Chapter 12

Hambo, who was lying next to a broken tree trunk, began to move slowly, groaning under the weight of his pain. His face showed the marks of the punch he had received, and blood was still flowing from his nose. He placed his hand on the tree trunk to steady himself as he stood up with difficulty. He looked towards Suero and Moryo, who seemed distracted from the fight, focusing on the barrier that had suddenly disappeared.

Hambo raised his hand, wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, then stared at Suero. In his eyes, there was a mix of astonishment and disbelief. He thought to himself softly, as if the words were emerging from the depths of his consciousness:

"What is this power he possesses? How did a single punch break through the defensive barrier granted by my technique? This kid... is not ordinary."

On the other side,

Moryo and Suero were staring at the sky, where the barrier surrounding the arena had completely vanished. Suero looked up in confusion and said in a voice filled with both curiosity and concern:

"Could it be that Master Sbyam and Betma have returned?"

Moryo, who seemed more troubled, fixed his sharp eyes on the sky. He shook his head slightly as he thought:

"This is impossible. They can’t return that quickly. The distance between here and their mission is far too great."

His thoughts were interrupted by Suero, who turned towards him and called with increasing worry:

"Master Moryo!"

Moryo turned slowly, maintaining his usual calm demeanor, and replied coldly:

"There may be an intruder."

Suero's features tightened in a frown as he cautiously asked:

"An intruder? What do you mean?"

Moryo, who seemed unfazed by Suero's question, replied decisively:

"We need to search the area. We can't ignore this."

Suero hesitated for a moment before asking:

"But... why do you think there’s an intruder? Is there any evidence?"

Moryo, who didn't care for Suero's questions, answered firmly:

"We'll find out soon enough. Just stay alert."

A brief silence was broken by light footsteps,

A voice suddenly came from behind them, dripping with sarcasm:

"Oi!"

Both Moryo and Suero turned quickly, ready for whatever was coming. Beth stood a few steps away from them, arms crossed, his gaze conveying indifference and arrogance.

Suero, who was the first to speak, asked cautiously:

"Who are you?"

Beth, for his part, seemed uninterested in explaining himself. He looked Suero up and down, then said mockingly:

"You... aren’t you the brother of that fool?"

His words were enough to ignite Suero’s anger. His eyes widened slightly, and he turned to Moryo, as if sharing the shock.

Beth, with a sarcastic grin, added with increased tension in his voice:

"Solio is obsessed with killing you. I wonder... why?"

Moryo, who had begun connecting the dots in his mind, thought to himself:

"This man... from the Rizsius organization? He seems to know Spailo. But why is he here?"

With heavy steps, Suero began to advance toward Beth. His eyes were glaring with clear anger, as if a storm grew stronger with every step. He said in a sharp, challenging voice:

"Do you have any connection with Spailo?"

Beth, who seemed to be enjoying the situation, replied with a wicked grin:

"Don’t worry, I hate him just as much as you do."

Suero, unfazed by his words, said with growing fury:

"You’re from the organization he belonged to, right?!"

Beth responded indifferently, as if talking about something trivial:

"You mean the Rizsius organization? Yes, I... "

But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Suddenly, in an instant too fast to comprehend, Suero disappeared from his spot and appeared in front of Beth. His movement was lightning fast, quicker than Beth could react. With a fist charged with energy, Suero landed a direct punch to Beth's face.

The blow wasn’t just a punch; it was an exploding bomb. Beth was struck with immense force, sending him flying like a rag doll. He crashed into the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop, lying flat on his back.

Beth, lying on the ground, stared at the sky, still clouded with dust from the force of the punch. Suddenly, he smirked and began laughing hysterically, his voice rising in the air as if he were mad.

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"What nonsense! This is so much fun!"

Beth slowly got up, his face covered in blood and dust. He turned to Suero, who stood there, his muscles taut with anger, and stared at him with a terrifying grin.

---

On the other side of the arena, Alia was staring at the sky where the barrier had suddenly disappeared. Her features were filled with astonishment as she whispered to herself:

"What’s happening? The barrier... it was deactivated?!"

Her thoughts were interrupted by Veb, who stood nearby and looked into the distance with sharp eyes:

"Oi, girl!"

She slowly turned toward him as he continued with a serious tone:

"I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s clear the barrier has been destroyed! The event has been canceled, and there’s an intruder among us!"

Without waiting for her response, Veb turned and started running towards the forest, his eyes scanning seriously for any signs of the intruder. Alia shouted after him, her voice filled with sarcasm and anger:

"Like I care about you, idiot!"

She began moving as well, but suddenly felt something restraining her. She tried to lift her feet, but her legs were completely immobilized. She looked down to find her feet completely frozen in thick ice. Her eyes widened in shock as she whispered:

"What?!"

Behind her, Darwin appeared, standing calmly with his hands in his pockets. His expression was cold, and his tone steady as he spoke:

"If you don’t want to die, stay quiet."

Alia struggled to turn, her expression reflecting both anger and shock. She said in a tense voice:

"What?!"

Darwin replied coldly as if giving an order:

"You’ll stay here, quiet, waiting."

Alia, who refused to accept this passivity, screamed in anger:

"You bastard!"

She tried to free herself from the ice with all her strength, but it was in vain. The ice was tightly packed and strong. Darwin smiled faintly and added:

"It’s useless. You won’t be able to move. I’m a user of ice technique, and your feet are fully bound. If you want to break free, you’ll need to disable my technique... and that’s impossible for you."

Alia continued her violent attempts to break free, fury burning in her eyes as she said through gritted teeth:

"Dammit!"

Darwin, unfazed by her words, responded calmly once again:

"I told you, stay quiet."

In a flash, a brown spark appeared as if it were a thread of glowing light, speeding toward Darwin. The spark glowed brightly, like an arrow shot from a hidden bow.

Darwin, sensing danger, turned to look at the spark. But before he could comprehend what was happening, the spark vanished, and in its place, Veb appeared in front of him. His hands were glowing with brown sparks, flickering like small flames.

In an instant, Veb launched a direct punch to Darwin’s face. The moment Veb’s fist hit him, a terrible effect occurred. The air around them distorted due to the impact, and whirlpools of pressure exploded from the point of contact.

Darwin was sent flying, his body crashing into a nearby tree with incredible speed. He slammed into the tree trunk hard, causing it to shake and break some of its branches. He landed on the ground, clearly in pain, with blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.

Veb stood beside Alia, his expression impassive, as if what had just happened was a normal occurrence. He glanced at her coldly and said:

"You need to be more careful."

Alia, still furious about what had just happened, screamed at him:

"Shut up! I didn’t ask for your help!"

Veb didn’t respond, but instead kept his eyes carefully on Darwin.

On the other side, Darwin was trying to stand up again. He wiped the blood from his mouth with his hand, his eyes gleaming with caution and anger. He glared at Veb, who stood with confidence, and thought to himself:

"Dammit, these students. They’re all like monsters... Sbyam’s students are not human!"

---

In a completely dark room, where the darkness seemed to consume everything around him, the atmosphere was still, as if time had stopped. The dim light scattered in the corners of the room gave off a faint warmth, but it couldn't hide the tension in the air.

Sbyam stood in the middle of the room, his hand in his pocket, his usual confident demeanor present, while Betma stood next to him, his expression calm but cautious. Sbyam broke the silence with a bored tone:

"Oi! You old fools! I'm tired of waiting!"

Betma, who had been silently observing the situation, spoke quietly, though showing some irritation:

"What do you want from us?"

The silence returned to the room, as if everyone were contemplating their next move. Sbyam sighed impatiently and slowly turned toward the door, saying:

"I'm leaving."

He began to walk towards the exit, but suddenly the voice of one of the elders cut through the stillness:

"Rizsius Organization..."

Sbyam stopped midway, though he didn't turn around. Betma, sensing something odd in the speaker's tone, raised an eyebrow and said with some surprise:

"What is it?"

Another voice from the assembly responded, this time with a heavier tone:

"There is a man leading it!"

Sbyam partially turned, his eyes sharpening as he responded seriously:

"Make it quick."

The elderly speaker continued slowly:

"A man named Raizo. We don't know when he became a sorcerer, but... he was once a former scholar."

Sbyam interrupted him, his voice indicating a lack of patience:

"I know that. Is there anything new?"

The elder continued quietly but cautiously:

"You need to bring him."

Betma, sensing the weight of the situation, spoke hesitantly:

"But..."

Sbyam cut him off sharply:

"I won't do it!"

A shout from one of the other elders echoed angrily:

"What?!"

At that moment, Sbyam's eyes glowed with a calm yet terrifying black light, his serious voice filling the room, shaking the very walls:

"I won't start a war with the organization!"

Another elder responded angrily:

"Why, you fool?!"

Sbyam turned fully toward them, his tone a mix of sharpness and calm finality:

"I won't put my students at risk in a destructive war, especially with Spailo among them."

The voices of the elders grew louder in their anger:

"Since when do you fear a sorcerer?!"

Sbyam smiled slightly as he took a few confident steps toward the door, his voice quiet but carrying significant weight:

"I don't fear my former student. What truly concerns me is my students, and protecting them from him."

As Sbyam left the room, the elders continued shouting angrily behind him:

"Come back... come back, you bastard!"

But he didn't look back, continuing on his path as though he didn't care about their words.

---

In the event arena, where things were starting to take a more serious and dangerous turn, Campeis stood inside the palace, his eyes tightly closed as if he were sensing something in his surroundings. Slowly, he raised his finger to the sky, speaking in a calm voice, though one that held hidden power:

"Activate the barrier."

In a critical moment, the sky began to change. Dark lines of light appeared above, gradually forming into a transparent but sturdy barrier, enclosing the entire arena like a birdcage trapping everyone inside. The scene was majestic, as if something monumental was about to happen.

On the other side of the arena, Beth stood staring at the sky with cold eyes. He didn't seem surprised by what had happened, but he smiled mockingly, speaking to himself:

"The barrier has been activated... It's in the palace now."

Suddenly, a small explosion broke the silence, and a green spark shot through the air, traveling at incredible speed toward Beth. The spark was glowing brightly, as if it were an arrow released from a hidden bow.

Beth, as usual, remained unbothered, slowly looking toward the spark. When it got close enough, he raised his hand slowly and calmly, as if time had frozen around him. In that moment, a dark swirling vortex began to form above his palm, spinning rapidly as if it were a gate that swallowed everything.

The spark reached Beth’s face, but instead of striking him, it was drawn into the black vortex like a magnet, disappearing completely without leaving a trace.

Moryo, who had been watching the scene in shock, widened his eyes, staring at the spectacle as though trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed. In his mind, he whispered:

"What is this? How can he do that?"

Meanwhile, Suero stood next to Moryo, but he was not calm. His voice was full of suppressed anger as he said:

"Captain, I'm going now!"

Moryo turned toward him quickly, trying to calm him down:

"Stop! We need to work together, we won’t accomplish anything alone!"

But Suero was not ready to listen. His eyes were filled with hatred as he glared at Beth, then spoke in a low but sharp voice, as if the words were coming from the depths of his soul:

"I hate him... I want... I want to get revenge on them!"

Moryo, sensing the depth of Suero's anger, raised his voice firmly:

"Suero!"

Suero turned toward him, looking inquiringly, as Moryo continued seriously:

"Let’s start teaching you the Shrine Punch. This is the right time to learn and control your power."

Suero’s eyes calmed slightly, but he let out a small sigh before smiling lightly. He turned his head back toward Beth and said with growing excitement:

"Alright...!"

Beth remained standing in his place, watching Suero and Moryo with cold, indifferent eyes. He seemed to know exactly what they were planning, but he showed no interest.

Meanwhile, Suero’s eyes burned with renewed enthusiasm, full of determination. As his gaze met Beth's, it felt like a silent duel, each of them testing the other without saying a word.

End of the Chapter.