Endless Evolution: Last Star-Chapter 552 Raising the Stakes (Part 1)

In a way, The Rule of Power was just a very important battle. Sure, it was a lot more complicated than that, but in the end, it was the battlefield that decided everything.

If Adam wins, Osana will be free.

If Adam loses, Osana will accept her fate.

Obviously, no one was going to fight in the banquet hall. It was an inappropriate place, deadly for the guests, and... there was no Adam's opponent here.

The Marzo Family needed to find a suitable opponent for Adam in the shortest possible terms, but they had some time to prepare.

It was up to the Marzo Family to find a second contestant since Adam took the liberty of using The Rule of Power. However, they also required an arena.

Arenas were not the only places where experienced fighters fought to satisfy their bloodlust or to have a casual fight with an old friend. They were places where significant matters settled with a primitive but revealing tool: power.

And... The Rule of Power was no exception.

No one watched most of the battles in the many arenas located throughout the Citadel, as they were quick fights without any backstory or significance.

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However, from time to time, there were fights that for one reason or another attracted general attention or interest from certain groups of people.

If there was enough excitement about a fight, then there was an opportunity to place bets. Each spectator had his favorite, in whose victory they were sure.

Sure, not everyone bet to make money, many used it to raise interest in the fight, thanks to the bet they got a thrill. True, winning your bet, especially at high odds was always nice.

But, how could the audience know that there was an important fight ahead?

If the fight was part of some tournament or a famous conflict between the Phantoms that was covered in the news, everything was clear and simple. Bookmakers allowed people to bet on all sorts of events.

However... it was unlikely that the Marzo or Rouzet Families would want too many people to know what was going on. The fact that someone used The Rule of Power to save Osana at their wedding was in itself an event capable of tarnishing their reputation.

Well, if the Marzo Family's fighter wins, then everyone will just nod with deep looks and forget what happened.

If Adam wins, Marzo and Rouzet Families will be in trouble, but the consequences won't be serious since only a limited number of people would know about the fight and they could use their influence to make sure as few people as possible know about the failure.

Zarot and Mariel were going to confer, pick a fighter, and quietly hold The Rule of Power in one of the unremarkable arenas located in the second or third wings, that is, in their territories.

Unfortunately for them, Gladius had other plans.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

At one moment, on hundreds, no, thousands of phones of nobles and rich and influential people close to noble society, the same notification popped up on top of the screens.

"What the hell...?" A young man from one of the many noble families muttered, staring at the screen of his phone.

A man in a purple and black auctioneer's suit with a demon mask was looking at him like some kind of devious character or comic book villain. The auctioneer had a matching cane and top hat.

Whoooooooosh.

With a smooth motion, the auctioneer removed his hat and leaned theatrically with a wave of his hand. Below appeared a message with a brief summary of what was happening, but the gist was simple - 'Come to make a bet and see a unique fight or lose this opportunity.'

A lot of nobles, especially the high ones were baffled and even wary. The reason for their reaction was simple - the invitation came straight to their personal phones/pc/emails/accounts and so on.

Neither their servants nor their families' official accounts received anything, just silence.

Moreover, no matter how much the nobles tried to figure out who sent them this message, they just couldn't do it, no contact was found.

They didn't understand how it happened. Some of them had such a high status that only the top of the army or government had their private contacts.

But... some immediately realized or at least guessed what was going on.

Gladius's style was distinct and clear, for those who were acquainted with him and experienced something like this at least once.

"Hahaha, he shows up rarely, but every time it's something special! And, as always we have no choice, right?" The man sitting in the high-end bar smirked.

A half-empty bottle of whiskey stood on the table, a round ice cube swirled slowly in the amber liquid and a thick trickle of smoke from the many extinguished cigarettes left in the ashtray passed over the glass.

The man tried to hide the notification, to get rid of the demonic auctioneer, but it didn't work. He just shrugged, since he knew it would be like that and just wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

"Well, let's see what this time. What's in store for us? A fight? The death of someone important? The destruction of a squad? Or maybe a battle against a special monster?"

In truth, the man had no preference for that one. He knew that no matter what it was if Gladius was the organizer, it was worth his attention.

Tap.

The man tapped the screen and moved to the website prepared in advance. At the top was a description of this evening's event and the backstory, and in the center were two square cells.

The left cell was empty, and on the right was a photo of Adam Vinter. The only information present about him was his level - K2W0-Phantom, nothing else.

Below his cell was a cell with Osana's photo, and they were connected by a white line.

Below the left empty cell was Nirosh's photo, showing that their fighter hadn't been chosen yet.

Bets could not be placed yet, this opportunity would only open when the Marzo Family chose their fighter.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"You bastard..." Zarot muttered with a blank stare and a pale face.

His hand shook, holding the phone where the same demonic auctioneer was.

The message went out to everyone worthy of it, and the people in the banquet hall were no exception.

Only one person's phone did not react in any way:

'Hm? What are they all looking at like that? What's going on here?' Adam tilted his head in confusion.