Renner dropped his hand.
Slow and with intent.
No bow. No smirk. No raised fist to feed the crowd's addiction.
He simply turned and walked off the sand as if nothing of note had occurred.
As if he hadn't just murdered a man with a single, ghostly touch.
The arena roared behind him. Thunderous. Mindless.
They didn't know what they'd witnessed.
Not really.
From the high booth, Ian didn't blink.
Velrosa broke the silence first.
"He pointed at you."
Ian's jaw tightened. "I saw."
She studied him sideways, the candlelight flickering across her bronze skin.
Her tone was unreadable. "It seems we have demon interference already, that's not good."
"It really isn't," Ian sighed
---
The announcer's voice surged again, strained against the thunder of the crowd still drunk on Renner's match.
"And now—next challenger! From House Elarin, no name, no legend—"
The pause was intentional. Weighted.
"A sword from the Reach! Facing his first Blood League match… Caelen!"
