Kaelus walked away into the night, leaving the Mayor's residence without looking back.
Above the rooftop, Seraphine's shadow flickered as she followed him silently.
However, the Mayor's confession under the influence of magic spread faster than the night wind.
The news that Kaelus was not a child of blessing, but rather "sky trash" cast away by the gods and the source of every disaster in the city, triggered mass hysteria.
The residents who had long lived in fear of the Void monsters now found an easy target to vent their despair.
Hundreds of people poured out of their homes carrying torches, wooden sticks, and pitchforks.
They shouted viciously, blocking Kaelus' path in a narrow square.
"Die, Bringer of Misfortune!"
"Kill that demon before our city is destroyed!"
Kaelus stopped walking.
His eyes scanned the sea of humans burning with blind rage before him.
He had agreed to hide his power and he clearly could not take back his word.
So Kaelus merely clenched his fists, allowing the energy to strengthen only his physical endurance and muscles.
The crowd charged.
Kaelus fought back.
He punched, kicked, and threw several people with his extraordinary physical strength.
However, he was clearly outnumbered. One man against a sea of humans.
Within seconds, his condition turned miserable.
Wooden sticks struck his head, bricks grazed his temples, and dozens of feet trampled his body.
Thanks to that new power, his wounds healed at an unnatural speed.
Yet the pain was still real, and new injuries kept coming in less than half a second.
From atop an abandoned watchtower, Seraphine gritted her teeth.
Her violet eyes flashed angrily at the sight of those mortals ganging up on someone like wild beasts.
"Insolent ants," Seraphine hissed.
In the blink of an eye, Seraphine's figure vanished.
A faint flash of light streaked into the middle of the crowd.
Before the townspeople realized what was happening, a powerful gust of wind exploded outward, throwing their bodies backward.
When the dust settled, Kaelus was already gone.
Kaelus felt an extremely cold gust of night wind slap his face.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the square, but atop the inner wall towering dozens of meters above the ground.
Around them, a sea of darkness stretched endlessly.
The distant growls of Void monsters could be faintly heard.
Seraphine raised her slender hand, and a transparent dome of magic instantly formed, enveloping the two of them so the monsters would not sense their presence.
Kaelus sat down, breathing heavily, wiping blood from the corner of his lips that closed on its own.
Seraphine looked at him with a complicated expression. "Sorry," she said, breaking the silence.
"I was the one who cast the truth spell on your adoptive father. I was just sick of seeing them belittle you. I did not expect those ants to react this brutally."
Kaelus fell silent for a moment, then snorted softly while staring at the night sky. "It is fine. At least now I know the truth. It is better to be beaten for the truth than to live peacefully in a filthy lie."
Kaelus turned to look at the blonde girl. "So, when do we start?"
Seraphine smirked, gazing at the rising sun in the distance.
"We start now."
***
The most anticipated day in Deadlands finally arrived.
The air around the giant battle arena in the city center felt hot and suffocating from thousands of spectators.
Kaelus stepped into the registration area.
Beside him walked Seraphine, her body tightly covered by a long black robe up to her face.
After one week, Kaelus had finally begun to understand Seraphine.
The girl had seemed intimidating and mysterious at first, but in truth she was a young girl with an eccentric personality and an extraordinarily high level of confidence.
According to her, she had to wear this robe so the fighters would not kill each other over her beauty.
Kaelus could only roll his eyes lazily at that explanation.
In the corridor leading to the arena, their steps halted.
The group Kaelus least wanted to meet stood there.
Elian, who had somehow healed his internal injuries with the help of expensive potions, stood arrogantly.
Beside him, Celine clung possessively to Elian's arm.
Several youths from local noble families were with them as well.
"Look who has arrived," Elian mocked with a disdainful laugh.
He looked Kaelus up and down.
The fear he had felt a week ago had vanished, replaced by the conclusion that Kaelus' punch that night must have been mere coincidence or the result of some cheap dark magic. "The filthy-blooded loser dares to show his face."
Celine snorted in disgust. "You truly have no shame, Kael. You should surrender before you die pathetically in the arena."
Kaelus ignored them completely. His face was as cold as ice.
He stepped forward, bumping his shoulder into Elian hard enough to make the city's prince stagger, then continued walking toward the arena gate.
When Kaelus appeared in the middle of the arena, the noisy crowd instantly turned into hateful jeers.
"Get down, Bastard!"
"Void monster child!"
"Hey, look! He brought a Void witch with him!" someone shouted, pointing at Seraphine in her dull black robe.
Kaelus' steps remained calm, but Seraphine beside him suddenly stopped.
The shoulders beneath that black robe trembled violently.
"Void witch?" Seraphine whispered in disbelief. "How can a noble descendant like me, whose beauty is unparalleled, be compared to those foul-smelling witches from the void? I will blow their heads off one by one!"
Kaelus quickly grabbed Seraphine's arm. "Calm down. Remember the plan," he whispered flatly.
In the VIP seats, Celine observed the interaction between Kaelus and the robed figure with a furrowed brow. The posture beneath the robe clearly belonged to a woman.
"Who is she?" Celine thought. "Does Kaelus have another woman he knows?"
A flicker of displeasure rose in Celine's heart, but she quickly dismissed it. "Tch, he must have deliberately hired some street woman to make me jealous. Disgusting."
The sound of a giant horn echoed, cutting through the noise of the crowd.
The announcer declared the first match.
Kaelus frowned when he heard his opponent's name.
This was clearly arranged by the committee under the Mayor's orders.
In the very first match, Kaelus had to face Garrick, the runner-up of the last tournament three years ago.
Garrick stepped into the center of the arena.
He was a two-meter giant, his muscles as hard as solid rock.
He was a high-level earth element user, and the one most favored to win this year's tournament alongside Elian.
Seeing his opponent, a deadly smirk instead formed on Kaelus' lips.
A tough opponent? Good!
In the stands, the entire audience burst into laughter at the difference in their physiques.
Some people even openly began tossing gold coins, betting how many seconds Kaelus would last before his bones were crushed by Garrick.