CHAPTER 138: THE BETRAYAL OF BLOOD AND FIRE

Uniformed soldiers from different clans appeared before it, stopping its rampage.

Half the teachers surrounded the Hyena.

The other half surrounded the Golden Gorilla, who was just standing still.

In the battle arena, a little earlier, when monsters appeared—

As the boom echoed, all the players looked outside and spotted the monsters.

Their eyes widened. They stopped the match and tried to move outside, but suddenly black-clothed men, looking like ninjas, surrounded them completely.

Tina clenched her fists around her katana and moved toward the barrier, her crimson eyes glowing.

She heard footsteps approaching from behind. She turned her head and saw Darian moving slowly toward her.

She nodded and looked back at the black-clothed men standing across the barrier. She bellowed, "How dare you come here! You won’t leave—"

Squelch!

She felt pain flare through her chest and warm blood trickling down her body, interrupting her words.

She looked down and saw the bloody short sword sticking out of her chest. Her eyes widened.

Blood oozed from her mouth.

She stumbled a little, then looked back.

Darian was holding the sword, tears rolling down from his brown eyes.

Squelch!

Darian yanked the sword back.

She stumbled, tears trickling from her crimson eyes. Tina fell sideways, her crying face hidden behind her crimson hair.

Blood soaked the white platform.

The cheeky brat screamed at the top of his lungs, "Vice Captain!"

Darian looked at the sky, opened his arms wide, and whispered,

"Sorry, Tina... but this world doesn’t need powerful people anymore."

Flashback.

A young man with lavish clothes, brown hair, and brown eyes was sitting under a tree, surrounded by green grass.

In his lap, a girl slept—her dark hair like midnight, her face tender and pale like a flower petal.

He gently caressed her hair and formed a small clay figure from his brown elemental energy, shaping it to resemble her.

He whispered, "Mona, this is for you."

The girl opened her dark brown eyes and smiled tenderly, taking the figure.

"Thank you, Darian," she said, then sat beside him and kissed his cheek softly.

He smiled, happiness lighting up his face.

She looked at him with warmth and said, "I love your smile."

Scene changed.

Darian was chained in a dark basement, dangling above the filthy ground.

His eyes were swollen, and blood dripped steadily from the wounds on his body, splattering the dirt below.

Clink. Clank.

The cell door opened.

A young man stepped in, followed by an older man. Both bore striking resemblance to Darian.

A menacing smile stretched across the younger man’s face.

He laughed and sneered, "Brother, we told you not to associate with commoner trash. But you didn’t listen."

The older man stepped forward, his face stern and voice cold.

"Get on with it. Your brother needs to learn his lesson."

The young man bellowed, "Bring the commoner trash!"

Guards entered, dragging the girl with the deep brown eyes and dark hair.

They threw her, naked, onto the ground before Darian.

Thud!

Darian opened his swollen eyes, then screamed,

"Mona! Brother, don’t do this! Father, please don’t do this! I’ll obey—I’ll obey! Please, let her go! Please!"

His father didn’t even glance at him. Instead, he calmly ordered the guards,

"You there. Bring the others too. And bring chairs for us."

The guards brought two chairs, a table, and refreshments. The father and son sat down and began sipping wine—lavishly, leisurely.

Outside the cell, more than a hundred guards stood ready, indifferent.

Mona’s dark brown eyes fluttered open, terror flashing in them.

She dragged her naked body backward, pressing against the cold stone wall, trying to hide her vulnerable form.

Darian’s scream echoed again, louder this time,

"Father, don’t do this! I’ll obey—I’ll obey! Please!"

But the old man didn’t even blink. He bellowed coldly,

"Get on with it. I want to hear her scream."

"Don’t do this, Father!" Darian screamed again, voice breaking.

Guards stepped forward and seized the helpless maiden.

Her tender screams soon filled the cell—piercing, heart-wrenching.

And while her cries echoed off the cold walls, the father and son sat sipping wine, enjoying the show like it was theater.

Darian’s bloodshot eyes welled with crimson tears. He shut them tight, trembling, helpless, as her voice broke again and again.

It continued... until it didn’t.

Only silence.

And in that silence, one final memory echoed in his mind—

"I like your smile. Keep smiling, Darian."

Darian’s head hung low—shame and humiliation crushing his soul.

Through a dry, hoarse throat, he whispered brokenly,

"I’m sorry, Mona... I’m sorry."

Her dark brown eyes—once full of love—closed forever.

Her life vanished from this cruel world... the last thing she saw was the helplessness in her lover’s eyes.

Back in the battle arena

Surrounded by chaos, screams, and blood, Darian opened his light brown eyes and looked up at the sky.

He muttered, "Mona... this will be for you."

A tear-filled smile crept across his face as he began walking toward the umpire, who stood frozen, trembling, eyes wide with fear.

Darian’s armor clanked with every step.

Then—

Squelch!

Crunch!

The sickening sound of steel piercing flesh echoed in the arena.

The umpire gasped, his mouth spilling blood. The sword was buried deep in his stomach.

The players of both Rebel and Veylor froze in shock.

Alex shouted, voice shaking,

"Darian! What are you doing!?"

Darian didn’t answer. He crouched down and picked up the barrier controller—the yellow card glinting in his bloodstained hands.

Thrum!

A pulse of energy surged through the air.

The barrier vanished.

And in the next breath, several figures clothed in black swarmed into the arena, surrounding them all.

Boom!

The center of the arena collapsed as something massive landed on it.

As the dust settled, a towering figure emerged—Bhola, the golden-furred ape.

In one hand, he held a bloodied, limp body.

Without care, he tossed it aside and climbed out of the crater.

Selene and Rina instinctively stepped back, followed by several others from both teams.

Cheeky Brat screamed,

"S-rank humanoid monster! Run—we can’t fight that thing!"

Alex gritted his teeth and marched forward toward where Darian stood.

His eyes fell on Tina’s cold, lifeless body.

Tears rolled silently down his cheek.

He growled,

"I hate those who betray."

Then lunged like a tiger.

Darian smiled, whispering as he easily parried the spear sideways—

Clang!

"I like you, Alex. For a commoner, you’re the first I’ve ever acknowledged as a brother."

Alex snarled,

"Brother?! Brothers don’t stab each other in the back!"

He thrust forward again, spear trembling with fury—but once again, it was denied. A colossal shield blocked his path.

Darian sidestepped, letting the spear slide past harmlessly, then leaned close and whispered in his ear:

"Here’s some free advice before I leave—they’re trying to capture Selene."

Alex’s eyes widened.

Thud!

A sudden punch sent him flying. He crashed through the rubble and skidded across the shattered platform.

Groaning, he forced himself up, blood dripping from his lips.

His gaze locked onto Darian’s back as it disappeared into the narrow corridor of the stadium.

Then his eyes darted across the chaos:

The crimson wyvern toyed with the uniformed clan soldiers.

The Hyena was being overwhelmed by teachers.

But the golden gorilla—Bhola—was still on the platform, playing with both the Veylor and Rebel teams like they were toys.

The black-cloaked attackers stood to the side, eerily still. Watching.

But now Alex saw it. They weren’t watching the fight.

They were watching Selene—and Riven.