CHAPTER 65: FINAL FACE-OFF

Carlos’s expression turned deadly serious.

’Destruction Star’—this was a nightmare monster that in the future would be just as scary as, maybe even worse than, the Shadow Twins.

One day, a massive rock ball suddenly showed up in the sky above a human district, its surface blazing with pitch-black flames hot enough to warp space itself.

Human leadership tried everything under the sun to move it, destroy it, and figure it out, but nothing worked.

On the seventh day after it appeared, it suddenly dropped from the sky, slamming into the earth like a meteor.

In a split second, the ground shook like the devil, a terrifying mushroom cloud shot up, and horrible black flames wiped out all life within a thousand-mile radius!

On that day, humanity went dead silent—an entire settlement district had been erased from the map.

Even worse was that a year later, this fallen and exploded Destruction Star showed up again above another district!

To keep history from repeating itself, an alchemical master skilled in ’Mirror Sealing’ gave up his own life to banish it completely to a mirror dimension, finally putting an end to the crisis.

"Keep your cool. Even the Shadow Twins are playing nice under Iris’s watch.

It’s just something that looks like ’Destruction Star’—it won’t cause too much trouble."

Carlos decided that when he got back later, he’d fill Iris in.

His ’miraculous’ demigod mark had sent up another red flag, this time about Little Statue Galahel. She needed to be kept on a tight leash.

These future monster bosses would be temporarily kept in check by his sister, and when he finished ’powering up,’ he’d find ways to dig into where they came from.

Besides, it’s not like he hadn’t thought about nipping three thousand problems in the bud rather than letting one slip through the cracks.

But what if killing them outright triggered the birth of ’Destruction Star’?

That future alchemical master who would sacrifice himself for the seal—who could promise he’d make the same sacrifice again now?

"Good grief, Ember City, the birthplace of humanity’s Sacred Fire.

Why do we keep running into baby versions of future nightmare bosses?"

...

In the Priest’s Hall, after emergency treatment, Little Giant Leo was breathing steadily as the green color on his body slowly faded and he stopped foaming at the mouth.

"How’s Little Giant doing?"

Iris asked. It was time for the three-person lottery bye, and Little Giant needed to be in the mix.

"...He’s not going to kick the bucket, but the poisoning was brutal. He won’t be coming around anytime soon..."

"How long before he can wake up at the earliest?"

The priest checked the toxins in Little Giant Leo’s body and made his best guess:

"About 3 days, and even when he does wake up, his body will probably be weaker than a newborn kitten—no way he can fight..."

"Well, shoot, the leadership won’t hold up the tournament for him. Looks like he’ll have to throw in the towel."

After talking with the priest, Iris rubbed her temples, a hint of exhaustion showing in her eyes.

How had the first tournament she was running turned into such a circus?

First, her ’dear brother’ pulled that flying stunt, inspiring contestants to go completely off-script, nearly giving the maze designer a heart attack.

Then two people finished at the same time, forcing leadership to scramble and add the bye system.

Now, after two gladiator matches, one poisoner who couldn’t cure her own poison, and the advancing contestant out cold.

Plus another who didn’t know when to quit and nearly turned another contestant into hamburger...

She was completely drained and secretly decided that next time, she definitely wouldn’t take charge of such a cursed tournament again—whoever wants to can have at it!

...

"...Due to circumstances everyone knows about, Little Giant Leo forfeits.

The remaining two contestants will duke it out for the final championship!"

The announcer read his script while griping internally—in all the tournaments he’d called in his lifetime, none had been as bonkers as this one.

The crowd went nuts:

"Little Giant Leo threw in the towel??"

"According to my aunt’s niece’s husband’s second daughter who works at the Priest’s Hall, the poisoning was too severe, his constitution is a bit on the weak side, and he’s still out like a light!"

"Huh? Should we say his constitution stinks, or that Little Green Bone’s poison packs a real wallop?"

"Little Green Bone is just a low-tier Psionics user—how powerful could her poison be?

Definitely the little guy’s got a glass jaw!"

"Who would’ve thought. He looked like a tank, but turned out... well, I’ll be..."

"..."

Genius ’tall tales’ always spread like wildfire.

Hearing the crowd’s heated chatter, Carlos silently said a prayer for that ’Little Giant.’

He hoped that when the guy woke up and heard the city-wide gossip about being ’weak as a wet noodle,’ he’d be able to roll with the punches.

...

In the prep area, the two about to square off showed no signs of getting the jitters.

One sipped red tea, taking occasional drinks to keep his nerves steady.

The other’s hair strand bobbed as she took huge bites of an enormous long loaf, eyes squinting with pure bliss.

"Both contestants, break time’s over. Please take the stage!"

The call rang out. Little Statue Galahel looked at the bread still mostly intact in her hands, her appetite far from satisfied, and hollered:

"Hold your horses!"

Then she clapped her hands together hard, mashing the long bread into thick pancake form, then opened her mouth ridiculously wide and crammed it all in...

Then... she bit off more than she could chew.

"Water... water!!!"

Can’t... can’t swallow, hands waving around in panic, face starting to turn blue.

If nothing crazy happened, she was about to make her mark in human history.

The first Psionics user to choke to death!

Suddenly, she spotted from the corner of her eye a cup of red tea actually ’floating’ in mid-air!

Her eyes lit up like searchlights as a pair of chubby hands moved faster than the eye could follow, snatching the red tea and chugging it down...

"Saved... I’m saved!"

Carlos’s hand stayed frozen in the tea-holding position as he watched the entire ridiculous performance of this suspected ’Destruction Star,’ somehow feeling he’d barked up the wrong tree...

"Thank heavens for the red tea!"

The revived Little Statue Galahel clutched the tea cup with both hands, her expression bursting with gratitude, filled with thanks toward the cup.

"...Miss, shouldn’t you give the tea cup back to me now?"

The sudden male voice snapped Little Statue Galahel out of her grateful daydream.

"Huh??"

She looked at the tea cup, then at Carlos, vaguely remembering that she seemed to... probably had indeed grabbed it from this guy...

"I’m so sorry!!!"

The hair strand lying on Little Statue Galahel’s head instantly shot up as she loudly apologized and handed the tea cup back.

Just as Carlos was about to take it, Iris walked over looking like she meant business.

"What are you two lollygagging about? Get your tails up on stage for gladiatorial combat!"

"Yes! Commander Iris!"

The scolded Little Statue Galahel snapped to attention to respond, her legs powering several bounds to nimbly reach the golden arena.

Once on the golden arena, she noticed the tea cup in her hand and quietly tucked it away in her storage space.

"..."

Carlos wasn’t going to make a federal case over one cup. He immediately spread his Crimson Gold Feathered Serpent Wings and flew to the golden arena—the finals were about to kick off!

In the crowd, folks’ cheering and support raised the roof.

Those rooting for Carlos were mostly female residents, from five or six years old to seventy or eighty, all adding their voices to the racket.

"Young Master Carlos! Start your legendary journey!"

Those backing Little Statue Galahel were mostly longtime fans she’d picked up over the years, plus doting parents, with plenty of steam behind them.

"Little Statue, rumble rumble! Crushing charge, you’re the strongest!"

...