"You all are being noisy," Laure muttered in a hoarse voice. He looked half-dead from lack of sleep, eyes drifting across the arena where Indrah fought off five enemies—a giant, a swordsman, someone in a tracksuit, and two kids, one with blue hair and the other with black. Off in the distance, a girl and someone wearing a leotard rushed to regroup with the others.
'I just need to deal with this damn Lizard, I guess…' Laure thought, eyeing Anaak as she charged.
"Hey, Sleepyhead, take care of those two!" Indrah yelled, throwing a thumbs up.
Laure blinked. "Two?"
'Don't tell me…' He barely dodged Anaak's attack and spun around—sure enough, one of the cloaked figures was bolting toward the Throne. No time to think. Anaak's Green April extended like a whip, slicing toward him. Laure dove out of the way and fired off a Shinsu Cannon shot, just trying to keep the cloaked one away.
Indrah turned his focus back to the regrouping enemies. The girl in the leotard, Anaak, and the cloaked one were off doing their own thing. That left five still standing… for now.
He'd had enough. No more games.
[Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation]
"Get ready! That bastard's using that move!" Khun shouted, panic breaking through his calm.
Even though they saw it coming, the dread hit like a gut punch. The flames this time were ten times stronger than the last.
"We knew it," Shibisu said, shoulders slumping. "But this… this is insane."
Right before the fire swallowed them whole, a collective thought surfaced—
'Shit…'
FOOOOOM
The flames raged on for several seconds, cloaking the battlefield. Nobody could tell if the others had made it.
Something felt off. Indrah narrowed his eyes, Rinnegan glowing as he scanned the inferno… and spotted it.
The Giant was winding up to throw something.
Indrah dodged, expecting a trick. But when he saw the object fly past him, his face twisted in slight disbelief.
Khun's briefcase.
'You sneaky little—'
As it hit the platform, the briefcase popped open… and seven people spilled out.
Six of them immediately charged the Throne, all aiming for Ho. Poor guy froze, convinced this was the end.
Then—
[Chidori: Senbon]
SPHHHLT SPHHHLT SPHHHLT SPHHHLT SPHHHLT SPHHHLT
Crackling needles of lightning pierced the six attackers, dropping them where they stood. Not fatal… but enough to paralyze.
They didn't even see it coming.
"Can you believe this guy?" Endorsi scoffed. "He's supposed to be a Regular?"
"Shut up," Khun muttered, staring at the ceiling, trying not to scream into the void. This was beyond humiliating.
"Damn… almost got tricked," Indrah said, exhaling as he lowered his hand. "Good thing I reacted fast."
But the Giant wasn't done. Another attack came flying.
"You really think you can beat me?" Indrah asked flatly, stepping around the blows like they were nothing.
The Giant froze, looking toward the Throne.
A figure leapt from the platform—hooded, blade aimed straight at Ho.
The cloak fluttered away mid-air.
Baam, still watching Laure on Khun's orders, saw her face.
Rachel.
His whole world spun. Before he could even process it, Laure noticed too—and fired.
ZRAAAAM
Baam dove, shielding her.
Ho had no such mercy. He smacked Rachel across the face just as she reached him.
BOOOOM
The blast knocked both Rachel and Baam from the platform.
Indrah's eyes widened. This was familiar. Too familiar.
He sprinted toward the platform, shouting for Laure to protect Ho—
Too late.
A blinding burst of gold erupted, spreading across half the arena.
Everyone—Regulars in cages, Leoro-Ro up top—saw it.
Golden Shinsu pulsed like waves of light. It didn't feel threatening. To Indrah, it was like a gentle breeze.
But then he noticed something nobody else could.
His Rinnegan showed what happened inside the light:
Time… stopped.
The Spirit of Black March appeared above Baam, brushed his hair gently, and lulled him to sleep.
Then she turned to Indrah, gave a wink… and vanished.
"Man… what the hell is going on?" Indrah said with a dry smile, more confused than anything.
It all happened in a blink.
When the smoke cleared, six injured fighters lay scattered. Baam bled out on top of an untouched Rachel. Ho was crumpled beneath the Throne, barely breathing.
The crown? Gone.
Leoro-Ro floated down, face like stone.
"B-Baam! Baam, wake up… Baam!" Rachel cried, tears running down her cheeks.
Indrah shot her a look of pure disgust as he walked past her and knelt by Ho.
…
Later that day, Leoro-Ro made the official call: no winner. The crown was destroyed, and Ho had fallen from the Throne in under five minutes.
Because nearly everyone got wrecked, the Test Director gave them all a five-day break.
…
Inside Evankhell's mothership, in the infirmary—
Laure stood next to Ho's bandaged, unmoving body. "It's been three days. Looks like he's dead."
"Then we need a new teammate," Indrah said, like he was commenting on the weather.
He glanced out the window, enjoying the view. No one had spoken to him since the crown game. Not that it bothered him. Only Laure stuck around.
'Not like they can touch me. Not out in the open, anyway…' A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The last few days, Indrah had gone hard on training—nonstop. Kicks, punches, wild motions that would've made a martial artist cry. Clumsy or not, he was testing his limits.
And now he knew them.
His body was getting used to the power. All he had to do was shape it right.
Reorganized, recharged… reborn.
No more dodging challenges. He was ready to climb.
Maybe he'd run sometimes.
But he'd never back down.