Rion had spent eight of those ten minutes setting up a ritualistic seal using a bit of his blood as a base for binding. There were five layers. The first linked it to the circle in the castle he’d hidden around the throne room. The second used gravity to alter time; every second in, there was a minute outside, which made him float. The third barrier would drain any mana used to improve the barrier. Its base was determined by the amount of blood and mana used as a sealed catalyst. Which explained the five filled mana batteries placed around the circle.

From there, Rion shrouded himself in a field that made him hard to notice. He followed it up with a sprint towards the castle. He needed to be near the throne if he wanted to watch the show and sit down. There was always a chance Max would lose, yet it was highly unlikely that Sinbad would have known to avoid the trap.

Opening up his communication flower, Kyrion connected to all of his teammates still in the game. “Status report who’s still in?”

“I am captain. Are you free?” Cecil answered.

“Yes. Status report.”

“Bella Tiffany and I are still in the game.”

“Good. Ok, here’s the plan, Marigold is going to be a distraction, have Tiffany mark her with a exponential seal on her heart while you use the bugs you obtained from Hel along with some shots to deal some damage.Afterward the yellow eyed girl will attempt to assassinate you, and Bella, probably using poison. Tell Bella to raise her gravity as high as she can, while low to the ground. Doing so will break her legs more than likely, the shock of sudden damage will break her concentration allowing Bella to finish her off. Marigold will then attempt to take Bella out. Tell her to let it happen. Tiffany should be the last person standing and her wards will give a sense of presence. More than likely Marigold will assume that you ran away. After she frees Sinbad, have her talk to them to buy some time then trigger the curse on Marigold to take her out. She’ll probably need some powerful healing sooner rather than later. It’s more of a mercy, feel free to reveal that I’ve been out for ten minutes. Given that I can see them approaching the castle now…”

“Got it.” Cecil passed the recording to Bella and Tiffany’s comms before activating various bug canisters on the first floor.

“You’re insane, captain.” Tiffany sighed.

“I won’t deny that. But I perer Rion.”

“I don’t like this plan.” Bella stated.

“It hides a good deal of your power, we’re only revealing a few secrets in this match. Cecil’s aren’t complete and I haven’t engaged anyone in combat, nor do I intend to.” Kyrion heard a few shots go off, signaling that the battle had begun.

Cecil wasn’t sure how he’d gotten kicked out of the arena, and it was highly irritating, given that he knew exactly what happened but couldn’t put it together. He’d just shot Marigold with one of his cannons when he felt a sharp chill on his neck. Then he was sitting next to an equally pissed-off Ander and Brion.

“She walked right by you, wasn’t even hiding!” Ander protested.

“Who?” Cecil turned to the screen and saw the yellow-eyed woman casually strolling next to Bella, only for her legs to suddenly snap.

“Ahh!” The lady threw a dart coated in a blue liquid, watching in horror as it hit, only to do nothing to the pink-haired girl.

“You must be who just killed Cecil.” Bella encased her opponent’s body in a gravity field and increased it exponentially.

Just like that, the girl was sent out of the arena. That, however, didn’t stop the four golden discs that spun and nearly cut her in half. The only thing that saved her was the wards. Still, it wasn’t as though Marigold had gotten out unscathed. She had been bitten by a ton of venomous insects. She was burned by various shots from Cecil and pierced in the leg with one of her own spears by him as well. She’d run over multiple explosive traps, many of whom belonged to someone she’d yet to encounter.

“I need to find Sinbad quickly.” Imala’s daughter began to run, feeling that she was quickly running out of power.

Oddly enough, the last of Drisil’s team members didn’t attack. Yet she could feel their power around her. Which was odd, as she couldn’t sense their exact locations. They might have run off to free their captain. As she knelt next to Sinbad, she watched as her captain let out a lazy yawn.

“Did you take everyone else out yet?” Sinbad asked lazily.

“I believe there is one opponent left, they must have fled when I entered, but they were also the person who put quite a few traps in this castle. That would make the most sense.”

“Ok, hurry up and get these off. I don’t feel like fighting that monster today.”

“You usually aren’t the type to run away from a fight.”

“He’s the tricky type, and is likely to set me up rather than actually fight me.”

“You may be right, captain.” Marigold had just completed removing the bracers and let out a sigh of relief.

Sinbad stood and scowled. “Are you two just going to let me go?”

“Our captain has been free for about ten minutes. As far as we’re concerned the match is already decided.” Tiffany said from a chair in the room. She had removed her invisibility.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Ten minutes? How is that possible?”

“Max seems to have survived, and hid somewhere safe while you assumed he’d been removed.”

“That’s not-!”

Tiffany squeezed her hand and watched as Marigold was teleported out of the arena.

“You’re free to go, Sinbad. That attack took a bit long to mature as using it early could have caused permanent damage without removing her from the fight.”

“I see.”

Sinbad turned and left the castle. As he did, a skeletal armor covered his body, and black horns grew from his head. Time for him slowed to a crawl as Sinbad seemed to move at his regular speed; to that degree, he was running to make up as much time as he could. By the time he had arrived at his own castle, he’d shut the ability to receive his mana off. He’d need that trick if he encountered Drisil’s captain waiting for him.

Still, Sinbad ran towards the presence he sensed in the building. Chances were, it was precisely where the throne was. And he was partially correct. By the time he’d arrived, he’d come face to face with someone who looked like the Golden General in his youth. Well, maybe not as muscular as the paintings made him look. It is not like anyone left alive could gauge the accuracy of such depictions. He was one of the oldest people alive.

“Who are you?” Sinbad asked slowly.

“Maximus, probably the weakest of team Drisil.”

“Uh huh. You don’t exactly look weak currently.”

“I’m sure you’re just saying that. My captain tasked me with keeping you from the throne.”

“Is that so?” Sinbad’s face hardened as he moved to impale Max with his bone claws.

Max barely evaded the blow as a blade made from feathers appeared in his right hand.

Sinbad scowled as he feinted with a punch to Max’s head while his bladelike tail aimed to impale his torso.

Max slipped on the rug, allowing him to parry the tail strike with his sword as he entered a thrusting stance.

The wind whistled as Max stabbed Sinbad in a gap in his armor. From there, he retreated to protect the throne.

Sinbad removed the blade and reversed time for himself, allowing the wound to heal.” I never knew you were so good with a sword. I was told the eldest prince was physically weak.”

“You’re talkative, suffice it to say. Things are complicated.” Max created a whip of feathers, which he now holds in his left hand.

“I can understand that.” Sinbad took a deep breath before slowing time to a degree and threw a series of blows at Max. Oddly enough, each hit seemed to barely miss the destination, leaving behind either minor damage or missing entirely.

Max managed a cut across Sinbad’s torso when time returned to its normal speed.

Sinbad retreated again and healed the wound. “It’s like fighting a worse version of Damian. Can’t say I’m mad about that.”

Max swung his whip in an arc, sending all the feathers shooting away towards Sinbad quickly.

Sinbad slowed time to a degree and saw that there was no escape. Instead, he let out a charged blast ball of destructive mana. Every feather in front of him was destroyed along with the ball, as though they canceled each other out.

“That’s new.” Sinbad was partially impressed.

“It’s weak against one opponent, but hard to evade and can hit multiple targets.”

“Good against people who rely on dodging.”

“Yeah, I can keep this up all day. So you may want to take this seriously.”

“I am, although I expected your captain to ambush me mid-fight. If you’re truly my only opponent then I guess I’ll end this now. Can’t have you looking too good after all.”

“Invoke misfortune.” Max whispered. Holding his sword defensively, Max prayed that this would be enough.

Sinbad charged forward, his claws elongated. Time slowed to a crawl as Sinbad sent slash after slash, each one blocked or deflected. Sinbad used his ace maneuver when he noticed Max commit to a dodge and reversed time while Max was still in motion. He let out strike after strike, scowling as each one was evaded at a hair’s breadth.

“How is that possible?” Sinbad’s power seemingly faded, leaving him with two options. He could let out his strongest attack, but if that attack destroyed the throne, he’d lose in the end. This left him with the last option: running around Max to get to the throne.

“I can still fight. Why are you retreating?”

Sinbad entered a low stance and slowed time to a high degree, pushing his core to the limit as he dashed forward. Time was like a slow molasses. Oddly enough, Max was mid-swing and still moving.

Sinbad moved the opposite way to avoid Max’s sword only to trip right as he passed, which ended his concentration right as he entered Max’s range. It was as though Imala herself was making the battle difficult.

“Shit!”

Max’s sword nearly took Sinbad’s head. Luckily for Sinbad, he managed to block most of the blow with his bone claws, breaking his concentration completely and losing two fingers in the process. Yet he had made it to the other side; now, all he had to do was sit on the throne.

Rion watched from the throne room as Sinbad was trapped in the sealed barrier with no way to escape. He looked smug as he realized that Sinbad could not escape safely. The match was over, and he had one thing left to do.

“Team Drisil’s captain has taken back his throne! Was anyone watching him enter?” Yelled Meh-Thod.

The crowd cheered as everyone returned to the arena. With all the injured participants receiving healing, the remaining remaining were those who could keep fighting. The throne Rion was seated in radiated opulence and power.

Maximus had been standing strong when his power took its toll. His body mostly returned to its usual state; only his eyes and a few strands of his hair stayed golden. The energy in his system was fading fast as he worked to stay on his feet. Luck and misfortune needed to be balanced, according to his spirit. Sadly, Maximus used more luck than misfortune in the battle while the drain was almost closed; they didn’t balance out in the end.

Max looked at a screen in the air and scowled as he read. “Most Valuable team member: Maximus the Golden.”

It showed him taking down The Ape Man, freeing his captain, and fighting toe to toe with someone at Sinbad’s level. These are all feats of strength and will no one who knew him when he was younger would expect. The other nobles of Etroveria, who were planning on making him a puppet, were now deciding that was a bad decision.

“You all played your parts admirably. For once, I am glad not to be the star of the show.” Rion stood from his seat, popped his back, and looked around. Finding his weights, he put some of them back on and scowled. The mana stored in them was almost gone, which meant that Sinbad had nearly escaped in the short time it took him to sit down.