A whisper reached Verity's ears. "So, uh, why are we hiding again?" Ife wondered.

After gathering nearly enough points for both of them to pass, and a few useless items that could only be sold, the two of them had run into a rather strange situation. Without even understanding what was happening, Ife was pulled into a bush by Verity and they had been hiding since.

The only explanation he had provided at the time was 'I… know these people.', which to Ife, really didn't justify why the hell they were hiding.

She studied his face. He did not quite look afraid, nor did he seem to harbor any negative emotion, so Ife quickly ruled out the possibility of some sort of ill connection, but Verity also did not seem entirely comfortable.

Hearing Ife, Verity turned to look at her, glared, then turned his head back around to look in front of him.

Ife was at a loss for words. Never had someone treated her in such a way before. 'Should I tie him up and hang him upside down…?' she wondered.

She reluctantly discarded the idea. She would still need him until the trial ended, and to be fair, he had been quite helpful. Despite his meek appearance and even though he was clearly no genius, Ife had found Verity to be extremely useful in combat.

His skill was adequate, his stamina seemed inexhaustible and he could exert an incredible amount of power at a moment's notice.

'Well, not that he's anywhere near his strength,' she thought, recalling someone.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Ife sighed, and her attention gathered to the scene with which Verity was so captivated.

There, a conversation was unfolding.

"Ohh~ Two youngsters who dare to draw their weapons at me! It's been such a long time… may I ask why? Is it some grudge? Or do you simply not fear death?"

A woman with flowy raven black hair and a smile that could outshine the suns replied, a thin silver blade in hand. "Well, you are worth ten points, aren't you? I just figured I'd finish this entire trial in one go," said Felicia, barely able to contain her excitement before her opponent.

The one before her, a very old man with a shabby mask covering his face and azure silk robes draped over his body, widened his eyes. "Ah! Right!" He tugged at his black armband. "It's this, isn't it? Right… that's what this game was about…" He smirked. "But I don't have any time to–"

Felicia did not let him finish. She lunged forward and swung her sword in an ascending crescent. "Let's talk with our blades!

However, her sword did not meet its mark. Rather, it met nothing at all. The masked man appeared behind her, stroking his chin. "Well, I'll be off now."

Hoshino, who was standing mere inches away, raised her wand high. "Let the Light of Justice assist–"

"NO!" Felicia shouted.

Hoshino froze and even the masked man stayed still for a moment longer. She had never heard Felicia scream like this before. She narrowed her eyes, tip-toeing with her words. "B-But… my Knight, despite your unparalleled skill… this one may be too much.. Even for you."

Felicia shook her head. "This is exactly why you shouldn't interfere!" She then raised her sword and a deep blue hue began radiating from it. With a sharp breath, she swung it once more in the man's direction, severing several trees behind him.

This time, the masked man re-appeared right in front of her, just beside her extended strike. "Hmmm, fascinating. You've touched upon Madness…. Truly fascinating." He circled around Felicia leisurely as she continued attacking him. "I see… the Fairy Queen is it? That explains it somewhat but…"

Felicia, nearing a state of ecstasy, sheathed her sword, jumped back, and took a deep breath. This next strike was one she had been practicing for some time, one she had gained inspiration for after witnessing Hoshino's light magic.

A strike so fast it was impossible to follow, but also so heavy it was impossible to stop. A strike that embodied both the light, and the waters.

'Nameless style, Offensive Stance - Rapid.'

SWOOSH

Verity, Ife, Hoshino, none could see it. Its speed was such that even reacting was asking for too much.

The masked man, however, chuckled as he stood with one foot atop Felicia's blade. "Hehe… you must be bored, am I right? That talent of yours is way too overbearing… Fine, I'll play with you a little, you remind me of another brat I know."

Verity narrowed his eyes. "I swear I know that old guy from somewhere… I'm just no sure from where..."

Ife scoffed. "Yeah, as if, this guy's clearly a Grandmaster or maybe even something above that. You think these people are just running around for you to meet?"

Verity shrugged. "I don't know. My master's Transcendental" He pointed to Felicia. "And hers too." He then pointed to Hoshino who seemed to be half-pouting some distance away. "And hers is a 'Sage' I think."

…

"....What?" Ife scoffed. "Even as a joke… that's a bit much, no?"

Verity did not answer.

"You are joking, right?"

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Verity again did not answer.

In the duel between Felicia, and the masked-man, the latter spoke as he evaded every single swing of Felicia's blade. "Yes, yes... Indeed the Fairy Queen has taught you well, but you'll have to get creative if you want to hit me."

He flicked her forehead and smiled, swiftly evading the next attack.

The masked man still had not drawn any type of weapon, and as far as anyone around was concerned, Felicia seemed to be aimlessly swinging her sword through the air.

Yes, that was the problem.

Felicia smiled as she analyzed the situation. 'This old man…he's just like air. He's not particularly fast, but I just can't seem to be able to land a hit on him, it's like…trying to cut through the wind itself.'

She let out a soft chuckle. 'Should I put in more effort then?'

Splitting the air?

For Felicia, that was not a challenge at all.

The radiance of her sword grew a deeper, a more bottomless blue, and the Aura that had been coating it expanded in size.

"If you're slipping through my attacks, then I'll just attack so fast you won't even be able to do that!"

'Nameless style, Offensive Stance - Rapid.'

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

The count was quickly lost.

Dozens of strikes that even the eyes of trained warriors could not track were aimed straight for the masked-man.

He laughed. "Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! No wonder you're bored!"

At last, the masked man retrieved a weapon from his robes. Twin short spears appeared in his hands. Their shaft resembled a corrupted gem, a soft jade color with streaks of obsidian sprawling through it like veins.

He swung each short spear once. The first deflected every single strike Felicia had thrown at him all at once, and the second, left a deep scar on her left arm.

Felicia stepped back, and she smirked. "Finally got you to arm yourself, didn't I?"

The masked man looked at his hands. He hadn't realized he'd taken out his weapons. He felt somewhat embarrassed to have done so against such a youngster. "Ahem. W-Well, in all fairness… I am intentionally lowering my realm to avoid certain eyes…"

Felicia scoffed, and she raised her sword. "Incredible! I guess excuses are made even at your level, huh!!"

A vein bulged on the side of the masked man's forehead. "That… wasn't an excuse, just…an explanation."

The two stared at each other, and as they did, Ife let out a hollow laugh.

Though... she wasn't looking at the battle at all.

Verity glanced at her, his brows furrowing. "What is it?"

Blood trickled from her nose as she tried to gather mana for a summon. She sighed, she knew she wouldn't make it in time. "...I don't know how he avoided my 'eyes' but… I messed up," she stared into Verity's amber eyes. "He's he–"

"[Grand Severance]"

A strike that could sever space itself was launched toward Verity's neck. It was meant as a sure-kill strike with absolutely no chance of survival.

This time, Elio had come to finish what he had started.

Both Felicia and the masked-man turned their heads toward the sudden burst of energy.

Verity, on the other hand, couldn't even attempt to defend himself.

He was done for. Utterly, completely done for.

Or he would have been if it weren't for those strange skills of his.

[The skill -Not Me!- is activating.]

Verity's body became intangible and he was propelled a few meters forward by his skill. This skill wasn't exactly new, merely an evolution of one he had possessed since the start. It had happened quite some time ago, but his skill, [Why me!?], had evolved into the skill [Not me!] after getting senselessly beaten by his Master for hundreds, if not thousands of hours.

Now, instead of having a certain chance of activating, it activated without a doubt once every ten hours.

Verity had survived thanks to his skill, and not too far away, Elio clicked his tongue. "Your eyes suddenly start to glow and now this? What's with all these skills I've never seen before…seriously."

CRASH

All eyes turned to Verity who had been thrown out of the bushes into the open.

Hoshino was the first to speak.

"Oh!! My Knight of Truth! What a pleasure to see you!"

Felicia lowered her sword slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. "Verity?"

But the most eerie reaction of all was from the masked man. A smile that nearly ripped his lips open formed on his face. "Found you ~" He said.

With a swift lazy swing of his short spear, Felicia was blown away, and the masked man appeared before Verity. The smile still etched on his lips, the old man removed his mask, and he revealed himself to Verity.

"You're..!!"

It was the old man by the dock who had saved him. The sky-threading spear, Muriel Riverborn.

Muriel was about to place a hand on Verity's shoulder when–

"[Grand Severance]"

Muriel deflected the strike with both of his short-spears. "Hmm, there was another like that girl over there? Where do they keep coming from?" He tilted his head. "And that style… I see, he must have passed then, shame."

Muriel scratched the back of his neck. "In any case, I have business with this kid here you see, so…" An oppressive aura began pressing down on anyone close enough to feel it. "Scram."

At least in his intent, Muriel was serious.

Verity's eyes widened as he lay below Muriel. 'Business?? With me!?' He thought, his chest tightening due to the oppressive Aura.

Elio's eye twitched, and he halted his blade for half a breath. 'A transcendental is a transcendental after all… but he's way past his prime, and he's limiting himself to not be detected right now… it's not impossible.'

"[Heaven-cutting Slash]!"

Muriel deflected this one as well and he clicked his tongue. "You blocked that…? This is getting cumbersome."

Felicia beamed, a wicked smile etched on her lips. "Now I have even more reason to fight you! You'll have to get through me to take Verity!"

She lunged forward without another second's thought.

Elio did the same.

Under their joint attack, even the current Muriel was forced to take more than one step back. The two worked together seamlessly, as though they'd known each other their whole lives.

Felicia's blade flowed around Elio's while his blade supported hers at every turn. Of course, Felicia was smiling, but even Elio, who was of the stoic kind, found the corner of his lip curling upward as he recalled certain memories.

This cooperation was quite curious considering that the reasons each of them had decided to fight Muriel differed greatly. Elio wanted to kill Verity, while Felicia wanted to protect him, but because their goal coincided for the time being, an unexpected alliance was formed.

Their synergy was such that even Hoshino could not find an opportunity to assist them. She sighed and rushed to Verity's side, as did Ife.

"Who might you be, my lady!?" Hoshino asked, glancing at Ife.

Ife narrowed her eyes. "I'm…Ifedolapo. I assume you two are friends?"

Hoshino blew air from her nose. "He is my Knight! My Knight of Truth! Friends is too small of a word for such a connection!"

Ife looked at her like someone looked at an idiot. "...Sure, whatever." She looked down at Verity. "What are you doing!? Get up already so we can leave!"

Verity shook his head. "I…I can't move…! I think he hit my pressure points!"

Ife clicked her tongue. She leaned forward toward Verity's face, much at Hoshino's disbelief.

"Ohh!! Such passion in such a dire moment!! I see, I had already decided, but this confirms it! You will be my Knight of Love from now on!"

Ife's brows twitched, but she ignored Hoshino this time, and she blew hot air into Verity's face. "Does that help at all!?" She asked.

Verity strained himself, and he was somewhat able to wiggle around. "...A bit?"

"Then, if you cannot walk." With a wave of Hoshino's wand, the winds gathered below Verity and lifted him. "I shall carry you!"

BOOM

Someone had arrived. It was Muriel.

Ife and Hoshino fell unconscious without even seeing what had hit them. Elio and Felicia who were a few movements behind caught up, and for the first time, Muriel seemed genuinely annoyed.

The tension in the atmosphere thickened, making it hard to even breathe, and Muriel sighed.

"I won't have much time if I do this but…" He drew a circle in front of him with both of his short spears. "....Cloudless Sky style First Current - Azure Twin Cyclones."

Both Elio and Felicia reacted quickly and they immediately adopted a defensive stance. That was the right move, as if it were not for that, they would have been instantly shredded to pieces by Muriel's attack.

Still, the strike was devastating.

As he was blown away, Elio's thoughts were frantic. 'It wasn't his full power… but that was a sincere strike! To think he'd use something like that here with so many eyes watching!!' He caught a glimpse of Verity as he was flying through the jungle. 'All that… for him?'

Muriel clicked his tongue again. "You've really made me do something troublesome." He lifted Verity onto his shoulder, and without him being able to protest in any way, he disappeared.

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