The combined attacks of
Deguro
and
Fedrick
left the spectators utterly stunned.
To be fair, despite this being their first collaboration, their tactics were flawless.
Using their mastery of the
Wood Field’s
rule and their ambush setup, any intruder would have been caught in their trap.
Fedrick, with his root network, could monitor every move within the
Wood Field
, while Deguro lay hidden in the shadows, ready to strike with lethal precision.
The synergy between the two was seamless, seemingly leaving no room for failure.
But then came Nora.
Nora’s appearance completely overturned expectations.
She quickly neutralized Deguro’s shadow abilities, dismantled his combat effectiveness in just a few minutes, and barely gave him time to respond before declaring victory.
Fedrick’s ambush, carefully prepared and timed to exploit a lapse in her vigilance after Deguro’s surrender, came far too late.
…
What shocked the audience even more was that Nora dodged Fedrick’s stealthy attack.
It was an attack executed without malice, a mere droplet of cursed liquid falling from a tree branch, designed to be utterly untraceable.
Under normal circumstances, even the most vigilant would have been caught off guard.
But Nora managed to avoid it, showing an exceptional level of awareness.
And yet, unlike the audience who had a bird’s-eye view of events, Nora had no knowledge of the situation.
She didn’t know there were two enemies lurking in the
Wood Field
.
Her sharp instincts alone kept her safe.
…
Nora examined the spot where the cursed droplet had fallen.
She felt the faint yet distinct presence of a cursed aura, completely out of place within the vitality-filled
Wood Field
. It was this unease that kept her alert even after Deguro surrendered.
The droplet was no ordinary liquid. Its curse was potent, strong enough to taint the surrounding earth and wither nearby vegetation even after being frozen.
Only one faction among the participating superpowers specialized in curses:
Cult of Calamity.
Nora immediately realized that someone else was in the
Wood Field
with her.
The cursed aura and the nature of the attack left no doubt.
…
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble violently.
Nora rose into the air, but a massive worm shot up from underground with terrifying speed, aiming straight for her.
In an instant, the worm swallowed the spot where Nora had been.
It crashed back to the ground, leaving Fedrick smirking as he stepped into view.
“If you had held her off just a bit longer, I could have refined something even more powerful,” he said to Deguro.
Fedrick wasn’t just a master of curses—he was also skilled in manipulating parasitic creatures.
When he discovered the vibrant life within the
Wood Field
, he captured and cursed it, creating the enormous underground worm.
The creature was filled with layers of curses so potent that anyone swallowed by it would be doomed.
…
Deguro, leaning against a tree to rest, responded wearily, “If you’d faced her yourself, you’d understand her strength. That woman is the most formidable opponent I’ve ever encountered.”
In Deguro’s mind, the
Battle for Dominance
had reached its peak with Nora. No one else could possibly match her level.
But just as he was about to settle in for a moment of respite, he noticed something unusual.
The ground, the trees, and even the sky around him were suddenly veiled in crimson mana threads.
He instinctively turned to Fedrick, suspecting treachery.
“Is this your doing?” Deguro asked sharply.
Fedrick’s confusion was evident. “Of course not! Why would I target you?”
Deguro replied, “Then who else in this
secret realm
could—”
Their eyes simultaneously shifted toward the worm’s previous location.
…
The
Wood Field
had three participants: Deguro, Fedrick, and Nora.
Could it be…?
Both men froze as the realization struck them.
Nora wasn’t dead.
…
From the worm’s remains emerged a figure.
Nora stepped forward, unharmed, while the cursed worm lay lifeless behind her.
Fedrick’s confidence crumbled into sheer terror.
How?
How had Nora escaped the worm’s cursed stomach?
What had happened to the layers of deadly curses he had infused into the creature?
Fedrick’s instincts screamed at him that his attacks would be utterly ineffective against her. Both his ambushes had failed completely.
Even his last resort—a swarm of cursed insects—felt pointless now.
Unlike Deguro’s shadow beasts, which could reform, his insects would die permanently.
To resist further seemed not only futile but reckless.
…
“I surrender,” Fedrick declared, his voice tinged with resignation.
To his surprise, the crimson mana threads surrounding the area dissipated within mere seconds.
It was clear now that the threads were Nora’s doing—and that she was no longer interested in fighting.
Fedrick exchanged a glance with Deguro. Both men saw the same astonishment mirrored in each other’s eyes.
…
“You’re free to leave,” Nora said calmly.
“Thank you,” they replied in unison, shattering their
tokens
and leaving the
Wood Field
.
…
With the
Wood Field’s
seed in her possession, Nora had triumphed.
Now, only two participants remained in the
5 Field
:
Nora
and
Imora.
…
Imora was an unstoppable force, ruthless and deadly. She had slain Yesar with a single strike, giving him no chance to withdraw from the realm.
Nora, on the other hand, remained a mystery.
Her strength seemed unassailable, but her methods were enigmatic.
Even the audience couldn’t comprehend how she had escaped the cursed worm’s stomach.
Surely Fedrick, the
Cult of Calamity’s
chosen, had prepared his creature meticulously.
But Nora had emerged victorious.
And now, the final clash was imminent.
The
Cult of Calamity
, as its name suggests, brings disaster in its wake.
Their expertise in curses and parasitic creatures is infamous, and
Fedrick
, the Cult’s chosen participant, was no exception.
The audience could hardly believe that the worm sent against
Nora
didn’t have some deadly curse woven into its body.
To think that a single creature would be enough to eliminate one of the superpower’s champions seemed absurd.
It was certain: the worm had been imbued with Fedrick’s sinister handiwork.
And yet…
Nora emerged from the worm’s cursed innards, unscathed and composed, as if its deadly traps had no effect on her whatsoever.