise the fight with that information. It's people's first instinct to assume that he was cheating or didn't defeat the monster on his own merit."

Her knives became a little unstable, and she demanded, "Did he?"

Arthur smirked. She seemed competitive. He spilled the beans to get her invested and glean more about her by association, "Well, the guy has no sense for normal. What he did was outright madness. The subjectivity pollutant he fought was sapient enough to escape in dire circumstances, resourceful enough to infect and assimilate civilians and powerful enough to have its own domain."

Victoria gasped, holding her hand in front of her mouth. She walked on without giving leeway to anyone in her path from her knives like she usually did, "A domain? You mean it was strong enough to assert its own viewpoint out in the real world!?"

Arthur remembered all her inclinations and nodded sharply, "And that's not even all. He fought the monster alone, in its own realm, because it only preyed on the weak and escaped every time his team's captain was around. Also, remember that we're talking about someone who shaded their perception literally two weeks ago."

She caressed one of her knives in stunned silence, and Arthur didn't pause, "I thought I did well clearing that tunnel alone, but this guy didn't just fight the monstrosity; he took on tens of its puppets too and came out victorious."

Arthur was skeptical when his friend in the resource allocation department shared tidbits from that mission's report. So, he had someone verify the information with the civilians involved. Their accounts painted the guy as achieving far more than the reports suggested.

Definitely someone to befriend. He had intended to reach out to him since then, but the guy was cooped up in that training hall like the world was about to end for real this time.

Victoria didn't say much, and Arthur let the gravity of those words sink in. That alone told him about her personality. Soon, they reached the balcony with a clear view of the central garden, and in but a few minutes, many more came sprinting from all around.

Seems like Gareth filled in the ears of the right people.

First, it was just the ones he knew, but maybe noticing the commotion, more observers joined in. Even the sightless servants stopped their work, trying to figure out what was going on.

Victoria ended up storing her knives in the pouch as the balcony began to crowd. Some people appeared on the opposite tower, while noises came from above them, too.

A dozen looked down from the walkways high above the garden while windows of the rooms in the central tower opened up in droves.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

As the name suggested, the central garden was an open garden surrounded from all sides by the towers of this former royal palace, linking outer halls with all these sections of castle under open skies—almost.

Almost because architects liked to complicate things. There were also walkways high in the air, connecting these towers, allowing one to cross without ever touching the ground.

Beneath these bridges, it was a clearing as large as some minor noble's manor. Though no one tended to it anymore—there weren't enough people around to do chores like that. Also, winters weren't great for gardens anyway.

Tap Tap Tap

That's when a familiar noise came, and Arthur's perception became a mess. Wait. No!

"What's up, kiddos!" Resonated a voice, and Arthur shuddered. Damn, why is he here!? "Come on, make some space for this distinguished gentleman."

Tap Tap Tap

"Hey, be careful with your drink. That cane's worth three of you."

Arthur tried to slip away, but— Tap — and a hand wrapped around his shoulder. "Wait! Aren't you the friend of that little twat who ran away from his first mission?"

Arthur bit on his tongue and stood rooted on the spot. When everyone turned to look at him, he sighed, "Indeed, young master Finnese, though I must let you know that Captain Akira has forgiven him since then, and he's doing his best to repent."

Well, that guy wasn't really his friend, but he couldn't say that in front of so many people now, could he? And why was Ambrose like this? It was impossible to figure out this man. This is why Arthur liked keeping his distance from him.

He was stuck now.

"Ehh, whatever, then. Tell me, kiddos, what's all this commotion about?"

Some girl from the crowd chimed in before Arthur could speak, "Young master, it's the Kingsmen candidates fighting each other." Ambrose continued looking at his nails with a bored expression at that sentence.

But then a short guy in a terrible outfit interrupted, "Hey, only one of them is a candidate now. Mister Lucian has already subjugated the first infusion of Old Blood. But the other guy? Hmph. I heard he's too scared."

Ambrose started filing his nails with the flat of the segments of his cane and spoke in the dullest voice in all Elmhurst, "Lucian, who?"

However, Arthur suddenly remembered some information. Weren't Vern and Ambrose together during that explosion in Starfall Heights and the following scandal including Asea's church?

So he found a moment when the crowd was distracted and whispered, "The other fighter is Vern."

Ambrose, who was berating others, pointing his cane at them, suddenly stopped and looked back at Arthur, the grip on his shoulder tightening.

Arthur understood the question in that gaze and nodded.

As if he'd unleashed a plague, a devious smile appeared on Ambrose's face.

"Ladies and Gentleman" TAP! That simple hit of his cane broke the flooring but also shut up the heating crowd. Then, Ambrose smiled a sincere one and shouted, "How about we place bets on who's going to win today."

The crowd seemed amenable to the idea, but Arthur could see they were skeptical. That's when Ambrose pulled out one note from his pocket, and everyone's eyes lit up, "I feel adventurous today. So, I will bet this Regalia against the Kingsman guy for the sake of it."

Wahhh

The crowd erupted in murmurs, and Arthur sucked in a deep breath. That was equivalent to a hundred sovereigns—the greatest denomination signed by the emperor. Not just that, Ambrose was sneaky about it, too, acting like he was being reckless with the bet.

Arthur took this chance to slip away from the madman's grasp and backed away from the crowd, focusing on everyone's choices. He wasn't going to take part in the bet himself, or how would he remain neutral otherwise?

"Hah, I hope you take no offense, young master." Came out an effeminate man with a regalia of his own. "If you really don't like it, I'll have to take that money from you."

Hmm, that's Simon from the Dexter family. It seems like he's sour towards Finesse in general. Which made sense, given that both these families followed the same shade sequence but had very different interpretations of it. Leading to a natural rivalry between them. However, the consensus among the nobles was that Finesse were simply superior.

"Hah, would you good sirs, mind if I joined in on the bet, too?"

"Yes, me too! Me too! I'll bet on whatever Master Ambrose does."

"Heh, no, kid. Rhythm guides me alone. Don't follow me, flow against me. Bet on the other guy, I win more that way."

.

.

.

After a while, Victoria suddenly looked up.

Tiny snowflakes that missed the bridges above filtered down into the garden. In this chilly ambiance appeared a figure at the far end of this graveyard of flowers.

A shout erupted from behind her, "Hey, look. Someone's coming. It's about to start!" The crowd surged forward, each person vying for a better view. Victoria cast a sidelong glance, and the man directly behind her backed away.

The figure approaching from the distance was striking. Tall and lean, but not thin. Sharp eyes and handsome face, but not weak. An imposing gait and excellent posture, but not overly so.

An eerie sense of correctness assailed her as she looked at the man, and others around her quietened down, too.

Victoria scrutinized him, trying to figure out what was so unique about him. Lucian was powerful because he infused the old blood, but what about him? A lost shade sequence? A terrifying perceptual artifact? Some illogical vision?

That high collar hid his face, but with that outfit and the sword on his back, he seemed more menacing and mysterious than even the highest of the Kingsmen.

His long strides quickly landed him smack in the middle of the garden, where he stood all alone, exuding a confidence that made even Victoria feel small.

The crowd around her seemed to match his ebb and flow, as some even switched their bets after simply looking at him for a few seconds.

However, that's when a booming sound came from somewhere high up, "Oi Vern."

The handsome guy on the ground looked up, and everyone followed the voice to the source, only to see a shadow standing on the eave of a connecting walkway high up, a broken hilt in its hand.

The crowd suddenly started pointing and murmuring, but the shadow did something disturbing the next moment.

It spoke, "I didn't expect this many spectators…" and jumped.

Woahh! the crowd gathered all around the garden shouted in unison, some even cursing the man's stupidity. However, Victoria wasn't lost enough to not know what was going to happen.

Whirrrr A gleaming string released out of the man's gear on his waist and deftly latched on to some structures down the way.

Landing on one of the lower walkways—albeit roughly, the shadow became clear. It was a blonde-haired guy in an ominous armor. Its plates were layered like the scales of some ancient, dark leviathan, each segment interlocking to provide formidable protection.

That has to be Lucian, right?

Suddenly, a guy beside her chuckled, "Hah, look guys, he's not wearing that terrible outfit today?"

Victoria frowned but ignored the remark as the crowd around her continued to go wild, when suddenly Lucian said, "Tell me, Vern…" he jumped down to another eave on the third floor.

"Are," Another descent with a jump.

"You," Another rush through the air.

With a Thump, he landed on the roof of the first floor of the central tower and pointed his hilt towards Vern, shouting with a wide grin, "READY!?"

And as if to match the ferocity of his challenge, the broken hilt flared with a purple light. Like a ghost materializing into reality, a massive blade emerged out of nothingness, aimed at the tall figure on the ground.

"Oh, my lord! How can someone even wield that massive sword?"

"Hahaha!! What did I tell you all? Mister Lucian will win this one. What does it matter if the other guy seems calm and composed? Do you think he can win against someone with the strength of a Kingsman and Visions of an Observer with just calmness? Heh."

"Lucian can just go airborne, but this guy will always be stuck on the ground. Haha, what a loser."

Many others quickly chimed in, echoing this opinion, and the participation in the bet became more ferocious. However, this really made her wonder. Who will win? Both of them had solid reasons as to why they should be able to beat the other. But only one can win.

She had no clue, honestly.

Whirrr

Suddenly, more reeling sounds echoed around them, and two shadows appeared high up on the walkways. The crowd went further wild.

"Hey! It's official. It's official. Those are the best Kingsmen in the city up there. If they're here, we can't back out from the bets later, okay?"

"Right. Right. This is going to be good."

"Haha, I don't know. Seems like Lucian will end this in just a few seconds."

Victoria looked up and saw it was indeed Lady Amelia and Sir Osric. Vern is her disciple, right?

Shaking her head, she ignored all the mundane talking behind her and geared herself for the upcoming fight. These were her peers—her competition. This was her chance to analyze their strengths and possibly learn something new. It wasn't some mindless entertainment for her.

Everything was ready. The participants were here. The spectators were here. And the judges were also here. The air quickly became charged with passion as people began cheering for their pick.

Amidst this electric atmosphere, snowflakes danced wildly around Vern, yet mysteriously, none dared touch him. However, In a move that caught everyone off guard, he chose not to draw his sword and just pulled at his gloves.

With a confident smile, Vern extended his hand toward Lucian, who had his massive sword pointed at Vern, and beckoned him.

"As ready as you'll never be."