“Is he alive?”

Sylvia asked.

“Yeah, but barely. Miko used the back of his swords to land the hit.”

Said Al-Shura.

‘However, Rin isn’t the only one who received damage from that attack.’

He thought while looking at Miko’s disfigured hands.

‘It’s almost like….’

Alshura shook his head to dismiss the thought.

“If he could use that, then he’s crazier than I thought.”

Meanwhile, Miko held his hands in front of him while looking down at Rin.

“What the hell just happened?”

He was clearly confused as well.

“I knew that I put all my strength in that last attack, but I didn’t expect it to do this much damage. Even my hands are fucked up.”

(If we had been normal swords, we would’ve scattered from the moment you had gripped us tightly, not to mention when we collided with Rin’s body.)

Regis said in his head.

(It’s seems that in a split second your body broke past its limits, responding to your desire to defeat Rin. Your hand is the price you had to pay for it though.)

“Is that so?”

Miko stooped down and looked at Rin’s chest.

“Hm?”

It was then he noticed Rin’s two emblems.

He took up the King’s Emblem, which was closest to his chest, with his bent up fingers.

And then-

*Crack!*

A crack appeared in it but it didn’t break.

“Impressive. Even that attack just now couldn’t completely destroy it. The Tertitus Branch must’ve used some Alchemy method to break one.”

(Special Announcement! Team Primus has obtained an enemies King’s Emblem and has overtaken Team Tertitus to take the lead with 115 points!)

“Oh? He works fast.”

Chika said as she heard the announcement, while walking through the blizzard.

“Hm? We’ve been overtaken.”

Ren said while putting on the finishing touches on a snow sculpture of a sexy mermaid he created.

Krul just smiled and continued his walk.

Miko pocketed Rin’s King Emblem and then looked at his other emblem.

He didn’t take it and instead placed his hand on his chest.

“If I don’t treat him, he might die.”

‘Momo said I shouldn’t use it, but it can’t be helped in this situation.’

He thought before activating his three Qi types.

“Wha?!”

This naturally shocked everyone outside the Primus branch.

“Three Qi types at such a young age?”

Sylphy asked in shock.

“No, that’s not the most terrifying thing. One of those Qi types is Ruler’s Qi.”

Said Alshura.

“Other than Nero, not even the branch leaders have Ruler’s Qi.”

“But why didn’t he use it during his fight with Rin? He wouldn’t have necessarily won easily, but he could’ve at least fought on similar grounds as him.”

Said Kouta.

“That’s because I gave him instructions not to.”

Momo replied.

“What? Limiting your own student? Are you insane?”

Said Al-Shura.

Momo laughed in response.

“Everything is to make Miko learn to push past his own limits.”

Miko focused all of his Qi in one point before allowing it to slowly flow into Rin’s body.

A short while later, Rin’s wound started healing at a rapid pace.

When Miko saw that his life wasn’t in danger anymore, he stopped healing him.

He stood up and looked down on him.

“Cough?!”

Rin suddenly woke up with a bloody cough and sat up.

“Ugh!”

He immediately groaned and held his chest.

“W-What happened?”

He said with much difficultly.

“You lost.”

Miko replied.

‘Even though, I’m not too happy with the way I won though.’

He thought to himself.

“….Is that so?”

He touched his chest pocket and noticed that he was missing an emblem.

He didn’t make a fuss and just accepted it.

“You didn’t take my other emblem. Why?”

“No reason, but you can consider it an apology for almost killing you.”

He said while offering Rin a hand.

Rin took it and Miko helped him to his feet.

That’s when Rin noticed how bent up Miko’s hands were. They were even a bit purple.

Miko noticed his gaze and spoke.

“Ah, this. I can’t feel anything in them anymore. But they’ll heal eventually.”

He spoke as if it was nothing.

“More importantly, let’s discuss the business you sought me out for.”

“Talking business after you wreck someone, huh? You’re a true Tyrant you know that?”

Rin said with a pained laugh.

“Very well, I’m sure the both of us have acknowledge each other.”

He smiled.

“Let’s team up and crush the other three branches.”

In a battle royale event like this, it was common to form alliances form between competitors. Especially if they faced a common enemy.

However, not everyone could form a genuine alliance without ulterior motives.

It was only possible because Rin and Miko respected each other. And neither of them would betray the other.

Miko wouldn’t, because the Secundus and Primus branches were allies, while the other branches were their enemies at the moment.

Rin wouldn’t betray Miko because he views Miko as his eternal rival and goal in life. Betraying Miko would be like betraying himself.

“It’s not teaming up. It’s a momentary cease fire between our branches. After we’ve crushed the others then we’ll fight again.”

Said Miko.

“And this time, I’ll defeat you in a spectacular manner.”

Rin smiled.

“We’ll see about that.”

He then scanned Miko’s body with his eyes.

He was badly beaten up and was covered with wounds and burns.

“Aren’t you going to heal yourself?”

He couldn’t help but ask.

Miko shook his head.

“I have the feeling that if I heal myself, I’ll never be able to break past my limits and win this tournament.”

Miko was able to destroy Rin only after being backed deep into a corner. He needed to confirm if he could do it again, or was it a fluke.

He need to break his limits and reach new heights.

Elsewhere, Krul was walking through the snow with a wry smile on his face.

“So far only the Primus and Tertitus branches have been able to gain points. It sure makes the other branches look bad.”

He then stopped.

“Looks like I’ll have to do some work.”

He sighed.

“And I’m a pacifist too.”

He then smiled.

“It’s because I hate fighting that I must hurry up and put an end to everything.”

His body lit up and he jumped up into the air.

A star appeared under his feet, which allowed him to stay in the air.

“Hm….”

He moved his gaze from left to right as if searching for something.

“Ah, I found one.”

*Boom!*

He kicked off the star and shot through the air like a plane.

If someone was to look up in the sky they would think that he was a shooting star.

He flew across the stormy sky and the countless curtains of snow, before arriving at his target.

*Boom!*

He crashed in the ground and caused the area to shake.

“Wha?!”

The person he landed beside was shocked out of their minds.

This person was Hal of the Quintus Branch.

“If I remember correctly, you wanted to fight.”

Said Krul.

He spread his arms.

“Rejoice! Here’s your chance!”

His voice had a certain impact that made Hal’s body tremble.

“What? You’re not going to take the initiative?”

He dropped his arms.

“Then let me.”

The moment he said that, he popped up in front of Hal.

And then-

*BOOM!*

Hal was hit in the chest and was blown away as if he was hit by a typhoon.

The blizzard was blown away and a Valley opened up, and stretched for miles.

At the end of it, Hal leaned on a broken tree with his chest burst open.

Blood flowed from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears nonstop.

He looked like a broken doll covered in blood.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you. I make it a habit to finish all of my fights in an instant, using all of my strength.”

He said as he joggled something in his hand.

It was Hal’s emblem.

He had taken it the instant he hit him.

“I really hate fighting. Our time should be used on something fun instead.”

He turned his back to Hal and started to walk away.

(Special Announcement! The Quartus Branch has obtained an enemy emblem and has earned 10 points!)

The announcer’s voice echoed out.

“10? Ah, I forgot.”

Krul took out the emblem and then squeezed it in his hand.

A cracking sound came from his fist.

“You need to destroy it to gain more points.”

(Special Announcement! The Quartus branch has destroyed an emblem, thus earning an extra 50 points! Granting them a total of 60 points!)

“That’s better.”

He opened his hands and the shattered emblem was revealed, but his hands were bleeding as well.

He had to use strength to the point of self-injury to break it. Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to, like when he explained the rules earlier.

“But, we’re still in third place.”

He looked to his east and sensed another person.

“Is that Ren and the rest of the Tertitus Branch?”

He paused for a bit and put on a complicated expression.

“I would prefer to leave the representative for last though.”

He turned his back towards the east.

“Besides, Ren can be a troublesome enemy if he gets serious.”

He put his fingers at lips and whistled.

After a while, a light appeared in front of Krul and someone walked out of it.

It was Maki from the Quartus branch.

“You called.”

She asked.

Krul nodded.

“Meet up with Yaya and go on the hunt.”

“Target?”

“Ashur. Kane and Hal have already fallen, so we need to take him out and get rid of the Quintus Branch completely. However, be careful. In my opinion, Ashur alone is enough to represent his branch by himself.”

“I understand.”

Maki said with a nod.

“But what are you going to do?”

Krul smiled.

“I’ll take on the king.”