Liam's eyes widened as an even more shocking possibility popped up in his mind.
These three players were completely anomalies in the timeline, just like this tournament. They had popped out of nowhere.
They were terrifyingly strong, possessing high-level techniques that he had never heard of in his previous life. Also, the weapons they wielded were equally overpowered.
That was right. Their strength mainly stemmed from these two, and both these could have been simply orchestrated by the tower master.
He could have actually created and molded these three experts all on his own and made them his personal puppets.
Liam's face changed a shade darker as he thought about all of this, continuing to gaze at Derek's corpse. Every single one of his guesses was outrageous, and yet it made perfect sense.
His frustration turned into a wide smile that looked maniacal.
It was not enough that this game, whoever had created this game, and the destruction of their world that ensued fucked over him and everyone else.
Now this random tower master also wanted to fuck him up?
Liam lifted his head to look up abruptly. He was still smiling. His maddened, twisted eyes stared crazily at the roof, wondering if the person was watching this.
He did not know how. He did not know when but he was going to deal with this tower master. You want to touch my possessions and my people? You need to pay the price!
For a second, the old man watching everything from up top felt a chill crawl up his spine. For some reason, he did not like the look on the useless brat's face.
"Hmph. I will personally wipe out your existence." Earlier, he was only planning to take the things that didn't belong to a slave being from a lower realm like him, but now… something triggered him.
He stared down at the pair of hungry eyes, which seemed as if they could see right through to him all the way up the tower.
Hmph. He harrumphed and turned his face when he noticed something weird. The corpse on the stage was still there?
When the old tower master realized that something was amiss, Liam, at the same time, also realized the same thing. Derek's corpse still hadn't disappeared!
He had never heard of something like this happening. Death and rules about death were one of the few things that were absolute in the 'Evolution Online' game.
And Derek had clearly died!
So how was it that his body was still on the stage?
Liam's eyes widened as he threw all caution to the wind and rushed to the stage. The only reason why this could happen was if Derek's soul was entirely gone. Forever.
"No. No. No." Liam shouted as he sprinted from his place in the auditorium and arrived at the stage in an instant.
He hurriedly dashed to the stage to sense if Derek had truly died and his soul extinguished but as soon as he reached near the corpse.
BANG! He was pushed back out of the stage.
Liam growled, thinking that it was the tower master's doing again, but surprisingly the next second, a reddish black aura enveloped Derek's body.
It was a thick, powerful aura that blazed strongly. It was very visible and violent. Liam was able to step onto the stage, but he was not able to go near Derek.
And when he tried to, the aura became even thicker and expanded to shoot outward. Liam was again and again pushed back, flung outside the stage like dirt.
By now, he had already figured out what this aura could be as it was something he had seen not too long ago.
He hadn't experienced it in person. He had only witnessed it through a display, so he wasn't sure, but he no longer had any doubts.
This was the player's weapon aura, the player who had just faced Derek and technically won the match, but was it a real victory?
If what Liam feared was indeed correct, then that person had lost far more than he had gained. The entity that made his weapon powerful should no longer be in his weapon.
He had no idea what it was, what it could be, a soul, a demon, a spirit? It was something, but it was no longer in that weapon. This Liam was sure of.
He looked at the player who was confoundedly staring back at him and smiled. The weapon he was holding in his hand right now, as if it was a priceless treasure, might as well be trash.
He He He. Liam chuckled, lying down on the ground. He was not entirely sure that whatever was going on right now was a good thing for Derek, but it was a chance.
When Liam first noticed the weapon, he observed an odd feeling. He concluded that the weapon probably consumed the owner, eating away their mind and rationally, leaving behind only chaos and madness.
This would explain the raged power behind the person who attacked Derek, but the thing was, the weapon's ability did not stop there. It was probably a growth-type weapon that devoured its opponents as well.
The moment Derek's match was set, his fate was already sealed. He couldn't win, and when he lost, he would have been consumed. The same fate probably awaited Liam as well when he inevitably faced the same guy in the upcoming rounds.
However, now everything had changed. There was a chance. The aura seemed to have recognized Derek's potential. It was probably trying to bind with him.
This could both be harmful or helpful to Derek. Liam had no idea how things were going to turn out. It was all dependent on Derek himself.
The only thing that he knew was that the tower master was not the reason for it. He was not responsible for it.
Something even that powerful bastard did not expect had happened. What would be his reaction right about now?
The tower master had underestimated Derek, focusing only on Liam. That was probably why this happened.
But Liam knew better. Derek was not someone to be underestimated!
***
Bonus chapter~
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