As I turn my head, a bright white greater form bursts out from Ren's avatar.
It's made of pure ether, and its outer walls have the sa unreadable outer layer as the body of this elf's avatar the last few tis I've tried to scan through it.
It works like a seal, but it's seamless, unlike the many layers and millions of twisting commands and threads of ether and divine energy I unraveled from Seraphel and placed on myself. It feels natural, like it's alive...
I sense a warm aura coming off it, one that makes the ring on my finger burn, and my senses tingle with the sa aura I felt facing Nobles, and a similar feeling that cos from Ava, or the Berserker Giant Warlord that Ember is looking after.
Though, I don't get to analyze what's in front of much, as another yell cos at .
"Where are we? This isn't the wilderness! I don't recognize this bio... Even in the sorry state it's left in, I can tell we've been moved. Tell , what happened! What have you done?"
More killing intent streams out from the elf, and the greater form grows in size, surpassing my own energy form without stopping. This cos with the loud sounds of the demonic Announcers having a field day at this turn of events.
"The human has done it again! Survived the challenge and using the rewards to crush his enemy! Was he just holding back his power before? Waiting for the ti his soul weapon could catch up? I thought only the Elite 1st Class beasts had potential like that—we are truly witnessing a mutant!"
Replays of my final hit, obliterating the mammoth and a majority of the bio I'm floating over, are put on display as many in the crowds grow even more wild, and the Demonic Servant just laughs out loud, seemingly enjoying himself a lot.
I, on the other hand, watch the hands of this elf's greater form grow hot, with chaotic and fine ether commands I recognize—similar to the small arrow this Lord struck a 1st Class Admin with and easily subdued them in the past without this greater energy form activated.
"Hey! I haven't deceived you at all! I can explain..." I yell back, but the hot white glowing hands don't stop charging up further.
I begin to recognize the flowing patterns, just as one of the mories that I siphoned from that elf, as they used what they're about to cast one ti before.
My eyes widen. "I'm not your enemy. Your other half seems to trust fully, so why don't you? That array you're threatening to unleash—the last ti you used it, it didn't have the desired effect. There were two enemies that were immune... I take it I will be too, as my defensive capabilities may be similar to theirs."
I recall the two Noble Demons on the ho world of this Lord, unaffected by Ren's attack. I do not know if what I've said is true, but I need to start on so kind of common knowledge, and cannot use certain words out loud, or a concealed whisper skill at such range.
This only seems to make the elf angrier.
"How do you know of that day? You're one of them... in a human's skin? Is that why you know of—"
I grit my teeth, deactivate all of the borrowed stats I took in order to boost my strength, and swing my spiked club across my body.
"Careful now!" I yell as my attack makes contact with the white Lord's hot hands, sending rippling shockwaves of ether and eerie hot vibrations through this desolate bio.
To my surprise, even though I toned down my strength, I still used enough to easily kill a strong 2nd Class Lord... and my spiked ball on a chain has been stopped in mid-air without any issue.
My gaze turns upward, and upon contact of my soul weapon and this white avatar, I create a telepathy link and yell my real thoughts.
"The Fallen One. The Crimson-Eyed Dragon. The Traitor. Whatever you call him—you'll see him like I promised. I don't know the reason you desire this, but I know we have the sa enemies. The Demons. We're not in the wilderness anymore—I brought us to the inner city. Your other half is far more cooperative. We're being watched right now by every single demon in the Green Zone of the Upper Realm."
We're both blown backward from the blast—myself with an annoyed look on my face as it's becoming more of a burden than a curiosity to keep Ren around, and the elf in question with a bewildered and still-angry suspicious look plastered on their face.
The announcer watching the fight, however, yells even louder with excitent than before.
"Oh no! It looks like the other human wasn't a weakling after all... Another mutant... a Lower Class Lord with far more power than expected! Though, it seems they were not allies after all! How exciting!"
Visuals of that clash—and additionally, the arena seats filling faster than usual—show up on the screen. Since the challenge event started, the seating has risen from barely 5% of the stadium filled to closer to 20% now. The steady flow is rising, as millions of recordings of this oddity in the usually boring preliminary warmup events have begun circulating around the Inner City of the Grand Citadel.
Ren stops in mid-air, still staring down with eyes that haven't lost their sharpness, but follows my gaze upward to the sky, thinking about what I've said very carefully before motioning with their hands ever so slightly to attack again.
I leave trails of fire through the air as I collide with the Lord's white hands, and open our link again to hear a private response.
"If you're a demon deceiving , I've already fallen into your trap. And if you're a human and we're truly in the Arena Event right now, we're both as good as dead already. I will repeat myself—how do you know of that day? And my wish to et with the dragon...?"
My gaze tightens again, but a bit of relief cos with it. "So you've decided to reason with . We don't have ti to share every secret, and quite honestly I still have no idea who you are, nor do I trust you... but soone I do trust has instincts that tell we're ant to help each other."
"The Goblin Girl? Where is she anyway—and those Admins, did you truly strike a deal with them? How is that possible without being a demon yourself?"
"Yes, Ava is her na, you've already t. And I have an ability that allows to bring Demonic Servants back to their previous state. That Admin that you rember was a Berserker Giant... They have as much trouble with the Demons as you and I. But neither of these points are too important. You tell why you wish to et with the dragon, and I think our mutual goals will be a bit more clear..."
At this, we fly apart from the shockwave again, but I don't wait to counter attack.
White and red streaks fill the skies, and our conversation continues every ti our avatars et.
"Why I wish to et the dragon? Another foolish question... if you were a demon, you would already know it's to help him take revenge. And if you are truly a human, and your race is the one she placed her faith in, then you should already know what you must do."
Ren's eyes et where my purple ring rests on my right finger while transmitting these words, but I respond just as we're about to bounce off each other again.
"If you're talking about Celia, then it's true. However—it's not exactly she placed her faith in, but the dragon that was with when we t."
"Impossible. You couldn't have t her—She left to seek the highest zone—"
"Well, considering she told she only lived 800 years... and your mories of her seem to be much... much older. It may not have been her after all."
I begin to feel a mood shift in this angry elf's deanour, one I felt once before as we were walking through the black sand desert. The rage, suspicion, and killing intent is starting to fade away.
I continue to speak as Ren's eyes widen, and waves of confusion rush in, as it seems I've struck a sore spot and this Lord is having trouble digesting my words.
"We're on the sa side. I'm here in the Grand Citadel to kill Miriel Vermillion. You may not know that na, but they serve below the Morvales, and they below the Vanguards that took your world. I promised you'd get to et my soul-bonded partner, so I hope once I speak to you again, you do not try to kill ..."
The greater form around Ren begins to fade, and I have to channel far less energy into my soul weapon in order not to injure them, but another reply cos back.
"Light elves are complicated... Unlike the darks that can live forever as long as they train their souls, we can only live as long as our lifespans let us. Our dormant states are hardly our other half... or considered living despite being able to exist for eternity too. So, as cooperative as she may be, I hope you don't expect to keep any more promises you make with her."
The entire greater form fades into white mist, and a small white-haired elf falls through the sky with an indifferent expression on their face.
Ren's eyes return to their dull white state, and a light glow hums beneath their feet as the descent downward slows.
I retract my soul weapon and deactivate my greater form while following, then touch down lightly in front of the small Lord face to face in the center of the crater in this bio.
The elf speaks in a quiet and confused manner.
"So we're in the Arena now... Hmm..."
A light smile, and silent stare with no emotions at all, looks right through .
Before I saw this act as a docile and scared frail Lord, but now I don't know what to make of it...
The images in the spectate feed in the back of my mind have already swapped back to the Berserker Giant and the Black Golem, as well as the white serpent now stalking a scorpion monster ranked 5th on the rankings.
My mind wanders, but one thing does stand out to —it's the fact that I'm now ranked number 7 on the Live Leaderboards... and as I turn my head away from the robotic elf, and look around this arena, I see 9 red pillars of light that were not there before.
Unlike the white pillars, these have faces and point values attached to them, and they are moving.
So toward each other, and so toward myself...
It appears everyone in the top 10 has the pleasure of knowing the other's exact location, and how many points they have to steal.
I run forward and scoop Ren off their feet again, and place the small white haired Lord back on my back, held on by mana and purple divine threads.
"Wel... Like it or not, you're my responsibility until my business here is done. Hold on."
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