In the middle of the arenaânow a scene straight out of the apocalypseâa young woman with tangled pink hair stood trembling and gasping for breath, soaked in sweat, her eyes glassy and unfocused. She had technically won, unleashing overwhelming magic to claim victory... but her condition was barely any better than the one she had just annihilated.
Sure, unlike her opponent, she still had her voluptuous body and some semblance of charm leftâbut she looked one step from deathâs door. If sheâd just been drenched in blood, maybe it wouldnât have raised too many alarms. But it was hard to overlook the fact that she was quite literally leaking brain matter from her earsâGod knows what else was oozing from the rest of her.
It was a grotesque enough sight to make several hardened soldiers gag on the spot. The more sensitive among them sprinted to the nearest trench to vomit, unintentionally "baptizing" a defensive line meant to fend off enemy archersâonly to be used first by their own allies. The coppery stench of scorched flesh and corrupted blood mixed with the powdery ash from the blast zone, baking into the nostrils of everyone nearby like a curse that wouldnât wash off.
Esya, completely unfazed by the retching around her, was still somehow standingâher jaw clenched so hard it was a miracle her teeth hadnât shattered. Even more astonishing: she was barely conscious. Her body swayed in the heat-haze like a candle flame ready to go out at the slightest gust.
The awe-inspiring flames that had taken down her enemy were now long gone, reduced to a faint halo of white fire shimmering with green and gold undertonesâthe Aethers of Constitution and Vitality working overtime just to keep her alive. Honestly, it was a miracle sheâd had enough wits left to perform even the most basic healing procedures. Her legs buckled slightly as she staggered forward, every step echoing with defiance against the laws of biology.
The cost of her final attack was higher than any spectator could have possibly imagined.
Still, it wasnât enough. Without their Faction Passive, sheâd already be dead. If they did nothing, sheâd drop dead in the next minute or two. Each breath was shallow and labored, her lungs whistling like a winded forge.
Jake was just about to step in when he saw her pull out a small vial of silver liquid. He recognized it instantlyâDigestor Blood.
It hadnât been that long since heâd battled Sinewshades and Voidshifters in the BX9684 Magnetic Resonator. There was no mistaking that fluidâthick with lifeforce and malevolence. It seemed to pulse within its container, like it had a will of its own.
Will and the others had spent four years fending off wave after wave of Space Digestors. The number of alien pests theyâd butchered was probably somewhere in the hundreds of millionsâmaybe even billions. The amount of blood theyâd collected was beyond reckoning. And every drop of it was a coin flip between salvation and damnation.
Jake was painfully aware of the risks of Corruption now and would never have dared drink the stuff unless he had no other choice. Still, the boost it gave to regenerationâespecially from such a high-ranking Digestorâwas undeniable. And the blood in Esyaâs vial was clearly potent.
But as soon as she uncorked it and raised it to her lips, his assessment changed.
Unlike the typical toxic malevolence that radiated from unrefined Digestor Blood, this batch was strikingly pure. Somehow, the blood had been processedâcleansed and fortified with other rare substances to magnify its effects while dramatically reducing the side effects. It smelled different, tooânot just of iron and venom, but of sanctified earth, like the remnants of a holy ritual.
It wasnât flawless, but the fact that such a method even existed proved that this worldâs scientists and Aetherists werenât completely helpless against Corruption. Jake ran a mental scan over the silvery fluid with meticulous care... and couldnât help but sigh quietly.
"What a shame..."
he thought, shaking his head in disappointment. No matter how sophisticated the magical and chemical processing, the taint of Corruption lingeredâlike cockroaches in a slum apartment. You could fumigate the place, but they always came back.
In the end, Corruption wasnât something you could truly stop. Only slow down. The soldiers on the frontlines drank so many potions made from this so-called "refined" Digestor Blood, they were bound to flip sides eventually. It was just a matter of time.
Once her wounds were stabilized, Esya wobbled her way toward the spectator stands in a ragged flight path, then collapsed to the ground before Jake and the others, safely out of sight from the crowd.
Ashamed, she lifted her eyes, searching for Jakeâs gazeâonly to freeze the instant their eyes met.
Heâs... sad.
The fact that he was sad or worried shouldâve comforted her. But the disappointment etched on his faceâand that look of
"figures"
âcut deeper than any blade.
Itâs over...
she thought bitterly, her face somehow growing even paler.
Jake helped her up like a perfect gentleman, even channeling his own Aether into her to heal the last of her wounds. But his kindness, his concernâonly made the emotional pain worse.
In that moment, she couldnât even register the fact that he was holding her hand... or how fast her wounds, even her soul, were regenerating. His Aether felt like life itselfâcapable of bringing someone back from the brink of death.
Just not her shattered pride.
"All done," Jake said, releasing her hand with an unreadable expression. Xi, who had direct access to his thoughts, felt her core sink like a stone. His emotions werenât hidden from herâand what she sensed chilled her.
Itâs over... Convincing him to rely on others after this mess will be next to impossible.
Both women shared similar thoughts... but Xiâs were far graver.
[Donât throw away everything we discussed just because of this result.] she warned softly, but his response shattered her heart.
âIm not throwing it away. I just donât want to risk the people I care about when I can do the dirty work myself.â
[No leader can succeed without learning to use their people wisely. And your friends will never grow if you keep them locked in a golden cage. Havenât they survived just fine without you? Trust them!]
For a brief second, Jakeâs expression twisted with angerâfinally breaking the icy mask heâd been wearing.
"Before was before. Now is now," he said coldly, making his companions flinchâEsya most of all.
They immediately understood he wasnât talking to them, but to his Oracle AI. And yet, everyone somehow grasped the weight of his words. A shiver ran down their spines, instinctively dreading the decision he had just made.
"From now on, Iâm setting the pace." Jake declared, scanning his friends one by one before fixing his cosmic, emotionless gaze on Esya and her sister. "I get it. You wanted to prove yourselves, and youâve come a long way. I see that. Youâre not a burden. I am. Iâm a shitty boss. Iâm not meant to lead or give orders. I tried playing the strategy game... and sure, I could win it, as long as I treat you all like disposable pieces on a board."
"Some part of me thought I could win without sacrificing anyone. But this fight made it crystal clearâIâve been lying to myself. Thereâs only one piece I fully trust. Only one Iâm willing to sacrifice to get the job done. And thatâs me."
"...Are you saying weâre useless?" Asfrid asked, voice tight with unease.
Jake shot her a razor-sharp lookâbut just as he opened his mouth to reply, Maniâs awkward cough broke the tension.
Everyone turned toward the K-pop idol lookalike, suddenly placing him center stage.
"Whatâs up?" Will asked with forced warmth, silently thanking him for the perfect timing. This conversation didnât need to go any further.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
"Sorry, but after the last match..." Mani hesitated, visibly torn.
"...Spit it out."
Pressed by the rest of the Myrtharian Nerds, Mani slumped in defeat and confessed:
"After Esyaâs duel... none of my men want to fight."
Will frowned. "Not even Zelorian Quen or Kang Jun?"
"Theyâre afraid of revealing too much in front of everyone," Mani admitted, running a hand through his hair with a sheepish laugh. His mannerisms mimicked Cho Min Hoâs to perfection.
"What a joke," Enya sneered, glaring daggers at the two Players. She and her sister had perfected that lookâthe kind that made you want to crawl into a hole.
Truth was, even those two cocky bastards werenât confident they could win after watching her sister get steamrolled. Arrogant? Sure. Stupid? Not that much.
Will, Enya, and Asfrid looked about ready to roast Mani alive, when Jake suddenly said:
"Perfect timing. If no one wants to fight, itâs time to end this ridiculous tournament."
"Butâ"
Before anyone could stop him, Jake vanished. A thought was all it tookâhe teleported into the center of the arena.
The Lustra Plainsâ camp, still reeling from their earlier loss, was busy arguing among themselves when they noticed the lone figure standing at the center.
Then silence fellâabrupt and absolute. A dreadful chill gripped every soul present.
There was only one man in the arena, but the solemn, overwhelming aura that radiated from him felt like death incarnate. The leaders of the Radiant Conclave sensed it too. And they feared what came next even more than their subordinates.
As expected, the sentence dropped like a guillotine:
"From now on... Iâm your opponent. All of you. Come."