Headed by a Snake

Chapter 404 Escape

?Lone saluted with his fist to his chest, "Great to see you, Boss. We're doing really well! Oh, that's Edge. Don't mind him-- he's just like that."

? Edge, Bronze-Rank Human Dark Lurker. ?

Tycondrius nodded, giving the fellow the benefit of the doubt. 'Edge' was Lone's duo, and used a rapier along with a heavy gauntlet and parrying dagger... which did not sound like a weapon set his class implied.

Together, they were a... sloppy pair, but their individual combat ability was sound enough to find success.

Tycon reasoned that they had a good chance to get second place.

Lone grinned toothily at his duo, "Edge, I want you to meet my boss. This is--"

Edge grimaced, shutting his eyes and rocking back and forth, "Not now, Lone... I'm having trouble... c-controlling the power sealed in my left hand."

The spiky-haired Rogue cradled his hand dramatically.

...Right.

Tycon took a deep breath through his nose... an action he regretted almost instantly. He concentrated, so as to not gag... then addressed the current situation.

"What's... all this?" He opened his arms, gesturing to the people in the room.

Lone flipped up his eyepatch and scratched at his cheek, "They told us that the tournament needed more bodies... so we got to participate, I guess? If my duo wins, I might be able to get out in 15 years, instead of the 20."

That made sense. The fact that Lone was wearing an eyepatch even though both of his eyes worked perfectly well did not.

"Explain the eyepatch, Mister Lone."

"It makes me look cool?"

Tycon crossed his arms, "Remove it. Please."

"It... it seals his power level," Edge offered from where he sat. "He can't fight without it!"

"If it did, then he wouldn't randomly unseal it right here and now," Tycon countered. "Really, Mister Lone. Do you know what depth perception is?"

"I seal my right eye because all it Percepts is Death," Lone declared.

"That will be all, then." Tycon turned immediately, "I'm leaving."

"W-wait, Boss!! Boss!!" Lone scrambled after him, dragging his heavy weighted ball across the sandy floor.

"Yes?"

"Is... is Sorina in the crowd?" Lone asked... almost hesitantly.

That was an interesting question... Was Lone still romantically interested in the young lady? ...No, that was highly implausible.

Tycon tilted his head, "Did you... have a question about... your pay?"

"Yeah!" Lone nodded, "I'm still getting paid, right? Like I'll get everything I'm owed when I get out, right?? Boss?"

"Farewell, Mister Lone."

...

Tycon returned to the stands, seating himself beside Athena and the others. For some reason, Athena switched seats with Parthenope, the twin-braided girl close enough to rub their shoulders together. While it was slightly insulting that Athena moved away as she did, it was reasonable that he still stank of gladiator musk and would be unpleasant to sit beside.

He didn't pay much attention to the remaining matches in the rest of the preliminaries. No particular duo teams stood out to him in strength or tactics.

It was amusing to him, seeing two members of Guild Stormbrand competing: Cleric Occam and Reaver Tancred... or 'Orcus' as he was called. Per his reputation, Tancred arrived to thunderous applause, the tournament announcer ecstatic about his appearance.

It seemed, however, that Occam fought with no intention to support his partner... Their two opponents, while mediocre in strength, worked in tandem to defeat the Cleric, then turned on Reaver Tancred.

The 'god of battle' fell, disgraced.

Zenon seemed to have gotten over his 'man-crush' on the fellow.

Tanamar offered a noncommital "That's too bad." Otherwise, he seemed unaffected by his twin brother's loss.

Victorius was incredibly disappointed-- almost depressed.

As for why, Tycon could only guess... It didn't take long for him to find out, though. It seemed he had placed a large bet that Tancred would win. Victorius then begged Sorina Capulet for a second chance... a conversation that almost suggested that the topic discussed was something other than money.

Sorina offered the young man a double-or-nothing bet, which the latter readily agreed upon.

The poor fool... Sorina was in charge of House Vanzano's coffers. If he owed her money, his pay could be docked for the rest of his career...

...

Corporal Horse and Private Jeremy had yet to return from Passage. It was a shame... as according to Seldin Korr, the horses at the other-competition could have been easily crushed in martial combat.

All was well, though. Tycon assumed they were still on their mission to keep Lord Greer and his wife occupied, to not interfere with the training of Athena and the other members of Guild Letalis.

Lord and Lady Vanzano were well aware of the Caeruleum Tournament and what it meant for their family name... That is, if they cared, at all.

Maybe they were dead.

Not that it mattered.

Both Guild Letalis teams had passed the preliminary matches, a process that took a few suns. The remaining week would be dedicated to the semi-finals, with the final matches taking place on the sixth sun.

In a welcome turn of events, Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark, won alongside his duo, Edge. Their teamwork was horrible... and was what Tycon would have expected if he had decided to field Athena together with whatever-his-name-was, instead of Parthenope.

Would Lone's Bronze-Rank strength be enough to carry him to victory? Though Tycon was initially hopeful of their success, their reckless, haphazard fighting styles were almost painful to watch.

Tanamar and Zenon had fought together before and worked together well. That was to be expected.

The best news of recent suns was that Guild Stormbrand's team was eliminated spectacularly.

Anyroad, on that particular evening, he wanted to avoid the company of Letalis member, Miss Parthenope of House Aldini. The young, twin-braided lady had shown an inconvenient amount of interest in him, badgering him with personal questions for bells on end.

Most questions, he could not answer, as he had no idea.

Invictus member Seldin Korr was also acting strangely. Throughout the evening, she would snatch onto his arm so tightly that it hurt. He was forced to escape when she kicked him in the shin, underneath a table. Though he had a Gold-Rank physique, he stumbled to a private room and cast an ?Inspirational Surge? to heal himself.

...According to his System, the woman had fractured his leg.

He had no idea what he did to deserve it... and did not want to tempt fate by asking. His healing ability could heal a broken arm or leg, but not a shattered spine.

Tycon snuck out through a window in his ?Small Snake Form?, then transformed back to walk the lantern-lit streets of Caeruleum. To celebrate the Stormbrands' loss and his escape from one bothersome and one terrifying woman, he sought to attain a portion of fire-cooked meat and an alcoholic beverage.