The leader of the commoner faction had fallen.
And with that, this battle became hopelessly lost.
The crowd was completely silent, so much so that you could hear a pin drop… along with the sound of their heartbreaks and despairful realization.
All of them couldn’t deny that while he was forced on his backfoot a few times, Samael had actually been very methodical and sort of dominant throughout the fight.
And now…
Now he was going to win it.
…But while everyone had lost hope, two people were still standing. And they had yet to give up.
“Damn it!” Erwin gritted his teeth, looking through his sniper’s scope, waiting for Samael to give a peek.
While Reiner had flattened most of the training field, a large part of it was still strewn with jagged spikes and tall pillars that Samael had erupted.
While fighting Reiner, and even after defeating him, Samael had been sure to never step out of his cover long enough for Erwin to get a clear shot.
And that was all he needed.
Just one clear shot.
Just one bullet that could find its mark on his head or chest, and it would be over. The faculty wouldn’t let Samael die, but Erwin would win by technicality.
Right then, the girl standing a few steps beside him spoke up.
This was one of the rare times Erwin heard Sylen Mordane speak, since she always either communicated by writing or through telepathy.
“I’m going in,” she said, summoning two Cards.
“What? Are you crazy?” Erwin scowled. “He’ll wipe the floor with you!”
“I know,” Sylen nodded. “But after collecting himself, he’s going to rush us anyway. He’ll use his movement ability. He’ll be fast. I’ll engage him. I only need to stop him for a single second. Be ready to shoot him down.”
Erwin blinked. Wow, even when she talked, her instructions remained so short and direct.
Regardless, he had to admit, it was a good plan for a final stand.
If she could draw him out of the cover and restrict him for even a single second, Erwin could lead them to victory.
There was just one problem with that plan that they failed to consider.
…They were up against Samael Theosbane.
Instead of coming out of the cover and giving them a chance to prolong this battle, the Ace did something completely unexpected.
From behind the concrete pillar where he was, Samael started throwing a salvo of Flaming Arrows up high in the air.
By the time Erwin and Sylen noticed that a few dozen arrows had already begun raining down from the sky like a blazing meteor shower.
—Boom, Boom, Boom!!
None of the arrows reached them, but they crashed into the ground and exploded.
The explosions kicked up large swirling clouds of dust, obstructing Erwin’s view.
“Oh, like hell I’ll let you do that, you bastard!” Erwin yelled to himself and shot down the remaining arrows in mid-air, detonating them in the sky.
But Samael paid it no mind. He had created enough cover.
With the help of «Flash Step», he dashed from one cloud of dust to another, moving closer to Erwin and Sylen with each sprint.
Occasionally, he threw a few Flame Arrows toward them, but Erwin shot them down as well.
Then, for a moment, everything turned quiet.
Samael didn’t make any moves…
The silence was unsettling.
Erwin swept his eyes across the arena, when, as if on cue, he heard the earth split open behind them.
He was going to do it again!
He must’ve gone underground in one of the dust clouds, and was about to jump out from behind them!
It was just like how he took out Liora and Reiner!
That cocky bastard had the audacity to use the same trick on them thrice?!
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Reacting quickly, Erwin turned his head around—
But instantly realized something was off.
And right then, as if to confirm his suspicion, Sylen’s voice echoed in his mind, “It’s a trap!”
Erwin also realized that as he caught a glimpse of the crack and noticed it was far too shallow. It was a diversion!
A trap to distract them!
All of it only happened in a split second. Erwin didn’t even move his sniper. Sylen’s call was immediate.
But that split-second distraction was all the time Samael needed to make his move.
Erwin couldn’t react in time as a fiery arrow struck his rifle and detonated.
His weapon exploded into incandescent splinters and burning shrapnels, one of which streaked too close to Erwin’s eye and singed his eyelashes.
“Arghh!” He stumbled back, crying out in pain and summoning an Item Card. A golden handgun began materializing in his grasp.
But by then, a flaming lash shot out from the nearest dust cloud and coiled around Sylen’s wrist like a noose.
Her mouth opened in a scream, but no sound escaped — only a strangled gasp as the burning whip seared into her flesh.
Then, with tyrannical force tugging at it, the whip yanked her off balance and flung her through the air before slamming her into a concrete log that hadn’t been there moments ago.
Before she could recover, Samael burst from the settling dust and headed straight for her.
Still reeling, Sylen gritted her teeth and shoved herself up, her one good arm lashing out. An icicle shard formed in her palm and shot toward him.
Normally, the golden-haired boy would have dodged with ease. But maybe because he was so exhausted and hurt, his movements were just a fraction too slow.
The ice shard sliced across his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
…But that was all.
That was all the damage she could inflict before he closed in.
She tried to throw a punch, but Samael slipped under it and slithered around her.
From behind, he hammered his knee into her back, striking right where her kidney should’ve been with such merciless force that Sylen’s body arched forward violently.
Her breath hitched as agony shot through her spine.
Before she could react, his hand clamped around her neck and he lifted her off the ground.
And then… he started running.
Straight toward Erwin, who now had a revolver in hand.
That bastard! He was using Sylen as a literal meat shield to close the distance!
Erwin raised his revolver, trying to steady his aim, but his fingers trembled on the trigger.
That was when Sylen’s voice rang in his mind.
“Shoot!” she screamed. “Shoot him through me! We have to take him out right here, Erwin! This is our only chance! Do it!”
That moment stretched into eternity.
Erwin’s grip tightened on the gun. His heart raced.
His sights were aligned, the golden barrel leveled at Samael’s charging form.
He had a clean shot — straight through Sylen’s torso.
But his fingers refused to move.
“Do it!” Sylen’s voice rang in his head, raw and desperate.
She wasn’t pleading. She wasn’t hesitating. She had already accepted what needed to be done.
But Erwin…
He couldn’t.
Samael was nearly upon him now. His eyes gleamed with a cold, razor-sharp focus… like a predator going for the kill.
There was no doubt in his expression, no hesitation in his stride.
At the last possible second, Erwin jerked the gun away, aiming for Samael’s shoulder instead—
—Bang!
The shot fired.
But it was too late.
With inhuman reflexes, Samael twisted mid-charge, shifting his weight just enough for the bullet to graze past his shoulder instead of striking deep.
And then, before Erwin could fire another round, Samael threw Sylen aside like a broken doll and closed the remaining distance in an instant.
A fist crashed into Erwin’s gut.
All the air in his lungs was violently forced out. His vision blurred from the sheer force of the impact, and his feet lifted off the ground for a brief moment before he crumpled onto his knees.
He barely had a second to cough before Samael grabbed him by the hair, yanking his head back.
“You hesitated,” Samael murmured. His voice was calm, almost indifferent.
Erwin’s dazed, pain-filled eyes met Samael’s.
“You can’t afford to hesitate when you’re pathetically weak.”
And with that, Samael drove his knee into Erwin’s face.
A sickening crack echoed through the silent battlefield.
Erwin’s vision went black.
•••
The battle was over.
Sylen was still struggling to get up, but she had no chance alone. Not in her state.
Samael drove a brutal kick into her gut, forcing a choked gasp from her lips. He then gripped the back of her head, dragged her on all fours, and slammed her face into the log.
—Baaam!
Sylen’s body slumped at his feet.
Samael let out a deep breath and touched the concrete log, crudely molding it into the shape of a chair… or was it a throne perhaps? Whatever term was more appropriate in that situation.
Dismissing all his Cards, he turned and sat back down, planting his boot on Sylen’s fallen back like using her as some sort of a royal tuffet.
It was dark by now. The floodlights illuminated the arena in a harsh glow.
And there, seated above the wreckage of the battlefield and his fallen enemies, Samael was in the spotlight. Quite literally.
People in the audience were looking at him with ranging emotions. Some with grudging admiration. Others with seething hatred. A few in pure disbelief.
And many, many in silent fear.
Because what they had just witnessed wasn’t a mere victory.
It was domination.
He had casually crushed some of the strongest Cadets in their batch. Alone.
The Top Eleven to Twenty…
All of them.
All taken down by a single man.
In under forty minutes.
Sure, he hadn’t walked away unscathed. He was injured and bruised and wounded, but that only made it worse.
Because even battered and exhausted, Samael Kaizer Theosbane had never been in danger.
With ruthless precision, he had dismantled his opponents. One by one. Merciless. Unrelenting. Inevitable.
In one word, he was — unstoppable.
No matter what he was put through or how much he was hurt, he never stopped. And by the end of it, no one was left to stop him.
There were many in the audience who wanted to hate him. And most still did.
But beneath the resentment, beneath the bruised egos and clenched fists, there was something colder.
A realization.
Samael wasn’t just strong.
He was something else entirely.
Something they couldn’t hope to face.
Something terrifying.
He was… undisputed.
Samael leaned back against his ‘throne,’ exhaling softly as his gaze washed over the crowd. He looked at them slowly, menacingly.
Then, in a voice devoid of all emotions but disgust, he said it.
“You’re all weak.”