Chapter Fifty-Four: The Battle Begins

The festivities continued throughout the day; in the coliseum, there weren't just fights to the death but also dances by various cultures and even singing. It was truly a day of celebration for the people of Volaria.

The sun soon started to set, and it was time for the main event, the battle between all of the suitors for Lucilia Aria Caelum.

The entire crowd went into silence as the center of the arena lit up thanks to various spotlights at the top of the arena pointed at it.

Then another spotlight shone on the side of the arena where the royal family was going to sit. There was a row of empty seats before the announcer began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to our main event of the evening. Today has been a really special day for the people of Volaria, and we are not done quite yet, but first, please welcome the members of the royal family. First off, please welcome Prince Caius Aria Caelum."

Caius was the first to walk out and wave to the crowd, shortly followed by Artoria with her husband Lars right next to her, then Sienna; next was Octavia; followed by Marcel and his wife Salia; and lastly, Aurelia, all of them getting their own introductions by the announcer.

"Now the last of the royal children to be introduced is the ever-beautiful Lucilia Aria Caelum!"

Lucilia walked out with a stoic face, not showing any happiness, which didn't go unnoticed by the crowd; however, some just thought she was playing the "cold beauty" role.

Once Lucilia sat down, the announcer moved on.

"Doesn't she just look stunning today, everybody?" the announcer said to the crowd. "Now, if I may have everyone's full attention, We will now be introducing his majesty, the man who will preside over this duel, and observing who he will be inducting into his family. EMPEROR LUCIUS ARIA CAELUM!"

The crowd cheered at the announcement of his name. Slowly, multiple guards left the room that led to where all the royal children were, followed by the wives of the Emperor, Ivy excluded since she refused to even consider taking part in this act that the Emperor was putting on.

The act that his wives actually cared about him—at least that's what she said.

Soon the man himself came up, and the crowd erupted, all cheering for their much-loved Emperor.

He waved his hand to the crowd before taking his seat on his throne, while his wives stood behind him.

The announcer began speaking again "It is time, ladies and gentlemen, for our thirteen competitors to enter this arena, the arena where only one will leave and marry our princess, Lucilia Aria Caelum."

The announcer cleared his throat before speaking again "First, he is the betting favorite to win it all, the son of the Valgus family and heir to their conglomerate; last year, he was voted Volaria's #1 Bachelor. IGNIS CASSIUS VALGUS!"

Ignis came walking out dressed in light armor with a golden sash going across his torse. He was smiling and waving to the crowd but locked eyes with Lucilia before blowing her a kiss, causing Lucilia to clench her fists in anger and stare daggers at Ignis, who ignored her anger completely and still acted like she was going to be cheering him on. After all, to him, nobody was more perfect for her or more perfect in general than him.

Ignis took his place on one of the thirteen stone pedestals that were set up around the center of the arena, which were filled with various weapons.

He continued to wave at the crowd and once again looked at Lucilia, but this time he winked, which made her want to call Mae and tell her to drop her knight in the arena so she could crush him under its feet, but she knew she had to restrain herself...for now.

Soon, a few more names were called before the next name on the list. Marcus Facilis, he didn't get anywhere near the amount of cheers as Ignis or some of the others did, but he didn't care; he didn't placate the crowd and just walked up to one of the pedestals and prepared for the fight ahead.

Soon, a few more names were introduced, which led to the final name, who was still waiting in the back.

"Now lastly, a name that quickly became infamous on Volaria, and for some, not for the right reasons. In this unprecedented situation, the final competitor is someone born on the planet Earth, a planet we are currently at war with. May I introduce to all of you REN!"

Ren walked out of the tunnel to nothing but boos and insults from the crowd. He knew he was hated by many on Volaria, but he never expected thousands to boo at him in unison. However, there were those who didn't boo him and instead cheered or at least smiled in support. Those were his friends, those he was close with, all giving him standing ovations, including Lucilia, who stood up from her seat, smiling and clapping for him, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Ignis, who saw this from his pedestal, and in response, he started to grind his teeth in anger, but there was also another person who noticed this. Emperor Lucius, who had a look of annoyance at his daughter's actions.

However, she wasn't the only one of the royal children smiling at Ren, as Aurelia and Octavia, who were both supporting Ren, were also cheering him on. Aurelia with her smile, and Octavia, who was actively clapping.

Ren took his spot at the last remaining pedestal and looked to his left and right. There were two nobles positioned next to him, and he didn't recognize either of them. The one to his right had bright orange hair, while the one to his left had dark red hair.

That's when the announcer began a countdown—the countdown until things truly began.

"10..."

Ren readied himself as the announcer continued to count.

"9..."

He looked to his sides and all around the field, noticing everyone was getting ready.

He took a calm breath as the countdown continued.

He looked around the center of the field and noticed something very important.

"3..."

There was a glaive located right at the center of some of the weapons.

He remembered what Octavia had told him when they met at the party.

"When the fight begins tomorrow, grab the glaive."

"2..."

Ren had a small smile along with a sigh "I guess I will have to trust that future sight of hers after all."

"1..."

"GO!"

It was then that a loud noise that sounded like a bell being rung was heard throughout the coliseum, which signaled every single competitor to charge the center of the coliseum and grab a weapon.

Ren kept his focus directly on the glaive, but before he could reach the center, the man with the bright orange-haired shoulder tackled him to the ground before he got up and went to the center to grab a sword.

Once he got there, the man with the orange hair quickly killed the man with the dark red hair by shoving the sword right through his chest.

The man with the orange hair then turned his attention to Ren with a smile on his face.

"Oh... it's just you and me now, Earth boy; after I'm done with you, I'll be a fucking hero for this." he said.

The man with the orange hair swung his sword at Ren, who barely managed to dodge after he got off the ground. Ren knew that trying to fight him head-on right now would be suicide, so his best chance would be to dodge his attacks and get away.

Ren managed to get to the center and grab the glaive, which was still available in the center, while other people continued to fight and kill each other. Ren then moved the glaive perfectly to block a sneak attack that the guy with orange hair tried.

This further infuriated the guy with orange hair, who then swung again, trying to hit Ren, but Ren dodged with part of the handle, which caused the sword to bounce backwards. Ren then turned the glaive's blade at the man and cut open the side of his neck, causing him to collapse and bleed out.

Ren swallowed his nerves and got away from the center and into one of the back corners, where he could observe the battlefield in front of him. He noticed six bodies on the ground, which means there were only seven of them left. He saw Ignis standing over a dead body with one foot on him as he played to the crowd.

It was then that Ignis took notice of Ren, but he was quickly interrupted by another attacker, causing him to turn his attention to them.

Meanwhile, someone with light blue hair tried to attack Ren with his dual swords, causing Ren to step back, dodging. The man was fast with his attacks, which caused Ren to struggle to keep up.

"Shit...I don't know how much longer I can block his attacks..."

It was then that the light blue-haired man managed to cut Ren's right arm open with one of his blades, which caused Ren and those supporting him in the crowd to worry.

The man then attacked with both blades, which Ren managed to hold back, but barely. Even with all of his strength, he was taken down to one knee, struggling to stop his attack. Ren was sweating with worry, as he didn't know how he could get out of this.

"You're going to die, you bastard!" the man with light blue hair said angryly.

Lucilia, looking upon this, screamed out "REN!"

It was then that a sword went through the light blue-haired man's head, causing him to instantly drop dead on the ground.

"Need some help?"

Ren looked at the man who saved him; it was a man with light brown hair and brown eyes, something of a rarity on Volaria as he didn't have brightly colored eyes.

"Why did you help me?" Ren asked the man, and he was absolutely confused by the man's actions.

"Because I loathe this whole event, killing each other just to get married to someone who doesn't love you sounds pointless." he said.

"I can't say I disagree, but still, we're supposed to be killing each other." Ren said.

"Eh, worry about that when we come to it; any way, my name is Marcus. Marcus Facilis."

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