Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 496 Venue (1)

(A/N: Bonus Chapter).

From the brightness usually afforded by the great city of Genhuis, the many, many enthusiastic civilians who had decided to go and watch the Premium Age Royale suddenly appeared in a dimmer space.

Strangely, they were already seated.

Comfortable seats with a bouncy plush to them were under their bottoms while above, a blue, sunless sky could be seen, devoid of clouds.

In this space, thick swaths of mana, like blankets could lightly be felt but they did not harm the witnesses.

They were all well protected.

Millions of rows of seats stacked up in rows that rose high while pushing forward as they formed a curve towards the central space in this oval structure!

Millions!

This was...

A ginormous stadium!

All the civilians who had received their Control Seals from the stalls found themselves here after hours of waiting for most of the others to be served!

"What? Where are we?!"

"Wait! Is this the venue?!"

"What's with the sky? There's no sun."

"Are... are we in danger?! Where are the Knights?!"

"Hey, everyone relax! The rules said these things are supposed to keep us safe... right?"

Amidst the clamour, fear, anxiety and trepidation, one of the many said with sweat dripping from his head.

Indeed, the rules that had been funnelled into their minds did say this.

The man pulled on the sleeve to his right arm and found...

A tattoo.

A dark tattoo of text in a spiralling fashion that was printed on his arm!

The rules also specified this.

Right when they were all transported to this venue, the Control Seals etched themselves onto their bodies and began functioning!

"Woow.... Now that I look at this place. It doesn't feel like any place in Pelian..." an old woman remarked as she looked at the sky, the only natural thing she could see.

The rising arrangement towered over a massive distance high up and no matter how someone looked, they couldn't see what was beyond.

After a certain point, only a few seats with a more lavish design could be seen at the highest point, but even they had behind and above them, an extended wall that covered everything outside.

These lavish seats were empty as those whom they were meant for had not yet arrived.

The same was true for the two rows of seats below them, that seemed to also be reserved for high standing personnel.

Contrasting this high position, at the very bottom of the stacked rows of seats, a beautiful tent of sparkling gold and silver was erected, following the oval shape of this arrangement, the seats here also being different when compared to those offered to the general public.

They were also unoccupied, as with the seats at the very top, with harsh distances placed between them.

A great stretch of purple, well mowed grass extended from this tent, beyond a smooth light blue glass that could be said to be a barrier against whatever was ahead.

As for what was ahead, an expansive square-shaped platform that spanned for roughly nine kilometres was at the centre of focus.

? It had a solid white colour with its build looking extremely thick and sturdy, raised about a hundred meters above ground, small orbs of mana fizzing from its surface in a gorgeous show.

A silvery barrier that danced lightly, looking to be as thin as a fly's wings surrounded it, making everyone marvel. The two complemented each other divinely!

This was where the battles would be held!

The Preliminaries, as mentioned in the intrinsic setup!

CREEEEEEEEEE!

High above, a large shadow was cast over this ginormous stadium, a massive dark bird, its likeness akin to a black feathered pelican, flapped its wings as it looked down with a furious glint in its eyes!

Several of these massive birds flew down from seemingly nowhere, bearing down their atrocious natural might that caused everything to tremble with an electric shiver on the everything!

Everything but this stadium!

"Arrrrrghhhhh...wait," one woman had begun to scream when she saw the massive birds but realised...

No sound reached her ear from the giant birds that angrily screeched from high up!

No vibration.

No suppression by mana.

Not even a change in the fluctuations of the wind.

Nothing.

If they didn't see these birds, it would almost be like they didn't exist.

Something disallowed these birds from simply flying down.

"Incredible. It really is safe here. Haha... wait, wait, wait...!"

"I think I know where we are...!"

"It couldn't be....!"

The collective thoughts of millions manifested as a thunderclap, a realisation dawning on everyone here!

They were... in a Cluster?!

A Cluster was the venue of the event?!

As if to answer the lingering doubt within the hearts and minds of the witnesses here, a thrum rumbled from underneath, along with the unsettling clanging of massive chains.

Unlike the screeches and scrawls of the giant birds that had left, these low vibrations and faint sounds rung.

Something powerful was emitting a defeated and pained grumble that made everyone shiver, just the might of it groans bypassing the soundproof rune system applied on the stadium!

The sounds of chains that came along with this seemed to have the same level of power behind it!

Those that had been curious over what was outside the stadium suddenly had second thoughts.

It was best not to know.

The crowd began to settle, some growing a bit more comfortable in the seats.

What was there to worry about?

The whole arrangement allowed for there to be at least a meter's worth of space between seats from the front, back and sides therefore the atmosphere was not stuffy. In fact, a cool sensation destroyed the conventional heat that would normally be expected from having such a lot of people in one place.

Columns of large free space could be seen between every five thousand seats, these being spaces for people to walk through. Additionally, in these spaces, floating doors stood mysteriously in mid-air, their colour a bright silver.

The information fed to the masses alluded to this as well.

These doors led to the restrooms which were designed to be convenient and sufficient for the millions and potentially more.

Above that...

Millions of flashes of silver light appeared right before everyone seated – a small table manifesting with a tray of food and drink on it.

Various assortments of dishes, from quality roasted and stewed meats, fresh bread, salads and freshly cut fruit, the collective aroma which should have been chaotic actually meshing very well.

A hot beverage as well as a cold one were offered in large sealed flasks to complement the buffet and everyone couldn't help but marvel!

This...!

"Dear Listafelle! All this...!"

"Did we come here to drink and eat?!"

"I could get used to this!"

"Hahahahaha! I'm so glad I came! Though I wish a couple of sexy ladies were serving us. <Sigh>. That would have made this perfect."

"Tell me about it. I'd like an interlude that jiggles from time to time. I haven't been getting any action recently."

"I feel your pain brother. Nothing beats having to—"

"SHUT UP YOU DEGENERATES!!"

The anxiety which had slowly been cooling off was brought down another notch as some took a swig of the beverages while others dug into the food.

Utter bliss.

To construct such a massive stadium...

To ensure that millions could be catered for without compromising quality...

This was the power of a House.

The EverSword House!

As time slowly ticked by, the WITNESSES chatting and eagerly anticipating the proceedings leading up to the beginning of the event, more bright flashes of silver light sprang forth from high above, on the seats at the very top of the arrangement.

Several individuals appeared with this silver light.

Over the five seats of the topmost row, three figures, two of which had a striking semblance, sat.

One was a man with a fierce gaze, his dark hair complementing his hazel coloured eyes perfectly. He donned a thick cloak with fine, silver colouring and golden fringes.

He looked over the masses with pride and nodded mysteriously.

To his left sat a shapely woman with a smile on her face, admiring the filled up stadium on all angles. Despite her emotions on everything else, she was proud of what was accomplished by her husband.

She had to.

She moved her hand to hold the dark haired man's own which rested on the armrest and gripped it tight.

"This is it, Rearren," she said in a low voice, to which the man beside her, responded with another nod of his head.

"Indeed," Rearren said as he turned to his right. "Direction is in our favour. Don't you think so too, Rias?"

The third of three figures was a young man with dark hair like his father's but with streaks of blue at the fringes of his bangs. His honey coloured eyes that remained focused on the millions of witnesses here, with some space left to spare where the seats were concerned, held a cold, unfeeling energy about them.

"Yes father, I believe so as well," Rias said while clasping his hands together, one of which had a dark bandage around it from the shoulder to his fingers.

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