In the Coldland's waiting room.
Giron was giving advice to Sariel because he was the first fighter.
His only job is to defeat two first members.
After that, he can give up because they cannot afford Sariel to get heavily injured.
He is still young, and getting injured would hinder his progress.
That happened to Michael, and Giron is certain that Michael will stay behind other Kings.
But it only means that he has to train harder to catch up.
Ichiro's job is to defeat Avery, and if he can't…
He needs to injure him.
Avery is still a Martial Commander, and he cannot be underestimated.
Giron has faith that Richard will win against Avery, but he cannot risk anything.
The Principal has a lot of pressure on his back after Abyss moved to Coldland.
And losing in the Battle of Cities would be disastrous.
*Knock* *Knock*
A knocking came from the waiting room's door.
The door opened, and a familiar-looking man walked in.
''Lyon.'' Giron nodded.
Lyon smiled, ''I am here to get your team line-up.''
Giron nodded, ''First is Sariel, Second Ichiro, and third Richard.''
Lyon nodded and wrote them down.
He looked surprised hearing Ichiro's name on the line-up.
'It seems that Coldland has some hidden cards in their sleeves.' Lyon thought with a smile.
''Thank you.'' Lyon nodded and left the room.
''What if Avery comes first?'' Sariel asked.
''Easier win for us.'' Giron said.
''Whew… Whew…'' Ichiro had his eyes closed, and he kept tightening and loosening his muscles.
''What is he doing?'' Sariel asked with a whisper.
Giron looked thoughtful, but then he widened his eyes.
There was little smoke leaving Ichiro's body.
'He is burning his fat?! But why…' Giron thought with a shocked face.
Richard and Sariel noticed his shocked gaze.
They looked at Ichiro and saw smoke leaving his body.
'Could it be?!' Richard thought with a shocked face.
Sariel didn't know what this meant, but he had a hunch that this was Ichiro's final card, and it will be his strongest form.
'What a monster… Isn't he afraid of dying?!' Giron thought about stopping Ichiro's suicidal attempt, but another part screamed for him not to do anything.
His fighting spirit wants to see Ichiro's ultimate form.
Giron had a hunch that he will see something special today.
Something that will change his view of Martial Arts.
…
Snowland's Hospital.
Liam was lying on the hospital bed while TV on the wall showed the tournament.
His body was completely different from yesterday.
He looked like a mummy with bandages all over his body.
Last night, he had his surgery, and he managed to survive it with his great willpower.
*Creak*
The door was opened, and two figures walked in.
The first individual had beautiful white hair and an attractive-looking face, He had a cast on his right arm, and his left hand was bandaged tightly.
The second individual was a beautiful young woman in her 18s. She had long black hair, which was currently tied in as a ponytail, it gave her a vibe of youthfulness, and it clearly showed that she was in the prime of her life. Her cheeks were also flushed slightly in pink while walking next to Michael.
Those two figures were Michael and Alice.
Liam tried to talk, but he couldn't.
''No need to talk.'' Michael said and sat next to the bed, ''How are you doing?''
Liam simply smiled and nodded.
''Good.'' Michael sighed a relief.
Alice sat next to Michael and looked at the TV.
Michael leaned on his chair and looked at the TV.
He was also felt bad that he couldn't fight in the final.
But he was also relieved.
He saw nightmares about Avery last night, and he doesn't want to meet him ever again.
He feels scared for Ichiro because he has to fight against that monster.
But he also knows that Liam should be most affected.
Liam might never be able to fight ever again if he remembers the fight with Avery.
The TV showed the team members of each team.
The picture of Avery was also shown.
Liam's body trembled— he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
Michael also averted his gaze.
Avery in their minds, is unbeatable existence.
Like a god.
But… it isn't only them who think that way.
…
Somewhere in Marq Continent.
There was a beautiful garden with a large lake in the middle. The garden was around 100m in length, but surprisingly it is part of the enormous palace. Trees with colorful leaves surrounded the garden, and small fishes were seen swimming in the clear blue lake.
The grass was pure green, and massive walls surrounded the garden, which was part of the huge palace.
The palace was made of white marble with golden pillars. There were in total of 4 entrances to the garden, and all of them were surrounded by beautiful bushes.
There was total of 4 people sitting at the table, while a large TV was located on a wall.
Two of the figures were around 30s in age.
They both had similarities with their similar blue hair and blue eyes. They were extremely beautiful women, with curvaceous bodies and a gentle vibe surrounding them.
Next to the two twins was an old man in his 80s. His body was trembling even when he was sitting. He had short grey hair with a trim beard, and wrinkles surrounded his face. His face looked fatigued and might die at any moment.
Next to the old man, a young woman in her 17s was seen. She had beautiful long blue hair and a delicate-looking face with rose-colored lips. Her body was petite, but there were some hidden muscles in her tiny-looking arms.
''So that bastard went there?'' One of the twins snarled.
The old man shook his head, ''I-It must be important… The Patriarch of Moonstar family went there as well…''
''I heard rumors that they went there for the daughter of Nightside family.'' The second twin said.
The old man sighed, ''T-They really want to make Abyss their enemy…? Do they think he is d-dumb… He must k-know what kind of person A-Avery is…''
After hearing his name, the young woman gritted her teeth, ''Don't say that name aloud.''
''Sorry…'' The old man said
''I wish someone would kill that r*pist.'' The first twin growled.
The young woman trembled.
''You alright?'' The old man said with worry.
The young woman shakily nodded and gritted her teeth, ''I am fine… He only threatened me once… But I am sure that he will do it if we won't listen to him…''
One of the twins gritted her teeth, ''Should we hire Assassin after him?''
''No!'' The old man suddenly shouted, ''That would be the end of our family.
''What is the point of our family if we can't protect her!'' The twin shouted.
The young woman lowered her head— slight teardrops appeared on the corner of her eyes.
She is afraid that after Avery comes back… He will do exactly what he threatened to do.
The old man sighed, ''Let's hope that… His threat was fake…''
''Hope?!'' Both of them twins screamed and stood up.
They grabbed the young woman's hand and started dragging her away, ''You have gone senile old man! You used to be a great Hero, but now you have gone nuts!''
The old man sighed and lowered his head, ''I am doing this for our family…'' He hatefully looked at the picture which was shown on TV.
It showed the picture of smiling Avery.
''If I was 40 years younger… I would have made sure that you had painful death…'' The old man gritted his teeth.
He looked at his frail body, and he knew that he didn't have long before he dropped dead.
''She is still young… I need to protect her…'' The old man swore in his mind.