Something amiss

Leus took out the letter from his pocket and looked at the board again

'How come?!'

Leus' duel was written on the board

(Leus Inferno VS. Anonymous 01:00:24 Remaining)

Leus looked at the letter

(00:00:24 Remaining)

On the board, it was written that an entire day was left, but in Leus' letter, only 24 minutes were left.

'I honestly didn't expect such mistakes from the Mansion ...'

'Oh well, it can't be helped, maybe someone forgot something'

'But which one is wrong?'

Time was going, so Leus walked to the cafeteria and decided to talk to Halsten about it.

'Maybe it's a common occurrence, he probably knows better'

As soon as Leus entered the cafeteria, he heard someone calling him

"Yo, Leus, come 'ere"

Leus turned toward the voice and saw Kasimir waving at him

'All the six are here'

The six of them were sitting around a table, five of them were drinking and eating while Azul was reading a book.

When Leus walked to them, he sensed many glancing at him and murmuring something, but he didn't pay it any mind and walked to his team.

He sat beside Kasimir, opposing to Halsten

"How are you doin' Leus?" Halsten asked

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm good too"

"How are you guys doing?" Leus asked the other five

"Fine"

"Good"

"Good"

"Working on getting better" Azul said

"Peak condition" Kasimir said

Leus nodded then looked back at Halsten

"Halsten, I want to ask you about something"

"Do tell"

Leus took out the letter and handed it to Halsten

"18 minutes are left, so?"

"The board outside says that the duel is tomorrow, yet the letter says it's now"

Halstend frowned

"I have never heard of that happening before, are you sure?"

"Yeah"

Halsten got up

"Let's go and check"

The six went to the Dueling Board and checked it out

"You're right ... that's so strange"

"Which one is right?" Leus asked

"The board should be the accurate one"

Kasimir said

"Well we're already here, let's go to the dueling ground and check"

"Fine" Halsten replied

Halsten was walking ahead of them, Leus and Kasimir behind him, and the rest were behind them

Kasimir started speaking to Leus in an excited tone

"Absolutely crush the guy, Leus, make sure he can't duel for at least 3 months or so, make the show entertaining"

"That's the plan, I need to focus on unlocking My Skill, I can't risk getting bothered by every idiot"

Halsten heard him and looked back

"Well, now that the news about you joining our Faction will spread, you won't have to do that, but I won't stop you if you still want to. You do you"

Kasimir didn't agree

"If we build a reputation that we're vicious, no one will bother us"

Leus could hear Azul whispering to the others behind him

"Kasimir is scary"

The brothers silently nodded, while Hudson silently prayed a thanks prayer that Leus didn't have this mindset while he was dueling him.

Soon, the seven reached the dueling grounds for Mages

"No one is here" Leus said

Halsten looked around him

"Yeah ... maybe it's tomorrow"

Kasimir crossed his arms

"How boring, I brought snacks, I wanted to see some blood"

But within a minute someone approached them

A middle-aged white-haired man with grey eyes came and tapped on Leus' shoulders

"Leus Inferno?"

Leus turned around

"Yes?"

The man spoke in a slightly annoyed tone

"What are you doing here, Young Lord? Your duel is about to begin"

Leus was confused

"What am I doing here? What do you mean by that?"

The man pointed at the other side of the estate

"Your duel will take place there"

Halsten stepped forward

"Why would it take place there? Leus is a Mage"

Halsten was confused, the white-haired man pointed at the Knights' Super Barrier.

That Barrier was only reserved for Elite Duels.

Sometimes, magicians used Knights' Barriers because they either fought Knights or they themselves used swords/throwing weapons.

However, that happened in Elite Fights, where Elite Knights existed.

There are no Knights in the Mansion, only Elite Knights.

This means that the only category of people who could Duel Leus was Mages.

It didn't make sense for Leus to use that Barrier.

The white-haired man took a couple of seconds to reply, then he pointed at Leus' sword.

"He has a sword, that's how it works"

Halsten scratched his head

" ... Even if he has a sword, the Mage Barrier should be more than enough, it's not like he will throw his sword"

The man looked at Leus

"If you do not come on time then I'll declare you as defeated, only 3 minutes are left"

Then he turned around and walked toward the Barrier, leaving the seven of them behind.

Halsten didn't like what was going on

"This doesn't make any sense ..."

"Well, it doesn't matter where the fight takes place anyway" Kasimir said

"Let's get this over with" Leus said

The six walked forward and Halsten reluctantly walked behind them, he didn't have anything to argue with so he just followed them.

When the seven reached the Barrier, things only became stranger

"Where are the aide referee and the defender?"

Every duel had two Light Mages supervising it, one as a referee and the other as an aide referee.

In case both the combatants are injured, one Light Mage can't save both at the same time.

The defender's job was to end the duel based on the referee's orders and to help the referee in case anything unexpected happened.

However, none of them were there

Only a single white-haired middle-aged man

"Please walk inside the Barrier, Young Lord"

Leus stepped forward and Halsten came beside him

"Where are the other two supervisors??"

"They are coming along with the challenger, wait outside the Barrier please"

Halsten crossed his arms and waited

While they were waiting, Leus turned around and asked him

"What's the difference between this Barrier and the other one?"

"This one is bigger, also, the other one only prevents Mana from leaving the barrier but doesn't prevent it from entering,

This barrier prevents physical objects, people, and Mana from leaving or entering.

And you and your mana can only enter it if you have the control ring which is usually with the three appointed to supervise the match"

Leus nodded

'This sounds like a Prison Barrier with some extra features.'

A couple of minutes passed and no one came

No watchers

No opponent

No supervisors

Halsten asked the white-haired man

"Where is everyone?"

"Let's walk to the edge of the Barrier" The man said and walked away

Both Leus and Halsten followed him

"So?"

"Just wait a minute please" The man said

"We've been waiting for ten minutes already" Leus said

The man turned to Halsten

"Step outside of the Barrier for a second"

"Why?" Halsten asked

"You are not complying and delaying an official Duel, if you don't comply then you'll be fined"

Kasimir narrowed his eyes

"Hey man, watch the way you talk, I've been tolerating you for a while now."

The white-haired man spoke in an angry tone to Halsten and Kasimir

"For the last time I'm asking, if you don't comply I'll make sure to fine the two of you a hefty fine"

Leus didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't want to cause others trouble

"It's alright guys, do as he says"

Halsten narrowed his eyes but he did as Leus said, Kasimir was already out of the Barrier with the other five.

The moment Halsten stepped out of the Barrier, a red-haired man came out of nowhere and entered the Barrier, and the Barrier activated.

It all happened in an instant, it took Halsten a couple of seconds to process the situation.

Leus and the white-haired man were right beside Halsten and the others, but the barrier was between them.

When Halsten understood what happened he looked at the man and asked

"Why the hell did you do that?"

The man spoke in a neutral tone

"Do what? I'm doing my job"

"Your job? What nonsense are you spouting? Why is an Elite Knight inside the Barrier? And where are the other supervisors?"

"The other supervisors seem to not be available, I'll start the duel"

Leus was still confused about everything that was happening

Halsten shouted

"No, you can't start the duel, Leus is a Mage! They are in different Realms"

The white-haired man looked at Leus andsaid

"What do you mean? I can't see his Aura, he's an Elite, the duel shall begin"

"Leus, deactivate your Abstract"

Leus did as Halsten told him, but the white-haired man only turned his back and walked to the middle of the Barrier, ignoring Halsten's shouts and Leus' calls.

Halsten smashed the barrier with his fist, but of course, that did nothing.

Kasimir was eating an apple

"What's going on today?"

He took a bite then continued

"Anyway, you better get ready. Reactivate your Abstract and unsheath your sword, the guy over there has set his sword on fire already"

Halsten agreed with Kasimir

"Yeah ... Leus, I don't understand what's happening"

He pointed at the red-haired man standing in the middle of the Barrier

"Just look at your opponent! Something is amiss!"