I hissed coldly upon hearing the words that came out of the little girl's mouth. A lot of things started to make sense then.

From the four-leaved clover symbol to how the statue came about.

'....So the Inverted Sky is an organization made up of the remnants of the Rilgona Monarchy.'

Everything started to make sense when I recalled everything that I had seen.

I had also learned a few new things.

But at the same time, I had a few more questions in my mind.

Like...

The Four-leaved clover, what relation did that have with the tattoo on my arm? Was there a relation at all?

'It looks like I'll need to dig deeper into this place's history.'

I felt like I was onto something.

Not only that...

Shifting my attention toward the little girl who looked blankly at the sky, I started to get an idea as to who she was.

"The Faceless Man. Sithrus.'

Only he would be capable of commanding someone like Atlas.

He had come personally to punish those from this Monarchy and entered the body of the little girl in the process.

Was this all to send a message...?

I turned around and shifted my attention back toward the statue.

Black tears traced down its face as it stared ahead, unmoving. It was then that Sithrus and the others left.

A change started to occur in the world.

As though time had been suddenly sped up, the world shifted. Changes occurred. Houses became abandoned, the streets became emptier, and the buildings started to fall apart. Gradually, the Monarchy fell.

Houses stood empty, their doors left ajar as the habitants all left one by one. The streets, once bustling with life, became eerily silent, no longer carrying any sign of life.

Buildings began to decay, their walls cracking and crumbling as if rotting from within.

The Monarch crumbled.

In that time, as change occurred, there were hardly any things that remained the same besides a few.

The white sun.

The gray sky, and...

The Angel of Sorrow.

I stood in silence, watching all of this unfold before my very eyes.

I didn't know what to say or do. All I could do was imprint the sight before my eyes, sensing the despair, anguish, anger, and sadness of the soul within the statue as she watched everything unfold before her very eyes, unable to do a thing.

The statue stood still in the same spot for centuries before finally being moved by those who reclaimed the land.

....It was also then that the statue came alive.

Feeling the pent-up rage and darkness in her, I looked up to see her standing before me, her hand gripping tightly at my neck.

She squeezed as hard she could, trying to break my neck.

But I knew this wasn't possible.

This was my mind after all.

"It's useless."

Finally finding my words, I stared at the statue. Its neck flicked to display several faces, trying

to crack my mind so that it could enter it and take over me.

The grip around my neck intensified.

I couldn't breathe anymore.

....Or it was more like, she tried to make me think that I couldn't breathe.

I remained calmly standing, unfazed by it all.

And it was only then that the statue finally realized it was useless.

In the blink of an eye, her hands disappeared from my neck, and she disappeared from my

sight.

All that was left was the darkness of my mind.

That was when I opened my eyes.

A familiar locker room greeted my sight.

"Hoo."

Leaning against the wall beside me, I blankly stared at the ceiling of the locker room.

I sat in silence like that, only coming out of it when I heard the muffled shouts coming from the arena outside.

'Oh, it looks like the match between Leon and Amell is coming to an end.'

I stood up and patted my clothes.

"I shouldn't miss it."

Moving past the clothes that were scattered on the ground, I headed for the door. But just as I was about to leave, I paused to look at the mirror that was positioned by the side of the room. Right next to the metal locker.

I stared at my own reflection for a good couple of seconds, only looking away when I fixed my collar enough to hide the imprints that were left on my neck.

"Woooo!"

"Ahhh!"

Opening the door, the cheers of the crowd suddenly started to overwhelm me.

I basked in the sound for a few seconds before finally leaving.

Clank!

'I'm sure Leon will be happy with what I've learned.'

***

The crowd was boiling.

Clank, clank-!

A spectacle greeted the audience's eyes. Sparks flew, bursting in the air like colorful fireworks.

Tiny explosions followed with each clash as Leon's eyes turned bloodshot.

Clank!

Another powerful blast echoed as the sparks grew brighter.

"....!"

Leon skidded back several steps, his breathing extremely heavy.

"Haa.. Haa..."

His shoulders were slumped while his eyes were shaky and unfocused. On the other hand, while Amell wasn't faring that much better, he had a clear advantage.

"Wooo!"

The crowd's cheers and chants boomed throughout the Colosseum as the two opponents

regained their breath.

This entire process took less than a second, and soon enough, taking a deep breath, Leon's body blurred as he attacked Amell who reciprocated his attack with one of his own.

Clank!

Amell lowered his waist and slashed his sword horizontally. Leon ducked back, narrowly avoiding the tip of Amell's sword before slashing vertically.

Pak!

Amell deflected the sword with a swift slap to the side, then stepped in closer, delivering a

powerful upward diagonal slash.

"!"

Leon's expression turned pale as a large gush appeared on his body.

Blood dripped down on his shirt as he kicked the ground and distanced himself from Amell

who followed behind, not giving him a single chance to recover.

Clank, clank-

The audience could barely keep up, their eyes struggling to follow as the swords streaked through the air at incredible speeds, twisting and changing direction at any given second.

This wasn't just an exchange of swords.

It was also a mental game.

Who was going to fall for it first?

"....How masterful!"

Karl couldn't help but praise as he watched the match with an excited glint in his eyes.

"Five minutes into the match, both sides are beginning to show signs of weakness. However,

if you look closely, you'll notice that Leon is at a clear disadvantage. Will Amell emerge

victorious? What do you think?"

He turned to look at Johanna. Unlike him, she didn't seem at all that excited.

That was mainly because she was extremely focused on analyzing the situation. Sorting

through all that she managed to observe, she spoke,

"Leon has been fighting while holding his breath the entire time."

"Uh?"

Karl's face stiffened upon hearing her words.

"Fighting while holding his breath? Why would he-"

"Because he has no choice but to."

Johanna replied, zooming the broadcast to show several instances when Leon paused to take a

deep breath before attacking.

"There's only one good reason why he would hold his breath during a fight and that's Amell's

domain."

"?"

"Notice how Leon becomes weaker each time he takes a deep breath. Do you really think it's

because he's deprived of oxygen?"

"It could be..."

"No, not quite."

Johanna shook her head.

"His domain ability allows him to regain mental clarity and increases his power. He should be

getting stronger, not weaker."

"Ah."

"Whatever Amell's domain consists of, it's stopping him from breathing. Each time he takes a whiff of whatever is hiding within the platform, he becomes weaker."

Karl pursed his lips upon hearing her analysis.

If that was the case...

He shifted his attention to the struggling Leon.

"...I'm afraid Leon doesn't have that much time left before his body gives up on him."

Clank!

Sparks flew one more as Leon and Amell exchanged blows.

Clank, clank-

Leon's chest tingled as he held his breath. It was as Karl and Johanna said. He couldn't

breathe. The scent that lingered in the air made him become weaker each time he took a

breath, and he had no choice but to act this way.

The only problem was that it was also hindering his performance.

'If I can't breathe, I have to make it so that he doesn't breathe either!'

It was for that reason that Leon attacked relentlessly.

His body popped while his muscles squeezed and released, his strikes seamlessly connecting

with one another, performing an overwhelming dance that Amell could hardly fend off.

Clank!

A powerful spark flew in the air as Amell stumbled back, his guard faltering for a brief second.

Leon's eyes constricted at that moment.

'Now...!'

This was his opportunity, and he didn't want to waste it.

Kicking the ground with a 'bang' he dashed forward and slashed down.

Swoosh!

His actions were a little reckless since it could very well be a trap, but he had no choice. Time

was running out for him

The stars in his eyes shimmered, fading one by one as his power increased, and so did his

attacks.

Clank! Clank!

Amell responded in kind, his body twisting and turning as he deftly avoided some of the

attacks while reciprocating. His movements were elegant and refined. A lot more so than Leon's whose attacks were a lot more precise and ruthless.

"kh...!"

It was a bitter struggle, one side bidding for time, while the other pushing himself to his limit

due to the lack of time.

"Uehk!"

Leon's face was entirely red as he slashed and crisscrossed with the sword.

'More...! More!'

His head felt light and his vision grew blurry.

He was on his last leg.

.....He needed to take a breath.

However, lifting his head and staring at his opponent whose guard was still persisting, he

clenched his teeth and persisted. The stars in his eyes faded one by one as power surged

through his body.

Clank! Clank-!

The sparks grew brighter and his muscles bulged, straining his clothes.

'I have to...'

Leon's face was entirely pale and his eyes were unfocused.

Despite all of this, he continued to swing his sword.

Slash! Slash-

The air whistled with each strike, his form slowly starting to crumble apart while his steps

faltered as well.

Amell's form cracked once more.

His expression changed, and Leon took advantage of it.

He put more force on his waist and slashed down with all he had.

"Aaahh!"

Leon screamed, losing the little air he had within him.

CLANK!

Amell's guard showed even more cracks.

"Ukh!"

Leon felt his body pause.

'Air...!'

...He had to take a breath, but he also knew that he would lose doing so.

"Kh!"

So he persisted.

Slash! Slash!

He slashed and slashed and slashed.

Each slash forced Amell back. He tried to reciprocate but Leon's attack left him no room to do

so. He was like a machine...

He repeated the same motion over and over again.

All he could think about was cutting the opponent that he could no longer see.

Clank!

He could feel his sword hit against something, but he wasn't sure what it was. With his breath

held, he just repeated the same motion over and over again.

It was either him or his opponent...

Swoosh-Swo...

Leon felt his sword stop halfway.

He tried to push it down further, fueling his strength with the stars, but his sword refused to

budge. It was as though his entire body had lost its strength.

That's when Leon realized it.

'Ah.'

He couldn't hold it any longer.

Feeling his legs buckle, he let go of his sword and knelt.

"Haaa..."

For the first time in a while, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with oxygen as the world

around him felt eerily quiet.

His eyes were still blurry, and he couldn't properly think.

"The winner is..."

But in spite of his condition, he managed to hear the referee's words.

"Leon Ellert of the Nurs Ancifa Empire!"