Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

Evelyn felt her heart beat out of her chest as she faced Julien's whose expression remained the same. His deep hazel eyes looked right at her, seeping into the corners of her mind.

His gaze was intense.

Evelyn felt suffocated by his gaze.

But she resisted. With her head raised, she looked straight at him.

This was not the right time.

She understood this, but when was ever the right time? She had been longing to say this for quite a while now, never finding the courage to speak up about it.

It was only now that it was just the two of them that she found her voice.

And so...

She did it, she spoke her thoughts.

"You're not Julien."

Evelyn was sure of it.

While Julien changed in the past, it had never been for such a long extent. The first time he changed was when they were both ten years old.

It was an incident she couldn't forget.

After all, that was the first time she saw kindness return in Julien after a very long time. But it had only been brief, and short-lived.

He returned to his old ways shortly after.

...Just like the other four times.

Each time, she'd find herself questioning whether he had changed or not, thinking that perhaps he truly had... but each time, she'd be left disappointed as he'd change right back to how he usually was.

It had become some sort of trauma of hers.

But...

'He's definitely changed this time.'

And not because he suddenly was enlightened. No, it was because he was a completely different person.

Recalling the words that Leon had once told her,

"The Julien that you know is dead.'

Evelyn was sure of it.

The person who stood before him was not the Julien that she knew, but a completely different person who had taken over his body. But there was something off about this 'Julien'. It had been nagging her for quite some time, but Evelyn felt that he was vaguely familiar.

But why...?

Why did he feel familiar?

The thought ate away at her mind.

"Are you not going to say anything?"

11

Julien remained quiet, his deep hazel eyes never tearing away from her face. He seemed to be

in deep thought, indicated by the slight furrowing of his brows.

Seeing the expression that he was making, Evelyn held her breath.

'Does he not know...?'

If so...

"What are you doing?"

Evelyn blinked her eyes as she suddenly saw Julien turn away from her and walk away. She reached out for him once more, but just as she did, he finally spoke,

"Whatever you think you know, you're wrong. Do your mission and I will do mine. We don't have time mindlessly wasting on your theories."

"But-"

Evelyn was never able to get her words out as Julien moved forward, his figure slowly blending in with the surrounding darkness.

As his figure disappeared, all Evelyn could do was stand with her lips pursed.

"Ah."

She felt powerless.

Recently, this was all she had been thinking about. In silence, she watched and observed him. Trying to find links with her memories and the past Julien that she knew, but the more that she saw him, the greater the differences were.

'Who are you? What are you doing...? What is your goal? Where is the old Julien? Are you the one responsible for his change?'

Her mind flooded with questions, whispering into her mind like haunting reminders.

She wanted those whispers to end.

To finally have some answers so that she could have peace of mind.

But...

'Did we meet before?'

All she received were more questions.

"Uekh... Kh. H-help."

Turning her head, Evelyn looked toward Kiera who was stumbling on the ground with her chest heaving up and down repeatedly. She looked utterly exhausted, and her face was pale.

Evelyn bit her lips and walked towards her.

"Here."

She helped her up, slowly placing her palm behind her back where a magic circle appeared.

"Let me free you."

***

"Huu. Huu."

Leon's breathing was rough. Looking through the blaze surrounding him, he struggled to see properly. This was both a good thing and a bad thing.

On the one hand, he didn't have to worry about her emerging randomly from the shadows; on the other hand, he had to put on a thin layer of mana to protect his body from the flames

engulfing him.

While the expenditure wasn't anything crazy, it was still present, and in a match as important

as this, any little mana was important.

Swoosh-

Leon's pupils constricted upon noticing a fluctuation in the flames around him.

His body blurred, and he disappeared from the spot where he was previously standing.

Bang!

A powerful blast of fire rained down on the spot he had previously been standing on, the heat spreading toward every inch of the platform.

Sweat dripped down from Leon's forehead as his eyes darted all over the place in an attempt to spot Aoife, who hid within the flames.

Although a thin layer of mana shielded him from the heat, it couldn't stop the smoke from spreading. His eyes watered, and his breathing grew labored. Leon realized he was in a disadvantageous position and needed to find a way to turn the tide.

The more he allowed the situation to go on, the less likely the chances of his victory were.

'...This is annoying.'

Swooosh!

A surge of heat erupted behind him. Instinctively, he snapped his head back and twisted his torso, slashing down toward the oncoming ball of heat.

His sword whirled through the air, slicing the attack cleanly in two, while his hair and clothes

fluttered in the aftermath.

"Hooo."

But that wasn't all.

All of a sudden, Leon felt the hair at the back of his neck rise.

It didn't take him long to understand why. As he straightened his posture, red magic circles

emerged from the ground, encircling him from all sides.

"Ah."

Leon's expression remained stoic, but his heart sank.

He had fallen for Aoife's trap.

Clench.

Leon blinked, the stars within the void of his eyes vanishing. His gaze darted around, mind

racing as he calculated the trajectories of the incoming attacks. With a low shout, he stomped

his foot down, bracing himself for the onslaught.

Bang- The ground beneath him shattered, and shortly after that, the magic circles lit up.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

Fire rained down from all over.

The attacks came fast, and the intense heat radiated outward, so palpable that the audience

could feel it, watching the spectacle with terror in their eyes.

"This is..." Karl's eyes shrunk upon seeing the attack, and as he turned his head, he could see the somber

expression on Johanna's face as she tried to decipher Aoife's Concept.

However, hard as she tried, she found herself unable to figure it out.

Just when the audience thought that Leon's situation was dire, a change occurred to him. The

void in his eyes rapidly shrunk, collecting all the accumulated stars from within. His body popped and squirmed as his momentum started to rise.

His figure bulged, while a glow manifested over his sword.

This all happened within a split second, and not many were able to see the changes before the

rain of fire reached him, engulfing his body in its entirety.

"Ah!"

"This...!"

Several spectators screamed and shouted in shock as Leon's body disappeared under the rain

of fire, but their screams didn't last very long.

Shortly after the fire engulfed him, a bright light formed from within the heart of the flames.

It was small at first, just barely brighter than the flames around.

With each passing second, the light grew brighter and brighter until it finally erupted

outward, consuming the flames entirely.

In a matter of less than a second, the platform returned to how it was at the start, with two

figures standing on opposite ends.

"Haa... Haa..."

But unlike before, both sides appeared to be somewhat tired.

Leon was far worse off than Aoife, whose breathing was only slightly heavy. In contrast,

Leon's entire body was drenched in sweat, and his face had gone completely pale.

"H-hoo."

Still, despite the state of his body, Leon's grip over his sword was steady.

Bang!

The ground beneath him caved in as he stepped forward, his momentum just as high as it was

before, completely overpowering Aoife who flinched slightly.

"Huuu."

Turbid air flowed out from his mouth as his body squirmed once more, the muscles in his

body tensing and accumulating energy at an alarming degree. He placed his foot forward and raised his sword in preparation for releasing one last strike.

The entire Colosseum fell silent as his actions, all noise vanishing as if the world itself held its

breath.

Tensions ran high as Aoife raised her head to look at Leon who seemed to completely take

over the entire stage, standing tall as though he was a massive giant that towered over the entire Colosseum.

Aoife watched him in silence, her eyes rippling slightly before she brought her hand forward.

Leon's expression stiffened at her actions, his body growing tense as he prepared to strike

down on her.

He was just about to do so when...

Aoife's hand turned entirely purple.

"....!"

Leon's expression froze as his eyes rapidly constricted, the space behind him fluctuating. He

had no time to react before a purple hand emerged from the void, reaching out from behind

him and pressing down on his back.

"Uekh...!"

A wave of weakness washed over his body as he staggered forward, his eyes growing slack and

the momentum he built up lowering.

"Kh!"

Just barely, he managed to stop himself from falling face-first as he planted his foot against

the ground and stabilized his body.

"Haa... Haa..."

But the damage has been done as he lost a lot of the accumulated momentum. Furthermore, his body was starting to become weaker by the second. Feeling the changes in

his body, Leon's expression twisted as he silently cursed,

"Damn it, Julien..."

That...

It was without a doubt his fault.

***

"Ukeh...!"

My head throbbed as I felt a strong suction force appear from right above me, halting me on

the spot as I held my head with both hands. The pain was strong, but I was able to endure it as

I clenched my teeth and cut the connection rather quickly.

"S-shit."

Despite the speed at which I was able to cut off the connection, it was still not fast enough as I

noticed changes occurring outside of the mind space.

An image appeared in my mind as my expression twitched.

......She used my skills."

I lowered my head to stare at my hands where residual 'curse' mana lingered around.

Silently clenching my fist, I took a deep breath and adjusted my mind. Though I knew this

from what happened to Kiera, and I had been prepared for it, I was still not able to fully block

the statue from taking my abilities.

... It became painfully clear to me that the statue could use the abilities of any being that

resided within her mind space.

I was no exception, and this realization hit me rather hard.

'I need to hurry up and find the heart of the statue.'

I had to complete this before Leon's match ended. The worst-case scenario was Leon losing,

and so all I could hope for was for him to last for as long as possible.

The hope was for him to win, but... given the statue's ability stealing ability, I knew he'd have

a hard time doing that.

.... And paying attention to the situation outside, I knew things weren't looking good.

Leon was almost out of gas.

I had to reach the Angel before then.

Clench.

Looking around, I rushed forward, in the direction indicated by Evelyn's map.

I lost track of how long I ran, each second stretching into eternity. The darkness stretched around me, weighing heavily on my legs as though they were made out of lead. Each step felt heavier than the last and my chest tightened with the ticking of time.

'Come, on... Come, on... Where are-'

"Ah."

Something loomed in the distance, and as I squinted my eyes, my breath stopped.

I spotted exactly what I was searching for a grand palace with a dome-shaped roof,

standing starkly against the black void that enveloped the entire space. At the gates of the palace was an all too familiar four-leaved clover.

They stretched for several yards, surrounding the entire palace that stood as a reminder of a

vision I once saw.

'It's this place again...'

Arriving before the gates, my steps came to a pause as I pressed my hand against the metal

poles of the gate.

Standing by the gates, I suddenly felt pressured.

As though the gravity around me had intensified significantly.

'I'm here.'

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

Unknowingly, my heart started to 'thump' wildly, the chains in my emotions rattling as the

four-leaved clover stood above me.

My chest felt oddly heavy, and recalling what I had seen before, I swallowed hard.

Pressing my lips together, I took a deep breath.

And then...

Claank!

I opened the gates.