In the VIP area, the Wyndhams were starting to get seriously worried about how the tournament was unfolding.
"Why isn't any of them quitting already?" John said. His hand trembled slightly beneath the table. "They're going to get themselves killed."
None of the others responded immediately.
Lucius remained silent as he watched the tournament unfold on the screen before him. The rest weren't any different. They all looked frustrated, but none of them dared to show it openly.
Not here.
Not in the presence of some of the most powerful humans and organizations on Earth.
"I bet that idiot is smiling right now," Jake said with a snort.
Again, no one replied.
They all knew exactly who he meant.
Draven.
The unspoken bet was still hanging over everyone's heads. With every minute that passed and none of the Wyndhams being eliminated, the atmosphere couldn't have been pleasant for Draven.
Unfortunately, the same could be said for them.
The Wyndhams weren't having a good time either.
The situation down in the tournament grounds was getting worse by the minute.
"But... did any of you hear what they said about Alex?" Jim suddenly asked.
That got a few heads turning.
"What about it?" John asked.
Jim frowned.
"They were talking as if Alex is still with them in the tournament."
For a moment, the entire table went quiet.
Several pairs of eyes shifted away from the screen and toward Jim.
"What do you mean?" Jake asked.
"I mean exactly what I said," Jim replied. "The way they were talking, it sounded like Alex was there with them."
A brief silence followed.
Then John shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Yet despite saying those words, there was a small crease forming on his forehead.
Because deep down, he knew something about this tournament had stopped making sense a long time ago.
"That doesn't make any sense. He was eliminated," Jake said.
"And we can't even see any Alex with them or fighting alongside them."
"Yeah, I know it's strange, but we all heard it," Jim replied with a frown.
"The way they were talking... it was almost like they were surprised to see him themselves."
Jake shook his head.
"Don't waste too much time thinking about that weakling. We should focus on hoping our members win."
The others didn't respond.
Meanwhile, Lucius remained silent.
As the tournament continued, his expression gradually turned colder.
His eyes stayed fixed on the display in front of him, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
'If Alex hasn't been eliminated, then why did the tournament announce that he was eliminated?' Lucius wondered.
'And if he truly was eliminated... then what is he still doing inside the tournament?'
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.
Then his eyes shifted slightly to the side.
Not far away sat Draven.
The man wore a wide smile as he watched everything unfold.
Lucius stared at him for a brief moment before looking away.
'Somehow, I have a feeling all of this traces back to you people,' Lucius thought.
His gaze lingered on Draven for another second.
Then he returned his attention to the tournament.
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the ruined city, two figures were locked in a fierce struggle.
Both were women.
One had fiery red hair, and her entire body was engulfed in flames. The fire wrapped around her like a living cloak, yet not a single strand of her hair was being consumed.
The other was completely different.
She was clad in a metallic suit that looked straight out of a cyberpunk battlefield. Layers of advanced armor covered her body from head to toe, giving her a cold and mechanical appearance.
This was the Pyre-Fang member and Maelis.
Maelis was trapped in the Pyre-Fang member's crushing embrace. Her arms were pinned tightly against her sides as the fiery woman tightened her grip, making sure Maelis had no chance of breaking free.
The two of them shot into the sky like a missile.
They pierced through the endless fog hanging over the ruined city and continued climbing higher and higher. The streets below quickly shrank into tiny shapes as the distance increased.
Still, Maelis made no attempt to stop her.
The Pyre-Fang member frowned.
She had expected resistance. A struggle. Something.
Instead, Maelis simply allowed herself to be carried upward.
They continued ascending until they reached a height where the winds howled violently around them. The air had become thin enough that an ordinary human would struggle to breathe.
Only then did the Pyre-Fang member finally slow down.
A cruel smile appeared on her face.
"Let's see if you can survive this fall," she said.
Without hesitation, she released her grip.
The moment she let go, Maelis began dropping.
Her body plunged downward through the cold air.
For a brief moment, she fell freely.
Then her suit reacted.
Several hidden ports across the armor opened at once.
Powerful streams of thrust erupted from her back, legs, and waist.
Whoosh!
The force immediately countered her fall.
Her descent slowed.
Then stopped completely.
Maelis hovered in the air as if she were standing on an invisible platform.
The Pyre-Fang member's eyes widened.
"What?" she blurted out.
Shock quickly turned into frustration.
"How can you do that? How are you even flying?"
Maelis calmly looked up at her.
The mechanical visor covering her face hid her expression, but her voice remained as composed as ever.
"You wanted to see how I deal with falling, right?" Maelis asked.
The thrusters continued firing in controlled bursts, keeping her perfectly stable despite the powerful winds at that altitude.
"Well, now you've seen it."
--3
"Now let's see how you deal with your fall as well," Maelis added.
Suddenly, the Pyre-Fang member felt danger wash over her.
A chilling sensation spread through her body. Every instinct she had screamed at her that something was coming.
The next second, Maelis attacked.
A cable shot out from Maelis's waist.
It moved like a spear fired from a cannon.
At the front of the cable was a sharp arrow-like head that cut through the air as it shot straight toward the Pyre-Fang member.
The Pyre-Fang member reacted instantly.
Flames erupted around her body as she tried to dash away.
She moved fast.
Just not fast enough.
Thud!
The arrowhead punched through her leg.
It tore through flesh, pierced the bone, and burst out from the other side.
"Arghhh!"
The Pyre-Fang member screamed.
A wave of pain shot through her body.
For a brief moment, her concentration broke, and her flight became unstable.
The cable had already locked itself firmly in place.
Maelis immediately pulled.
The cable tightened and yanked the Pyre-Fang member toward her.
Seeing what was happening, the Pyre-Fang member quickly forced herself to recover.
Ignoring the pain in her leg, she released another surge of flames.
Fire exploded around her body.
She was preparing to break free and fly away.
Boom!
Maelis was faster.
She raised her palm and aimed directly at the injured leg.
A blast of blue energy shot forward.
The attack crossed the distance in an instant and struck the Pyre-Fang member's wounded leg.
The effect was immediate.
The flames around that area were extinguished.
A layer of frost rapidly spread across the injury.
Ice particles formed around the wound and crawled over her leg.
The sudden cold clashed violently against her fire, slowing her movements for a brief but crucial moment.
And in a fight like this, a single moment was all Maelis needed.
After stopping the Pyre-Fang member, Maelis was the one who rushed in.
She flew straight toward her and swung a punch at the Pyre-Fang member's face.
Bang!
The punch landed cleanly.
The Pyre-Fang member's head snapped to the side, and her entire body spun several times through the air uncontrollably.
Maelis immediately pulled on the cable embedded in her opponent's leg, dragging the Pyre-Fang member back toward her.
At the same time, more cables shot out from compartments around her waist.
The cables moved like living snakes.
Maelis flew rapidly around the disoriented Pyre-Fang member, wrapping the cables around her body layer after layer.
"Arghhh!"
With a furious scream, the Pyre-Fang member poured more power into her feet.
The ice covering her leg began to crack.
Small fractures spread across its surface before chunks started melting away.
'Just how is she able to produce such strong ice?' she panicked.
Eventually, the ice burst apart.
Flames erupted from her feet once again, burning fiercely as she tried to regain control.
She immediately attempted to fly away and break free from the bindings.
That was when she noticed something horrifying.
Ice was forming along the cables.
It spread rapidly.
The freezing layer crawled across the metal lines and toward her body.
The Pyre-Fang member quickly released more flames, trying to melt the ice away.
But it didn't work.
The ice continued growing.
It became thicker.
Stronger.
Faster.
It spread onto her arms and legs.
Her movements became sluggish.
The flames around her body started weakening.
'What's going on?' the Pyre-Fang member panicked even more.
'Why is my fire getting weaker?'
The more she struggled, the faster the ice spread.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Three chilling blasts shot from Maelis's suit.
Each one struck the Pyre-Fang member directly.
The first weakened the remaining flames.
The second extinguished them completely.
The third froze her solid.
In an instant, the Pyre-Fang member became a frozen ice statue suspended in the sky.
The next moment, the cable connected to her leg detached.
Without anything holding her up, the frozen figure began falling from the sky.
Meanwhile, Maelis hovered silently in place.
She watched the frozen Pyre-Fang member plummet toward the ground below.
"Now let's see if you can melt that ice in time and survive the fall," Maelis muttered.
A small smile formed beneath her helmet, hidden from the outside world.