89: 3.29 Final Stage

3.29 Final Stage

In half a day, Altair became the most discussed topic throughout the Alaze Kingdom. Everyone talked about his two-seconds-match record and as a result, more and more people came to the quarterfinals just to see his performance. It was so crowded that no space could be filled in the school yard. In the end, the Emperor 'kindly' dispatched his Elite Guards to maintain the order. It caused quite a huge uproar as people started to speculate whether Altair had already attracted the Emperor's attention after one match. And of course, he was also gossiped together with Oliver, the newly acknowledged Prince of Alaze who was said to have been engaged to the member of royalty from another kingdom.2

Thus came the questions; would the Emperor recruit Altair into the Elite Guards? Was Altair involved with Prince Oliver in any way? And…the royalty people talked about, could it be Altair?!

Emperor Bernard smiled when he heard the report from the guard. Everything had gone as planned. Just as he expected, Altair was a superior and excellent Alpha and he didn't disappoint. Just his performance at the elimination stage was enough for the Emperor to acknowledge him as Oliver's suitor and if he kept this up, then Bernard didn't mind announcing their engagement as soon as the competition ended. 

He could be in-laws with Versatine's royal family and his reputation in Alaze would soar even higher. Hitting two birds with one stone hadn't been so easy.

In the quarterfinals, Lu Yizhou's opponent surrendered as soon as his name popped up in the generator. Thus, he went to the semi final smoothly without even having to do anything.

In the semi final, he fought twice and won twice. His opponents were doomed to fail from the start. Lu Yizhou's figure was instilled in everyone's memory that day. The horned and winged beastman stepped on his fallen opponent, the binding around his hands came loose and the white cloth fluttered wildly along the wind. Even then, he showed no signs of fixing it. 

Lu Yizhou emerged as the first place among the top 50 who would give the last fight on the last day of the festival.

And Ryan, the eighth.

It was a far cry from the original plot where he placed 23rd. At first, Ryan indeed deployed the strategy of saving the best for the last however, after having seen how Lu Yizhou fought and how popular he became in the span of six days, he was getting antsy. Anxious. Intimidated. He couldn't wait to prove himself in front of the crowd—the students who had witnessed his fight with Altair that day, the spectators who came to see Altair, the Emperor, everyone—that he was also a remarkable Alpha that didn't lose out to Altair except for their beast sign. Ryan learned that deliberately hiding his strength was a stupid move when his opponent was none other than the winged beastman who shook the entire kingdom with his strength and grace.

If he kept this up, then he would surely be the loser!

How hateful! Ryan glowered at Altair's back who had just come down from the stage after his last match that pronounced him as the first place. Why… Why did he always feel so inferior in front of Altair? It was outrageous, he was supposed to be a mature and cool-headed Alpha, for God's sake! But in front of Altair, he had turned into a vengeful and insecure man.

After convincing himself that everything wasn't too late yet, Ryan abruptly changed his fighting style. He became more vicious, bloodthirsty and merciless. He strived to finish his opponents as soon as he could, desperate to overtake Altair's mind blowing achievement. As a result, he got the penalty for almost killing his rival on stage and his place as the seventh rank was demoted to eighth.

It was no problem. Ryan didn't mind, especially after he was aware that the Emperor had been paying attention to the top 10 winner. He would surely enter the Emperor's eyes. It had been a lifelong dream of his to join the Elite Guards.

Ryan should be plenty satisfied this way but it wasn't enough!

Seeing Altair who was adored, revered and worshipped by everyone, Ryan was unreconciled. He had heard hearsays that Altair was so popular because his opponents always got away with minimum injuries but Ryan felt like it was ridiculous. They were Alphas, and Alphas were predators! They were the top of the food chain, the cream of the crop! What was Altair so gentle and softhearted for? That was just plainly sissy! Ryan felt like he could have done more, he could have given a more satisfying performance, one that would also make his name be chanted over and over again. It wasn't enough at all. 

His original goal to join the Elite Guards gradually shifted to defeat Altair. Not only in fighting prowess, Ryan was obsessed to beat him in reputation, intelligence, number of fans, everything! 

And thus, the last day of the Flower Festival arrived.

The crowd seemed more excited than before, filling the school yard hours before the event started. There were twice the amount of Elite Guards patrolling around the area. Drones flew around the perimeter, live broadcasting the hustle and bustle around the large, solo stage that was built in the middle of the yard. Spotlights shone onto it and the stage was enveloped in steel bars that looked ferocious and intense. Not far from the stage, there was a make-shift podium and throne chair for the Emperor to personally foresee the match. 

At 9 am on the dot, the MC stepped on the stage, clad in formal suit and bowtie. The Beta waved around as the crowd cheered for him. "Hello, everyone! I am back with the final stage of Arena Fighting! Today, we have 50 Alpha contestants that will give us phenomenal performances! Please listen closely! We have special rules from the Emperor just for today. Instead of drawing lotteries like we did for the previous stages, today we will hold the true freestyle battles! 50 Alphas, you're free to fight whoever you want and snatch the first place! Yes, today will be messy. It will be hot. It will be full of pheromones! Everyone, are you ready?!!"

The announcement was followed by an ear-deafening screams and hoots. After that, the MC proceeded to read the name of 50 Alphas who would fight today. Each name was accompanied by jubilant cheers and the closer he was to the top, the louder they were. "...and finally, we have the first rank, the beastman we have been waiting for the most!"

Even before the MC said the name, people had started to chant. "Altair! Altair! Altair!"

"You're right!" The MC stared straight into the camera in front of him and winked. "It's Altair for you!"

Far from the stage, behind the school building where people wouldn't pass by, Oliver was once again helping Lu Yizhou to wrap the white cloth around his palms. This time, he did it more carefully, re-doing it twice before he was satisfied. Hearing the excited cheers, so thundering that the ground seemed to shake along with it, Oliver grumbled under his breath. "Someone's getting popular nowadays, huh?" Nope, he wasn't jealous and nope, he wasn't insecure at all. He was just a tiny, little bit unhappy to see and hear people worshipping his Alpha and how they wished that Altair would take them to bed.

Oliver heard no answer. Confused, he looked up and found the Alpha staring down at him with a ghost of a smile on his lips. In an instant, Oliver's face flushed red. "W—What are you looking at?!"

"You." The man said without batting an eyelid.

Oliver's breath hitched and his heart sped up hatefully. Ugh, why did he always have to be the flustered one? It was so unfair. A touch landed on his bottom lip, gently prying it apart from where he had subconsciously bitten it down. "Don't bite your lips. You will get hurt." 

All Oliver could do was to stare at him like a lovestruck fool he was. Why did Altair have to be so sexy and gentle at the same time? This was why everyone couldn't leave him alone! In a fit of anger, Oliver parted his lips and chomped down on Lu Yizhou's thumb, creating teeth marks around that looked like a ring. After that, he slowly let go and glanced at Lu Yizhou guiltily. Wait a minute, why should he feel guilty?! There was nothing wrong with marking what was his, okay?!

And judging from how the Alpha merely inspected his thumb with a raised brow, he didn't look like he minded. Instead, he even offered Oliver his hands and asked, "Enough?"

Oliver pursed his lips. Of course, it wouldn't be enough. He could only be satisfied after he had marked Lu Yizhou's whole body and covered him with his pheromones. Nonetheless, his mouth betrayed his thoughts. "...En, enough." He brought the Alpha's hand to his lips and kissed the top of his knuckles. "Good luck charm."

Lu Yizhou chuckled briefly. "Good luck charm."

The drum beat loudly and the MC announced the start of the final stage of Arena Fighting. Oliver gave Lu Yizhou one last hug and pecked his cheek. "I will be watching you from the side with Emperor Father, okay?" The Alpha hummed in response and nosed his gland. Oliver had to hold his breath. No matter how many times Lu Yizhou had done it, he could never get used to it.

"Okay." Lu Yizhou let out a long sigh. "Let's do this."

After that, he let go and tipped his heel off the ground, flying up to the roof of the building. 

Oliver watched him until his back disappeared from sight then he made his way to where the Emperor had been waiting for him. The guards escorted him through the throng of crowds and when Oliver got there, Emperor Bernard had made himself comfortable on the throne chair. However, he wasn't alone. 

Oliver's brows knitted ever so slightly but in the end, he ignored Rosemane who was sitting to the Emperor's left just like how the horse omega pretended not to see him. It had been quite long since Oliver last saw her. The last time was when he had just moved into Altair's place. Rosemane looked paler, thinner and her mane didn't seem as glossy. Today, she was dressed in one of her best dresses with delicate make-up over her face. She wore large black sunglasses that covered half of her face, rendering Oliver unable to guess what she was thinking about.

"Oliver, you're here." The Emperor gestured to his right. "Sit here."

Oliver bowed and sat in the seat that was prepared for him. Their location was truly VIP, they could see the stage clearly and there was a canopy above their heads to shield them from the sun. Oliver received a glass of juice from the servants and took a sip. The match in front of them had started. The 50th place was fighting against the 40th. It was boring, Oliver had no idea what was so exciting about seeing two beastmen fighting with each other thus his mind started to drift nowhere and he found himself looking around for a certain figure.

In the end, his peace was broken when Rosemane suddenly asked. "Brother, have you been well?"

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