Veil of Aether

The participants were stunned to see Kei Y floating in the air, looking as though he hadn’t expended any effort at all to defeat two extremely powerful crown princes.

But Kei Y was the one left shocked beyond belief, his mind, for once, failing to process what he was seeing.

He was stunned by who had been eliminated of all people, as a specialist was facing death, a palm stopping a mere fraction of a second from her face. Fear flooded her heart to such an extreme degree that it no longer mattered that the system would save her life. The shock from that terror surged through her body so violently that by the time she was transported out of the arena, she collapsed limply, her pupils pure white from terror.

At least, that should have been the end of it.

Instead, emergency treatment descended on her in droves, healing experts struggling desperately to pull her back from the brink of death, barely managing to do so.

She had been, quite literally, almost scared to death.

The scene was so bizarre that Kei Y had no idea how to process what he had just witnessed.

At the same time, the rest of the arena had descended into utter chaos.

The ground was shattered, broken terrain layered atop itself as participants fought frantically, desperate to score points wherever they could.

When Kei Y appeared, many were brave enough, or foolish enough, to see him as a target. They rushed toward him without hesitation.

He merely watched them approach.

Above him, the Shima Enaga flapped its wings, scattering floating petals that drifted gently downward. The moment they reached their targets, the petals detonated in bursts of colorful light, each explosion carrying a different force alignment.

Kei Y did not spare them any attention.

His focus remained inward, his mind still trying to grasp what could possibly have happened.

As his gaze shifted, he caught sight of Anubis’s final, desperate strike rushing toward Veylor. The attack was on the verge of breaking through Veylor’s defenses, catching him completely off guard.

Kei Y took in Anubis’s condition.

The light of Anubis’s scale treasure flickered weakly, on the verge of extinguishing, sustained only by his sheer will and his determination to kill his opponent.

Then there was Silvie.

She was no longer in a carefree mood, nor was she enjoying herself. Her expression was firm and resolute as Vine Force and Life Force radiated heavily from her, saturating the space around her.

Wooden humanoids stood at her command, puppet-like in their movements, surrounding her in a silent formation. Each one carried the presence of a powerful Soldier-class combatant.

But perhaps worst of all, Kei Y couldn’t even tell who was having a harder time.

The Greek participants, or what remained of them.

Or Zeus.

Zeus raged as he became the living embodiment of lightning itself. His status screen warped and morphed, burning blue as every stat flared to life. More shockingly, his domain was still in the process of forming, as he had just broken through into the Specialist class.

And yet, there was no triumph in it.

He was furious beyond any point where rational thought could survive.

His gaze turned outward, beyond the arena, where healing experts were rushing frantically toward a single location, the Pharaoh at their side, his expression openly worried. Even a woman who sold food nearby abandoned her stall, running toward the same area in clear panic, just as shaken as the Pharaoh himself.

Something inside Zeus snapped.

His mind went blank as he surrendered fully to his rage.

Lightning poured down across the arena with ruthless authority, the air screaming as thunder followed. Every ounce of fury he possessed was directed at the remaining Greek participants.

It did not take long.

They were eradicated from the field one after another, reappearing outside the arena with lightning plasma still clinging to their bodies, sticking to them like molten glue.

Each of them screamed in agony as they waited for medical aid.

A scant few had been burned to death.

“You’re quite the troublesome person,” the Crown Prince of Jerusalem said softly as he observed Zeus. “You’ve already taken your anger out on those you intended. It would be best if you leave now, lest you cause more problems for those here who are undeserving of your wrath.”

Zeus did not hear a single word.

He continued eliminating other participants, venting his fury without restraint. The Crown Prince of Jerusalem remained entirely unbothered.

Slowly, almost lazily, he raised a hand toward Zeus. With the slightest intent, a golden glow shone forth, radiating calmly from his palm.

“Quite strong, and quite troublesome,” he murmured. “I’ll have to put in a bit more effort than I thought.”

He expelled more of his Will.

The golden glow pulsed once.

Zeus vanished from the arena.

At the same time, the Pharaoh rushed toward the spot Zeus reappeared, desperate to stop his son from causing any further destruction.

Kei Y merely watched.

The Crown Prince’s gaze drifted toward him, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes at the sight of Kei Y standing completely unscathed after defeating his opponents alone.

But before the thought could fully settle, one part of Kei Y’s attention drifted elsewhere, while another remained outside, observing the terrified specialist.

“Interesting. I wonder if that’s something I can take advantage of,” that part of him wondered, while the rest of his focus remained on the field.

Above him, the Shima Enaga finished eliminating the last of the participants who had rushed toward him. Kei Y’s gaze focused on Mia, who stood at the center of a crater she herself had created, her eyes hollow and unfocused.

“Interesting,” the Crown Prince thought.

“Impudent,” the Crown Prince’s Specialist shouted. It was the same man Kei Y had clashed with in the stands earlier. He pointed at Kei Y, fury evident in his voice.

Before he could say anything further, Kei Y’s eyes drifted toward him.

“Don’t think the system can prevent me from killing you,” Kei Y said, completely unbothered. “I’m more concerned with what kind of effects your death would have on the future.”

“What?” The Specialist froze, confused.

Before he could ask anything further, vines erupted from the ground beneath both Mia and Kei Y, wrapping around them and pulling them swiftly toward Silvie.

Silvie paid no attention to Kei Y’s exchange.

Her focus was entirely on the clash unfolding before her.

Anubis’s final strike met Veylor’s own decisive counterattack.

They collided.

Anubis’s sword shattered, fragments scattering as Veylor’s fist, coated in stunning Steel Force, slammed into Anubis’s chest, cracking bone and flesh alike.

Veylor had every intention of inflicting life-threatening injuries before the system intervened.

But Anubis’s treasured Scale pulsed brightly.

With the last embers of Anubis’s aether, Scale Force surged through Veylor’s body, stripping him entirely of all good fortune for a fraction of a second.

That instant was enough.

Anubis’s final skill from his Exalted-grade class activated.

The shattered fragments of his destroyed blade did not scatter randomly.

To Veylor’s immense misfortune, every single shard turned toward him.

Considering the quality of Anubis’s sword, and the sheer force required to break it, the fragments were propelled with terrifying speed and power.

Veylor became their target.

Both Anubis and Veylor were transported out of the arena.

Anubis was in critical condition.

The moment it happened, Auserre was forced to tear her attention away from one student and to another in a flash of panic.

The Vendor was already there.

He was pouring the elixir Kei Y had crafted back in his clearing within the Expanse straight down Anubis’s throat.

“You really are a crazy kid,” the Vendor laughed worriedly as the elixir took effect, rapidly knitting Anubis’s shattered ribs back together.

Then his thoughts surged outward, sharp and insistent.

"It’s really about time you got back here. Stop having fun. You’re needed."

“But I’m having fun.”

“I can see that, but your Crown Prince has lost his mind. And the former… anyway, you know she can’t die. Let her be.”

“Let me cut off just one of her fingers. That wouldn’t change much, would it?”

The Vendor was speaking to Emory, who, despite being bloodied from his injuries, was cheerfully chasing Queen Rhea. She fled in panic, having already burned through several life-saving treasures.

“Just what are you?” Rhea cried out, terror seeping into her voice as she watched Emory trail behind her, a smile stretched across his face.

“This isn’t Destruction Force,” Rhea said, eyes trembling in fear, “but it doesn’t act any differently.”

“To call it Destruction Force would be a bit of a stretch. I merely walk a path of destruction, per se.” His smile widened. “But it seems I’ll have to end our fun for now. I’ll look forward to seeing you in the future.”

Crimson lightning crackled through the air around him as he surged forward, daggers already striking.

Rhea screamed.

Before the blow could land, a hand tore through the space itself and clamped around Emory’s head, dragging him violently away. He vanished in an instant, leaving Rhea collapsed on the floor, drenched in sweat, bodily fluids, and other substances she could not bring herself to think about.

She stared blankly at the empty space where Emory had been just moments ago.

“Just who was he?”

Rhea collapsed, uncertain of the fate she had just encountered.

“Oh, by the way, it’d be for the best if you forgot about me. And that annoying creation guy as well… ow, that hurts.”

Emory’s voice echoed around her, causing her to jolt in fear. In that same instant, her memories warped, her thoughts twisting as her intentions shifted beyond her control.

Elsewhere, Emory appeared beside Pharoah. His appearance was pristine once more, the manic excitement from moments earlier completely gone. His gaze settled calmly on Zeus.

His eyes then drifted toward where Auserre stood, and it was as if both he and Kei Y were compelled to ask the same question at the exact same time.

Kei Y’s eyes, however, were fixed on Mia.

She stood hollow and unmoving, staring at the specialist she had nearly killed with a single palm strike, now surrounded by emergency treatment teams fighting to stabilize her.

Without looking away, Kei Y asked Silvie,

“How did Kei lose his eyes?”

“It happened when you formed that massive tornado…” Silvie began, recounting the sequence of events.

At the same time, Mia was busy trying to roll Silvie over, grumbling under her breath as Silvie calmly tested her newly awakened Exalted-grade class. With a casual gesture, Silvie summoned a variety of wooden puppets.

She began gaining elimination points rapidly.

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Wooden-rose bees hummed through the air, thrumming with concentrated Life Force. They struck unsuspecting participants from blind angles, their small frames carrying far more strength than their appearance suggested. Those caught off guard were eliminated almost instantly.

It did not take long for attention to turn toward her.

Many participants began targeting the visibly pregnant girl, seeing her as an easy elimination.

They were wrong.

Mia moved the moment they closed in.

She intercepted attackers mid-charge, her movements sharp and decisive, knocking several of them unconscious with blunt, efficient strikes before they could even activate their skills.

One thing quickly became clear.

Most of those converging on Silvie and Mia were from China, Japan, and especially India. The two girls had already eliminated several of their strongest participants earlier, and resentment had festered into outright revenge.

And revenge, more often than not, clouded judgment.

That same blindness was now afflicting the remaining Greek participants.

They charged toward Zeus and Kei M without hesitation.

The brothers welcomed them.

Kei M leapt into the air, drawing in breath before unleashing a thunderous Resonant Shout. The shockwave tore across the ground, slamming into the oncoming Greeks and rattling their senses. He landed between them a heartbeat later, activating Bass Drop.

The ground trembled violently.

A crushing wave of sound disrupted their footing, balance shattering as bodies stumbled and crashed into one another.

Zeus followed immediately.

Arcs of lightning erupted from his body, snapping outward with ruthless precision. Bolts chained through clustered targets, tearing through defenses and eliminating multiple Soldier-class participants in rapid succession.

The battlefield erupted into chaos around them.

And that was only the beginning.

The last remaining strongest participants were eager to be rid of the two of them.

They had already tried to reach Kei Y, but the massive tornado surrounding him made it impossible. The winds were overwhelming, and those who pushed too close were battered by layered Glacial Force as well. The cost was too high. It simply was not worth the effort.

So their focus shifted.

Toward Zeus, whom they had always clashed with.

And toward the newly reemerged former Crown Prince, the one who had once caused chaos across battlefields. The one who delighted in disrupting their plans, toying with them through superior awareness and that cursed, exceptional hearing of his.

Throughout the entire tournament, the forces of Amunar had been a constant thorn in their side.

The resentment had been building since the very first phase.

Their Crown Princess had been killed.

And among the more observant, something worse. They had seen their Queen taking her own life. They rightfully guessed she had been driven by overwhelming grief, made unbearable by the sight of her daughter’s killer displaying talent far greater than before.

At this point, they were no longer fighting to win.

They were fighting to kill.

But one among them was exceptionally sharp.

She understood that outright murder would not be permitted within the tournament’s constraints.

So instead, she began to form a different plan.

As his brother kept their enemies occupied, Kei M began preparing his move.

He took his time.

A deep hum gathered around him as he charged a massive Resonant Shield. The sound thickened the air itself, vibrations layering upon one another until the construct swelled outward, expanding wider and wider. By the time it fully formed, it covered a significant portion of the arena.

His Spark ignited.

It embedded itself into the field like a living core. The resonance deepened, and an invisible pressure settled over the battlefield.

It was not just the Greek participants who felt it.

Others from different kingdoms shifted uneasily as well, an inexplicable discomfort creeping into their bones.

Kei M lowered himself gently to the ground.

“Since my preparations are complete,” he said, spreading his arms wide with the flair of a seasoned performer, “allow me to reintroduce myself to you lovely people.”

His grin widened.

“I know, my absence must have brought you untold sorrow. I cannot even begin to imagine the hardship you endured on the battlefield without me. But worry no more. Your favorite former Crown Prince has returned to bring delight back to your ears.”

“ Tsk. Not this asshole again,” a Specialist from Japan muttered, glaring at Kei M.

“ Hmph. You’re just upset he broke through your precious self-named technique, Susanoo,” another Japanese participant remarked dryly.

“ Shut up, Amaterasu.”

As the others began to remember exactly who Amunar’s former Crown Prince was, it happened.

Kei M continued speaking, his tone light, almost cheerful.

“As an apology for my absence…”

His resonant bracelets ignited, bands of luminous vibration spiraling around his wrists as Resonance Force pulsed outward in steady waves.

“…as a small token of goodwill…”

The air began to thrum.

“...allow me,” Kei M said softly, his smile widening, “to relieve you of one small burden.”

The vibrations stopped.

“Welcome,” he whispered, “to Curtain Call: The Silent Symphony.”

Their world went silent.

Only absence.

Within that void, Kei M’s hearing did not diminish.

It sharpened.

In the silence, something else became clear.

Heartbeats.

To his enemies, it was panic.

To Kei M, it was music.

And with that, his new Exalted class thrummed to life.

Their very hearts became the conductors of their own demise.

A Chinese Soldier-class participant had not yet adjusted to the sudden loss of hearing. Disoriented, he turned his head sharply, trying to locate threats by sight alone.

He never saw the bracelet.

It materialized in his peripheral vision a split second before a fist struck him cleanly across the jaw, launching him across the arena.

A few nearby participants witnessed it.

Their heartbeats spiked.

Kei M smiled.

The rhythm accelerated.

The moment their pulses quickened, he descended upon them.

Bass Drop.

The ground quaked beneath their feet, timed perfectly between beats. Every strike he delivered landed in sync with the frantic pounding in their chests. The faster their fear rose, the faster his tempo became.

He was performing.

He fought to the beat of their drum.

Or rather—

To the beat of their hearts.

Just after delivering a kick that knocked a Chinese Specialist sprawling, lightning struck the ground where Kei M had been standing. He leapt back instantly, narrowly avoiding the impact.

In the crater of crackling energy stood a figure clad in yellow robes, lightning dancing across his frame.

He had arrived to stop Kei M.

Kei M smiled.

The figure was calm.

Calmer than anyone else within the silence.

He bent down and picked up his spear, golden lightning coiling along its shaft before he thrust it forward.

He expected Kei M to respond with the same accelerated tempo he had used moments earlier.

Instead—

Kei M slowed.

His movements became measured, almost relaxed. His rhythm matched the newcomer’s steady heartbeat perfectly. The sudden shift shattered the man’s expectations. His body had prepared to counter overwhelming speed.

Not this.

All he could do was stare as the boy in front of him smiled.

Kei M was about to retaliate when wooden-rose birds swept through the silent field, wings cutting through the air. They wrapped around his opponent and yanked him away mid-engagement.

“Hey. He was mine,” Kei M shouted, temporarily restoring sound.

“I have my own personal issues with Yellow Loong here. Go fight someone else,” Silvie called back, a spear already weaving itself from coiling vines in her hand.

Huanglong blinked.

“Who is she calling Yellow Loong?” he thought, momentarily baffled. “That’s actually not a bad name. I quite like it.”

“May I ask what issues you have with me?” he asked politely, genuinely confused.

Silvie cracked her knuckles, her expression dark.

“Do you know how long it took me to beat you?” she demanded.

“I could swear on my life this is the first time we’ve fought, at least as far as I’m aware,” he replied.

“Who said anything about real life?”

“….”

Huanglong did not get a chance to process that.

Frustration he did not understand was unleashed upon him in full force. He was beaten thoroughly before the system eliminated him from the arena.

Kei M watched the poor man’s fate unfold as he was overwhelmed by a swarm of wooden-rose puppets and sighed.

“Unfortunate,” he muttered.

“So will be yours.”

A woman’s voice appeared right next to his ear.

A spear lashed toward Kei M’s head in that same instant.

“ Tsk.”

He reacted immediately.

The cord of his yo-yo snapped outward, wrapping cleanly around the spear’s blade. He yanked downward with force, dragging the weapon off its intended trajectory just enough for it to miss his skull.

Kei M leapt back, landing lightly.

He looked at his new opponent with visible irritation.

This Greek Specialist had been a headache for far too long.

Without hesitation, he reasserted his field.

Silence returned in full.

He locked onto the tempo of her heartbeat.

But she was exceptional.

Almost immediately, she understood what he was doing.

Her pulse slowed.

Then accelerated.

Then steadied again.

Deliberately.

She was controlling it.

The rhythm he had latched onto slipped out of alignment, disrupting the tempo he had prepared to follow.

Most would panic in that moment.

Kei M did not.

He advanced anyway.

They clashed.

Her shield absorbed the brunt of his strikes with disciplined precision, angles tight and efficient. Her spear weaved through narrow openings like a serpent, targeting joints and blind spots.

Each time the spear threatened to land, a resonant shield flared just in time to deflect it.

She did not grow frustrated.

She remained patient.

Calculating.

The only thing she regretted was the silence itself.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been speaking, probing, taunting, testing his reactions. She excelled at unraveling opponents psychologically while fighting them physically.

But here, she could not speak.

Her Wisdom was her greatest weapon.

Her mind processed faster than most. She recognized patterns quickly and adjusted before they solidified. Every shift in Kei M’s stance, she cataloged and countered with disciplined shield positioning and precise spear work.

She was not overpowering him.

But she was not falling behind either.

And that alone made her dangerous.

There was one thing she had not calculated.

The ordinary-looking bracelets wrapped around Kei M’s wrists and ankles.

She had already grown comfortable fighting him.

That was her first mistake.

The bracelets ignited.

Without warning, a fist rocketed toward her far faster than she had anticipated.

Her pupils constricted.

She barely managed to bring her shield up in time.

The collision came a fraction of a second later.

The moment Kei M’s strike met her guard, the bracelets flared again.

Additional Resonant Shields detonated outward from his wrists at point-blank range.

The layered impacts stacked violently.

The force of it drove her backward, boots tearing into the arena floor.

Her composure cracked.

Her eyes flicked instinctively toward her status display.

Her shield’s durability had dropped by several dozen points in a single exchange.

And yet he had done it casually.

Taking advantage of her moment of shock, Kei M moved.

The instant her footing faltered, a Resonant Shield erupted beneath her step and launched her upward. Before she could reorient, she struck another shield suspended in the air and was deflected sideways into a third.

Then a fourth.

And a fifth.

It took only a heartbeat for her to understand.

She was trapped in a loop.

Her body ricocheted between planes of resonance, each impact angled to feed her into the next. Worse still, the original shield that had thrown her upward vanished, leaving only the ground below.

She slammed down.

The impact bounced her back into the air, straight into the waiting lattice of shields again.

Kei M laughed.

Every time she adjusted, another shield shifted position ahead of her movement. He was not reacting to her escape attempts.

He was predicting them.

Her frustration flared.

Golden light ignited behind her.

A massive spectral shield unfolded at her back, etched with geometric patterns of perfect proportion. Her pupils sharpened into radiant gold as understanding flooded her gaze.

Her domain activated.

“Citadel of Wisdom.”

A colossal spear of radiant light formed high above the arena, its tip aligned with mathematical precision toward Kei M’s position.

“Judgment of Athena.”

The spear descended.

But not by much.

Kei M’s Resonant Bracelets ignited, layers of Resonant Shields forming one atop another, halting its fall in midair.

Athena’s eyes narrowed. She had not expected her Domain to be intercepted so cleanly.

Still, she did not panic.

Not about that.

She was still being forced through the ricochet lattice.

The spectral shield behind her burned brighter as her Will surged, pressing outward against the invisible framework trapping her.

The arena trembled as their Wills collided.

“You know,” Kei M said lightly, “of all people to challenge in a contest of Will… my kind are one of the worst choices.”

His presence deepened.

His Will expanded.

It eclipsed hers.

Her pupils widened.

“Well, Athena,” Kei M continued cheerfully, “as always, it’s never a pleasure fighting you. I don’t wish you well. Goodbye.”

And in that moment—

He failed to notice something.

During the clash, Athena had already sent a signal.

One of her teammates moved immediately, breaking away from the fighting and heading straight toward Mia, who was occupied with her own opponents and unaware of the approaching danger.

A faint unease crept into Kei M’s mind.

He expanded his Echo Location across the battlefield.

He had fought Athena enough times to understand one thing.

She would never allow an opponent to declare victory on their own terms.

Then he found it.

A figure rushing toward Mia, something clenched in his hand. She hadn’t noticed. He was already acting, uncorking a small vial and throwing its contents toward her.

“MIA!!!”

Kei M’s shout tore through the arena as the air around him convulsed into a violent shockwave.

Without hesitation, he activated his Exalted-grade skill.

Space twisted.

He exchanged positions with another target.

Mia barely had time to react to Kei M shouting her name before their positions switched.

Kei M appeared where she had been standing.

His bracelets blazed.

Dozens of Resonant Shields detonated in rapid succession from within them as his fist drove forward, spinning with such force the ground beneath his feet cratered.

The strike landed.

The attacker vanished from the arena instantly, reappearing outside without injury. The system had judged the blow fatal and removed him at the final moment.

In that same instant, Kei M no longer paid attention to Athena.

She hit the ground, smiling in triumph.

Even though he had eliminated the attacker and saved Mia, the liquid had already been thrown.

And Kei M had appeared directly in its path.

“I win this time,” Athena said softly.

Kei M screamed.

His hands clutched at his eyes as pain tore through him, raw and uncontrolled. The sound carried across the battlefield, violent enough to drag Zeus out of his own fight.

Zeus turned.

He saw his younger brother, the one who had only just returned to him after everything, collapsed on the ground, writhing and clutching his face.

“WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!”

His roar shattered the air as rage consumed him instantly.

Nearby, Mia stood frozen.

Slowly, she understood.

“This is my fault,” she thought.

Athena pulled herself free of the ground’s hold, still smiling.

“Heh. I knew you were important to him.”

She had been watching Kei M’s interactions with Mia from the start, preparing for this possibility if they ever fought.

She understood how difficult Kei M was to defeat directly, even while being two cultivation stages below her.

So she never intended to defeat him directly.

She rose, convinced she had won.

Then she was launched several meters away.

Pain exploded through her abdomen as she hit the ground, coughing blood violently.

The small girl she had targeted still stood where she had been.

Her arm remained outstretched.

Slowly, she turned her head toward Athena.

A chill ran down Athena’s spine.

Elsewhere, Silvie was locked in battle against Susanoo and Amaterasu, wooden-rose puppets blooming around her, she already layered in her floral regalia.

Then she saw Kei M.

Her expression tightened.

She could not break away. Her opponents would not allow it.

So she chose the only thing she could do.

Vines erupted beneath him, spearing toward his body. The system registered his elimination and removed him from the arena, sending him outside to receive immediate aid.

At that same moment, everyone felt it.

A crushing pressure radiated from within the massive tornado. High above its swirling walls, a colossal spectral figure slowly leaned over its edge, its presence alone stunning the battlefield into stillness.

Everyone paused.

Everyone except Silvie.

She had no room left for distraction.

Vines burst from the ground beneath her opponents. Flames burned them away, but more surged forth faster than the fire could consume them.

They wrapped around their targets and tightened relentlessly. Barbs unfolded along their length, piercing deep and draining vitality.

A single lapse in focus was all it took.

Amaterasu fell.

Then Susanoo.

And the rest of what followed needed no explanation.

Kei Y watched everything unfold.

Then he sighed.

There was no one he could blame for what had happened. Everyone here carried history with one another, grudges layered upon grudges. It was simply unfortunate that Kei M had been the one to suffer for it.

For what it was worth, Anubis had done far better than any of them had expected.

It wasn’t long ago he had been a frail, starving child, struggling just to gain access to aether for cultivation.

And today, he had defeated the Specialist responsible for making his life that way.

But looking at the state of his friends, especially Kei M, time was now urgent. Kei Y prepared to eliminate himself and head outside to aid them. He might not possess the technology to regrow human organs, but he knew his own capabilities, and ensuring Kei M did not lose his eyes was something he was confident he could accomplish.

The three of them stood there, absorbing everything that had just unfolded. They barely registered the system’s voice announcing the end of the battle and their victory.

[Last remaining participants: Amunar and Jerusalem]

The announcement scarcely reached them.

[Amunar’s Sanu, Mia, and Khenu vs Jerusalem…]

The Jerusalem participants watched their opponents, who seemed lost in their own turmoil.

One Specialist scoffed openly. The other rolled his eyes at his teammate’s behavior, while their leader simply extended a hand toward his upcoming opponents.

“Hm?” Kei Y muttered, pulled from his thoughts.

“Tsk. Just wait. I’ll deal with you later,” the Specialist said, glaring at Kei Y, irritated by his distraction.

The words drew Mia’s attention.

She ignored the Specialist fixated on Kei Y. The other Specialist had already set his sights on Silvie.

That left the Recruit on their side.

Her hollow eyes settled on him.

He met her gaze calmly.

Among all who had entered the tournament, he knew that aside from himself, she was the strongest participant present.

He extended his hand.

He spoke his introduction, but she barely heard it. All that reached her was:

“…be thy name. And you are?”

She did not answer.

She only stared at him.

To her, he was simply someone she could release her frustration on.