Grimoires & Masters - Chapter 23. (Patreon)

The first rays of dawn were piercing through the sky. Thousands of spectators were gathered around the Colesseum to witness the War between two Guilds. Some are sitting in the stands, while some were on their Beasts flying around the boundary of the battlefield. There were also some people standing on top of transparent floating Discs of various colors.

“These Discs are for special Spectators.” Red grinned and informed the two Warriors and the two Novices.

“And what determines ‘Special’?” Aoun rolled his eyes. 

“Money!” Red laughed. “If you spend a lot of money, you are special.” He patted Aoun on the shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah…” Aoun sighed. “Isn’t that why you are the most special one on your team? You spend everything that you earn, and always are poor.”

“Earn it… Spend it…” He answered with his simple philosophy. “Blue saves a lot, so one of us has to spend a lot too.” 

His words earned him a painful elbow on his ribs. 

“Ow..”

“Shut up!” Blue was on the verge of losing her mind. “It’s because of you that I can’t spend money on myself.”

Aoun let the couple be and meaningfully looked at Elena.

“Brother…” A dangerous smile crept on her face. “You think I am wasteful?” 

“No, of course not. How could my extravagant little sister be wasteful?” 

His words made everyone around them laugh. 

“You are in trouble,” Simca warned him. 

“Of course, he is in trouble. But he wouldn’t care. I matter not to him.” Elena sounded sad. “I will be sleeping alone...”

Aoun didn’t let her finish her words leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead. 

“Good!” A bright smile crept on her lips, and she lovingly wrapped her arms around his arm before snuggling close to him. 

“Awww…” Silver and Simca could not help but tease the two fellows over their intimacy.

“It’s about to start.” Grey changed the atmosphere around them with a simple sentence. 

Nearly a hundred meters in the air, Seven figures appeared in seven different cloaks. They did not hide their presence, and their dense Auras constricted the atmosphere of the stadium, turning everyone quiet. 

Only a Tyrant could fly in the air without the use of Artifacts and Runes. These Seven were the Lords of the Seven Strongholds. 

A Master of Ceremonies walked to the center of the battlefield and revealed a parchment to the crowd. 

The spectators burst out in enthusiastic roars just by looking at the parchment, and it confused those who were witnessing such Wars for the first time. 

“What’s happening?” Aoun frowned.

“The agreed format between the two guilds is going to be announced. And also the terms of the War.” Silver explained to him. “It is an Organized War, meant to be witnessed by people.” 

“Ladies & Gentlemen….” A crisp voice resounded in the Colosseum and the sky above it. 

The Master of Ceremonies was using his Primal Rune of Sound to amplify his voice for all to hear. 

“We are here to witness a Guild War between the Thousand Suns Guild and Black Lament. The Format and Terms of the War have been agreed upon, and are as follow:-”

He smiled from under his Mask at the crowd.

“The Battle will be five against five, Individual battles!”

The Crowd erupted in an enthusiastic wave of roars and cheers.

“Warriors Only!”

The two words stunned the crowd into disappointment, and then they were soon jeering and hurling contempt.

Watching the Crowd behave like that, the Master of Ceremony laughed lightly. 

“Worry not, fellows!” He called out enthusiastically. “The five rounds are Death Matches!”

Hearing that they were going to witness Death Matches, the crowd took a change of mood once more, and showered cheers and praises, wishing the brave Warriors their best.

“They chose to keep it Warriors only because they do not want to lose their main force.” Silver explained to Aoun. “This is not a City and is an unclaimed territory without authority.” 

She then gestured Aoun to look around them.

“There are several A-rank Guilds here. And a few S-rank as well. Had the two guilds made their main forces to battle, they would be attacked by them over the Treasure. And at that time, they won’t be able to defend well.”

“Is that also why they have not announced what the Treasure is?” Rumi nodded and asked. 

“Yes,” 

“So fighting is only forbidden inside the Castles, and the rest of the Valley is free for anything.” Elena frowned. “No matter what people do here, The Seven Guilds won’t harm them, but they won’t stop them either.”

“Yes,” Silver nodded. “But they will stop anyone from interfering in the Guild War for the duration of it.”

The Warriors entered the battlefield, and the Master of Ceremonies read the rules for everyone to hear.

“It is a Death Match. Warrior is allowed to use his Rune, his Soul-Beast, and one Contracted Beast. Any weapon can be used. Armors and Shields are allowed, but any other Artifacts are forbidden. It is a Death Match. The killing of Beasts and Opponents is allowed. If you wish to surrender, you can only do so after your Contracted-Beast has died. Your surrender will only count if your opponent accepts it. Otherwise, you must battle to your end.” He turned his attention to the two Guild Masters. “In case you or any member of your Guild interferes in the Battle, you will lose the War. You two had wagered 100,000 Rank points on this War and an unnamed Treasure, is that correct?”

“Yes!” Two solemn voices called out in unison. 

“I will now make a Toss!” He brought out a Platinum coin, “Black Lament are Heads, Thousand Suns are Tails.” He assigned faces to the two Guilds and tossed the coin high up in the air.  

The coin flipped over and over again before hitting the ground and settling on one side.

“Tails!” The Man of Ceremonies announced. “The Warrior from Thousand Suns gets to choose his opponent in the first round.”

The five Warriors of Thousand Suns discussed a few things among themselves, and then one Warrior finally stepped forward and looked at the five Warriors of the Black Lament.

“Was the Toss fair?” Rumi doubtfully asked. 

“No one interfered with it.” Silver nodded. “The Seven Tyrants would have caught any attempt to rig the toss.”

“The mighty Borris has chosen his opponent!” The Master of Ceremonies announced. “It is the Red Raven!”

The Warrior that was chosen speed forward on the battlefield. 

“Betting has started. Do you want to place any bets?” Black smiled at Aoun. “The betting for the first round will close in three minutes. The bet on who wins the War will be close in three minutes as well. And after that, if one wishes to bet on the result of the War, they can only do so in the third round. However, the odds will not be as lucrative as they are now.”

Aoun was surprised to hear his words, but then he saw the transparent flyer in Black’s hand.

“Just flash your Aura-covered hand to that booth…” Silver pointed at a Booth where some people were busy recording things on their books. 

Aoun did as she had instructed and a flyer came flying towards him. He looked around him and saw thousands of flyers flying toward the people who called for them.

The flyer had instructions on it about placing bids. The odds were constantly changing, but settling down as more and more bets were placed. 

The odds were locked after 2 minutes and stood against Black Lament by 5/1. It meant that there was a 20% chance for Black Lament to win this war. In the case that the Thousand Suns won the War, everyone who bet on them would get a 20% increase on their stake. And if the Black Lament won, everyone that bet on them would get five times their stake.

Aoun took his time and observed the two Warriors who were about to face against each other. 

Borris was confident and emanated a menacing Aura. And Red Raven was intently looking at his opponent with a dagger in each hand.

His instincts told him that the battle between these two was going to be quite even. He paid a little more attention to them, and he had guessed as to what their Elements were.

The Odds of the first round were 10/1 in favor of Borris. 

Aoun smiled and placed a bet of 10,000 Kyrls on Red Raven. And then he 50,000 Kyrls on Black lament to win the War. He locked in his bets just in time, and a spell lit up to take his vow. 

“Who did you bet on?” Black curiously asked. 

“10,000 Kyrls on Red Raven winning the first round.” Aoun smiled and answered. “And 50,000 Kyrls on Blank Lament winning the War.”

The people were surprised that he had put the bet on the overall result right at the beginning. Not many people dared to do that.

“Oh…” Black smiled lightly and nodded. “The first Round seems even and so it was a guess. I bet on Borris to win it. But the result will go in Black Lament’s favor.”

“How much did you bet?” White frowned at his words. 

“100k on the first round. And the maximum allowed on the result of the War.”

“What’s the maximum stake allowed?” Red asked excitedly. 

“A million.” Aoun smiled at him. “Black is going to be five million richer after this War. But he is losing that 100k in this round.”

“How are you that confident?” White curiously asked. 

“The Elements of those two... I bet on Red Raven’s Wind Element over Borris’ Earth.” He informed her.

“How do you know what Elements they have?” 

Everyone else had the same question on their minds as they curiously looked at him. 

“Just sensed…” Aoun truthfully answered them. He did not know how he could sense them. 

At first, Aoun had thought that once a Master awakened, he could sense the Elements of other Masters, but that turned out to not be the case. 

Only when an Element was utilized could a Master sense it.

Everyone turned their attention back to the battlefield where the Two Warriors were relentlessly fighting against each other. They were not using their Elements, Beasts, or even their Runes yet. 

Red Raven was faster than Borris, who was much stronger in return. Every time Borris swung his Halberd, it cut the air and created a ‘swoosh’ sound that made the hearts of the crowd skip a beat.

“Wind!” Red called out in shock as soon as Red Raven started utilizing the Wind element in a red shade. His eyes were looking at Aoun in admiration.

“Don’t look at me like that…” He sighed. 

Red grinned at him and then turned to look back at the Death Match. 

Red Raven was the first to utilize his Element, and the first to call out his Soul-Beast as well.

His Soul Beast was a black colored Raven, and people called out in alarm when they Beast utilized the element of Darkness.

Borris was surprised, and hurriedly summoned his Grimoire to call out his Contracted Beast.

“Game over…” Aoun sighed when he saw the Beast Borris had called out. It was a Desolate-Blue Eagle. 

The idea of Borris was to counter a Flying Beast with a Flying Beast, but that proved to be his doom. 

A few stars suddenly appeared in Raven’s eyes, and a wave of light washed over the place where Borris was standing.

“Nightmare Raven…” Elena brilliantly smiled. 

Borris and his Contracted Beast got trapped in the Nightmare Raven’s illusion, and its Master took the opportunity to attack them at that instant.

He first targeted the Contracted Beast, a single swipe slit the throat of the Eagle, and then he attacked Borris. 

His dagger was only able to land a deep cut before the Soul-Beast of Borris appeared, and a barrage of Fire-Balls was hurled at him by a white tiger with red stripes, forcing him to retreat. 

The pain from the wound brought Borris back to his senses. His blood was profusely flowing out, and when he saw that his Contracted Beast was dead, anger flashed on his face. However, he got the message of his opponent. 

“I surrender…” Borris announced. 

The crowd ardently looked at the Red Raven. They wanted him to not accept the surrender and finish him off, but to their disappointment, the Warrior from the Black Lament happily nodded. 

“The First round is Black Lament’s Victory!” The Master of Ceremonies announced, and the crowd clapped and cheered at his words, quickly forgetting the disappointment they had faced at not seeing one die.

Borris sighed and walked out of the battlefield with his Soul Beast. 

The group of Black Lament picked up Red Raven on their shoulders and happily tossed him in the air under the cheers of the crowd. 

“That was quick…” Blue was a little disappointed. 

“Yes, but that was a smart play,” Black said with a smile. “The man successfully instilled fear of death in his opponent’s heart and showed him a way out of it. It was more of a battle of minds than the battle of blades.”

“Red Raven took advantage at the right time. Borris could have won too, but he fell for the trap and believed that the Raven was a desolate Beast. He lost the moment he called a Mountain Eagle to battle it.” Silver informed Rumi and Simca that were seriously looking at the battlefield. “Luck plays a part too. But you need to have a calculative mind to win such duels.”

“The sharper minds win over brute forces.” Aoun smiled and nodded. 

The flyer he had in his hand flashed in a light, his stake of 10k turned ten times, showing his overall balance at 100k Kyrls. 

“Black Lament gets to choose their opponent!” The voice of the Master of ceremonies brought everyone’s attention back to the Death Matches. 

The remaining four Warriors of the Black Lament nodded to each other and one of them stepped forward.

“Him!” The lithe man pointed at a Warrior that was of the same physique as him.

“Ryuuk from Black Lament vs Folly from Thousand Suns!” 

As soon as their names of the Warriors were announced, the flyers flashed the option of placing bets for the second round. 

“Erebus!” Red stepped close to him with a Flyer in his hand, “Who are you betting on?” and asked with a bright smile.

“Folly.” Aoun did not mind it helping him. “But don’t blame me if it doesn’t go that way. Battles are not easy to predict.”

“Don’t worry!” Red patted his shoulder and quickly placed 100k on Folly. 

Aoun also placed all his winnings of 100k on Folly. The odds were 3/1 against Folly, so if he won the bet, he would have a balance of 300k. 

How could have Elena not taken the opportunity as well? She waved her hand at the betting booth, asking for a flyer to place her bets.

“Do not grab too much attention…” Black whispered. “Those people at the betting booth are not simple.”

The rest of the people, who were debating if they should start betting too, curbed their intentions. 

The second Death Match turned out to be a close call, but Folly managed to win in the end, equalizing the score for his Guild. The Warrior from the Black Lament was lying in a pool of his blood, and Folly stood over his body as he destroyed the dead man’s Grimoire, and checked through it for anything valuable before assimilating the fleeting Spirit of the dead Grimoire to his own. 

It was the ability of the Grimoire that was unlocked when a Grey Grimoire evolved into a Bronze Grimoire. A Master could gather Spirit of the Masters and Grimoires that he killed with his hand to nourish his Grimoire, helping it in accumulating Spirit for the next evolution. 

The process only lasted for a few seconds, and the dead Grimoire vaporized after losing its Spirit. 

The Thousand Suns Guild had the advantage now to choose their opponent. A new Match was soon set up, and Flyers flashed the Option of betting again. 

Aoun looked for any changes in the overall odds of the War, but his flyer still showed 5/1 odds against Black Lament. 

“Mine says 5/4 odds against Black Lament.” Red expressed his sadness and sighed. “What do you think about this round?” He asked Aoun.

“Lady should win against the Jockey from Black Lament.” 

“Wouldn’t that put Thousand Suns on an advantage?” Rumi curiously asked. “Are you sure that Black Lament would win?”

“No one can ever be completely sure about anything… But if you ask me, I would still put my bets on Black Lament.” Aoun smiled at him. 

He put all his new overall balance of 300k on Lady, who had 1/2 odds of winning against her opponent. If he won the bid again in this round, he would have an overall balance of 450k. 

Red looked at him place all his wining with such confidence and unhesitantly did the same with his 300k balance. 

“Yes!!!” 

The burly man could not contain his excitement when he watched Lady kill off Jockey. He hugged Aoun tightly and and kept laughing maniacally. 

“I can’t breathe…” Aoun complained.

“Oh, sorry!” Red let him go and laughed maniacally. 

The Death Match between Lady and Jockey lasted for nearly half n hour. They were both grievously injured before Lady managed to kill her opponent. 

Thousand Suns were at an advantage now in the score, and it was still their turn to pick their opponent. 

The Odds on the flyers flashed for the fourth round, and unsurprisingly, they were 6/1 against the Warrior of Black Lament. 

“All in?” Red asked. 

“Mhm…” Aoun thought for a while and nodded. 

He staked his overall new balance of 450k on the Warrior from Black Lament. 

“You guys are crazy…” Rumi sighed at both of them. 

“I will throw you guys a feast if we win this!” Red generously announced. The spendthrift was already planning on spending all his earnings.

Surprisingly, Blue didn’t admonish him over that. 

The fourth round was not as dramatic as the third round, but its result excited the crowd the most. The Warrior from Black lament killed the opponent. 

Black Lament and Thousand Suns Guild were tied, and everything came down to the last round. 

Red was shivering all over, and a big grin was plastered on his face. His eyes were misty, and he passionately turned looked at Aoun.

“Don’t you dare!” Aoun felt a chill up his spine when he saw Red looking at him like that.

“Behave!” 

To his relief, Elena hugged his arm and severely looked at Red. 

“Erebus!” Red stopped himself from approaching him, but he was still looking at him as if he wanted to gobble him up. “You are the best!”

“Thanks…” Aoun sighed and looked at his new overall balance with excitement. 

2.7 Million was a lot for them right now. And he was glad he chose to bet on these Matches. 

“It is the last round…” Red reminded him, but there was not much excitement in his voice now.”

The maximum balance one was allowed to bet on each round was 500k. And the odds of the last match were going to be pretty even. There winning in this round would not be much. 

“How much did you make?” Aoun smiled at Elena.

“1.35 Million.” She showed him his flyer. 

“Alright…” He nodded. “This match could go either way. It is your call if you wish to bet on it.” He smiled at Red. 

All of them ended up putting the maximum of 500k Stake on the Warrior from Black Lament. The odds were only 5/4 against him, so they would only make an additional 125k if they won.