The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

”Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you all have been entertained so far, right?” A lady, half-naked, judging by what she was wearing, shouted into a microphone as she hovered just a few inches off the ground.

All over the large Arena, thousands of people cheered like crazy.

They are all full of adrenaline now that the Blood Tournament has entered the quarter-finals. All battles in the quarter-finals and onward are always intense, so they are pumped.

Of course, a part of why they are all giddy is because of Klaus.

As a mortal, he had demonstrated great combat ability and extreme combat experience that not only gave him an advantage over his opponents but also made many people look forward to what he would do next.

He alone had become the face of this week’s Blood Tournament. They all want to see him in action yet again.

”I know you all are enjoying the shadow. I know I am. What we have seen so far is proof that the Blood Tournament is not dead... it rather keeps getting better every day.

I mean, who would have expected a Mortal who isn’t even at the Peak of the Empyrean stage to be this powerful?

I am thrilled. I know you are thrilled, too. In fact, everybody is thrilled to be here today. And we are all ready to see more bloodbaths.”

”Hell yeah. I want to see more blood.”

”Same here. I want to see that mortal kick ass and gut those hateful immortals.” Of course, the man who said this is also an immortal. However, years of crime had made him forget who he is.

But he wasn’t the only one hungry for blood.

A lot of immortals that at one point in time were monsters who dared to go against the gods had now become lowly spectators in a straight-up fucked-up bloodbath labelled as a tournament.

Of course, in the current modern universe, the number of Real Immortals and below is everywhere. They are like a useless bunch of immortals.

In this modern Era, only True Immortals are regarded as immortals. So it is perfectly understandable that Immortals who should be putting their lives to good use would gather to witness a massacre on a televised scale.

Back in the day, when a Void could open and spawn terrifying ancient beasts, even Early Immortals were regarded and respected more than anything.

In fact, during the Divine Era, when the gods decided to rule with an iron fist, it was immortals who stood up and said no, leading to a losing battle.

However, in the end, they rewrote the rules forever, liberating the universe from the gods’ suppression.

However, now, it seems the universe is much more peaceful thanks to the Heavenly Court and the other powerhouses, so people like this could fool around.

Their cheers filled the entire Arena, even spilling over into the city. The allure of seeing more bloodbath had intoxicated them to the point that their sense of purpose had become jumbled and tangled.

Hearing all their cheerful shouts and cheers, the lady smiled with them. After a while, she brought the mic to her mouth again and continued.

”We will see some blood for sure. After all, we have eight contestants left, and guess what, their battles start in less than 10 minutes.

Even our personal favourite, Blood Sword, is paired against the Chilling Queen herself.

However, before that, I have an announcement to make.” The lady pulled out a tablet and turned it on. An image appeared on it the next second.

She made a gesture with the hand holding the mic, and a hologram appeared in the air. It is a colossal skull, possibly from some powerful creature.

Just looking at the skull, Klaus estimated it to be at least 3,000,000 km wide. In fact, the socket of the skull is very large and extremely deep, filled with darkness.

They look like the maw of an abyss that threatens to swallow everything that comes near.

Klaus had never seen this before; however, he read the name, and, judging by everyone’s great enthusiasm, he could tell they were happy to see it.

”Hollow Skull Grave,” Klaus muttered, watching the hologram.

”As you all know, this is the Hollow Skull Grave, the biggest and greatest underworld Arena in all of the Dervas Star System. It used to be the head of an Underworld Wyvern that was chopped off by the Ice Sword Mistress 300,000 years ago.

Of course, we all know that. We also know that every 3000 years, the Underworld Slaughter Tournament takes place there, where a champion from all underworld organisations below the rank of an Immortal King is sent to compete.

The next tournament is just 14 months away, and it is going to be a blast,” she paused to let people get acquainted with what she had said.

After a minute, she continued... ”Guess what, the Black Tempest Cartel has qualified to participate this time around. This means, in 14 months, our very own Cartel will send a rep who will be escorted personally by the leader of the Black Tempest Cartel - Lord Varkos.”

Cheers rang out once more.

To the delinquents of society, this league that always resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of their fellow criminals sounded like a fun thing to them.

Whenever the Underworld Slaughter Tournament takes place, the entire underworld flips upside down. It is a cruel trial that shakes every corner of the underworld.

One gets to witness the cruelty of the criminals who are selected to participate. In fact, in this tournament, all bets are off. At the end of the day, they want to see blood and blood and blood and more blood.

Hundreds of thousands will enter, and only three will walk out alive. Those three will become the newest Champions of the Dervas Underworld Organisation.

It is a trial of blood and metal, one that will shake the whole star system.

”I know you are wondering why I am announcing this now when I could have waited for the finals. Well, the reason is simple.

I was told to make this announcement since this will be the last Blood Tournament until after the Underworld Slaughter Tournament.”

Shouts rang out in the crowd as many started asking question after question.

”Relax, everyone. I know you have questions, but know this order came from the big boss.

In 4 months, another blood tournament will be held, with the winners of the last 128 blood tournaments competing for the chance to represent the Black Tempest Cartel in the Underworld Slaughter Tournament.

Details will be announced later, but know this: 4 months from now, we all will meet here to witness a massacre unlike one we have seen before.

This also means whoever wins this week’s Blood Tournament will be the 128th member to join that exciting battle and get to ride with the big boss himself.

Of course, participating in the Underworld Slaughter Tournament is good exposure, but who wouldn’t want to have the honour of riding in the same ship with the big boss?”

She smiled slightly, ”That will be all. Now, let’s start the quarter-finals.”

Cheers filled the Arena yet again.