The arena remained dead quiet. Nobody coughed. The moment Mizuki Higan stepped onto the sand, the residual heat from the previous fights vanished. A bone-deep cold took its place.

  ?Her face was porcelain. Her thin lips formed a hard line. Her eyes were absolute voids, matching her hair. It fell in a severe Hime cut—blunt bangs framing her cheeks, the back dropping straight to her waist. A red spider lily hairpin rested in the dark strands. She carried herself like an isolated queen viewing the world as dust.

  ?Two shadows trailed her. They kept a deliberate distance.

  ?Tsubaki wore a heavy cloak, hiding the lattice of scars underneath. Deep bags hung under her eyes, screaming of chronic agony. Her hair fell to her hips. It wasn't soft. The strands swayed heavily like steel cable. She walked hunched, staring at the dirt.

  ?Kikyo was the smallest. Her ash-gray hair was hacked short. A black bandage blinded her completely. Her pale hands gripped a paper umbrella and a brass bell. She stayed in the far back, instinctively leaning away.

  ?Marcus felt a cold prickle at his neck. Other squads ran on camaraderie. Team Higan looked like a funeral procession. The only thing keeping those two girls from bolting was absolute, heart-stopping terror.

  ?Up in the VIP section, Alyssa leaned back. She crossed her arms. A faint frown creased her forehead. The death aura rolling off the kimono girl irritated her. Her competitive instinct flared.

  ?"She can't beat you, Alyssa. Hee hee."

  ?Bella hopped onto the balcony railing, swinging her legs over the sheer drop. She popped a strawberry lollipop into her mouth. "That gloomy aura is suffocating. Your ice is way prettier."

  ?Alyssa merely hummed. Her eyes remained locked on the sand.

  ?Kzzt.

  ?The speakers broke the tension. The concrete floor rapidly deteriorated. Massive trees and thorny vines erupted through the stone. The Proving Grounds became a dense forest. Dilapidated cabins sat among the shadows.

  ?"Objective: Survive and eliminate all hostile targets."

  ?"Hostiles: Mutant Beast-Mechs. Threat Level: B. Quantity: 100."

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  ?"A hundred?!" Ethan gripped the railing. "Other teams bled fighting two golems!"

  ?Four steel gates ground open. Mechanical snarls echoed through the dome. A flood of machines poured into the trees—wolves grafted onto spider legs, bristling with guns. Hundreds of red optics locked onto the clearing.

  ?Mizuki didn't flinch.

  ?"Tsubaki... Kikyo," she whispered.

  ?"Y-Yes! My Lady!" Tsubaki violently flinched. Kikyo scrambled backward.

  ?BEEP... BEEP...

  ?"Special Condition: Secure five Hostages within the structures. A single casualty results in immediate failure."

  ?"Babysitting again?!" Ethan groaned.

  ?Marcus scowled. "That nullifies area attacks. You blast the forest, you drop the cabins."

  ?Mizuki had already raised her hand, her thumb hovering over her index finger. She froze. A flicker of irritation cracked her mask.

  ?"Annoying," she whispered. The word dropped the temperature by ten degrees.

  ?She lowered her hand. "Scatter. Find the hostages." Her voice was flat. "If you let them die... you know the consequences."

  ?Tsubaki went completely pale. "U-Understood!" She grabbed handfuls of her heavy hair. She violently compressed ether into the strands. Blood wept from her scalp. "Tetsugami!" She bolted left. Her hair flared like steel whips, deflecting lunging claws.

  ?Kikyo shivered. She shook her brass bell. "J-Jigoku no Suzune..." The chime scrambled the nearby audio sensors. The blindfolded girl scrambled right.

  ?Mizuki stood alone. Dozens of machines charged.

  ?She let out a bored sigh. She pulled a katana blade from her kimono. Just the blade. No hilt.

  ?As the first machines lunged...

  ?Shhhk.

  ?The crowd gasped. Mizuki reached out and gripped the naked steel edge.

  ?Blood spilled from between her fingers. She didn't wince. Physical pain simply didn't register.

  ?"Chizome no Yaiba."

  ?The blood didn't drip. It reacted violently with the ambient ether. It hissed, boiling instantly. The liquid hardened around her palm, forming a solid hilt that fused the weapon directly to her flesh.

  ?ROAR!

  ?A beast lunged. Mizuki took a half-step, gliding out of the strike path. She swung.

  ?SHNK.

  ?Her sword didn't just cut. The boiling acid splashed into the machine's internal circuitry.

  ?Ssss!

  ?The acid ate through the metal. The Beast-Mech split in two, melting into slag. Mizuki flicked her blade. Acid drops hit the dirt, sending up plumes of white smoke.

  ?The bisected machine melted into a pool of black acid. The stench of burning metal filled the dome.

  ?Up in the stands, silence held for a heartbeat.

  ?"What the hell?!" Ethan pointed a shaking finger at the arena. "She grabs a bare blade until she bleeds, and it boils into acid?! That's her power?!"

  ?Marcus swallowed dryly. Watching a girl weaponize her own pain without blinking made his spine crawl.

  ?"That wasn't the real threat," Vanessa said quietly.

  ?Ethan stared. "Then what was?"

  ?Vanessa’s gaze never left the arena.

  ?"When she raised her hand, her own teammates tried to run."

  ?Silence.

  ?"...That wasn't for a sword."

  ?Elias leaned forward, his eyes widening. "...A Domain."

  ?Marcus looked back down at the arena. The pieces clicked into place, turning his blood to ice.

  ?The hostage condition wasn't designed to test Mizuki.

  ?It was designed to keep her teammates alive.