Amyra and Nyx halted their blades inches from each other’s necks as the air itself cracked open, demons pouring out from the rupture. At their lead stood two Overlord-rank demon generals.

The horde remained still for only a few moments before descending. They surged downward, attacking students and spectators alike. Some of the demons moved away from them, heading straight toward the arena where Amyra, Nyx and other finalists stood.

Amyra and Nyx looked at each other in a silent understanding.

"We will finish this later."

With that, both of them moved. The barrier around the arena had already receded as soon as the attack had began.

—

Meanwhile, Alden had also stopped his fight with Cedric as he pulled out a healing potion and a mana potion from his storage ring and drank them both without hesitation.

But he didn’t act immediately and instead analysed the situation calmly.

That bastard... Jeremy.

So, he chose today.

He clenched his fist, blaming himself for not noticing Jeremy’s movement earlier. Still, there was one thing that brought him some relief was the fact that Aziel and Cecilia weren’t here. They had left the island just this morning to meet up with Zephyr.

Just then, a massive explosion erupted from the direction of the VIP box, pulling his attention toward it as he saw Alaric locked in combat with one of the Overlord generals. He pushed the demon away from the arena, likely to avoid further casualties.

Vespara and Seles, who were present there before, were nowhere to be seen now but Alden didn’t care enough about them anyway.

So, he didn’t bother looking for them and instead his eyes shifted towards Amyra and Nyx who were cutting their way through the horde of demons, heading in his direction.

On another side, Lucien was also engaged, holding his ground against the demons, which seemed even more dense near him.

But no matter where Alden looked, he couldn’t find Jeremy. He was certain that bastard was behind all of this.

And yet...

Where the hell was he?

Alden pulled out a small red button from his pocket.

It was something given to him by Cipher when she had come to meet him earlier. She had told him to press it when Jeremy set his plans into motion. According to her, it was some kind of teleportation artifact, one that would summon an executive of the Luminous Accord.

Should I press it...?

He hesitated but before he could think further, several elite demons lunged at him. Cedric, not far away, was already engaged with two others.

Alden ducked, narrowly avoiding an attack aimed straight at his neck,his sword appearing in his hand immediately as he attacked forward, piercing straight through the abdomen of the demon in front of him.

Another attacked from his right.

Alden moved his blade, still stuck in the abdomen of the first demon, without hesitation as the demon was split in half. Immediately mana surged through his weapon, accelerating his strike as it sliced cleanly through the second demon’s neck.

They are too weak...

Alden noted.

Probably just meant to draw attention.

Even so, as he continued cutting them down, his gaze swept across the battlefield searching for Jeremy.

But instead of Jeremy, Alden spotted someone else moving.

Seles.

Instead of fleeing like the others, she was moving swiftly toward Lucien, her expression cold.

Alden frowned.

What is she doing here?

Is she actually here to help that Simp Lucien?

That only made it more confusing. From everything he knew, she wasn’t the type to help anyone, let alone Lucien, who didn’t need help dealing with a few demons.

But before he could think further, more demons lunged at him. He moved instinctively, his blade and fists cutting through them in quick succession. By the time he looked again, Seles was already close to Lucien.

Alden almost dismissed it, assuming she had come to help him but in that very moment, Seles moved. A massive sword of shadows formed in her grasp as she struck at completely unguarded Lucien.

Alden’s eyes widened.

What the hell is she doing...?

His body moved before his thoughts could catch up.

His sword of chaos shifted its form, turning into a long spear. He gripped it tightly in his hand as light mana surged through it.

It glowed a brilliant gold as he hurled it at her with everything he had.

SWISH!!!

He didn’t care about Lucien in the slightest. But the world was different. Lucien was in a way the chosen one of this world, around whom it revolved. Alden didn’t know what would happen if he died or more importantly... he didn’t want to deal with useless troubles.

—

Lucien sensed the attack and turned as well but as soon as he saw Seles instead of some demon, his eyes trembled as he couldn’t believe his own vision. Even as he saw the sword coming for his neck, he couldn’t move.

"Why...?"

The word slipped from his lips, filled with disbelief and sorrow. Even now, he wanted to believe it wasn’t real. Maybe she was being controlled. Maybe this was all some kind of illusion.

But the attack and the countless system windows flashing before his eyes felt far too real. Still, he refused to accept it.

"Because you stupid fool was always just a stepping stone for me." Seles said coldly. "And if I can climb higher by killing you... then why not?"

Lucien’s eyes blurred as tears rolled down through them but even after hearing her cold words, even as death was right before him, he didn’t hate her.

He prepared himself to accept his end but just as he closed his eyes, hoping the nightmare would end soon, something moved through the air at blinding speed.

Seles sensed it at the very last moment, twisting her body out of the way as the spear grazed her arm slightly, drawing crimson blood into the air.

She stumbled backward a few steps as the trajectory of her strike changed and instead of his neck, her blade slashed through his left arm, severing it cleanly.

"ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Lucien screamed, collapsing to the ground as blood poured out from his severed arm. He clutched it tightly, trying to stop the bleeding but it was of no use.

Still, he moved his body sideways as he looked toward the source of the attack. And there, through his blurred vision, he saw Alden. He was standing in the distance, his expression serious and his lips moving as if saying something but Lucien couldn’t hear it.

All he could think was,

Why did he help me?

—

"Fucking simp."

Alden exhaled slowly as he saw that Seles had failed to land the killing blow.

Tch... I missed it.

He had aimed for her head but because of her quick reaction, he only managed to graze her arm. Still, this wasn’t over. In the next instant, his figure vanished, moving at full speed toward her platform.

Seles had already recovered from her initial shock and was preparing to attack Lucien who was lying on the ground helplessly but Alden had no intention of giving her that chance.

It seems...

It’s finally time to put that bitch down for good.