"I'm scared, Mako," Ana said, still bedridden.
Ana had improved significantly. Only a few bandages remained on her limbs, and her face looked healthier.
"I'll be fine," Mako said with conviction, sitting in a chair beside her bed.
The big day had arrived.
The day Mako would face the Lunar House head-on.
"You'll be up against Catherine, I assume," Ana said, trying to find some comfort.
She couldn't.
"I'll be back before you know it," Mako promised, rising from the chair.
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Mako said goodbye to Ana.
◇◆◇
As a rule, evaluations of the value of noble Houses' services were conducted behind closed doors.
Endless paperwork and bureaucratic meetings inside and outside the castle to determine an outcome.
But the House of the Sun was different.
It always was with them.
Their evaluation wouldn't just be a duel—an already unusual event. It would take place in the city's grand coliseum.
"People of all Galandria! The grand event of this winter season has arrived!" a man's voice boomed from the center of the coliseum.
He was a short man, dressed in an elegant suit with a bushy, flamboyant mustache above his lips. He was the announcer.
A noble who had paid for his system and received, in return, a peculiar ability…
Voice amplification.
"You can't miss this!" the mustachioed little man shouted again from the middle of the Grand Coliseum.
If the crowd at the trial was large, the one at the Grand Coliseum was indescribable.
It didn't just seem like the whole city had gathered. It probably had.
'This is unbelievable,' the mustachioed man thought, perched on his small podium. 'I've never had such a crowd.'
Short and paunchy, this rhythmic-voiced announcer kept commanding the audience's attention.
It was broad daylight, the sky clear.
Everyone began taking their seats.
Despite the man's amplified voice, the loudest noise came from the crowd's murmurs.
'Of course there's a huge turnout!' the mustachioed man thought again. 'This is a historic event.'
And it truly was.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Demons and angels!" the mustachioed announcer bellowed with his showman flair.
"The grand duel between the House of the Sun and the Lunar House is about to begin!" he finally exclaimed.
The incessant murmurs stopped.
Every person in the vast stands of the coliseum fell silent.
In a place nearly as grand as the king and queen's castle, not a soul stirred.
"Good, now that I finally have your attention…" the announcer said, stroking his lavish mustache.
"For the first time in over two hundred years, a member of the House of the Sun steps forward to prove their worth!" the little man shouted, his mustache disheveled from the effort.
The crowd went wild. Some booed, others cheered.
"Give a warm welcome to Mako Sooool!"
At those words, two massive doors in the center of the coliseum's battleground began to open.
The sound was deafening. Clouds of dust and sand rose with the movement of the enormous doors.
Finally, fully open, everyone could see him. It was Mako.
"What a racket," Mako said, stepping into the arena.
This time, Mako wore an emblematic outfit of his House: a red robe adorned with gold embroidery and a necklace bearing a sun-shaped medallion.
Unlike the trial against Catherine, this time felt different.
Yes, he knew he was alone, but…
'I can't back down now,' Mako thought, determined to see this through to the end.
The little announcer grinned ear to ear.
Standing in the middle of the coliseum, he declared, "Today is a historic day, ladies and gentlemen."
Every eye in the coliseum turned to the little man speaking. His voice reached every corner thanks to his ability.
"Not only is a duel like this among nobles an unusual event," he confirmed, "we're talking about a rivalry that's lasted over two hundred years."
An orchestra at the edge of the stands began playing a drumroll.
"Mako Sol, one of the last members of the House of the Sun, will face off against the leader of the Lunar House!" the little man said, raising his hand to the sky before pointing to the opposite side of the arena.
Across from Mako, two equally massive doors began to open.
As they fully opened, the drumroll ceased.
There she was. The blonde woman:
Catherine.
"Let's all admire Catherine Moon!" the announcer shouted as the crowd lost their minds.
Elegantly, the blonde woman made her grand entrance.
A group of four men carried an enormous palanquin, and atop it, Catherine reclined.
"Well, well," Catherine said in a seductive tone. "Isn't this marvelous? All these people will witness the complete destruction of the noble House of the Sun."
With that, Catherine leaped off the palanquin, landing gracefully.
The blonde woman wore a representative outfit of her House as well: navy blue, with intricate silver embroidery throughout.
"It's clear who the crowd's rooting for," Mako muttered to himself.
Mako began to feel nervous, recalling his brother Erick's words.
'If what Erick said is true…' Mako thought. 'Will my ability activate?'
His thoughts were interrupted by another booming sound.
It was the announcer's voice.
"Don't swoon over her, dear audience!" the little announcer shouted. "She may be beautiful, but she's deadly. Look! Here it comes!"
A wave of gasps rippled through the stands as they saw it.
From Catherine's direction, Lunar House members brought another palanquin.
This one didn't carry a person. It carried an object.
Or rather, a weapon.
"There it is, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer proclaimed. "The Chain of Roses! The deadliest whip in the world!"
Mako felt like he wasn't in a duel anymore. The sensation of being back on the day of his execution returned.
"A whip?" Mako said, stunned. "That thing looks more like… a halberd!"
The sun's light glinted off the pristine metal of the Chain of Roses. Despite the countless massacres this weapon had witnessed, it gleamed as if untouched.
The Chain of Roses was, indeed, a whip the size and thickness of a spear. Its handle was like that of an axe, from which extended a massive metal chain lined with spikes.
It required at least four to six people to carry it.
"Fu, fu," Catherine laughed.
As the Lunar House nobles lowered the palanquin with the weapon, Catherine lifted it effortlessly.