Classless Awakening; My Dragon Is Legendary-Chapter 49: End Of The Beginning

The colosseum erupted in cheers, everyone cheered Derrick’s name, some more than others.

Derrick turned to look at his father, he was also cheering for him, but Derrick could see through the mask.

Deep down, the king was hurt and pained, he couldn’t help but blame himself.

To him, if only he had raised Derrick and Ivan better, then Ivan wouldn’t be in this situation.

"I’m sorry my king." Sir Thompson’s hand rested upon his friend’s shoulder.

He could see right through the king’s facade. He was heartbroken.

To him, he had failed as a father. What was the point of all his power, if he couldn’t stop his son from dying?

"Derrick showed Ivan mercy, it was Ivan’s wicked heart that led to his death." Sir Thompson spoke nothing but truth.

Ivan was unable to live with the shame that Derrick beat him, and that pride was what drove him into the grave.

"It is the will of the gods," Sir Thompson spoke, and the king nodded slightly.

Anyone who had been alive for long enough would have spotted it.

The way the ice shard moved, the way it bounced off Derrick’s armor and the boulder, it was too precise, too coincidental, it was clearly the work of the gods.

"The gods seem to draw pleasure from taking away my family members." This whole experience had brought back memories for the king.

Memories he had spent money and time trying to erase, they all came rushing back.

"I am sorry, Henry." Sir Thompson said genuinely. There were no other words he could say that could soothe the king.

The king sighed, coming to terms with his reality, his son was gone and that was the raw truth.

"I’d like solitude, and tell Derrick I said I’m proud of him," the king said while walking away from the colosseum without any knights following.

He just wanted to be alone for now and process his emotions properly.

Derrick stood in the center of the colosseum, the cheers seemed to be never ending.

They had truly enjoyed the fight, it was nothing short of a true rollercoaster of emotions.

One second the fight looked like it was leaning towards Ivan, and the next the entire narrative flipped.

There had been too many close calls, and Derrick had nearly died multiple times.

"Derrick, Derrick, Derrick." Everyone erupted into cheers, praising his name.

The kingdom had finally gotten the champion they had desperately sought.

Derrick winning the duel helped him to achieve the one goal that even drove him to this duel.

He had finally proved something to the people of this kingdom.

He had proven to them that just because he lacked magic, didn’t mean he lacked power.

Finally, the kingdom’s hope in Derrick had been restored, their one and only savior with the grandmaster talent was back.

Derrick smiled genuinely. Who wouldn’t under so much praise?

The black knights moved swiftly, they picked up Ivan’s body and whisked him away, disappearing before anyone could ask any questions.

While many cheered, a select group remained angry.

Derrick’s siblings, the princes and princesses of Dravania, were angered.

They hoped that Derrick would finally die, and they would be able to sway the attention and favor of the king once more.

But now, not only had Derrick killed their brother, he was now the golden boy of the kingdom.

"Look at him, smiling arrogantly." A prince with dark green hair and mint eyes spat.

His nails dug so deep into the chair that the wood began to break.

"Remain calm Oliver, your rage won’t help us." A dark-haired princess with brown eyes that would trap any man who gazed into them spoke.

"I’ll make sure that I continue what Ivan started. We can’t let this whoreson keep living," Sloane spat.

Sloane was the first princess of Dravania, and the oldest of the king’s children.

There was about a 12-year age gap between her and Derrick.

Many people within the kingdom often whispered that her wickedness and rude nature prevented her from getting married, forcing her to remain in her father’s kingdom.

"Derrick must pay for what he did!" Oliver shouted, and the rest of Derrick’s siblings concurred.

A black knight appeared beside Derrick, it stood tall and mighty, an indomitable aura of duty oozed from it.

Derrick peered through his helmet, looking through the slits in his eyes, he could tell that the king was proud.

"Follow me," the knight said. The duel had drawn to an end, and the winner needed to be escorted through the Eastern gate.

Derrick and Ivan came into the colosseum using the Northern and Southern gates, which was normal for participants.

Ivan as the defeated was dragged into the Western gate, popularly known as the "Gate of the dead."

While Derrick, as the victor would be chivalrously led to the Eastern gate, which was also known as "The gate of the living."

Derrick walked into the gate, and was met with a hallway, similar but different to the one he came through.

This one was filled with gold, weapons, precious stones and many other beautiful items.

"This is your prize, and it shall be delivered to you shortly." The black knight announced.

Derrick looked around, they were just items of decent value, nothing really special.

Before the duel began, both men had to submit a considerable and equal amount of their wealth as a prize for the winner.

Royal Knight and the king handled Derrick’s without his knowledge, but Ivan handled his personally.

"I see." Derrick wasn’t really impressed, he could get way more than this simply by asking his father.

"Thank you for your participation." The black knight bowed as a sign of respect to the mighty warrior standing before him.

Derrick gave a small bow as a sign of mutual respect before leaving through another exit, where Sir Thompson was already waiting for him.

Derrick looked around for his father, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Don’t worry about the king, he asked me to tell you he’s proud of you." Sir Thompson spoke.

Derrick just smiled, he knew the king was proud, but at the same time he was probably sad.

Derrick had just killed his son. After all, it wasn’t like he could just forget it in a day.

"You did really well, kid." Sir Thompson spoke true, he couldn’t help but smile while they walked to the carriage waiting for them.

"I did my best," Derrick responded.

"Don’t try to be modest, Derrick, you put on a heart-stopping performance." Sir Thompson had seen his fair share of fights, and he couldn’t deny that this one was among the top.

They hopped into the carriage which was being manned by a single knight.

"And those times when you pulled the ice spikes out of your heart." Sir Thompson was shocked when he did it the first time, but doing it again? That was purely inhuman.

"Royal Knight would be so proud when he wakes up." Sir Thompson chuckled, and the smile on Derrick’s face broke.

His mind had been reminded of Royal Knight once more.

The man who contributed the most other than himself to his victory.

"Don’t spoil your fun, Derrick." Sir Thompson was enthusiastic.

"You just defeated Ivan and restored everyone’s faith in you." Sir Thompson laughed, he couldn’t be more proud.

"My boy, you really outdid yourself today." Sir Thompson couldn’t stop smiling.

"You should’ve seen the look on Lancel and Klea’s faces." Sir Thompson’s laughter grew even louder as he remembered the moment.

"Lancel and Klea came?" Derrick asked. For a second he had forgotten the state of their relationship.

"Yes, and they were the most flabbergasted." Sir Thompson’s voice oozed with raw excitement.

His heart broke when he saw Derrick lose everything on the day of the awakening ceremony. He was glad to see it all worked out in the end.

"Especially when you pulled the spear from your chest, I saw true fear in Lancel’s eyes." Sir Thompson continued to chuckle.

Derrick and Sir Thompson continued to talk and laugh on their way to his manor.

While this was happening, the king was experiencing an entirely different fate.

He was standing in front of a mirror, but instead of a reflection, shadows stared back from the mirror.

"The seed has almost reached adult maturity," the king said while on his knees.

"I see, the trap I set for your son helped to speed up my plans." A low masculine voice oozed from the other end.

Each syllable he spoke was wrapped in malice, hatred and raw evil.

"Soon Dravania would meet a fate similar to where you sent that knight." The voice laughed.

"Speaking of my knight..." The king’s voice started breaking.

"Can you perhaps tell me if there is a cure for his illness?" The king asked, his voice shaky.

He was trying his best not to attract the anger of the man on the other side.

"There is." The voice spoke and the king’s eyes lit up in excitement and hope.

"But I’d rather have him dead," the voice responded, ending its sentence with a small laugh.

The king bit his tongue, tears streamed down his eyes, and his body began to shake from raw anger.

"Do you have any problems with my decision, Henry?" the voice asked, almost taunting the king.

"No, your will is mine to obey." The king spat, the words tasted like poison to him.

"Good." The voice on the other end said with a chuckle.

"But I may do something about your dead son," the man said, his voice uncertain.

"All hail the dark emperor." The king’s words carried a weight one couldn’t imagine.

The shadows in the mirror slowly faded, revealing the king’s reflection.

The king stood to his feet, unsure of what he had just done.

He knew he couldn’t call upon the gods for help. No, that path had closed long ago.

The king gazed upon his kingdom, his eyes locked onto Derrick in the distance.

The smile on his face was one that brought warmth to his heart.

Despite this warmth, he knew deep down what was coming.

He knew this wasn’t the beginning, or the end, but simply the end of the beginning.

His eyes remained on Derrick, with the performance he displayed today, his faith had been restored in his son.

This was the world’s only hope, the only one that could save it from people like him.

"Please Derrick, save us all."

[End of Arc 1]