Endless Evolution: Last Star-Chapter 579: Entering the arena

Step. Step. Step.

Gladius returned to Kogen’s box, followed by the four girls.

Mariel, Zarot, and Nirosh went to their families’ boxes. They were a great family so in such a large and important arena there was always a place prepared for them.

Strangely enough, Nelya and Rosalind came out to meet the girls. It was unknown if Franz asked them to do it or if it was their initiative.

But, they felt compelled to show hospitality, even if they were on different sides.

Elva, Liv, and Tilda tried to stay close to Arayna, who was following Gladius. Not that Arayna felt confident, but she couldn’t show weakness or insecurity in such a situation.

Step.

Gladius stopped, stepping aside.

"Welcome to the best spectator seats of the Moon Colosseum. From here, you will see your brother’s fight in meticulous detail."

Nelya stepped forward, leaning over to them and adjusting her hair, tucking a purple lock behind her ear.

"Hello, are you Fromund’s sisters? Your brother seems to have quite a bit of work every day, doesn’t he?"

Rosalind stood silently by her side, staring intently at Arayna, unlike Nelya who paid attention to the younger ones.

Elva nodded, taking responsibility as the older sister.

"Yeah, who are you? All who are gathered here hoping for the victory of the Adam Vinter, aren’t you?"

Frowning, Elva glanced around.

Strangely enough, almost no one was paying attention to them, Kogen and Erik were waiting for the fight to start, Osana and Baren were sitting off to the side occasionally exchanging short phrases, and Franz was standing by a high column, his arms crossed.

"Um... My name is Nelya." She smiled kindly, wanting to connect with the girls, "About your question... I think there’s one person here whose opinion can’t be changed."

Then, Nelya and Rosalind looked at each other and respectfully stepped aside. At this time, Gladius led Elva, Liv, and Tilda after him, drawing their attention to the three massive armchairs, comfortable and soft.

Arayna wanted to walk on, but she stopped because a tall figure appeared in front of her.

Silvana looked at Arayna with a calm, deep gaze. They were both Operators and now their Phantoms were about to fight.

Only one of them could win, there was no other outcome.

It was the first time they had ever met, but Arayna knew that it was Adam’s Operator. Unlike Fromund whose name appeared in the purple room relatively recently, Adam had been there for hours.

A few minutes before Fromund agreed to fight, an invitation arrived on Arayna’s phone, so she was informed.

"Hello. While we can’t exactly be on the same side, I want you to understand that I’m not going to be your enemy." Silvana said calmly before bowing slightly in respect, her hands folded at her waist.

Arayna was taken by surprise, she hadn’t expected the opposing Operator to be so courteous.

She didn’t think it was a good idea to go after Gladius, expecting that she, Elva, Liv, and Tilda would be surrounded by people wanting Adam’s victory, but she had no other choice.

"Y-Yes!" Arayna replied uncertainly, bowing low in return.

Then, she stood up and quickly said:

"However, despite everything, I will still cheer for Fromund. He’s my Phantom, and he’s my only choice!"

Arayna was a little nervous, you could tell by her high-pitched and halting voice, but there was a fire in her eyes.

Silvana smiled bitterly.

"Good, would you mind if I suggested we watch the fight together?"

Arayna nodded with a bright smile.

"Sure!"

Inwardly, she sighed in relief, since at least she wouldn’t have to worry about anything but the outcome of the fight.

Step. Step. Step.

Elva, Tilda, and Liv followed Gladius to their seats, passing next to Erik, who stood at the very edge, holding his hands on his cane.

Tilda stopped.

"Why are you standing? Didn’t they find a seat for you?" Tilda suggested, touching her bottom lip.

Erik slowly turned around, glaring at the young girl, she had eyes of confusion.

"Hah, what a bold assumption. Kogen isn’t the most hospitable person, but he wouldn’t leave his old friend without a chair."

With a slight sigh, Erik returned his gaze to the arena.

"I just like to stand. I’ll get more experience this way since all my attention will be directed only to the fight. I don’t want to be consumed by a padded seat and feel like I’m in a simple movie theater."

Erik pointed at Kogen.

"Like this guy."

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Tilda looked in his direction.

Kogen’s seat was more like a throne than a chair, massive and had all the comforts, but... he didn’t use them.

Instead of sitting flat against the back of the chair with his hands on the handles, he was in a horizontal position, his legs resting on one side and his head on the other, his shoulders only partially touching the chair back as if he were lying on a couch.

From somewhere in his hands, he already had a huge packet of spicy chips as big as half of his body. Time after time, a full handful of the snack disappeared into his mouth.

"Don’t look."

Kogen said coldly.

"I’m not going to share it with anyone."

"Pfffft! I don’t eat that stuff! My brother says it’s junk food!"

Tilda snorted.

Kogen only shrugged, continuing to destroy the chips one by one.

"Hahaha!" Erik let out a short laugh, "What a temper! That’s right, you need to put that young man in his place from time to time."

Tilda glanced around the arena, then at Erik, and asked: "Can I stand next to you? I want to see the fight in all its colors too..."

Erik’s eyes sparkled.

"Sure, just be careful." Erik waved his hand, inviting her to approach, "We’re standing at the very edge."

...

"It’s time... it’s time! Krha!" The raven uttered before flying outside.

Adam didn’t have time to ask anything, he was simply informed that he had to enter the arena, and that was it.

A few seconds after that, the spectators saw two dark ravens fly out of the arena passageways.

For some reason, the ravens’ eyes were closed as if not wanting anyone to see what was behind them, then they disappeared beyond the stone walls.

Gladius nodded contentedly, everything happened as it should have.

Then, the rustling and talking stopped, the thousands of spectators filling the Moon Colosseum went quiet.

Silence fell, only the wind rushing through the stone peaks of the arena.

Step. Step. Step.

Heavy, unhurried footsteps echoed from the aisles, and soon the audience’s attention was divided into two parts, looking at the silhouettes coming out to the arena.

The first was Adam, emerging from the right side of the aisle.

A few seconds later, his opponent, Fromund, appeared as well, a massive stone case on his shoulder, looking more like an ancient coffin.

With each step he took, up went the dust only to sweep back down, covering the ground again.

Crackle.

With a rumble, Fromund dropped his case, the stone frame sinking slightly into the ground, cracks growing around.

Then, Fromund smiled widely and walked over to Adam, who was already standing in the very center of the arena.

"Pleased to meet you, my opponent."

Fromund reached forward with his hand, looking at the calm Adam, their height was about the same.

Adam smiled weakly, responding to his handshake.

"Me too, I can already see that the Marzo Family did at least something right."

Adam narrowed his eyes.

’And... Looks like it’s time for round one, doesn’t it?’

His gaze was fixed on Fromund’s hand, his grip slowly and imperceptibly growing stronger.