SSS Awakening : I can Adapt to Everything

Chapter 178: Set Up

SMACK!

The sharp, cracking sound of breaking polymer echoed through the Varisus spectating suite. Claire’s hand remained firmly planted on the shattered armrest of the leather chair, which had just projected the glowing red notification summoning her to the arena floor. Her breathing was heavy, her red eyes burning with a mixture of profound frustration and dangerous anticipation.

"These fuckers," Claire hissed under her breath, her voice vibrating with barely contained rage. "Why would they choose to have me fight against Julian of all people? That mad bastard."

She didn’t wait for Gideon or Evelyn to offer any words of encouragement. Hide watched her quietly from his corner as she turned on her heel and marched directly out of the suite, the heavy doors hissing shut behind her.

As she made her way down the long, dimly lit staging tunnels that led beneath the stadium, Claire’s mind raced. The rhythmic echo of her boots against the concrete provided a steady cadence to her turbulent thoughts.

She remembered the bizarre, deeply unsettling encounter just three days ago at the gate training facility. After their respective teams had departed into the high-tier loop gates, Julian had cornered her. The man, radiating the suffocating presence of an S-Rank, had looked at her with those manic, bottomless eyes and casually proposed marriage.

It hadn’t been a romantic gesture; it had been a declaration of ownership.

Back then, caught entirely off guard and unwilling to ignite an S-Rank battle in the middle of a federal facility, Claire had deflected. She had told him she needed time to think, at least until the end of the World Tournament.

Now, walking toward the blinding light of the arena, Claire was absolutely certain. This match wasn’t just a randomly manipulated spectacle by the organizers to boost ratings. Julian had undoubtedly pulled massive bureaucratic strings to make this happen. This was his twisted, psychotic way of taking revenge on her for not accepting his proposal then and there. It was a demonstration of dominance.

But truth be told, Claire had zero intention of marrying that mad dog. Julian was a psychopath, a man whose mind had long since fractured under the sheer weight of his own power. Commander Maddox had warned her about him years ago. During the last World Exterminator Tournament, Claire had been fairly new to the world of combat—merely an E-Rank rookie. Maddox hadn’t let her participate, forcing her to sit in the stands as a spectator. He had pointed out the monsters on the field, and Julian had been at the top of that terrifying list.

The heavy steel gates at the end of the tunnel suddenly groaned, hissing open to reveal the colossal expanse of the battlefield.

Claire stepped out into the blinding artificial daylight. With a sharp pulse of her intent, her crimson red aura flared. A brilliant flash of crimson light enveloped her, and her pristine, white heavy armor seamlessly materialized over her combat suit, the thick plating locking into place with a series of heavy metallic clanks. She reached over her shoulder and drew her massive long sword, the dark steel glinting menacingly.

"Stepping out of the Blue Gate!" the male commentator’s voice boomed through the stadium’s acoustic amplifiers, hyping the crowd into an absolute frenzy. "We have the pride of the Southern Continent! Claire V. Bronn! Hailing from a relatively unknown, tragically destroyed hometown in Varisus, she rose from the ashes!"

"That’s right!" the female commentator chimed in, her voice echoing dramatically. "She is a verified prodigy, raised and trained personally by the legendary Commander James Maddox! She is one of the very few Exterminators in documented history to completely reach the maximum potential of her class before 8 years! The newly ascended S-Rank Exterminator!"

The crowd roared her name, but she could not hear them, Claire’s red eyes were locked entirely on the opposite side of the sprawling arena.

The red gates hissed open.

"And representing the Red Side!" the male commentator bellowed. "A man who needs absolutely no introduction! The Ex-Commander of the Central Continent’s premier Exterminator Agency, and the terrifying second-place holder of the previous World Ranking Tournament! The Mad King himself... Julian!"

Julian stepped out onto the terrain. Despite the sweltering heat of the Ufrifan arena, he was dressed impeccably in a dark suit, an expensive black trench coat, and a wide-brimmed hat casting a shadow over his face. He even wore a pair of pristine white gloves. He looked entirely comfortable, strolling out into the apocalyptic battlefield as if he were taking a leisurely walk through a park.

The battleground they had been assigned was breathtaking in its massive scale. The arena floor had been completely terraformed into a rugged, treacherous series of towering mountain ranges. Deep, jagged ravines cut through the stone, and dark, cavernous tunnels ran directly through the bellies of the mountains, connecting one side of the map to the other. High above the valley floor, perched precariously on the absolute highest, steepest cliffs on either side of the map, sat the Red and Blue flag pillars.

The deafening digital buzzer blared through the stadium, signaling the official start of the match.

The crowd screamed, expecting an immediate, explosive clash between the two walking natural disasters.

But down on the bedrock floor, all was entirely silent. The stadium’s artificial wind howled through the jagged mountain peaks, but neither of the two S-Ranks moved a single inch. They stood apart, separated by a field of uneven boulders and cracked earth, simply staring at one another. The immense, suffocating weight of their conflicting auras began to physically warp the air between them, causing the space to shimmer like heat haze.

Slowly, Julian raised his right hand. He reached over with his left and delicately, methodically removed his pristine white glove, dropping the fabric onto the dirt. He snapped his bare fingers.

CRACK!

The sound was like a glacier fracturing. The air around Julian’s exposed hand violently plummeted in temperature. Within a fraction of a second, his entire hand and forearm mutated, encased in a jagged, terrifyingly massive beast claw constructed entirely out of zero-degree blue ice. The sheer density of the mana radiating from the frozen limb was catastrophic.

Julian slowly tilted his head up, his manic, bottomless eyes locking onto Claire from beneath the brim of his hat. A wide, deeply unhinged smile split across his handsome face.

"Let’s have fun, my Love," Julian said, his smooth, cultured voice carrying effortlessly across the silent battlefield.