X POV:

Solina smacked my hand away and instantly shifted her attention toward the direction of where the boy was.

‘I knew it would be bad, but this is quite something.’

Her bloodshot eyes seemed permanent as her face contorted further. The defeat she had suffered in District 3 had played on her mind to such an extent that the Solina in front of me was unrecognizable.

Deep black bags hung underneath her dilated pupils. Her skin was a shade lighter, and she was unable to focus on anything else besides the boy who had crushed her with the aid of her arch nemesis: Lissandra.

“Inversion.”

My Ki spread out instantly, forming a circular transparent barrier around me. Solina swivelled her eyes towards me and sneered.

“I don’t have time to waste on you.”

She bolted forward, shattering the ground beneath her feet as her fist tore through the air. My hands slid into my pockets while she entered the inverted space.

“How disappointing.”

Her fist hit the air as I appeared in her previous position. She kicked off the ground, repeatedly chasing after me while the veins on the side of her head popped.

This is why emotions were variables that had to be accounted for. The calm Solina would have never let me grab her in the first place. The calm Solina would have never neglected her surroundings so easily.

“...”

I flickered to a new location while her fist blew up the building underneath it. Power, speed and reflexes; she had improved all of those drastically, yet that’s all she had focused on. Her obsession had made her forget the very basics of fighting those at Shin and above.

“You are incapable.”

Her eyes widened to such a degree, blood spurted out from the sides. She dashed forward in a frenzy as her fists rippled the air, sending out bursts of compressed wind that shot forward towards me.

The wind entered the inverted space and almost reached me before being unable to resist its inversion. They shot back towards Solina, snapping her head back with double the power.

I dashed ahead and grabbed hold of her neck as she struggled to break free from my grip. If this was a pure hand-to-hand combat fight, she would overwhelm me with relative ease, but this was a battle. Strategy, planning, timing...

Variables.

Controlling those would give you the outcome you desire.

The moment I had touched Solina, I marked her with a Magnetic Field. I then took her to a place I had set up beforehand. Several other Magnetic Fields were placed down in the surrounding area in case Solina isolated my technique. However, it was pointless, because this Solina was inferior to the one I fought in District 3.

I dodged her strikes by placing a Magnetic Field around myself in the inverted space. It wasn’t possible to place a ‘south’ pole, so I needed to invert ‘north.’ As a result, I appeared to flicker out of her view, but I was simply controlling the direction of the repel to move myself into her previous position by manipulating where the two Magnetic Fields interacted.

“Keuk...!”

A pained moan escaped her mouth while my fingers dug into her neck as I remembered what she did to Gia. I narrowed my eyes, unable to let that memory go.

“This is for Gia.”

My fist smashed into her face several times. She screamed in pure rage before her body finally went limp from the thudding blows cracking through her Ki Armour.

I swung my fist down, splashing the blood across the rooftop. If it weren’t for the boy's ideals, she would have suffered a more brutal punishment by my hand today.

“How fortunate.”

My lips curved upwards as I dashed her body to the side. She crashed into the ground and laid there motionlessly. By the time she wakes up, it’ll all be over.

***

Gia POV:

“...”

I let out a long sigh as I crouched down over his battered body.

“So what you’re saying is, you’re actually a Shadow Guard, and you’re weaker than the actual rank 9 Guard?”

I looked at him with displeased eyes while he struggled to open his swollen mouth.

“I-I told you that from the stwart!! You kept on bweating me for no reas—”

My fist sank into his face again, causing his eyes to roll back into his head. If I remembered correctly, Margaret was Rank 9, but she didn’t give off a strong aura either.

It was possible that her true strength could only be realized through her ability, but I couldn’t confirm that. In any case, she was supposedly on our side, so there was nothing I could do about my current predicament.

‘Someone of this level can’t possibly satisfy my urges.’

I clicked my tongue, wishing I had been more patient in choosing my opponent. But once X showed up, it was only natural that I followed after him. Still, I at least wanted to avenge my defeat to Solina, who fought me under favourable conditions.

I stood up and peered over the rooftop ledge. I had taken the Shadow Guard far away from the main stage to reduce any variables that would hinder District 4’s leader. However, it seemed like their battle had yet to start.

“Gia, it’s been a while.”

A hooded black cloak fluttered into my vision as my lips curved upwards. He stood a few metres away from me, appearing out of thin air like always.

“X...”

His eyes widened slightly before a short smile formed on his face. It had been so long since I last saw him that I accidentally addressed him by his first name, but I didn’t care. It was just nice to see him again.

“You’ve become more capable.”

I scratched the back of my head as I looked down. It was rare to receive compliments from him.

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“What’s wrong?”

There was visible concern in his eyes that they swept over my body. He examined me carefully, making sure I wasn’t hurt.

“It’s nothing much. I just missed you that’s all.”

He narrowed his eyes while looking away. I suddenly felt a little awkward, but I didn’t want X to go on any more solo missions; we were supposed to be a team.

“...The feeling is mutual.”

I felt the bridge of my nose get a little hot as we focused on the dome-shaped wall in the far distance. We could feel it.

The battle had begun.

***

Skorr POV:

“Do you mind? I don’t remember giving you permission to touch me.”

She ripped her arm out of my grip before looking back in the direction we came from. The corners of my mouth rose as she folded her arms, completely ignoring my existence. The Royal Guards really were full of character.

“Can you stop staring at me?”

“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in.”

I narrowed my eyes, observing her actions with care. I could tell that she was incredibly strong, and I could feel the tension in the air every time she spoke; this was what I looked forward to the most.

“Oh, please. Leave me alone while I’m still being nice.”

My eyebrows curved inwards as I felt my spirit dampen. It just occurred to me that if she was acting this way, was there a need to fight her in the first place? I could fight for the thrill of it, but in the event that things didn’t go to plan, I wouldn’t be in an optimal position to help out.

‘Dammit!’

I rubbed the sides of my temples slowly while letting out a frustrated sigh. I had chosen the wrong opponent, so all I could do now was wait for the main event to begin.

I sat down on the edge of the rooftop and tapped my knee lightly. Though I couldn’t see through the top of the dome, the view here was perfect. A battle between those two definitely couldn’t be confined to such a small stage.

“Hey, who do you think will win?”

She glanced at me briefly as I continued to tap my knee. This woman really had no intention of fighting or running back to help the Ruler, so what could I do? I just had to let it go.

“Isn’t it obvious? The kid will take the throne today.”

She looked back ahead, seemingly unaffected by my slight taunt.

“I think so too.”

“What?”

My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at her serious face. Was this woman planning on betraying the Ruler? Or was she just giving her honest thoughts despite her position? I pondered for a while over my current situation.

“I don’t like lies. I only value the truth.”

‘Great. I really hope she doesn’t start telling me her backstory.’

I paid her no mind and sat there quietly. Once again, I realized just how slow time moved when you wanted it to go quickly. At the very least, I was somewhat satisfied that I managed to take out a few of the stronger Shadow Guards on my way here.

“...You’re not going to ask me about what I just said?”

“I don’t really care.”

I’d only take notice of her if she tried anything funny. Other than that, she was just a pretty nuisance to me.

‘Hmm...’

I wondered how my nephew was getting along. He had been completely reformed to the point I actually felt ashamed for the things I made him do in the past, but it was for his own protection back then.

“Don’t talk to me like that.”

I shifted my gaze towards her as she glared at me. She had a thin waist that drew attention to the curves of her breasts and hips. Her eyes were dark purple with a twilight ring around her pupils. Her black dress reached her ankles and merged into a medium-length jacket that she wore well.

“...Are you a princess or something?”

“I am Rose.”

I let out another sigh. It wasn’t a surprise that this place was full of strange people, but actually interacting with them was something else entirely.

“Okay, Rose. Why don’t you take a seat all the way over there?”

I pointed to the furthest building I could see in the distance. After washing away my fighting spirit, I now had to deal with her abnormal behaviour. It was annoying.

Rose followed the direction of my finger with her eyes. She locked onto the location I had chosen and shook her head.

“It's too far. You won’t be able to hear me from there.”

‘...’

I felt the veins on the side of my head tremble as I tapped my knee rapidly. She was the one who told me to leave her alone, and now all of a sudden, she wanted to have a conversation. I was beginning to lose my patience when a sudden thought crossed my mind.

‘...Let's just play along.’

There was no need to get worked up over her. I’ll let her ramble on and on, up until the battle with the Ruler starts.

“Rose, sit there.”

She immediately sat down in the new position I pointed to as I raised an eyebrow at her obedience. There was no hesitation or complaining, just the fluid motion of carrying out what I had told her to do.

“Rose, what did you mean earlier?”

Something twinkled in her eye whenever I called her name, and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as she opened her mouth instantly.

“I’ve never been allowed to leave District 1. Everyone talks carefully around me, and they often look at me with pitiful eyes. So today was the first time I heard about the state of the other Districts.

I didn’t know they had suffered so much. I didn’t know about the prostitution rings, the deals with Inner Astril, the drugs, the KEDs, the war with District 3... I knew none of it.”

I watched the tears pour out of her shimmering eyes. Her posture was perfectly straight, and her hands rested neatly on her lap.

‘Elegant.’

That was the only word I could use to describe her. I was too focused on wanting to fight Rose that I didn’t notice the subtleties in her body language and how she held herself a certain way.

Assuming she was telling the truth, then she didn’t experience living in the Pit or the Range. It might be possible that she directly skipped the Organization too.

‘...Could her rank be limited by mental factors?’

“It's all true. I used to be District 4’s Leader, and I also turned a blind eye to many things happening in front of me. The only thing that mattered to me was aiming for a higher place...”

She turned her upper body towards me as I spoke. I saw the sincerity in her eyes while her lips parted.

“What happened next?”

I smiled wryly, recalling the embarrassing defeat I had suffered. I’m not sure why I wanted to fight old man Cruiser; it was clear that back then, I was nowhere near his level.

“I lost to that kid and he spared my life. He allowed the members of the Organization to choose who they wanted to follow. He then told me to take over District 2.”

“And then?”

Rose looked at me with expectant eyes as I continued the story.

“I left and spent many months planning the takeover. It wasn’t easy because of the amount of deals they had made with Inner Astril, but with the help of those around me, I succeeded. I became a District Leader again.”

“Did you change?”

I narrowed my eyes at her direct question.

“...I think I finally woke up. Even if I achieved my goals by turning a blind eye to everything, I know for a fact my sister would be disappointed in me. That kid knew that I could have started a war using District 2’s Organization, but he trusted that I wouldn’t. I don’t know how he knew... But he somehow knew.”

She smiled slightly while looking back ahead.

“I got rid of the prostitution rings, the drugs, the dealers... I got rid of everything and started afresh. I modelled my Organization after his, and soon enough, everyone started greeting me when I walked down the streets. They didn’t look at me with fear anymore, but with looks of affection and gratefulness. It was different.”

Rose slid her loose hair behind her ear as she gazed at the morning sky.

“You’re a wonderful person. Thank you for being honest with me.”

The twilight ring around her pupils flickered, and I furrowed my eyebrows as the corners of my mouth rose.

“I apologize for using my ability and for my previous behaviour before. I’m sure you know, but I’m not well.”

She tilted her head to the side while tapping it with one of her slender fingers. I saw a scar jut out of her top before she quickly covered it with her hand. Rose adjusted her clothes lightly in order to conceal it before her soft lips curved back into an enchanting smile.

“Rose, sit closer to me.”

There was a slight twinkle in her eyes once more as she winced in pain. She got up and sat down less than an arm’s length away from me.

I examined her trembling body. Her ability had definitely made me talk more than I usually would have, but this reaction wasn’t related to it.

‘Abuse.’

It was easy to notice the signs when you had seen them almost everyday around you. The cold shiver I had experienced earlier was due to the extent of the abuse she had suffered. To respond to every command that used her name, just what did she go through to reach that kind of state?

“Rose, what do you want to do?”

Her eyes shook as the grip on her relaxed hands tightened. Parts of her body began to quake while she bit her lip.

‘...Wrong question.’

“Rose, do you want to leave District 1?”

The shaking decreased, and the pain in her eyes faded slightly.

“I cannot.”

Her voice turned monotone as if she had answered this question a thousand times before.

This was a strange situation to be in, and I pondered over what I should do. Her circumstances were no concern of mine, and I already deemed her to not be a threat.

‘Hmm...’

I got to my feet and prepared to move to a different location when I heard her sobbing quietly. I sighed inwardly as I glanced back at Rose sitting in the same position.

She didn’t look at me, but I could see it in her eyes; she was crying out for help. She didn’t attack me because she wasn’t here to fight. She wanted to start a conversation because she needed to express herself in a way that wouldn’t go against whoever made her dance in the palm of their hands.

Rose had probably dreamed of this moment thousands and thousands of times. She did everything in her power to grasp the opportunity that presented itself before her.

“Do you want me to stay with you till it’s all over?”

She winced in pain as she nodded her head slowly. I sat back down beside her, sighing softly. Victory or defeat? Sometimes there were more important things than such a straightforward outcome.