"He's waking up, move away."

After noticing a change in Caius's heartbeat, Theron shoved the nurse aside and moved closer to Caius who was lying down on a soft bed.

His eyelids twitched and soon opened, revealing his soft yellow eyes. Adjusting to the light, they twitched for a brief moment before dimming.

Theron's expression changed the moment he laid eyes on Caius.

They looked so...

Lost.

The room fell into a strange silence as neither party spoke.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Caius's horse voice as he blankly stared at the ceiling above.

"....I can't feel it."

"You can't feel what?"

Theron moved closer, his eyes darting around to check his body. What can't he feel...? His legs? His arms..? Everything should be norma-

"My emotions."

Theron's entire body stiffened as his eyes fell on Caius who looked back at him blankly.

Raising his hands, Caius touched his face, his eyes blanking out.

"I..."

He blinked his eyes.

"...Can't feel anything."

Squeezing his hands over his face, Caius's eyes started to bleed. "I'm a talentless-"

***

"So, today marks the start of the second Semi-Final match."

Karl's voice was rather low. The excitement that was usually present in his voice was no longer there. What replaced it was a serious look.

"....The match will be between Leon Ellert and Aoife Megrail. Both of which belong to the Nurs Ancifa Empire."

It couldn't be helped.

Now that Caius had been eliminated, the only competing members were those from the Nurs Ancifa Empire.

This meant that the top three candidates were from the same Empire.

...There had never been such a precedent in the past.

It was such an overwhelming dominance that left him, and the audience stunned. And yet, as one might expect the viewers to die down in the face of such a situation, the reality was different, with the broadcasting viewership higher than it had ever been.

Karl felt intense pressure upon realizing this.

"I won't spend much time introducing either side since most of you are already familiar with the two of them. On one side we have the Princess of the Empire, the current Black Star, and the last remaining of the Big Four."

Karl took a deep breath upon uttering those words.

Shifting his attention toward Leon, he unknowingly started to drum his fingers over the table.

"Julien has eliminated two of the big four by himself while Leon has already eliminated one. Will he be able to defy the odds like Julien has...?"

"Possibly."

Johanna chimed in, her expression just as serious as Karl's.

"Leon has shown very good qualities so far. He has a shot at beating Aoife, but..."

She paused for a second, her brows knitting together as her eyes fell on Aoife who stood on the opposite end of Leon, wearing a thin smile on her face.

"...Aoife has yet to display her full range of abilities. We don't know if she developed a 'Concept' or what her 'Concept' is. It will all come down to Leon's ability to deal with the unexpected."

"I agree."

Karl was just about to say something else when the referee's hand raised.

The entire Colosseum turned quiet, all noise disappearing at once. With all eyes lingering over the referee, a strange tension took over the platform.

...And it all came to a snap when the referee's hand shot down, announcing the start of the match.

"Begin!"

Bang!

Leon was the first one to move.

His figure blurred from the spot, shattering the ground beneath him and heading straight for Aoife who remained standing in the same spot.

As her eyes shifted from her left and right side, a smile crept on her pretty features as her red hair swayed before her eyes and she twisted her torso, unsheathing her thin sword and

slashing down.

Clank!

Sparks flew in the air as Leon's sword came into contact with Aoife's.

Neither side budged an inch as their eyes interlocked with one another. With a grunt, Leon's arms popped and cracked as they began to bulge.

"Uhm!"

Power started to overflow his body as he started to push Aoife's sword back.

With his jaw clenched, he tried to take a step forward, but mid-way through his motion, his

foot stopped.

"....!"

Looking down, he saw Aoife's finger move and his expression changed as his leg was flung to the side, momentarily disrupting his center of gravity.

Aoife's eyes sharpened then.

Twisting the heel of her foot, she let go of her sword, twirling around Leon and arriving

before his exposed back where she pressed her hand.

Bang!

"Ukeh...!"

Leon's body trembled as he staggered forward.

At the same time, the sword that left Aoife's hand began to float in the air, its tip pointing directly at Leon's heart as he staggered toward it.

The audience held their breaths at the sight.

It had all happened so fast and fluidly that they hardly had time to process the situation.

Leon's pupils shrank at the sight of the sword. Slowly, his eyes began to transform, the darkness within them giving way to blank, white dots that gradually filled the void. Without hesitation, Leon blinked his eyes, causing some of the stars to disappear.

His body burst with power, and his body began to 'pop' once more as the muscles in his body adjusted, allowing him to regain his footing and twisting his body, just narrowly avoiding the

sword that grazed past his shirt.

"Hiss."

Leon sucked in a cold breath.

Blinking again, he tapped the ground lightly, disappearing from his spot and materializing behind Aoife who turned her head as though she could follow his movements.

Her hand flicked, and her sword shot in his direction.

Leon could only raise his own sword in an attempt to stop the approaching sword.

However, just as he tried to do so, he felt a powerful force hold his arms down, preventing

him from moving the sword up.

His expression changed, but he remained calm. His body squirmed, and his muscles tensed, releasing all the pent-up energy at once.

A muffled 'bang' resounded from deep within his body as he managed to free himself from

the constraints of Aoife's Telekinesis.

Clank!

Sparks flew as he managed to block the sword in time.

"Uekh...!"

With a low shout, Leon reached out for Aoife's sword and firmly grasped it with his free hand.

Aoife raised her hand in an attempt to regain control of her sword, but Leon didn't allow her, blinking his eyes one more, causing a large chunk of the stars within his eyes to disappear.

His arm bulged and blood started to trickle down his right nostril.

The veins on his neck protruded as his face grew red.

"Ukeh!"

With a low shout, he managed to resist Aoife's Telekinesis, freeing the sword from its

restraint.

Bang, bang-

With a sword in each hand, he didn't waste a single second after that as he charged directly at her, the ground splitting with each step he took.

His momentum rose, and his figure appeared to grow taller and sturdier in the eyes of all

present.

He looked and felt overwhelming.

"Ahhh...!"

Swooosh-

He brought both swords down in a swift, powerful strike, the air itself seemed to tear apart

under the force and speed of the blow.

Some of the audience members stood up at the sight presented before them, unable to tear

their gaze away from Leon who appeared to completely suppress Aoife.

Aoife stared at the approaching swords without much of an expression.

She tried raising her hand to counterattack, but the sheer power and strength behind Leon's attack made it impossible for her to block the strike. She also couldn't dodge the attack, leaving her with no other choice but to confront the attack head-on.

But how could she confront the attack head-on...?

How could-

"Hihihi."

With a soft giggle, Aoife's eyes started to change.

A figure was reflected within those eyes of hers. A figure Leon was all too familiar with as his

eyes constricted. Shortly after, Aoife's body started to sink into the ground, completely falling into the shadow

cast by Leon's body.

"This...!"

"Ah!"

Shouts of surprise echoed from the audience and Karl who stood up at the sight that greeted

them.

BANG!

Leon's attacks came cleaving down, completely missing Aoife as they landed on the platform, releasing a terrifying explosion as everything beneath it shattered.

Swoosh!

A powerful gust of air burst out from the point of attack as Leon's clothes fluttered intensely.

The barrier that protected the audience fluctuated as pieces of debris flew in their direction, tinkering with the shield.

11

As the dust and debris settled down, allowing the audience to take a glimpse of the stage, the eyes and expressions of many of the spectators changed as they fell on Aoife who stood by the edge of the platform, her red hair fluttering silently.

Blinking her eyes, an ember appeared before her.

"This...!"

Johanna stood up, her eyes changing as she leaned forward.

With another blink, another ember flickered into existence before Aoife, soon followed by

more. They drifted through the air, gradually settling in specific spots around the platform.

Her actions were fast, and just as Leon turned his head to see her smile, she snapped her

fingers.

Snap-

Swoosh!

Flames erupted, engulfing the entire stage into a sea of flames.

Johanna stared at the sight with her mouth open, unable to understand the sight that greeted

her.

Eventually, however, as the platform was engulfed in flames, she pressed her lips together.

".... Is this even a Concept?"

***

"Arkgh....!"

A scream reverberated through the darkness as Kiera stopped, her entire body suddenly

engulfing in flames.

"Kiera!"

Evelyn similarly stopped, her expression changing as she turned to look at Kiera.

She tried to reach for her, but the flames engulfing Kiera's body were overwhelming, stopping

her mid-motion.

"Damn it."

Evelyn cursed, her eyes darting all over as her heart pressed at her throat.

She didn't know what was going on, but she felt as though a pair of eyes were staring down at

her, following her every movement.

"Argh!"

Kiera continued to scream in pain, raging flames erupting from out of her body.

"Make it stop!"

She screamed, her blood-red eyes piercing through the flames and looking at her in

desperation.

"M-make it stop!"

As someone who dealt with flames, Keira should have no trouble withstanding them. And

yet... here she was, slowly getting consumed by the very flames she was adept at controlling.

Evelyn bit her lips.

Her mind started to race as she thought of all sorts of ways to stop the fire.

In the end, she snapped her fingers as a purple magic circle floated before her. It slowly

levitated before Kiera as lightning started to gather.

Though she wasn't sure if her plan would work, it was the only thing she could think of.

And so, gathering her mana, she prepared to unleash the spell on Kiera who continued to

scream.

Evelyn extended her hand, preparing to use the spell when...

Clamp!

A hand clamped her arm.

"Uh..!?"

Evelyn's body shook as her heart jumped out of her throat.

As her head flicked to her left, her face froze as her purple eyes came into contact with a pair of

hazel eyes.

A pair of eyes she hadn't expected to see in this place.

"Y-you..."

"Let her be."

Julien's cool voice echoed quietly within the dark space as his gaze fell on Kiera.

"...It'll do her more harm than good."