From within the maelstrom of detonating power, a silhouette was ejected at blinding speeds. The person in question groaned as they barreled through the air.

Rakna felt his body fix the broken parts and replace the missing pieces of flesh. The one that had come out defeated out of Sonata and Gulon’s clash was him. At the end of the day, the Crescent of a Fallen Star was indeed one of his weapon’s strongest offensive perks, but King Gulon’s sheer raw power far outclassed it.

‘Tch, that thing really is a problem,’ the therian thought as he activated Andante. His gloves let out an azure glow and threads of Eion were strung out from the tips of his fingers. They latched to the ground and even the flying debris around and forcefully braked his momentum.

With a spin, Rakna disengaged the strings and landed on the ground with one hand on the ground before breathing out. Without wasting time, he extended his hand and Sonata flew out of the cloud of smoke into his grip.

He immediately felt the passive perks exert their influence again, raising his stats. And above all, the walls of fading energy and dust hid him from view. Which meant… no one could see Sonata.

Rakna’s agility burst at nearly double its base value with this combination of conditions, the blood of the Skulking Angel inside his sword granting him their kind’s speed. He rushed into the clouded epicenter and located Cura with Crystal Sight.

Then, he triggered Enthymio Step once again. His foot stepped into another dimension and in the blink of an eye, he found himself a few feet behind his target. He commanded Sonata to switch to a greatsword and then used its air manipulation to boost the swing.

If his opponent had been a mediocre one, Rakna would have won right then and there. However, his attack was stopped by a barehand. He smiled under his mask as the short blow had cleared the dust in their direct surroundings.

The sight of an anthropomorphic shark head was presented to him. Cura’s stature had increased by at least four meters, his top straining under the bulging muscle mass, and his equally large hand was clutching Sonata.

It’s not as if he was blocking the blade with his skin. No; he was completely shutting down Rakna’s strength by holding the flat of the blade with his fingers alone. As for his other hand, the shark was holding a similarly enlarged King Gulon, that was menacingly licking its lips.

“…looks like this is my limit,” Rakna muttered, much to his opponent’s confusion.

“What do you mean? Don’t lie to me. I can tell you can still go much further.”

“Perhaps,” the therian uttered and deftly pulled Sonata before stepping back. “But it goes against my goals, sadly. Not to mention that I have no idea how far you can push me. So, how about it, Cura Arlan? While no one can see us…” He trailed and flared his soul power, ready to ‘sign’ a contract.

“How about we make a deal?”

Cura frowned and listened to what the masked woman had to say.

* * *

Rita was stunned in place, huddling close to a corner of the arena, much like the other participants who preferred not to have to deal with stray attacks, which honestly made them wonder if Kratos put them in the vicinity of the fighters to see if some of them would die from it.

That aside, Rita felt short of breath as she watched Ranka and Cura battle. She knew her new friend was strong, but the full scale of it never hit her as hard as it did when she saw the two combatants exchange blows faster than she could see and subsequently set off explosions of energy that had no right to exist in a place like Plateau Zero.

‘If these two can make this kind of effect here… how strong would they be outside?’ She wondered silently in shock. Then, the latest collision of attacks overtook the arena and she had to shield her eyes because of it.

Strangely, after that particular clash, everything quieted down; only the sound of stone crushed to dust, falling like sand from debris to debris. This silence stretched on for longer than normal and no one could tell what was happening due to the thick screens of fading energy and powder.

As Rita was starting to get worried, the chime of steel rang loudly and everything was cleared up by a new shockwave. The moment she finally got to see the two fighters, being short of breath didn’t cut it anymore to describe her reaction; her lungs stopped working altogether.

Ranka emerged for all to see… and her mask fell to the ground in front of her. In that single instant, the echo of it traversed each and every man and woman in the room as if it was the loudest thing on the arena’s premises. They were captivated beyond words.

Her unmasked beauty blindsided them all. Pale skin that highlighted the purple shade of her eyes and its elegant lashes, a facial structure as if carved by a god, a cold demeanor of regal taste, and a healthy hint of pink due to the exertion of the fight.

This was not an appearance that made one go mad, it was a stifling one. For they couldn’t possibly do anything, lest they regret even staining the image with themselves.

“Well then…” Ranka spoke up calmly, her enchanting voice even more clear without obstruction, and virtually compelling the listener to stare at her lips. “As per my word, this is your victory,” she declared and used her foot to flip her mask into her hand. “You fought well, Cura Arlan,” with those words, she slipped her mask back on and started walking away.

“I surrender,” she added, almost as an afterthought, as she neared the exit of the arena. Everyone she approached stepped away to make a path for her.

“| …Match Over. Victory goes to Cura Arlan, |” the announcer broadcasted.

The man in question had already slung King Gulon to his back, the latter reverting into its unwieldy state of a thick multi-bladed greatsword. The shark man, similarly back to his human form rather than his anthropomorphic one, stared at his distancing opponent for a moment before hiking over the damages of their fight to simply lean against a wall.

Without any further action or even sound on his part, the competition would resume.

“…what just happened?” Rita muttered dumbfoundedly. She almost didn’t notice the small glance that the masked woman meaningfully threw at her before leaving. She snapped out of it and while everyone else was seemingly recovering from the shock, she nervously skipped after Ranka when she was able to confirm that she wouldn’t be fighting next.

* * *

Rakna retrieved the score card he had given one of Kratos’ staff behind the counter and he could see that they were gazing at him in both awe and confusion. The former was predictable but the latter was most likely because of the number currently displayed on his card.

‘That went rather well,’ he thought nonchalantly as he beheld his point count. He then raised his head to look at Rita making her way toward him. Before she even had the chance to say anything, he extended his open hand toward her.

“Eh?” She blinked in surprise.

“Your card,” he urged her and she complied without questions. Once again, he linked it to his own and gave it back to her. The young girl’s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when she saw the new number. Just like that, her wealth had increased by two hundred thousand points, enough to reach her goal.

“B-b-but, how…?!”

Rakna quieted her down with a wave of his hand. “I made a deal. As simple as that. Now be on your way. You got what you needed, right? Drop out of this inane death battle and do what you must.”

“I…” Rita was speechless. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and she bowed. “Thank you…” She spoke with a trembling voice. “No matter what, I swear to repay you.”

In response, the disguised therian simply hummed reassuringly. “Don’t worry too much. I helped you on a whim,” he said and silently apologized to her. In the back of his mind, he was focusing on the voice that he came to hate due to how grating it was.

Bora Quaso was both in a maddened and excited state after ‘his’ face was revealed. He was aroused beyond reason apparently, but on the other hand, he seemed extremely displeased to have not been able to take advantage of a moment of weakness to capture the target of his interest.

[| Tch, she’s gone and I don’t have someone strong enough to tame her. Zasha had to be away now out of all times. And that damn fish, who told him he was allowed to make a deal? Bah, whatever, he did his job in a way. I’ll keep that woman for later, I’ll be sure to enjoy her thoroughly. |]

Rakna bid goodbye to Rita as she ran off happily and narrowed his eyes as he continued to listen through his wiretaps.

[| She has already given the points to that other girl, right? She’ll do fine to entertain me for a few days. As soon as she goes to buy her brother, bring her to me. I’m already bored of the Arena this week. |]

‘How predictable of you…’ Rakna thought viciously. ‘Sometimes, it’s too easy,’ he snorted to himself and exited the Arena. In the next few hours, everything would be over. The result, however… not even he could have predicted it.