In the land, destruction reigned as if hundreds of wars had passed over it. There were three people looking at each other without saying anything. Youssagi and Yuchira were looking at Rikudo without saying a word, their gazes sharp, cold, and filled with a murderous intent. Rikudo, holding his daggers, was panting, a black aura with streaks of white emanating from him like flames of life and death. He turned his gaze towards the city of Caisburg with a twisted, malicious smile on his lips. As soon as he redirected his gaze towards Yuchira and Youssagi, he found them only centimeters away from him, their swords mere millimeters from his neck. Yet, his gaze was indifferent and cold as he muttered in a low voice that made sweat bead on their faces.
"Is that all you've got? How pathetic you are."
A wave of energy erupted from his deep, dark, black eyes, sending them flying several meters away, warm blood gushing from their faces. Their features were filled with dread and fear, but they still wiped the blood from their lips and drank a healing potion, their injuries vanishing from their faces.
"Yuchira, how long until the reinforcements arrive?"
His tone was calm as he looked at Rikudo. Given his long experience of 400 years, he was skilled at assessing whether a situation was favorable to him or not, so knowing the time for supplies to arrive was crucial.
"Only ten minutes until they reach us."
A faint smile appeared on Youssagi's face as he looked at Rikudo, who was not even paying attention to their presence.
"Alright, we'll buy ten minutes."
He then pulled out a piece of paper with a red scorpion drawn on it and placed it on the ground. He cut his finger, a small smile on his face, and smeared his blood on the paper, which was a summoning scroll for monsters.
"Ruler of the red scorpions, I request your presence! Slay my enemies and show them who you are, Yongaki!"
His tone was full of respect as he turned his gaze back to Rikudo, only to find him indifferent. This angered him greatly. Rikudo's indifference was annoying to both Youssagi and his brother Yuchira. However, they ignored it, having seen many people with similar mindsets who eventually knelt at their feet.
After a few seconds, a column of red energy shot up, followed by a powerful gust of wind that sent giant rocks flying into the sky as if they were nothing, like dry autumn leaves. A giant scorpion, the size of a medium-sized city, appeared. It had a red chitinous exoskeleton, emitted red energy from its mouth, and had wide, blood-red eyes that shone with a crimson glow. It had colossal pincers and a tail, enhanced with a potent venom capable of easily killing a warrior of the sacred/demonic ruler rank. A powerful roar that shook the entire place erupted.
"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyah!"
The scorpion raised its pincers to the sky and charged towards Rikudo with speed exceeding the speed of light. Rikudo's expression was cold and indifferent. He then waved one of his daggers in the air, a slow movement, so slow that a normal human could see its attack coming. Yet, it was enough to cleave the Scorpion Ruler, who was of a higher demonic ruler rank, in half as if it were a mere rag doll. Youssagi's eyes, mouth, and nose bled profusely due to the backlash from the death of his summoner, the red scorpion, with whom he had been bonded for centuries.
Yuchira helped his brother Youssagi to stand and turned his gaze towards Rikudo, his eyes filled with hatred and murderous intent, which turned to joy as reinforcements arrived.
"Brother, help has arrived! We will survive!"
"It seems your end has come, this one."
His tone was filled with sarcasm. The number of fighters was larger, and all of them were of good levels: 200 fighters ranging from rank X to XX. He also sensed the power of another person, the leader of the Scorpion Organization, who was with them. Their power was terrifying. They stood at the forefront of the soldiers, clad in black clothing that covered their entire bodies, and a white mask resembling a demon covered their face completely. They then descended, hands behind their backs, with 200 strong fighters behind them. A faint smile appeared on Rikudo's face as he looked at the leader of the Scorpion Organization, who was heading towards Youssagi and Yuchira with steady steps filled with unbreakable willpower.
As soon as they reached them, Youssagi and Yuchira thanked them.
"Thank you, leader of the organization, for intervening to help us."
The leader of the Scorpion Organization turned their gaze towards them. Their features were hidden by the mask, but they felt that something was wrong.
"Your service period within the organization has ended. I have come to issue your expulsion documents."
Their tone was cold, calm, and filled with faint murderous intent. They raised their hand towards them, a gesture that wiped out most of their bodies. Their faces were filled with absolute shock. They never expected betrayal from someone they had dedicated their lives to serving. This life had brought them betrayal from the last person they expected.
"Why did you do this? Didn't we serve you for three full centuries? Why did you do this?"
Yuchira's voice was somewhat like a sob. Most of his left chest had evaporated, unlike his brother Youssagi, whose entire half of his body had been erased. Youssagi had taken most of the damage meant for his brother Yuchira.
Rikudo watched the scene as if it were a play about betrayal, recalling a message from his past self.
**Flashback:**
Rikudo was looking at the brothers Youssagi and Yuchira Kurotagi.
*Ring ring ring ring*
He took his phone out of his jacket pocket with slight annoyance.
"Who is this fool messaging me at this time?"
His expression changed from annoyance to the smile of someone vowing annihilation. Another dagger, similar to the previous one, appeared in his right hand.
[Breath Dagger, Weapon]
[Rank: Beyond-Existence]
"It's time for the real game to begin."
Rikudo's aura, which was black with streaks of white, began to manifest. It was so powerful that it erased all trees within a 6-kilometer radius as if they were mere parchment. The ground had turned smooth.
The message read:
[Yuta 🖌️☯️]
[Youssagi Kurotagi and Yuchira Kurotagi are no longer useful to the Scorpion Organization. Whether you kill them or wait for the leader of the Scorpion Organization to kill them is up to you. Let's meet after the competition ends, which likely won't last until tomorrow.]
**End Flashback:**
Rikudo turned his gaze towards the leader, hid the Breath Dagger, and put his hands in his jacket pockets with a sarcastic smile.
"You humans are truly disgusting. You can betray each other so easily. A brother betrays his brother, a friend betrays his friend, a king betrays his followers or allies, and vice versa. It seems betrayal is a instinct dwelling deep within you humans."
The leader of the Scorpion Organization's gaze was indifferent to Rikudo's words, as if they meant nothing. A faint smile appeared on Rikudo's face. He snapped his fingers, and all 200 soldiers exploded into a pool of blood in the sky.
"I won't kill you, this one, but your beloved soldiers won't remain alive. Consider it a mark of my existence."
The leader of the Scorpion Organization's expression was calm, and then both of them disappeared as if they had never been there.
At the tournament grounds, Yuta was looking at messages sent to him and found a message from Rikudo.
[Rikudo Navi 🌞 🌚]
[The mission has been successfully completed. The Kurotagi brothers have been permanently eliminated.]
A malicious smile appeared on his face as he looked at the message. He then turned his gaze towards Yurtchi and Lucy, who were preparing for the next round of battles against Jin Mori and Petergeist from the Cannibal team.
After a few seconds, the announcer's voice boomed, announcing the third round.
"We announce the beginning of the third stage of the sixth round of the Magic Tournament!"
"The battles for this stage will be Yurtchi de Moliar and Lucy Ketali against Jin Mori and Petergeist!"
The stands were filled with the roar of the audience, brimming with excitement. The heir of the de Moliar family, Yurtchi, and the heiress of the Ketali family, Lucy, were about to fight. Therefore, their excitement was justified, as this round brought together two pillars of the entire human empire.