Chapter 256: Rising Popularity
"By the Gods... This is unreal."
The reporter, Rob from the Supernal Sport News, took off his hat and combed back his hair as his eyes were glued to the arena. He had watched the entire tournament from start to finish, and he had now witnessed the end of the second round.
He couldn’t believe how the Lesser Angel won against the High Angel.
Not only did the dark horse beat Barbara one-sidedly, but the ending was also surprising.
It was simply an unreal battle.
Rob had been more interested in doing good for his work, so that he could be promoted.
But this battle had completely captivated him.
From start to finish, he couldn’t peel his eyes away and entirely forgot about the livestream.
Now that the battle had ended and Kai had disappeared through the gate, he snapped out of his daze and laughed dryly in complete disbelief. He had made a gambit by coming here, and it seemed it would pay off.
Of course, what he was doing was illegal.
A normal person entering the First Sky without authorization is a criminal act.
He took this chance because Professor Hera had promised him that she’d keep him safe. And though she was no longer around, High Angel Ragnar guaranteed him that there wouldn’t be any problem.
Even if he was caught, Ragnar had a way to make sure he was safe.
Rob was still unconvinced, but he took the gambit anyway, and he was glad that he did.
Just then, one of the crew members gestured for him to come.
He approached the crew who seemed to be shaking.
A frown crept to his face, but he soon realized the crew was shaking from excitement.
"The viewership!" The crew pointed at the screen with a trembling index finger. "It had just passed three hundred thousand! Three hundred thousand people! Holy moly! You were right to take the risk and come here."
Since the livestream was rolling, he tried to keep his voice down.
But it was hard when he was filled with excitement inside.
Rob bent down to look at the screen, and then made a high five with the crew.
It was beyond what he expected.
He was certain the promotion was his now—especially with the Dragon Ring tournament still unfinished. The final remained, and if the whispers he overheard were true, the Lesser Angel and High Angel Chester had a history.
That kind of bad blood would make for a spectacle.
So, it would be even more intense than the second round.
"What about the rating?" He asked.
"Fifty percent and rising," the crew replied as he changed tabs. "See, it’s already fifty-three."
"Even if we go home right now and forget about the final, we’re already set. Incredible."
...
Meanwhile, on the surface.
David sat alone in the dim hush of his living room; the blinds drawn tight against the sun.
Now he was sealed in a cave of shadow and stale air.
No work today due to the Ground Gate, and that usually meant hours of empty scrolling, or maybe a nap that stretched into evening. A slow, comfortable erosion of a day with no purpose at all.
But today was different.
Today, the Dragon Ring tournament was on.
His eyes were fixed on the screen as the second round unfolded in violent, flickering colors.
Two Angels—One a High Angel with a flaming axe and the other a Lesser Angel with a black scimitar with a blood-red glinting sheen on its sharp edge. And the one David was rooting for was on the back foot, retreating step by step.
David had watched the tournament from the start.
He had seen how formidable Barbara was, so the outcome should be obvious.
Once again, he had made the wrong decision in life by betting on the little guy.
And that thought made him slouch deeper into the sofa, one hand resting on his knee, already preparing for the inevitable. This was the natural order of things. The one favoured to win is most likely going to be the winner.
Just then, it happened.
Kai ducked under a blazing horizontal slash, and struck Barbara’s throat with brutal precision.
It was a clean strike that even David flinched at the impact.
He could hear the sound of something broken.
Before she could recover, Kai already landed a vicious overhand that crashed against her face.
It shattered her mask. Half of it spun away across the arena floor, and Barbara stood exposed.
David’s hand drifted to his mouth without thought. His fingers pressed against his dry lips— holding back a gasp, a curse; he didn’t really know which. Barbara wobbled. The mighty High Angel who beat her previous opponent easily staggered like a drunkard in the night.
Her legs betrayed her, and her axe slipped from her hand.
What happened next unfolded like a dream in slow motion.
Kai closed the distance, catching Barbara’s shoulders to stop her wobble, and then guided her down until she was on her knees. He then leaned in close—his lips moved in a whisper, and David found himself also leaning forward.
As if getting closer to the screen would let him hear what Kai was saying.
But there was no sound.
Kai wasn’t wearing a mic, and the camera was too far away to capture his voice.
And then, Kai straightened and stepped back.
"What is he doing?" David’s brow furrowed. "Why wasn’t he finishing it?!"
It was Kai’s chance to defeat Barbara for good. She was already on her knees, defenseless. Just another punch to her face would’ve knocked her out for certain—but he decided to watch her instead.
Giving her time to recover.
And then, Barbara moved.
David thought that she was going to attack, to take Kai by surprise for underestimating her, but she wasn’t doing that. She grabbed her own flaming axe and threw it skyward. The axe spun upward and disappeared from the screen.
He held his breath for a second, and his frown only deepened.
But watching Barbara clasping her hands in prayer, and then the axe coming back to the screen again, David sucked in a cold breath in realization. He knew what was coming even before it happened.
His eyes fixed on the flaming axe as it bit into her neck, and the censor kicked in.
A blur of indistinct shapes.
Even so, David knew what had happened.
Just from the censor splitting into two, with one rolling towards Kai’s feet made it very clear.
Almost instantly after it happened, the bustling stadium turned silent. David was silent.
It was as if the world had stopped breathing.
Only the static from the TV crackled inside the dark living room, which was the only element that showed time was still ticking. Just that nothing was moving inside the living room, not even the arena on the screen.
And then, the announcer’s voice shattered the stillness.
"Victor of the second round... Leader of the Ambrosia Pact, Lesser Angel Kai!"
David recoiled as if the announcement struck him.
His back hit the sofa cushion, and his hands flew to his head, fingers tangling in his short hair, gripping as though his skull might otherwise fly apart. "No way..." He mumbled. His heart pounded against his ribs like a beast beating on a locked door. "No fucking way... The Lesser Angel actually won? He—won?"
Considering the odds, David couldn’t believe it.
The Lesser Angel—the one who had been pushed to the edge, the one who couldn’t even muster mana—he had won. Not only that, but he had also executed a High Angel in the center of the arena without dirtying his hands.
Humiliation and helplessness drove Barbara to commit suicide.
David sat there; his eyes still glued to the bloodless, censored aftermath.
...
A break is what he really needed.
Kai had returned to the dark chamber where the participants had gathered earlier and saw a corridor that seemed to circle the entire stadium. He was now threading that corridor with slow steps.
Behind him, there was a grey-masked Angel following him.
He had been denied entry to this side of the corridor earlier—but a small dose of intimidation had brought him passage, on the condition that he allowed the grey-masked Angel to shadow him, which he did as he found no problem with it at all.
Naturally, there were assigned rooms where participants were meant to rest during breaks.
And this corridor wasn’t leading to those rooms.
Kai didn’t want to go to his room.
It would already be cleared of anything by Ragnar, so he tried his luck in the other rooms.
"Ergh..."
Kai grabbed his shoulder and groaned.
His heavy eyes fixed on the upcoming room, and he realized that it was what he was looking for.
Brazenly, he pushed the door open without hesitation and stepped inside. Beds lined the stone wall of the room, each one separated by flimsy privacy curtains. An infirmary, or something close to it.
But no one was there.
No healer. No doctor. No one to help him.
Kai already expected this.
"Lesser Angel Kai, you can’t be in this room." The grey-masked Angel quickly followed inside and said urgently. He kept glancing out the corridor, trying to see whether there was anyone around. "You have to leave. Let me escort you to your room."
Kai didn’t heed the grey-masked Angel at all.
Instead, he rummaged through the cabinets and drawers, searching for anything useful.
And to his surprise, he found a pot that he recognized as a healing cream.
He twisted the lid open and smiled to see that it was still half-full.
"Instead of being noisy, why don’t you grab me water?" He asked without even looking.
"I am telling you that you can’t be here," the grey-masked Angel repeated—but this time, his voice was sterner and deeper than before. "If you keep refusing to comply with me, then I will have no other choice but to insis—"
Bam—!
Kai slammed his hands on the table hard out of frustration, startling the grey-masked Angel.
He tossed the healing cream and then turned around.
"I know you’re under directions from Ragnar. I know he didn’t want me to recover properly in between rounds." Kai approached the grey-masked Angel. His footsteps were heavy—and the sound each one made echoed through the corridor. "But do you really think obeying him blindly would be a good thing for you?"
Only when he was a step away from the grey-masked Angel did he stop.
Coldly, Kai’s eyes bore into the man in front of him, and he saw concern and possibly fear.
"Has the thought crossed your mind of what would happen if I’m the one who becomes the Red Prince?" Kai asked, and stabbed his index finger into the grey-masked Angel’s chest. "What do you think will happen to you then?"