DING!
[Batch 4…]
The A.I notified the batch 4 applicants to enter the 10 combat arenas. Alongside them, Kairo also finally stepped into the arena.
It was his turn to fight for the third straight time in the combat phase.
He was lucky this time though. His opponent was heavily injured; he was heavily bandaged and he was limping. He was clearly near collapse from the strain of all the previous fights.
"He's at his end already!"
"Damn, muscle boy's lucky".
"I didn't think he would make it this far".
The crowd murmured in disappointment; scouts barely looked up, but Kairo didn't gloat. Staring into those cold eyes of his opponent that were filled with desperation and determination, he knew he could not take it lightly.
And so, clenching his fists tightly, as soon as the bell sounded, he took a deep breath, lunged forward and ended it in one clean strike.
No theatrics, no taunts, just straight up brutality.
His opponent was knocked unconscious instantly.
"Winner, Kairo Vale," the referee announced.
It was over in less than 10 seconds. Kairo walked off quietly, his focus already ahead. "One round at a time," he muttered.
The last 3 batches fought their battles and with it, the survivors made it to the next round of the combat phase. There were only 67 applicants remaining now.
The number was smaller now, and the margin for error was tighter.
Major Pain didn't interject this time, letting the system take it's course as the roulette glowed again, spinning rapidly. Silence descended over the coliseum as everyone vividly remembered the cruel rule.
Those few seconds of the roulette rolling felt like a death sentence to the surviving applicants who had done everything to make it this far.
And then…
DING!
[Disqualified: Elian Crowe]
The boy screamed, protesting, begging for another chance, but Major Pain just coldly glanced down from his floating platform as one of the instructors mercilessly teleported him out of the coliseum.
Major Pain didn't even blink. "Luck," he said. "Have it, or die by it".
The board updated.
[67 ~ 66 applicants remaining]
Major Pain announced Round 4. "This time, there are only four batches. 33 duels, 33 losers gone, 33 survivors".
He coldly reminded them. "Now there is no hiding behind fatigue or excuses. You fight until only killers remain".
The tension skyrocketed.
Looking at the applicants remaining, Kairo clenched his jaws. He could tell that every one of them remaining was an absolute powerhouse.
"I won't lose!" He snarled to himself.
Mira ended up in batch 1.
The coliseum hummed with energy as the hologram projected the first matchup of Round 4. After her electric breakthrough in the previous round, the audience had their eyes on her, and she made the main event in combat arena 1.
[Batch 1: Mira Everdrake vs Kaelin Drust]
Her opponent was a lean, flame-haired boy wielding dual flame whips. Each of them crackled with orange fire.
"It's fireboy!" The crowd quipped excitedly.
They knew him. Kaelin had carved his way through the rounds with ruthless efficiency, burning foes alive before they could even touch him.
But when Mira stepped forward, she was no longer the hesitate girl they remembered from the first trial. Her short brown hair clung to her face, her eyes blazing with conviction.
She wasn't smiling this time. Rather, her eyes were cold, calculating, and full of murderous intensity. 'Nothing shall stop me!' was the only thought ringing in her head like a mantra.
Right now, she was a storm contained within flesh.
Kaelin frowned.
DONG!
As soon as the bell rang, Kaelin struck first as his whips lashed through the air in twin arcs of fire. They hissed as they cut through the arena, aiming to coil and crush Mira right where she stood.
But Mira didn't dodge. Rather, she turned into a blur.
WHOOSH!
Wind burst from her legs in such thick waves that Kairo had never seen before, her body acceleration from 0 to 100kmph in an instant!
One moment she was standing still, and the next she was a streak of motion as her movement kicked up a gale that scattered dust across the platform.
The crowd gasped. "Fast…!"
Kaelin's whips struck the ground, carving molten trenches, but Mira was already inside his guard.
Her dagger gleamed, whistling as Gale Edge sharpened it into a blade of air. With her other arm, she activated Terra Guard, coating her skin in a stony sheen, making her a weapon of both speed and resilience.
It was mesmerizing to watch.
Kaelin tried to recoil, snapping a whip defensively, but Mira's earth-hardened forearm tanked the lash, stone splintering but holding.
Seeing her tank his deadly attack so effortlessly, Kaelin's eyes widened.
Her dagger flashed.
SHHHHK!
The first cut ripped across his chest like the grim reaper, drawing first blood. His breath hitched, his fire faltering as the stinging pain affected his concentration.
"Aghhh…!" With a growl, Kaelin tried to amp the heat, but Mira simply didn't let up.
She pressed in like a hurricane.
Wind wrapped her blade, each strike faster than the last, sharper. Her feet barely touched the ground as she darted from angle to angle, slashing, stabbing, and cutting through Kaelin's defenses like silk.
It was almost effortless seeing her do it.
He swung desperately, flames flaring, but every swing met either hardened stone or empty air. His confidence cracked with each wound Mira carved into him.
The crowd roared in disbelief. "She's overwhelming him…!"
Kaelin stumbled backward, eyes wide. "W-wait…!"
Mira's gaze was cold, merciless. "No more waiting. No more freezing". It almost felt like she was talking to herself, and it chilled Kaelin even more.
She surged one last time, wind screaming at her heels. Her dagger cut through his final whip, severing it mid-snap.
Before he could react, her earth-coated fist slammed into his jaw, snapping his head sideways. The blow spun him and in that same instant, her blade carved across his throat with ruthless precision.
"…!"
Blood sprayed.
Kaelin dropped his weapon, crumpling to the floor in a twitching heap.
The referee stepped forward. "Winner, Mira Everdrake".
Silence fell for a heartbeat, and then the crowd erupted in shock and awe. The timid girl who once froze under pressure had just butchered one of the tournament's top prospects in less than a minute!
The cheers and applause thundered in the coliseum.
Mira stood over her fallen opponent, dagger dripping, her chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. Her eyes, once shadowed by doubt now burned like sharpened steel.
She looked less like a girl, and more like a predator that had found its teeth.
From the stands, scouts murmured furiously. "Not only dual element synergy, battlefield evolution, and killer's resolve too… she's dangerous".
Now, they worried if she could actually go all the way to get the scholarship. They wanted her in their guilds now!
Mira turned and walked off the platform, every step steady despite her injuries. Her gaze flicked to Kairo across the waiting line.
Kairo didn't see hesitation; he saw someone who had crossed the line he knew too well, someone who had embraced the kill.
He smirked. 'I can't afford to slack'.