Within a few minutes, the assailants were down on the ground either unconscious or groaning in pain. 

K’xug exhaled sharply, flicking his sword to get rid of the bloodstains as his gaze was utterly cold. It was then K’xug realised Hana glanced at his way, especially at the way the drops of blood splattered across the floor. 

K’xug flinched, hurriedly hiding his sword behind his back and he noticed that there was an assailant that he heavily injured, a pool of blood surrounding him. He stepped forward, blocking the grisly sight from Hana and the cold look was gone from his face.

Hana noticed his movements, and he seemed nervous. 

At that moment, she recalled a memory she had with K’xug in the past. 

She had wandered into the unruly part of the marketplace, and was tricked into an alleyway where there were unscrupulous angels planning to rob and injure her in the process. 

K’xug stepped in and proceeded to beat them all up in a violent manner. 

“You have never seen blood being shed before, haven’t you?” 

“You’ll probably faint.” 

“Close your eyes and ears.” 

K’xug was harsh and blunt in his words, and the Hana Katae at that time, who knew nothing about violence. She could only tremble slightly, squeezing her eyes close and she covered her ears. 

When Hana finally opened her eyes as commanded, she saw the indifferent man with heterochromia eyes staring down at her, blood splattered over his face and clothes. 

Hana paled in an instant. 

"See, this is what I exactly meant by you'll faint."

“Next time, if you don’t want to end up in situations like that, don’t get deceived so easily.” 

“The world isn’t as great as you think it is, Hana Katae.” 

In that memory, he then offered his hand to her, his voice still cold. 

"Now, get up."

However, at this moment, she saw the same cold and indifferent man fidgeting nervously with a troubled look. 

She peeked her head towards the side, and K'xug naturally followed her movement. 

To Hana, who has always been more sensitive to the feelings of others, she knew what K'xug was doing. 

"K'xug."

The man himself only looked at Hana, trying to appear indifferent. 

Hana smiled. 

"It's...okay."

K'xug stiffened. 

Hana only continued smiling, pressing her hand to her chest as she closed her eyes. She recalled the memories of her accompanying Cecil and Xue in their journey, and the violent outbursts she had seen along the way. 

Her smile grew wider, and she opened her eyes. 

"I...I will not be afraid now!" Hana nodded, huffing proudly. "I am stronger now!"

K'xug wore a conflicted smile on his face, and stepped aside slowly. The pool of blood surrounding the unconscious and barely conscious assailants was revealed. 

Hana faltered at that sight, letting out a small frightened squeal. 

K'xug panicked, stepping back into the way again as he eyed Hana in concern. 

Hana showed a shaky smile in the end. 

"I'll...I'll grow stronger."

K'xug nodded.

At least she wasn't fainting from the sight of blood now. 

"My...my arm…!" 

The two of them heard one of the assailants groaning out. 

Hana turned back, seeing the masked man clutching at his arm. His shoulder had been stabbed by the ice arrow created by Hana, and the ice was spreading across the shoulder. 

The masked man was glaring furiously at Hana, making her flinch back in shock. 

"Because of...you...I won't be...able to--"

...I won't be able to wield a sword ever again. 

How am I supposed to protect my family now?

However, the masked man was in so much pain, he could not mouth his words out. 

Hana crouched down, biting on her lower lip as she reached her hand out for his shoulder. K'xug rushed forward, grabbing onto her arm gently to stop her. 

His eyes were questioning her. 

What are you doing, Hana?

They are the enemy, why are you trying to help them recover?

They tried to kill us. 

Hana furrowed her eyebrows, conflicted. 

"I...I know what I am doing is wrong, but…" Hana trailed off, squeezing her eyes close. "I did not want to become stronger to hurt people, but to protect people!" 

K'xug frowned deeply, still not releasing her arm. 

"I simply want to get rid of the ice, or...he'll lose his arm!"

The masked man widened his eyes, and he grasped at this opportunity. 

"If...if you help...my arm...I'll tell you about...everything I know! Your friends…are targetted too!"

The masked man did not care. 

He was only a mercenary for hire, and this dangerous lifestyle was the only reason his family could still afford to live. 

Right now, rather than money, his life and his family took priority. 

K'xug paused, looking at the masked man. 

He sighed, knowing that he could not stop Hana from doing what she wanted. He released her arm, his palm covering his eyes as he waved at Hana to proceed on. 

Do whatever you want. 

If anything happens, I'll be here. 

Hana brightened up, and she proceeded to help the man regain movement in his frozen arm. 

True to his words, the masked man started to spill out the truth right after. They did not even need to interrogate him. 

***

Cecil slid under the legs of her opponent, her dagger slashing adeptly at his ankle. Her opponent howled in pain, kneeling on the ground with one knee, unable to move as he clutched his bloodied ankle. 

After learning about medicine, she naturally learnt about the human body too. Thus, she knew where to strike that would hurt. 

Since the opponent fought in a group of three, there was another person that predicted her movement, waiting for her at the other side. At that moment, the battle between all the participants was in full chaos. 

A rock pillar stuck out from the ground, and Cecil did not hesitate to turn her dagger into a vine as she flung it towards the pillar. She wrapped her vine around it, pulling herself away as the next opponent slammed down a sword at where she would originally stop at. 

“Damn it, how is she so agile?” 

The opponent grumbled to himself, rushing towards her.

Cecil did not hesitate to stand up and dash towards the previous opponent whose ankle was hurt by her. The other two members in the group noticed her movements, clicking their tongue as they shouted out to their comrade. 

“Oi, you idiot! Just bear through the pain and run!” 

“Dodge!” 

They ran towards their comrade, alas, they were a second too late. 

The opponent barely managed to stand, gritting his teeth when he saw Cecil in front of him. Her haughty and indifferent expression remained on her face, and despite her dirty kimono and messy hair, she still looked utterly beautiful. 

“Hmph.” 

Cecil did a spinning kick, sending the opponent flying into the water. 

The objects hidden inside the water activated, trapping the opponent to the wall. 

“Damn it!”

“You bitch!” 

Cecil felt two murderous presence behind her, but she remained composed. She decided to fight them one by one, and since her rock provided the best distraction, it wasn’t hard to separate them. 

Moreover, there was no way she was letting them lose without any pain. 

She wanted to get revenge for them threatening Shin and taking him away, and to release her frustration on them as well. 

At that moment when she saw Shin being taken away, she had never felt so weak. 

She prepared to dodge when she noticed another presence dashing her way towards her, at a speed so fast she could not react in time. She widened her eyes just as the weapons of both opponents landed on her, a figure appeared out of nowhere and defended those attacks with weapons of his own. 

A loud clanging sound was heard. 

Cecil gasped. 

The figure wielded two claws seemingly made out of iron, and the claws and their strength was good enough to hold back the attack from the two men. The mysterious figure was covered in a hooded robe, and no one could see their face. 

Cecil felt the figure pressing against her back, and she heard a low chuckle. 

“If that’s how you define a bitch,” his voice was masculine and clear. “There would be countless bitches everywhere, no?” 

“Who the hell are you?” 

“What’s with this...strength? The hell--!” 

The man slid his iron claws down their weapon, grasping at their wrist and twisting it. They cried out in pain, their weapons dropping to ground and Cecil finally recovered from her shock, frowning in disapproval. 

“Go away.” 

The man in the hooded robe paused, his leg was about to kick the weapons away. 

“I don’t need any help, I have a score to settle with them,” Cecil spoke, her voice lukewarm. “Thank you for helping me, but don’t interfere anymore.” 

Cecil walked towards the weapons and kicked it towards her opponents, narrowing her eyes at them. 

“Pick it up and continue fighting,” Cecil demanded, pointing her dagger at them. “I’m still not satisfied.” 

Her opponents glared at Cecil, their wrists were throbbing painfully but the hooded man fortunately did not break their wrist...even if he could. 

The hooded man approached Cecil from behind, laughing to himself. 

“As expected, I prefer you over Hana Katae,” the man murmured lowly, stretching his hand towards Cecil’s waist. “I would have chosen you from the start.” 

“...?” 

Cecil frowned in confusion. 

How does he know Hana Katae? 

Cecil turned to look at the man, and at the same time, his hand encircled around her waist. The wind blew and she caught a slight glimpse of his face behind the hood. 

The slight glimpse made her more puzzled. 

Xue…? 

No...but similar--

At that moment, she felt his hand on her waist and she gasped, preparing to slap his hand away. 

“Don’t touch--” 

“Hands off.” 

Someone else appeared right beside her, slapping the hand away and pulled Cecil close to them. 

“Xue?” Cecil blinked her wide eyes at the handsome ash blonde-haired man. 

Xue only pushed her behind him, aiming his spear at the hooded man. 

“Aw man,” the man sighed to himself. “And I thought I hid my presence pretty well, but it did nothing even for you, huh.” 

The hooded man ran away after those words. 

Xue glanced at Cecil, a soft look in his eyes. 

“Cecil, are you okay?” 

“Ye-yes.” 

Her two opponents finally regained their senses and took up their weapons, but they were unable to approach Cecil due to the immense pressure Xue was giving them. 

Xue glared at them, and they hesitated. 

“I will fight them myself,” Cecil spoke, her voice soft. “Go, Xue.” 

Xue nodded. 

“If you see that man again,” Xue warned her, his glare directed to the hooded man blending in with the crowd. “Wait for me or run away.” 

“...?” 

Xue disappeared right after that. 

Cecil could not afford to deal with the strange words from Xue right now. She focused her eyes on her opponents, wielding her daggers and she smirked coldly at them. 

“Come, let’s continue.” 

They dashed at her, seeing that Xue had finally left her side. Cecil whipped out her rock, using it as an effective distraction and she achieved her goal of separating them. She did not hesitate to attack swiftly at her opponent who was caught off guard by the rock, not allowing him to catch a break. 

He was sent flying out of the arena by Cecil’s trademark spinning kick. 

Right now, the leader of the group of three remained and he gripped at his sword tightly. 

“Tch, we should have killed you back then.” the leader growled out. 

“I told you, I want my revenge,” Cecil raised her eyebrows. “There is no way I would be careless now.” 

The leader glinted dangerously. 

Hidden within his sleeves was a mini crossbow attached to his arm, and he pressed on the button on his palm. Something shot out from his sleeves, and the leader widened his eyes, eager to watch Cecil collapse once again. 

Once that happened, he would rush forward and plunge his sword right into her abdomen. 

To his surprise, the raven-haired beauty dodged the dart that shot out from the crossbow. 

The leader immediately grew flustered, stumbling back. 

“How did you--” 

“Like I said, I will not be so careless now,” Cecil said before smirking. “But I can’t say the same for you.” 

“Wha--” 

The leader felt his world tilting as something pulled at his ankles, and he realised it was a vine which was connected to Cecil. He fell to the ground harshly, and he did not hesitate to shield himself with his arms right after. 

The man was right to do so, since Cecil surged forward and kicked at him. 

The leader felt his body sliding across the ground, and the participants jumped out of the way to avoid him. 

Cecil did not hesitate to chase him down. 

At that moment, the leader lowered his arms and pushed them out. Cecil noticed the ripples in the air and she gasped, tilting her body. 

Two sharp wind blades cut across the air, and there were some unfortunate participants who were attacked by them. 

“Air element,” Cecil mumbled to herself. “Why did he not use it earlier?” 

Cecil turned to look at the leader.

Is he planning to fight seriously now? 

She noticed the panicked look in the leader’s eyes, and he stood up, dashing into the crowd to blend in with them. 

Cecil smiled to herself. 

No. 

It seems like that is the only extent of his air element. 

He probably never trained it. 

It was the hidden trick up his sleeve, and it failed. 

Cecil dashed into the crowd as well, her eyes focused on her opponent. 

***

Shin glanced to the hand on his shoulder, a cold look in his eyes. He gritted his teeth, trying to shake the hand off his shoulder, but the person’s hand wouldn’t budge. 

“You. Get off.” 

“It’s not you.” 

The young grey-haired man turned his head, his long grey hair following his movement. “It’s Ephert.” 

Shin did not bother, still trying to push the hand off his shoulder. 

“Your paintings are truly wonderful,” Ephert spoke, his voice calm and nonchalant. “However, I know you aren’t trying to appeal to me with your painting. You just want something from me.” 

Shin paused, no longer struggling. 

“What could you possibly want from me?” 

“...” 

“Money? Fame? Power?” Ephert chuckled lowly, resting his chin on his palm. “Those are simple enough.” 

“None.” 

“None--ah, I know.” 

“...”

“You want...information.” 

Shin froze. 

“You want to know…” Ephert glanced at him, smiling lightly. “...about your family.” 

Shin clenched his fists. 

He already knew. 

Shin wasn’t surprised to know that.

Ephert was known to be a manipulative and insidious person. 

“Ah, more specifically,” Ephert smiled even wider. “Your parents.” 

Shin felt his nails digging painfully into his fists. 

“Hmmm, that is information I sadly, can’t give.” 

Shin glared at Ephert, who was smiling back at him. 

“See, I have seen too many people,” Ephert shrugged, amused. “I have long forgotten who they are, since they are nothing to me.” 

The young boy was too infuriated to say anything. 

The young boy knew. 

He knew from the way Ephert was speaking, his parents...were most probably dead.

However, he refused to accept that. 

How could he? 

His other hand was deep inside the hidden compartment of his pocket, where he was hiding the sharpened paintbrush. 

The paintbrush his parents gave to him as a birthday gift, he was determined to use it to kill this man before him. 

Ephert could see the murderous look in the young boy’s midnight black eyes, and his eyes were brimming with angry tears. He was trembling violently as if suppressing his rage, and not knowing where to direct it to. 

He was breathing heavily, like he could snap at any moment. 

Ephert was thrilled to see the young boy this way. 

The more they react. 

The easier it is for me to bring them despair. 

Just one more step. 

“Are you angry? Do you want to kill me?” Ephert questioned, leaning in closer as he lowered his voice. “Then try it, try and kill me.” 

Shin widened his eyes in rage, whipping out the paintbrush. 

Ephert wasn’t startled, only moving backwards slightly to avoid the paintbrush slicing at his neck and grasping Shin’s wrist. 

“See, but you can’t.” 

Shin felt the hot, angry tears rolling down his face. 

“Because...you are too weak,” Ephert reached his hand out to Shin’s neck, his smile turning malicious. “Just like your parents and those damn slaves, all of you only exist to serve the strong because you are far…too weak.” 

“...sc...um.” 

Shin cursed out, almost choking on his tears. 

“You pitiful, pathetic souls.” Ephert said, his hand grasping Shin’s throat as he disregarded Shin’s insult. 

***

Cecil finally managed to send the leader out of the arena. True to her words, she exacted her own revenge and she won against all three of them. Just then, something in her screamed at her to look up. 

The moment she looked up, her eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the scene of Ephert strangling Shin. 

“Sh-Shin!” Cecil gasped out, paling. “Oh my god, Shin!” 

She almost called out to the system to see if she could use her points to purchase something to distract Ephert, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“Stand back.” Ryo stepped in behind her, an icicle in his hand.

Cecil turned to look at Ryo, and she noticed how infuriated he seemed. It was unlike the sleepy or excited Ryo everyone was used to seeing. 

Ryo spun around in a circle, building momentum and he hurled the icicle towards Ephert with tremendous strength. His earrings gleamed in the light, and he exhaled sharply, glaring at Ephert. 

“Bastard, try stopping that since Goro is no longer there,” Ryo gritted his teeth, a murderous aura drifting out from him. “Keep your hands off our cute little brother.” 

His victim, Ephert, was currently enjoying strangling the life out of Shin. He found delight in seeing the colour draining from Shin’s face, and the young boy was still glaring hatefully at him, the scratches from the young boy causing his arm to bleed. 

“Your struggle is futile, boy.” 

“This world is only for the strongest to live, and for weaklings like you to--” 

Ephert noticed something from the corner of his eyes, his eyes widening and he hurriedly moved. The object flew past him, something cold and sharp grazing his cheek and the object plunged right into the wall behind him. 

Ephert released Shin instantly, the blood dripping from his cheek. 

Shin gasped for air, falling to the ground as he coughed violently.

Ephert stared down at the participants in the arena. He spotted the silver-eyed man, wearing a look of pure rage on his charming face. 

“Worthy to be deemed as top official,” Ephert wore a twisted angry look on his face. “Ryo.” 

Ephert turned to look at the hole left in the wall by the icicle, and he only returned to his seat, settling down. He narrowed his eyes at Shin, and the young boy did the same. 

However, Ephert did not dare lay a hand on the young boy anymore.

He had a feeling that if he did so, Ryo would cut off his arm.

They wouldn’t let Ephert die so easily. 

“Goro, that bastard, what is taking him so long?” Ephert clicked his tongue, flipping his hair. 

Back in the arena, Cecil sighed in relief and she glanced at Ryo. 

“Don’t worry, Cecil,” Ryo stated. “Even if it costs us our lives, we won’t let anything happen to Shin anymore.” 

Cecil recalled the scene in the novel, where Shin died alone and miserably in the fire and she bit on her lower lip. 

“Like what Yun said, we just need to win the tournament and snatch the slave contract from under his nose,” Ryo spoke, turning to Cecil and he grinned. “And get rid of his meatshield, Goro.” 

Cecil nodded. 

Change it. 

We have to change Shin’s future. 

Cecil would not let Shin die miserably and alone, just like he did in the fire.

***

《 start 》

Another one of my soul. 

Another one of me. 

...but this soul…

I don’t like it. 

Even the others in me can sense it.

There’s just something not right about this soul of mine. 

《 stop 》

***

Author's Note: Two soul fragments have now made a short appearance, hehe! If you still remember them by the time they make their official appearance, let me congratulate your powerful memory--because I wouldn't be able to remember, pfft.

Also, update schedule has been changed from Mon, Wed, Fri to Mon and Wed. Reality calls for me now *cries*.