92: 3.32 For You, My Glory

3.32 For You, My Glory

No, Lu Yizhou gritted his teeth. He couldn't do that. He wasn't allowed to kill. His head was throbbing from the bloodthirst and only a shred of sanity was reigning him back again and again. 

The small voice inside him argued back again. If you aren't allowed to kill, then can't you make his life worse than death? Isn't that what you're best at? Haven't you done it all your life?

Something within Lu Yizhou snapped as soon as the thought flashed through his mind and he let out a low rumble from his chest. His eyes blazed as he stretched his arm out from the side, eyes zeroing in on the slight opening on Ryan's neck, the place where his life would possibly be cut if the attack connected. However, a split second before it did, Lu Yizhou changed the trajectory by force and the strike ended up landing on Ryan's shoulder. But that alone was enough to rip off the skin there, earning him a holler of pain and surprise.

When Lu Yizhou came to his senses, the surrounding was silent. Eerily silent. The spectators watched wide-eyed as blood dripped down Ryan's shoulder. Throughout almost three matches Lu Yizhou had gone through, this was the first time he truly injured his opponent enough to spill blood. They were indeed taken aback but… another wave of more fervent and rabid screams blasted the air, it could possibly be heard until miles and miles away.

"You rock, Altair! Give him that!"

"Teach him a few more lessons!"

"Altair, are you taking revenge on Hubert?! Are you two friends?!"

"Uwuwu, how can he be so cool?! Even if he's fierce, I still like him so much!"

The leopard Alpha clutched the wound, face paling slightly. His breathing was ragged, but nonetheless, he still didn't forget to throw another provocation. "Right, just like that. Why are you pretending to be merciful? Deep down, you want to kill me right?"

Right. He's right. Lu Yizhou really wanted to kill him. Seeing blood excited him further and rage was shimmering beneath his veins, just waiting for the right time to explode. The combination of his upcoming rut and Ryan's repulsive pheromones almost burned his patience to shreds and Lu Yizhou knew he had little to none to begin with. Fortunately, 666's piercing shrieks were sharp enough to drill a hole through his eardrums and shake him awake. Well, the system could be useful sometimes, he mused.

Lu Yizhou scrunched his eyes shut for a second before opening them again. The anger and irritation faded away and the pools of placid and impassive look returned to his silver eyes. He nodded in answer to Ryan's question, deliberately ignoring the sarcasm. "You're right. You aren't exactly likeable and I am currently not in the best mood. So why don't we finish this as soon as possible?"

Ryan gawked at him in disbelief and resentment overtook his twisted face. "You—!" He roared and lurched forward, the strikes started to come off unrestrained and messy. "DIE! DIE! Why don't you just disappear for good?!" 

Ryan had never hated anyone as much as he hated Altair, it was like the winged Alpha had just exterminated his whole family or something. He also had no idea where such a strong emotion came from, maybe it was the enmity from the past life or maybe they were just born to be on the opposite sides. Everything Altair did irritated him, it was like he was born to stand in Ryan's way. He hated Altair so much. The enclosed space, the noisy screaming, the violent clash of their pheromones, the way those silver eyes were always calm and imperturbable as if Ryan wasn't worth his attention and finally, Altair's last words… It set him off and his temper exploded. His eyes could see nothing but the winged Alpha's frowning face as he released the full onslaught of his power, the muscles in his whole body strained to tear one injury after another on the other's body and relished when he saw blood oozing out of it. He was reduced into an angry mess of instinct, abandoning his logic and let the animal within him take control.

The fight wasn't long. From the thirty minutes of alloted time, they only took less than half before the fight concluded. 

The more Ryan blindly attacked, the more opening Lu Yizhou detected. He blocked Ryan's kick to his neck with his arm, effectively dislocating his wrist but he ignored the burst of pain to grab onto Ryan's leg in a tight grip, causing the leopard Alpha to lose his balance. Ryan's eyes widened when a straight punch was coming onto his face and only adrenaline drove him to use both arms to shield his face. Within a fraction of second, Lu Yizhou's leg connected with his waist and his body flew to crash against the metal ring, hard. Ryan rolled to the ground and coughed out blood, his organs seemed like they had been twisted inside out. Intense pain lingered throughout his body, not only because of the receding adrenaline but also because he had strained himself too much.

Ha… Ryan laid there on the ground, sending a fervent stare on Lu Yizhou's way, unreconciled. I lost, he thought with his fading consciousness. And he didn't even fly to fight, damn it.

Lu Yizhou slowly lowered his leg. He swayed on his feet and held onto the metal ring beside him, breathing heavily. The series of last attacks was too fast that the spectators couldn't catch up and when they blinked, Ryan had fallen to the ground in a messy heap.

Once again the spectators were stunned to silence.

"..."

"...What happened?"

"Has the match already ended???"

"Can we replay the last few seconds in slow motion?"

After that, realization dawned on them.

"Holy shit… Altair wins."

The bell sharply rang and the spotlights fell on Lu Yizhou's figure. "Congratulations!" The MC loudly exclaimed, excited beyond reason. "Let's welcome our ultimate winner for this year's Arena Fighting, Altair!"

"Oh—Oh my God!!!! That's the most amazing match I have ever seen! It's so freaking intense!"

"I simp for him so hard!"

"Altair, have you bonded yet?! Do you want to consider me?!!"

"ALTAIR! ALTAIR! ALTAIR!"

Lu Yizhou shielded his eyes amidst the glaring lights as the ventilator worked to suck the remnants of Alphas' pheromones away. After that, the paramedic went on stage to bring Ryan away. One of them approached Lu Yizhou, asking loudly to rival the bursting cheers. "Are you okay?! Do you need help?!" Lu Yizhou waved a hand offhandedly and stood up. He tried to roll his wrist with a grimace and then with a resounding crack, put it back in its proper place. The paramedic's eyes twitched at his action before he proceeded to dump a bottle of medicinal spray for Lu Yizhou to stop the bleeding.

He muttered a quiet thanks then as if sensing an intense gaze that hadn't left him for the whole match, he looked up and met Oliver's wet and red-rimmed eyes. Silly, Lu Yizhou thought with ample amusement. Why is he crying again? 

The Beta MC jumped to the stage and beamed at Lu Yizhou. "Congratulations! I knew you would win! You're awesome!" However, the person he was looking for didn't seem to hear him. The MC followed Lu Yizhou's line of sight and his brows raised in intrigue when he found the two that were still engaged in a staring contest. Hoho, he smelled something here. Bringing the microphone back into his mouth, he huffed a laugh. "Okay, guys. Calm down. I know you all love Altair so much. I love him too!" His sentence earned him loud boos from all directions and he guffawed. His peripheral vision caught sight of Lu Yizhou who was looking at him with a deadpan stare and his laughter promptly faded. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, even though we already have the winner of Arena Fighting here with us, the event hasn't ended yet! For those who want to fight your way into the top 10, you're free to deliver your challenges! In the meantime, because His Majesty the Emperor has something urgent to attend to, he will grant Altair his prize right at this second!"

As the MC talked, Emperor Bernard had made his way to the stage, two servants trailing behind him with a tray on their hands. The crowd was still chanting Altair's name again and again, full of reverence and worship. The more Emperor Bernard looked at this beastman in front of him, the more satisfied he was. There was pride in his eyes as he raised one palm to calm the ruckus down.

Lu Yizhou got down on one knee and put his right palm over his chest. "Your Majesty."

The Emperor reached for the brooch on one tray. It was an exquisite design made of pure gold with the insignia of Alaze engraved on it; depicted by the image of Mother Tree as the source of all living beings, inlaid with pieces of delicately crafted diamonds and gems. The jewels caught on light, its luster transmitted across the screen and anybody who saw it sighed in awe. This was a badge of honor, one that only the Emperor himself bestowed to individuals who had accomplished an exceptional achievement!

"Congratulations, Altair Versatine," The Emperor gave a smile as he pinned the brooch to Lu Yizhou's chest. 

The last name he uttered created another buzz among the people. Versatine? Where had they heard it before? All of a sudden, someone gasped loudly. "Versatine? The kingdom that's situated atop of the Sky Mountain?!" The one sentence was akin to water that splashed into boiling oil, sizzling and popping as they went. In the matter of seconds, the name Versatine had spread among the crowd and everyone was whispering, speculating.

Rosemane's eyes flew open and her calm facade cracked into one of pure shock. She shot up standing, appalled. "V—Versatine?!" It couldn't be. The reason why Altair could bear the name of the kingdom as his surname was because… Her head whipped to the side and saw Oliver whose eyes were fixed on the figure on stage, oozing with nothing but intense adoration. He knew… Rosemane realized, her feet swaying as disbelief shook her whole body. Oliver knew. Emperor Father knew. 

Only she didn't know…

Emperor Bernard's next sentence confirmed everyone's doubt. "The Crown Prince of Versatine Kingdom is indeed a remarkable individual like the rumors said. He carried himself with grace and mercy, intelligent and most importantly, humble as how a Prince should be." The Emperor laughed voraciously and put the flower crown on Lu Yizhou's head. "I am very honored to receive His Highness The Crown Prince to this kingdom and bore witness to his fighting prowess."

The crowd went wild. Just the Alpha's gorgeous features and exceptional beast signs were enough to make them swoon, then the gentleness and mercy he showed made them adore him, hard. And now, they're told that he's a royalty at that?! Could he be any more perfect?!

"Cheers to Prince Altair!"

"Your Highness, I love you!!!"

"Wait a minute…then the rumors of Prince Oliver being engaged to a royalty from another kingdom…?"

After having achieved his purpose, Emperor Bernard waved to the fervent crowd and sauntered on his way, leaving Lu Yizhou in the eye of the storm. Multiple drones flew overhead, each one was intently recording the minute shift of his expression. It was certain that today, Altair's name would be known to every corner of Alaze and possibly to the neighboring kingdoms around. Alas, the person himself didn't seem to be shaken by the revelation, there was none of the elation, delight or triumph for being revered or loved by many. Only the usual poised and placid look. Funnily, such a person made everyone love him more.

His match had finished but instead of taking the usual route down the stage, everyone witnessed the Alpha ended up spreading his wings and took off flying. Under thousands of widened eyes and gobsmacked faces, Lu Yizhou landed in front of Oliver who was equally dumbfounded. 

Holy shit he was so handsome, Oliver thought when Lu Yizhou landed in front of him. Not the usual prim and proper him but a different kind of wild and sexy. His silver hair was tousled messily—but still effortlessly gorgeous—faint layer of sweat covered his skin and coupled with the speck of blood here and there, he painted the very image of sexiness and danger.

He was close, close to the point where Oliver could smell his sweat and all he wanted to do was to bury his nose into the Alpha's neck and stay there forever. 

From the back of his mind, Oliver was aware that his expression was so silly now. If previously no one knew his adoration toward Altair then now, everyone—he meant it, every single person in Alaze—must have seen it clearly on his face. The camera was still rolling, diligently recording his reaction and Oliver wished that his stupid face wouldn't make the headlines tomorrow. 

Oliver snapped out of his stupor and closed his mouth. "Altair…?"

If previously Oliver had difficulty breathing then now he officially felt his heart tumble out of his ribcage. Lu Yizhou took off his flower crown and proceeded to place it on Oliver's head, a thin smile—the first smile everyone had ever seen!—graced his lips. His silver eyes were filled with indulgence. "For you, my glory." As he had promised, he would place it into Oliver's palms and crown it to his head.

Oliver gaped at him and all the thought of his silly face being the headline news flew out of the window. The Alpha's words echoed again and again in his mind, drilling into him with a force that was enough to sweep his feet off the ground. It was only when his chest started to hurt did he remind himself to take a breath. Right, breath. Breathing was important. 

"Altair, you…" He swallowed thickly. He was so taken by surprise that he barely registered when Rosemane left, leaving him alone with Lu Yizhou in a space that seemed to be created only for the two. "You're giving this to me…?" 

Oliver was once again shocked when Lu Yizhou suddenly went down on one knee in front of him. He took Oliver's palm gently and dropped a kiss on the top of his knuckles, gentle and reverent. "Yes," he said. "I never went back on my promises. This glory is for you."

.

.

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Mini theater

There was a famous legend about the flower crown that was bestowed by the Emperor himself for every ultimate winner of Arena Fighting. It was said that if the Alphas presented the flower crown to the person they liked, then they would stay together forever. 

It was cheesy, yes and kind of too good to be true. But history had recorded it down. Arena Fighting had been around for hundreds of years since the establishment of Alaze Kingdom. Back then, the first Crown Prince personally registered in the event, disguising himself as an ordinary folk. After that he succeeded in obtaining the victory and in the heat of the moment, proposed to the omega he liked right in front of everyone. At that time, he hadn't prepared any ring when he went down on one knee but then he saw the flowers in full bloom and thought to weave a flower crown for his beloved.

The proposal went smoothly and the omega became the Crown Princess Consort and then the Empress of Alaze. They both lived happily ever after and died of old age.  1

Inspired by the Crown Prince, the subsequent winners would weave a flower crown, every single year without fail, to confess their feelings to their lovers. One by one, they obtained happiness and the stories started to spread far and wide around Alase, gradually becoming a legend that lasted for centuries.

[666: …]

[666: …Host, do you know the legend about flower crowns?]

[What legend?]

666 saw its Host's oblivious expression and let out a sigh. Right, its Host was dense so how was it possible for him to know this kind of legend? Glancing at Oliver's red-rimmed eyes, moved to tears by Host's gallant act, 666 had the urge to light a candle for Lu Yizhou.

Even being dense has its own limit, okay?! This… How was it any different than a proposal?!

Host, this is your own doing ah!

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