Caelan was dashing toward Alex, his suit thrusters pushing him forward and increasing his speed as he closed the distance between them.
However, just before he could reach Alex, just before the two of them could clash, something suddenly dropped down between them.
It was a solid mass of ice.
A frozen sculpture of a human body.
The Pyre-Fang lady was trapped inside it.
Most of the ice had already started melting away, and parts of her body were beginning to show through the thinning frost. A few sections of flesh and armor were sticking out from the ice, heating up as the frozen shell continued to break apart.
Whatever she had been trying to do at that moment was no longer enough.
It wasn't enough to stop her fall.
It wasn't enough to slow her down.
The Pyre-Fang lady could only watch helplessly as her frozen body slammed into the hardened ground with great force.
Boom!
The clash was devastating.
It was as though a small bomb had exploded right there on the spot.
The force sent Alex flying backward.
Caelan was thrown back as well.
However, while still in midair, Caelan's suit thrusters kicked in and caught him, slowing him down before he could be thrown off completely.
Alex, on the other hand, was still flying backward when he forced his body to stabilize himself in the air.
A sudden surge of force ignited in him, and the moment his feet touched the ground, that force pushed back against the blast.
Alex's feet dug deep trenches into the ground as he hunched forward, straining to stop himself from sliding any farther.
Eventually, it worked.
Alex came to a stop just beside the rest of the Wyndhams, who had also been thrown off balance by the sudden explosion.
'It's a good thing I swapped the Vibrating Punch for Energy Reflection. Otherwise, that would have been a critical hit,' Alex thought as he quickly examined himself.
The object that had fallen between him and Caelan had landed very close to where he stood.
While Caelan had his suit to guide him away from the shrapnel and debris, Alex had been completely exposed to the blast.
At that moment, a voice cut through Alex's thoughts.
"Don't tell me it's taking you an eternity to deal with a bunch of weak low-level clans," Maelis said as she landed on the battlefield.
She hovered in the air while slowly descending toward the ground. Her hands were folded, and her suit helmet had retracted, revealing her jet-black hair. It was neatly brushed back and fell all the way down her back.
Meanwhile, Caelan walked toward her, his own helmet retracting as well.
"Couldn't you at least have taken your fight somewhere else?" he said.
"You just interrupted me from getting rid of an annoying fly," he said.
Maelis looked at Caelan with a teasing smile.
"Believe me when I say this, it was purely a coincidence that thing happened to get in your way," Maelis said.
Then she turned toward the Wyndhams. They were not far away, but most of them were already weakened, except for a few who were still standing.
"And it is kind of disappointing that you still haven't dealt with these people already," Maelis said.
"Ha..." Caelan laughed.
"what about you? It took you so long to take down a single person," Caelan defended himself.
"That person is a member of the Pyre-Fang Clan, and in case you don't know, that's one of the strongest clans," Maelis replied, turning back to face Caelan.
"And by the way, she has been dealt with," Maelis added, her eyes moving toward the crater that had formed nearby.
Just a little ahead of them was a wide crater. Inside it lay a tiny piece of human body, partly frozen and buried in the wreckage.
"And from the way she died, it looks like much of the explosion didn't happen the same way as the last one," Maelis said.
Meanwhile, Alex stared at the two of them from a distance.
'Have they forgotten we're here? Or are they simply not bothered?' Alex wondered.
'Either way, it's already a bad idea to fight against a member of the Synapse Circle. Fighting two of them at the same time is even worse,' Alex thought.
His eyes shifted toward the others.
Lennox and Isla were still standing. Thanks to their rings, most of their injuries had already healed. They looked battered and exhausted, but at least they could still remain on their feet.
Zephyr was in a much worse state.
His werewolf form had completely disappeared, forcing him back into his human body. Although his injuries were gone, the strain of the transformation was obvious. His breathing was heavy, and his legs trembled slightly. He looked like someone who could collapse at any moment.
The same could be said for Gavalich.
His massive werebear form was gone as well. The energy he had used to restore his shattered jaw had clearly taken a toll on him. He had returned to his human form, his face pale and his chest rising and falling heavily.
He wasn't in any condition to keep fighting.
Then there was Jimmy.
He had finally regained consciousness, but that was about it. His eyes were open, yet he could barely move. Getting back into the fight was out of the question.
As for Henry, he lay some distance away on the arena floor, completely unconscious. There wasn't even the slightest sign that he would be waking up anytime soon.
Alex slowly looked over the battlefield.
One by one, he counted the people who could still fight.
Then he looked at their opponents.
The answer was obvious.
Their chances of getting out of this alive were practically zero.
'Why aren't they quitting yet?' Alex wondered.
The tournament wasn't worth dying for.
At least, it shouldn't be.
Taking a deep breath, Alex turned toward his teammates.
His expression was serious.
"This is it," Alex said.
Everyone looked at him.
"This is the end of the tournament for us."
His voice grew firmer.
"You all need to quit now."
Alex tightened his grip on his axe and glanced toward the two Synapse Circle members waiting in the distance.
"If you stay here any longer, you will die."
Alex's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What makes you think you're in any position to tell us what to do?" Isla scoffed.
Alex had been expecting that response.
Honestly, he would have been more surprised if she had agreed with him.
Even so, hearing it still made frustration rise inside him.
He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath.
"Can't you see what's happening?" Alex said.
He gestured toward the battlefield around them.
"We're outmatched."
His voice grew firmer.
"We can't win this fight."
Alex pointed toward Caelan and Maelis.
"Look at them. Look at us."
"We need to get out of here."
"You all need to quit the tournament right now!" he shouted.
For a brief moment, nobody replied.
The silence only made Alex more uneasy.
Then a playful voice drifted across the battlefield.
"Wow. Look who's trying to run away."
Alex immediately turned.
His eyes narrowed.
Caelan and Maelis were standing a few meters away from them.
Neither of them looked tired.
Neither of them looked injured.
In fact, they looked completely relaxed.
That alone was terrifying.
"Unfortunately for you people, your time of grace has passed," Maelis said.
A cold smile spread across her face.
"It's time for all of you to die."
She slowly raised her hand.
Blue energy gathered around her arm.
The energy twisted and condensed, reshaping itself before everyone's eyes.
Within seconds, her hand had transformed into a large futuristic-looking weapon.
Bright blue light pulsed along its surface.
The weapon hummed with power.
At the same time, Caelan raised his own arm.
His hand underwent the same transformation.
Blue energy flashed.
A second weapon appeared.
The two identical guns glowed intensely as they pointed directly at the Wyndhams.
Alex immediately felt danger.
Real danger.
The kind that made every instinct scream.
His grip tightened around his axe.
Beside him, the others stiffened.
Even those who could barely stand instinctively prepared themselves.
"Goodbye, Wyndhams," Maelis said.
The weapons began charging.
A deep humming sound filled the battlefield.
Blue energy gathered at the barrels.
More.
And more.
And more.
The air itself seemed to tremble.
As the energy built up, a chilling cold spread across the area.
The temperature dropped so quickly that goosebumps appeared on everyone's skin.
The ground beneath their feet started forming thin layers of frost.
Then—
"HOWLOOOOOOO!!!"
A massive howl exploded across the battlefield.
The sound was so loud that it seemed to shake the air itself.
Everyone froze.
The howl had come from somewhere nearby.
Then another followed.
"HOWLOOOOOOO!!!"
And another.
"HOWLOOOOOOO!!!"
The howls echoed from multiple directions at once.
Dozens of them.
Maybe more.
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
Even Caelan and Maelis stopped charging their weapons for a brief moment.
Then, without warning, a system notification appeared before everyone's eyes.
[Congratulations!!!]
[If you have survived in the tournament for this long, you have entered the Mid-Level Stage of the Tournament.]
[All clans that have survived this phase are now classified as Mid-Stage Clans.]
[Mid-Level Challenge Unlocked.]
[Challenge Name: Endless Monsters]
The messages floated in the air before every participant.
The Wyndhams saw them.
The Synapse Circle saw them.
Across the entire tournament grounds, every surviving fighter received the exact same notification.