The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

Judge Dredd approached the young man who had raised his sword towards the heavens to declare his victory.

“Winner! Keane!”

Cheers rang out from the stadium while the skinny young man released a deep sigh before collapsing in Judge Dredd’s arms.

The Clerics who were waiting at the scene immediately rushed to treat the two Swordsmen who had awed everyone with their superb swordsmanship.

Even those who thought badly of the Four Kings didn’t say anything bad towards Gilmore, who laid unconscious on the ground. He had fought wonderfully as one of the strongest members of the young generation, and no one would fault him for losing in such an amazing match.

“I’m so proud,” the Boar wiped the tears in its eyes. “I was the one who raised Little Swordy since he was young. This fight makes me very satisfied as a parent.”

The contestants who heard the shameless Boar’s statements couldn’t stop their lips from twitching. Clearly, someone was taking credit for something it obviously didn’t do, making everyone who heard it despise the Boar, who claimed that it was the one who raised the Mysterious Swordsman, who had successfully become one of the Elite Four that would enter the Semifinals.

Today was the last day of the intra-division battles, and whoever won their matches today would immediately advance to the Semifinals.

“My match is next,” the Boar said in an arrogant tone. “Watch me win this match easy peasy.”

“I will light a candle for you and put a flower on your grave,” Lux replied as he watched the Boar walk down the platform that led towards the arena.

The Boar didn’t even bother to turn its head because it didn’t want to hear any bullsh*t before its match.

The audience laughed when they saw the Boar coming up on the stage. In truth, none of the audience expected this creature to advance to the Final Division Battle due to its lackluster performance.

Its opponent was one of the Five Overlords, but it looked at its adversary fearlessly with the “Never Say Die, and Never Surrender” expression on its face.

Judge Dredd glanced at the two fighters, and asked them if both of them were ready.

“I was born ready!” the Boar declared as it arrogantly raised its snout towards the sky.

Judge Dredd nodded his head before looking at the Boar’s opponent.

“How about you?” Judge Dredd inquired. “Are you ready?”

“I concede this match,” the young man who had several tattoos plastered on his body said with a firm and steady voice.

The audience, who was waiting for a good fight, thought that they were mishearing things. This match was important since the winner would immediately become one of the Elite Four, yet one of the Five Overlords, who was one of the seeded participants, conceded to the Boar, who was clearly no match for him.

“Um, are you sure?” Judge Dredd asked just to be sure. “Since the fight hasn’t started, you can still change your mind.”

“I will not change my mind,” the young man replied. “I will concede this match.”

Without another word, the young man turned around and left, leaving a dumbfounded Judge Dredd behind.

The Boar, who had just won its match because its opponent conceded, sighed.

“He understood that he didn’t stand a chance against me, so he decided to concede as soon as he could,” the Boar said with a smug look on his face. “Such an admirable warrior. I’m sure that the heavens will bless him. Um, referee… can you declare my win now? I mean, there are still other matches, right? I don’t want to get blamed by delaying their fights…”

Judge Dredd glanced at the Boar before shifting his gaze at Bruno who was seated in the Supervisor’s seat of honor.

Bruno could only shrug, which meant that he didn’t see anything wrong with the fighter’s decision to concede.

“The winner for this match is Cai!” Judge Dredd announced, making the Boar walk out of the arena with its snout raised high.

Lux, who was standing on the platform with the other contestants, was just as confused as everyone else. He didn’t know why one of the Five Overlords would forfeit his match against the annoying Boar, whose only redeeming points were its appetite and chatty mouth.

A few minutes later, the said Boar returned to the viewing platform with a smug expression on its face.

“Maaaaan, I told you I would win my match easy peasy,” the Boar bragged as soon as it stood beside Lux. “I’m so amazing, right?”

“Right,” Lux replied as he glanced at the chubby boar, who was humming happily beside him. “Did you bribe your opponent? Did you threaten his family? What kind of black magic did you use against him?”

All the contestants’ ears perked up after hearing Lux’s questions. They also felt that the outcome of the match was very suspicious, so they decided to eavesdrop on the two chubby comrades who were seen together all the time.

“Bribe? Threatened? Used Dark Magic?” the Boar asked with disdain. “Do you really think I’m that rich, intimidating, and magically blessed to make my opponent concede without even fighting me? Just who do you think I am?”

“A thick-headed, shameless pig, who only knows how to eat pork dishes.”

“Absolute slander. Isn’t that cannibalism? Hey, I’m a vegetarian. I only eat healthy foods like vegetables and potatoes. Clearly, my opponent knew that I was superior to him, so instead of being hurt and humiliated by me, he decided to cut his losses short and admit defeat. This is a very noble thing to do, and I can understand his hesitation to fight me. I mean, I’m that awesome, you know?”

Lux rolled his eyes at the shameless braggart beside him and just focused his attention on the next match.

It was Nero’s turn to fight, and Lux had always been interested in seeing how his rival fought, so he could observe his fighting styles and abilities.

‘He is going to fight the last King that belongs to their group of elites,’ Lux thought. ‘I hope that I will see some of his trump cards before we clash in the Semifinals.’

Lux firmly believed that Nero would not lose his match, even if he was fighting against one of the Kings of the younger generation. That was how highly the Half-Elf thought of his opponent, who had looked down on him ever since they had gotten to know each other.

As if waiting for that moment, Nero entered the arena, bathing in the cheers of the people that had come to watch him fight.

His walk was calm and steady, and he was radiating a confident aura from his body. Clearly, he was sure that he would emerge victorious from this battle. After stepping to the center of the arena, he raised his head to look at the platform where Iris was currently seated.

He didn’t say anything and simply stared in the young lady’s direction for half a minute before shifting his gaze to his opponent who had entered the arena.

The brown-haired boy who had come from a commoner’s household now stood on the greatest stage meant for the strongest individuals in the six kingdoms. This was the thing that he had strived for the past few years of his life so, now that he was here, he had no intention of letting others take the spotlight.

“Showoff,” Lux muttered as he narrowed his eyes on the young man, who was trying to score brownie points with his step-sister, who only had eyes for her step-brother.

Lux knew that no matter what happened, he must win against the young man who now had everyone’s attention.

He would fight and win not only for the blue-haired beauty whom he cared deeply for, but also for his past self, who had long longed to stand on the same stage as the brown-haired young man that stood before him.