Lala woke up to find the cave had returned to calm.

Monsters were nowhere to be seen, nor were their sounds or gazes from behind the shadows. Lala felt a sense of relief as her sensory abilities began to pick up magical life signals.

"I think I can find Alfred and Michael now, then we can take down some monsters and finish the challenge. I'll move quickly; Alfred is in this direction."

Lala set off on a specific path, tracking Alfred's magical energy. It didn't take long for her to find him.

"It's Alfred, I've found him!"

Lala approached cautiously, only to be shocked by Alfred's poor condition.

"What happened, Alfred? Are you okay?"

Alfred was in a terrible state, both mentally and physically. He looked like someone on the verge of collapse and death. The cave had affected him in the worst possible way.

Alfred tried to attack Lala upon seeing her, and his strike landed because she hadn't expected it. He screamed in panic.

"Get away from me, you filthy demons! Get out of my head!"

"Calm down, Alfred. Get a grip."

Alfred realized what had happened.

"I'm sorry, Lala. Are you okay?"

"It's fine, don't worry. It looks like you've had a tough time."

She continued, "Alright, now we can work together. We'll get rid of the monsters, find Michael, and complete the mission."

Alfred nodded, though he seemed doubtful.

"Do you think Michael is okay? What is he doing now?"

"He's strong; he'll be fine. I can sense his magical energy faintly, so I think he's some distance away or maybe suppressing his energy to hide from danger."

"So he's alive, at least."

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

Alfred replied, "Then let's find him quickly. We need his strength to get out of this wretched cave."

Lala agreed, "Yes, let's go."

They heard a terrifying cry from the cave.

"You won't leave this cave. You'll die here in a few hours."

Alfred spoke, "Damn, that voice again."

Lala responded, "Did you hear it too?"

Alfred answered, "Yes, that cursed voice has been haunting me since I entered the cave. Each time, the duration shortens from three days to two, and now just a few hours."

Lala replied, "I heard it from one of the cave monsters yesterday, and it repeated now."

She continued, "I think we should ignore it."

"Yes, I think so too. Let's reach Michael quickly."

"Alright, let's go."

Meanwhile, Michael was collecting the required blood by cutting down cave monsters that continued to manifest as his previous victims, begging for his mercy. He killed another monster and paused upon hearing footsteps behind him.

He spoke, "You've finally decided to come out. I was wondering how long you'd keep watching from afar."

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The knight "V" appeared."Hmm, so you noticed me already, as expected from a killer."

Michael turned around.

"So, what do you want from me?"

The knight "V" replied,

"I'm a knight and a special hunter of criminals. I've recorded numerous murders and atrocities you've committed."

Michael responded, "Aren't there plenty of killers now? Go to the underworld or those nearly deserted villages. It's a black market; you'll find plenty of criminals and killers to catch."

"I'm not interested in catching scum. The Golden Kingdom or any other kingdom will handle them. I hunt the most unique and bizarre criminals."

"Then why did you let me go before?"

"Hmm, do you know what cats do when they catch a mouse? They let it escape a little, then catch it again for fun."

Michael began preparing his daggers and weapons, and the knight noticed.

"Michael, why do you want to join the Golden Knights?"

"That's none of your business," Michael replied, drawing his sword.

"Alright then, I guess our conversation ends here."

The knight "V" drew his special axe, and the battle began.

Michael disappeared quickly and appeared behind the knight, attacking with his sword, but the knight blocked it with his axe. Fire slashes appeared, hitting the knight, but Michael retreated.

The attacks didn't cut or harm the knight.

"Good attack, but as you can see, magical attacks don't work on me."

Michael responded,

"Hmm, an anti-magic shield. No wonder you didn't dodge the strikes."

"Correct, a good guess. It seems you have experience."

The knight struck the ground with his axe, causing it to shake as if an earthquake had occurred.

"Stone Crystal Spirit."

Crystal stones emerged from the ground, attacking Michael, who tried to avoid them. However, a massive stone came his way, and he blocked it, but the stone exploded, sending Michael flying and crashing to the ground.

"Damn, who is this person?"

between the dust, the knight searched for Michael.

"Come out, these assassin tricks won't work here."

Michael appeared quickly, engaging in direct combat with his claymore. They exchanged blows, but the knight seemed to have the upper hand.

"What's wrong? Are you already breaking?"

Heavy strikes rained down on Michael, who struggled to maintain his balance. An icy whirlwind appeared, obscuring the knight's vision. Alfred appeared, attacking with a thunderous punch, pushing the knight back slightly. However, the knight retaliated by kicking Alfred hard, slamming him into the cave wall. This bought them some time, and Michael moved away from the fight.

The three were now together.

"Michael, are you okay? Why are you fighting... Wait, isn't this the knight said to be the strongest in this competition?" Lala spoke.

Michael wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "It doesn't matter. Don't interfere here."

"Wait, hold on."

Michael charged at the knight again, but Lala joined him, attacking with an icy storm and ice spikes towards the knight. They didn't affect him, but Michael disappeared amidst the ice storm.

"Where is that bastard? I've lost him in the storm."

Michael appeared, striking the knight with his sword, but it had no effect. He used the mist created by the ice to move away, but the knight quickly followed, punching Michael hard and trying to grab him. Michael moved away with a broken rib.

"Michael, are you okay?" Lala asked.

Michael, breathing heavily, focused on the knight and didn't answer her.

"You've lost, Michael. There's no one to help you, no escape now."

Lala spoke, "Michael, I'll help Alfred get up. He's unable to move. Create an opening, and then we'll all escape."

"The chance of escaping this way is slim. It's a dead end."

Lala heard the voice again, "These are your last minutes in this world."

She spoke, "Damn, that voice again, not now."

Then she told Michael, "What do you say? We can do it."

At that moment, the knight charged, drawing his axe and attacking the injured Michael. Michael grabbed Lala's head, using it to block the axe strike, killing her instantly. Michael moved and touched the knight, then moved away. With a gesture of his hand, an explosion occurred inside the knight's armor, similar to the explosion that happened to the contestants at the end of the first round.

The smoke cleared, revealing the knight with blood seeping from his armor's sides.

The knight spoke, breathing heavily, "Have you sunk so low as to use your comrades who tried to help you as a human shield?"

Michael replied, "Do you think there was another way?"

"Hmm."

"Listen, I don't care about your moral standards. I do what it takes to complete the mission."

At that moment, Alfred was in shock, trying to convince himself that what he saw was a hallucination, but it wasn't.

The knight spoke, "I underestimated you, you vile criminal. You're too dangerous to keep alive."

The place began to collapse, and two knights appeared, followers of the knight "V"

"Sir, the place is collapsing. We need to get out quickly. The blood jug is ready, and we've opened our portal."

"Michael, luck has smiled upon you again, but I think this will be the last time."

The knight and his aides left the place.

Alfred got up and moved slowly to confirm Lala's body, unable to believe what had happened. He began hearing the voices again.

"You'll join her soon."

Michael noticed Alfred looking at him with angry eyes.

"You criminal, I won't forgive you." Alfred tried to gather his strength, forming a thunderous fist to attack Michael.

"Fire Slash." Michael killed Alfred instantly.

He used their blood to fill the remaining of the blood jug quickly.

It worked, and Michael opened the portal, leaving the cave before it collapsed.

It seems that the second challenge has come to an end.