The expanse of grass the youths stood in was quite peaceful—a strange place to choose for a battle that would inevitably draw blood and tear flesh apart.
Yet as the wind blew through it, swaying the grass and carrying his long hair with it, Samael couldn't help but sink into a deep state—not of focus, but rather, of relaxation.
His posture eased, his breathing became deeper and less frequent, and the constant narrowing of his gaze faded into a placid stillness that was almost as unnerving as it was horrifying to witness.
From a young man who always laughed and gambled with his life, he sank into the frame of an indifferent and lofty figure—one who had wrestled with the heavens themselves more than once, and had nearly won just as many times as he'd tried.
A man who had tasted the bitterness of death and the sweetness of life too many times to count.
The more Samael tapped into that state, sinking further into it, the more he seemed to resonate with the qi around him—and the more the skies above seemed to darken.
A net of pressure fell over the five participants—not from his qi, but rather from his mere presence.
The presence of an Emperor.
And as his Origin crown rested atop his head and his robes fluttered in the wind, he seemed to embody that presence so fully that no one noticed when the entire coliseum had suddenly gone silent—all eyes inextricably drawn to this young man.
It took Head Merchant Leroy himself a few moments to awaken from the trance, a grave expression coloring his features as he realized what was happening.
Without wasting time, he waved a hand.
"Begin!"
With the echo of his voice, a subtle pulse of his qi washed over both the spectators and participants, snapping them back to reality.
With a startle, the participants immediately dropped into battle stances of their own, rushing toward Samael.
The young woman with the buzzed hair reached him first, seamlessly unhooking her spear from her back as she planted a foot forward and instantly thrust, emerald winds gathering and thickening around her to bolster both her speed and power.
PAH!
The winds howled as Samael sidestepped and dove toward her, his hand clamping down on her spear before ruthlessly tearing it from her grasp with a force that nearly shattered his arms.
"I'll have to thank you for that," Samael said as he seamlessly handled the spear—like a painter wielding a brush.
She didn't even realize when her own blade suddenly appeared at her throat. There had been no sound, no fluctuation of qi, no use of mancy—in one moment he had ripped her spear away, and in the next, she was nothing more than a step away from death.
"WAKE UP!" screamed the redhead as lances of fire zipped past her and toward Samael, forcing him to retreat and spare the girl's life.
WHOOSH!
As he dodged, Samael put distance between them. To give him a spear—his weapon of preference—during such a battle was a mistake they'd sorely regret.
Spinning it around his body, across and between his palms with the grace of a virtuoso, he rapidly regained his stance, his gaze returning to the five.
—
Lois, the redhead, couldn't help but curse as she shook awake Reina, the spear wielder Samael had nearly killed.
Seeing this had no effect, she slapped her.
"Wake up! If we lose, we die! Wake! The! Fuck! Up!"
Each of her words was accompanied by slaps of progressively greater force until, eventually, Reina snapped out of it.
"Let me go!" she nearly screamed as she pushed Lois away and frantically turned to Samael, who stood in the distance, unmoving—as if waiting for them to coordinate and come at him all at once.
And this only served to infuriate her more. But just as she was about to rush toward certain death, a wave of horrifying heat engulfed her, and she turned back to Lois.
Lois' burning hand clamped around her throat before she could react, her eyes blazing with flames more intense than the ones her body exuded.
"Do not mess this up for me. I've already lost once. It will not happen a second time. Do you understand?"
Lois didn't even wait for a response, throwing Reina aside as she snapped her fingers, calling Thim and Thom—the twins—and Lara, her own twin.
They immediately gathered around her. At first, they had only reluctantly agreed to follow her orders due to her status, but now, after witnessing Samael's capabilities, they had no choice but to put all their hopes on her.
They needed to win this just as badly as she did.
"He's a dual fire and earth mancer with exceptional martial skills and poor mid-range qi manipulation abilities. Thim and Thom, I need you to fully occupy his senses and restrict his movements."
"Lara, I need you on mid-range. Keep him from moving too freely—earth and water controllers thrive on environmental dominion."
"Try to make him waste as much qi as possible and create openings for the twins to injure him."
Her gaze turned to Reina.
"And you—I want you to play support for the twins. Cover their bases and protect Lara in case he aims for her."
"But your main task—all of you—is simply to stall long enough for me to charge my spell. Understood?"
All nodded, and without wasting a single second, they moved. The twins charged toward Samael, drawing daggers from their waists, with Reina trailing close behind.
Lara placed herself a few meters in front of Lois, closed her eyes, and began to recite mantra after mantra, flames slowly beginning to pool and gather around her.
The light of the runes she summoned flickered brightly against her robes, each chant bringing more shape and cohesion to the forming spell.
Even amidst the chaos, her focus didn't waver.
'Well-oiled system for sure,' Samael praised from a distance. 'She'd be a good general.'
He twirled the spear again, letting it rest gently against his shoulder as he took a step forward, his eyes sharp, his breath slow.