CHAPTER 62: VARNISHED BODY

The body disappeared before morning.

I’d posted guards on the alley where the League defector died. Lucille had wanted to examine the brand on his wrist, Marcus needed to analyze the magical signature, and Ravenna thought she could use necromantic divination to pull more information from the corpse.

I should have taken the body to my headquarters but with the academy still on my neck and the fact that the body belongs to Barron Celestius, I didn’t want to do anything hasty.

But by dawn, there was nothing. No blood. No body. No evidence he’d ever existed.

I wasn’t surprised.

But I was curious about the message carved into the stone wall in letters that glowed faintly purple.

"We collect our own..."

"Necromancy," Ravenna said, running her fingers over the carved letters. "It’s high-level. The kind that makes bodies vanish completely. Bones, blood, everything."

"They’re cleaning up loose ends," Lucille observed. "He talked and hey made sure there’s no evidence."

"Or they’re sending a message," I said. "That they can reach us. Anytime. Anywhere. Besides, they might even be the one to sent the guards in the first place. All of this might be an elaborate plan they set up."

I already filled them in on some of the happening with the Fallen, the League.

Marcus was using some kind of detection crystal on the wall, frowning at the readings. "The magical signature is weird. It’s like... fragmented. Five different sources woven together."

"Five," I nodded. "Like the brand showed five symbols. Five fallen heroes," I confirmed. "That’s what he said, the worst ones."

We stood in silence, processing that slowly.

"So what do we do?" Marcus asked finally. There was a hint of fear on his face.

"We get stronger," I said. "Fast. With any way possible. We’ll throw ourselves into any cost to grow stronger. Besides, the tournament is coming soon, we’ll use the opportunity. And.... I hear there’s some shadowy way in our underground fighting pit?"

They all looked at me silently with determination shining in their eyes.

"And the Baron?" Damian had been quiet until now. "He’s still here and still investigating the faction."

"Let him investigate. He won’t find anything illegal." I turned to face my inner circle. "But we need to be smart. No unnecessary risks and no public confrontations, we are going to lay low, train hard, and prepare."

"That’s the sensible plan," Lucille said. "So why do I get the feeling you’re about to do something reckless?"

I smiled. "Because you know me too well."

☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆

The notice appeared on every shadowy corner in the academy that afternoon. Just as I anticipated.

UNDERGROUND FIGHTING.

For Those Who Dare.

Real combat with no rules and academy oversight.

Large competitors. Single elimination.

Prize: 50,000 gold + Legendary Weapon

Registration: Tonight, Midnight, Underground Arena

First matches: Tomorrow at sunset

Students clustered around the boards, whispering excitedly. Underground fighting pits were legendary, they are brutal, dangerous, and completely illegal. The academy officially condemned them.

But that’s only on paper and they would turn blind eyes to anyone doing in as much as they don’t go overboard.

Which meant everyone wanted to participate.

"You can’t be serious," Isabella said when I told her I was entering. "The Baron just tried to arrest you. Victor told you to keep a low profile. And now you want to fight in an illegal tournament?"

"It’s perfect cover, actually. If I’m publicly participating in student activities, I look less like a dangerous criminal."

"This is not a normal student activity!"

"It’s not that unusual," Seraphina interjected. She’d been sharpening her sword in the corner of my headquarters. After all the whole event she’d been spending more time with us than before even though she had not officially joined us. "I’ve fought in three underground tournaments. Great way to test yourself against real opponents."

"You’ve fought in illegal combat tournaments?" Isabella stared.

"I’m a warrior and all warriors do is fight. How else do you think I got this good?" Seraphina tested her blade’s edge. "Though I should warn you, Hadeon , these tournaments attract serious fighters. I’m talking about students who could go professional. Some of them are actually stronger than their official academy rankings suggest.

"And most of them are not from this academy, the school allows it tacitly."

"Good. I need strong opponents." I said in a grim voice.

"Why?" Ravenna asked. She’d been quiet, sitting in the corner with a book. "What’s the real reason?"

I met her eyes.

"Because in two weeks, we’ll likely face other academies in the tournament. And after that, we might face the League or other troubles. I need to know my limits. Need to push past them. Need real combat experience against different opponents." I paused. "And I need the faction to see that we can stand up to anyone. That we’re not hiding."

Besides, what’s the way to survive in this damned place expect by growing stronger?

"It’s also good PR," Marcus added. "Baron says you’re a criminal conspiracy? You participating in a student tournament, even an illegal one, makes you look more like a regular student."

"Exactly."

Isabella sighed. "Fine. But I’m coming to watch. And if you get killed, I’m going to be very annoyed."

"Noted."

-------

Midnight found me in the depths beneath the academy.

The stairs went deep. Sixty feet or more and the temperature dropped, with the air smelling of stone and old blood.

At the bottom, the cavern opened into a vast space, carved it into an amphitheater. Stone seats rose in tiers around a central fighting pit. Magical lights floated near the ceiling, providing dim illumination that cast dramatic shadows.

About two hundred students were already there, clustered in groups. Some I recognized from classes. Others looked older, maybe graduated students who returned for these tournaments. A few wore masks or hoods, concealing their identities.

At the center, a scarred table served as registration. Behind it sat a woman I’d never seen before, in her mid-thirties, with cold eyes and a fighter’s build. Her left arm was covered in magical tattoo-brands, each one representing a tournament victory.