System's POV

As soon as Thirteen finished talking to Roland, Erica opened her eyes and looked at the grumpy teenager whose sleep had been interrupted.

"He's just feeling anxious, you know?" Erica said softly before wrapping her hands behind Thirteen's head and pulling him close to her chest.

"I know," Thirteen sighed as he felt the familiar warmth and softness that calmed him down every night.

He was the one who rigged the match, making Roland and Clark face against each other.

But he didn't feel guilty about it.

Heroes have their own trials, and he simply considered this as one of them.

"Go to sleep," Erica said, lightly patting Thirteen's head and humming a lullaby to make him fall asleep.

Soon, Thirteen felt drowsy, and a few minutes later, he fell into sleep's embrace once again.

Erica held the sleeping teenage boy in his arms before closing her eyes.

In the past, the apple of her eye was Roland. However, how could she not notice that Roland liked Shana and not her?

But after being trained by Zion, and traveling with him in Solterra, Erica experienced things she had never experienced while traveling with the Hero Party.

She felt more free… and liberated when she was around Zion.

It was like she could do anything and everything without worrying about the consequences of her actions.

Because of this, she became very fond of the teenage boy.

However, she didn't know if what she was feeling was love or not.

To a certain extent, she still liked Roland, but it wasn't as strong as she used to feel in the past.

She would no longer feel jealous whenever he talked to Shana, Diana, Mildred, or with other girls.

Back then, the feeling of jealousy was so strong that it made her feel helpless.

Only after meeting Zion did this feeling subside, and she was now able to get her feelings under her control.

After making sure that the teenage boy was in deep sleep, the young lady planted a kiss on his head before closing her eyes to sleep.

Although she was still unsure of her true feelings, she was certain of one thing.

She wished to keep holding onto the person in her arms and make sure that he would no longer have any nightmares at night.

It had been an hour since the sun rose. Sensing someone entering his room, Roland abruptly opened his eyes.

He then summoned his weapon, ready to strike the intruder, when he realized that the person in question was none other than the Field Marshal of the Central Government, Tristan.

"Very good," Tristan nodded in satisfaction. "Having your guard up at all times is a good thing."

"Good morning, Sir," Roland greeted his superior officer and hurriedly stored his sword inside his Dimensional Storage.

"Good morning," Tristan eyed Roland from head to foot before smiling faintly. "Did you sleep well?"

"I wasn't able to sleep until midnight, Sir," Roland replied.

He didn't bother explaining that he had to knock himself out to ensure that he'd be able to get some rest before his match.

Thinking that nothing was out of place, Tristan nodded and made a gesture on the tray of food on the table.

"Eat first, then take a shower," Tristan said. "After that, wear comfortable clothes and this as well."

Tristan took out a Hazmat Suit from his storage ring and placed it on top of the bed.

Seeing the suit, Roland almost choked on his saliva because he had just talked about this matter with Zion last night.

Little did he know that before Thirteen went back to sleep a few hours ago, he sent a message to Tristan and asked him to make Roland wear a Hazmat Suit on the way to the venue.

This was his revenge for waking him up in the middle of his peaceful sleep.

"Sir, people would laugh at me if I wore that to the Colosseum," Roland replied.

He was the face of the Hero Party, and he believed that wearing a Hazmat Suit on his way to the Colosseum would make him lose some face.

"Don't underestimate the Ashford Clan," Tristan said in a solemn tone. "They will not hesitate to use any methods to win. You might think you have an idea of what they can do, but sadly, you don't."

Tristan was very clear about how clean the Monarch Clans looked on the surface despite being dirtier than sewage water behind closed doors.

He wouldn't put it past the Ashford Clan to make a move at every opportunity that they could get.

A day ago, they had captured over a dozen spies from the Ashford Clan who attempted to gather information about Roland in subtle ways.

Fortunately, they had already prepared for this kind of subtle interrogation, so the moment they identified these people, they didn't hesitate and captured them.

They would rather capture the innocent than let any of the spies go.

After using special methods, they found out that four of the people they captured weren't spies of the Ashford Clan.

Regardless, they were still spies—albeit from different Clans, so it was still a good haul for them.

Seeing how serious the Field Marshal's gaze was, Roland couldn't help but look at the Hazmat Suit on the bed before heaving a sigh.

"Don't worry, we will say that you just came from a special mission where you fought a Majin that emitted strong radioactivity from its body," Tristan patted the young man's shoulder. "However, if you really don't want to wear it, at least wear this specialized Respirator Mask I prepared."

After seeing the Respirator Mask, Roland didn't hesitate and chose it over the Hazmat Suit.

Tristan chuckled after seeing the young man's reaction because this was also part of the message that Zion had sent him last night.

Two hours later, the two rode a helicopter to head to the venue.

When they arrived at the Colosseum, they didn't enter it right away.

Instead, they went inside a customized van normally meant for celebrities.

Roland sat on the soft couch and looked at the time on his communicator.

There were still two hours before the start of his match with Clark.

Frankly, he wanted to get it over with so that he would no longer feel anxious about the match.

Clark, who was now inside the VIP Room inside the Colosseum, sat cross-legged on the floor, meditating before the fight started.

He had reviewed the footage of Roland's battles and committed the other party's mannerisms and fighting style to his memory.

Although he looked calm on the surface, he was actually feeling a lot of pressure because the honor and dignity of his family were at stake.

The young man wished that he wouldn't have to use his Trump Card in this battle because he intended to save it for the finals.

While Roland and Clark were doing their last-minute preparations, the subtle battle between the Ashford Clan and the Central Government was still happening behind the scenes.

As for Thirteen? He was also on his way to the Colosseum alongside his entourage.

He was probably the most excited about the outcome of this match because depending on the result, he might need to adjust his plans in the future.

-----------

(A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!)