Thump!

The referee caught Leon's fall before announcing the result of the match.

"The winner is Leon Ellert of the Nurs Ancifa Empire!"

By the time the referee's voice faded, the entire Colosseum was quiet. Not a single person said a word as they looked at the passed-out Leon and the heavily breathing Amell who was sitting on the ground, his hands behind him to support his body.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

He looked utterly exhausted, his face pale and his chest rising and falling repeatedly.

And yet, despite his loss, he didn't look disappointed at all.

In fact, he appeared somewhat happy.

The sight wasn't something that many picked up.

Not many besides Elysia... The delegate from his Empire.

Cra Crack-

The armrest of her chair shattered as her expression chilled and her eyes settled over Amell.

It was eerily quiet in the platform above, and after a while, Elysia managed to restrain her anger, her eyes squinting as she turned her attention toward Gael.

"....You've raised quite a powerful batch."

"Uh, yes..."

Gael nodded absentmindedly, staring at the scene beneath with a dazed look. It was clear from his expression that he hadn't expected such a result.

He could still recall the fight in his mind despite it being over several minutes ago.

From how Leon had been struggling to deal with Amell's domain, to how he managed to create an opening for himself and go all out despite not being able to breathe.

Had Amell held out for just one more second, he would've been able to defeat Leon.

....It was fortunate that he didn't.

In the end, Leon won.

And this meant their Empire had now three of the remaining four members for the Semi- Finals.

"I guess this is also it for me."

Elysia stood up from her seat.

She glanced toward Gael and Theron before pursing her lips. She appeared unusually calm despite the loss. While she did look angry at first, it died down a little too quickly.

It was a good thing neither Gael nor Theron cared enough to point it out.

"I'll take my leave."

As she headed out, she placed her hand over Theron's shoulder, finally gaining his attention as he raised his head to meet her eyes.

She smiled at him.

"I hope your golden boy manages to last until the end."

Elysia disappeared shortly after that.

Her disappearance brought silence to the viewing platform as neither Gael nor Theron spoke. That was until their pockets vibrated at the same time.

Trrr-

Taking out their communication device in unison-a small orb that fit in their hands—they looked at the message written on the device.

Soon enough, a smile crept on Theron's face as he faced Gael.

"I'll see you in the finals."

He stood up and left before Gael could even respond, not that he would've since he remained silent the entire time, staring at the message on his communication device.

Gradually, a smile crept on his lips as he put the communication device away.

Standing up, he buttoned his blazer before turning around and leaving. "Cough!"

As he left, he coughed several times.

His complexion didn't look good, but the smile on his face was hard to hide.

"I'll see you in the finals?"

Gael's smile also transitioned into a laugh.

With great restraint, he managed to hold himself back.

"There's still the Semi-Finals."

***

Verdant Empire locker room.

Clank-

The door to the locker room burst open as an enraged Elysia entered the room. Her wavy hair danced behind her as she fixed her gaze on the worn-out Amell.

He held his head down, a towel draping over him to hide his face. The door closed with a

'bang' and a tense silence took over the room.

She stood with her arms crossed, waiting for Amell to say something.

However, that moment never came.

He just held his head down without saying a word.

This was enough to arouse Elysia's curiosity as her expression eased a little.

"What is it...?"

She finally spoke, addressing Amell with a softer tone than she anticipated. This was to be

expected.

Elysia was addressing the true legitimate heir to the Verdant Empire.

While she was the Crown Princess, that was merely in name. Her real surname was 'Arjen' which belonged to one of the seven 'bloodlines' belonging to the royal family.

Despite its strength, the bloodline remained inferior to the Mantovaj bloodline—the purest of all, marked by the unmistakable gray eyes that were their signature.

She had been named the Crown Princess due to her age, but she knew that in due time the real

heir would be Amell.

Theron was also in a similar situation.

Caius was the true here of the Aetheria Empire.

"...."

Despite her words, Amell remained quiet.

This made Elysia frown.

"Is there something that—"

"You knew, didn't you?"

Amell cut her off directly, his voice low.

Elysia pulled her head back while frowning.

"Know what?"

"Heh."

With a light scoff, Amell lifted his head, allowing the towel to slip off. His intense gray eyes

locked onto Elysia, radiating a quiet but undeniable sense of authority.

"Don't pretend like you don't know."

Elysia didn't say a word.

She just stood there staring at Amell. He looked back at her, his expression unwavering. Eventually, she pursed her lips and opened her mouth.

"What do you want me to say?"

"That you knew about Leon."

Elysia's jaw clenched as her head tilted to the side in a half-hearted attempt at shaking her

head.

"I was just like you."

She came forth in the end.

"....I saw his profile and came to the same conclusion that you did."

"And?"

"And I did my own investigation."

"What did you find?" "....The same thing as you did. That he's most likely your missing brother."

Waving her hand, Elysia tossed several documents in Amell's direction. With fluid

movements, he caught the files before opening them.

As he read, Elysia started to speak,

"There's not that many people in the world that have gray eyes."

Her heels clicked against the floor as she paced around the locker room.

"The moment I saw him, I had him investigated. Not just his eyes, but his face... Though not a

spitting image, he really did look like a younger version of His Majesty. With such looks and

eyes, I'd have to be blind if I couldn't see it. That's why I dug everything up that I possibly

could've. This is the result."

"Thank you."

Amell found himself nodding, opening the documents, and reading through them.

A thought occurred to him as he read, and he soon raised his head.

"Given how unsurprised you looked when I confronted you about this, it seems like you

already knew that I knew."

"Oh, please."

Elysia almost rolled her eyes.

"I may not have a pure bloodline like yours, but I'm still the Crown Princess. Whatever you do,

I know. Do you really think they'd investigate anything without my knowledge?"

"Heh."

Amell chuckled, lowering his head again.

"...I guess that's fair."

He more or less expected this to happen.

In fact, he also knew that there was no way he'd be the only one to figure out about Leon. The

fight had been broadcast to the entire world.

It'd be weird if nobody caught on.

"What about my parents?"

"....Do you want to know the truth?"

"No, never mind."

Amell stood up from his seat and let out a small sigh. Stretching his neck, he headed for the

door.

Moving past Elysia, he paused, passing the documents back to her.

"Do one last check.

"....A last check?"

Elysia frowned, turning her head to look at Amell who parted before she could say any other

words.

"Hey, wait...!"

Clank-

The door closed with great force, leaving Elysia standing by herself. Her mouth opened but

the words did not come out. Eventually, lowering her head she looked at the files in her hand.

That was when she noticed a small bag.

Within it were several hairs.

Her expression turned strange upon seeing the hair. Eventually, her face eased as she shook

her head.

"I knew it."

She put the files away.

"....He had more to give in the fight."

***

Leon found himself staring at a blank ceiling.

Every part of his body ached, and when he lifted his head, he saw that he was in the infirmary.

"Where am I?"

"Hell. You've died, and now you must pay for your sins."

"...I guess this familiar voice makes the statement true."

A certain voice reached his ears.

Turning his head, he saw an all too familiar figure.

"Did I...?"

"You won."

"Ah."

Leon felt his voice strain as he spoke.

Despite not having screamed at all, it almost felt as though he had lost his voice.

"Is this why you're here?"

"Well..."

Julien stood up from the seat he was sitting on and patted his clothes.

"...First, I was checking up on you. You are my knight after all. It'd be heartless of me if I did

"Cut the bullshit."

Julien paused, his head tilted for a second before he sighed.

"You're right, I don't care."

"I knew it."

"...For a moment you didn't."

"There was never a doubt."

"I beg to disagree." "Alrighty, what is it?"

Leon leaned his head back against the soft pillow and looked back at the empty ceiling above

him. Anything better than seeing that face...

"You know I can read your expression, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Then...?"

"I wanted you to see it."

Pursing his lips, Julien squinted his eyes for a brief moment. Then, as if he couldn't be

bothered to think about it anymore, he went straight for what he wanted to say.

"We should find Evelyn."

"....."

Leon's head lifted as he hastily turned to look at Julien.

"Why?"

Julien didn't answer immediately. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, but he was quick

to shake it off.

"It'll take a little time to catch up. The Angel has already tried to attack me. There's no point

in her hiding any longer. If you say she's as good as you say, then we need her." Julien couldn't deal with the Angel by himself.

This much became clear to him after he saw the vision.

He was strong mentally, and he could fend off her attacks, but he couldn't defeat her.

Only Evelyn was capable of that.

.... At least, he hoped.

"Can you get in contact with her?"

"I can."

Leon nodded his head faintly.

He knew of a way to contact Evelyn. She was rather well-prepared, and knowing her quite

well, Leon knew how to get in touch with her in these situations.

"Good."

Julien appeared almost relieved after hearing his confirmation.

As he leaned back into the chair, his mouth opened, prepared to say something when

something vibrated in his pocket.

Trrr-

It wasn't just his pocket.

Leon shifted his attention toward the nearby desk where his communication device was.

The two looked at each other simultaneously before Julien stood up and tossed him the communication device.

Plak!

Leon caught it with one hand and looked through the message.

11

".....

Seeing the message that was presented before him, his expression started to change. Then, as

if realizing something, he raised his head to look at Julien who looked at the communication

device without much of an expression.

But upon closer look, Leon could see his grip over the communication device was extremely

tight.

How could Leon blame him...?

After all, the next matchups had been released.

[Match 1] Julien Evenus Vs. Caius Aetheria [Match 2] Leon Ellert Vs. Aoife Megrail