The King raised his hand, gesturing to the royal box. An old woman from the stand—none other than the Head of the Ventrgiz family—stood up and began casting a familiar barrier, the same one used in the previous duels.
Under the Coliseum, the guards were quickly bringing death-sentenced inmates from their cells. They lined them up, eyes completely covered, facing a couple of bodies already slumped in pools of blood.
Emerald walked closer to Clinton, a gaze of clear victory in his eyes. "Incest is something that I hate to the born," he declared. Clinton looked up at him, utterly pathetic. Emerald drew his hand toward Clinton, and the blood instantly splattered everywhere. Emerald stepped back. Clinton was beyond recovery, but his natural instincts made him weakly reach out, clinging to the last sliver of life.
In the stands, the Ventrgiz leader suddenly coughed blood and collapsed. The barrier instantly dissolved. The guests were frozen in shock. The King signaled the Elite Guards, who landed on Emerald without hesitation, quickly immobilizing him. As expected, Emerald fell unconscious, immediately followed by Genna collapsing in her seat.
King Zedic rushed to the collapsed witch, offering his arm. She drank some of his blood and offered her thanks. "A hundred and thirty-seven blows? Just what on earth was that?" the King asked, aghast.
"It weren't just blows; they were death blows. Each hit killed him brutally," she replied.
"What about the inmates? How much were there to start with?"
"Around one hundred fifty, I guess."
"From what I felt, I'm pretty sure they are all dead." The King froze upon hearing this.
Under the Coliseum, where the prisoners had been, the guards stood motionless. There were no inmates left—only a pool of blood and flesh.
Emerald opened his eyes to find himself sitting across from Zinan in a chair, a table between them laden with snacks and coffee. Zinan was standing a few steps away.
"Why don't you have some of that?" Zinan insisted.
"The coffee is good," Emerald replied after taking a few sips.
Zinan turned to him with a doubtful expression. "The coffee, it's good. Guess you're a great cook," Emerald said, holding up the cup. Zinan burst into laughter. He came back and took a seat.
"It's called coffee, right?" Zinan asked.
"What do you mean, you don't know what it is?"
"No, I don't."
"Then how the hell did you make it?"
"I just simply recreated the taste that I had in my memory. And one thing to be clear, I'm in your head."
"So, a thousand years ago there was no coffee? What was it then, I mean, what was it called?"
"Indeed we had coffee. It's just that I never got to know this was coffee. Lascrea always served me this. From the midst of things, I thought it was something special she made for me, but I often heard that she treats everyone to a coffee, but I was too shallow, I guess."
"I don't think you were a shallow guy. You must have treasured her so much."
"The only thing I was doing in my entire life was ruling the world and spending time with my love. Other than that, there was nothing for me." Tears began rolling down Zinan's cheeks.
"Even though you are a cool guy, what's with the ending of your life?" Emerald asked.
"Which ending? The one the history tells or the one you want to believe?"
"The one history tells."
"History never tells anything, only the victim and assailant would do, so which one?"
"The assailant's side."
"You're asking the wrong person."
"Ain't you the First Emperor?"
"Indeed I am, but that doesn't make me the assailant, kid."
Emerald reached for a cookie, but the table instantly disappeared. Moments later, the chairs vanished too. Emerald fell to the ground. Zinan turned and began to walk away.
"Brother, the deal! You haven't told me about it!"
"Oh, it's actually nothing. You'll be having your life for another year. After that, you'll be my vessel."
"What do you mean? How could you do that to me?"
"Ain't you the guy who asked me if I was really the First Emperor? See for yourself, Emy. Nothing is free in life. One way or another, you're paying for everything you achieve."
"No, no, you can't! What about my family? Whose going to look after them?"
"I think you don't understand the situation you're in. You won the event. Now you're going to marry Genna of the Embridge family and live here as the new King. Your family is here and now, not in the past."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"It won't, until you understand it."
Emerald woke up in Genna's bed, immediately panicking from the abnormal temperature. All panic cooled instantly when Genna jumped over him, hugging him aggressively, the sheer force of her love palpable. Emerald, pale and overwhelmed, closed his eyes. A few drops of tears raced from his eyelids but didn't make it past his cheeks.
(To be continued)