"Welcome, welcome!" Shouted a Goblin in the middle of the arena.

Star, the best presenter in the Colosseum.

Of all the presenters in the arena, Star was the one the people acclaimed the most, but also the one that was seen the least. Usually he only hosted important events, such as the matches of the undisputed champion of the Colosseum, Pseudonym, and did not care for minor shows.

However, this time the conflict seemed promising: a fight for revenge had great potential. If he were entertaining enough, Star would have led many more spectators than usual to watch the fight and bet; this meant receiving a considerable profit by the end of the clash, both for him and for the arena.

The occasion presented itself as quite singular, above all because Cesar, Aure and all the bigwigs of Orma had appeared in their stands to watch the fight. How could he let such an opportunity escape?

Star ran a hand through his electric-blond hair and raised his index finger to the sky.

"ORMAAAAAAAA, ARE YOU READYYYYYYYYYYY?"

As the news continued, a face framed by silver hair peeked out from a gate leading to the internal galleries of the Colosseum.

"Where are the others?" Murmured that figure, wrapped in a snow-white coat.

"Who the fuck is that buffoon?" Suddenly asked an impertinent voice from behind the girl's shoulders.

Raising one hand, without turning her head, the figure in white stroked the other's fur. She felt something irregular under her fingertips and frowned.

Suddenly she turned her head.

Snowflake's fur was crisscrossed with scars and wounds, still bloody. The once white coat was now a disaster. From the creature's laboured breathing, it was easy to understand that many of those wounds were still healing.

"Wilder and wilder, eh?" Laughed Lumia.

“I look more like a Supreme Wild Cat now. However, all these wounds are not random, it's all studied: I have imposed myself a handicap to give others a fighting chance against the magnificence of this cat. Of course, of course, to get all the way down to the lever those retarded had I would have to cut my whiskers, maybe a paw or tw... "

Lumia rolled her eyes, but inside her heart she could not hide a certain happiness, seeing that Snowflake was safe and sound and had not changed at all. The training they all underwent this time was not something human. Lumia had feared more than once that some of them may not survive.

She herself had repeatedly risked dying, killed by Iblis. Although, a couple of times, the girl had sensed he was somehow distracted, as if the Devil's mind was occupied with something else, and had managed to get him in a tight corner.

Despite the risks, it seemed that the training had paid off: Snowflake's Aura, despite his injuries, was incredibly dense. He had reached the Second Phase.

The cat looked at the girl and cursed: "How the fuck did you reach the Late stage of the Second Phase? Did you also stabilize the shit out of your Mana?"

Looking more closely at his muzzle, Lumia realized that Snowflake had a large scar going from the eyebrow to under his right eye, and it made him look fierce. Despite his frightening appearance, Snowflake felt at a disadvantage with that terrifying little girl.

Lumia had reached the Late Stage of the Second Phase! And he had barely managed to conquer the Second Phase while training his Skills.

Maybe the girl hadn't trained her Skills much or stabilized her Mana, in order to advance in Level and Phase as fast as possible. Still, Lumia's abundant and dense Aura left no doubt about her strength.

How fucking old was she? Ten? And had she made all this progress?

"For the love of lasagna," murmured Snowflake.

"Can I see if your back is still comfortable or do you need a saddle now?" Lumia laughed, moving a silver lock behind her shoulders.

"A WHAT?!" yelled Snowflake, extending his claws.

And, as the two quarrelled, a scarlet figure appeared in a flash in front of them. The minds of both were assaulted by a will to kill, viscous and truly difficult to ignore.

Lumia and Snowflake were unable to understand whose scary power it was and prepared to battle.

The figure inspired.

In a second, the murderous intent disappeared, allowing Lumia and Snowflake to breathe normally.

"Did you come too?" Lumia exclaimed, amazed, after recognizing one of her companions in that disturbing figure.

A huge bow was clearly visible on the boy's back, wrapped in a scarlet cape. The pointed features on his face shifted slightly, to make way for a pearly white smile.

Vlad nodded. "If Helial wants to overturn Orma, I'm here to lend a hand and take advantage of it, to try to have some fun."

Snowflake and Lumia frowned. Looking back on all the occasions they had been in Vlad's company, they did not remember ever having seen the boy smile like this, nor speak with such ease. Furthermore, even though Vlad was only in the Initial Stage of the Second Phase, there was something truly terrifying about his Aura. Even the fur of Snowflake, a fiery and fearless Heavenly Star Tiger, crawled feeling of the young man's power.

Just then, two voices were heard approaching, one very loud and enthusiastic, the other more feeble and delicate; they were Frankenstein and Lulu.

Frankenstein wore an endless array of new equipment. At a quick glance, he seemed ready to go to war against an entire battalion. Analysing his Aura, Snowflake noticed that the Goblin had reached the Intermediate stage of the Second Phase.

Lulu had changed least of all, but she too had reached the Initial stage of the Second Phase.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Star kept speaking, accompanied by the shouts and whistles of the crowd: “Today we have two very important clashes! For the first round, Medusa's team, one of the greatest talents of the new generation in the Sect of the Worthy," and, at these words, the audience exploded in cheers and applause, “against the team of the King's disciple, Helial!” And here, instead, the audience started to whistle. "It will be a death match, AAAAREEEE YOUUUUU READYYYYYYYYY?"

The crowd replied with some non-identifiable noises, as a sign of approval.

Aure was satisfied with the audience's reaction, but did not show it and continued to sip wine from his golden chalice. He turned to Guiccia and asked him: “Guiccia, what are your predictions? The Merchants Guild is famous for its information network."

"Information has a price," Guiccia replied, without paying too much attention to Aure.

Probably, only that merchant had the courage to treat the two Immortals of Orma as if they were not the most powerful beings in the whole City-State. Furthermore, Guiccia did not side with either, so he was totally neutral. Unlike his son Caliban, who was clearly on the side of the Clan of the Sacred Eagle. But Guiccia knew that business was more important than sympathy. It was a lesson that his son would learn over time.

"Always behaving like a beggar," snorted Big. “If you didn't have several Immortals on your payroll, would you be brave enough to speak like this? I could break in two that fragile marrow you have with half a kick."

Guiccia laughed, shaking all his chins, and raised his glass to the sky: "Let's drink to ignorance!" After that, he swallowed the alcohol and continued to ignore Big, as if he were nothing but an annoying fly.

Nelia was talking to Roxy, sharing with her how much their husbands and the big shots of Orma were nothing but overgrown brats.

Aure, in all this, had remained completely untouched by Guiccia's uncivilized manner.

While Big was insulting Guiccia and Aure continuing to sip his wine, Cesar rose to his feet.

Everyone looked at him and became silent. Guiccia was silent too. Facing of the King's supreme authority, nobody wanted to show disrespect.

"Let the games begin! Let the participants in!" Cesar announced.