Time was running like sand slipping through an hourglass.
Every second brought us closer to the end of the First Branch, and we had finally been discovered—or at least, I thought we had. The tired-looking fairy who had been traveling with the arrogant noble had stopped and stared toward our hiding place. Neither Alysa nor I moved. We couldn't even confirm whether he had actually seen us.
Maybe he had only been looking at the bushes. Maybe he had noticed something strange. All I could do was remain still and hope he would move on. After several long seconds, his tired eyes finally shifted away. He didn't look back.
I quietly released the breath I had been holding.
"Uff... looks like he didn't see us."
Alysa didn't answer immediately.
"Hmm..."
I glanced at her.
"Did you see his eyes?"
Where had that come from?
I was about to complain about her strange observation when I noticed her expression. There was something different about it. Her usual cheerful face had disappeared, replaced by something much quieter. I frowned and lowered my voice.
"Hey, brat."
She looked at me.
There was a strange sadness in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
She didn't answer.
I studied her for a moment before asking again, more carefully this time.
"Did something happen? Or is there something else bothering you?"
Alysa intertwined her fingers.
"I really don't like people being forced to live petty lives. A life bound to fate... or something similar."
Her voice was unusually quiet.
"I hate it."
That came from somewhere deep.
I looked back toward the fairy we had just seen.
Was she talking about him?
His eyes had looked exhausted. Not physically exhausted, either. There had been something behind them that I couldn't quite understand. Something empty. Something that made him look as though he was simply moving because he had no reason not to.
Was Alysa's belief showing itself again?
She wanted everyone to be happy.
Maybe that was simply how she saw the world.
"You mean you want everyone to be happy like you?"
She slowly exhaled.
"It's not the time to chat."
For some reason, she sounded like a senior scolding me.
I almost laughed.
"Fine. Then let's move."
We couldn't afford to stay there any longer.
I gathered the wind around us and lifted Alysa with me, carrying us high above the branch. We climbed far enough that the participants below became little more than moving figures between the enormous leaves and roots. Everyone near the Voilà spell was watching the ground, the surrounding bushes, or the other competitors.
Almost no one was looking up.
That was exactly what we needed.
From above, I finally saw it.
A light.
A huge circular formation glowing against the surface of the branch.
The Voilà spell.
It was covered in strange symbols, written in a language I couldn't immediately understand. Lines of magical energy ran through the formation, converging toward a central altar-like structure. Above that altar floated something small and strange, suspended in the air like a fragment of a key.
Alysa stared at it.
"I've tried reading magic books before, but this is extraordinary. It's definitely a complicated spell."
She turned toward me.
"When did you read those kinds of books?"
"What?"
"And if you did read them, why were you reading them alone?"
I stared at her.
"Can you come up with a plan instead of random bullshit?"
She looked offended.
I ignored her.
Something else had caught my attention.
The bushes.
There were people everywhere.
Countless fairies were hiding around the Voilà spell. Some were lying flat beneath the leaves. Others had concealed themselves behind roots or used magic to hide their presence. Some were clearly waiting for the spell's cooldown to end, while others were waiting for someone else to make the first move.
The spell itself was almost full.
Light continued gathering inside its formation.
So that was how it worked.
The Voilà spell was probably in a cooldown state, and once the light completely filled the formation, another group could use it to advance.
The formation wasn't particularly large, either.
Five people.
Maybe six at most.
That meant every second mattered.
And it also meant something else.
Anyone who stepped onto that spell at the wrong moment would become the target of everyone nearby.
I looked at the people hiding around us.
They weren't waiting for the spell.
They were waiting for someone else to move first.
The moment one person exposed themselves, everyone else would know exactly where to attack.
A perfect ambush.
"Alysa," I whispered. "We need to wait for the right moment. When the cooldown ends, we'll jump onto the spell."
She remained silent.
Was she still annoyed because of what I had said earlier?
Damn.
I wasn't good at this.
She was annoying sometimes, but I didn't want her angry with me either.
I decided to try being nice.
Then she spoke.
"If I think about it like a game..."
I looked at her.
"...I have a solution."
A solution?
She continued carefully.
"I don't think waiting until the final moment and then jumping onto the spell is a good idea."
"Why?"
"Because everyone else is waiting for the same thing."
Her eyes remained fixed on the battlefield below.
"When the cooldown ends, everyone will move at once. We'll get caught in the battle between all the people who have been waiting for that exact moment. Even if we reach the spell, someone could attack us before we activate it."
I paused.
She was right.
Actually, she was very right.
I didn't like admitting it, but her reasoning made sense.
"Then what do you suggest?"
She thought for a moment.
"If this were a game..."
Her eyes sharpened.
"...I'd create a situation where everyone thinks they know what I'm going to do."
The air suddenly felt colder.
She explained her plan.
And by the time she finished, I couldn't help but stare at her.
That was good.
Really good.
I had been thinking only about my own abilities when creating our plans. Wind. Speed. Swordsmanship. Movement.
But Alysa had thought differently.
She had combined both of our abilities.
She had considered what she could do, what I could do, and how our opponents would react to it.
She had taught me something without even realizing it.
A team wasn't simply two people fighting beside each other.
A team was two sets of abilities becoming something neither person could create alone.
I nodded.
"Let's do it."
Then I added:
"I'll be the main target."
Alysa nodded.
We descended from the sky and landed farther away from the Voilà spell, in an area where no one appeared to be hiding.
I looked at Alysa.
She understood.
It was time.
She reached into her belongings and pulled out something small.
Then she used her Nature ability on it.
Green energy flowed across the object.
She approached me and held it out.
Before giving it to me, however, she hesitated.
"You'll be alright, right?"
I looked at her.
"It'll be dangerous."
"I know."
"But we're doing it anyway?"
She nodded.
I took the object.
"Then trust me."
She smiled faintly.
"I do."
I turned toward the Voilà spell.
It was time to introduce myself to the battlefield.
---
Beneath the EXIL TREE, in the Age of Teleportation, countless fairies had gathered to watch the tournament.
Huge flying golems carried magical stones that displayed the scenes being observed by other golems throughout the branches. It was almost like watching a live broadcast from another world. The distance between the branches should have made such communication impossible, yet the fairy kingdom had found a way.
The spectators cheered whenever a participant advanced.
They shouted whenever someone encountered a monster.
And every now and then, an entire crowd would erupt when something unexpected happened.
Among those watching was Bell.
She walked through the area with her maid while holding a book, desperately trying to concentrate on her studies.
It wasn't working.
Every few seconds, her eyes drifted toward one of the flying golem stones.
Her maid noticed.
"You can't hide your worries, Princess Bell."
Bell immediately looked away.
"Worries? What worries? I'm studying."
Her maid smiled and stepped closer.
"You can lie, but you can't hide it from me."
Bell's face became slightly red.
"You're talking nonsense."
"Are you worried about him?"
Bell didn't answer.
Her maid continued.
"We haven't seen his team pass the First Branch yet. I'm sure he'll appear soon."
Bell's expression became even more concerned.
"That's exactly the problem."
She closed her book.
"I know he's going to do something unreasonable."
Her maid raised an eyebrow.
"Unreasonable?"
"He always does something like this."
Bell looked toward the magical stone again.
"He'll probably come from above at the last second and somehow steal everyone's attention. He always likes doing things that way."
Her maid laughed quietly.
"You're already assuming what he's going to do."
"Because I know him."
The maid shook her head.
"Don't worry. I don't think even he would be foolish enough to simply walk into the most dangerous area on the branch."
She was wrong.
Because at that very moment, everyone near the Voilà spell was waiting for the same thing.
The cooldown was almost finished.
Every remaining participant had hidden themselves nearby.
Some were waiting behind barriers.
Some were concealed beneath bushes.
Some had prepared spells.
Others had drawn their weapons and were waiting for someone else to make the first mistake.
Nobody wanted to reveal themselves first.
Because the moment someone did, every hidden enemy would know where they were.
And then—
Someone walked out of the forest.
Slowly.
Casually.
Without hiding.
The participants noticed him before the spectators did.
A young man stepped into the open.
White hair rested against his face.
His expression was calm.
His eyes carried confidence.
It was Zaraf.
Bell's maid stared at the magical stone.
Her mouth slowly opened.
"...Oh."
Zaraf continued walking.
He placed one hand on the sword resting at his waist.
Then he entered the illuminated area of the Voilà spell.
The moment his foot touched the formation, countless killing intents erupted from the surrounding forest.
They weren't even trying to hide it anymore.
I smiled faintly.
"Looks like everyone noticed me."
Good.
That was exactly what i wanted.
I continued walking until i reached the center of the formation.
Then i stopped.
I stood directly on top of the Voilà spell.
The cooldown wasn't finished yet.
I estimated there were only a little more than two minutes remaining.
Two minutes.
That was all I needed to survive.
The magical image immediately displayed Zaraf to the spectators watching through the flying golems.
The entire audience reacted.
maid slowly closed her eyes.
Then opened them again.
She looked at the magical stone.
"...I thought he was an idiot."
The maid smiled.
"He's just as crazy as you were when you were younger.You two make a good match."
Bell didn't saw it . Because she was focusing on the book.
The cooldown wasn't finished.
Once it ended, every participant hiding around the spell would attack him.
He had willingly placed himself in the center.
He had made himself the most obvious target on the entire branch.
The maid sighed.
"He may be an idiot..."
She paused.
"...but he isn't crazy.right?"
I knew exactly what I was doing.
If I tried to enter the Voilà spell after the cooldown ended, I'd be stepping into a battlefield where everyone was prepared to attack whoever moved first.
But walking in before the cooldown ended was different.
Nobody expected it.
Nobody had a reason to attack me yet.
Some participants looked confused.
Others became alert.
Some refused to move because doing so would reveal their hiding places.
I could feel their bloodlust pressing against me from every direction.
They wanted me gone.
But none of them attacked.
Why?
Because attacking me now would expose them.
That was the beauty of it.
I had walked into the trap before the trap was ready.
Now they had a choice.
Reveal themselves...
Or let me stay.
I could feel nervousness creeping into my chest.
But beneath it was something else.
Pride.
I was standing in the middle of dozens of enemies, and none of them dared to make the first move.
Then I heard laughter.
My eyes shifted toward the sound.
Someone was approaching.
My expression changed.
Don't tell me...
Two figures emerged from the forest.
The same nobleman and his servant.
The noble boy looked at me.
Then his lips curved into a wicked smile.
"You thought you were going to have a show?"
He stepped forward.
"In my presence, no less?"
Arrogant.
That much was obvious.
But I couldn't understand why he had walked out so openly.
Was this also part of his plan?
I glanced at the servant behind him.
His expression remained emotionless.
His eyes, however...
They were different.
Cold.
Focused.
Almost as if he could see through every person hiding around the spell.
That man was the dangerous one.
The nobleman stepped forward.
He drew his sword.
"I am the eldest son of the Markius family."
His eyes narrowed.
"Arsius Markius."
He pointed his sword toward me.
"State your name."
I almost laughed.
Seriously?
He wanted introductions now?
I tightened my grip on my sword.
"I don't have time for this."
But the truth was that time was exactly what I needed.
The cooldown was almost over.
I needed everyone's attention focused on me.
And now I had it.
---
Elsewhere, a team of mages remained hidden beneath the bushes.
Their leader watched Zaraf and Arsius through a narrow gap between the leaves.
They had already constructed a barrier around themselves.
No one could easily see or sense them.
They had been waiting for the perfect moment.
And now someone had casually walked into the center of the battlefield.
A Creator.
The mage's expression became serious.
There were two Creators in their route.
Why would he walk out alone?
It didn't matter.
Whatever plan the Creator had, the result would be the same.
The moment the cooldown ended, they would strike.
The mage glanced at the spell.
The Voilà formation was protected by a seven-moon defensive spell. It couldn't simply be destroyed.
And as a three-moon mage, he could unleash a powerful enough attack to overwhelm the people standing around it.
He looked at his teammates.
They nodded.
When the cooldown ends, release the spell.
The same thought existed elsewhere.
Another group hid among the trees.
Swordsmen.
Their leader watched Zaraf carefully.
Lord Crassus warned us to be wary of Creators.
Two of them were already in this route.
Bad luck.
He narrowed his eyes.
Why is that white-haired one alone?
Were the two Creators not getting along?
Or was this part of their plan?
The swordsman looked toward the mage group.
They were definitely preparing something.
They'll probably unleash their spell the moment the cooldown ends.
He smiled faintly.
Then we'll wait.
Let the mages exhaust themselves.
Then the swordsmen would make their move.
Every group had a plan.
Every group thought they had calculated the battlefield.
And every group was waiting for the same moment.
The cooldown.
---
Arsius finally raised his sword.
The corner of his eyes shifted toward his servant.
"Be ready."
Servent remained silent.
"Don't hold me back. Do you understand, Zylas?"
Zylas nodded.
No expression.
No hesitation.
Arsius looked back at me.
"Let's begin, shall we?"
What confidence.
He was standing in a place where anyone could attack him from any direction.
And yet he looked completely certain of himself.
I took a slow breath.
Then drew my sword.
The blade came free with a quiet metallic sound.
I pointed it toward Arsius.
"Then there's no going back."
The timer continued falling.
01:11
One minute and eleven seconds until the Voilà spell's cooldown ended.
And above us, the spectators continued watching.
Nobody knew what was about to happen.
Nobody except me.
Because while every eye was fixed on the two people standing in the center...
Alysa was already making her move.
From the shadows.