CHAPTER 63: STUBBORN

While Ace healed and finally drew a full breath, Chaewon and Veis were moments from clashing again.

The man pulled a blue glove onto his right hand. "We cannot afford to lose more valuable Rankers, so I will go easy on you while my Sixteen kills Seraphina Griffin. She killed many of our fellow humans and holds a valuable reward from her Rank Three. It belongs in the hands of someone who fights alongside humans, not monsters."

"Stubborn man..." she whispered, settling into her stance.

An invisible force tugged at her again. She didn’t resist.

Eyes on Veis, she saw him break into a sprint. He was fast. Only seconds separated them from another clash.

Then Veis cut his power, burst forward, and appeared in front of her in a blink. He threw a punch at her.

It didn’t land—Alex slammed into him from the side. Veis, the Rank Two, lifted his hand and splayed his fingers, using his unknown power to reduce Alex’s weight and impact.

Chaewon drove through the opening and cut, slicing Veis’s robes. A heartbeat later, six slashes tore across his shoulder, shredding the precious cloth.

It wasn’t what she wanted. She’d aimed to disable his arm and keep him from fighting; she’d only ruined his clothes.

Worse, Veis’s Sixteen had already slipped past her and Alex, racing for Seraphina.

People she’d barely seen stepped in to block Veis’s Sixteen, standing between them and Seraphina. Their leader, Hunter, took point, his hatchet resting on his shoulder.

"Then I’m not letting your people do whatever they want," Hunter said, smiling.

"Are you going with your intuition again?" a healer from Veis’s team asked.

Hunter chuckled. "Not this time."

As if to prove it, Hunter and his Sixteen lit with colorful auras. They’d been buffed by one of the Three Heaven Kings, and with the boosts focused on their weapons, it was clear Tyler cast them.

The old man hadn’t shown his face, but he was nearby, ready to support his side. Even Ace was surprised to see Tyler choose a side, though he couldn’t say why.

"You’re all ignoring the lives lost in this chaos!" someone from Veis’s team shouted.

Hunter shrugged. "Killing her won’t bring anyone back. I’m also pretty sure you don’t care about those lives and just use them to your advantage. Come on, you know you can’t argue with my intuition."

"You just said you’re not using your intuition for this!"

"Did I?"

Veis’s Sixteen gritted their teeth.

—

"You shouldn’t be fighting each other."

Veis, Chaewon, and Alex stopped and looked to the side. Tyler stepped out of the shadows and sized up three top ten Rankers.

He looked solemn. He wasn’t risking his life to steal glory.

Deep down, Tyler knew Rankers rarely acted out of goodwill. He believed Veis and Ace both had selfish reasons in Seraphina’s case.

He’d chosen a king class because he couldn’t fight like others and wanted to help people level up as much as possible. He didn’t do it to help others survive; he did it to survive and return to Earth.

Seraphina, however, was different from the Rankers he’d worked with.

"Mr. Tyler," Veis said. "I commend your courage for stepping into our battle without any equipment or skills, but courage alone will not change my decision. Seraphina Griffin must die. For everyone’s sake."

Tyler’s expression didn’t change. "Veis... send your Bishops to heal the wounded. A lot of buildings collapsed under the undead’s attacks, and many Rankers are buried under burning houses. Your pulling power can also save lives right now. Stop this pointless argument and help others. We need everyone working together to prevent more deaths."

"Let me crush Seraphina’s throat, and I will do your bidding immediately," Veis replied.

"It’s not my bidding. It’s what you should do as the Strongest Ranker of the Heaven Village," Tyler said.

"I only help build the Heaven Village," Veis said—and realized he’d chosen the wrong words.

Tyler smiled. "So you agree it’s not up to you to punish Seraphina for the deaths in the Heaven Village. You also don’t have to help save people. We’ll do it ourselves as long as you don’t butt in. Otherwise, you’re just fanning the flames and getting more Rankers killed. Don’t cross that line, Veis."

The old man pressed him hard, but Ace Avalanche standing up and turning toward them finally tipped Veis. He didn’t want to face Rank One, Rank Four, Rank Five, and Rank Seven at once. Other Rankers, like Edward Sawyer, tactfully stayed out of it.

Veis turned away and asked a simple question. "Where is my power needed most?"

Tyler’s smile turned genuine. "Northeast."

As soon as Tyler answered, Veis and his team left the main battlefield.

The tension bled out at once, and everyone moved to put out flames and help save lives. Chaewon stared at Veis’s back and swore to remember his face and his stubbornness.

He didn’t seem like a Ranker she wanted to fight alongside.

Following her gaze, Tyler sighed. "The Heaven Village was meant to be a heaven in this place. In reality, it’s a rat race every day, mostly because top Rankers want the most rewards for themselves and won’t lend their strength for little to no gain. I’m sure he had a hidden motive in Seraphina’s death, but that’s none of our concern."

"He’s so stubborn," Chaewon said with a nod.

Tyler agreed. He turned and saw Ace scoop Seraphina into a princess carry, ready to leave the Heaven Village before others caused him more problems.

No wonder Veis ditched the moment he looked past me. Ace Avalanche is dead set on keeping Seraphina alive. Anyone can feel it in the air around him.

Though barely healed and far from his peak, Ace radiated a powerful presence. Anyone with even a little combat or mana sense could tell. Tyler had met plenty of people here and trusted his eyes, so he smiled and walked to Ace with Chaewon and the others.