"If you surrender within the first five seconds of the battle, your surrender will be active instantly, and you'll be allowed to leave! The enemy won't be allowed to attack!"

"But if you don't surrender within the first five seconds of the battle, then the rules change a bit!"

"Even then, you can surrender, but then your surrender will only be considered legal after ten seconds!"

"So if you surrender at the time, then the enemy would still be allowed to attack you for ten seconds, and you must survive until your surrender is legal!"

"Any questions?" He asked, looking at everyone. 

No one raised any questions at the moment and carefully listened to the rules. 

Even Salazar wasn't much focused on the technicalities, but it wasn't concerning for him either. He could easily take care of this thing. He was still more concerned about Lucifer. 

Moreover, the people who should really be concerned were Caen and Heath since they were going to surrender, and the two of them could surrender right at the start. So it wasn't bad.

"Good. That was the most important rule. There are basically no other rules. You can use any of your attacks with the intention to kill, and even if you kill the enemy, you won't be disqualified as long as you didn't attack him after the enemy successfully surrendered."

"Now, I'll begin the battles. Make sure to report to the arena as soon as your name is called. The first round of the battles will be today. The second stage will be held tomorrow. The event will last for four days."

The man declared the rules and turned around, watching another man run to him. The second man gave him a list of names. 

The chubby man read the list, nodding.

"Alright. The first Battle shall be between Quonda and Yami! Step in the arena!" he declared out loud. 

"Hah, finally, my turn!" A bulky man started laughing as he jumped over the fence to land in the arena. 

The man's red eyes were a dead giveaway of his Noble identity. But his body was also pretty big. His biceps alone were the size of Salazar's head from the way it looked. 

Other than that man, another man jumped in the arena from a different side of the stands. The second person seemed half the size of the first man, but he also had red eyes. His body was more athletic comparatively

Both of them walked to the middle of the arena, looking confident in their abilities. Both of them believed that they were going to win.

"Wait for a few minutes until we cast the barrier to protect the spectators. After that, the Battle can begin on my count!" The Chubby man reminded the two participants as he walked back.

"Cast the barrier!" He commanded soon after he reached the edge of the arena. 

Some Nobles started using their abilities at the command, each of them standing in a different end of the arena. 

Soon, a powerful Barrier spread everywhere, covering the whole place in its embrace. The arena where the fight was going to be was separated from the place where people and the Noble Lords were sitting. 

The excitement in the spectators was at an all time high at the moment as they waited for the battle, which could begin at any moment now.

"You are going down, my ground," The bulky Noble known as Quonda warned Yami. "So surrender right now if you want to be safe."

"I apologize, but I can't surrender," Yami replied. "I'm here to win, and that is what I shall do. You should be more concerned about your own safety."

As the back and forth continued in the arena, people eagerly waited for the beginning of the tournament. 

The chubby man walked over to Milena and asked her if he could begin. 

Looking at Milena's subtle nod, he also declared, "The three of you can start fighting on the count of three! Take your positions now!"

Hearing his command, both the Nobles took five steps back and waited for the count. 

"One...!"

"Two...!"

"Three...!"

At the count of three, the Battle in the arena began while both the Nobles gave their all. 

As the Battle in the arena began, cheers of the crowd filled the entire place.

Believing that now was the perfect time to ask, Arthur approached Milena. "Your Majesty, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead, Arthur," Milena responded. 

"Ah, Your Majesty, I wanted to ask if you knew anything about Lucifer's disappearance. I noticed that he didn't come to the arena today. When I approached his friend, I was told that he had been missing since yesterday along with their maid."

"And you think I had something to do with it?" Milena asked, amused. 

"Not at all. I was just curious. I saw the maid approach your room in a hurry yesterday. I was wondering if she told you something about the disappearance of Lucifer," Arthur inquired, minding his words. 

"Well, she did tell me something about it. She said that Lucifer had run away, leaving his friends behind. She even said that she watched him leave the city. And that's why she came to inform me." Milena answered. 

"He ran away? Why would he do that?"

"How should I know? I told you what I was told. After that, I sent the maid back to keep an eye on the others to ensure that the other three didn't run away. It seems like they were braver than their leader," Milena let out, shaking her head. 

"It doesn't matter. I only needed one person to bring me their stone. Any of the remaining three should be able to help," she further added. 

"So you send the maid back? But they said that she wasn't back? If she didn't come back and she wasn't in the Palace, then where did she go?" Arthur asked, confused. 

"How should I know? I sent her back, and that's all. We should be the ones asking them what they did to that maid. I give you the responsibility to find out the whereabouts of the maid and if these people killed her. That will be all, now let me enjoy the tournament," Milena responded. 

Arthur knew that there were some things about Milena's story which didn't make sense, but he couldn't question her. 

He simply nodded. "I'll try to find her whereabouts after the day is over."

"Good."

....

"Looks like he's having a conversation with Milena. We should be getting our answers soon," Salazar muttered, noticing Arthur having a conversation with Milena. 

"Yeah. But looking at his expressions, I don't think he received any good news. We'll have to see," Caen chimed in. 

In the meantime, the first battle was already over. The bulky man had realized that he was no match for Yami. Moreover, he was at the edge of death. He believed he had no choice. He could either surrender or die. And he chose to surrender.

After surrendering, he survived the onslaught for ten more seconds before being allowed to leave the ring. The winner of the first match was Yami, and also the person who moved on to the next round.

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