The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 543 : LET THE TOURNAMENT BEGIN!

“Are you saying that we are all the disciples of some supreme being from some other timeline who came back in time? And she was the one who built this entire Tournament and that the Player Council is just an organisation she created before hiding her presence a 1000 years ago?” Solara asked. If not for the dungeon throwing her here with those guys, she would not have imagined, not even in her wildest dreams, that something like another timeline existed.

“Yes!” Malcolm repeated. When he first came here, he was excited about having to explain things to those girls, but now he was regretting taking that role. Glancing at Lily, who seemed to be looking down at the other balconies as if waiting for something or someone… He clenched his fist. This chick had never looked at him, not in their past life when she was his nominal fiancée and not now. Still, he would show her! “Being able to enter this balcony is the biggest proof!”

“Excuse my words… but this sounds like Bullshit!” Solara said as she looked toward one of the balconies downstairs where her father was asking where she was. The ones here could see everything that was happening below, but the ones below had no way to see the ones here!

“Believe it or not… You will see later!” Malcolm shrugged.

“Then, let’s just say what you said was all true… Your story has many holes, like… What if that ‘Oblivion lord’ guy who told you about the current situation was lying?”

“Oh, I guess you would say that since you don’t remember Her Highness… “ Malcolm sighed as he looked down toward the colosseum where two brave men, one from the Von Weise family and another from the Von Zwei, were at a standoff. “Mistress trusted no one…”

“Meaning?” Zoe, who also had this question, asked.

“Mistress always makes her followers give up a part of their souls… That’s how she arranged for us to be reborn, even though most of you guys died early back then!” Malcilm said, making Lily consider kicking his butt for once. They died protecting her highness, while he was being pampered at the palace.

“Oblivion lord or not, he has sworn an oath, and is technically in her Highness’s chain of command!” Mona clarified. “Right?” She turned to Malcolm.

“Exactly! The three lords have been granted 3rd-rank officers in the imperial Court… So technically, while we the ‘Disciples’ can’t order them around, they can’t lie to us!” Malcolm said. “You will remember all of this once you regain your memories… And once you meet them after the tournament is over and the towers open, everything will become clear, then we…” Malcolm paused as the space rippled, and some newcomers entered the balcony, making everyone turn to look.

It was not one person but two this time!

“Where is this? What is going on here?” The first to speak was none other than Valerie von Goldstadt, who was looking around. Didn’t she just walk in with Prince Caspian? Why were they separated? Did it have something to do with that choice she made at the gate?

“Just sit and watch; everything will become clear in a moment!” The one who replied was the girl behind her who walked forward and also inspected the room. “I have to say, I didn’t expect that all of you are here… Liliara, Zoe, Kuura, Monark and… Solara! ” she said, totally ignoring Malcolm for some reason.

“Harper… you regained your memories too?” Lily asked in surprise. Harper was one of the few who hated Malcolm in their past life, and her actions now, treating him like he didn’t exist, were proof that she remembered.

“More or less…” Harper replied as Vallery felt a bit lost, but no one cared to explain.

”When?” Mona asked.

“Less than a month ago... That sneaky elder in the Heavenly sect tried to take away my body to give it to that shitty disciple of his… Thanks to the glass sarcophagus, I managed to regain my memories in time and destroy that filthy Iliad guy’s soul; I just had to act as if it succeeded for now…” she said, wondering how her naive self could ever fall for a guy like that. “ Wait…Do you have anything to do with that Iliad Queen guy?” she directly asked Mona as she noticed the latterʼs weird expression.

“Yeah… I was the one who destroyed his body… He was after Zoe here, so I had to teach him his place…” Mona said, making Malcolm straighten his posture for some reason.

“He deserved it…” Harper spat.

“Did he manage to alert his master?” Mona asked worriedly about me. If her looks were to be reported, her sisters might get into danger. She didn’t take this into consideration back then as she was still in the process of digesting her memories.

“Not enough information… The soul was too damaged, so they delayed the interrogation until the rebirth was over… ” Harper explained as the other girls looked at her, as she walked and threw herself at the couch. “That elder only knows that the culprit was a redhead with a sword and that she cut away his little brother…” she chuckled. ”This was good for me, as once I took over, I kept an act of me losing many memories due to that damage, so it should be safe!” she said as Valerie opened her mouth in shock. She naturally knew Iliad, who tried to hit on her in the past. Thankfully, she had eyes on her head, and knew that no man was a match for his highness prince Caspian!

“Good…. Then let me ask you a more important question…” Ignoring Valleeʼs reaction, Harper, who could now tell who those were who regained their memories and those who didn’t from the way she looked around, said. “Ana… Did someone from your family cause the mess outside, or was it you, Liliara?” she asked, turning to Ana and Lily. Only two people were this crazy.

Malcolm looked around. “What mess?” he asked.

“The floor at the gate outside is covered by a layer of blood that can only be one of 9 known skills… “ Harper said as Valery nodded. The mess outside caused the elders from the Heavenly Sect to go on high alert, especially as no one from the Players Council headquarters replied to their calls to report the incident here.

It was clear that something big was happening, but still… They were still insisting on entering this place, as according to them, this Tournament was their highest priority for now!

Hearing her, Ana shook her head.

“...” Lily frowned. That Zer Von Trie is definitely planning some sort of revenge. “Are you sure it was not your grandfather?” she asked.

Ana nodded. When she entered, that guy at the gate did try to make trouble with her grandfather, but Zer used an artifact to freeze those guardsʼ movements before guiding her, Yulian, and a few youths to enter.

“Wasnʼt he planning revenge for his clan’s downfall today?” Lily asked again, pushing further.

Ana swallowed, not sure how to answer. This was a secret plan.

“Oh … There was such a thing!” Harper exclaimed. “This would be a good show!” she smirked. As someone who got to spend some time in the Heavenly Sect, she used her time to dig up a few reports about the past events. Like Malcolm, she also needed to learn about this timeline.

“WAIT… WAIT... WHAT REVENGE?” Feeling something very wrong was going to happen here, Vallery quickly asked while secretly trying to contact the Sect. Sadly, the connection talisman was not working.

“You will see…” Harper said as she relaxed in her seat. “A couple of hundred years ago, Ana’s family was erased during the chaos in the imperial capital… There are many suspects, but if I am not wrong, most of them are here…”

“What imperial capital…?” Valery asked.

“You will know later…” Malcolm interrupted. “Who are the suspects?” he asked. He had heard from the Oblivion lord about that incident, but he was not sure of the details.

“Three… First the Von Zwei family… In the reports, those guys are sketchy!” Harper replied, ”Secondly, the player console. It must have been an established master a 1000 years ago to oversee her operation and hide the playerʼs existence…. Right?” she asked.

“Yes…” Maclom nodded.

“After the Capital incident, they just grew too powerful, very unlike their mission, so I suspect some supreme demon might have taken control there!” she said. From the things she read, the falling of the empire and the rise of the player council all made her feel one thing. A demon was behind all of this… and if her guts were right, it should be either the Midnight demon or the Twilight demon. Those two were the most scheming.

“Who is the third suspect?” Lily was the one who asked.

“The third would be the Dark Chamber,” Harper replied. “Remnants from the Von Eines family; they might also be behind this… According to the heavenly sect’s data, they held a grudge against the Von Trie back then and had been operating out of the Ruins for the last few years…”

“Oh!”

“Then the blood outside….”

“We can’t…”

“It is a third party…” The one who replied was Lily. “They are here for revenge too!” she said, pointing downstairs toward one of the balconies, where a few grandmas sat with three youths that she didn’t recognize. From their stats, though, those three must be here for trouble…

“The Von Ricther!” Malcolm’s eyes contracted as he recognized them from the data.

“Yup,” Lily replied.

This tournament is going to be total chaos… No wonder no one wanted to talk about it in Victor’s timeline! Who knows what happened there! Too bad she couldn’t enter this place as a crow back then…

Sighing, she turned to the other side, secretly smiling as she saw a familiar face walking arrogantly, followed by a loli in a mask. Wait… Why was he this pale? What’s wrong with his soul… Why all this damage? She knew that he had split it before, but it shouldn’t be like this… What was going on with him?

Clenching the pendant on her chest below her robes, she knew that she must go see him, but it was not time for that yet!

***

“Where is Alice?” Mike asked as he looked down from his seat toward the huge arena floating in midair below. First toward the auditorium surrounding it, then toward the balconies of different colors floating in midair all around, only connected by the corridors connecting them to the entrance way below.

Some were empty while most were occupied by other families and minor powers. Sadly, each was surrounded by a haze that made it impossible to check its occupants.

“She should be here somewhere; don’t worry, she is a seeded player from the Heavenly sect, so you wouldn’t have to face her unless you want to!” Ann, who sat at the center of the purple balcony surrounded by the von Weise family players, said.

“She should be on one of the balconies, right?” he asked.

“Yes, the seven Oligarcs, the three sects, and the player Council each get a balcony by using their special token; the rest of the powers would have to take a seat on the arena below!” It was Theodore who explained, looking up. There were 13 balconies above, so he didn’t know which were empty and which were occupied. He was just curious about that golden one high above; who was that for?

“Did Zoe appear yet?” Ann suddenly asked.

“No, Madam!” Falcon, who stood beside her, replied, keeping his head down. Didn’t Zoe say she was on the way? Why didn’t she arrive on time? Now her Seeded Player position is gone, but if she doesn’t arrive before the tournament starts, she would lose the chance to compete at all!

“You should kick that Lass out of the family!” Bruce, one of the two family elders who came with Ann here, said as he combed his white beard with his hand. “She is as rebellious as her mother…”

“YOU…” Falcon spat, wanting to say something, but Theodore, who sat beside him, held his hand.

“Me? What?” Bruce asked in a challenge.

“ENOUGH… Rita here will take Zoe’s position for this tournament; we will talk about a suitable punishment for that girl later!” Ann said. “At least we have to give her a chance to defend herself!”

“Understood…” Bruce sighed as he looked at his watch, “It is about to start…”

As he spoke, all the family members focused on the timer in the corner of their vision.

***

“Where the hell did Solara go?” a fat man asked in a hurry as she looked at the disciples of his family.

“Patarch… We don’t know… I saw her enter the gate with us, but she never appeared in the reception hall…”

“Damn it! That impure bitch better not do anything funny! If not for her power, I would have long fed her to the dogs!”

***

“Where is Vallerie…” In another gilded balcony, a thin woman asked.

“Harper is missing too…” an elder with a hooked nose said as she looked around.

Hearing them, Serina frowned a bit, but said nothing, glancing at her disciple, Alice, who was nervously looking around the balconies.

“Did they enter the gate?” the Heavenly Sect’s patriarch, Silver, asked.

“Yes, master…” a butler, standing to his side with a tray full of delicacies, replied.

“I see… They might get implicated in something… That bitch’s setting is always bizarre and unpredictable… Who knows, she might have predicted the current situation!” Silver said coldly; he never cared about a few bitches. “Caspian, be careful…” he turned to his son and said.

“Yes, father…” Frowning, Caspian nodded as he looked at the countdown. Ever since entering here, he felt that something was very wrong. His demonic instinct was telling him to leave, but… He couldn’t! Damn it… What the hell would happen here?

****

“Where is Lily?” Aarak asked as he looked around the Von Krone balcony.

“No idea, master; she disappeared as soon as she entered the gate!” a female servant, one of his many death warriors, said.

“...”

“....”

“Whatever, I will grill her when we finish with this… “ he said as he eyed the timer. “Kalt, Perez, Varom… I will be counting on you!” he said to three youths who sat beside him.

“YES!” all three replied simultaneously.

***

“ANA! ANASTAIA!” Yulian, who wore a white mask, yelled out from the balcony; sadly, his voice seemed to have vanished after crossing a few feet.

“IDIOT! Shut up, lest your uncle recognize you! “ Zer, who sat behind him with 4 burly youths and a slim girl, said. “She is ok… You heard what she told us before.. If she vanishes, we should not worry, because it would be for a greater fate…”

“....” Yulian pouted and took a seat, looking at the countdown… She better be ok!

****

“… It is starting….” Gary said nervously.

“Apologize to April for me after this, interrupting your honeymoon…”

“It’s ok, Grandfather… I understand… Is Valery here?”

“She should be at the Heavenly Sectʼs balcony… Now, pay attention; this is a chance for our family to rise?”

***

“Alex, I will be counting on you….” an old man said to the blond youth holding a spear as he looked at the stage below. “The Sect had been suffering a lot of bad luck lately; many disciples were injured… We need to win this!”

“I will do my best, Father-in-law!” Alex said as he looked around nervously. According to the news he got from Margret, Lily and Victor should be here!

“Husband, don’t be nervous… We are in this together!” one girl, dressed in a leather suit of armor, said as she grabbed Alex’s hand.

“Yes, young master… Don’t worry, I will also work hard!” Another one, who was a bit on the younger side, wearing a simple dress and carrying a sword that was taller than her, said as she grabbed ‘his’ other hand.

“Ah… Janet, Jasmine… I will be counting on you!”

***

“This is going to be fun…”

“All those traitors will burn in Hell…”

“Will those guys take action too?”

“Yeah, but with us here, they will get no chance!”

***

“Are the agents ready…”

“Yes…”

“For an eternal Midnight…”

***

“Today, we will prove we exist! We will make history!”

“HA!”

“The Free Players Alliance will rise!”

“HO!”

“We shall change this world’s rotten rules!”

“HI!”

***

“You three… We will be counting on you!”

“Yes, grandma…”

“Grandma.. If it is possible, would you allow me to see my sister after this?”

“Your sister is doing an important mission for the clan! You will see her when it is the right time!”

“But… Ever since I knew she survived, I…”

“Look, I know that our clan approves of siblingsʼ marriage, but Louise already has her own destiny; you should let go…”

“I just want to see her…”

***

“Let the fun start!” Victor, who finally found his seat at the common colosseum below the balconies, said, letting Ruby sit beside him. “This emperor can’t wait!” he added, making the people sitting around give him a strange look just as the counter approached Zero.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

A loud horn sound filled the entire arena.

CLOSE THE DOORS AND RELEASE THE DEMONS!

THE IMPERIAL TOURNAMENT HAS STARTED!

A message, clearly written by someone with a very bad sense of humor, lit up in front of everyone as the sky turned red, then…

WELCOME TO THE IMPERIAL TOURNAMENT

TODAY WE WILL CHOOSE THE CANDIDATES FOR THE NEXT WORLD EMPEROR

“EH….”

“What? What world emperor…”

‘...”

“You knew…”

“Focus for now… We will speak later!”

TOURNAMENT RULES: PART ONE

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

THERE ARE 33 WINNING POSITIONS. FOR 33 KEYS. THE ONES WHO WIN PUSH THE LOSER DOWN A POSITION.ANYONE CAN ENTER AND ISSUE A CHALLENGE; JUST WALK INTO THE ARENA. IF IT IS FILLED, FIGHT THE ONE THERE; IF IT IS EMPTY, ISSUE A CHALLENGEEACH PLAYER CAN ISSUE THREE CHALLENGES FOR THOSE OUT OF THE ARENA. ONLY TWO PERSONS AT ANY TIME CAN BE IN THE ARENAFIGHT IS ONLY ALLOWED IN THE ARENA.WHEN ONE SURRENDERS, THE FIGHT WILL END.DEATH IS ALLOWED.IN CASE NO FIGHTS OCCURRED FOR 15 MINUTES AFTER THE POSITIONS WERE FILLED, THIS ROUND ENDS!RULE VIOLATORS WOULD BE ERASED.

FOR THE EMPRESS…

FIGHT!