X was standing in the corner of the main hall, watching through the crowd of nobles and tables.
How they were eating, laughing, all without a care in the world.
They were calling themselves protectors, some of them were academy professors, yet none of them showed any signs of being a warrior. X could tell that by looking at them. The way their hands were soft, the way they didn’t notice when someone looks at them for too long.
Looking at those nobles only made X remember the way it all started.
Now it is called The Broken Town, but before the invasion it was a prosperous mining town.
Local Nobles were fattening their purses while the Nameless withered in the dark. As a result, many Nameless died, and their bodies were never recovered.
All until something arose from the bottom of the mines…
Something that is now called Otherworldly Beasts, because they come from various portals in every point of the world. Nobody could predict when and where they would come. Yet, somehow, they knew exactly when it was best to.
X was leading the evacuation that day. Nobles were stomping over each other just to get further, while he and his men were holding the Beasts back.
One town was completely conquered. It was just a matter of time before they would go further. So, X decided to sacrifice himself.
By being the only one in the way, he could ensure that everyone else could evacuate safely. His men weren’t backing down, desiring to also give their lives.
X forced them to leave. He alone should be the casualty. To repay for his crime…
That’s the day he met Noll. A small, fragile-looking boy with a full-arm glove on his left hand, who effortlessly dealt with beasts using a weird metal wand in his hand.
The way the monsters disappeared in a blinding light the moment he pointed the wand at them. He called it ‘Blaster.’
The boy’s proposal still rings in X’s head. His extended hand. That wicked smile and the hollow blue eyes of someone who had already decided the fate of this world.
“I will burn Altavia from the ground up. Get rid of the Names. And create a new land. All for the future, where everyone is equal. A future where no one shall experience the same painful life as us, Nameless. You understand me, right?” the world he proposed was a utopia.
But… why me?
“X?”
Noll’s voice interrupted the memory. X snapped back to the present, his gaze shifting to the boy standing beside him.
Noll was wearing that same patient face again, the one he always wore when he was waiting for something to break. He wasn’t looking at the crowd anymore; he was looking at X, his head tilted slightly, as if silently asking if the "fix" was still worth the effort.
X adjusted his stance, moving just half a step forward, placing himself like a shield between Noll and the sea of laughing nobles. He didn't say a word, but his hand tightened. He met Noll’s hollow blue eyes with a steady, grounding stare, reminding the boy of the promise they had made.
One last time.
“Do you want to eat something?” Noll said, before smelling something and pinching his nose. “Not fish though.”
“Did you find it?” X whispered. Noll shook his head. “I see…” X looked away, his jaw tightening. “Crap, sorry.”
“Not your fault.” Noll said, moving forward. “So, do you want to eat? I am hungry.”
X chuckled. “I have been living with that for at least thirty minutes.”
Noll smiled. “Show the way then.”
And X did. They went to the corner of the hall, where a lonely table stood. Away from everything else. Obstructed by a pillar to make sure no one can see them.
“Well, didn’t expect anything better.” X shook his head.
“At least some privacy.” Noll scoffed.
“Not sure about that.” A voice came from behind. Both Noll and X turned back to see two men standing behind them.
One of them looked more like a shelf than a person. His suit had a nametag, which read: Illian Kris.
The other, standing around the same height as Noll—a proud 168cm that was practically dwarven amongst the modern bloodlines—looked bored.
His nametag read: Laurent Ferrum.
X looked at them. These two were the only people with nametags. As if someone wanted them to know who they are.
“Noll from Outpost 404?” Illian asked, looking down on him. His voice echoed through the hall. Everyone turned to stare. “You are being accused of breaking and entering Grandmaster Kris’s office.”
Every noble in the hall gasped as they gathered around them as if it was a commotion. X looked around and saw Mizuki looking at them from afar. He shook his head.
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“We have reasons to assume you to be a spy from Krinden Alliance trying to get confidential information. As such, you are given a choice: fight us in a battle to clear your name, or give up, after which you will be interrogated.”
X tried to step between the two, but Noll stopped him with a hand gesture.
“See, that’s why I don’t like the word ‘assume’, it makes an ass out of you and me…” Noll looked Illian up and down. “Mostly you, since you haven’t provided any evidence.”
For a moment, there was only silence. Illian stood dumbfounded. X rubbed his eyes in frustration.
Then, Laurent burst out laughing.
“Oh, we are gonna get along so well,” he said in between laughs.
Illian coughed. “We don’t need evidence. If you are innocent, Goddess will smile upon you and free you of all charges.” X looked carefully at Noll. He knew exactly what he was thinking. Noll was thinking about how stupid that religion is.
“So, it is either fight here, or the interrogation? If I am innocent, I will be freed? Then why fight?” Noll started counting on his fingers, trying to figure out how their legal system works.
“Fight is just a faster way to process accusations. If you win, your words hold more truth.” Illian explained.
He looks like a shelf with glasses now. Professor Shelf. X had to pinch himself back to reality.
“Sounds like a waste of energy.” Noll extended his hands. “I am not fighting.” Laurent, who was looking at Noll with interest, lost it at that same moment. Illian didn’t expect that, but he looked satisfied.
“What about your friend?” Illian asked, materializing crystal shackles and putting them on Noll. “He tried to defend an accused. It is only fair for him to be accused of conspiracy.” Illian materialized another pair, and walked towards X.
“You are just throwing accusations at this point!” X retorted, stepping back.
Illian smiled. “So? If you are innocent-” he was interrupted by the sound of crystals breaking. Everyone looked at the source of the sound and saw Noll standing without shackles.
“I would like to retract my statement.” Noll’s voice was calm. Laurent’s interest was ignited yet again. “It is a 2v2 right?” Noll looked back at Laurent smiling ear to ear. “Then we will fight.”
Laurent walked up to Noll. Close and personal.
“I saw it.” His breath made Noll pinch his nose. Not because it had a bad smell or anything. Laurent ate fish just before. “That pink thingy. It destroyed your shackles without you moving a single muscle. Impossible to spot for anyone but me.” He cracked his knuckles. “Show it to me, I want to see how hard it is.”
“Laurent.” Illian called out. “He is my opponent. I thought we already discussed that.”
Laurent raised his hands. “Fine, fine…” He turned away, walking away from Noll.
Just a few steps in, he turned back with a smile on his face, leaped into the air with a winded up fist, which had the color of steel, and hit. The pink disk appeared just in time to block.
Bam!
Everyone scrambled backwards, waiting for the usual shockwave after the impact. Yet, there was none.
Instead, Laurent’s hand felt funny. It was vibrating. Laurent hand felt the same shockwave it usually sends out. That was the first time it happened to him.
Laurent wasn’t mad about it. He held himself in his hands to stop the shivering as his mind had only one thought.
It was so hard it didn’t even budge! Laurent burst into laughter as his eyes rolled upward and his mouth was wide open.
“Laurent!” Illian shouted. Laurent didn’t give him any thought.
He looked up at Noll, who was standing as if nothing had happened.
“Noll… was it?” His eyes were wild. “I will remember. Both your Name… and how I will mangle you.”
“Stop it, all of you.” A heavy voice echoed through the hall. Out came a man in golden suit. It had an emblem with a depiction of a divine woman blessing the hero’s sword.
“Kadyn Francis, the current Head of Clan Francis.” Noll whispered into X’s ear. “The Heavenly Judge. At least that’s what they call him.”
He looked over the four of them. “I see there is a battle to be made. I will be the Judge of that.” His voice amplified through the crowd.
“First, don’t fight here, the spire has its own training grounds.” He gracefully waved his hand, and countless nobles scrambled out of the main hall.
“Second!” his hand went up. “Ground rules.” Yellow energy enveloped them. “Not that any of you have one, but still… Nexus-Blades’ Awakening is not allowed. Killing is not allowed. Everything else? Fair game.”
“Fair game?” Laurent giggled. “That term… makes me h-” Illian hit him before he can finish. His face was full of disgust. Laurent didn’t care. Everyone in the room already understood. Most of them looked horrified and disgusted. X included. Noll was indifferent. He just moved with the crowd.
“Hey, Nameless!” Illian called him. “Fighters go here.” He pointed to the other exit.
Noll did a 180 degrees turn with one step and quickly moved toward the pointed gate. He tried not to look at anything but the gate as he walked a penguin’s walk.
***
They moved together for a while, before separating near the locker rooms.
The room looked like what you would expect. A row of all kinds of weapons. Benches, lockers, the usual. Some spare battle suits that looked like black T-shirts. No gear or armor though.
X already tried one of them on.
“These suits are pretty flexible.” X practiced sword moves with a longsword. “Much more comfortable than what we had.”
Noll also tried one of them. “As expected.” He looked down. Under the suit there was a small box. It had a note.
“Show me how you use it.” It said.
Noll carefully opened the box. There it was. His blaster looked a lot cleaner than he remembered. It had a yellow ribbon, as if it was a present.
Noll took it out, twirling it in his left hand, then tucked it in his waistband. No holster, no choice.
If they give it back, they probably already made a copy of it. Well, they would have to figure out how to use it on their own.
He looked around. Emma was unusually silent right now. Is she sleeping? Do spirits even need to sleep?
“Couldn’t stop thinking about me?” Emma appeared just in time. “I am flattered.” Noll regretted his actions.
“X?” Noll turned to him. X stopped practicing. “Do you think I should use a real weapon?” Noll walked to the row of weapons and examined each of them carefully.
“If you can pick it up, that is.” X scoffed. Noll smiled, looking at him.
“Bows need strength. Crossbows are good, but I am too weak to recharge them. Anything lighter than a kilogram would be good…” Noll excluded more weapons using the same logic.
Not even one was lighter than a kilogram. Yes, even smallswords were heavy. It seemed everyone in this world had strength so high that a kilogram is considered baby’s weight.
“You know what, nevermind.” Noll turned around. He heard how Emma laughed in his ear, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
X was left confused.
***
In the other locker room.
Illian was warming up, while Laurent just sat on the bench, intently looking at his arm.
"Don't say anything weird." Illian's voice was full of judgment. "Clans Ferrum and Kris have enough riding on this already. Don't make Grandmaster Kris regret the program."
Laurent didn’t answer. He inhaled, then exhaled slowly.
“Have you even felt your own strength used against you?”
Illian chuckled. “What are you talking about? That’s absurd.”
“Well, I just felt it…” Laurent smiled. “And I loved it! I want to feel it again!”
“Remember. I fight the small one, you fight the big one.” Illian shook his finger in front of Laurent’s face. “We already established it.”
“Fine…” Laurent closed his eyes. “If the big one doesn’t make me feel it, I will hijack your fight, whether you want it or not.” He stood up. The difference in their heights didn’t scare Laurent.
“Like I would allow it.” Illian turned back.
Laurent laughed. “Answer me, Illian, what’s the thrill of fighting a battle you are sure to win?”
"If you win, your words hold more truth."
The Setup:
-
Noll vs. Illian: Brains vs. Brawn (and Bureaucracy).
-
X vs. Laurent: Soldier vs. Maniac.
The Blaster: Tim Kris returned the weapon. The note ("Show me how you use it") confirms this is a field test for him. He wants data, not a dead thief. Noll is now armed, but he's entering a non-lethal duel with a lethal weapon.
Next Chapter: The duel begins. We will see if X can handle a Ferrum, and if Noll can fight a tank without killing him.
Proceed to the arena.