I stared at the scene, taking in the people along with Myol's ferocity in her gaze. If she showed surprise at my lack of a reaction to her aura she didn't show it, or at the very least, kept it under wraps.

"First of all, what evidence is there? Very curious as to how this information came to your hands," I said while directing my gaze toward Ulaeyes.

"I do not answer to you!" he retorted.

Myol applied pressure around his throat and shook her head. "You didn't answer me, Mordred."

"Right. Fine, here's my answer then: No."

Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on Ulaeyes' neck. "He's telling the truth."

"Captain Horcus! Bring them here!" he squawked.

The captain stood up and glanced nervously toward Myol. She kept silent as the elf yelled at him a second time. Finally, he saluted and carefully stepped over the bodies of his men and rushed past me and the others. His feet carried him down the challenger's tunnel and he disappeared from view.

He's going into the arena? The only thing there is…

"If he's looking for the device they used to cheat, he'll be disappointed," I said, pulling the mesh of ruined metal out of my pocket.

The metal had further eroded and the remnants of mana that clung to it barely held on. From when I destroyed it to now, it hardly resembled the device from before and looked more like a piece of junk you'd find in a scrap yard.

Myol held out her free hand and I tossed it over. She raised it to the light and her mana engulfed it, placing it inside a barrier. Oddly, the erosion of the metal stopped and the remnant mana around it froze in place.

"These are forbidden from civilian use. There shouldn't be any around except for those in the armory. Now how did a bunch of lower houses get access to one?"

Ulaeyes growled. "Most likely black market. You're not that stupid, Myol."

She reached a hand through the barrier and crushed the device. When she released her grip, a bumpy ball of metal bounced once before rolling across the floor.

"I'm not, and despite how lowly I think of you, I know that you aren't that stupid either."

"If that's true then you wouldn't impede this investigation," he grunted.

"You mean this sham," she said, meeting his eyes.

"It was approved… With the royal seal. You know what that means."

Before Myol could respond, the guard captain rushed back inside carrying three men atop platforms of hardened air. My eyes narrowed at the returning sight of the three idiots but he stopped at the entrance and saluted once more.

Peter was still unconscious and continued to look like shit. Curiously enough, Chadsworth and Chullain–or what I called them, Blondie and Helmet-head–were awake. Except, Helmet-head had a stricken look on his face, with eyes sunk deep. Blondie on the other hand looked furious, but I could see a hint of fear underneath. His fingers twitched and he constantly flickered between the guard captain and the arena master.

"Proof, arena-master."

"I'm staring at two fools and an idiot in need of medical attention. If you've disrupted the work of my healers in order to continue this farce, I will keep my promise of sending you back to the castle in a box," Myol said.

He paused, freezing in place under Myol's glare. With another snap of a salute, he turned to Blondie first.

"Sir Chadsworth. Did combatant Mordred use a skill to manipulate your mind?"

Blondie's eyes focused on me and he raised an accusatory finger. "Yes! He controlled us with his skill!"

The guard turned and smiled. It lasted all of three seconds before Myol's words rang like a strike of a hammer. I felt the mana in the air, backing it up, adding heat to its vibration.

"Lie," she said. She adjusted her grip on the elf and took a single step toward the noble. He flinched and her words rang again, subtler but no less clear. "Attempt another blatant lie and you'll return to the healers missing your teeth."

"I-I…" Blondie stammered.

The guard swallowed and cleared his throat. "Sir Chullain. We have it on good authority that the combatant Mordred has a mental manipulation skill. Did he do so during the fight and cause you to activate an illegal device against your control?"

Helmet-head raised his head but he quickly lowered it. "No."

"Uh, are you certain, sir?"

He nodded and whispered. "I am. Sir Mordred, did not force me nor Chadsworth to activate the sealing barrier."

I raised an eyebrow. After everything was said and done, I hadn't expected any of them to willingly reveal their actions. Blondie cowered on his platform and I caught a look of confusion on the guard captain's face.

Ulaeyes had a calculated look in his eye, and he tapped Myol's wrist. She loosened her grip enough for him to breathe and he took a moment before he levied a glare at the nobles.

"You admit to breaking the rules and bringing an illegal device into the arena? What of him," Ulaeyes said, pointing toward Peter.

Helmet-head shook his head. "He is a hired sword working for my family."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Is his condition not because of Mordred?"

"I-I don't know sir. He was hired to place a curse on Mordred, to seal his mana. In order to do so, he needed to ascend to the second tier. It seems he failed."

Everyone in the room glanced my way but I merely shrugged.

Ulaeyes clenched his teeth. "Did he torture you while the barrier hid you from view of the audience?"

"No, sir."

"Did he harm Chadsworth or the sellsword?"

"No, sir."

"What did he do then?!" Ulaeyes yelled.

"I…" Helmet-head balled his hands into fists. "I don't remember. After the barrier went up, I have no recollection of memories of what happened after."

Ulaeyes' eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips in irritation. When he glanced to Myol she said nothing. Finally, he turned to me. "I see. Then answer me, Mordred. Are you responsible for his selective amnesia."

Myol's eyes had ceased to glow. Her body continued to radiate golden light but her aura had pulled back, when the captain returned. They weren't under the effects, if they were I suspected they would be like the guards behind her.

All eyes were on me.

"I was the one attacked and had a man try to curse me permanently. Can you blame me for defending myself?" Before the elf could speak I raised my voice. "I am not responsible for the idiots' amnesia. I did not use a skill to mind control them."

"Truth," Myol said, a flicker of surprise tinting her expression.

Ulaeyes breathed in and closed his eyes. On the exhale he twisted and bowed to Myol. "My apologies, arena-master. It seems our sources were incorrect. Thank you for your help in the investigation. If there is anything I can-"

"Get out," she commanded.

He nodded and headed for the stairwell. It took a few minutes for the captain to arouse his men but Myol had retracted her aura. Blondie and Helmet-head stayed on their platforms and followed the captain as he moved. It was only when the captain attempted to leave did she raise a fist.

"Y-yes, mam?" the captain asked.

"You can take those two," she said, pointing to the nobles. "The other one stays here. He is currently injured and in need of medical attention. As of now, he is under the arena's jurisdiction. He will be stabilized before he leaves."

The captain slowly nodded and gestured to his side. Peter's platform lowered to the ground and deposited him before it dissipated. Standing straight, he ordered his men out the room and left with the nobles leashed behind him.

Myol shook her head. "I don't know how you avoided my skill but good job. If you had told a lie, I wouldn't have been able to protect you from the arrest. Same if you tortured him."

"Helmet-head mentioned that. Frankly, it's dragonshit. They're allowed to curse me, bind my mana permanently or force me to ruin my mana pool, but if I got revenge, I'd be at fault?"

"No. They are still at fault and their families will be heavily fined as will the young fools. I'll be personally visiting their houses and delivering their official ban myself."

"So a slap on the wrist."

"What I do during said visits is my business," she scowled. Myol sighed and conjured a vial filled with clear liquid. She uncapped it and poured it directly across Peter's chest before shaking the last droplets and stowing the vial away. "I warned you. You could have made this easy and backed off. The houses are more pissed than I expected."

I crossed my arms. "I think I handled myself just fine."

She held up the crystal coin from earlier. "You trounced their children, disrespected their names and reputation. They went far enough to cash in a favor beyond their worth. And their recent ploy failed." The coin disappeared and she grabbed Peter's body, throwing him over her shoulder. "They'll be desperate enough to do worse. If you stay in the tournament, you'll have to face that. It's your choice kid, but don't say I didn't warn you. Now get out of my arena."

Teddy tapped my shoulder and nudged me towards the exit. I spared a final glance at Myol. Peter bounced in her grip but she marched down the tunnel without looking back. In her hand the crystal coin caught the light emanating from her back. She was close enough for my senses to catch her mana.

I tasted heat on my tongue and the subtle sense of blood. Along my neck I felt the flicker of a blade pressing at my throat.

Teddy tugged my sleeve. "Come on, let's head home."

I allowed him to guide me out. The arena still had scores of people in the seats and several saw my exit. The others created a barrier between them and me and a disgusted feeling welled in my gut. It felt like being a celebrity while my friends were forced to run interference with the paparazzi.

Before we exited the arena, the announcer took to the sky and clapped his hands. The sound echoed, silencing the crowd.

"Apologies for the delays! Due to unforeseen events, the next match of the tournament will be postponed for the following day. Again, we apologize, but the safety of the citizens of Solunaria are our top priority. As compensation, tickets today will be refunded and you will be given a ticket for the next match the day after tomorrow. Please head over to the ticket master to receive your compensation."

I tuned out the rest of what the announcer had to say as the crowd had begun to loudly boo. By the time we got back to the Lightcrest manor, I felt a weariness in my chest. It settled inside my gut and I dragged my feet across the threshold, allowing Walter to close the door behind me.

"Apologies sir, but would you be interested in having another bath drawn?" Walter said.

"Huh? Oh, uhm yeah. Go ahead, that sounds perfect."

"Would you like the same blend of oils and shampoo as last time?"

I shook my head. "Surprise me. Ah, nothing too pungent though. I could use an hour to relax."

"Of course, sir. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

I carried myself to the sofa, being the last one to sit down. Now that we were alone away from the prying eyes of the public, I removed my mask. Seconds ticked by and I sighed.

"Before you ask, I'll have Galarion create some memory orbs and replay what happened. I really don't feel like explaining it all right now."

"That's fine. Are you alright, Cyrus?" Teddy asked.

"I am. A little tired but probably an after effect of the device and that guy's curse."

"Do we need to get a healer?" Celenae asked.

"No. It didn't take hold. You'll see in the memory, but the guy used a soul contract as the base for the curse."

"And you can willingly terminate contracts at will. Interesting. Their plan was doomed from the start."

"Yep. Nasty thing. The guy was all smug before I sent the curse back at himself. At least he didn't try giving me the villain's monologue speech like the other two." I thought about Peter and then remembered something. Mentally conjuring up my inventory, I summoned the enchanted black coin and the crystal key to my hand. "Here before I forget. Here's his storage device and here's this key. Helmet-head gave it to him as payment for changing the plan on the fly. Compensation for making the curse permanent apparently. Any idea what it is?"

Celenae took the key and Teddy examined the device before handing it over to Isaac.

"I know a guy who can crack this, but it'll take a day or two," Isaac said.

I shrugged. "Works for me."

I stood up but so did Teddy.

"Cyrus," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I won't tell you to back out of the tournament." He held up a hand to forestall my retort. "All I ask is that you consider Myol's words. She wasn't wrong about the houses becoming desperate. They've already proven to go beyond what is expected. More than you know."

"What do you mean?" I said with a frown.

"That coin; the crystal one Ulaeyes gave to Myol. It's the royal seal."

"He said he was the King's advisor. If he's in on this then I'm not surprised."

Teddy shook his head. "No, you don't understand. That coin isn't something Ulaeyes can use or give out at his own discretion. It's made by only one person and specially attuned with their mana, making copies impossible. Having that seal is what held Myol's hand. You didn't see it but while you were in the barrier, she was furious."

"What do you mean?"

He frowned and looked out the window. Outside the glass pane, the royal castle sat upon the hill, with the first rays of sunset beginning to shine through the sky.

"The only thing that would stop Myol from crushing the idiots from interfering with her rules and breaking the arena against her wishes. That seal is the king's coin." He looked into my eyes and his frown deepened. "It means the king approved of their plan and allowed it to continue."

Well shit.

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