"Pfft~ Abyssal Little Black Dragon? That guy's naming sense is peak cringe."
Hearing Silver Wolf's laughter through the earpiece, Adrian's lips twitched. Dr. Dig was still hyping up the crowd.
"Since no other fighters dared challenge the Mechanical Squad, this match will feature [Abyssal Little Black Dragon] going solo! Let's hear his statement…"
"Huh? He's reaching into his pocket—what's this? [Abyssal Little Black Dragon] pulls out a bottle of sweet tea! Is that his statement? Truly, the strong are full of surprises!"
"This sport is just that intense, that captivating! But I must stress, fight club is professional and dangerous…"
"Here we go! Will his fists be tougher, or will the robots' metal shells prevail?"
"With that, I declare the 1,758th Fight Club Championship Semifinals… begin!"
With Dr. Dig's command, the thrilling match kicked off!
Stelle gripped her baseball bat, the announcer's booming voice making her itch to jump in and help Adrian.
"Chill, let's find a spot to watch. This is Teacher Adrian's solo show."
Seeing Adrian, March 7th finally relaxed.
"Wait… where are you going?" March 7th called out to Dan Heng, who was turning to leave.
"This match holds no interest for us."
Dan Heng was blunt. The winner was decided the moment Adrian signed up. Expecting these mechanical constructs to beat an Emanator? Imagining Pom-Pom as a human would be more entertaining.
Back in the octagon, Adrian eyed the fully charged robotic soldiers, a faint smirk on his lips.
As he flicked two fingers, a cerulean digital gate bloomed in the void. In an instant, the two robotic soldiers were swallowed, and the noisy arena fell silent.
"Hmph."
While the crowd was still processing, Silver Wolf's hologram appeared in a corner. Adrian was too lazy to lift a finger, so it fell to her!
After escaping the Church, Silver Wolf had hit the jackpot. Not only did she spray Punklorde-style graffiti on the Bishop's face, but she also snagged the Church's coordinates!
Those two robots were now teleported to the Church. Silver Wolf, being kind-hearted, didn't send the Anti-Matter Legion from the [Script] over.
Don't misunderstand—she wasn't pitying the Eternity Church but the Anti-Matter Legion. If a Void Soldier ended up in front of Bishop Blake, the outcome was obvious.
Hmm… for some reason, Silver Wolf's clash with Bishop Blake felt oddly familiar.
She knew he went easy on her—way more than her fight with Screwllum! There was zero thrill of challenging a high-level boss!
The Church's final dungeon was no fun. Silver Wolf felt no pressure at all.
Before leaving, Bishop Blake even gave her a bar of soap. Nice guy…
No, wait! That was blatant mockery! A consolation prize for failing the challenge—talk about a stab to the heart!
Still, Blake's soap was pretty good.
The Church's reputation might be iffy, but their products? Top-notch. Things like white cloth soap—quality guaranteed.
Rumor had it Blake gave Sampo a bar of soap too. When asked, Sampo just laughed it off.
Looks like he was also a victim of that parting mockery, too humiliated to bring it up.
Silver Wolf related. Even though she bailed early from the dungeon, her empathy was unchanged!
On second thought, she'd taken too many Ls at the hands of [Eternity]!
First, there was Adrian, who she could never beat, then the fanatic believer Blake.
The one who hadn't bullied her was the Aeon of [Eternity] she kept badmouthing.
No… it all came back to THEM! Damn that wicked Aeon of [Eternity]!
In the octagon, Adrian stood still, instantly wiping out the robotic soldiers. Cheers erupted from the crowd as Dr. Dig grabbed the mic. "A stunning strike! Though I've got no clue what just happened!"
"The winner is—[Abyssal Little Black Dragon]!"
"Yay!" March 7th cheered.
"Yay!"
"Why are you parroting again?"
March 7th shot Stelle, who was playing innocent, a half-moon glare.
…
After the match, Adrian left the Fight Club, with Dan Heng's trio trailing behind.
"Wah… finally found you, Teacher Adrian! This morning felt like a lifetime of events!"
March 7th poured out her woes while Dan Heng filled Adrian in on the recent events, including the invisibility failure.
Stelle was darting around with her mimetic compass, guided by some mysterious force.
Her target? None other than Silver Wolf.
"Are you kidding? This weapon has auto-tracking?!"
Silver Wolf was in stealth mode, visible only to Adrian, yet that baseball bat could sense her.
With no other choice, Silver Wolf hid behind Adrian. When the compass stopped moving, Stelle calmed down.
"The ability failed…"
Probably Aha's doing. After all, THEY were mimicking Fuli, spying on themselves now.
Originally, the plan was to pop the protective shield and watch Dan Heng and crew get knocked out and dragged to the lower district. But with old schemers like Adrian around, he'd surely have a backup. Even if the small skill was broken, it'd auto-renew.
Ordinary Pathstriders couldn't break THEIR blessing—not even Emanators.
"Most importantly, that guard girl called us villains of [Eternity] Ite!"
"Hm???" Adrian looked up, the words instantly piquing his interest.
"Pfft~"
Before Adrian could speak, Silver Wolf burst out laughing.
"That's hilarious! They're not scared of that guy bringing an army to Jarilo-VI, huh?"
"Sigh~ Lucky this planet's off the star chart, or it'd be big trouble."
Normally, Silver Wolf would've bolted after hearing that. She knew the Church's power—they could sense [Eternity]-related info across the star chart.
A word or two against THEM was fine, but keep at it…
Then Bishop Blake would show up like: Open the door, the Church is here to spread warmth!
Good thing they only detected spoken words, so Silver Wolf kept her curses internal.
"The Great Guardian summoned her last night, saying our identities were fake, that we're villains of the Aeon of [Eternity], aiming to disrupt the Architects' control over Belobog." Dan Heng's memory was sharp.
"Looks like she knows about the Stellaron Core… definitely hiding something."
Dan Heng had a hunch they'd likely clash with Cocolia later. Time to test the upgraded Cloud-Piercer's power.
Who'd have thought Sampo knew the way between the upper and lower districts? Anyone tied to Adrian couldn't be underestimated.
"I'm so confused. We came to help her, and she treats us like this!"
"And that jerk Sampo tried to knock us out and drag us to the lower district. Thank goodness for Teacher Adrian!"
March 7th vividly recounted how they beat Sampo black and blue.
As she finished, she noticed Adrian stifling a laugh.
"Hm? What's so funny, Teacher Adrian?"
"Just thought of something very entertaining."
As the saying goes: The trickster becomes the trick.
Who'd have thought Sampo would get pummeled by March 7th and crew? Poor guy, one second of sympathy.