Six orbs floated inside Julien's mind.

Each orb writhed and wiggled in the air, seemingly trying to reach out for him.

He wanted to use every one of them, but he couldn't. He still wasn't there yet. His current limit was three orbs.

It was a pity, but that was the reality.

Only a couple of weeks had passed since Julien had unlocked his 'Concept' and learned to use it. The fact that he could already wield three was impressive, but the other three simply refused to respond fully.

He still didn't know how to fully utilize them, nor what powers they held.

There was something missing, something preventing him from fully unlocking the entirety of the 'Concept' and achieving his Domain.

There was also the matter that he was nowhere near Tier 5.

...This was his current limit.

There was no way to progress further in such a short time.

Julien's body tensed instinctively as he watched Leon suddenly drop into a stance, his body growing larger right before his eyes.

The sight made Julien's arms and legs stiffen, his heart pounded in his chest, thudding louder with each passing second.

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

Leon's momentum was quietly growing, and Julien's head felt lighter.

The more time passed, the more disadvantageous Julien's position became, especially with the amount of blood he was losing...

Clench.

'It's all or nothing.'

Closing his eyes, a different scene appeared in his mind.

It wasn't the usual green world, but a different one. He lay on the floor, hand grasping a hazy figure.

The hazy figure screamed as Julien's hand clasped his foot before falling onto the ground where Julien mounted him and ended his life with a rock.

Smash!

Smash-!

Blood splattered all over, staining his clothes and ground.

Even now, Julien could still distinctly recall the scene.

How could he not?

It was the first time he had killed someone, and also the first time he had ever felt... joy in this strange and unfamiliar world.

"Hoo."

Julien opened his eyes and pressed a hand against his chest.

'Joy.'

Power surged through the bottom half of his feet as his calves and hamstrings tensed, accumulating energy before releasing all at once.

The world slowed, and just as he was about to move, he noticed a shift in Leon as his lips curled into a smile.

In that moment, it felt as though Leon had entered Julien's world.

Leon's eyes followed his every movement as he shifted his stance. Julien's heart sank at the realization.

But it wasn't as though Leon was having an easy time as well. His expression pained as he clenched his jaw tightly.

Whatever Leon was doing, it was clearly taking a toll on him.

But Julien didn't have much time to dwell on that matter.

There was no turning back now. He couldn't afford to hold anything back anymore. He had to go all in, and that's exactly what he did.

The ground shattered beneath his feet as he surged forward.

As he moved toward Leon, he saw the audience seated all around them.

They were frozen, but their slow movements showed they were beginning to stand up.

They, too, had realized the fight was nearing its end.

Shifting his focus back to Leon, Julien watched him prepare for what was coming.

In this slowed-down world, Leon was keeping up. No, he wasn't just keeping up. He was slowly starting to take over that world.

His momentum...

It was overwhelming.

Julien didn't have time to think about what Leon might do next.

His thoughts shifted.

'I need more.'

Leon's momentum was overpowering.

Julien could feel the energy radiating from Leon's body. At the current pace, he knew he would

lose.

He needed something more.

'More...!'

Clench!

Teeth clenched, six orbs appeared in his mind once more. He reached for the other three, but

it was futile.

The gap between him and Leon was closing.

As Julien passed through Leon's range, a strange heat washed over him.

Just as expected, Leon stepped forward, his eyes sinking into a deep abyss from which Julien

could sense no bottom.

Julien's mind squirmed.

'More!'

He screamed at the orbs, but none moved.

'More...!!!!'

The chains holding him back shattered under his will. All the bottled-up emotions inside him

poured into his body.

The world slowed even further.

But Leon's movements also grew faster.

Leon was slowly positioning the tip of his sword in Julien's direction. A tingling sensation ran

down Julien's spine, nearly stopping him.

But he pressed on.

Julien tried again to reach for the remaining three orbs, but nothing happened.

The situation grew more dire, but he didn't panic.

Panicking wouldn't help. Instead, he kept his mind cool. He shifted his focus away from the

orbs he couldn't control and toward the three that responded.

Reaching out, the three orbs wiggled.

They answered him.

'Ah.'

And that's when it hit him.

He didn't need what he didn't have. What he needed was to fully use what was already in his

grasp.

Swoosh-

A green field appeared in his mind world.

Standing within it, six orbs floated before him. Waving his hand, two orbs remained. Waving

his hand the red orb throbbed before shattering into nothing.

Boom!

A volcano suddenly erupted within the green field.

It exploded, sending magma flying everywhere. Power surged through Julien as his body

strained from the sudden force he subjected it to.

But it still wasn't enough.

'More!!'

He turned his gaze to the red and green orbs.

'Uekh...!'

His mind throbbed violently as he brought his hands together. The red and green orbs

wiggled, inching closer.

The pain was sharp, almost blinding, but he held everything together.

The area around him scorched as Leon's sword inched closer. There was little time left.

'Go, go...'

Julien forced his hands together in his mind.

The orbs edged closer.

W!

As they drew nearer, they throbbed in unison, wiggling as though they were resisting, almost

repelling one another.

But he persisted.

'Go!!!!!

The pain intensified, but pain was something he could manage.

He was used to pain.

The orbs inched closer.

Suddenly, large spikes jutted out of them as they trembled violently. Though silent, it felt as

if they were screaming at him-warning him to stop.

But he didn't.

'Uekh...!'

The pain dug deeper as Julien's leg faltered.

Leon's sword loomed closer, and Julien caught his own reflection within its gleaming surface.

His eyes stared back at him.

'What the...'

His left eye was red while his right was green.

This had never happened before... The colors flickered, parting way for a newer color.

Suddenly, his mind grew calm.

Staring at his reflection, he blinked. Leon's sword was almost upon him, but something had

changed.

His eyes...

They had turned yellow.

A new orb appeared in Julien's vision.

Yellow Anger + Joy Mania

Boom!

It was as if something detonated within his mind. Everything crumbled, and his muscles

began to rework, the thin threads connecting each tissue tightening and tensing together.

Julien's hand began to twitch and as Leon's sword inched further closer to him, he pressed his right foot before him, perfectly stopping his body and scattering away the gathered momentum.

The strain this had on his body was immense, his joints squeaking at the action.

But...

In this very moment, he felt in utter and complete control of his body. Down to the very last

fiber.

His hand squirmed, and every fiber tensed. Power gathered quickly, and seeing that there was

no way he could dodge Leon's sword, Julien's spine sprung like a spring.

Pa!

His joints popped once more, and he thrust his fist forward.

Leon's eyes constricted at the sight.

But it was too late for him to do anything. Clenching his teeth, the glow on his sword

intensified further as he squeezed all the power within his body and thrust forward.

Soon...

The two connected.

"........"

11

The world returned to how it previously was.

There was no fancy explosion, nor did the platform shatter.

In the middle of the arena, two figures stood.

One side with yellow eyes, and the other with pitch black eyes. Each side stared at the other

without a word.

Then, to their left, a figure appeared.

He appeared to be holding the wrists of both Julien and Leon.

A deafening silence took hold of the Colosseum as all eyes fell on the three figures.

That was until...

"Match... over!

The referee's voice echoed throughout the platform.

In that moment, everyone stopped moving. All eyes were locked toward Julien and Loen who

stood at the center of it all, their eyes still the same color as before.

The two looked at the referee with a stunned look. The two clearly hadn't expected the verdict

to be like this.

Match over?

Who was the winner?

How could it be like this...?

Everyone's minds roared at the same time.

Just as the audience began to recover from their shock, an unexpected twist jolted them back

to full attention.

"...!"

Letting go of Julien's and Leon's wrists, the referee took a step back.

He alternated his gaze between the two, his face unable to hide his shock and horror as his

face suddenly grew pale.

Then...

"Puchi!"

Thump!

He dropped to his knees, blood gushing from his mouth.

The crowd gasped, frozen in disbelief as his body shuddered violently, the sound of his

ragged breathing filling the stunned silence.

"Ukeh!"

"...!"

"!!"

The audience stared at the scene with wide eyes, unable to comprehend the scene that

appeared before them.

...What is this?!

It was hard for them to comprehend what had happened. However, the same wasn't true for Johanna who breathed coldly.

"To officiate a match, a referee must be at least one tier higher than the participants. In this

case, the referee, Emrad Kilder, a Tier 5 body user, was selected. Not only is he a tier higher

than both Julien and Leon, but he's also reputable for his extremely sturdy body..." Johanna paused there.

She knew all of this not because she was given the information in advance, but because she

knew Emrad personally.

....And knowing him meant that she knew exactly how sturdy his body was.

He was supposed to be enough.

No, he was enough.

And yet...

Staring at the stage, and the two figures that stood, she held her breath.

'Monsters...'

That was the only way she could describe them.

Utter monsters.

Their growth with each match was visible, both sides upping the other with each match.

They even went as far as forcing Emrad to interfere. Had they been allowed to continue,

then...

Johanna closed her eyes.

She didn't want to think about it.

This was the right call.

While everyone was still recovering from the shock of the match, Leon and Julien stood on the

opposite end. Gradually, Julien's eyes returned to their normal color as he let out a long

breath.

"Hooo."

He was exhausted, and his entire body was trembling.

Having clearly overdrawn his body, he could hardly move a muscle. On the other side, Leon

appeared to be doing better than him.

His body didn't twitch nor was he sweat.

With his deep black eyes staring back at him, Leon lowered his sword, looking a little

disappointed.

"I thought I could beat you."

He managed to mutter, his eyes slowly starting to lose color as his head lowered.

Julien stared at him without saying a word. "....A draw is fine too, but I thought I'd win."

With a bitter smile, Leon finally raised his head to meet Julien's.

"Ap-"

He was never able to finish his sentence.

Halfway through it, his eyes turned white and his legs faltered.

Thump!

His body crumbled onto the floor, twitching continuously. Now that he was no longer using

his 'Concept', all the pain that he had suppressed and pushed back came crashing down on

him.

He had been holding out for quite a while...

The pain.

It must be unbearable.

"

"1

Julien stared at the twitching Leon in silence before turning around and heading back to the

locker rooms.

In the end, he was the last one standing.

Be it the referee and Leon, they were both on the ground.

Tak-

Under the silence of the Colosseum, Julien's black hair fluttered silently.

His back was straight and his eyes were deep.

Basking under the gazes of those watching, he remained silent, slowly turning around and

heading for the locker room.

Alone, he stood.

And alone, he left.

My tears...

They had all dried up.

My body...

It was tougher than steel.

My curses...

The world wasn't worth them.

My screams...

I no longer felt pain. My smile...

It meant I won.

■Lvl 2. [Joy] EXP + 17%