The sudden silence brought by Zeref's discomfort stretched uncomfortably long. It felt heavy, like the air itself had thickened.
Even Oreo stopped complaining for once, which honestly was more alarming than the trauma awakeners.
Then Kalispell spoke.
"Who's going next?"
His voice was steady now. Calm. Like nothing had happened earlier. Like he hadn't almost broken in front of us.
Yeah. Sure. Totally normal. Definitely not bottling things up again.
"Me. I'm going next."
Glenda stepped down from her podium.
I blinked.
Twice.
This was not the same timid girl who used to hide behind her own staff.
She walked with confidence. With purpose. Like someone who had finally decided she was done being small.
Kalispell took her place. Glenda stood at the center of the arena.
The dungeon reacted instantly.
[BOSS BATTLE]
[GLENDA VS VILLAGER]
"…Villager?" I frowned. "What kind of cheap boss is this? Is the dungeon running out of budget?"
The smoke cleared.
A young man appeared.
