Me and Sera were separated, each guided by hulking orcs to opposite ends of the central ground.
If I remembered their faces correctly... The one escorting me was ranked twenty‑eight. The one escorting Sera was rank thirty‑two. Not low-level foot soldiers. Both had weight in the command chain.
The crowd of orcs that had been nothing but jeers and sharp-toothed grins only moments ago suddenly straightened under their gaze. A chaotic mass became ordered lines, as easily as thought snapping into discipline.
Then Quinn stepped forward. Her presence pushed the air itself into silence. Even without lightning flashing from her eyes, her voice alone was heavy enough.
"Those who want to fight the male human," she declared, "form line to the left. Those who want to fight the female human, form line to the right. Cap at position forty."
A current of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Cap at forty?"
"Are they really that strong?"
The voices rose, full of doubt and curiosity, but Quinn didn't let them breathe for long.
"At once!" she thundered.
Her intermediate aura pressed into the ground, thick and heavy. The air shivered under its weight, and immediately the ones above rank forty stepped back without protest. Not a single one broke formation. Their retreat was as neat and drilled as a royal army's step.
Well.. that's a given: these orcs had lived here for at least ten years, long enough to be burned into discipline like steel tempered in flame.
The top forty in command remained. They divided their ranks as she ordered, facing us like predators circling prey. Ten strides away, Sera was flanked by her line. Before me, my opponents stood like pillars.
One by one, the highest-ranking orcs stepped forward. In front of Sera eleven orcs stood. In front of me stood twenty-two.
Before Quinn could continue, Tugnier's voice rolled across the cavern. It was not loud, yet every word fell like final judgment.
"The male human may look like an overgrown mosquito…"
Wait. Did he just insult me?
[You had to ask?]
"But," Tugnier's tone curved into that smirk I knew too well, "he possesses quite a strong aura. Those who wish to remain out of the hunting teams… or those confident enough to take him… stay in line before him."
He leaned back on his throne of bone, as lazy as he was cunning. I could feel it in the way his words bent the crowd. He was forcing me into a corner. Purposefully making it harder.
"Are all your ears just for show?" Quinn snapped.
The lines reformed immediately, faster than a blink. From dozens, now only four orcs remained standing before me. Before Sera, twenty-nine were left still grinning at her like wolves circling a lamb.
I scanned through the ranks, looking for two familiar faces. They weren't there.
"Tsk." My tongue clicked in annoyance.
[Searching for Drane and Rack, I take it?]
"Yeah." My grin almost betrayed me, tugging at the edges of my mouth as I tried to hold it back.
"Honourable guests, please choose one of the warriors standing before you," Quinn announced, her voice carrying across the duel ground. "They wish to fight you, and we ask that you grant one of them their wish, so that coordination may be formed."
Her smile curved gently, warm and almost motherly, but I didn't buy it for a second. Not when I had seen her butchering an entire SBV unit in my last life as casually as if they were mosquitoes.
She turned her gaze toward Sera. "Let us begin the ritual with you. Please select the one you wish to fight." Quinn gestured toward the thirty orcs lined up before her.
I narrowed my eyes. She should be able to win against almost any of them, I thought silently.
[Yes. After all, The strongest four are standing in front of you.]
I nodded slightly. That was how it always worked.
Sera looked at me across the wide ground, her eyes filled with determination. I tilted my head, giving her a small nod. She gave me one in return before stepping forward, her gaze sweeping over the hulking figures lined up like predators waiting for her to pick her doom.
Ten seconds passed, maybe more, and then her steps carried her toward one of them. I couldn't see clearly who she was moving toward because of the distance between us. The duel ground was wide.
Nexar's sudden words flashed. [Wait, that guy…!]
My gut clenched. I caught it too. My heart dropped and I shouted before I could stop myself. "No, not that guy!"
Every head turned toward me. The orcs' eyes narrowed, the guards stiffened, and Tugnier's smile curved into something far wider and sharper. Quinn's expression hardened in a flash as though she was about to step in. Interrupting their ritual was the equivalent of a death sentence.
But I didn't care. My voice echoed again. "Sera, not that one!"
The guard beside me lunged forward, but Sera's calm voice carried across the ground and froze him in place. "I know."
She stood tall before the hulking warrior she had chosen. My chest tightened when I realized who it was. The twelfth in command.
The guard near me paused mid-motion, his eyes narrowing in confusion at her confidence.
"What?" I choked, staring at her.
Sera turned her head slightly toward me and smiled. "He possesses the aura, doesn't he?"
A cold bead of sweat slid down my temple. My throat felt dry. "No way…" I muttered under my breath.
[What?]
Sera continued, her tone calm but resolute. "I felt it... the same pressure I felt when I first looked at Tugnier. The same feeling I had when I stood beside you back in the valley."
[That's the tip of awakening. How did she reach that stage in less than a month?]
My lips curved without me realizing. A sharp grin split across my face. "How… how did I let a monster like this die so early in my past life?"
Nexar's reply bloomed in front of me, calmer now.
[It must be because she was exposed to aura so often… not to mention, she stood her ground even against Tugnier's aura. That changed her faster than most.]
I nodded as the grin thickened across my face. "Yeah… I never gave it much thought before."
Across the wide ground, Sera met my gaze. A smile touched her lips as she nodded back at me.
I felt it deep in my bones. She might awaken her aura as early as I did in my past life.
Then Sera said, her voice calm but carrying a spark, "I feel like fighting those who possess aura with my life on the line is what brings me closer to awakening."
I couldn't help but smile at that. "Break a bone," I told her.
Her face softened, and in that moment she wasn't suffocated by the cave's madness or the bloodlust in the crowd. It was just the warmth of a girl with a dream.
"Thank you," she whispered, her smile warm enough to cut through the tension for a heartbeat.
My eyes shifted back to the orc she had chosen. At first, I studied Sera's opponent. But then my chest tightened when I realized he wasn't watching her at all. His grin stretched unnaturally, as though an unexpected treasure had just landed in his lap.
I followed his gaze. My sight climbed the shadowed corner of the cavern's higher floor. There, silhouetted against the stone, two familiar figures leaned forward.
Drane. Rack.
Their grins were carved wider than knives, sharp and heavy with intent.
[Rune… this is getting bad.]
My jaw clenched as I kept my gaze steady. "The duo," I muttered under my breath. Their eyes bore into the ground below, too focused, too delighted.
I looked at Tugnier. His gaze lifted briefly toward them. He noticed. He was silent a moment, his expression unreadable, then looked back down as though it was nothing. But I knew better. Tugnier had seen them too.
Good. Tugnier noticing meant I didn't have to worry about Sera outright losing her life in this duel.
Still, dread coiled in my stomach.
[They're never good news.]
I whispered back, "This time I won't let them get what they want. Not in this life." My knuckles pressed white against the hilt of my sword.
[Then you'll need Tugnier's trust… so tell him when the time comes. For now, focus. Sera has her fight. You have yours. If you're aiming for Tugnier's ear, you'll need to face Quinn.. or Tugnier himself.]
A grin spread across my face, unbidden. "Yeah. I want my buddy Raven back, after all. And for that, I'll make him listen."
The thought of it made something inside me surge. My grin widened, imagining the paths ahead, the tales we'd live this time.
But then Quinn stepped forward. Her figure cast a shadow across the duel ground, eyes sharp and voice ringing clear. "It's your turn, human. Choose the one you want to fight."
Every orc's attention fell on me.
I tilted my head toward her, still grinning. "I heard the cap is forty. So why aren't you standing in line?"
A mocking smile formed on my face.
"Are you.. not qualified?"
*Gasp*
Gasps tore through the cave, sharp enough to ripple the air. Murmurs rose and stilled in the same heartbeat. The four who had been lined before me instinctively stepped back, their muscles tense, as though ready to avoid the splash when my blood painted the stone.
The cavern's silence deepened, like the pause before a storm.