“We have a ring out!” Luna shouted immediately. “Our winner is Wolf Lehman, clan master of Mirage Triad! What a feat! What an upset! Who would have expected a B-Rank Seeker to defeat an A-Rank opponent?! Talk about giant-slaying! Let’s give both of our athletes the applause they deserve for such a heated battle in the preliminaries!”
Wolf threw both his hands in the air and let out a victory howl as the crowd cheered. The old Paladin looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. This tournament was his last chance at raising his stock, and though he had put in a valiant effort, the consequences of his age were all too apparent. It was clear that he would not be able to contribute to the battle against the Valiant.
Now that he’d been defeated, an exhausted smile rose to his face. Just how much had he sacrificed to attain his strength? Even if he’d gained a great deal, he probably lost just as much. I applauded him in my heart out of respect for his sacrifices as a Seeker.
“If the tournament didn’t have ring outs, that old Paladin would have won,” Caius lamented. “He still has some fight left in him.”
Perhaps his thoughts were with the old Warrior’s position, or maybe it was sympathy.
“In any case,” I said, “his age and his deteriorating strength were both on display today. He’s useless.”
The ring out was neither here nor there. The moment the old Paladin flinched before Wolf’s assault, his path to glory had evaporated. Even if he had defeated Wolf, he probably would’ve pulled out of the finals. Someone as battle-hardened as that veteran would’ve known what he was up against.
“What goes up must come down. Even the strongest cannot defeat the hands of time.”
“True, but is that really everything? I noticed something watching your face as this battle took place: you have ties to Wolf, don’t you? Don’t think I didn’t catch that hint of a smile on your face when he won.”
The prince was sharper than I gave him credit for. Maybe I should’ve expected that.
“I’ve known him since we were both rookies,” I said. “We’re friends.”
But our relationship was not about friendship—it was one of iron sharpening iron. I was higher in terms of rank and power, but only because I had aspired to reach his level back in my Blue Beyond days. Such was the nature of our “friendship.”
“Friends? The idea that you’re capable of such feelings shocks me.”
“I shouldn’t have them, then?”
Caius shook his head. “No, but be good to your friends. When they’re gone…well, you can never talk to them again.”
“Naturally.”
I nodded and looked back at the ring, where an overjoyed Wolf grinned ferociously and pointed at me in the VIP lounge. I could read him like a book: “You’re next.”
“As his friend, I want nothing more than to mercilessly destroy him,” I said.
Caius’s expression grew taut when he saw the smile tugging at my lips.
With that, the first-block preliminaries were over. Things would probably go just as smoothly tomorrow. We’d seen no movement from the terrorist group Dolly told me about, but we weren’t about to lessen our security measures. I predicted that they would make a move during the finals, not the preliminaries. That was when the regalia would also be in attendance. If the terrorists were capable of human explosives that could leave A-Rank Seekers in critical condition, they weren’t going to be scared off by the regalia. In fact, they’d likely rejoice at having them all in one place.
To stop such terrorism, security had to be tightened for the finals. However, this came with its own problems.
I left the VIP lounge to meet with Finocchio about tomorrow’s schedule. My footsteps echoed through the long corridor as I walked toward the conference room. As I was thinking about the tournament, I became aware of footsteps approaching from the other end of the corridor.
Instantly, I knew they didn’t belong to any of the organizing staff—these were the footsteps of someone ready for battle. They were prepared to spring or receive an ambush. It was the stride of a formidable opponent. I heard the clink of metal as well. Perhaps they used chains as their weapon?
I stopped where I was and sparked up a cigarette. There was no need to rush; all I had to do was wait to see how they chose to attack. I continued to smoke as a thin young man appeared from around the corner. He had ash-gray hair and wore loose-fitting clothes. He was covered in silver accessories wherever he could put them—which I assumed was the source of the clinking metal. Necklaces, bracelets, chains, piercings, and tribal tattoos adorned his neck and rigid collarbone. It was a loud look.
In contrast to his appearance, there was something weak about him. He was all skin and bones, and there were dark circles under his eyes like he wasn’t getting enough sleep. His posture was slouched forward. Even with his vibrant and aggressive appearance, he looked anything but strong. His one saving grace was a face so perfectly put together it could have been a doll’s.
And yet, this was the man whose footsteps I had found so threatening.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, scratching the back of his shaved head as he sauntered toward me. “I’m Keith Zappa, leader of Imperial Delinquents. Nice to meet you.”
The man standing before me—Keith—gave a slight bow. His smile revealed his youth. He was taller than me, but he looked younger. Braces covered his white teeth.
Something else had caught my attention, though.
“You’re Keith Zappa? Of Imperial Delinquents? Liar. I have intel on every competitor in the Cup, and you’re not Keith.”
The Keith I knew was nothing at all like the boy standing before me. I’d never actually met Keith, but this guy didn’t match the reports from my information brokers: the real Keith was a mountain of muscle, and his clan had been officially recognized by the Seekers Association just one month after being founded. He was a generational talent. I was willing to admit that the Keith before me was strong, but he was nothing like what I’d heard.
Keith responded to my accusation with a derisive chuckle. “I assure you, I am the Keith Zappa,” he said. “Should I call over my Seeker coordinator to prove it? That’ll get you your proof.”
I read between the lines. “You bought out my information broker, huh?”
I’d been given a false report. I could punish the guilty party later, but right now, I had to work out Keith’s intentions. He couldn’t fool me by simply buying out one of my information brokers—the Barzini operatives had conducted their own investigation based on my broker’s intel, and their loyalty to Finocchio was absolute. They were impossible to bribe. That meant Keith didn’t just have a false report made; he also had a fake Keith walking around in his place.
But why? Why go so far?
The most likely reason was that he wanted to keep his abilities completely hidden. If an otherwise unknown Seeker could deceive his opponent, he’d already earned an advantage on the battlefield. There was another possibility: Keith had a special skill that he wanted to hide. Whatever the reason, he was cunning. The guy was resourceful, he knew how to take initiative, and more than anything else, he knew the power of patience.
All that being said, I still didn’t understand why he was here.
“If you went to all that trouble to deceive me—and I know it wasn’t cheap—then why reveal yourself here?” I asked. “Are you afraid you’ll have your participation rights revoked? Is that it? Are you here to apologize?”
“I wouldn’t do anything so humiliating. What do I have to apologize for, anyway? So I deceived you, fair enough. But it was just you. I haven’t broken any tournament rules, yet you’re saying I could get my participation rights revoked? That would be an abuse of power. I want to compete in the Seven Star Cup—not allowing me to do so would mean I’d have to talk to some people.”
In other words, he’d be loud and public about unfair treatment. I had to hand it to the guy—he had guts. Not only had he fooled me, but now he was trying to intimidate me.
“So why turn up in front of me? You didn’t come here just to brag, did you? To tell me you got me?”
“Actually, that’s exactly why I’m here.”