I quickly slipped out of the smoke and saw several humanoids attacking the barrier protecting my two sisters.
"Hah, pointless… that barrier can withstand attacks from even a Grandmaster-level opponent."
Just as I was proudly boasting about the barrier my master had given me, I saw cracks beginning to form on it.
"What?! How is that possible!!"
Didn't my master say this barrier could withstand Grandmaster-level attacks for two hours? How could it already be breaking?
"Could it be…?"
"System, is everything here suppressed to Low Silver Stage?"
[Correct]
I had a strong urge to curse the ancestors of the past generations for enforcing such a ridiculous rule in the Chaos World.
Without wasting time, I immediately retreated from the battlefield and deactivated the effect of Disparaître.
Then I grabbed Chaos, Void, and Fire arrows and fired them with the (Multiply) spell.
The Chaos Arrow struck the mages and sword wielders, causing them to quickly turn and fight each other. Meanwhile, the Fire Arrow created a wall of flames between the archers, and the Void Arrow swiftly shattered several shield-bearing humanoids.
I didn't use the Star Rain Technique because it might hit the barrier protecting my sisters. Instead, I quickly pulled out my regular arrows and added the spells (Acceleration), (Penetration), (Target Lock), and (Multiply) to them.
Most of my mana was drained in the process. Just as I took a deep breath from exhaustion, a dagger came flying straight at me. Realizing I couldn't dodge it in time, I twisted my body to avoid a fatal blow.
Several daggers pierced into my arm, thigh, and shoulder. I quickly activated the (Puncture) spell, and before the humanoids could react, sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground, impaling those near me.
Meanwhile, as I was being assaulted by the barrage of daggers, Shopia nearly fainted watching the scene unfold.
Just as I managed to kill them all, I forced myself to pull out the daggers embedded in my body.
"Hah… it's finally over…"
But just as I was about to rest, another dagger suddenly appeared and shot straight toward my chest. Too exhausted and unable to move, I couldn't dodge it. I could only watch helplessly as the blade aimed for my heart. The scene sent everyone watching my battle into a state of panic.
As the dagger was about to pierce my heart, several purple and silver runes suddenly lit up across my body, emitting a blinding light that forced me to close my eyes. After a moment, I opened them again — and saw two beautiful women standing before me.
"My master… and who is that woman beside her?"
Before I could even ask, I saw the humanoid in front of me explode and die. Then the two women turned their gazes toward me. I was about to speak, but when I met their eyes, I froze.
Their eyes were cold, filled with seething rage — rage that burned intensely. But before anything else could happen, a giant hand coiled around their bodies and forcibly pulled them out of the Chaos World.
In the system monitoring chamber, everyone held their breath as they watched the dagger aimed at Zeref's heart. Shopia's own heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
But just as despair set in, a bright light enveloped Zeref, and suddenly two women appeared before him. One had purple hair, and the other had silver hair with long, pointed ears — the hallmark of the elf race. Each of them grabbed a humanoid by the face and crushed them effortlessly.
As the two women turned toward Zeref, a massive hand wrapped around them, dragging them out of the Chaos World. Moments later, they appeared inside the system monitoring chamber. Everyone in the room tensed up, and Shopia quickly stepped forward to ease the tension.
"They're not enemies… that one is the Saint Archer."
"And you are?" Shopia asked in confusion, as she did not recognize the other woman.
"I am Erina Bevallig. You probably know me as the Saint Spear. Oh, and by the way, Zeref is also my student."
"Erina, this is not the time for jokes," Aprilia said, her voice full of anger.
"Ara-ara-ara… I'm not joking. Zeref is my student too. Even though I haven't passed down my spear techniques to him, at the very least, he's inherited my cooking techniques."
Erina's words shocked everyone in the room — Aprilia and Shopia the most.
Shopia knew that two years ago, Zeref had learned cooking from someone. But as far as she knew, the one who taught him was an old man named Alevi, who owned a small restaurant in her territory.
Aprilia, on the other hand, stared at Erina angrily. A feeling of loss welled up inside her — as if her disciple's affection had been stolen by Erina.
The others didn't realize what Shopia and Aprilia were thinking. They began observing both Aprilia and Erina from head to toe with great curiosity — even Theresia was intrigued.
Aprilia and Erina were indeed rare women who had become Saints. They served as inspirations for many young girls aspiring to follow in their footsteps.
But Aprilia and Erina paid no attention to the people around them. Their focus was solely on the screen — more precisely, on the image of Zeref, who was currently bleeding. A murderous aura began leaking from their bodies, spreading through the room and causing everyone except Lidya to freeze in fear.
"Stop that killing intent, both of you."
Lidya reminded them to suppress their murderous aura. Soon, the killing intent faded. Silence filled the room for a full minute before Aprilia finally broke it.
"What happened?"
Three words — cold and emotionless. That was all she said. Shopia stepped forward to explain the situation.
As Aprilia listened to the explanation, her killing intent surged again. Once Shopia finished, Aprilia took a deep breath to control her anger.
"Why did you let this happen?"
This time it was Erina who spoke, unleashing her Saint-level power, forcing everyone in the room to step back from the overwhelming pressure.
"Enough!"
Lidya shouted, releasing her power to suppress Erina's.
"Hmph."
Aprilia wasn't about to be outdone — she released her own power to counter Lidya.
"Do you two want to become enemies of the Helios Kingdom?"
Lidya roared, unsheathing her sword.
The atmosphere grew tense, though the fight had not yet started. Aprilia and Erina withdrew their powers and turned their focus back to the screen.
The seventh round had now begun — and Zeref did not seem ready.
POV: Zeref
I was still thinking about the silver-haired woman who had suddenly appeared alongside my master. Not long after, I collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Blood was pouring from several wounds, and I was on the brink of death. If I didn't treat myself now, I was certain I'd die from blood loss. My ears rang from the screams of my sisters, and my head was filled with countless useless thoughts.
"S-System… q-quick, give me a regeneration pill to drink…"
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