The arena hadn't quieted, not really. Not even close.
The roar still swelled and surged, and it wasn't until the announcer raised both arms and spun once with theatrical flair that the noise began to dip into something that sounded like silence.
He turned slowly, toward the opposite end of the ring.
"And now—!" the announcer bellowed. "The one being challenged for the Scourge Rite!"
Whispers returned. Confused ones.
But the announcer didn't explain. Not yet.
He held it.
"...What for?" he asked, his tone turning curious, almost innocent.
Then he looked up.
He lifted his hand, baton pointed directly at someone in the stands.
The light shifted just enough to catch her expression: unreadable, still.
The announcer grinned. "The maiden and her Silver Mane party, once among the kingdom's most treasured adventurers!"
A few gasps scattered through the crowd.
"Known throughout the Capital. A team of legends in their prime. But during what should've been a routine subjugation," his voice dropped low now, almost trembling with drama, "the quest zone twisted. Shifted. Became something far worse."
Leo didn't move.
The announcer swept one arm through the air like he was casting a spell of memory itself.
"A Dominion Ground," he said.
There it was.
The name dropped into the crowd like stone into still water. Everyone reacted. Small noises, sharp inhales, a few curses under their breath.
"Their party," the announcer continued, slower now, "was almost wiped out."
Silence.
And then—
"There was one survivor."
He gestured again.
"She placed a request," the announcer said, "for justice. A bounty like no other."
People leaned in. Even the floating platform seemed to tilt slightly, as if the magic itself wanted to hear what came next.
"To slay the DOMINION LORD."
The tension snapped tight enough to hum. Someone in the stands muttered something. Another elbowed their friend.
The announcer stepped toward the arena's edge, gaze sweeping the crowd like a blade.
"And the reward for such a feat?" he asked.
A pause.
Then a longer one.
He raised one hand again, dramatically, holding the final note like a bard before the chorus.
"None other…THAN HERSELF!"
The arena detonated.
Cheers. Screams. Stomps that shook the spell-reinforced floor. Magic surged into the air like heat off steel. The whole structure trembled under the sheer weight of reaction.
A firework exploded overhead in the shape of Amanda's guild crest, Silver Mane, glinting.
The announcer laughed, full and wild. "That's right! That's what's on the line!"
Then, he spun back toward the center. Toward Leo.
His arm dropped like a hammer.
"And the one who claims to have defeated the Dominion Lord!"
A pause.
A beat.
He pointed. "The VIP System user!"
The crowd turned.
And stared.
There were no cheers now.
Not yet.
The quiet was worse.
Then someone barked a laugh.
Another followed.
Then came the boos, short, sharp, disbelieving.
"You serious?!"
"That guy?!"
"This is the reason they made entry free?!"
"Thought it was a warm-up match!"
"Where's the real challenger!?"
Leo stood in the center of it, unblinking. The sound swirled around him, but it didn't land. Didn't touch. Like he'd flicked a switch deep inside himself and shut the rest of the world out.
His eyes found Amanda.
She was still in her seat, still watching.
Her hands were clasped tightly at her chest. Trembling. Her lips didn't move, but her eyes did. She wasn't looking through him.
She was with him.
He smiled.
Nodded once.
She didn't smile back.
But then, slowly, she nodded too.
And that was enough.
Leo turned back toward the ring's center.
The boos kept coming.
So did the jeers.
But none of it mattered.
Because he wasn't here for them.
He was here for her.
And for what he needed to prove.
Leo stepped forward.
The sound of it echoed.
Just his boots against the stone. Steady.
Ai followed without a word. The cats kept perfect balance, one on each shoulder.
But before they reached the center, the announcer raised one hand.
"Assistants can't step past the arc."
The floor responded before Ai could.
A glowing line bloomed across the ring. Thin and pale.
The announcer gestured toward the balcony, where the others—the monsters—waited like judges at a divine tribunal.
"Please join them."
Ai stopped and looked at Leo.
He didn't even turn.
I'm okay on my own, he thought, clean and quiet, directly into her mind.
The cats meowed at nothing in particular and curled tighter around her neck as she turned and made her way toward the seats.
The four were waiting.
The Burdado raised a brow but said nothing. The Dragon God? Didn't care.
The Winter Warlock, however, leaned forward, a fraction of an inch. Her icy gaze, previously fixed on the arena's center, now locked onto Ai. For a brief second, the serene mask of frost cracked, revealing a flash of sharp, scholarly focus.
She saw not a simple assistant, but an anomaly.
But as quickly, she settled back, her expression smoothing over once more. Filed the observation away, a new, intricate problem to be solved. After the current theatrics were concluded.
And the Astral Sovereign, who sat at the far right, fingers idly tracing a spell along her armrest, suddenly reached out.
With no effort at all, she picked Ai up like she weighed less than a whisper and placed her directly on her lap.
Ai blinked.
Then, just stared forward.
Something shifted in her. Quiet, internal.
"Interesting," she thought.
The Sovereign chuckled. Not unkindly. Her hand moved to the back of Ai's head, stroking gently. The cats immediately leaned into her touch, purring without shame.
But the silence broke again. Loud and fast.
"Wait, are you serious?" the Dragon Lord barked.
He stood now, arms out, disbelief stamped into every word.
"You're gonna fight me like this, with a blunt weapon? No shame left on that scrawny body of yours?"
Leo blinked.
It's the only one he got anyway.
The Sovereign laughed.
Amused.
"Oh, don't worry," she said. "That won't be a problem."
She kept one hand stroking Ai. With the other, she snapped her fingers once.
A ripple of light broke open in the air in front of Leo.
It hovered.
Liquid. Bright. Humming with something deep and endless.
Then it shifted.
Stretched.
Twisted.
A blade formed. Long, lean. Edged. It stopped, hovering vertically in front of him.
Leo reached out and took it without hesitation.
He took the hilt. It hummed against his palm, a warmth that felt less like metal and more like a part of his body.
Familiar in a way that made no sense.
And then came the cascade—
[System Notification] You have received: Reinforced Astral Sword!
He barely finished reading before more poured in like a broken dam.
[System Notification] Astral Phantom Fighting Style Activated!
[System Notification] Required Agility Achieved!
[System Notification] You have received passive skill: Astral Reflexes!
[System Notification] You have received passive skill: Dimensional Step!
[System Notification] Required Stamina Achieved!
[System Notification] You have received passive skill: Rift Guard!
His forehead curled as he held the sheathed sword closer to him.
Some items, like that one, grant their user special abilities.
He smiled after hearing Ai's voice.
In any world, information is precious. And he has access to a living archive that is Ai.
She continued, These special abilities are usually to help their user use the item to its full potential.
Thanks, Ai.
He then drew the sword. Slowly.
The Astral Sovereign shifted. Squirmed.
Not visibly, not to most. But her body leaned in. A tightness threaded through her spine. Too tight. Her fingers paused mid-stroke on Ai's hair.
Then—
It hit.
A jolt of something electric, but not magic. Older. Wilder. It surged through her limbs, humming beneath her skin, setting every nerve alight. Raw signal. As if the world itself whispered too loud for a second.
She inhaled sharply.
Her pupils dilated.
Even the cats felt it, both of them lifting their heads at the same time, ears twitching.
Ai didn't move. But she noticed. Of course she did.
The Sovereign's breath caught once. Then a final shiver rolled through her. Clean, slow, finishing something unnamed. She opened her eyes.
Locked.
Directly onto Leo.
No hesitation.
Not even a blink.
A long moment passed.
Then a slow, curling exhale slid from her lips. And something behind her gaze. Sharp, brilliant. Settled.
Her lips parted.
"Another one," she whispered.
That was all.
But a thought lingered; another monster was among them.