Raquel lay unconscious on the arena floor, her breath faint, her body limp after the grueling battle. Across from her stood Mori, his eyes burning with cold fury. The match was over—he had won—but his hatred remained unquenched.
Mori slowly raised his blade, its sharp edge glinting in the light above.
"There's no way…" he growled, stepping closer. "No way a worthless weakling like you could ever beat me. Not in this life. Not in any life.". Son yelled "Hey mori you bastard. Raquel's down already! Leave her alone." Kinto joined in "You deaf? Drop the blade you blue haired fuck." They were so annoyed to the point that they seemed like they wanted to jump off the rails.
With murder in his eyes, he thrust his blade downward.
Before the strike could land, a sharp impact crashed into Mori's face—a heavy kick that sent him staggering back.
Everyone gasped, including kinto and son who wanted to jump in "When did he?..." Son and kinto muttered to themselves.
Standing between Mori and Raquel was Alex, his expression tense and furious.
"You've done enough," Alex said coldly. "Step back... and be going. Or I'll break your legs so badly that walking away would be your dream!"
Mori steadied himself, a furious snarl curling his lips.
"You.... get lost. That's the first and last warning you'll get from me!"
Alex's glare sharpened, his voice dropping like ice.
"Move away from the arena, Mori... or I'll kill you."
Mori's body trembled with rage. A wave of crimson energy mixed with blue energy surged from his palm, scorching the air around him.
"Try it then. I'll even let you have the first blow!"
Without hesitation, Alex conjured his Blade of Death, the red glowing edge humming with deadly power. The two locked eyes, and then—. Kinto was abit stunned "That attack... it's the same one he used on son a couple hours ago."
Alex and Mori charged at each other at a speed twice that of sound. Kinto, sōn, serena, sukuna and runo were abit intrigued. "Are they really about to go at it?" Sukuna exclaimed in shock. Runo clicked her tounge "Damn it mori" she exclaimed as she stood up while summoning a pistol on her hands. She was probably going to shoot alex, but felt compelled to do so knowing that mori was in the wrong.
Before they could clash, a burst of light erupted between them. A powerful shockwave knocked both blood lusted kids back.
Standing between them, a glowing magic circle in each palm, was Tomoa—the referee.
"That's enough!" Tomoa barked with annoyance "I'm the referee here. I decide who wins. I decide who fights. And I decide who and who dies!"
He turned to Alex. "You're lucky it's me who's the reff. Another person would have disqualified you from the second round just for interfering!"
Then, his gaze moved to Mori. "And you—under no condition are you allowed to kill your opponent unless the referee declares so. Understood?". Although, tomoa wasn't just talking like a referee, he had a bit of sentiment due to the fact that raquel was his student who came to him for training and someone who looked up to him as a teacher.
The arena remained quiet.
Tomoa raised his hand. "Mori is the winner of the final match of the first stage of the Assassination Exams. Raquel has been disqualified."
A few hours later…
Raquel stirred awake, her vision blurry, her head aching. She blinked slowly, trying to remember where she was.
"Huh…?" she muttered. "What happened…?"
Then she noticed something warm on her lap.
It was Alex—fast asleep, his head resting gently across her legs.
Her eyes widened for a moment. Then, softly, she smiled.
Alex opened his eyes shortly after, sensing her movement. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes before locking eyes with her.
"You're awake…" he exhaled in relief. "Thank God."
Raquel gave him a small smile. "You were really worried about me, weren't you?"
"I'd be worried every time," Alex replied, smiling back. "I'm just glad you're okay."
Her expression softened, but then a shadow passed over her eyes.
"Did I… lose?" she asked quietly.
Alex didn't answer immediately. He reached out and gently held her hand.
"Win or lose, you were amazing out there. Kinto, son and i carried you all the way here."
Raquel replied after beinf quiet for a moment "They did huh. That's good, tell them i said thanks." Raquel bit her lip "But… I tried so hard. I gave everything I had… and still lost. Does that mean all the training was useless"
"No, you're training wasn't useless." Alex said firmly. "You fought with everything. You stood your ground till the very end. Watching you fight… it was the most incredible thing I've ever seen."
Raquel's eyes widened. Her chest tightened—and then, without thinking, she leaned forward and embraced him.
"Thank you," she whispered, trembling. "For believing in me. For staying."
"No matter what happens," Alex said softly, wrapping his arms around her, "I'll always be with you. Even if it costs me my life."
They sat there in silence, holding each other.
Later that day…
In a quiet office filled with books and paperwork, Kojin leaned back in his chair after returning from a month-long mission. The door opened, and Tomoa stepped in.
"It's been a while," Tomoa said with a smile.
Kojin grinned. "Nice to see you again. How'd the exams go?"
Tomoa took a seat and crossed his legs. "Not too bad. Though things got… tense for a moment."
Kojin raised an eyebrow. "Glad nothing too crazy happened. Was hoping id have nothing to deal with once i got back."
Tomoa handed him a folder.
"These are the names advancing to the final round."
Kojin skimmed the list and let out a low whistle. "Well, well… didn't expect to see Alex in the top three D-Rank assassins. Color me surprised."
Tomoa nodded. "Honestly, neither did I. The kid's pulling off things I didn't think he had in him. If he keeps this up… he might be one of this city's top soliders one day. The rest of the kids are doing good, sōn is incredibly powerful as well." Kojin replied with a smirk "Well sōn's my child, Offcourse he'd be strong." These kids, with the way they are performing in terms of overall skills, we might just give em a specific title just for them"
The next dah, behind Raquel's house, in the quiet training field…
Alex let out a grunt as he blasted out another volley of Flash Fists(Beams of energy in the shape of fists)
"Alright, that's enough for now," Raquel called out.
Alex dropped to the ground, panting. "So… how did I do?"
"You've improved," Raquel said with a nod. "Your energy control and speed have gotten better."
Alex sighed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Maybe I'll actually win the final match at this rate."
Raquel gave him a hesitant look. "I'm not so sure about that."
Alex blinked. "Huh? Why?"
Raquel explained "Well, we have you, kazuki and that shouya guy who have all made it till the second part of the exams. It's not going to be an easy victory."
She sat down beside him. "I looked at the matchups. You're going up against Mori."
"Tch… fighting him again? That's cheap." Alex said with annoyance.
"No, it's the opposite," she said. "He held back when fighting me. He has techniques he didn't even use."
Alex frowned. "Because he hates me, he won't hold anything back next time Huh? Makes sense".
"Exactly, he'd pummel you."," Raquel nodded. Alex then asked while being slightly shocked "Are you on his side or mine?" "And that's where your problem lies. Your attacks are powerful and great for long-range, but your attack speed in close-range… it's lacking." Raquel explained. Alex exclaimed in shock "Don't ignore my question!"
Alex sat up straighter. "What do you mean my close combat is lacking?"
Raquel's gaze turned serious. "When it comes to close-range combat, Mori is on a completely different level. If I didn't have my Crystal Eye activated during our fight, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with his speed for long. We aren't on the same rank. But with a little push, you've got this"
Alex looked down at his hands. "So my best shot is keeping him at a distance from him. I guess that makes sense."
"Yeah. That's your advantage. Your stamina is great tho, but mori might drain it due to rapid fire attacks"
He let out a long sigh. "You've made your point already.", he looks at the clear sky "Well, atleast I'm certain I'm getting stronger.", he said to himself.
Raquel scooted closer, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," she whispered "Let's just do what we can. Got it?" Alex replied "Yeah."
END OF CHAPTER.