For a heartbeat after the declaration of first place, the entire spire held its breath.
Then—
Something shifted at the topmost ring.
The black-robed women who had stood motionless beneath the Ascension Gate, tilted their heads in eerie unison.
A pressure leaked from their bodies.
It's not aura or Law... but something colder.
Intent.
Killing intent so sharp it felt like a razor sliding along the world's throat.
The Dawnblade twins snapped their gazes upward.
The Scarlet disciples' flames quivered, not from fear, but from instinctive readiness.
They felt it.
The black-robed women were done climbing. They shifted to... hunting.
And they moved.
No warning. No signal. Just a blur.
Two shadowy specters streaked forward with executioner precision.
Their first strike split the air... aimed squarely at the Dawnblade duo.
"THEY'RE ATTACKING?!"
"THE TRIAL ALREADY ANNOUNCED FIRST PLACE!"
"THE BLACK-ROBED WOMEN ARE TRYING TO REDUCE THE COMPETITION—!!"
