Bets’ weapon exploded into a hail of nails that followed Thirty-Seven as he ran. The silver-haired exorcist winced as the projectiles were catching up to him.

Ord was a very obsessive energy, and until Thirty-Seven got hit, those nails would chase him forever. Also, those nails were imbued with so much Ord that getting hit by even just one of them was dangerous.

‘This must be Bets’ trump card.’ Anika concluded.

“Fuck this!” Thirty-Seven stopped, raised his arms to block, and let the nails rain down on him.

Boom!... The attack caused a minor explosion when they landed.

Anika wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

But once the dust cleared out, Thirty-Seven came out. He had a large dark octopus tentacle coming out of his shoulder blade.

The new ‘limb’ had missing chunks, and his injuries had blue-colored blood coming out of them.

Thirty-Seven clenched his teeth, and veins popped on his forehead. “It seems like I underestimated you. That won’t happen again.”

Bets watched him and said nothing. He took a boxing stance and waited for Thirty-Seven to approach.

Anika kept her eyes on the tentacle that withdrew back into Thirty-Seven’s shoulder.

Anika was a Blaster, she could sense Ord and was more perceptive to it than other exorcists. She was 100% sure that Thirty-Seven was exuding demonic energy. It reminded her of Agon, but on a much weaker scale.

Was that some kind of special ability? Or was it a fusion between demon and human? The latter was one of the most advanced techniques a Master could use.

‘If his name really corresponds to his ranking, then the others must be monsters. Maybe strength wasn’t the ranking criteria?’ Anika found it hard to believe there were so many people her age out there who could keep up with her.

She was a once-in-a-generation talent, and that was supposed to mean something!

Anika had accepted Sei and Kon being stronger than her. But it didn’t mean she had lost her pride! One day she will surpass both of them too!

Thirty-Seven dashed toward Bets, and the latter no longer had a weapon. When his opponent was within arm’s reach, Bets threw a punch at him. But Thirty-Seven had the upper hand in terms of fighting experience and moved his head like a boxer, dodging the strike easily.

Then he used his finger, and just as Bets seemed like he was about to say something, Thirty-Seven’s finger dug into Bets’ windpipe.

“There’s no way I’m gonna let you give up so easily,” Thirty-Seven easily crushed his opponent’s throat.

But that sadistic distraction earned him a punch in the face by Bets. Thirty-Seven’s head swung to the side, and he spat out a tooth. “Tch, what monstrous strength. You’re almost like a Warrior in disguise.”

Thirty-Seven punched back, hitting Bets on the chest and caving in half of his chest.

The exam proctor saw the battle was lost and said. "Okay, this is enough-"

"Wait! He hasn't given up yet." Thirty-Seven said. He glanced toward Kon for a split second too long. “My opponent is still conscious and hasn’t given up.”

He grabbed Bets by his collar and pulled him up. "As you can see, he's still standing."

After saying that, he punched Bets in the face. He still held onto Bets, who was still unconscious. He smiled at Kon. "I will do this to you next!"

Then he added a couple more punches to the face, causing it to swell, and one more hit in the stomach.

Anika immediately deciphered what was happening. 'He is using mental warfare. An angry opponent is easier to handle than a calm one. Thirty-Seven isn't confident of winning against Kon, and is taking some measures to close that gap.'

No doubt Kon's anger would boil until the finals, and he won't be able to think straight. But as Anika looked at Kon, there was no anger to be seen. His face was as cold as ice.

"You bastard!" Agon was different and looked ready to charge ahead. But Kon put a hand on his shoulder and stopped her teammate from intervening in the fight.

"Don't do anything stupid, or you will get disqualified."

"How can you be so damn calm!" Agon shrugged the hand off his shoulder.

Before Kon could respond, the proctor stopped the fight. "That's enough. Participant Bets is unconscious. Bob, you’re the winner."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Thirty-Seven smirked. "But he hasn't given up-"

"I think you should go to your seat," the exam proctor released his Ord. Creating a heaviness in the air. Thirty-Seven stared at him and seemed ready for a fight.

The tense mood lasted briefly before Thirty-Seven shrugged and let Bets plummet to the ground. He walked off the stadium with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

Agon grabbed Kon’s shoulder and forced him to turn around. “Hey! I didn’t think you were such a coward! How could you let someone do this to your teammate?!”

Anika got up and was about to stop them before it escalated into a fight. But before she could get close, Kon grabbed Agon’s wrist and looked him in the eyes. “Agon, shut the fuck up for once.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and Agon gave up. “... Okay.”

Kon let go of Agon and got up to leave, while Agon sat down in the stands with a smile on his face.

Initially Anika was going toward them to stop them from fighting, but since that seemed to have already been dealt with, she instead teased Agon a bit. “You settled down so easily. Are you scared of him?”

Agon responded with a smirk and turned his wrist towards her. There was a red handprint where Kon had grabbed him. “He almost broke my hand. That guy was even angrier than I was.”

Anika’s eyes widened when she realized what was happening. Her mind worked faster than ever before she looked around.

Kon was nowhere to be found!

She got up and tried sensing his Ord; she had to stop him before he went and did something stupid!

As she walked through the hallways, she sensed traces of his Ord, which led her to the infirmary.

She walked in and saw Bets and Gem unconscious on the medical beds. Carpy was lying between the beds, and there was no sign of Kon being there!

The infirmary had a metallic tang and the smell of medicine lingering around. Soft light shone through the window, and everything seemed normal.

“What’re you doing?” Asked a voice from behind her. Turning around, Anika saw Sei looking at her with suspicion in his eyes.

“Where is Kon?” Anika asked with a little too much rush in her voice.

Sei shrugged. “I don’t know. He just asked me to guard this room until the end of the semi-finals.”

Fuck! This led nowhere! Had Kon predicted that a Blaster might follow him, and he created a false trail here?

She looked toward his familiar and knew that was probably why it felt like she was following Kon’s Ord.

Anika ran out and started searching everywhere she could think of. When she was outside the public toilet, she suddenly saw Kon come out of the bathroom with a wet face. “Kon!”

He looked at her and raised a questioning brow. “What? I just went to wash my face and cool off. What’s got you so riled up?”

She sighed with relief. It seemed like she had underestimated how well he was handling this. Of course, Kon wouldn’t do something dumb. In hindsight, it was kind of obvious. Agon's words had riled her up for no reason.

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask if you’re gonna watch Agon’s fight.”

“I will try to be there,” Kon answered as if something might stop him from being there. Then he shrugged and walked off. “Anyway, see you later.”

Anika stared at his back and was glad he had calmed down. ‘Maybe I should wash my face too. I could use some cold water.’

However, as soon as she opened the bathroom door, she froze. Blood was splattered on every surface, on the floor, walls, sinks, stalls, and ceiling.

A decapitated head lay on the urinal, eyes still wide in terror, surrounded with shredded body parts. It was like a wild beast had ripped them apart.

Anika noticed a silencing talisman at the entrance and another talisman that didn’t let smells escape the bathroom. Whether these were put here by Kon or the staff, she didn’t know or care.

The head of the dead man had silver hair. Even with his face coated with blood, Anika knew the man was Thirty-Seven.

***

Some said that revenge was a dish best served cold. I disagreed, I like my food hot, cold meals lose their taste.

After what he had done, I was going to kill Thirty-Seven.

It didn’t matter if he was brushing his teeth, taking a shit, sleeping, or fucking someone. I would have gone after him when he was at his most vulnerable. There was no way in hell I would have waited for the finals!

He had made the mistake of going to the bathroom to wash out his bloody mouth as Bets had knocked out one of his teeth.

I returned to the infirmary, and Sei was sitting on a chair, reading a book. At the same time, Carpy was staying between the two beds.

“Thanks for looking out for them while I was away,” I said. Sei looked up at me and shrugged.

“It’s nothing. I still owe you for saving our asses in the forest,” he leaned on the chair, his dark eyes staring right into mine. “So, do you want me to look after them later too?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I have no more fights until the finals,” Sei shrugged. He understood the situation in a split second.

I lay on one of the empty beds and was almost about to doze off when the infirmary door opened, and a man wearing too much red came in.

“Kon, of the Dark Sword Clan, you’re under arrest on suspicion of murder,” said Emer, the Sun Exorcist.

It wasn’t surprising they had found me. After all, Thirty-Seven was dead, and I was the only one with an obvious motive to have killed him.

I put my hands up. “Do you need to handcuff me?”

Handcuffs were useless against a person who used Ord. But I had never been on the opposite end of the law before.

“There’s no need. Even if you tried escaping, you would stand no chance,” Emer said as if that were an absolute fact.

Carpy opened his eyes, and Ord started pouring out of him. I immediately gave him a mental order to stop, and he did.

If Carpy was stronger… His water control ability was a powerful counter against Emer.

But I didn’t want a fight to develop, so I followed him.

“Brat, why are you acting so nonchalant? You know that because of the recent murders, an execution order was put on any murderous participant, right?” Emmer clarified. A vein bulged on his forehead as he ground his teeth.

Had my nonchalant-lessness annoyed him?