"Is it truly alright?" Liu Ying asked with an awkward expression after Gina returned.
"Why not?" Bloed shrugged. "I'm just using our resources appropriately."
Liu Ying twitched her lips. She could imagine how the girl of Flying Leaves that 'faced' Gina was feeling now.
After all, she went to the stage with the determination to fight bravely and get a victory for her club, but in exchange, she was involved in a joke.
However, Liu Ying had to admit that Bloed's plan was effective.
In the end, Machine Revolution was disadvantaged in the number of people that could fight. With this plan, they did not have to worry about that peak A-Rank girl for the rest of the competition; meanwhile, their side's only loss was Gina.
Gina was just a D-Rank practitioner. Exchanging a D-Rank for an A-Rank was worth it.
Unfortunately, this kind of plan hardly would work again.
From now onwards, Flying Leaves would be wary of Bloed's intentions and would be careful about the members they send to the stage.
'Well, at least we don't have to worry about that peak A-Rank practitioner anymore.' Bloed thought to himself.
Counting the peak A-Rank practitioner that fought Diodora before, then only one peak A-Rank practitioner remained in Flying Leaves' team.
Just then, the demigod spoke up again.
"Both clubs, please send your next contestant to the stage.
As soon as the words sounded, the entire group looked at Bloed as they waited for him to chose who to send next.
Bloed looked at each one of them briefly, and finally, his eyes fell on Aya.
"Aya, are you ready?"
The black-haired cat girl was surprised, but she did not hesitate to reply.
"… I am. I won't disappoint you."
"I know." Bloed nodded. "Be careful."
The cat girl nodded expressionlessly before going towards the stage.
"Will she be alright?" Princess Elwha asked with a slight expression of worry.
Bloed did not reply. He just stared at Aya as she walked towards the stage.
'… Flying Leaves most likely will not send anyone too strong after what happened last round… Perhaps Aya has a chance.'
At that moment, the person representing Flying Leaves arrived at the stage as well.
He was a young man around twenty years old, with blonde hair and a calm expression.
As for his cultivation, it was at the initial stage of A-Rank.
The young man was not holding any weapon, but the aura around him showed that he was an experienced combatant. He was not going to be an easy opponent.
The girls were slightly nervous when they saw him, but Bloed sighed in relief instead.
"Initial A-Rank, huh… Aya should stand a chance then…"
Meanwhile, Aya and the young man of Flying Leaves were observing each other.
"Peak B-Rank?" The young man frowned. "Is your club planning to give up this battle as well?"
Aya did not reply. Instead, she grabbed her daggers calmly as she waited for the signal to start the battle.
The young man's frown deepened, but before he could continue speaking, the demigod's voice sounded.
"Are both of you ready? Then, start."
As soon as the demigod finished speaking, Aya moved.
In an instant, her lithe and petite body dashed forward, arriving in front of the young man quickly.
She held both daggers in a backward grip. Then, she raised them and stabbed towards different parts of the young man's body, a dagger going to his neck and the other to his kidney.
However, the young man's eyes followed Aya's movements easily with a calm expression. Even when Aya's daggers were centimeters away from him, his expression did not change.
Then, when she was about to cut him, his lips opened slightly.
"[Burn]."
With a word, mana flowed out of his body. It immediately turned into a ring of fire that spread from his body outwards!
Aya's expression changed. At this distance, she could not avoid the flames. Thus, she filled her daggers with mana to cut the ring of fire into two.
But to her surprise, as soon as her daggers touched the flames, the ring of fire seemed to become alive, converging into a ball of fire that exploded violently at point-blank range!
Aya's eyes opened wide. She did not hesitate to jump backward, using the heat and shock of the explosion to distance herself from the young man as she created a barrier around her to protect herself from the fire.
But that was a bad move. The young man was a mage, and it was common knowledge that mages were generally stronger at farther distances.
"Fire Spell, [All-Consuming Sea of Fire]."
The voice of the young man reached Aya's ears, followed by fierce flames that surged all around the stage, turning it into a dominion of fire.
Moreover, the flames seemed to know that Aya was the enemy. Under the control of the young man, they were like bloodthirsty snakes, chasing her and forcing her to move continuously.
Aya's face turned grave. She furrowed her brows as she evaded the flames attacking her once and again. Moreover, she was forced to create a barrier of mana around her body to protect herself from the fire around her.
The cat girl immediately realized the gravity of the situation. At this rate, she would lose very soon!
In fact, she knew that if she did not find a way to reverse the situation, then in less than five minutes she would lose after consuming her entire mana pool.
But that was not the worst part.
Even now, while she was evading the attacks of the young man, she could see him getting ready to cast a new spell.
But–
'I can't lose…'
She was not going to lose here. Not when she promised him that she was not going to disappoint him.
Thus, in that instant, her eyes turned sharp.
Then, her hands grabbed the cloak she was wearing.
Cloak of Tiabennes.
It was the artifact she received as a reward from the king of the Great Savannah after the incident with the Church of Slaughter.
This cloak had only one ability.
The ability to hide its owner's presence.
However, that alone would not be enough. Even if she used the cloak, the flames would reveal her whereabouts immediately after that.
Therefore, she needed to use something else.
And fortunately, she had it.
With an expressionless look, Aya's lips opened slightly.
"Appear." She spoke up. "[Night Symphony]."
Instantly, darkness filled the battleground, consuming the flames and erasing every noise in the surroundings.
"That is…" The demigod opened his eyes wide in surprise as soon as he saw that. "Domain."