As I stood face to face with Miron, I knew there was no escape. Perhaps I could distract him long enough for Rose to get away, but before I could even formulate a plan, Miron released his powerful spirits upon us.

These spirits were unlike any I had encountered before. They were so potent that they immediately surrounded Rose and me, forcing us to our knees and separating us from one another. Miron, recognizing Rose as a paladin, commanded his spirits to disarm her of her sword.

Now that we were helpless, Miron slowly approached us with a sinister smile on his face.

"It seems I've stumbled upon two for the price of one," he said, his words directed towards me but including Rose in a way that suggested a connection between them.

Before I could make sense of Miron's words, Rose attempted to rise, seething with anger. Despite being disarmed, she lunged at Miron, but the spirits pushed her back each time she tried.

"I'll kill you for what you've done," Rose spat at him.

"How brave of you to say that without a weapon," Miron taunted.

"I don't need a weapon to take you down," Rose retorted.

Miron, not liking Rose's answer, clenched his left hand and ordered his spirits to squeeze her even tighter. I could see that he was involuntarily silent because of the pain he was in. Unable to bear the pain Rose was in, I began to speak.

"Miron, let her go," I said firmly. "It was me you wanted. She had nothing to do with it."

Seeing me speak, Miron focused his attention directly on me. He seemed surprised to see me with Rose.

"It's interesting," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "A girl who hates the wolf clan collaborates with a boy who is a member of the wolf clan."

At Miron's words, Rose slowly turned her head towards me. Her eyes were filled with sadness and confusion.

"Are you a wolf?" she asked softly.

"Rose, I don't know what to say," I stammered.

"I trusted you," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

After our silence, Miron continued to talk. "Or didn't you tell her?" he said with a sneer. "I thought I was a bad person, but don't worry. When I tell you everything, you'll realize who's really bad."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Once upon a time, I was of the wolf lineage like you," Miron said. "I was young but strong, just like you. Our lineage was almost invincible. The other lineages didn't stand a chance against us. But then something happened. My father, the founder of the wolf clan, by a young man of our lineage and the king."

"Alpha Prime," I said, recognizing the name.

"Yes," Miron said. "He was the one who had killed my father. At that moment, I was filled with vengeance and anger. More than that, I wanted to become stronger. I wanted to kill Alpha Prime, but it was impossible to defeat him with the others. So I made a deal with the leader of the Epics."

"Or was it the man in my dreams…" I said softly.

"It was him," Miron said. "How do you think I found you? Wherever you go, whatever kingdom you hide in, you can't escape him. He'll find you. And I'll come to finish you off."

"You betrayed the wolf line," I said angrily.

My words seemed to ignite a fierce anger in Miron, causing him to shout with restraint, "After they killed my father, they banished me from my own lineage. Tell me, what kind of treachery can be worse than what they did?"

Taking a moment to collect himself, Miron continued, "When the leader of the Epics found me, he gave me power and a new bloodline. In return, I fulfilled his wish and killed a family."

Realizing what he had done, I spoke up, "You were the one who killed Rose's family in the wolf clan." Miron simply replied, "I did what had to be done. I became a hunter. I hunted every one of you, and I will continue to do so. I will finish the line my father founded, the wolf line. And then the real traitors will be dead."

Determined to stop him, I countered, "I will stop this from happening. I will stop you."

Miron scoffed, "Oh yeah? How are you going to do that with the people you've gathered? I've seen powers you've never known, warriors you've never met. You're not even an Alpha, you're just an ordinary boy."

Refusing to back down, I replied, "As long as people stand up for what's right, you will inevitably be defeated." Miron challenged me, "Let's see if they think like you. You've had me chased for a long time, and I think that deserves a reward. So I'm not going to kill you now, but at least I need to know one thing. So, you're going to fight for your life."

Miron spoke in a very complicated way and it was difficult to understand what he was trying to do.

Before I had a chance to speak with him, Miron's spirits surrounded me. In one swift motion, he used his left arm to grab me by the throat and slowly lifted me into the air.

"Try not to die, okay? Or your friend will get hurt," he warned.

With a single movement of his arm, Miron smashed through the wall and hurled me from the top of the room we were in to the center of the tournament arena. All I could hear was Rose's voice shouting behind me.

"Ryuuuuuuu…"

Before I could gather any information about my uncle or ask any questions, before I even understood what had happened, I found myself falling right into the middle of the tournament. Miron was so fast and strong that I couldn't even stop his movements. It seemed that he had a plan in mind, but I needed time to understand it.

The most important thing now was to try to survive. I didn't expect the soldiers to enter the tournament and intervene, and the rules of the tournament didn't include showing mercy to the enemy.