Malek, sensing the rising tension, stepped in to mediate. "We need to address this issue directly," he said. "If we're to work together, we must establish some ground rules. We can't afford internal conflicts."
"You'd have to trust me on that," Malek said with a reassuring smile. "I'll make sure you two girls are safe."
Freya and Sasha seemed to relax slightly at Malek's words, though the tension lingered. "Besides," Kiba added, "this team-up is only for convenience. I and Omen are taking Jacobi and Kan's team head-on."
"Exactly," Malek agreed. "I'll face Tame and Anna's team alone. You can accompany us, but if you prefer to remain immobile with Sasha, I won't force you to fight." His gentle smile seemed to ease the girls' concerns, providing a sense of reassurance amidst the uncertainty.
Freya, finding some solace in the plan, spoke up with renewed confidence. "If that's the case, Sasha and I will handle the investigation."
"The no-kill rule is still active," Sasha added, her voice gaining strength. "I can shapeshift and observe the other teams from the shadows. Freya can take to the skies and investigate."
Malek nodded approvingly. "It's a good idea. Once you're both done, meet us back here. I'll set up a temporary base for us. As far as I'm concerned, the last purge has already begun."
Freya and Sasha took their leave, heading off in their respective directions. Freya's eyes scanned the sky as she prepared for flight, while Sasha focused on her ability to shapeshift and blend into the shadows
As they departed, Malek and Kiba began discussing their approach to confronting Jacobi and Kan's team. Omen remained a silent observer, his thoughts focused on the upcoming battle.
"Malek", he asked suddenly interrupting their conversation, they both looked at him calmly as he continued "What happens when every other opponent is dead leaving Tame…we can't kill any of the girls"
Malek must have misunderstood him as he thought Omen was reluctant to kill those innocent friends, but he was far from the truth. Omen just didn't want the situation where they might all need to fight each other and the person to die would be ganged up on…which could be him.
"No worries Omen, when that moment comes I'm sure Tame would choose to die honourably", Malek responded and continued his conversation with Kiba.
Omen doubted his words but remained silent as he recalled his conversation with Tame 'I doubt that, he has a sister to protect as well, not even death would stop a man from protecting his family'
That night, the girls returned, their faces etched with exhaustion. The warmth of the rock dome built by Malek was a welcome relief from the biting cold outside. Omen had observed the structure with interest—an impressive feat of earth manipulation that he hadn't known Malek possessed. The dome stood about four meters tall and was only large enough to accommodate ten people at most, with the remaining space reserved for ventilation and a small campfire at its centre.
'Maybe I'd try and steal it', he joked to himself with a smile.
As Freya and Sasha reached the dome, the walls slid aside, revealing the comforting glow of the fire and their teammates' tired but resolute faces. The blazing fires created dancing shadows on the granite walls, forming a cocoon of warmth in the frigid night.
Malek, sitting across from the girls, fixed them with a steady gaze. "Spill," he said in a calm, authoritative voice.
"It's not looking good," Freya said with a weary sigh. "Jacobi and Kan's team is incredibly powerful. They have Preto, who's nearly untouchable due to his precognition skill. Indiana has insane regeneration—she can regenerate even from a single cell. And Mako… he can create clones of himself, though I don't know the limit."
Malek's face tightened as he absorbed the information. "That's quite a lineup. What about Anna's team?"
Sasha, her expression grim, added, "Anna's team is just as deadly. She's hunting you down specifically, Omen. Her team has individuals capable of bringing you down. Tame is trained to hunt down your kind. Gold is a banished celestial with light manipulation, which is particularly damaging to darklings. Mia is an unparalleled mind manipulator, and she knows how to bypass your mental durability. And then there's the dream walker—he's incredibly powerful. Once he pulls you into sleep… you're dead."
Omen listened intently, his face a mask of calm despite the gravity of the information. "Then we'll have to change the plan. We'll have to deal with Anna's team first instead of Jacobi's," Omen suggested. He looked to Malek for agreement, but Kiba was quicker to interject.
"It's not that easy, kid," Kiba said, shaking his head. "Jacobi hates your guts just as much as Anna does. His team might be a bigger challenge, but they're easier to handle while you're at full strength. The only immediate threat there is Jacobi himself, and I'll deal with him."
Malek nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled. When the purge begins, I'll stall Anna's team while I wait for you guys. Are we all in agreement?"
Freya and Sasha nodded quickly, relieved at the thought of being spared from the chaos of facing Anna's team directly. Omen, however, was deep in thought, his mind racing through the implications of the new plan.
"Let us strategize then," Omen said, his voice firm. "A plan is still necessary. I would have preferred to delay our engagement and let the teams battle each other, but it seems my enemies are relentless in killing me. Until the death, then."
The fire crackled, spreading flickering shadows across the dome's walls. The group's resolve was strengthened, and as the night progressed, they proceeded to fine-tune their strategy, certain that the last purging awaited them.
…..
The atmosphere was charged with anticipation as the final purge approached. The wasteland surrounding the arena was a desolate, harsh landscape, perfectly suited for the violent clash that was about to unfold. Omen stood with his teammates; their readiness was evident despite the underlying tension. They had spent the time leading up to this moment familiarizing themselves with each other's abilities and coordinating their strategies. Their cooperation might still be imperfect, but their combined strength and resolve were palpable.
Malek, as the de facto leader of their group, gathered everyone for a final reminder. "Alright then, remember the plan. Kiba and Omen will take on Jacobi's team first. After that, we'll regroup and deal with Kan's team, then join forces to end Anna's group."
As they waited, the overseer appeared before them, seemingly materializing from thin air. This particular acolyte greatly angered Omen ever since his first day, he consoled himself with the thought of putting the bastard's head on a spike.
"The five of you seem ready," the overseer said, his voice echoing with a hint of menace. "Now, the rules are simple. You are not allowed to kill your teammates or betray them. Any other person you're free to kill. The battle begins immediately once I teleport you away."
'Just as expected', Omen knew something like this was going to happen. At least he'd feel no remorse when it was time to kill Tame.
The acolyte then handed Jacobi a small tracking device. "Every team leader has one of these. It only shows the location of other team leaders, not their teammates. You'll need to be smart, deadly, and sharp. Understood?"
Each of the team members nodded, their faces reflecting a mixture of determination and apprehension.
"And now," the overseer's voice grew more intense, "the final cleansing begins!"
With a flick of his wrist, the overseer activated his teleportation skill without even touching them. The familiar sensation of being pulled through a void enveloped Omen and his team. In a flash, the world blurred, and they were in the middle of the wastelands. The frozen landscape extended out in front of them, and as the teleportation mist cleared out, Omen looked around. The sky over was a gloomy oppressive grey, which added to the atmosphere of doom. The acolyte disappeared with a last, mysterious smile, and Omen and his companions found themselves in a strange woodland, where the trees were gnashed and withered, their skeletal branches stretching out like dark fingers towards the white snow.Malek's gaze was fixed on the small tracking device he had been given. The screen displayed their location as a single red dot in the center of a black field. Two additional red dots had just appeared, indicating the presence of other teams nearby. The device offered no other information, leaving them in a precarious situation.
"Great, now how do we know which team is which?" Kiba's frustration was evident as he stared at the device, its limited functionality irritating him.
Malek's response was calm and practical. "We don't need to. We're the dot in the middle. One way or another, we'll encounter any of the teams. If we encounter the wrong team, we'll retreat and regroup. If we encounter the right one, we'll fight, and stall as planned.
Let's move. Stick to the plan and stay sharp."
…..
The peacefulness of the snow-covered woods was unexpectedly broken by a blast of fury. The solitary rabbit, a little and innocent creature, had been hopping through the snow, its whiskers twitching in quest of nourishment. The peaceful moment was disturbed by a big red wolf leaping through the air with vicious grace. The rabbit is eyes expanded with horror as it attempted to flee, but its escape was short-lived.
In an instant, a human foot dropped with devastating precision, smashing the rabbit into a violent explosion of cells and gore. The force of the impact left no trace of the rabbit's former form—its bones and body dissolved into the cold, unforgiving snow. The red wolf, Kiba, stood towering above the scene, his presence an imposing force.
Omen, moving with inhuman speed and efficiency, was responsible for the sudden and brutal end of the rabbit. His footfall had been so swift that it left no time for the rabbit to react or escape. Omen and Kiba were approaching the source of the red dot that had appeared on the tracking device.
"Omen, we're approaching them. Stay alert," Kiba's voice resonated in Omen's mind, a mental command conveyed through the telepathic bond of his wolf form.
"Already alerted," Omen's reply was smooth and confident. It was not mere bravado; his sensory abilities were unparalleled. With [exogene sense], [thermal sense], [heightened perception], [vibration sense], and [life sense], he was acutely aware of his surroundings. There was little that could escape his notice.
Without hesitation, Omen propelled himself forward, vanishing into the dense forest with the fluidity of a shadow. The trees, cloaked in snow and darkness, seemed to blur around him as he moved with a deadly grace. His senses were finely tuned to detect even the slightest disturbance.
Kiba followed closely, his massive frame blending into the forest as he moved with surprising stealth Both of them were a terrifying mix, with Omen's agility and perceptive prowess matched by Kiba's raw might and innate precision.
The woodland was silent save for the odd rustle of snowflakes and the distant crackle of frost-covered limbs. They were now only a few dozen metres away from their target, their concentration steadfast.
Omen moved like a shadow through the dense forest canopy. His imperceptibility cloaked him from sight as he navigated the branches with practised ease. Below, the three unknown purgers huddled around a crackling fire.
He watched them closely. The three were unsuspecting, their casual conversation and relaxed posture indicating a false sense of security. The cloner, with his ability to create duplicates of himself, was a significant threat. The regenerating girl could recover from almost any wound in an instant, making her a priority target as well. The precognitive boy, despite his formidable skill, seemed to be the least immediate threat in this scenario, though Omen knew better than to underestimate him.
His focus sharpened as the cloner rose from his seat, heading off into the forest to relieve himself. Omen's eyes followed him with lethal intent. The cloner was vulnerable now, isolated from his teammates. With a calculated move, Omen silently descended from the treetops, his movements barely making a sound against the soft rustle of dead leaves. He positioned himself above the cloner, his body blending seamlessly with the shadows of the tree. The boy's senses were dulled by the routine of their camp, making him an easy target. Omen reached down with precision, pulling the cloner up into the treetops. His grip was firm, silencing any noise that might alert the others. As he maneuvered the boy into the branches, the muffled scream of terror was barely audible, lost in the stillness of the forest.