The way the final was hosted was a surprise, but nobody found it illogical. They were being recruited to be part of the army, and their future would be filled with fighting the Undead and protecting Meriath, so a free-for-all was completely reasonable. The Misfits were observing them very closely when it began, turning the whole massive cavern into a battlefield. Not just to see if the unmarked contestant was Undead or not but to be ready if something terrible happened.

"He is good." Aurora wrote as they watched him move easily around the battlefield, wielding a unique weapon he designed, calling it a twin blade. He was twirling and spinning like a dancer, the blades at the end of his staff deflecting and attacking in a weird rhythm, switching between defense and attack at a whim. His body and weapon were glinting with electricity as he dodged with a flash and counter-attacked another competitor simultaneously. It was clear that a few of them grouped up at the start, aiming to deal with their most dangerous rival, yet he adapted very quickly to the threat.

"His name is Pierro," Solren nodded, watching him with interest, "He has been learning martial techniques since an early age, even before it was evident he had the talent to be a mage. He started with the staff before changing to swords. Then he mixed the two and developed his own style with his self-made weapon. When I heard about him, I wanted to recruit him immediately so he could develop a new method for our soldiers."

"No wonder someone thought he would be a perfect choice for an Undead," Keily whispered, wanting to catch the Undead before he could harm any of the competitors. "His spells are not feeling strong… but they are unbelievably precise!"

"His stabs give me a prickling feeling, even from this far away." Raufon agreed, feeling some of the hair rising on his arms from excitement. He really wanted to go at it, too, trying to see how he would fare against Pierro's blades.

What none of the Misfits realized was that none of them felt fear. Nor real awe. Pierro was way above the rest to other spectators and hailed as a prodigy since childhood. Now, to their eyes, he was good, but not someone who would awe them. Not after spending years in the Academy and also being an individual who climbed to the top of it, even if they didn't realize it themselves.

"He is not the Undead," Sion concluded after a few more minutes.

"And this tells us," Simbad added, "that the Undead most likely fights in a similar style. He either wields a staff, or his spells act like electricity. Or both. He is going to be fast-moving, nimble, and can take on multiple foes at once."

"If Sion is right about it." Solren reminded them, but most of the Misfits were convinced why he wasn't marked… even though he was clearly the upcoming winner of this competition. "Lia?"

"I don't know." She moved her eyes, scanning the spectating crowd, but couldn't feel anything. Even if it was amongst them, the Undead was out of the reach of her senses.

While she was trying to find him, Cabrao was standing in a crowd, a safe distance away. He had been keeping an eye on them the whole time, making sure he never got too close and blew his cover ahead of time. He only worried about how long the competition would last. If it went over an hour, he would have to leave ahead of time, or his disguise would start failing.

Luckily, the free-for-all ended only after 15 minutes, as Pierro was the last one standing while the rest were defeated and made to give up. Everyone was expecting a big celebration to commence, something that the locals were also preparing for, but to everyone's surprise, it was to begin without the finalists. After Solren's speech, praising everyone who had made it so far, he just smiled and announced that there was a last test that they would have to take. It was to march to their new home. He gave the finalists a token, saying they had to unlock it, follow the directions, and get there in three days to be accepted.

Although some civilians complained and grumbled, especially those who were family to the finalists, there was nothing to do. For the mages, this was even inspiring. The Amarins were always ready to face the Undead, and if they were to join their ranks, of course, they couldn't sit back and celebrate just because they achieved something trivial… they had to grow up. Or at least, that was what Pierro and the rest thought.

"Too bad… I saw some of the roasts they prepared…" Koadriana sighed and gulped as the Misfits were waiting at the city's edge ahead of everyone. They were hiding behind multiple light-based spells, making them invisible, something that Sion was constantly working on and perfecting since its development. With the addition of Solren's mana, they were masked not just visually, but even if someone tried to sniff them out, they would have to really look, not just with their eyes.

"It smelled good." Raufon agreed. "We will do it later ourselves~! So don't worry!"

"You buy your own ingredients." Solren reminded them, his eyes watching the cityscape. "The army won't spend on your luxuries."

"Of course!" Lia rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't ask you for stuff anyway; you would refuse it. I know you well, Brother Solren!"

"Smart." He chuckled, not hurt by his sister's words because it was the truth.

"Here they come!" Ceiline warned them as they hid their presence and melted into their surroundings.

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The finalists were led by Pierro as they were examining their tokens, realizing if they put them together, they created a map with their intended route and their set finish line. What they did not notice was that little peashooters were watching them from the roofs of the buildings, walking forward and leaving the city of Akrelia. Strolling past the last row of houses and entering the wilderness, following their map, they missed the hiding Misfits nearby as they were too focused on their task, still high on their excitement from the end of the competition.

"They probably put us against each other to set a hierarchy up in our group." One of the men chuckled, holding no grudges against Pierro or any of his previous opponents.

"I agree." Pierro nodded, "The fact that we now have to work together shows this as clear as day! They made us realize the rankings and made us work as a team! With that battle, we also know how each of us moves! We can work on that and truly become a squad! Let's go! We have three days, and even though I am dead tired… we can't stop now! I bet this is still a test! The final did not end yet!" He laughed, followed by the rest as they left, never knowing they were acting as bait.

"Boss…" Keily whispered as they remained hidden. "You really thought that far?"

"Well… yes." She murmured, blushing a little.

"Liar." Said Aurora, Koa, Sion, and Solren at the same time. "That was a simple coincidence, wasn't it, little sister?"

"And what if it was?" She pouted angrily. "It turned out even better! My genius mind does things subconsciously, you know!"

"Sure…" Everyone answered with a chuckle.

"I believe you, Boss!" Kiely added, patting her shoulders.

"Yeah, why not?" Raufon joined him, standing with Lia.

"Their noses truly turned brown, don't you think?" Koa whispered, but loud enough so everyone heard it.

"I am exceptionally clean, just so you know!" Lia shot back, turning crimson, looking like a chili pepper at that moment.

"It's coming!" Ceiline suddenly exclaimed, trying to keep her voice low.

Everyone knew at once what she meant. Her peashooters picked up something similar to Lia's mark, which could only mean, the Undead used teleportation to move around in town, remaining undetected. It didn't take long for them to see a green puff of smoke appear right where the group of Pierro passed by. It was the figure of a lean, middle-aged man with black hair and without an ounce of Undead aura… at least in the first few seconds.

It only took a little more for his hair to turn white, and the unmistakable feeling washed over the Misfits who remained hidden, unmoving. Cabrao scanned his surrounding only once before focusing his gaze on the trail of the finalists.

"The army is scattered around… they probably suspect something, watching the city. It was good to leave early." He murmured, looking back towards Akrelia. "I should have turned some of them into puppets. Then they would have no choice but to kill all of them, ehehe… Idiots~! That is simply more souls for us~! Oh well! More flavorful treats ahead!" He smacked his lips and started walking, going on foot, clearly enjoying the feeling of being a hunter and the thought that he was ahead of the Amarins, once again winning a risky bet.

"I did not expect it to work so well…" Lia said after Cabrao was gone and they reappeared.

"Me neither." Solren agreed, "Let's go! It is time we hunt the hunter!"

"Will they be okay?" Koadriana asked as the group went after Cabrao.

"They should be." Raufon answered instead of Solren, "Or they shouldn't have signed up for this, no?"

"Exactly." Sion agreed as they spread out, ready to cast a net on the Undead, who thought everything was going his way.

…

….

……

Reyra was having a meeting with the rest of the Amarin leaders, those who remained back in the core of their territory. After explaining everything that Solren relayed, a very long debate started that was going on for hours by now.

"We simply can't risk it!" A firm, male voice echoed the harsh opinion once again. In the past, he was Parthorn's ancestor and even a leader of the House at the time of the 1st Era. "Peace must come first… as sad as I am to say… that city is possibly already tainted. It needs to be purged!"

"I agree with putting them under quarantine… but killing? All of them? Even in the Dark Ages, that was the last resort only!" A different voice argued back, belonging to another ex-leader of the Amarins from the 2nd Era.

"And look where that led us! We had to make our exodus to the Windswept Fields! Burning everything behind us!"

"That will be enough!" Reyra cut in, her voice quickly calming the debate that was about to heat up once more. "We have to take into consideration the current times." She started, looking at the dozen Amarins in the room. "Suddenly eradicating a city of ours would shake many of our followers and undermine our reputation."

"Those followers are simply bootlickers, then." The first voice coldly stated, "If an Undead appears, everyone should know and uphold their duty. If it means death… so be it."

"Then we should execute all our armies who come in contact with them!" The second voice shot back.

"I said… ENOUGH!" Reyra slapped onto the table, dousing them in her aura. She was already fed up with the rising paranoia and started to understand why Erias made his own decisions, asking for no input from others... listening to only his guts. "We are not yet in the thick of it! We can't go killing off potential resources willy-nilly! I made my decision!" She stood up and waved her hand, "We place the city under quarantine; nobody goes in nor out until I say so! I will go there personally and examine everyone, one by one! Kill those who even slightly feel off; the rest gets pardoned!"

"..."

"Questions?"

"None." They answered, placing their hands on their chests.

"I will need some of you to come with me. Four will be enough… volunteers?" The moment she finished, all of them stood up, whether they argued for the city's destruction or not. "Heh…" She chuckled, seeing their immediate, loyal reaction. "Decide for me by tomorrow who comes! Just don't crash the castle!"

With that, she left the meeting, letting them decide, and headed to their castle's garden, finding her husband to hug him and nestle into his lap. He asked nothing, just rubbing his tired wife's head, letting Reyra rest her troubled thoughts.

"Do you think I made the right choice?" She asked softly, without explaining anything.

"You did something that went against Erias's teachings?" Kawu asked, playing with her golden locks, twirling them around his fingers.

"Yeah… I think his methods only work when the world is already burning around us… I want to prevent exactly that! I don't want to make the choices he had to while we can still stop it!"

"Do what you feel is right," Kawu said plainly and confidently. "I believe in you. We all do, Reyra! The next generation will tell us if it was the right or wrong move… but now, believe in yourself and do what you think is right!"

“Um… thanks…” She looked up, hugging his face, brushing against his thick beard like a kitten before kissing her beloved husband, letting all her worries escape her body at once.