The audience kept looking at the man that was somehow capable of flying with weird eyes. They didn't know who they were since his visit was a secret from everyone which made them whisper to each other confusedly.
The man didn't bother with their curious looks as the voice will clarify things for them. He just had to wait for it to continue.
[Lord Nestern is the heir of the prestigious Clan 'Bloodlock'. He had come here from the Middle world to be present in the annual Mystic Soul Convention.]
When they all heard the two words 'Middle World', gasps of shock and surprise invaded the stands for a good 3 seconds. They couldn't believe that someone had actually come exclusively from the Middle world to their Lower World.
They all knew of the existence of the Middle and Higher World since they were young. In their minds, these worlds were akin to the heavens for gods. These places were lands for the strong, capable, and superior humans.
So, in their minds, they were nothing but inferior beings to this Middle World visitor. So, without any hesitation, they all bowed at him with admiration. It was such a weird thing to see 800000 people bow down so lowly in front of a person.
Acht and Leislet watched this with complicated gazes, especially Acht. He could see the fear in their eyes from this man. It speaks volumes about how this world was shaped to be from a long time ago. Just because its name was 'Lower World' it automatically became connected to inferiority, to weakness, and to patheticness.
'History is always written by the winner is indeed true. These people don't even know why they should bow down to him. What a pathetic bunch.' He shook his head in disappointment.
Then, he looked at the man again. He seemed to enjoy this glory albeit secretly. He had kept his stoic face all the time while watching the people greet him as if he was a king.
Then, after bowing down for some time, the audience started clapping and cheering for him, more enthusiastically than when the 'Origin Emperor' appeared. They had to show their respect to the man as if bowing down wasn't enough.
[Tomorrow, when the Tournament will start. Lord Nestern will be a witness to the tournament and shall give the winner a reward he or she will never expect. So, every contestant, please try your hardest as this is the opportunity of a lifetime that might not appear again in the future.] The voice said while emphasizing the last part greatly.
Then, like a mist, the man vanished from the place as if he never existed, leaving people in shock and also with so much excitement for what was about to come.
With that, the ceremony was over and people started leaving the place while talking and discussing about the tournament that will start tomorrow and end on the last day of the convention. They all were eager to see who was going to win and most importantly what kind of reward they will get.
Acht and Leislet were also about to leave since they had to deal with other things.
"What kind of reward could it be?" Acht asked Leislet.
"I don't know. They didn't want to tell me since that guy seemed to not want to tell everyone about it. I think this is a good push for you to try harder to win. Good luck~" Leislet said as she walked out of the room casually.
Acht digested her words and nodded his head. He had to try harder to win this competition since many things are at stake in this tournament.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go." She said to him since he seemed to have fallen into deep thoughts.
'Let's see what the future will hold for me.' He thought as he left the room and walked with Leislet toward the exit.
In the corridor they were walking through, there was an intersection that led to both exits, the southern and the northern exit. So, as they were about to take the turn, they stumbled into a certain person, someone that Acht knew very well.
"Oh?"
"Hm?" Acht looked at the person with a very familiar voice and his eyes widened slightly.
"...Acht…" Muttered the woman with a dazed look that seemed to speak a thousand words.
Acht could see deep in her eyes how surprised she was to see him here so suddenly.
So, after a moment, he mustered the energy to speak.
"It's been a while…Scarlett." He said with a complicated tone. The moment he saw her, the flashes of the horrible torture he saw in that cursed lab came back to him like a rushing train.
"...Acht! Is it really you?!" She said excitedly as she basically jumped on him and hugged him tightly. Her usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, cut it off. You are suffocating me." He said as he tapped her shoulder slightly.
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. How are you? Did you pass the hunter exam? Is everything ok?" She overwhelmed him with questions, one after another.
"Sigh, calm down. I'm fine. How about you?"
"I-"
"Ehem." A small cough interrupted their conversation. Leislet then looked at Acht and then at the red-haired beauty that appeared out of nowhere and hugged him out of nowhere. They seemed like very good friends and that wasn't something Leislet would accept.
It was at this moment that Scarlett discovered the existence of Leislet too; since the moment she saw the boy, everything around her became blurry and unrecognizable.
"Who are you?" Scarlett asked as she squinted her eyes.
"That's my question, who are you?" Leislet also asked with her eyes squinted and almost glaring at the girl.
A cold atmosphere invaded the place like a frost storm and made Acht sense the imminent danger.
'Shit, this is not gonna end nicely. How should I stop this?' he thought as he looked around hurriedly.
Then, another massive problem fell down on him.
"Acht?" His ears picked up a cute voice of a small girl who he knew very well too.
He looked to the other side of the corridor and he saw a blonde small girl looking at him with her misty eyes that threatened to cry at any moment.
'Oh, fuck.' He thought quietly as he looked at the trio.
It was the reunion of a lifetime.
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