Chapter 32 – The Ranking (2)
The duels raged on, each more intense than the last.
Now it was Sophie's turn.
Her opponent? Domy Vuldar, the beastman royal, known for her sheer physical dominance.
It didn't matter.
Sophie wasn't fighting Domy. She was fighting her rage. Rage directed at a certain purple-haired manipulator who just couldn't stop running his mouth.
The moment the match began—
CRACK!!
A red lightning spear appeared mid-air and pierced through Domy's stomach in a blur of motion, the impact sending her flying from the ring at breakneck speed.
The match ended before the crowd even processed it.
Noah raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching.
'Ah. I guess I'll be crafting a lot of ice lotuses later.'
He didn't need Eyes of Revelation to know Sophie was still furious with him.
⸻
Next match: Aphasia vs. Ray.
And just like that, the other twin followed.
Ray never even got close.
Each step he took forward was met with an invisible wind blade—razor sharp, perfectly timed. Cuts bloomed across his skin like blooming crimson flowers. Eventually, drenched in blood and shame, he raised his hand.
"I… I forfeit."
Two twins, two eliminations. Not because they were weak, but because there are levels to monstrosity.
And some had long surpassed it.
…
Then came a very different match.
Elizabeth vs. Eric.
The crowd wasn't sure what to expect. One was known more for her role as the serene Saintess, a planner behind the curtains. The other—a brilliant mind with a lazy streak wider than the Empire.
When the two faced off, Eric was already yawning.
Elizabeth walked forward calmly. Her voice was even. "I know you don't care much about ranking."
Eric blinked at her. "Go on…"
"So let me win. I'll owe you a favor. Me—the Saintess."
He almost said yes. The temptation was real.
But then he remembered his father's face… and the threat that followed.
"I would love to," Eric sighed, "but my father made it clear. If I don't do my best, he'll burn everything I own."
Elizabeth's expression darkened.
She hadn't wanted this.
She was still reeling from her conversation with Noah. Her mind was a battlefield. She needed time to think and reflect. But she needed that high rank—desperately.
Enough.
She was tired of pretending.
She reached toward her blindfold.
Elijah and Noah—sitting apart—both looked up at the exact same moment.
Surprised.
No one else truly understood what was hidden behind that strip of cloth. But they could feel it.
Even Eric felt it.
Goosebumps crawled over his skin like spiders. His instincts screamed at him.
"Hey—Saintess—what are you doing?! It's just a ranking, come on!"
She said nothing.
Just slowly pulled the blindfold higher—
Halfway up, just enough to glimpse her eye-
The instant her eye was partially revealed, he felt it. A crawling, twisting, burning sensation inside his skull.
His knees buckled. His breath hitched.
"No—NO—STOP—"
He screamed.
Blood trickled from his nose. His very thoughts felt rewritten.
And then—
"ARGHHH—FUCK!!! I FORFEIT!!!"
Eric dropped to his knees, clutching his skull.
His eyes bled.
His vision swam.
He felt like his very soul had been dissected and cataloged, like he had been read and rewritten all at once.
The Saintess calmly lowered the blindfold again.
Eric's voice was hoarse, panicked. "This isn't an SS-Rank talent. This is something else. This is—what even is this?!"
He cursed under his breath.
Cursed his luck.
Cursed his father.
He spat blood on the ground. He can't help but curse again in resentment "Screw you, Saintess."
Elizabeth just looked at him with her usual soft smile—eyes hidden once more.
"I warned you," she whispered.
Then she turned and left the arena, her steps echoing in silence.
…
Noah watched, an unreadable smile on his lips.
So she went this far? Just for a ranking?
In the original timeline, she hadn't cared about things like this.
But now…
Now she was cracking.
'Looks like I got under your skin, Saintess.'
He didn't need to lift a finger. Just talk. Just plant the thoughts.
That's the issue with intelligent people.
They overthink.
And Yanderes who overthink?
Ticking time bombs.
'She'll break. She's already unraveling.'
And maybe… just maybe… he wanted to see it happen.
…
Then, his gaze shifted.
To Elijah.
And beside him—her.
A girl with deep brown skin and eyes, tribal tattoos like dancing flames, and a wild aura that oozed primal strength.
Leona BeastFang. SS-Rank Beast Tamer.
Already clinging to Elijah like a magnet to steel.
Noah's eyes narrowed.
'You again…'
In the original story, she'd been a minor nuisance. After all he didn't care, he was just a reader who enjoyed the story.
But here?
She was an obstacle. To him. To his goals.
But when he looked back at Elizabeth—who was smiling sweetly at Leona like they were long-lost friends—he caught it.
The tiniest tremble in her fingers.
He smirked.
'Never mind. I'll let you handle her, Elizabeth.'
He chuckled darkly.
'Let's see how long you can keep pretending Saintess.'
…
"NEXT DUEL: MALRIK VS. ROUGE!"
All heads turned.
In the center of the arena stood two figures—madness incarnate.
Malrik—cloaked in deathly aura, a void of control and bloodlust.
Rouge—with her blood aura, grinning ear to ear, soaked in the thrill of battle.
The moment the duel began—
"BEGIN!!!"
They moved.
One step.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!
The entire arena quaked.
Death vs. Blood.
Madness vs. Madness.
No holding back.
—End of Chapter 32—