Chapter 92: The Moment Steffan Lost His Confidence

The Moment Steffan Lost His Confidence

The countdown began.

The enormous screen above the arena lit up.

10, 9, 8, 7...

The surrounding noise seemed to fade.

Leon opened his eyes.

His purple gaze swept across the arena.

Then stopped on Steffan.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, the air between them seemed to crackle with tension.

Neither man moved.

Neither looked away.

Steffan’s expression was serious.

Leon allowed himself a small smile.

"Selena. Evelyn."

His voice was soft but clear.

Both women looked toward him.

"We’re going to end this match faster than any before."

Selena’s golden eyes gleamed.

"As you wish, darling."

Evelyn bit her lip.

Her purple eyes flickered with nervous excitement as she looked toward Steffan.

"Leon... he’s an SS-rank."

"I know."

Leon’s grin widened.

"That’s what makes it fun."

He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck.

The sound was small.

Yet in the suddenly quiet arena, it carried farther than expected.

Leon looked toward Steffan and Victoria.

His purple eyes held no fear.

Only anticipation.

"Let’s show the capital what a real sweep looks like."

The countdown ended.

The match began!

The instant the signal disappeared, Selena moved.

There was no hesitation.

No warning.

Her silver-white hair snapped behind her as she stepped forward, and the ground beneath her feet cracked from the force of her acceleration.

She didn’t even activate a Battle Art.

She didn’t need one.

Using only her raw physical strength, she sent a nearby beast-girl flying across the arena like a ragdoll.

BOOM!

The unfortunate beast-girl shot through the air, crossed more than half the arena, and crashed into the protective barrier before falling outside the stage.

The spectators barely had time to react.

Then Evelyn moved.

Her green hair rose with the surge of spiritual power.

A gigantic web spread above the arena.

It was enormous.

Layer after layer of sticky strands stretched across the sky before descending like a net from the heavens.

The web blocked the light above the arena.

For a moment, the students below saw only a vast shadow falling toward them.

"What the fuck?!"

"Whose beast-soul skill is that?!"

"Whoever cast that—we hit them first! What the hell is this thing trying to do?!"

"Damn it—you’ve pissed everyone off! Brothers, let’s go!"

Panic spread through the arena.

The examinees quickly realized what Leon and his team were planning.

They weren’t fighting everyone individually.

They were clearing the entire arena at once.

Several students immediately tried to escape.

Others summoned their beast-girls.

Some launched attacks toward Evelyn’s web, hoping to tear an opening through it.

But they were already too late.

Leon stood calmly behind Selena and Evelyn.

His black oversized coat fluttered in the turbulent air.

His purple eyes swept across the battlefield.

He didn’t need to give another order.

Selena understood.

She raised her hand.

Her fingers tightened.

The muscles in her arm flexed.

Then she swung down with brutal force.

The examinees trapped in Evelyn’s web could only watch helplessly as the attack descended.

The air itself seemed to collapse.

For a fraction of a second, everything became silent.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the arena.

A violent shockwave spread from the center.

Dust and fragments of stone were thrown into the air.

Dozens of figures were caught in the blast and sent flying in all directions.

Some were thrown sideways.

Some were launched straight upward.

Others were blasted directly beyond the edge of the stage.

The arena barrier flashed repeatedly as it registered the impacts.

Evelyn and Selena had practiced this combo several times.

They knew exactly when the other would move.

They knew where the enemies would try to escape.

Evelyn trapped them.

Selena finished them.

There was no wasted movement.

No confusion.

The combination was flawless.

[Time elapsed: 49 seconds.]

The arena was cleared in a flash!

Eighty to ninety percent of the crowd had come to watch Steffan.

They had expected to see the capital’s strongest examinee dominate the final placement match.

Instead, their jaws were practically on the floor.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Then the entire venue exploded.

"Who the hell is he?!"

"Yeah, who is he? How should I know?!"

"Holy shit—that guy just wiped out everyone in one go!"

"Wait—where are Steffan and Victoria?!"

The crowd immediately scanned the stage.

The answer soon became obvious.

Only five people remained.

On one side stood Leon’s trio.

Leon.

Selena.

Evelyn.

They had just dropped a nuclear bomb on the competition.

On the opposite side stood Steffan and Victoria.

The two had survived.

But unlike everyone else, they hadn’t tried to fight through the explosion.

They had avoided it.

"I saw it clearly. Steffan and Victoria ran to the edge the moment the match started."

"I saw that too. I thought it was strange—Steffan’s fighting style is usually aggressive and dominating!"

"No shit! If I had an SS-rank offense-type beast-girl, I’d be aggressive too!"

"What’s going on? Why is Steffan playing so defensively?"

The questions spread through the stands.

People who had been cheering for Steffan only moments ago were now confused.

Why wasn’t he attacking?

Why was the strongest student in the capital avoiding Leon?

------------------------

On the stage, Steffan and Victoria stared at Leon in disbelief.

The scene from less than a minute ago was still fresh in their minds.

The enormous web.

The terrifying attack.

The explosion.

Forty-eight teams disappearing almost simultaneously.

Everything that had just happened was seared into their memories.

What kind of insane beast-soul skill was that? One attack, and forty-eight teams were wiped out?

Steffan’s throat moved.

His usual confidence had disappeared.

They had earned three Complete Victories before this match.

They had swept entire arenas.

But those sweeps had taken time and effort.

They had needed to fight.

They had needed to chase.

They had needed to carefully eliminate their opponents.

These three bastards had just eliminated forty-eight teams in under a minute!

Was that even humanly possible?

Victoria silently thanked her instincts.

If they hadn’t listened to Steffan’s warning, they would have been eliminated too.

She glanced toward him.

For the first time, she understood why his expression had been so serious before the match.

His instincts had sensed something wrong.

And now she had seen it herself.

Selena suddenly spotted the survivors.

Her golden eyes sharpened.

Without waiting for Leon to say anything, she burst forward.

BOOM!