"The Team of Ho, Indrah, and Laure emerged victorious once again," announced Leoro-ro, his gaze fixed on Indrah as if trying to read his thoughts.
Ignoring Leoro-ro, Indrah positioned himself near the throne, eagerly awaiting the start of the next round.
The Third and Fourth Rounds proceeded without any surprises, with Indrah swiftly finishing each round in just four minutes. Though disappointed by the lack of formidable opponents, his fighting spirit remained undiminished—he relished thrashing… defeating the opposition.
"With no changes to the results, the Fourth Round concludes," declared Leoro-ro. "Team Ho, Indrah, and Laure will advance to the Final Round. Prepare yourselves, Regulars, as this is a rare opportunity. Give it your all in the final battle."
Leoro-ro attempted to motivate the Regulars, many of whom had lost hope and lacked the desire to continue. He began the countdown to the End Game.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"Four."
"Five."
Buzzzz Buzzzz Buzzzz Buzzzz
As the buzzer sounded, four cages ascended, revealing the new participants for the Final Round. On the left side of the throne stood a team cloaked in mystery—two females and a towering 10-meter humanoid were barely visible. Opposite them stood a team composed of two males and a figure clad in a black leotard, sporting a jeweled mask. Nearby, a team of two boys and an alligator-humanoid waited for their turn. Surprisingly, the Lizard team chose to participate again, making up the final group.
Now, now, isn't this exciting? Indrah stood before the throne, stoic and fearless. A surge of adrenaline hit him as he scanned the new competitors. In his previous life, he never cared about anything besides books—this newfound excitement for battle caught even him off guard.
"Ugh, this crazy guy," Khun muttered, already crafting dozens of contingency plans. Even if all the teams ganged up, he doubted they could beat Indrah. He even started questioning whether Indrah was truly a Regular like them.
"Hey, why don't we deal with him first? We can't win unless we take him down," Khun suggested, keeping his eyes on Indrah.
Rak snorted. "That's not how a warrior acts. I'll fight that turtle alone!"
"Shut up, you gator!" Khun muttered. He silently thanked whatever luck gave them breathing room, but Rak's stubbornness was going to ruin everything.
Then came the unexpected—
A long green hook came flying their way. Khun dodged, grabbing Baam and leaping back. Rak blocked with his spear, stepping aside.
"Now what?" Khun said, scanning the field.
It was Anaak.
"Tell me, kid, where did you get that needle?" she demanded, Green April drawn.
"W-why are you asking?" Baam stammered. He hadn't done anything.
"You shouldn't have that. I'm a Princess of Jahad, and this—Green April—is one of the 13-Month Series. Only a Princess can wield one. The weapon you have—'Black March'—belongs to that series. Hand it over."
"I can't," Baam said, more firmly than expected. "Yuri lent it to me. I need to return it to her myself."
"I explained it already, but you still don't get it? DI—"
Anaak didn't get to finish.
The cloaked team and the black-leotard figure surrounded her, cutting her off. Normally, Anaak wouldn't hesitate to fight back, but she was still recovering from the last round.
"Let's deal with this later, Anaak," Hatz said. "We need to focus. Right now, we're boxed in."
"I don't care about this game. Back off, or I'll kill every one of you," Anaak snapped.
"Fake royalty, huh?" the cloaked girl sneered. "In your condition, you really think you can take all of us?"
Anaak's grip on her weapon tightened—
Until a blade pressed to her neck. Hatz.
"Don't forget you're part of a team. Settle your drama later," he warned.
Anaak grit her teeth, fuming, but backed off. "Fine. After the round."
Khun let out a breath. "Phew. That was only a minute—we still have four left."
Indrah had been watching the whole time. He wasn't interested in interfering unless provoked. The longer they dragged things out, the closer he got to winning.
Thirty seconds later, they regrouped. Whatever plan they'd cooked up, Indrah wasn't about to sit back and wait. Still, he held his ground before the throne.
"Are you guys done?" Indrah asked, amused.
"Yeah, thanks to you, we worked out our family issues," Khun replied with a sarcastic bow. He pulled out a dagger. "Follow the plan," he told the others as they spread out around the throne.
The cloaked girl charged first, spinning to kick Indrah in the face. A smirk flashed under her hood.
Indrah sidestepped, grabbed her cloak, and flung her into the leotard-clad figure who was descending with a scepter. They both slammed into the wall. The impact revealed short brown hair, yellow eyes, a yellow dress—and a horn on the right side of her head. Endorsi Jahad. The real Princess.
No time to gawk—
A spear lunged at Indrah's chest. He shattered it mid-thrust, evaded a punch from the giant humanoid, and countered with his own. The humanoid stumbled back ten steps.
That punch was stronger than the kick I gave Anaak, Indrah thought.
Rak leapt in for a punch to Indrah's face— mid air a palm gently caught his fist. Caught. Stopped.
"Isn't it more honorable to face your opponent head-on, Alligator?" Indrah teased.
Rak, stunned, thought, 'This turtle… he's too strong,' before he was hurled across the arena.
"Stop being so arrogant, you brat!" yelled a dual-sword wielder from the leotard team, charging with his partner close behind.
"I have no interest in wasting my time on side characters," Indrah said, smiling politely. He conjured two fireballs and launched them with a flick of his wrist. The attackers slammed into the wall, charred and unconscious.
To his left, Anaak sprinted toward the throne.
Indrah didn't stop her. He just smirked.
Then,
A beam of Shinsu hit her straight on. Anaak staggered. She turned toward the throne, shocked, and saw a boy wrapped in a blanket, dark green hair and green eyes, staring at her with indifference.