The moment Atama vanished from the screen, his lazy voice still echoing in the air, the tension in the registration dome shifted. Teams began forming quick huddles, quietly yet urgently discussing who would pair with whom for the random spawn.
Seko's eyes wandered, examining the others while trying to suppress the natural twitch in his fingers. The chip Atama built into his arm gently buzzed—reacting to the increasing UV radiation above as the tournament's planetary battleground slowly rotated into full solar view.
Kiyomi, arms crossed and unreadable, finally said, "I'll pair with Seko."Seko raised a brow, surprised. "You sure?""You've been unstable. You need someone who can contain you if it happens again," she said bluntly, her crimson eyes serious.Akemi chuckled. "That's code for: she wants to make sure you don't go berserk and ruin her manicure.""Shut it, science gremlin," Kiyomi muttered.
Violet was already floating upside-down near the high ceiling, flowers sprouting from his fingertips and falling like petals onto Raven, who, to no one's surprise, looked irritated. "I'll go with her~," he said, gesturing to Raven."You mean me?" Raven deadpanned."No, the goddess standing behind you with your exact face," he smirked.Raven scoffed. "Fine. As long as you don't talk."
Crow and Izanami exchanged glances. "Guess that leaves us," Izanami said, brushing a strand of white-blue hair behind her ear, a cold mist surrounding her.Crow didn't protest. "Cool. You'll be easier to manage than that flirt with legs."
Akemi stood alone for a second, then waved her hand casually. "Don't worry about me. I'm going solo. I have drones.""That's illegal," Kiyomi called out."Not if I call them pets," Akemi winked.
Suddenly, a loud humming sound echoed through the dome, and a blinding light washed over them all. The battlefield planet was ready.
A deep rumble beneath their feet shook the ground, and one by one, the contestants began to vanish—teleportation gates pulling them into randomized coordinates on the hostile terrain.
Before Seko could even adjust his stance, his and Kiyomi's bodies were pixelated and pulled into a pillar of light.
Elsewhere — A Rocky Canyon Drenched in Twilight
Seko landed first, sliding down a rocky slope, cloak fluttering behind him. His boots kicked up a trail of dust. Kiyomi dropped a second later, landing beside him with pinpoint precision.
The terrain was rough—massive cliffs, glowing veins of crystal, and distant roars of other contestants clashing already.
"This place is rigged," Kiyomi muttered.Seko nodded. "Feels like it's alive."
Then something flickered in the distance.
A tall figure... crouched in a familiar "choza" pose.
Seko's eyes widened.
Sitting there, arms resting on knees, a twisted grin on his face… was Sujay.
"I told you we'd cry when we meet again," Sujay said softly, his voice echoing with layered distortion. "But it seems we're just one cry away."
Kiyomi summoned her shield instantly, aura sharpening. "Seko. Tell me that's not who I think it is."
Seko's hands shook.
"No," he whispered. "That's worse than who you think it is."
And then… POOFT!The figure's form rippled like smoke, melting away the illusion.It wasn't Sujay.What stood in his place now was a slender figure clad in sleek black—modern, yet ancient in posture. A modern ninja? His mask shimmered faintly with reflective threads, and his presence was eerily quiet. He didn't introduce himself.
But he did speak."I can read minds."
That was enough for Kiyomi.
With a flick of her fingers, the gravity shifted—WHAM!—the ninja was yanked sideways, slammed against the jagged rock to the left, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the stone.
Seko didn't bother drawing his composite sword. His instincts kicked in.A flash. A blur.He was already on the ninja—a flurry of punches, scratches, and a sudden rake of his nails.His vampire claws had emerged by mistake.
The ninja staggered, shocked by the raw feral energy. Then he grinned.BOOF!He exploded into mist—classic transformation trick.
Seko and Kiyomi shared a dry look.😑Their fists suddenly snapped upwards—blind, but deliberate.CRACK!The ninja, who'd tried to reform above them, took both punches to the jaw and abdomen.
"I can detect your body heat," Seko muttered, flicking dust off his knuckles. "Info for info. We're even."
Kiyomi added, brushing a strand of hair from her face, "Just blind common sens—"BOOF!He vanished again.
This time the entire mountain rumbled.The entrance slammed shut, and the rocks—no, the entire mountain—collapsed inward like a dying titan.
The ninja stood just outside the impact zone, arms folded."My name is Kenji," he said casually, then leaned slightly forward, cupping a hand to his ear."you?"Sarcasm laced every word.
But then… voices behind him.
Two.
"Seko."
And a second, unfamiliar—calm, grounded.
"Daisuke."
Kenji barely had time to register the second voice before CRACK!—a brutal combo of punches slammed into his back and ribs.
He stumbled forward, coughing as he tumbled off the boulder. Rolling mid-air, he barely landed on his feet, only to be met by two silhouettes rising from the edge of the collapsed mountain.
Seko stepped forward, his cloak torn, strands of Black hair sticking to the blood on his forehead. His eyes glowed crimson with a cold, dry fury. Beside him stood another boy—taller, stockier, with a firm stance and stone-like gauntlets on both arms, his face unreadable but focused. This was Daisuke, an unfamiliar ally with a calm aura and grounded strength.
Kenji's eyes twitched. "So there were two of you down there...?" "No," Daisuke said. "I was in the mountain."
Seko cracked his knuckles. "Turns out there is such a thing as punching through 300 tons of rock."
Kiyomi emerged behind them, gravity still warping subtly around her. Her spear spun once, and she pointed it at Kenji. "And turns out bluffing doesn't work on people with functioning ears."
Kenji raised his hands casually. "Alright, alright... Mind reading and shapeshifting only gets you so far these days."
"You were pretending to be Sujay," Seko said flatly, stepping forward. "That means you know something."
Kenji's eyes flicked to the side. His smile returned, this time with a bit of effort. "I know of him. And I know what he's becoming. You'll see. In the third round—if you last that long."
Kiyomi's eyes narrowed.
But before anyone could strike again, Kenji took a deliberate step back—and vanished. A puff of gray smoke marked his exit, but this time, no transformation followed. He was truly gone.
Seko exhaled slowly.
Daisuke turned to him. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Kiyomi muttered,
"Let's move. We're wasting time."
As the three descended the broken slope, the air heavy with dust and tension, Seko couldn't help but think about one thing:
Sujay… is coming.
And they were nowhere near ready.
Kiyomi hovered slightly above the ground, both hands extended and glowing with gravitational force. The remnants of the shattered mountain rose behind her, trembling and spiraling into the air like dust drawn into a vortex. Every rock, every shard, every grain of dirt began collapsing inward.
The entire mountain condensed into a tight, dense core, groaning under the sheer pressure she exerted. Her voice was cool and calculated, eyes glowing with violet light.
"Fun fact," she said, tilting her head slightly, "A mountain of this size will burst at impact if compressed at 200 MPa... but I'll do it more."
The sphere shrank further, until it was no bigger than a bouncy ball—barely visible, yet trembling with immense destructive potential.
Seko's eyes widened just slightly. He knew what this meant.Without a word, he dashed forward. Daisuke didn't even wait for a signal; he launched beside Seko, fists clenched, feet shattering stone under each step.
As the two launched through the air, Daisuke glanced sideways at Seko and asked,"You antagonize Madala too?"
Seko's face remained unreadable, his hair sweeping in the wind, crimson eyes focused."Reasons may differ," he said flatly. "Are you his spy?"
Before Daisuke could answer, WHHHM!—Kiyomi hurled the compressed mountain with bone-shattering force. The tiny sphere howled through the air, warping the wind around it as it closed in on Kenji.
Kiyomi, already aware of the explosion to come, activated her gravity shield, encompassing herself and Daisuke—But not Seko.
Seko pushed beyond the shield's radius, willingly exposing himself. His fangs slightly bared, his aura wild, he blitzed toward Kenji, anticipating the precise moment of impact.
Kenji's eyes widened. "What the—?" He barely had time to react.
THUUUUMMMMM!!!
The ball struck the space beside Kenji, and everything detonated. But it wasn't a fiery blast. It was worse—a gravitational rupture.
Sound twisted. Light bent. Air imploded. The sheer pressure released in a microsecond tore through the battlefield, blasting apart the ground like porcelain.
Kenji was launched, ragdolling in the air. He activated his space-phase ability just in time to flicker several meters away—but his side was scorched, and he coughed blood.
And amidst the chaos—Seko emerged from the implosion zone, coat in tatters, skin bruised and steaming. He had used the blast to launch himself faster.
Before Kenji could fully recover, Seko was already there, fangs visible, eyes glowing red beneath his windswept hair.
Daisuke landed on the opposite side, cracking his knuckles. "This is your last trick, ninja-boy?"
Kenji wiped the blood from his mouth, smirking again despite the injuries.
"You're a terrifying bunch." His voice wavered slightly. "But trust me... Sujay's worse."
Seko's eyes narrowed.