And at one moment, the world suddenly felt too tight.
The royal guard closed in a circle.
Dozens of blades. Identical steps.
And ahead of them—him.
Prince Alviron.
The heir.
The golden boy of the kingdom.
He walked as if the entire arena belonged to him.
And he spoke loudly, so that everyone could hear:
— I have seen your strength, Zenhald Helvard. The country needs fighters like you… The kingdom needs you.
I merely blinked.
— I don’t want to.
Something twitched on his face.
An eyebrow. An eyelid. The corner of his mouth.
Pride cracked.
— P-perhaps you didn’t understand… I am the prince of this kingdom. I am offering—
— I know who you are. And you lost to me.
He wanted to explode.
Wanted to shout.
But I was already gone, dissolving into the air and leaving him inside the ring of guards.
I didn’t have time for him.
I needed Mira.
She was waiting for me in the upper corridor—quiet, collected, but her eyes were already burning with active thought.
— I followed them, — she said when I approached. — The nobility is far more… active today than usual.
I raised an eyebrow.
— And?
She gestured downward, where groups of aristocrats were already moving across the square.
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— They’re splitting into mini-cliques. That’s normal. But… the strangest ones are these.
And she began listing them.
(Finn’s family)
He was arguing as if backed into a corner.
One of Mira’s golems overheard the conversation.
Word for word:
Rainword:
— We said this was dangerous!
Levander:
— You had a choice!
Rainword:
— What choice? To report it in time? Then the village would’ve been destroyed!
And then the key phrase:
— People are lucky that this kingdom has two monsters who can hold the demons back.
They were talking about us.
And that was already alarming.
(Noi’s family — the kingdom’s chief judge)
Levander spoke coldly:
— If you had informed us, everything would have gone differently.
Zen immediately understood:
? The Levanders believe Rainword hid something.
? And it’s connected to the attacks on the villages.
But what?
(Lucille’s house — spatial magic)
An Arvent intervened quietly, but it was his words that made Mira frown:
— Any news from the vice-deputy of the Academy?
— No. It’s as if he vanished into thin air.
And that was a bomb.
Because:
That was exactly the official who could have opened the portal in the capital.
Which means—the connection is real.
Mira said:
— And one more thing… the deputy general of the army. Did you see him? He’s… strange.
He stood with the military group—glassy eyes, skin slightly paler than normal, movements sharp.
And the worst part:
He didn’t eat normal food.
He drank some dark liquid from a bottle.
— Looks like a demonic extract, — Mira said.
— If he’s infected… if he’s under a pact… then the demons have an army commander in their hands.
Zen clenched his fist.
— The strangest thing, Zen, — Mira looked at the crowd. — Those who live closest to the demons…
— Yes?
— They were almost happy.
— Their treasuries are swollen. Their ships are full. Their bellies look like they’ve just closed extremely profitable deals.
Zen caught the implication.
— Trade… with demons?
— Yes. Someone is protecting them. Someone made enormous profit—huge profit—from the war.
She sighed.
— Zen… this is a web.
— The Rainwords hid something.
— The Levanders knew, but stayed silent.
— The Arvents are searching for the Academy’s vice-deputy.
— A military general is infected with demonic substance.
— And several border lords have been working with demons for a long time.
She looked up.
— This isn’t one traitor, little brother.
— It’s a network. A sect. An organization.
Zen nodded.
— We need to pull out the core.
Mira smiled at the corner of her lips—predatory.
— And we will. But to do that, we need… a show.
— Let the whole world watch the arena. Let the officials relax. Let them think we’re here for glory.
She squeezed his shoulder.
— The tournament is our trap. Their shadows are already filled with golems.
— They won’t escape.