The demon flicked his fingers, sending a wave of soft mana through the place. After that, Alaric suddenly felt a strange satisfaction around him. His chest felt lighter than ever, all his bleeding wounds healed instantly, and even the handcuffs on his wrists slowly faded away.
But that last part made him uncomfortable. His most useful weapon had vanished, leaving only the necklace wrapped around his fist.
"Fine. At least I'm in a better state."
Morris, who had been standing motionlessly nearby, stepped forward and said,
"Now, what kind of final challenge is this?"
The demon chuckled while admiring his restored body.
"Don't be hasty. Let me enjoy this mood for a bit."
After a minute, he finally stopped his weird movements and swung his longsword a few times before stabbing it into the ground. He sat down lightly beside the weapon, a mysterious smile aimed at the candidates.
"The final challenge. Well… I'm sorry, but only two candidates can continue… And now… uh, I guess you get what I mean."
Curry, with a cold expression, spoke up.
"Is that true? One of us has to die here?"
The demon grinned.
"I can lie, but when it comes to the rules of the challenge, I never do. After all, there's a god behind me—the kind who could kill me anytime."
Silence washed over the mountain peak.
Everyone fell into deep thought, especially the slave. He never imagined the damn rules could turn out like this.
He cursed the bastard demon. He was sure it was the demon—that guy—who came up with these brutal rules.
Now, if only two candidates could continue, that meant one of the three of them would die here. He tried to think positively, but when he recalled everything that had happened in hell…until now no one had survived, except them.
Over time, the three candidates ended up having the same thought…
One of them might be the only person who could pass through the gate of the nameless god and return to the real world. The other two would stay here and die.
A merciless challenge from the nameless god. At this moment, he finally understood what the principal had wanted to warn them about.
Alaric stepped back a little, carefully watching the geniuses' movements. He had to be ready for a fight no matter how hopeless it felt. If not, he'd die—he was the weakest one here. He assumed the candidates would tell him to die, or force him to give up the challenge, which would basically mean he'd die sooner or later anyway.
However, completely opposite to his expectations, the geniuses only gave him an indifferent glance and then ignored him, as if he was just some invisible rock lying around.
Alaric felt a sting of confusion, but then he slowly curled the corner of his lips.
"That's right. I understood. I'll take the slot first."
Sure enough, to decide who would die at this stage of the challenge, it would have to be one of the geniuses. Because none of them knew what the final challenge would be like. If the slave died now, the geniuses would start the final challenge immediately—but they'd be facing an unknown difficulty. It would be a challenge no one could predict, and no one could tell who'd win or lose.
If they handled it right now, it would be easier since it was just a pure fight. Once they finished their business, the final challenge would be a mission as easy as facing a weak and useless slave.
"What the fuck… why do I feel happy? Whoever I face, there's only one outcome: I'll die… but it depends on the rules of the next challenge. I shouldn't give up yet."
Curry let out a breath and said,
"Are you planning to kill me? After all, we went through childhood together. We're friends."
Morris held the silence for a long moment before speaking in an unfriendly voice.
"Sure, we're friends. That's why I told you not to step through the same gate as me. But now… I don't have a choice. Either way, you have to die here. If we start the final challenge together, it'll be unpredictable. I'm not as smart as you. If the challenge is some kind of strategy, I won't stand a chance against you. That's why I'm going to kill you here while I still have the advantage."
"You know you've never beaten me in a duel."
"Anyway, only one of us can survive. Why would I gamble on an unknown battle when I can kill you easily here and take the reward?"
Morris added coldly,
"Even if I'm not clever, you seem to have the same intention as me. If you didn't, you would've killed the slave the moment the demon declared it. If that pathetic worm had died, we would've started the final challenge already."
"I suppose you also want to start the final challenge without me."
Curry frowned; he didn't expect Morris to be this sharp. Indeed, he did have that intention. A bad feeling had crept up on him because he knew Morris had information about the challenge. He himself wasn't sure about starting the final challenge with Morris
Meanwhile, the slave's expression darkened after hearing their whole discussion. They treated him like a worm they could kill whenever they wanted.
"Alright. Just wait. I'll defeat you… somehow."
After several minutes, Morris and Curry finally arrived at a proper place to fight. Well, of course, the slave wanted to watch—perhaps it would help, more or less, to find their weaknesses. But when he looked into Curry's Stone Archer's cold, warning eyes, he just froze.
''So, I'll sit here.'' Alaric sighed and sat down on a rock, trying to catch the sounds of the battle across the stone platforms.
''So it's started already.'' He tilted his ears to the left.
He heard the dragon roar, then the deafening clash of weapons echoing nonstop. He guessed the battle was happening aggressively.
He looked up and saw something—stone arrows pouring from the air, followed by an explosion of flames.
Well, their summoned creatures were truly awesome. He wished he had a summon like that, but… thinking about his massive stone egg, he just sighed. His stone egg would be crushed to pieces if it fought against them.
At that moment, a soft voice rang out beside him.
''So, what do you think? Who will win?''
Alaric flinched, glancing quickly to the side. His heart nearly jumped out when he saw the demon.
''Hahaha… Don't be afraid. I won't harm you.''
Still, Alaric just stayed silent, scooting a little to put more distance between himself and the demon. He didn't want to talk to a sly, brutal demon. Yet, thinking about the demon's question, he had no clue who would win. He basically had zero information about the children of legendary clans.
But personally, he wanted that handsome guy to win. Anyway, he hated Morris, since that bastard had disrespected him more than enough.
''I bet the dragon boy will win,'' the demon said, smiling while looking ahead. It seemed the fight would end soon.