Chapter 573: Going Down

His next match had arrived before he even realized it. Since he was in the Top 8, there was a lot more ceremony and other stuff. He was forced to suffer through an hour-long speech and stand there as various exhibitions entertained the crowd.

The Top 8 were pretty much what he had expected from what he had seen so far. He spotted Riven, Isaac, Eren, and Eva all beside him. He also saw Garrett standing at the far end as well. The other boy had glared darkly at Julius a single time before not bothering to look over for the rest of the ceremony.

The only person that Julius didn’t recognize was the young man standing beside Eren.

Julius remembered that Riven had said something about him while they were in the secret realm, but his memory was hazy. He couldn’t remember the guy’s name.

Luckily for Julius, Riven shuffled over to him and Derek not too long after he thought of this. Julius discreetly popped another piece of toffee into his mouth as he watched Riven approach, stifling the moan of pleasure that threatened to come out of his mouth.

“Those look awfully tasty. Do you mind sharing a piece?” Riven asked with a bright smile.

“Your master won’t care?” Julius asked with a look at the stands.

He asked that because Derek had already rejected Julius’s offer, stating that he couldn’t be seen eating snacks and candy during an important event, since he was the son of Duke Zenith. However, Julius had already seen the other teen gorge himself this morning when he heard that Julius and his mother had made some toffee.

Apparently, it was one of Derek’s favorites, and that was the reason why Aliyah had been making it so late at night. She wanted a treat to give to her son.

“Eh, my master doesn’t worry about that stuff. I doubt he is even here at the moment. He might be taking a nap or something,” Riven muttered.

Julius shrugged and snuck Riven over a handful of the toffees he had been enjoying. Riven didn’t bother to hide it and boldly threw one into his mouth, chewing animately.

“Hmm. This is really good stuff,” Riven commented with a happy grunt. “Where did you get it?”

“Thanks, I made it myself last night with the help of Lady Zenith,” Julius said with a grin. He didn’t mention that he absolutely destroyed several bowls of sugar in the process. Nobody needed to know that rather than sparkling like little diamonds, his attempts had turned the sugar into a pile of black sludge.

The little technique she had shown him last night had been really difficult, and despite repeated attempts, he had barely managed to get it to work. Even his final and best attempt was a poor replication of what she had done. It barely sparkled, looking more like someone had sprinkled shitty glitter into the sugar.

She still seemed impressed by his attempts either way. Which made him feel a little better. Plus, tasting the toffee when it was done made it completely worth it. There was some special element to it. He didn’t know if it was the ingredients, such as the fancy butter. Or if it was because of the mana infusion, but it was the best toffee he ever had in his life.

It was perfectly rich and sweet with a slight bitterness from the dark chocolate on top. The nuts provided a wonderful crunch and a roasted flavor that accentuated the sweet caramel. He needed to make more of this another time.

While Riven and Julius were enjoying the toffee, he spotted Derek giving him envious looks from time to time.

“You know if you really want to, you should just eat some. Nobody is stopping you, and I can’t imagine your family getting that upset if you ate some candy,” Julius whispered to Derek.

He could see that Derek’s stubbornness was wearing down.

While Derek was contemplating this major decision, Julius spotted Isaac shuffling over discreetly. Well, as discreetly as a six and a half foot tall teenager could be.

“Can I have some?” Isaac asked with pleading eyes.

Julius didn’t hesitate and handed over a nice handful of toffee to him. Then, suddenly, Eva was there beside him as well. He didn’t even look back and silently handed over a portion to her as well.

It would appear that this was the final straw, and Julius heard Derek sigh before reaching out a hand. Julius gladly gave him some and smiled when he saw Derek groan happily while he ate the toffee.

The five of them spent the rest of the time eating and licking the sugar off their fingers until they were able to leave the stadium in order to prepare for their matches later today.

***

Julius stared across the field at Garrett. The Greyson Scion hadn’t stopped giving Julius the most hateful glare imaginable since he stepped onto the field. One might have thought Julius killed Garrett’s dog or something with how angrily he was looking at him.

The official gave the usual introductions, and when it had finally begun, neither of them moved from their spots.

“I’m going to bury you,” Garrett suddenly said to Julius from across the field.

“What did I do to you?” Julius asked with a frown. Honestly, if anyone should have a gripe, it should be him. After all, it was Garrett’s father who had orchestrated the attack on Julius’s home.

“It doesn’t matter. Just know that I am going to humiliate you in front of everyone, you filthy commoner,” the other teen said with a snarl.

This book’s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Julius was left even more confused and barely reacted in time when Garrett vanished from his sight. He leaned to the left when he sensed a spatial tear appear just behind his skull. A rapier made of black metal passed by his ear, missing his head by inches.

He sensed something else attached to the rapier, something a little dangerous. He knew immediately that letting it hit him would be a bad idea. He avoided the rapier with a small blast of kinetic energy.