Lucia put her daggers back in her sleeves and thrust both hands forward. "Divine Destruction!"
Before Sun's grin could even fade, the stone arena floor beneath Team Five shattered, forcing them to scatter and separating them from one another.
"What the—?!" Dip yelled, digging his boots into the stone to stop his momentum.
Through the rising cloud of dust and debris, a single shadow glided straight through the gap, aiming directly at Sun's throat.
Dip lunged forward to stop Lynx, but he never made it two steps.
SWOOSH.
A blue blur flashed across his vision. Before Dip could reach Lynx, Rey was already standing directly in his path.
"Sorry, bro," Rey chuckled, his eyes filled with excitement. "The boss ordered a 1v1 with your leader. You're fighting the level 100 worker today. Beat me, and then you get to fight the level 10 mafia boss."
Dip didn't care about the joke. He rushed straight at Rey, throwing a heavy punch toward his jaw. Rey didn't dodge, taking the blow directly, but he remained unmoved.
"You might need a weapon for this," Rey said. He grabbed Dip's arm and threw a quick counter-punch to his chest, but Dip endured it, grabbed Rey's right shoulder, and twisted it, dislocating it with a sharp pop.
"Ouch... bro, that hurts! What did you do?!" Rey winced as his grip on Dip weakened. Dip broke free and jumped backward.
"This is real martial arts," Dip said, raising his guard. "Skill beats raw talent. Come at me. I need to see how much Lynx has grown through you."
Rey looked down at his left hand, then grabbed his right arm and popped it back into place.
"True... I didn't experience any real training back then," Rey muttered to himself. "I'm just relying on raw power. How can I be this weak?"
He looked up, his gaze darkening as his posture shifted. "You want to see skills, right? Fine. I'll show you how it feels when you can't do anything at all."
Rey's killing intent erupted, making Dip flinch for a second.
Rey rushed in like a leopard, throwing a straightforward jab directly at Dip's face.
The punch connected cleanly against Dip's jaw, sending him stumbling back. Dip nearly collapsed, but he forced his legs to lock, refusing to fall.
Both of their spirits were at their absolute peak. Dip fought with everything he had to reach Lynx no matter what, even if his body broke.
Rey fought to prove that his new life meant something, that his parents' sacrifices weren't in vain, and that he wouldn't fail here.
...
On Lucia's side, she faced Lif. Something felt wrong about him. His presence was thin and slimy, like a snake hiding in the grass.
Lif threw a barrage of hidden knives at her as he closed the distance, a creepy smile on his face.
Lucia flared her mana, releasing a blinding flash of light to blind Lif. In that split second, she speed-blitzed behind him, aiming a clean strike at his neck to knock him out.
But Lif had anticipated it. He spun around mid-air, slicing a poisoned blade across her left arm before her hit could connect.
Lucia ignored the pain, executing a quick roundhouse kick straight into his face.
The impact launched Lif backward, sending him sliding across the arena floor and tumbling out of bounds. He lay there face down, completely unable to move.
The referee began counting. "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10! Out of bounds!"
{Why would they send someone that weak to fight?} Lucia thought, turning her head back toward the center of the field. {I should go help Rey—}
Her vision suddenly blurred. Lucia coughed out dark blood and fell to her knees, her vision going black as the poison took effect. "Wh—What is this..."
She collapsed onto the stone floor, unconscious.
...
While Lynx was locked in a high-speed clash with the masked fighter, Sun yelled, "Aren't you going to save her, Lynx?! If you leave the boundaries right now, you might still have time to treat that poison!"
Lynx kept exchanging strikes with the masked opponent, his expression unreadable and completely silent.
Sun laughed, "So you finally realize it, huh? You can never be a real leader."
Suddenly, a cold chill ran down Sun's spine. He felt an intense presence right behind his neck.
He turned around instantly, but there was nothing there, just empty air. Sun swallowed, catching his breath.
With a swift parry, Lynx sliced off the masked fighter's mask, revealing Karti's face. Lynx's eyes didn't even flicker.
Karti kicked Lynx's knee to break his stance, then darted to his blind spot, delivering a rapid series of slashes across Lynx's back.
Lynx fell forward, but another Lynx suddenly appeared right behind Karti, driving a dagger down toward his shoulder.
Karti reacted instantly, spinning around to slash the figure, only for it to vanish into thin air.
"Behind you!" Sun yelled.
That gave Lynx time to get right behind Karti, plunging his dagger deep into Karti's back before letting go of the weapon.
Lynx immediately turned and sprinted toward the edge of the arena, ripping off part of his shirt to bind his bleeding back. He leaped past the boundary lines and began patching his wounds.
Isbell began counting. "1!"
{This is a huge risk... but until they can stand on their own without me, I have to keep holding this team together with my own hands.}
Karti noticed Lynx stepping out of bounds. Driven by desperation, Karti ran out of the arena bounds himself, leaping toward Lynx to finish him off.
"What are you doing?!" Sun screamed at Karti.
Before Karti could land, Lynx split into multiple illusions. Every clone prepared to strike at once, confusing Karti completely.
From behind, the real Lynx locked his arms around Karti's waist, executing a German suplex that slammed Karti back inside the arena boundary while Lynx remained outside.
"5!" Isbell kept counting for Lynx.
Lynx pulled a small green pill from his clothes and popped it into his mouth. Karti pushed himself up, his eyes bloodshot. Karti charged back out of the boundary, channeling every bit of his remaining aura into one final strike.
"1!" Isbell began counting for Karti.
Karti's blade slashed clean through Lynx's neck, but the body dissolved into mist once again.
By the time Karti turned back toward the field, Lynx was already inside, rushing straight toward Sun at full speed.
"So you use dirty tricks too, huh?!" Karti sneered.
Before Lynx could reach Sun, Karti sprinted back inside the boundary from behind, grabbing Lynx's arm to freeze his movement. With his free hand, Karti plunged his knife directly into Lynx's chest, piercing his heart.
Lynx's eyes went wide, and his body went completely limp, falling onto the cold stone floor.
"Good job, Karti!" Sun clapped, laughing hysterically.
...
Farther across the field, Rey and Dip, both bruised and bleeding from pushing each other to their limits, stopped mid-strike.
Rey looked over at Lynx's body, his knees buckling beneath him. "Lynx... hey... get up... LYNX! WAKE UP!"
Rey stumbled toward him, tears streaming down his face. "You were my first friend..."
The roaring crowd in the stadium went dead silent. A few audience members wearing Team Five shirts took them off in disgust and threw them into the field.
Rey looked over at Lucia's limp body. She was still breathing, but the poison was spreading fast.
Without hesitation, Rey got up and ran over, scooped her up into his arms, and turned toward the exit.
He crossed the arena boundary line, eliminating himself from the match. He didn't care about the tournament or his objectives anymore. He wasn't going to let another friend die.
Rey ran through the dark tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving through the empty resignation hall.
"I can heal her!" an old voice called out from a run-down shop just outside the stadium grounds.