In the centre of that wide stone plaza, the air felt thick enough to choke on. I had walked into a slaughterhouse, but I wasn't about to become the cattle.
I didn't see this move coming. But if they thought this was enough to take me down, then I beg to differ. I could already see through what had happened and what they planned to do next.
That fifth hidden contender—the Illusionist—must have gotten on their nerves early on. The moment they landed in this trial, the Selvator, with his calculating mind, must have proposed this temporary alliance to flush her out.
The Selvator was so sure of his supremacy over the dragon, and the dragon was arrogant enough to think he could best the Selvator. Their little show here—the clashing pillars of light and the tremors—aimed to lure out that hidden enemy.
Even when they got the system memo of one of us being eliminated, they never thought it was the Shadow Master. They assumed it was a weak human or a panicked succubus.
