The noise died down when Vera appeared, floating onto the platform. Her sweet smile sent chills across the audience so hard no one cheered for her.
But she never stopped, even as her opponent also joined her at the platform. The opponent walked at an uneven pace.
Then, as he reached the platform, he lowered his head as he walked onto the platform as if he was nervous.
The moment he stepped onto the platform, his skin hardened to a diamond-like density, shimmering on the platform.
Vera stood there watching him, not flinching, not attacking. But her sweet voice echoed in the arena as she tilted her head.
"Do you really think that's enough? I heard your little sister is sick. The same rare genetic degradation that killed your mother." She paused and saddened her face.
"It must be so expensive to treat. A shame if something happened to the funds your family has scraped together..." Her laughter roared across the platform so hard it made the boy's hardened skin crack.
His concentration broke, the diamond sheen flickering. "How… how do you know that?" he screamed. But in return, Vera's smile never wavered.
"I know everything." She began to move to him in a slow stance.
"I know the bank is already suspicious of your father's loans." She raised a finger and pointed to him. "One word from me, and that treatment stops. Forever. So, are you going to make me say that word?" Her words felt like heaven's chime.
The boy's shoulders slumped as if the fight had been drained from him completely. But with what had happened to Jade's opponent, he still moved forward.
Tears streaked his face; his movement seemed to be forced. Yet Vera didn't spare him a bit. She crushed him down like an ant when he neared her.
"I surrender," he mumbled, the words thick with shame.
Then, Vera waved dismissively and skipped off the platform, leaving the boy unconscious.
Sweat streaked across Leon's face as his blood ran cold. The arena wasn't just a place for physical combat; it was a stage for psychological warfare.
Tiger broke bodies, Jade nullified powers, Vera shattered spirits, and the proctor destroys the one who surrenders.
Finally, Tiger walked onto the platform to fight against his last opponent of the day. But his last opponent wasn't like the normal opponents he had faced.
The last opponent was a skilled hydrokinetic, a boy who summoned whips of pressurized water that could slice through steel at the Shattered Lands.
Just as the boy gave his first strike, Tiger moved. For the first time, Leon felt a flicker of hope as he saw Tiger trying to evade a strike.
Tiger sighed and crossed his arms in a defensive posture and grinned in annoyance. He lunged through the spray of water.
But as he dodged countless sprays, one screeched across his cheeks and drew blood out of his skin. The moment some of the blood touched his lips, the smile on his face grew wider.
As he neared the boy, he grabbed the boy's water-wielding hand. Instead of breaking it, he tightened his grip, blocking the boy's blood from flowing through the veins where his hands were.
Then, as Leon focused his eyes on the platform, he saw a faint, sickly green glow emanating from a ring on Tiger's finger.
It looked as if the ring had erupted from Tiger's skin; it wasn't seen on him till that very moment.
A sound of pure agony filled the air, different from the pain of a broken bone, as the hydrokinetic boy screamed.
The scream sounded like something vital had been ripped out of him.
The water whips faltered and dissolved into mist. The boy's eyes rolled back in his head as he convulsed and collapsed on the floor with a loud, crushing sound.
Tiger released him, flexing his hand, then raised a leg above the boy's head and struck it.
Upon the impact, blood spilled across the ground and Tiger's boot, leaving the boy's head crushed beyond recognition.
The moment the boy's body stopped moving, a shimmer of water-like energy coiled around Tiger's fist briefly, then got absorbed into his skin.
Tiger hadn't just fought against the boy; he had stolen his power and killed him without remorse. Tiger's action wasn't fair; it was a blatant cheat done in full view of everyone.
Silence ruled for a while, then the proctor's voice erupted. "Victory Kang, T." The proctors didn't act, they didn't kick Tiger out, they just stood there doing nothing.
Everyone was shocked by the realization of the new rules and the new strength Tiger had gotten. Not only did it apply to the elites, but to everyone else, including Leon – if only he could.
Every individual was allowed to recharge, to grow stronger, not just by fighting the opponent, but to consume him or her both physically and spiritually.
Leon sat back, his mind reeling. Jade's impenetrable defense, Vera's cruel manipulation, Tiger's sanctioned theft, and the platform's cruel killing mechanism.
This was what he was up against. Mr. Lee's lesson about control felt like trying to hold back the ocean with a teacup.
The humming energy under his skin now felt like a trapped, panicked animal. He had until tomorrow to build a bridge strong enough to hold it.
And he had just witnessed the tsunami that was coming to destroy it for good.
On his way back to his room, eyes turned to him, watching, and he also saw lips moving, whispering words he couldn't hear.
Leon maintained his composure and walked as if he wasn't pushed by what he had seen or even heard at the arena.
A voice hissed behind Leon's ears as he passed three broad-chested men.
"If I were part of Kang T.'s opponents, I would have just run out of this traitorous death pit."
Slowly, Leon shifted his gaze to them, smiled, and continued sobbing. "What will be will be." He sighed the moment he reached his door. He unlocked it and entered without looking back.