While it might have been anticlimactic for the audience below, the battle had concluded at this point.
Sairaorg—having lost the ability to move—was quickly carried off by arena officials. Bokue returned to the competitor lounge the moment the referee announced the match results.
Since it was nearing lunchtime, the remaining matches had all been scheduled for the afternoon. So despite the previous match ending, no new teams had arrived at the lounge to await their turn. Only Rias and the others remained.
"Oh, Bokue—you're back... huh?"
Seeing the young man return, Akeno rushed forward ahead of Rias to greet him with a smile. But then she noticed the sunglasses now on his face and paused in surprise.
She pointed curiously at the sunglasses.
"By the way, where did those come from?"
"These~"
Bokue paused briefly.
"Ran into someone I knew. Took them."
"Took..."
Akeno's mouth twitched slightly, caught off guard by that description.
But while she was still processing, Rias squeezed past from behind, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"We were just talking. We've decided to take Lady Runeas to meet my brother first."
"Sure, go ahead."
Bokue gestured through the window toward the VIP box at the same height on the opposite side of the coliseum.
"Sirzechs should be in that box over there. I saw him when I went up just now."
"Huh? When did you go over—"
Rias stopped mid-sentence.
She recalled that during the match, Bokue had indeed disappeared for a brief moment. The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than ten seconds, start to finish.
And when he'd reappeared, those sunglasses were already on his face.
Could it be...
A cold drop of sweat slowly rolled down the crimson-haired girl's forehead as the truth began to dawn on her.
To be fair, if she remembered correctly, everyone coming to the Underworld today to meet her brother in that VIP box was a leader from one of the major mythological factions.
Yet Bokue had said he'd run into someone he knew—and taken their sunglasses.
Ummm...
"Just go take a look. You'll understand when you get there."
Bokue shrugged.
❁❁❁❁
The scene shifted. Everyone had traversed the internal corridors of the coliseum and now stood outside the VIP box.
Rias was initially hesitant about whether to knock before entering, but Bokue—walking beside her—didn't waste any time. He pushed the door open and walked straight in.
At that moment, Azazel's strained voice echoed through the room.
"Three~ two~ one~ heave! Phew... finally got him out. Seriously, Vali, you didn't lift a finger. Don't dump all the heavy lifting on an old man like me."
He sounded like someone who'd finally managed to pull some giant radish out of the ground after considerable effort. The Governor of Fallen Angels let out a long sigh of relief, wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead as he complained.
But the silver-haired young man simply shot him a sideways glance.
"Why should I help? I never said I wanted him taken down. Besides, if you're doing this without permission and he finds out... heh, I won't say more. Just don't call for help when the time comes."
Azazel was currently crouched by the box's wall, supporting the still-unconscious Indra—whose skull had been forcibly embedded into said wall by Bokue moments ago.
When he noticed the door opening, he instinctively turned to look. Seeing Bokue—who had only just left—walk back in, his hands immediately shot up in surrender.
Without Azazel's support, the still-unconscious Indra flopped limply to the ground.
But Azazel didn't even spare him a glance. He pointed directly at Sirzechs, still standing by the sofa.
"Hold on—if you've got a problem, take it up with your brother-in-law! He's the one who told me to get him down!"
"..."
His blame-shifting game was impeccable.
The young crimson-haired Demon Lord could only smile helplessly at this. "Well, it wouldn't be right to just leave someone hanging on the wall like that."
Michael had also moved to the fallen Indra's side, gently propping him up while casting a healing spell infused with holy light.
"Let's at least provide some basic treatment."
Bokue naturally wasn't the type to beat someone up, leave them there, and then forbid anyone from helping. So he merely glanced over before looking away.
Just then, Rias entered the box as well. Seeing her brother, a smile of genuine joy spread across her face.
"I knew you'd be here, Brother. Look who's come to visit."
She pulled Chysis in from behind—along with Runeas.
The moment the two crimson-haired women entered the room, the expressions on everyone's faces—Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael alike—shifted to astonishment.
"Grandmother?? I never expected you to come along this time. It's been so long. And this is...?"
Sirzechs noticed Runeas standing beside Chysis.
"Well, well—now there's a face from the old days."
Azazel's mouth twitched.
"Don't tell me you don't recognize her, Sirzechs. This is your family's ancestor—from the same era as the first head of the Bael family."
"I never imagined we'd meet again after all these years."
Michael smiled as he spoke.
"Yeah, yeah~"
Runeas planted her hands on her hips and gazed flatly at the two before her.
"I never imagined that after sleeping for so many years, I'd wake up one day to find you two old geezers had shaken hands and made peace. And now you're hosting tournaments in the Underworld, of all things."
"Honestly... I was hoping this awakening could stay low-profile like before. Looks like that ship has sailed."
While the three ancient beings caught up on old times, Bokue got straight to the point with the silver-haired young man on the other side of the room.
"By the way—did that monkey come with you to the Underworld this time?"
"He did. He's up top."
Vali pointed toward the ceiling.
Bokue followed the direction of his finger.
The VIP box they were in was already the highest point in the entire coliseum. If "up" meant somewhere even higher than this, that could only be—
❁❁❁❁
At that same moment, a hundred meters above ground level—the true highest point of the coliseum: the top of the outer wall.
To provide sufficient structural stability for this massive building—comparable in scale to a royal palace—the coliseum's outer walls had been designed far thicker than any ancient fortress. Over ten meters wide.
That kind of thickness wasn't just enough for someone to lie down on. You could drive a car across it without issue.
And so, several figures had gathered there.
The gothic-dressed little girl sat quietly at the edge of the wall's top, facing the slightly warm midday breeze. Her legs dangled over the edge, swinging gently in the air.
Behind Ophis stood Le Fay and Arthur—the siblings who had appeared with her on the barren mountain outside the city.
And of course, a certain monkey.
"Hmm hmm hmm~ Hmm hmm hmm! Can we leave yet? What's taking Vali so long? This is ridiculous~"
Bikou was rolling back and forth across the top of the wall like he had worms in his stomach.
"Let's just go ahead without him. We can find a place and order first~"
"No."
Arthur pushed up his glasses and rejected him coldly.
"But it looks like the spectators below are starting to leave. The morning matches must be over. Vali should be done soon. Just wait a little longer."
"No way, we can't wait anymore!"
Bikou started making a loud fuss.
"I just saw that guy down in the arena! If he's here, nothing good ever happens to me. I can feel it already! So let's get out of here before it's too late—"
"Don't worry. It's already too late."
Before he could finish, Bokue's figure appeared beside him—one foot blocking his rolling path.
"Get up. I've got some questions for you."
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