The crowd gasped and was in a state of confusion at what Greed had just said.
Lance, still pale with a dumbfounded look upon his face, gaped at what he had done, what he said to him, and then what he had just proclaimed to the whole colosseum.
"BOOOOO!!"
The crowd erupted in jeers and mockery.
"Coward!"
"Lance had him, so he ran!"
"He just didn't want to be humiliated in front of the whole Valley!"
"What an absolute loser!"
Even high nobles in the audience sneered, laughing behind their gloves and goblets. To them, it had been the final proof that Greed, the commoner, the Bane of the Valley, could not handle the pressure.
He closed his eyes and scratched his head, letting them sing hate to his ears; their blatant and tasteless comments were within hearing distance. But he cared little for it.
He looked at Lance again, and when he finally formed another expression on his face aside from one of perplexity, he knew he had understood.
"WHAT THE HELL, TEDDY!? WHY DID YOU FORFEIT!? THERE'S NO WAY YOU COULD HAVE LOST THAT!!" Star shouted from the sidelines. Though she was loud, she was muffled out by the sheer number of the crowd who thought otherwise.
The rest of the crew seemed to understand, but they still didn't like it.
And then Code, with the bill of his cap shadowing his eyes, burst into laughter, "HAHAHAHA! What an idiot…"—the rest of the crew turned to face him, as well as Star who couldn't decide to be surprised or offended that he mocked her Teddy—"But that's why I fucking love that dumbass!"
The crew finally responded to him naively, "YOU LAUGH!?"
"WHY IS THAT SO SURPRISING!?" Code barked at them.
Alice had a smile on her face as it all happened and then looked over to her sister, who she heard sniffling. When she found her, Belle had tears on her face, and her mouth was wobbly.
"M-M-My Greed! You didn't have to do such a thing!" she wept, almost comically, "But that was so sweet!"
Alice was keen. She understood right away what that had meant to her. Even though she didn't ask for him to do this, and without humiliating her 1st Vice Captain, Greed had done what only those in his close circle could understand.
Back in the ring, Lance pondered to himself. He had understood the action as well, but it didn't fully hit him until the announcer declared his victory and the crowd roared for him and sang his name.
"There you have it, folks! A forfeit from Acting Captain Greed of the Black Wolves! Was Lance too overwhelming for him? Regardless, you have your winner of the sudden death match! The 1st Vice Captain of the Golden Rose Knights—LANCE!!"
They sang his song with praise, and they chanted his name until it sounded like ash in his ears. "LANCE! LANCE! LANCE! LANCE!" the crowd chanted in unison.
While they did, he witnessed Greed turn away, throwing his hands in his tattered pant pockets, and he could have sworn he saw a smile on his face. Not one of mockery or contempt, but of an unwanted mentor whose student finally understood the assignment. An assignment he didn't even know he was taking until minutes ago.
As the ovation of the crowd rang, shadows formed over his eyes and he held his closed fists to his side, whispering to himself, "So this is how it felt… Belle." he bit his lip as the cheers of the Valley citizens, the same people he was about to put in harm's way just so he could prove a point—a point that he was not in the right to make, continued to sting the louder they got.
It was at this time that Belle had gracefully entered the ring just behind Greed. The crowd barely noticed from all their cheering, but Lance did. When he laid his hazel eyes upon her, her face was serene as she tilted her head. Her eyes closed, with a soft and dainty smile as she said, "Good job, Lance!"
When he heard her words, he teared up. The sound of her voice, the tone… it was perfectly meant for him, but he closed his eyes and shook his head because at the same time, it had felt so ashamed.
"I'm sorry Captain… I'm sorry about the statue! I'm sorry for not understanding you and for making things so difficult!" he said, almost shouting. But as he opened his eyes, she had already turned away, chasing after him.
It was in that moment that Lance understood one last detail. The underlying one was also an optional lesson to learn. One that many would have missed because they simply did not look long enough.
He looked behind him and saw the devastated path and the shattered inner and outer barrier of the arena. All that had been from the force of his mere punch.
Had I been included in that…
It was then; he finally learned the truth.
It was not Belle who saved the Valley that day. It was the man he just fought. The 'nobody'. The 'Bane' of the Valley. The one they mocked and cursed and whose name they would never sing of, because he never let them… That had to be it. It was the only explanation for… this.
As the sounds of the crowd still bellowed, Lance held no pride in his stance. No fist raised. No smirk. No words.
He could've destroyed me, but instead… this was what he let me have. Not for the win. Not for the Valley. For Belle, he thought to himself amid the colosseum as he took one final look over to Belle and Greed disappearing into the dark of the hall back into the Warriors' Keep. "I understand now why you chose him…"
Their love was so sudden that he had a hard time accepting it. But perhaps… When Belle wanted to be a light…
Help me become a beacon for the Valley. So that even in the corners of darkness, those who are left there can see. Feel. That they are not alone. That there is hope. That there is light for those who are lost. He thought of her words that day.
She was the first person that made me feel like I wasn't alone. Greed's words echoed in his head afterward.
"It's no wonder… You had already achieved your goal. It was all for him, wasn't it?" he spoke to himself as if he were speaking to Belle. "Integrity, huh?"—shifting his gaze upon Greed now—"Still had to lie that it wasn't you, though." He snickered.
***
Greed:
I walked back to the Warriors' Keep with Belle locked in my arms, when we had made it back, I was met with reprimand as Rex and Snow ambushed me, bonking my head as I entered. They apologized to Belle at the same time as they did. And she giggled as she witnessed the clown show between the three of us.
Ryo was the last to make it to me.
He held a stoic look on his face as he looked me up and down and then raised a fist for me to bump. "Nice work. Man after my own heart."
Ryo was sharp as well. Not many without context could have understood what I had done.
"Ayo! And what the actual hell, man! Did you forget your promise to Maine?" Rex said to me.
"Oh yeah… sorry," I apologized as my 'payback' wasn't exactly what they were expecting.
I didn't bother explaining it to them. It was a type of subtle humiliation only the extremely noble find brutally irritating to bear.
When I watched Belle giggle with my friends, she made my heart swell up. I suddenly realized how that must have felt for her—to take credit that wasn't hers. She was too good for me to have placed such a burden on her like that. Sometimes I even wondered if I even deserved her.
We bantered a bit before I locked in to both Rex and Snow. "No one else disappeared before or during my match?" I asked them.
"Not in here at least," Snow said.
"Ophelia went missing," Belle interjected, overhearing our conversation.
I whipped my head to her with concern, but understanding that Raeyn was always with her as well, and she was not easy to beat.
"Fuck." I said as I put my hands to my face and slid them down to cover my mouth and nose; eyes dragged upward like merely doing so was a burden.
"You go ahead," Ryo said to me like he already knew what I was contemplating.
I raised a brow at him.
"You're not in the Tournament anymore. So, you're allowed to leave to find your subordinate. It's completely understandable," he said, reassuring my decided thought.
"Glad to have your approval," I said sarcastically.
"Hey! But that means!" Rex pouted, "You're gonna miss our match!"
I looked at him and then at Snow, then said, "Wait, isn't Goro still in the Tournament? I was supposed to fight him but got called in to face Lance."
"Ah, Goro…" Rex said, a finger to his bottom lip, "he forfeited too."
"He what?" I replied, genuinely surprised. "What for?"
"Well, same reason as anyone. He did it after Lance challenged you. And then he was allowed to leave with escorts. He's currently assisting the brigade in charge of solving the vanishings. So, if you're leaving, you're probably going to be teaming up with him." Snow said coolly as he picked on his nails.
"What the hell? How's that fair? He gets to forfeit whenever he wants without any repercussions? Had I done that, the Black Wolves would have been abolished!"
Rex signed and raised a brow to Snow. "Who's gonna tell bro?"
Snow loosed a breath as well and canted his head reluctantly as he said, "Bro, unlike you, Goro's certs' are documented and the Snow Lilies are in good standing with the Valley… of course you have repercussions, jackass."
"Shut up." I said flatly.
"Plus, Alphonzo and Henza are no longer here. they're still detaining Zeno and probably questioning him."
"The ones who lost their matches only have to come back here to be treated if need be. And since Goro had no injuries, he was allowed to leave under supervision. You have bruises and scars from earlier in your battle, so you will have to be treated for those first before you are allowed to leave. Is that understood?" Ryo said, like a parent.
"Understood." I responded, leading to more. "About Zeno… You guys don't think the vanishings were his doing do you?"
Rex, Snow, and Ryo looked at me with sureness in their eyes as they all responded, "Absolutely not."
"Good. That's all I needed to hear."
It was settled. With Belle here as my escort, Ryo approving my leave, Nyx watching over Nash and Jo while we are away, and Rex and Snow the last of stage 2 to give the audience a show, everything was in place with no gray areas.
It was at this time that the announcer announced the next match, "Alright folks! With the sudden-death match concluded, we will be moving on normally… But first—an update. During the last match, Goro of the Snow Lilies has forfeited." I could hear the crowd's boos from the echo of the announcer's mic and even just from the reverberations from the ceiling of the Keep when he said that, "I understand how you all feel, but as unfortunate as it is, it also allows us to represent some of our more anticipated fighters into the ring! We haven't seen them yet, but they have won the secret tournament rounds and are ready to showcase their skills to you all in what is now the semi-finals!"
At this time, Rex and Snow readied themselves and were already positioned at their exits at the opposite ends of the Keep. They wore focused and determined looks on their faces as the two friends—rivals awaited the announcer to call their names.
"Now, without further ado! If I may have Snow of the Silver Sharks and Rex of the Green Owls—"
It was so abrupt, but the announcer's mic had went mute, and the lights and even the projection screens in the Keep had shut off, leaving us in pitch darkness.
"What!?"
"The fuck!?"
Snow and Rex both said as a state of panic sounded from the crowd above and we heard muffled cries and shouts.
"The fuck is going on!—" I barely got out when a voice that wasn't the announcer's echoed through the mic…
"Hello, Valley Kingdom. My name is Pride, the Shepherd of the Apostles, and I will be your new host for this year's anticipated Valley Tournament."
I was caught off guard when I heard his voice. His name…
"Greed!!" Belle shouted frantically. And I wasn't sure what gave me the goosebumps that rippled across my skin. The sound of his voice. The utter of his name. Or the tone in Belle's voice as she said my name with such grief-laced nostalgia.
Like an uninvited guest whom one unapologetically hates, I felt my blood boil when a single screen projected above us in the darkness, and I saw his fucking face.