Two hours' walking distance from the tournament venue, there was a young man with dark black hair with light white edges that reached below his ears and deep dark black eyes. He wore a charcoal black jacket and pants made of the dragon hide of the World-Devourer Illusion dragon species, and shoes of the same color and material with a modern appearance. He was sitting on the rooftop of a building.
That person was Rikudo Navi, nicknamed the Ruler of Darkness and Light.
He was listening to some music while sending a message via his phone to Yuta Kasiral.
[ Yuto 🖌️☯️ ]
[ It seems he is coming as expected ]
He then put the phone in his pocket to stand up immediately after.
Then he fell from the building.
While he was in the sky heading towards the ground at great speed, his eyes were closed with a small smile on his face, as if he was enjoying the breeze caressing his dark black hair.
"What an amazing feeling.... what a pleasant breeze."
As soon as he reached the ground, he had turned into a cloud of black smoke to disappear afterwards.
Several kilometers away from the city of Kasemborg, where the Magic Tournament was being held, Rikudo Navi was sitting on a tree trunk while waiting for someone.
An amused smile appeared on his face as he looked toward the sky to find a man who appeared to be in his forties, remembering then his meeting with Yuta.
Returning to the flashback.
Yuta directed his gaze to a distant place; there was a young man standing on top of one of the pillars while looking at him with a slight smile on his face. A slight smile appeared on Yuta's face as he looked at him. Yuta had recognized the identity of that young man who seemed to be the same age as him. "How are you, my friend and the Ruler of Light and Darkness, Rikudo Navi, or slave........" Rikudo's body began to fade bit by bit in the form of shadows receding into the air, to appear afterwards at the bottom of the pillar where Yuta was standing at the top. Yuta then descended to the bottom.
As soon as he descended, he directed his gaze toward Rikudo's deep dark black eyes, which were devoid of any emotion, like two abysses with a light in their core that erases everything.
A slight smile appeared on Rikudo's face.
He proceeded to shake hands with Yuta.
"I am fine, and how are you, my old friend, the Creator Yuto or Bu......"
He looked at him with a mocking smile on his face, placing his hands on his forehead to speak in a tone full of derision: "How devious you are, Rikudo."
Rikudo snapped his fingers, and a chair appeared out of nowhere for him to sit on.
He directed his gaze toward Yuta, finding him looking at him with some slight annoyance.
"Hey, Yuta, if you want a chair, make one for yourself. I am not your servant."
Yuta took a deep sigh, trying to calm himself, and directed his gaze toward Rikudo. Yuta had become accustomed to Rikudo's sharp, caustic tongue and his lack of respect for anyone from his previous life; therefore, he was not annoyed, and he was also one of his close friends.
Yuta's gaze turned serious, which made the mocking smile on Rikudo's face disappear completely, and his features turned serious.
"Listen, Rikudo Navi, the reason I asked you to come was because I need you for a certain matter."
"First, create a puppet, and it must be 100% realistic, and make it attack Beatrice as soon as she reaches the exit gate of the arena."
"Second, you and Gowther will exterminate all the followers of the Scorpion Organization present in the room where Young Yoo-jung and his grandson are, as I have business with them. But make the method of killing look natural and not like a cosmic entity did it, understood? But at the same time, let them discover you."
"Third, lead the Red Scorpion outside the city of Kasemborg. He will attempt to kidnap you to gather information about how you knew of their hideout. Fight him, but do not kill him, for he is one of the important members of the Scorpion Organization, and the Scorpion Organization is still useful to me, so it must not remain at its current level of strength."
Rikudo was listening to Yuta's words carefully; he didn't say anything and listened to Yuta's words with complete focus.
"I understand what I must do, but won't Beatrice be able to evade it? You know her true level of strength."
"I know that. Beatrice is terrifyingly strong. Her strength, even with the blessing, currently doesn't equal 1% of her true power. That is why she must be won over to my side. Although theoretically I do not need her, at the same time I want her with me, and also because I have made a promise and I must fulfill it."
Rikudo sighed while listening to Yuta's words, saying in his heart:
Describing my situation:
"He has changed a lot; I can no longer know what is going on in his mind.
The Ruler's Eye ability does not detect any emotions inside him, as if he doesn't possess them, or my ability doesn't work on him. I don't really know."
Rikudo then stood up, heading toward the edge of the building.
"Alright, I will do my job. Let's meet after the rounds or the competition are over. Goodbye."
He disappeared immediately after in the form of blackish-white dust.
Returning from the flashback.
Rikudo was directing his gaze toward a man who appeared to be in his forties, wearing a gray suit with a light pink flower in the upper pocket of the suit. His gaze was cold, as if he were a king looking at his servant or a ruler looking at his followers and subjects. This person was Red Scorpion, Yusagi Kurotagi; he was the right hand of the leader of the Scorpion Organization.
"You, I want you to come with me. You have many secrets that you must utter."
A devious smile appeared on Rikudo's face while looking toward Yusagi Kurotagi.
"If I don't come with you, will you cry or what? Or will you bring your mama?"
Yusagi's gaze turned cold, and killing intent began to flow from his body.
"So you want to settle the matter with violence. There is no problem."
The tone of his voice was cold as ice, devoid of any shred of emotion.
But Rikudo's devious smile remained etched on his lips.
"When did I say I wanted to fight? I don't hit dogs like you. Excuse me, I am very sorry."
Yusagi's features turned to anger. Rikudo was somewhat provocative at times, especially in front of arrogant people like Yusagi Kurotagi. Moreover, he was confident of victory. Yusagi was one of the strongest of those who were reincarnated: Yuto, Hijumi, Fatsi, Gowther, Mactire, Leon Rikozi, Rikudo Navi, and Inuyasha Rikozi. He was considered the third strongest reincarnate among them after Yuto in first place, then Leon Rikozi in second place, and then Rikudo Navi in third place. He was considered the strongest, and the reason Rikudo was sure of victory was due to several reasons.
Because he is stronger than the entities of this world except for Yuto and a few other characters who can be counted on one hand.
And secondly, being considered an entity from outside this world, rather from other worlds.
The world of the novel was full of infinite worlds, and this world was a very small part compared to the size of the entire novel world; it was less than 0.0000001........0.00000000000000 relative to the total size of the world.
As for Yusagi Kurotagi, blackish-red energy began to release from his body, forming a dominant aura that caused trees to be uprooted. Despite that, Rikudo's features were calm and uninterested in what was happening, as he was capable of defeating him with complete ease.
In a fraction of a second, Yusagi was close to Rikudo by no more than ten inches. He was directing a powerful punch toward Rikudo's face. Despite that, Rikudo was not tense; he was as calm as the surface of a lake reflecting the moonlight on a full moon night.
As soon as Yusagi's punch reached Rikudo's body, it passed through him as if the young man was just an illusion.
Yusagi's features turned to shock because he was passing through Rikudo's body as if he were a transparent phantom.
"What the hell is happening?"
Yusagi said it in his heart, expressing his astonishment because he recognized what that ability was. It was called Causality Manipulation, and it was an ability that cancels damage. That is, when Yusagi attacked Rikudo with his fist, his punch would cause damage from the 'cause' of the damage of Yusagi's punch, so Rikudo canceled the cause of the damage. Therefore, he did not suffer any damage from Yusagi's punch. However, it doesn't mean his hand disappeared; it passed through Rikudo's body as if he were a transparent phantom or just an illusion.
A light smile appeared on Yusagi's face as he moved fifty steps back away from Rikudo.
"So you can use the Causality Manipulation ability well."
"What is your name, boy? I want to know the names of my opponents to write their names on their gravestones."
Rikudo was laughing in his heart while listening to Yusagi's words.
"Alright, alright, that's good. There is no need for you to know my name because it would be a shame to die at the hands of a dog like you."
Some veins appeared on Yusagi Kurotagi's forehead while listening to Rikudo's provocative words, and he launched toward him at great speed. Despite that, Rikudo masterfully avoided all of Yusagi's attacks while parrying his attacks from time to time.
"You are truly strong, you." The tone of his voice was full of respect.
Unlike Rikudo, who had no time to respect anyone.
"Yes, yes, that's what the weak say to explain the reason for their weakness."
Yusagi's speed began to increase insanely due to the anger that overcame him from Rikudo's provocative words.
Despite that, nothing in the situation changed. Yusagi had not caused any damage; in fact, he hadn't touched Rikudo even once except when he was parrying his attacks.
Rikudo moved several steps back away from Yusagi, who seemed to be preparing for a powerful attack.
He began to mutter in a low voice while heading toward Rikudo at great speed.
A layer of Mana began to form in Yusagi's hands in the shape of two red-colored scorpion claws.
He then directed an attack toward Rikudo, who had a slight smile on his face. He waved a charcoal black dagger with light purple veins. It was a dagger 50 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide; the edges of its blade had two circular-shaped openings. He parried Yusagi's attack easily without exerting any effort, and then directed a powerful attack that hit his chest, destroying the Mana armor that was in the shape of scorpion claws. Shock was written on Yusagi's face as he spat warm red blood from his mouth, moving several meters away from Rikudo.
"What is happening? How did he do that?"
Yusagi was asking himself, trying to grasp the situation. He hadn't noticed a weapon with Rikudo; he didn't feel any intention to attack coming from him. The situation was strange and terrifying at the same time. He was dealing with an opponent who combined life and death: a killing sword in his hand and a presence full of life and peace. He was a contradiction to himself; the aura surrounding him was peaceful, but at the same time, he carried a dagger to kill with.
"I must request backup."
Yusagi took out a blood-red stone with a red scorpion logo on it and crushed it.
A powerful light shot into the sky. That was a symbol considered a distress signal, used only once.
Several kilometers away, there was a man who appeared to be in his forties, looking very much like Yusagi Kurotagi. He was his twin, Yuchira Kurotagi. He had noticed the signal.
Distress.
"It is the specific distress signal of my older brother, Yusagi Kurotagi."
"It seems he is in danger; I must go to help him."
That person carried a runic stone for communication.
"I need assistance; we are facing a dangerous enemy located 50 kilometers away from the city of Kasemborg."
A person replied to him in a tone full of indifference:
[Alright, 200 fighters ranging from rank X to XX will head to your location after 30 minutes. It is best that you hold out until then.]
That person put that runic stone, which resembles a phone, in his pocket and launched toward the place from which the signal originated at the speed of light while muttering in a low voice:
"You better be okay, my older brother."
With Rikudo Navi, he was talking in his heart about the events that were happening as they expected them to happen.
A while ago, when Rikudo was sitting on the rooftop of a building, he received a message from Yuto.
[Yuta 🖌️☯️]
[If Yusagi Kurotagi is unable to defeat you, he will most likely release a distress message to call one of the organization members, and by 90%, it will be his twin brother Yuchira Kurotagi. Good luck.]
[And also, do not kill them. Inflict injuries on them, but they must not be fatal. If something new happens, I will inform you immediately.]
Rikudo directed his gaze toward the east to notice a person heading toward them at high speed. That person was Yuchira Kurotagi, called the Iron-Tailed Scorpion, a high-ranking Demon Ruler fighter like his twin brother Yusagi Kurotagi, who was in the same rank.
As soon as he arrived, he directed his gaze toward his brother Yusagi, ignoring the presence of Rikudo Navi.
"Are you okay, my older brother Yusagi? Why are you injured with this wound?"
The tone of his voice was full of amazement. Yusagi was extremely strong.
As for Rikudo, who was looking at his phone, a message had arrived from Yuta.
As soon as he read it, a devious smile appeared on his face as he put his phone back in his pocket. It was the smile of someone promising extermination.
Another dagger similar to the previous one appeared in his right hand.
[Dagger of Hell's Breath - Weapon Rank: Beyond-Existence]
"It's time for the real game to begin."
Rikudo's aura began to emerge; it was black with some whiteness. The aura was strong enough to erase all the trees within a 6-kilometer range as if they were just papyrus. The ground had turned smooth.
The features of the two brothers turned full of shock from Rikudo's terrifying power. He was tyrannical and despotic.
"Who in the name of the creator of hell are you?"
The tone of his voice was....