Chapter 121: Armored Company
Moon, who was making his way down the stairs of the giant arena under the gazes of many, wasn’t bothered by the reward notification.
The reward was secondary; for now, he needed to restore some of his own self-esteem. Not that he was conscious of that fact, but it was his main objective.
He got beaten badly by Samuel on the day he was starting to relax, suffered unspeakable pain, and nearly lost his mind. The next day, when he was starting to enjoy his food and relax for the second time, Mishu stole it from him.
Not to mention the fact that 9th Bro lied to him about almost everything he knew.
His heart was heavy with many things.
No sane man could go through a death loop for over 40 days without suffering one way or another. Acting normal over that period of time spoke volumes of his resilience and adaptability.
Yet, the damage was always there, hidden, waiting to show itself and take over him. Cripple and strangle him.
Still, Moon was mad at himself. He thought highly of himself, believed in his ability to fit anywhere without much difficulty.
But after less than two weeks of his newfound freedom, the one thing he had dreamt of for long years, he couldn’t bear the weight of the very thing he desired.
He thought he could get over his pain, his loss, his yearning for his brothers... and even the first trial. Until one day, he was more willing to end his own life than walk out of his room.
"Freedom is a weird thing," he whispered as he finally entered the ring at the very bottom. He took in a deep breath. "It stinks!"
In his heart, he admitted at last that things were not as simple as they seemed to be from the outside. Not only that.
He also realized that he still had much to discover about himself. He didn’t understand his own mind that well yet. He had been living under suppression for so long, and now that this suppression was gone, he had so much to understand.
But that was for later. "WHERE THE FUCK ARE THESE ASSHOLES HIDING?" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
It was unknown if they were waiting for his call, or just happened to arrive at this very moment.
Metallic noise started coming from the very top of the arena.
Clang~
Clutter~
Clang~
Clutter~
Soon, the source of the noise started to appear at the top of the long flight of stairs.
Moon faced the direction they were marching from; he put his hands into his pockets, and his mouth curved downwards.
"So, this is you stupid shits’ grand plan?" he exclaimed in utter disappointment.
Everyone was walking in full plate armor. From head to toe, they looked more like a company marching to war than going to a skirmish ring.
Only Zera was walking with his helmet under his arm; everyone else was indiscernible under the armor.
His helmet bore a short blue brush-like crest, with a matching cape fluttering behind his shoulders.
"Did the rules allow such a thing?"
"The rules only banned the use of weapons and Echo."
"Still, walking into a skirmish like this doesn’t make any sense."
"Can he win this time?"
"Questionable, I doubt it."
"Welp, if he manages to pull that one through, it’d be insane."
Watching the scene of a scrawny-looking boy standing in front of a group of fully armored individuals brought skepticism and discussion among everyone watching.
Lexie squeezed her fists. "These cowards."
Thud~
She hit her armrest.
Even Boa agreed this time. "This indeed is unpleasant to look at."
"You knew about this?" Lexie asked.
"I heard rumors, didn’t know their numbers or how they planned to execute it." Boa leaned forward as she answered.
"Sir Savior doesn’t look concerned." Nola’s gaze was on Moon, who stood there leisurely, watching the scene of the approaching grand plan.
Talia nodded. "I doubt it’s his first time," she gave her piece.
Lexie’s gaze landed on her. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Talia went silent for a moment. "If someone has been on a battlefield for a long time, how many times would he find himself unarmed, or his weapon falling apart..." She turned her head, looking at Lexie. "And certainly it isn’t impossible to meet someone fully armored at that time."
Lexie raised her eyebrows. "That... indeed is true." Then she shook her head. "No matter, facing-"
She stopped and started scanning, counting the marching group.
"Twenty-one fully armored men while unarmed is not something that would happen naturally... not without allies, even."
While their discussion was getting heated, Colten and his group were sitting further away, not getting involved in today’s battle.
Their lives didn’t change much after he lost his proof of authority to Moon. Considering that Moon was either sleeping or getting beaten somehow, they didn’t even meet him once.
He didn’t even bother going to check the scene that day Mishu was chasing after him to steal his food; he had had enough of bad luck and didn’t want to draw more unnecessarily.
Yet, someone he didn’t invite or wish for was sitting next to him, speaking without a pause.
Roran, after giving up chasing Dorbish who seemed allergic to his presence, finding Talia having a girls’ meeting that he couldn’t approach, and with no one else to watch the show with, decided it was Colten whom he should find this time.
"Colten, bro, what do you think of this mess?" Roran said, throwing some snacks into his mouth.
Colten didn’t answer. "I mean, even if he wins, he might get beat quite badly this time..." Roran shook his head. "Who’s Zera’s young master, though?"
Colten opened his mouth to say something, but-
"They tried recruiting me. Well, probably tried recruiting you too. I mean... for sure they must have tried and promised you something..." Roran chewed on some snacks.
"That guy must be rich as hell!"
Munch~
Munch~
Munch~
"But for real, Colten, bro, could he be someone from the top floors?" Roran scratched his head with his free hand.
"Still, Zera is too weak to be the aide of someone from the top floors, bruh... what a sneaky guy!" he exclaimed.
Oblivious to the veins bulging on Colten’s head, Roran chewed on his snacks excitedly.
"At least I won’t get beaten by that guy again. The Tower is a weird place, bro. One day you’re your clan’s young master, doted on and undefeated by anyone your age, then the next day a crazy bastard comes and makes you eat dirt."
Colten rolled his eyes; he wasn’t even trying to speak again. He was suffering the fate Dorbish had been suffering for a long time.
He started to somewhat understand why Dorbish was evading that guy without sparing any effort; not only did he steal away the peace of others, but he also knew how to casually frustrate them without batting an eye.
Amidst all of this, Roran didn’t even glance once at Colten; he was in his own world, talking to himself. Probably he just needed someone within range to hear his rant, not really wanting to communicate with others.
"Anyhow, I don’t think Moon is getting out unscathed from that one," Roran said again, driving Colten’s frustration to another level.
"You se-"
He was going to speak again, but this time Colten cut him off.
"Neither you nor these idiots understand shit. Winning this round, my ass; they are just bringing forth their own death!"