Viers and Sakuya were in a standoff, the heavily injured Scorpion didn't continue his escape, to Viers’ bedazzlement. Perhaps he’d rather watch a good show.

“...Tanael-san, I-”

Sakuya stopped as the words stuck in her throat. Viers didn't react or show any uneasiness. He knew in one glance that she was here not because she wanted to be.

Stage 3 was a place where natural disasters were common. The ground shook as an earthquake struck the area. It was mild and didn't last long. The three were in an open area so the effect was minimal.

Dust coming off from a nearby cliff swam through the air.

“Hehehe, took you long enough. I’ll let go of the matter of you not attacking him during the earlier fight. Night Bloom, by the honor of your bloodline, I demand you to kill Tanael or die trying!”

Green Scorpion was looking smug despite his injuries.

“Didn't expect your friend to be here, eh Tanael? Do you even know her true origins? No, I expect not. There’s no way the girl would tell you of her blood-soaked lineage.”

Sakuya stayed silent but seemed hurting, as if she was enduring a verbal lashing.

“Her family’s trade is assassination. Nowadays they aren’t as numerous as the Banbenxi cult’s killers but their abilities were equal to their top personnel. You are doomed, Tanael!”

“Mmhm,” Viers hummed, still as serene as ever. Perfectly willing to go along with the enemy’s narration as his healing factor slowly healed the damage from the last fight.

After some time, seeing both fighters had no intention to move, Scorpion barked at Sakuya to start.

“I’m sorry,” Sakuya whispered before throwing three shurikens with a flick of her wrist.

Viers was already in motion before the shurikens left her hand, closing in the distance in an instant while dodging the throwing stars. Victa gathered in his fist before he delivered Desolate Dive Arte with a punch. Sakuya made the decision to jump backward.

Her opponent's soul Artes were uncharacteristically able to influence the physical, different from what she knew. Viers’ soul ability to inflict physical destruction was on par with the likes of metal affinity users, much to her surprise. She crossed her arms mid-air in anticipation of the Arte’s second effect. She had seen the technique before in the City of Pearl.

The shockwave created after the fist hit the ground was almost as strong as the punch itself. Sakuya grunted, arms numb but her opponent was not giving her any breathing room.

In the Fables, especially in Japanese manga, fighting a former friend was a common trope. It was part of a character development arc for the friend. The shonen MC also got his fair share of positive development such as determination’s emergence or casting away his naivety. Or the MC could refuse to fight entirely and lose because he was still their ‘friend’ no matter what.

Viers, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to attack Sakuya.

It was all a plot that didn't even enter his mind. Viers would think about it after the fight, after his opponent was defeated.

With the nimbleness of a cat, Sakuya dodged Viers’ second punch. Bamboo spears arose from the ground. Viers broke the first spear with his fist but the second and the third and the rest were too much. Tens of razor-sharp leaves swirled from both of Viers’ sides, curling at him like lethal boomerangs. Viers stepped to the side using a movement-type Arte, caught Sakuya’s vine whip with his left hand and unleashed Vengeful Spirit with his right. The ball of soul buried its way into her stomach and went out from her back. Her face twisted with pain, normal people would have been incapacitated by now but Sakuya threw four kunai in retaliation instead.

Unwilling as she might be, Sakuya was about to fight a known soul user; she'd made preparations.

The high-speed exchanges resulted in Sakuya’s near death, twice. Fast attacks and all lethal, the core of Viers’ fighting style. He might not have used a sword and fought barehanded; his face and name might have changed but Viers was still the same person.

Viers’ damage was only two minor injuries, a red slit on the right cheek and one on the left shoulder. Both by the last kunai throws.

Where did she store these things? Viers wondered.

“No hesitation, huh? As expected of you, Tanael. But this is nothing. Her clan has been honing assassination arts for hundreds of years! Poison is naturally one of them. Hahaha! A small graze is enough. All descendants of the clan were trained under the best and underwent rigorous training. The weak will be cast out mercilessly! She-”

Viers’ figure faded from sight. He appeared at a punching distance from Scorpion. The earth-mind cultist felt a horribly unpleasant deja vu and grimaced most pleasantly to Viers’ eyes.

Fool. You think just because there's an obstacle you are safe from me? This is what you get for blah-blah-ing about Spartan culture that I already know!

Viers didn't expect Scorpion's body to be scattered as flower petals when the hit landed.

Illusion! Sakuya’s! Euryale Sight!

In succession, the world changed. The land and the sky, everything twisted and rearranged itself into something else. When it stabilized, Viers was in the middle of a straight road with hundreds or even thousands of red torii gates.

Hm!? Euryale Sight... is not working?

Viers was seeing an illusion; he was dead sure of it but his magical eyes didn't recognize the world as an illusion.

A single road with cobbled stone lay in the front and the back of Viers. Numerous torii gates that stretched into the distance. The road was enclosed between tall bamboo trees. Viers was sure if he tried to wade through the trees, he would simply emerge at the other side of the road, still trapped in the illusory world.

“Impressive genjutsu, Sakuya,” Viers showed no sign of panic, maintaining his composure.

“Genjutsu - Senbon Torii,” Sakuya’s voice resounded from the sky. “Your eyes are special Tanael-san, but they are useless here because this is an illusion inside your own mind.”

“Ho-hou…” Viers taking in the gorgeous sight. He recalled there was a similar place in his world’s Japan that he never had the chance to visit. This would do.

“Tanael-san, there’s no excuses for what I must do. But I, I will definitely… Khhhh–”

While Sakuya sounded like she was at war with herself, Tanael saw that his body was slowly changing into a tree starting from his feet.

Little by little, his skin became bark. A tree did not move so Viers couldn't move his feet even if he wanted to. This might be just an illusion but he knew there would be bad consequences if he really got turned into a tree.

Dia would be happy, I suppose. But I don't fancy living as a treant. Time to end this.

“Sakuya. In this illusion world you created… the difference between it and my soul world is paper-thin!”

With his hand, Viers made a slashing motion and a tear was created in the fabric of space. Behind the spatial crack was a different world from Sakuya’s Senbon Torii; a world of beautiful darkness, filled with white flowers and splendid stars.

Like a princess arriving at a party, a young woman with the lower body of a snake composedly went through the opening.

The lamia wore a yellow bedlah that showed a lot of skin. The traditional garment of the lamia, according to her. A golden snake tiara decorated her dark brown hair that reached her waist. White skin and amber eyes. The snake part of her body was covered with scales of similar color to her hair. Her scales had patterns akin to rattlesnakes.

Sakuya gasped. “Th-this is!?”

Clarissa glanced at Viers, who was already halfway to becoming a tree, replied by smiling.

“Go explode your stress, princess.”

Clarissa replied to Viers' tease with a scoff, igniting her hand on fire.

In the real world, Clarissa couldn't use her fire abilities because Viers had no fire affinity. In the soul world, however, the former Level 5 could use her abilities just fine with only one limitation: Viers’ Level.

In their sparring session in the Grid, despite being in the same Level and having affinity advantage, Viers had never won against Clarissa even once.

The temperature rose sharply, air twisted by the temperature, bamboo leaves caught fire. Hand clad in fire of the highest attainment, Clarissa swept her hand in the air.

She didn't need to hit anything because everything was already inside the range of her Arte.

“Arte - Blazing Snake’s World Immolation.”

It was a glorious sight: the trees burned, the torii burned, the soil burned. A wave of incineration spread out with the lamia as the center, engulfing the whole illusory world.

As always, Clarissa’s Artes have long names.

Viers didn't feel hot in the slightest while everything was ablaze. He heard Sakuya’s scream as the illusion broke and his perception became aware of the real world once more. He saw Sakuya on her knees, looking a bit charred.

The illusionist was caught in her own illusion.

“...Tanael-san. You’re really strong,” Sakuya pulled down her mask and gave a sad smile.

“Hmph. Who do you think you’re talking to?” Viers said haughtily.

Their gaze spoke a thousand words.

“Hahaha! Tanael, don't feel smug after breaking free from the illusion. You don't know that your life is already at her hand. Do it Night Bloom! By your ancestor’s oath!”

Viers frowned slightly. He didn't feel Green scorpion was lying.

“...You're somehow able to combat the poison,” Sakuya began. “But during our short skirmish, I have put Arte seeds in you. With my Victa as the trigger, I can make Hametsu no Hana, Flowers of Destruction Arte bloom from inside you in an instant.”

In the way she conveyed it, it was as if she was the one on death's edge and not Viers. The man with the supposed noose on his neck simply crossed his arms and ticked his fingers.

“Will you do it?” Viers asked.

“...I-”

“Why are you stopping? Night Bloom, kill him!”

Sakuya was trembling. An intense conflict was ongoing inside her mind. Of consequences of doing it and the repercussions of not doing it.

“...I, can’t...”

She fell to her knees, tears flowing out.

“Sasori-sama… I will bear any punishment for my choice but please, please don't make my family accountable. Aaauu...”

The kunoichi sobbed, wailed; her heart crushed by the weight of her choice.

“Coward!” Scorpion shouted. “Oathbreaker!” He slapped the kneeling Sakuya hard enough to draw blood. “Fine, I’ll finish the job myself.”

Green Scorpion made two steps in Viers’ direction, there were still ten steps between them but he didn’t continue.

Viers didn't flaunt his Victa, on the contrary, it was subdued. He couldn't move because of the side effect of his body turning into a tree in the illusion but he was far from helpless. Because of that gaze of absolute zero coldness, Green Scorpion’s instinct told him to stop.

He felt those ten steps would be his ten steps to death.

Moving forward would result in a grave outcome but he could not simply back off either; he needed an excuse.

Fate deigned to give him one.

“...Other trial takers are coming. You’ll die and I’ll live. The end result is the same. As for you,” Green Scorpion turned to Sakuya, Asteyule Herb pulled from his storage item. “All of your clan will curse you for this. You’ve chosen him over them.”

Sakuya watched with an empty gaze as Scorpion’s poison turned the herb to ash.

The last of the Gardeners of Perfection left; Viers’ own condition was not ideal, leaving him and Sakuya alone.

“Tanael-san… Hontou ni… Moushiwake-gozaimasen.”

Sakuya uttered her deepest apology before passing out. Not only because of Clarissa’s attack but also because the physiological burden was too great.

Viers was the last man standing; he was indisputably the victor.

The victor didn't have a victor’s expression. He massaged the bridge of his nose. A massive headache was coming his way.

“Mmm… For now, let’s go home.”