Cao Lei couldn't take it lying down and screamed at her: "I declare war on your territory Isla! I will see whether you have what it takes to dare enrage me so!"

Isla did not even back down and enraged him further: "I'd like to see that! Peh! Come, come, come! I'll kill as many of your bitches as you send!"

The both of them were ready to rage, to the point that war had been declared. This attracted the attention of the other experts for not even a second. The fight on the arena was many times more important. And to others, claiming what they won through their bets mattered even more. The final winner hadn't been decided but quite a lot could already be considered losers. They were to drop the treasures they bet on right here and right now first. It was with great pain and reluctance that they did so.

...

On the other hand, Min-Su recalled his hook back into one of his sleeves. Then, he jumped back and distanced himself from Jin. He knew Jin and he was aware that he was not someone to miss an opportunity. Dae-Jung was dead, their alliance with him. He had to stay on guard.

As he looked at Jin, he saw his friend in a weird state that he was unused to seeing. First, he had this weird substance over a quarter of his body... And now, he had two more arms made of it. In one was a sword and in the other was the gourd he just stole... Was there a point to go after this gourd? He couldn't be sealed... No, wait, could he be planning to use it on the death knight.

He wondered and gazed to the other side to confirm his suspicions. The dragon and the knight were still fiercely fighting, sending waves upon waves of elements at each other. It was not a fight Min-Su planned or wanted to join in. Fire, Ice and Death... Quite a combo. This kind of area-of-effect techniques weren't too great for him. He would rather just watch them kill one another and pick off whatever was left behind.

It was at that moment that Jin spoke to him: "Min-Su, I need to tell you the truth of this trial. There won't be any winner. We will all die"

Min-Su looked at Jin. His eyes were filled with disappointment. Not a shred of trust within to be found. To Min-Su, those words were nothing but bait. Jin was strong at psychological attacks. He recalled how he once told him that even words were powerful weapons to someone who knew how to make use of them. It could help manipulate the opponent's state of mind. He learnt it from Jin yet Jin himself tried to use it on him? Did he think of him as a fool?

Disappointing.

Min-Su felt ashamed in his stead. He did not even bother answering.

However, Jin had expected that much. He sighed. Even if there was close to no chances that he could convince this good brother of his, he had to try. He could jump anytime. He managed to get everything he needed to escape. He could spend some time trying to reason a friend. At the very least, he would do so because he would regret it until his death otherwise. No men left their own to die without even trying to save them. Jin would throw him an olive branch. It was his decision to take it or not. As for forcing him... It was impossible to seal Min-Su, what could he do? If that guy did not want to be sealed, he would not be. And he couldn't leave the gourd to him either. He needed it to unseal himself later on...

Even he would never admit it, he had imagined himself convincing Min-Su hundreds of times in his head throughout the years of his training with Sarina. Because it was a bro's job to redirect a friend towards the right path if he deviated.

He wasn't being answered but that didn't mean he planned to stop speaking and remain silent. He continued: "At least, listen while we wait for their fight to end. I know that you don't believe me right now and don't trust me anymore than those two over there. It can't be helped. However...I wish that you could trust me once more after hearing me out"

No reply.

Not even a glance his way.

But he continued: "The heart of the winner is the key to open the realm where the treasure is located. They never planned for any of us to survive"

As those words fell, inside the grand hall, all sounds stopped. For as long as they had been experts and participating in the trial, they had never witnessed such a scene. They had never heard a champion revealing the truth. Because the truth wasn't supposed to be declared to them. Not even those that were sent consciously to their deaths weren't aware of it.

It was a law.

Albeit an unspoken one, it was against the rules to tell the champions about this.

Everyone turned to Hae-Hyuk. And they saw him standing up with veins protruding from his forehead. His fists were clenched to the point that blood flowed down to the ground. Both his throne and the table were reduced to splinters. His energy was unconsciously emitted around him. It became clear to everyone that he was not the one who revealed the information.

Saint Alvaro chuckled as he broke the silence: "Well, well, well, now that's quite the twist of fate, isn't it, Hae-Hyuk?"

Hae-Hyuk glared at him, no longer caring about statuses or anything and coldly asked: "Was it you?"

Saint Alvaro laughed loudly for a few seconds before his expression turned grave and he said: "Are you accusing me right now, Hae-Hyuk?"

Hae-Hyuk sustained the regard and they glared at one another until Saint Patron Bôrakos intervened. He coughed a few times, attracting attention, before he stated: "Actually, I saw a soul channel imprint on his palm previously. It is likely one of the remnants who lured him so. I do find it unexpected that he did not even question his or her words..."

He meaningfully glanced at Hae-Hyuk who took out a seat from his spatial ring and proceeded to sit back down. He turned his gaze back to the screen waiting for what would happen next.

Anger and stress mixing within him.