(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
...!
Skullius almost stood up in shock!
He quickly held himself back as that simple move if noticed could have dire consequences.
This man...
That voice!
That face!
It was... him!
The man from that cavern where he and the Harem Guild battled the Evenfall cultists!
'I thought he was captured! Did he escape?!' Skullius thought in confusion. Silrat hadn't told him of this.
It probably slipped his mind because at the time that it happened, the Galemonger had laid waste to the city right after with its Bulk Terrors!
Following that, he had witnessed the consequences of providing wanton assistance to Skullius without mutual benefit in real time, which rattled him even further.
Following that came arranging the agreement with Stylla and after that, Skullius had departed from them, claiming he would meet them in Genhuis City.
So yes, that had slipped Silrat's mind.
Speaking of the former Branch Head.
He was seated in the rows just below the topmost three which were reserved for witnesses with direct ties to the Families, alongside Stylla, Setkh, Yuyui and Daggs.
The expression on his face was also ugly!
What had been an event that he had deemed insignificant now that he had moved to Genhuis City and had greater concerns, had turned grave once again!
Silrat squeezed the armrest with both his hands.
'Damn it! What's the meaning of this?! Does this entire event have the Evenfall behind it then? And potentially the Green Neolists too?!' Silrat thought in anguish.
After Tulnas had returned from the mission, he had pretty much confirmed for everyone that the two groups were in cahoots.
Given that logic...
'Should I have Stylla and Setkh withdraw? No, the rules forbid it. Festos and Karrun will likely be killed. No doubt that's the.. consequence, or maybe something worse!' Silrat brought his hands to his mouth as he breathed nervously into them, his mind churning.
Skullius on the other hand, replayed everything to do with this man while his mind also spun.
Back then, a masked man had shown up in the cave to save the cultists that remained.
No. That was secondary.
He was lead there by the crest that Skullius had in his possession, the one he had been given by Eobald in the Tremur Forest.
After that, Somanda suddenly showed up and killed off the masked man before pursuing him.
'This goes deeper then. If I mess around, I might end up getting involved with Somanda again. I still don't know how all these guys are related after all,' Skullius thought while scratching his chin.
He slowly calmed down.
He needed to cool off.
Once again, he paid attention to his Control Seal.
Now, his thoughts concerning this thing changed for the worse. Perhaps what the rules said wasn't the thick of it.
Maybe his very thoughts and intent was being monitored.
In the worse case scenario, the minds behind this event already had contingencies against someone like him who knew a bit about them!
'Me and Silrat need to have another talk it seems,' Skullius thought with a heavy sigh.
The man whom the witnesses and some Contenders applauded for remained with a cheery grin, his eyes darting to and fro as colourful explosions rang out in the sky in a beautiful shower!
Before him, small glass platforms began to appear in a floating staircase arrangement as the music died down, the man, Guissepo, climbing them to reach a great height.
As the clamour began to die down, he bowed and continued to speak.
"My blessed, extravagant audience. It is good to have you all here. I hope your minds, bodies and very souls will paying extravagant attention to the unique arrangement we have setup for you for the coming months. It may seem like an extravagantly long time but I assure you, it will all pass in a heartbeat."
"Sadly, I must also mention that today, is but a formality and an exhibition to get the extravagant rules and regulations across, as well as to get you all accustomed to this arrangement. We only have a single match prepared for your enjoyment at this time."
Disapproval and concern rung from all around Guissepo but he retained his smile.
"Come now. There is no need rush. Those who relish in extravagance have to show patience as a virtue, haha," Guissepo said, his voice ringing out wildly.
"Before any of that however, allow me to elaborate a bit more about the event and the venue."
The Game Master's carefree and affable smile drove the masses to quit their reverse hurrah. It wasn't all that bad after all.
Having an exhibition should be fun. These were usually designed to hype up the main events.
"As I am sure many of you clever minds have extravagantly deduced, this is a Cluster. A purple Cluster."
Skullius frowned.
A purple Cluster?
In order, Clusters went from white, blue, purple and black; some mixtures existed in between but going on the colour coding, purple would be atrociously dangerous.
The scale of the world within the Cluster along with the monsters it harboured...
Skullius compared the Cluster Generals he faced from Jackpot, to Guddhar the Sage Monkey to the Galemonger then to the Grand Flame Bringer...
None of these should hold a candle to what a purple Cluster had to offer!
So this was where they were?
No wonder the mana here was so absurdly thick. The civilian witnesses would definitely need protection from such an environment.
"It is indeed surprising for you extravagant lot isn't it? Yet, that pales in comparison to the might of the host. To ensure that the Cluster remains extravagantly stable, the Cluster General has been bested and imprisoned instead of being killed, so you need not fear. Most of the powerful monsters here have all been taken care of as well. Haha! And all this, is the work of one extravagant young man. The young master of the EverSword Household. Rias EverSword!"
The glass screens appeared once again to show the indifferent face of the young man who sat next to his father and mother.
...!
Him?!
This time, most of the Contenders were led to furrow their brows.
That was... absurd!
This... boy didn't look a day older than sixteen or perhaps seventeen!
Skullius was also gobsmacked but kept his surprise under the cover of flesh.
'Seriously?'
If that were true...
Guissepo cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again.
"All that said, I hope you can get a bit more assurance as to your safety. Beyond that, following the Preliminary Rounds, the extravagant main event, the Battle Royale, featuring those who remain will begin will begin. You wouldn't want to miss it! The location will not be something as extravagantly boring as this stadium, but another prepared region in this extravagantly large Cluster! The rules will be exciting and the finale will be exquisite. Yet it is too soon for that. Let us celebrate the current set of events!"
"Let the exhibition match begin!"
The glass stairs that Guissepo sat on moulded into a singular flat piece that he sat on which floated higher into the air.
On the white platform beneath, two silver lights flashed, revealing two Contenders who faced off against each other with unveiled enthusiasm – one, a slim but busty woman with long pure diamond coloured hair, the other, a slim man with short, cinnamon coloured hair.
The eyes of the witnesses vividly sucked in every feature of these Contenders, the adrenaline within every one of them literally boiling!
At the same time, floating text appeared above the two Contenders in the eyes of everyone gazing at them, showing select details about them...
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