The more I thought about it, the more plausible the idea was from how she suddenly gave me chocolate to the times when she would randomly show up unannounced. I wasnt very good at picking up these things, but I also didnt think I was dense.

It was for that reason that I found myself believing the notion.

Licking my dry lips, I opened my mouth,

You, you cant possibly like me

No.

Delilah coldly shook her head and answered before I could finish my sentence.

It left me speechless, and at the same time a little disappointed. But I shook those feelings away. What was I even thinking?

Okay.

I dropped the topic there and pressed my hand against hers.

Right, maybe Im overthinking.

Focusing all my attention on her palm, I tried using Love on her. The results were as expected. Delilah didnt react much as she sat in silence, seemingly waiting for something to happen.

But that something never happened.

.Its not working.

Hmm.

Delilah took her hand back before standing up.

Brushing her silky black hair past her ear, she looked around before heading for the door. Just before reaching the door, she paused.

Though I couldnt see her back, she looked pretty conflicted.

In the end, she ended up saying,

Theres an imbalance between your understanding of the six emotions. Your weakest is Love. Improve that.

Clank!

Those were the last words that she said before she left.

.

In the silence that took over the room, I stared in her direction, at a loss for words.

That

I leaned my head back and helplessly stared at the ceiling.

How in the world am I supposed to do that

My thoughts paused when I noticed something from the corner of my vision. Slowly turning my head, I spotted a familiar chocolate bar resting on the desk.

Reaching out for it, I paused when I noticed that it was missing all of its contents besides one small piece.

.

I stared at it for a brief moment before putting the bar down and murmuring,

Youll be the death of me.

A notification flashed in my vision.

***

Coming out of the room, Delilah stood in silence for a brief moment. Her brows wiggled slightly as she fell into deep thought.

Like?

She rummaged through her pocket and took out a small chocolate bar. Unwrapping the paper, she was in the process of bringing it to her lips when she stopped.

..

Delilah then opened her mouth and tried again, but stopped again.

In the end, for the first time since she could remember, she wrapped the chocolate bar and placed it in her pocket.

Fiddling with her hand, and tracing her finger over the ring on her finger, she quietly mumbled,

Maybe?

Her figure started to blur.

I dont understand.

***

Within a quiet room in Grimspire.

Creak!

The wooden floor creaked under a certain step as a figure calmly sat down on the bed within the room. The room was neither big nor small. It was large enough to fit the basic decorations as Kiera silently sat down on the bed with a blank expression.

Her ruby-red eyes continuously flickered as her expression slowly started to twist.

The veins at the top of her forehead started to bulge while her face started to spasm. Her eyes shook, and her entire body started to tremble.

Uuk! Ahk!

Foam started forming in her mouth as her eyes lost clarity.

At that moment, Kiera clenched her teeth tightly as she smashed her fist against the side of the bed.

Bang!

Despite the bedding, the bed shattered in an instant as her body shot up.

Fucking! Get the fuck out!

Regaining some semblance of clarity, Kiera held onto her head as she thrashed around the room, gripping the desk while screaming.

Akh!

Her vision grew dark.

In that moment, Kiera stopped struggling as she started hugging her body.

No, not this place again

A blurred figure appeared in her consciousness.

The image of the blurred figure became clearer and clearer to Kiera as she sank deeper and deeper into her consciousness. It stared back at her with the same expression. One that was filled with sorrow.

What do you want?

Kiera screamed in her consciousness.

It had been days since she had felt trapped in her own body, and days since she was able to see the figure. It had slowly started to take control of her body, inserting more and more of its influence on her.

But she wasnt the only one.

Kiera knew this.

.There were several others it had affected.

It was just that she didnt know to what extent the number of those who had been influenced was.

Say something!

Kieras ruby-red eyes glowed menacingly as she glared at the statue that stood before her. But her words were met with an empty silence as the statue kept its gaze fixed on her with its hollow and sorrowful eyes.

Arkh!

Kiera rushed toward the statue.

But just as she did, she snapped back to reality, her eyes flying open as she realized she was back in her own room.

Kiera stumbled several times before coming to a stop in front of her desk which she used to support herself.

Haa Haa

With heavy breaths, she gripped the desk tightly, biting her lip until she felt a warm trickle down her chin. Unfazed by the pain, her eyes frantically scanned the desk, finally locking onto a small orb. She reached for it quicklyit was a communication device.

So long as she could tell someone

Ueekh!

But just as she reached for it, her hand froze, trembling uncontrollably. It was as if an invisible force had seized her arm, holding it in place and stopping her from moving any further.

Let go damn it!

Kieras eyes turned bloodshot as the veins down her neck bulged, her expression contorting in agony.

Gradually, she felt her consciousness begin to slip away, sinking back into that dark place

No!

The thought of returning to that dark place sent her into a panic. She forced her eyelids open and, with every ounce of strength she had left, reached desperately for the communication device.

She came close to the communication device.

Kiera extended her hand, her fingertip almost brushing against it.

Just a little

Bang!

Akh!

Her entire body was suddenly flung backward, crashing against the wall at the back of the room. She collapsed to the floor, coughing violently as she struggled to catch her breath.

Cough! Cough!

Her mind spun, and her eyelids grew heavy.

In her fading vision, she could see the darkness creeping in from the edges, slowly closing in around her.

Ugh

With a groan, Kiera turned to her left and opened her palm, revealing a small communication device. She silently smirked before she mustered the little amount of energy in her before and speaking,

Angel Statue Possess

Kiera faded into her consciousness shortly after that.

.

The room fell silent as Kieras grip slackened, and the communication device slipped from her hand, rolling across the wooden floor.

It tumbled for several seconds before a foot came down on it, stopping it in its tracks.

Kiera bent down, her ruby-red eyes glowing faintly as she picked up the device. She stared at the name displayed on it, her expression unreadable.

Then, without a word, she crushed the device in her hand, shattering it into fine powder.

Aoife K. Megrail

***

After the first round of fights concluded, the injured combatants were escorted to Grimspires Medical Facility. The facility was situated far from the Plaza, toward the lower end of the city, where space was more abundanta necessity for such a large establishment.

Fortunately, Grimspire wasnt a particularly large city. It was only about one-tenth the size of Bremmer, with a population of roughly 100,000 people.

In the Medical Facility.

How are you feeling.

Amell quietly observed Agatha, who lay on the bed with a pale complexion and lips pressed together. Her long platinum hair was spread out over the pillow, and her icy blue eyes reflected a glimmer of sorrow.

She lay like that for several seconds before murmuring,

I thought Id win that. I really thought

Agatha bit her lips, recalling the last fight.

In that moment when she thrust her sword, she could remember sighing in relief and feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. She thought she had won And yet

Clench.

Not only did she carry the heavy burden of representing her Empire, but she also carried the burden of bearing the title of the next Sword Saint.

Losing was unacceptable for her.

Especially when it came from someone who was ranked far beneath her.

She felt as though she had let down those of her Empire, and her family. The more she thought about the situation the more her chest stung.

If only

I get it.

Amell stopped her before she could continue. He could see the regret on her face as she blankly stared at the ceiling. Agatha was usually the cheerful one while he was the brooding one, always thinking about his past and his brother.

Seeing how weak and frail she looked, Amell knew that it was now his job to act like her support.

But not only that, he was also the only one left who had any chance of granting their Empire victory. Before he had Agatha to share that burden with him, but now

Hooo.

He took a deep breath and took out a small rectangular device.

Noticing his actions, Agatha tilted her head to look in his direction, wondering what he was doing. Without looking up at her, he answered,

Im looking at the matches of all the other participants. I want to study each one of them so that I dont lose carelessly or unexpectedly.

Really?

Amells words surprised Agatha as she sat up from the bed.

Having known Amell for as long as she could remember, she understood his personality best.

Coming here, he showed no regard to the other fighters nor did he care who was ranked first or second. He acted like someone who couldnt care less about competition, but this was actually the furthest thing from the truth.

Amell was quite competitive, but he was also arrogant in his own way.

He never once looked at a profile, be it on paper or in real life, because he was confident in his own abilities.

It was his unconscious way of saying that he looked down on everyone.

Agatha on the other hand was usually the cautious type, always looking at her opponents profiles and whatnot, but that was in the past. Spending so much time with Amell, his attitude started to rub off on her as well, hence her lack of preparation for her opponent.

.

As the room fell into a state of silence as Amell started to look through the profiles, he stopped after a certain point, his expression slowly starting to stiffen.

Whats wrong?

Noticing the abnormalities in Amells expression, Agatha reached for him, but just as she did, Amell raised his head abruptly, dropping the device in his hand and hurrying out.

His actions shook Agatha as she tried to reach for him with her hand.

Wait! Where are you going!?

But she got no response as he smacked the door behind him, leaving her in the room stunned.

It was then that she lowered her head and noticed the profile flickering on the device. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the information:

[Leon Ellert]

[Age : 19]

[Empire : Nurs Ancifa]

[Weapon : Sword]

[Eye color : Gray]