An inconspicuous referee appeared and signaled the start of the battle with a slash of his hand.
As usual, the participants didn't immediately rush at each other; instead, they opted to begin with a conversation.
Anticipating this development, Stell gathered energy, preparing for the forthcoming battle.
The longer the two teams talked, the stronger Stell's next ability would become.
"What's with him?" Aaron asked Felix as he nudged his head in Stell's direction.
"Why ask me?" Felix smiled.
"Because he doesn't seem like he wants to speak to me. He looks both angry and depressed." Aaron answered seriously.
Felix shook his head. "I don't know."
"I see." Aaron nodded as he turned to look at Tian Fen, receiving a nod from him.
"Let's start then." He smirked as he entered his own shadow while Tian Fen started taking his standard pose. Felix grinned in response as he jumped and stood in the air.
Meanwhile, Stell looked at the scene bitterly. 'Couldn't you spend more time on nonsense? Why did you have to start so early? I am not ready yet!'
As he watched Aaron closing in, Stell lifted his food, prepared to change the shape of the arena so that he could deal with Aaron.
However, contrary to his expectations, Aaron was actually attacking Felix!
As Aaron climbed out of his own shadow, he tried stomping on Felix's, but before he could finish his stomp, Felix descended with a kick, making Aaron defend himself and pushing him away.
"Not on my watch." Felix grinned as he deflected Aaron's sneaky kick.
"Tsk." Aaron's dissatisfied voice was heard as the audience of the Death Arena started cheering.
"I guess that Felix and Rey are going to make a killing." Stell muttered as he watched the fight.
Stomping, he created a wall behind Aaron, intending to disrupt any of his escape plans.
However, due to either negligence or his unstable state, Stell forgot that walls cast shadows, allowing Aaron to easily conceal himself.
Smirking, Aaron gave him a look before he entered the wall's shadow.
'Dammit!' Stell gritted his teeth, realizing the mistake he made. 'What's worse is that if we destroy the wall, he will have thousands of shadows to conceal his own in.
"Doesn't matter." Felix laughed. "He will have to come out eventually. Let's focus on that guy in the meantime." He pointed at Tian Fen, who collectively watched the fight without moving.
Avoiding the wall, Stell nodded and positioned himself next to Felix.
'Now! Now is the time. Earlier was a mistake,' he thought as they approached Tian Fen. Of course, he didn't forget to occasionally glance at the wall and check if a shadow detached itself.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask." Felix started running in the air. "Why do you always stand in one position? It's obvious that you can do more."
Stell looked at Tian Fen oddly as he ran behind Felix. 'He can? How can Felix tell?'
Tian Fen didn't answer as he waited for a person to enter his range.
"Felix! Don't let him gather Sword Intent!" Stell shouted as he stomped with his foot, creating an Earth Pillar under Tian Fen.
The pillar was just wide enough for a foot to stand on, and it caught only one of Tian Fen's legs, disrupting his balance.
Felix smirked as he kicked at that moment. However, Tian Fen managed to deflect Felix's attack with his sword before somersaulting and regaining his footing. Readying his sword, he started gathering energy.
"Not so easy." Stell stomped his foot again, raising another pillar, but Tian Fen only slightly shifted the position of his foot, evading the pillar completely.
"Dammit!" Stell cursed, preparing to stomp again. Just as he was about to lower his leg, he froze.
His leg moved extremely slowly, and he could barely move his neck.
With extreme difficulty, he turned around, noticing Aaron's smirk. Stell panicked while watching Aaron prepare to stab him.
Thankfully, Felix arrived in time, charging at Aaron. Noticing Felix's punch, Aaron crossed his hands, blocking the punch.
However, that also made him step away from Stell's shadow, allowing Stell to move again.
Covered in a cold sweat, Stell breathed heavily before turning to look at Tian Fen. He couldn't even gather his thoughts before he was kicked by Tian Fen.
Falling, Stell could only watch in despair as Tian Fen's sword approached his neck.
"Ah!" Felix disengaged from his fight with Aaron, running in the air with his fastest speed in order to help Stell. He didn't believe that Tian Fen would really kill Stell, but that didn't mean that it wouldn't count as Stell's elimination!
Just in the nick of time, Felix managed to place his foot in front of the sword, miraculously changing the sword's direction.
"Quite a hefty power." Aaron smirked as he watched the sight. Then, he started running, quickly approaching Stell and Felix.
"DAMMIT!" Stell furiously punched the floor before he hurriedly stood up while Felix was dealing with Tian Fen.
'I should deal with him while Felix is keeping Tian Fen occupied.' He thought as he looked at Aaron.
'But... Can I?' Doubts and anxiety flooded his mind with each passing moment.
Because of his chaotic thoughts, he couldn't think of a plan.
Once Aaron reached Stell, he stabbed with his dagger, prompting Stell to summon an Earth Wall.
"Why don't you use your shadow powers?" Stell looked furiously at Aaron's feet, realizing that Aaron was bypassing the wall without his shadow powers.
"Saving them." Aaron chuckled as he crouched, placing his hand on the floor and kicking with one of his legs from the side.
Stell snorted as he stomped, making a pillar rise from the ground. Before he could even think of mocking Aaron for the stupid move, he saw Aaron's leg break the pillar, making Stell fall.
"Did you think that I am not strong enough to break the pillar?" Aaron chuckled as he placed his dagger in front of Stell, clearly eliminating him.
"YOU!" Stell wanted to lash out at Aaron, but something deep inside halted him. He had lost. Was he going to behave like a sore loser and lash out too?
As the arena erupted in cheers, Stell continued to pound the floor. He didn't care about winning anymore. He didn't care about anything. He just wanted to vent his frustrations—even if it meant harming himself. No, he might have even preferred it that way.
Aaron looked at Stell strangely before turning to Felix. Pointing his dagger, he said. "Give up. You can't do two-versus-one."
Stell looked at Aaron silently before redirecting his gaze at Stell. With a hint of sadness, he nodded his head.
As the arena erupted into cheers, Stell continued punching the floor. He didn't care anymore about winning. He didn't care about anything. He just wanted to vent his frustrations. Even if it's by harming himself. No, he might have preferred it that way.
As the audience's cheers subsided, Stell discerned a distinctive voice from the stands—a male voice laden with both wisdom and scorn.
"Is that it? Are you happy? Felix would have fared better without you."
Damian's voice transformed Stell's despair into anger aimed squarely at one person. However, he couldn't muster the courage to confront Damian. No, he couldn't even make himself look at Damian.
Beneath his anger, a new, even more overwhelming sense of despair took hold. Just as Stell felt himself spiraling, he could barely make out Damian's voice once more.
"Why don't you just go and do something on your own? Or, if you are that useless, kill yourself?"
Damian's derision ignited something inside Stell. Alone. An achievement he would earn without Felix. Achievement...
Consumed by burning rage, Stell stood up and rushed out of the Death Arena. He couldn't even hear Aaron's confused voice or Felix's wish for luck.
Losing track of time, Stell didn't even notice when he reached the pagoda. He couldn't even feel his beaten-up, tired condition.
He had only one goal: to accomplish something on his own, to become someone.
With the burning rage and determination, Stell entered through the games door, instantly ordering his System to start an indefinite game.
As he vanished, his clouded mind didn't notice a lack of System notifications or the real pain and fatigue that the game didn't clear up once he reappeared.