In the arena.
Five figures were gathered on the center arena with a familiar black-haired girl.
The five figures surrounded the black-haired girl, but there was no hostility in their faces.
The black-haired girl was holding a wooden box in her arms as her face was pale as a sheet, obviously injured.
She looked towards the five figures and said, ''You five will be able to leave safely as long we stay together. There won't be a larger team; I can guarantee that.''
Her name is Yumi! She got knocked out, but when she woke up, she saw the room being completely destroyed with a hole in the ceiling and distinct noises of fighting.
She used the chaos as an advantage and stole the Power Limit Remover. For the next four hours, she searched for anyone who was hiding and tried to get them to become their allies.
She wanted allies so she could manipulate them to do her bidding and because she knew that the biggest threat was still alive...
Ichiro.
She saw her being ranked 2 even after getting her hands on the Power Limit Remover, which meant that someone was ahead of her, and it could be only one person.
If the person dies, he/she would be removed from the rankings.
Ichiro was still rank 1 hour ago, but then Yumi got a few easy kills with the help of her allies.
She was also extremely scared of the Rage Beast, but if they are attacked by the Beast... She will run away and use her allies as bait.
The five figures surrounding Yumi nodded with slight hope. They never wanted to join this tournament and instantly decided to hide and wait for the time limit to end.
Yumi pondered what was the best spot to defend and decided to go to the arena after deeply thinking about every possibility.
She is 90% sure that it is the best decision to go to the arena because she has allies, and she highly doubts that more than 5 people would team up; there aren't many left after all.
But, she has a lingering fear of Ichiro going after other contestants and killing them, but Yumi has a plan for that.
She would kill her allies and earn five more kills, which most likely will be enough f0r the win.
Her eyes showed the limitless coldness in them. She wants to return to her old life, no matter what!
The life when she was envied by everyone. Mei was like a mother to her, and she was living like a princess, even though she had to train like a madman, it was still worth it.
She still doesn't have any idea that Mei had used her and would kill her instantly after the tournament ended.
She held the wooden box tightly to her chest and firmly looked towards the entrance of the arena, 'I will win... No matter what!'
...
''Haah... Haahh...'' Ichiro was panting heavily as sweatdrops trickled down his handsome face. His body still looked skinny compared to his muscular body. There was a sword sheath strapped on his waist with a familiar-looking sword stuck on it.
He was leaning on the wall and saw stairs not far from him...
Those stairs lead straight towards the arena, but with his current situation... Winning would be near impossible.
He slowly limped towards the stairs and heard distinct sounds of talking coming from the arena.
'There are more than one people... Are they fighting or... Are they allies?' He felt like getting his hands on the Power Limit Remover became much more difficult.
Ichiro was about to take his first step on the stairs, but then his eyes widened as he felt something sharp touching his neck.
''Don't move.'' He heard a calm voice behind him.
Ichiro put his hand in surrender.
''Now... Start walking down the stairs.'' The calm voice said.
Ichiro sighed and nodded. He took the first step, and the person behind him became careless, thinking that the young man in front of him wasn't that strong, but that was a mistake.
Ichiro felt the sharp blade disappear from his neck, and instantly, his forehead had veins popping as he unleashed a deadly kick behind him!
*BAM*
The kick hit the unknown individual behind him and made the individual crash on the wall.
The individual dropped his dagger and lifelessly fell down on the ground.
The individual was a young man with short brown hair and a fatigued-looking face.
Ichiro stopped hearing any noises coming from the arena. His attack caused a loud sound, which exposed his position.
He quickly limped towards the individual and put his two fingers on the individual's throat.
He was still breathing... Only barely.
Ichiro grabbed the dagger from the ground and stabbed it deep inside the young man's throat.
*Beep*
Another sound came from the smartwatch, but he ignored it and started quickly limping away.
He heard a distinct sound of footsteps coming from somewhere. He couldn't pinpoint the location because the corridors had an echoing effect.
But, luckily Ichiro found his salvation soon. He arrived at the VIP's stands, and without further ado, he entered the first VIP room.
The VIP Room consisted of a simple couch with a large window in front of the couch, which lets them watch the matches in silence.
Ichiro limped towards the couch and sat down on it. He could finally see the arena and the people inside...
He saw five unknown figures who looked very wary, and some even panicked.
He then finally saw the black-haired girl and grimaced, ''She survived? Troublesome...'' He sighed and scratched his head.
Ichiro took another glance at the smartwatch, and it was finally less than 1 hour remaining.
The tournament is ending, and soon the final matches will be happening.
Ichiro unsheathed his sword and glared towards Yumi, who seemed a cunning and ruthless individual.
'Sorry... But you have to die... So I can return to my old life...' He closed his eyes and clenched the hilt of the sword, 'I have to return to my old life so I can prove to everyone that my Style is greatest... I can't do that in the darkness.... I need to return to the light.'
