Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Drin Dawn has fought many battles and bested a lot of tough fighters to reach this place. Of course, you guys remember his epic fight with…"

Gladius began recounting the deeds performed by Drin in his journey to becoming the finalist of the Titus tournament. That made the guy even more stressed because he didn't enjoy being in the limelight or being fawned upon by the masses in such a manner. But then he remembered the prize money and decided to put up with Gladius' hype about him.

Drin was a human. His black hair reached to his chin. A loose bunch of hair on the side of his face. The rest of his hair was tied in a ponytail. He had black eyes and a slender, square-shaped face.

Drin had worn a black coat and brown cargo pants that looked like a mortal apron but weren't. He was wearing long boots that had runic details over them, enabling the onlookers to realize that they were ranked artefacts.

Even though he had Dawn in his name, Drin gave aloof vibes, making people realize that sometimes names don't tell the complete picture about a person. The guy kept his head down and his hands behind his back. He stood seriously while he waited for Gladius to finish talking about him.

"Now let's hear a word or two from our championship contender's mouth. Drin, please tell us, how has your journey been so far. And are you looking forward to winning the championship?"

Gladius invited Drin to speak up and address the crowd. He didn't have to move anywhere or raise his voice. An array had appeared where he stood. This array was designed to project his live spectral image over the colosseum's aerial space, which was ten times the size of his original. His voice was also set to get amplified so that the audience could hear him loud and clear.

Drin felt this was such a drag. He sighed and looked above him at the bright sky that seemed void and empty to him.

"I… I thank all of those who have supported me and cheered for me all this while. I am not as glorious as you might think I am. Sigh! I'm just a man looking to win prize money for my own reasons."

Drin looked blankly at the sky and spoke. There was a certain air of loneliness that surrounded his visage, which was felt by the audience and the organizers alike. But Drin did not pay attention to the mood of the audience. He looked straight at the booth that was dedicated to his fanbase before speaking up once again.

"The battles I won so far were all due to my persistence. Still, I'm grateful for the support you have shown me so far."

Drin looked like he had remembered something and smiled mirthlessly to himself. He carried on with his speech while maintaining that same smile that wasn't a smile.

"This is the first time any of my deeds have received encouragement and support. Frankly, it would have been the happiest moment of my life if even one person was cheering for me. That's how desperate I was for recognition.

So you can imagine my surprise and unbelief at the fact that so many of you are calling my name with such excitement. It is gratifying and scary at the same time. Scary because I fear I might disappoint you."

Drin said, and suddenly his face turned stoic. He bowed a bit in front of his fan booth and said his final words.

"No matter what happens in the finals, I'll always keep this memory safe inside my head. Also, I'll try to live up to your expectations with every shred of bone and every drop of blood left in my body. Please give me strength through your cheers. Thank you."

Drin said and stood straight. It took him a while to realize that the ever-noisy Colosseum had grown quiet in the middle of his speech, after listening to his heartfelt words.

Clap!

Then one clap was heard from somewhere. It was followed by another series of claps somewhere else. Soon the entire Colosseum became even wilder than before.

"Drin Dawn! Drin Dawn! Drin Dawn!"

Drin's name was heard all over the colosseum. Not just his fan booth. Drin looked at the audience while turning 360 degrees in his position. He pursed his lips and waved his hands at the people waving at him.

Drin realized that he should have stuck with the "Hello and thank you" that he had planned previously. The limelight he so abhorred was shining brightly on him because of his speech.

Drin took a long breath after he realized his mistake. He shook his head and wished that the audience would shift their focus to someone else.

Drin's wish soon got fulfilled. Because Gladius summoned another participant. The same procedure was repeated.

Every participant that was introduced afterwards received the same kind of treatment. Each of them was welcomed with enthusiasm by the crowd. Since Drin had set the bar for speech so high, the rest of the participants followed in his footsteps and poured their hearts out in front of their audience.

It wasn't long before the 16th participant's introduction was over. It was now time to introduce the 17th participant, that was Tuan Aag.

Gladius did his part and spoke volumes about Tuan's achievements in the tournament. He set the right atmosphere for Tuan's epic entrance and activated the spatial array that was in his control.

A distraught-looking man appeared at the center of the battle ring. He was holding a bottle of booze in his hand. His eyes appeared dead. His expression looked like he was lost on his way and was about to ask for direction from someone else.

Tuan had put on a pair of ranked shoes with the symbol of Phoenix etched onto them. Long yet baggy cargo pants he wore carried runic symbols that made them compatible with the fire element mana he cast. The loose and frail sleeveless jacket he wore for his torso did a poor job of covering his chest.

Gladius was a bit stumped looking at Tuan's condition right now. However, he carried on with his duties and concluded his introduction with the appropriate words before asking Tuan to speak.

"Me? Do you want to hear something from me, a broken man? What can I offer you guys apart from empty words and a shit ton of my sorrow? Hahahaha!"

Tuan opened his speech with wild laughter that didn't sound joyous at all.