Arena Forty-Six: Their Secrets VI

After a few moments, Anastasia calmed down and let me go while blushing. I could feel Roxy's stare on my face as Anastasia let go... It honestly hurt a bit.

The party had already turned sour, so no one actually enjoyed it. Even though I had prepared for the nobles to crowd me, no one came.

My rejection of the emperor's offer had put them on guard, just like Anastasia had said before. Sighing, I couldn't do anything but sip my drink while leaning against the wall as both Anastasia and Roxy had to greet people as parts of the major noble families.

"It seems like it didn't go well after all."

I turned to my sides and saw Raymond standing there with his own drink, gazing at the crowd through his mask.

"Well... I guess so. But well, I already did it, no turning back."

I shrugged and gently shook my glass to mix the contents of the drink. Then I again turned my face towards Raymond, who was observing me silently.

"But setting that aside, why are you alone? Where's Felicia?"

"She's... Well, to be honest, I don't know."

Raymond said while scratching his head. I narrowed my eyes as I observed the emotions in his eyes.

"Isn't it weird that she's not with you at a ceremony like this?"

I directly confronted the oddity of the situation. Felicia's sudden change of voice and character yesterday had made me wary of her... And with her, the whole Imperial Family.

"Well... I did ask her, but she said that she couldn't join due to being sick... And she won't even let me meet her."

Raymond sighed loudly as he leaned on the wall beside me.

"I do agree that it's a bit off-putting."

"Hm... Well, as long as you know it."

I wasn't going to comment on it any further. I dropped the subject and turned my gaze towards the two beautiful girls in a distance, chatting with the nobles.

"They look beautiful today."

Raymond commented as he noticed me watching Anastasia and Roxy.

"They do."

"So... Who do you like more?"

"... What kind of question is that?"

The childish nature of the question startled me. As I looked at Raymond with confusion, he explained.

"Depending on your choice, the dynamic of the noble families might change. You are just that valuable."

"Uh... I see..."

I had been told the same by Lord Winchester and Principal Flora... But it still didn't set in. Probably due to me not doing anything "Technician-like" so far.

No matter how I sliced it, I didn't fit as a Technician or a support type... I was much more suited to be a soldier or something.

And not to mention, I couldn't even see my class now. Before it showed some question marks, now the entire class tab had disappeared.

"So... Who is it?"

As I thought such things, Raymond asked me again with a serious look in his eyes.

"... I don't know. For all I know, Roxy might not even have feelings for me. Only time would tell, I guess."

I replied with a shrug.

"... Well, while Roxy might not have any feelings for you right now, she will in the future."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because you are the only 'sane' person she can be with. You'll not reject her... Neither you will cause any harm to her via your scheming."

I could guess who Raymond was talking about... As the only sons among the major families were Raymond and Phillips. Raymond was already engaged... And Phillips... Well, he didn't seem to be the best husband material personality-wise.

Not to mention, normal people would go insane just by being near her, so marrying a commoner or another noble wasn't even an option.

Which left her... With me and the two crown princes.

"What about the crown princes?"

"... The relationship between the major nobles houses like ours and the emperor is getting weaker with every passing day. I don't think the emperor will let Roxy, someone from a major noble house, marry a crown prince."

"... True."

I muttered while gulping the remaining juice in my glass down. I put the glass down before noticing the two girls heading towards me.

"But, you can think about those later, for now, enjoy your time as much as you can."

Raymond said while gently pushing me forward with his free hand.

As I stumbled in front of Anastasia and Roxy, both of them extended their hands towards me.

"Would you care for a dance with me, Arnold?"

They spoke up together with an almost matching bright smile.

Though, only I could see the tension running through those smiles.

...

Intense rain hit the windshield as the car rushed through the densely packed streets of the ruined city.

Inside was a lone boy... Not yet a man but not a teenager either, cursing at the horde of phantoms around him.

"Dammit! Faster!"

He hissed as he pushed the crackling old engine to its full speed.

The technology level of the empire in Stigma was far below the technology seen in the real world. Was it due to corrosion? Or perhaps an era difference? Or just a tactic to make the situation much darker than it already was?

Thankfully, most of the people inside Stigma had the basic skill that allowed them to access information of any tech they touched. And those who didn't have the skill, could just follow others and learn.

Though, fortunately for Jeffery, the driver of the car, he was the former.

He floored the accelerator suddenly turning his steering wheel to the left, drifting around the corner. The horde of Phantoms followed behind him in a giant, messy pile of flesh and bones, with phantoms with cannibalistic nature biting and tearing their own brethren. This halted the horde from pursuing the car effectively...

And that was a problem for Jeffery.

Cursing once again, he pulled out a white device from the component box before throwing it outside the window at the horde.

Immediately, a loud noise siren started from the small white object which was now rolling along the ground. The noise instantly attracted the nearby phantoms.

The dead which was feasting on their brethren turned their attention towards the source of the sound. Soon, massive hordes of former humans were appearing from the alleyways and buildings, crawling towards the sound source.

However, the object abruptly stopped emitting sound. As the attraction had disappeared, the phantoms started walking back... But a loud horn forced them to turn around.

Jeffery, who was sounding the horn of the car he was driving, looked outside the window and saw the horde stand there in confusion. To accelerate their reaction, he pulled his rifle from the back seat and shot at the sky.

The gunshots immediately attracted the living dead again, and they started rushing forward as fast as they could while dragging their entrails behind them.

"Yeah! Come!"

Jeffery yelled at them before honking the horn once again. After making sure that the horde was on him, he changed the gear of his car and pushed the accelerator.

The car darted forward through the road while still making loud noises.

It dashed through the road filled with abandoned cars and scattered phantoms, breaking through all obstacles using its reinforced outer body... Which in return, made more sound.

As Jeffery came closer and closer to his destination, hundreds and thousands of phantoms were behind him, rushing at him from all angles. Yet due to perhaps sheer luck or his crazy driving skills, he rushed through the gaps of the horde while trampling as many as he could.

And as he had already charted the road out, he could proceed through without crashing against an obstacle large enough to stop his car.

All that resulted in a gigantic horde of the walking dead running behind a single, heavily reinforced car.

However... The chase was soon about to end.

Jeffery soon saw the skyscraper he had been aiming at the horizon, approaching closer and closer.

He could hear the ominous shrieks and loud groans coming from the skyscraper even from this distance.

Yet he didn't hesitate to ram through the front entrance as soon as he reached the high-rise building.

The car crashed through the glass panels of the front entrance before sliding into the building's lobby... Which had an enormous hole in the middle, almost stretching as far as the walls of the building.

If anyone had entered unprepared and unknowing, they would have fallen directly into the dark, seemingly bottomless hole and died.

However, Jeffery was prepared.

Instead of going right into the dark crater, he sped through the remains of the reception desks and chairs before getting on the makeshift bridge which extended over the gap to the other side of the crater.

The bridge, which was made of rusty metal and broken desks, cracked as the heavy car got on it. Yet, Jeffery didn't stop.

Instead, he pushed the engine to its limit once again, rinsing out all the speed it could muster in its dying moments.

And he succeeded.

The car passed the bridge successfully, but the horde behind it couldn't.

Due to the weight of the car and the pressure of the horde, the bridge broke down, taking the phantoms on it down with it into the dark void.

The phantoms following behind the first few, lacking any kind of intelligence, jumped into the void in hopes of catching up to Jeffery.

Thousands and thousands of the dead fell into the dark hole at a frightening pace... Yet the crater didn't seem to fill up.

The dead kept falling into the chasm while Jeffery slowly got down from the car, panting and grinning at the same time.

He removed the mask he was wearing around his face and wiped the sweat and grime from his face using the same mask.

His face, which boasted beautiful features before, had now become scarred, dirty and malnourished.

He, or at the least, his avatar here, had been through a lot.

All for the sake of revenge. All to bring down that one boy and that wretched girl. Maybe that bitch too.

He had no place to go back... So he would bring down those who had pushed him into this corner with him.

He wouldn't be the only one to go to hell, that was for sure.