"What?!" As those in the audience heard what one of the guards said to Valyr, everyone was left at a loss for words, their expressions ranging from fear to shock as some of them started to murmur as to what was going on. Of course, Arcenne and Wells were no exception to this, with shock being written all over their faces.
"Did Valyr break the law or something after he came to the city?" Looking at the woman beside him, Wells posed a question to her.
In response, Arcenne shook her head. "As far as I know, he hasn't broken any laws within the city at all. Did he commit crime before coming to the city?"
"I'm certain he didn't." Wells shook his head as well. "If that's the case, why is he being arrested by the city guards all of a sudden?"
"I have no clue." Arcenne shrugged her shoulders before letting out a sigh. With a worried expression on his face, she looked at what was unfolding on the battleground for a bit before determination started to blaze within her eyes.
"Either way…" Looking back at Wells, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as her, both Arcenne and him nodded at each other as they voiced out their thoughts out loud where only the two of them could hear.
"We need to help Valyr get out of this mess."
…
As Valyr listened to the words one of the guards had spoken, the gears in Valyr's mind swiftly started to turn, going through all of the things he had done so far which could be considered as grounds for arrest. 'I should probably focus on the things I've done in the city since it's most likely that these guards here are from the city itself.'
With that in mind, he was able to swiftly narrow down the possible reasons for the current situation unfolding to just a couple of incidents. 'The first thing that comes to mind would be the operations Tryndall and I did in order to make headway in the Clossbay Killer incident. Now that I think about it, the time when we apprehended the suspects could be grounds for arrest, but we made sure that no other person was nearby to catch us in the act.'
'Aside from that, there's also that incident with the Hekaetos Forging Emporium, where I basically embedded those people into the front wall of the building opposite mine.' Recalling the event that had transpired just recently, Valyr remembered how he profusely apologized to the owner of the building opposite his, even going so far as to give the owner money to repair the damages he had caused to the building.
Lightly frowning, he continued his train of thought. 'But then again, none of the guards showed up during that time, meaning that it couldn't be the reason why this is happening. Unless…'
'The guards and the Hekaetos Forging Emporium are working together in some way.' Pondering over this new idea, Valyr eventually thought that there was merit to it, considering how the forging emporium had forced him to accept a life and death duel after he rejected their request to a forging duel. With how the opponent he fought had died under his hands, it wouldn't be surprising for the emporium to take things up a notch.
'Then, there's a chance that the third party meddling into this matter is actually the city guards.' Deciding to see if his hypothesis was true, Valyr took in a deep breath before asking the guards surrounding him a question.
"On what basis are you arresting me for?"
"On the basis of murder." Just as one of the guards was about to open their mouth to respond, a figure appeared on the battleground all of a sudden, gradually making his way to where Valyr and the guards were.
Though he was not in the clothing of the city guards, the imposing aura he radiated was similar to that of the city guards, prompting a light frown to appear on his face as he felt that his hypothesis was more and more correct by the second.
"In front of all these people in the coliseum, you engaged in the act of murder, brutally and mercilessly killing an innocent man." As these words came out of the man's mouth, the frown on Valyr's face became deeper as he asked the man a question soon after.
"Who are you?"
"Lucas Hekaetos," the man replied with a solemn expression. "Leader of the Clossbay City Guards."
'Hekaetos… so, they really are the third party.' With Valyr continuing to remain silent in front of Lucas and the other guards, he checked the notification he had received from the system, knowing that they came from the sudden quest he had received before the duel.
[You have received 50,000 XP.]
[You have gained additional information regarding one of your ongoing quests.]
[The mastermind of the whole operation has something to do with the city guards.]
'I'm guessing this man has something to do with the Clossbay Killer incident as well.' Mentally noting to send this information to Tryndall after everything was sorted, Valyr decided to respond to Lucas' claim.
"As leader of the city guards, I'm sure you know that this is no act of murder, but instead the outcome of a life and death duel." Valyr looked at Lucas. "Both sides fought, knowing that either side could die under the opposing side's hands at any moment."
"Oh, I know the rules of a life and death duel very well." Lucas nodded. "However, have you ever checked if the life and death duel you've just participated in was permitted by the city itself?"
At that moment, Valyr's eyes slightly widened in surprise as a light smirk adorned Lucas' face. "I was told that the request for the duel was already given the go signal by the city."
"But did you certify if that claim was true or not?" Listening to Valyr's words, Lucas lightly shook his head as a smirk was plastered on its face. "Though I could absolve you of your charges on the basis that you had no clue to this fact, we still have to detain you for a while in the city prison to make sure you don't do anything rash."
At these words, the guards surrounding Valyr told the man to start heading towards one of the gates as the audience in the coliseum continued to murmur about what was going. However, just as the group started to move, two figures appeared on the battleground out of nowhere as they made a mad dash towards Valyr.
"Now wait just a second!"
