Chapter 539: Moon’s Plan, The approaching storm
The fireball passed Marcus’ pillar, sending his brain into a temporary stall.
For a moment, he didn’t understand what had happened. The trajectory of the attack made him believe it was directed at him.
Every instinct in his body had screamed that the spell was aimed at him. And yet the blue fire continued past his position, flying over his head and curving slightly as it approached the pillar directly behind him.
"H-He missed!" Marcus smiled brightly and foolishly. The feeling of escaping certain death was a feeling that very few understood, but those that felt it, unanimously agreed that it was one of the best feelings.
The fireball made its way to another pillar. The competitor on that pillar was a Four-Star Evolver. A mage who had been quietly preparing a powerful spell of his own. His arms were raised, his eyes fixed on Marcus like a predator about to deal a finishing strike to its prey.
He had been winding up to attack Marcus’s pillar when he was greeted by the azure fire that descended toward him.
He hadn’t been expecting any incoming threat. He wasn’t prepared for such a powerful strike to come towards him, especially from someone that wasn’t anywhere near him.
Before he could process what grievance Moon had with him—enough to justify such a long-range attack—the mage turned and unleashed his offensive spell as a defensive countermeasure.
The two spells collided.
For a single, gleaming moment, the Four-Star mage’s spell actually managed to stop Ignite. The fireball halted, suspended in the air, its azure flames fighting against the spell.
Then Ignite consumed his spell, the blue fire devouring it whole. The flames burst outward as soon as they reached the Four-Star mage’s position, engulfing his entire pillar in a roaring barrage of azure flame.
He screamed.
The fire burned through his clothes, his armor, his hastily raised shield. His pillar’s durability bar plummeted on the overhead display, crashing through warning thresholds in under three seconds.
A flash of golden light descended from above. The Surpasser healer took charge immediately, her hands moving in the same elegant casting motion she had used earlier.
A wave of purifying mana extinguished the flames and stabilized the mage’s body, drawing the burning effect out of his wounds. She sighed, shaking her head. So far, Moon had given her the most trouble. His attacks always required her to cast a healing spell, unlike others.
The announcement followed immediately, marking his elimination.
At the same moment, Moon’s second fireball struck on the opposite side of Sarah’s position.
A competitor who had been positioning himself for an attack on Sarah’s pillar suddenly found himself the target of an Ignite he never saw coming.
His defences crumbled in the same way.
Another competitor was eliminated!
Marcus stood frozen on his pillar.
His sword was still raised. His chest was heaving. The arc he had launched in desperation lay dispersed in the air, its mana spent, his trump card already used.
But he hadn’t been the target.
He stared at the two smoldering pillars on either side of his position, his mind unable to fully process what he was seeing. Two competitors had been preparing to attack him and Sarah.
Both had just been removed by Moon. Casually, effortlessly in a way, Moon didn’t even seem bothered.
Marcus’ pupils shrank.
Unlike he had thought, Moon’s spell had missed him on purpose.
He wasn’t the target.
He had never been the target.
Moon hadn’t even considered him important enough to attack directly. The boy hadn’t taken him seriously. Not even slightly. Marcus had spent the last twenty-four hours convinced that Moon would eventually come for him, that the confrontation in the holding area would be the prelude to a personal vendetta. He had even paid a three-star archer to harass Moon.
And Moon had just thrown it all aside.
Worse, Moon had removed Marcus’s actual threats for him. Two stronger competitors had been planning to take him out. Moon had eliminated both.
Marcus shivered at the thought. Why was Moon helping him and Sarah?
It didn’t make sense. He could have eliminated them both with the two fireballs he had released, yet he didn’t.
Marcus’s hand trembled around the hilt of his sword.
His teeth ground together.
The shame he was currently feeling was deeper than anything he had felt yesterday. It wasn’t the humiliation of being mocked in front of others or the shame of pissing his own pants. Those had been moments of weakness in front of strangers.
For Marcus. this was worse. Moon was publicly declaring that Marcus’s life or death was nothing before his eyes, and Marcus was simply not interesting enough to engage with.
Marcus’ pillar remained intact. His position in the bracket was preserved. And yet, Marcus had never felt more defeated in his life. A few pillars away, Sarah watched the entire event unfold with no change of expression crossing her eyes.
She watched the first fireball pass over Marcus’s pillar and strike the Four-Star mage behind him. She watched the second fireball remove the other attacker beside her position.
Her hands stayed loose on her staff.
Her eyes flicked to Moon, briefly, across the arena. Ever since she had left him inside the awakening ceremony, Moon had never looked at her once.
Moon treated her as if she was invisible.
Sarah turned her attention back to her own pillar.
She didn’t say a word. But internally, many thoughts were brewing.
Moon glanced at the two opponents he had eliminated. He had identified them as the most dangerous opponents to Sarah and Marcus, in their vicinity.
By removing them from the tournament, Sarah and Marcus would not have much trouble in remaining longer in the tournament, and in turn, remaining till the dark organization came.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Azure and red fire crackled in the distance, bombarding the area.
Moon’s attention was grabbed by the powerful attacks.
"Kael..." Moon’s eyes widened as he watched Kael unleash his strongest attacks against the pillar.
Smoke billowed into the air, obscuring the target from view. But the fact that no elimination had been announced told Moon everything he needed to know—the opponent was still standing, still very much in the game.
’Who could it be...those are some powerful strikes.’
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