The moment the professor's voice finished echoing, Riki and Ryuji both took their fighting stances.

Riki took a familiar pose, his arms crossed and his hands nearing his shoulders as particles started to gather in his palms once again. Ryuji recognized that stance; it was the wave of fire Riki used against him in their first fight.

"Going all out from the start?" Ryuji asked mockingly, but to his surprise, the particles were being gathered at an increasingly rapid rate. Clearly, Riki had been training behind the scenes. And within seconds, the raging wave of fire surged toward him once again.

Students in the stands erupted in cheers at the sight of the massive wall of fire, as it neared impact, Ryuji vanished once again. But Riki had anticipated this; he knew Ryuji would try to reappear behind him. While the firewall surged forward, Riki compressed mana particles at the tips of his index and middle fingers.

The moment the firewall struck the barrier without Ryuji, Riki turned around, ducked low, and fired the fire pistol he had formed straight up at his enemy's chest.

Ryuji was behind him, just as Riki had expected. The bullet flew straight through him, penetrating his chest, then continued, crashing into the barrier and striking near the stands.

"Yes! Just as planned," Riki thought, proud of his achievement.

However, something was wrong. Ryuji was still standing. He looked the same, yet completely different. His body was as dark as the moonless night, and his features identical, but it seemed to be made of shadows. And the hole in his chest sealed itself in seconds, as if nothing had struck him.

Riki stood frozen in a haze of shock and confusion, unable to process what had happened. The shadowy figure closed the distance in an instant, slamming him to the ground.

While pinned to the ground, Riki summoned a fireball in his palm and flung it at the figure with a burst of desperation. The fireball blasted through the shadow's head, only for it to regenerate in seconds, as if nothing had happened.

Riki fell flat on his back with the shadow puppet on top of him; its weight pressing down as he struggled in vain to break free. Panic twisted his expression, unable to comprehend the monstrosity attacking him. Squealing and whimpering desperately as he tries to escape, another puppet appears and pins his hands to the ground, fueling the despair.

Riki watched in horror as another disturbing creation emerged from his own shadow, its terrifying visage so close to his face that his whimpers turned into full-blown screams, echoing across the field.

The once-cheering crowd fell silent, their excitement replaced by whispers and whimpers of fear as they stared in confusion and terror. The first puppet shifted quickly, pinning Riki's legs. He was trapped, lying flat on his back.

And from the sidelines… he appeared.

Ryuji Sato had been standing silently at the edge of the arena the entire time, hands calmly tucked into his pockets. Unlike Riki, Ryuji wasn't foolish enough to repeat the same attacks on the same opponent.

His goal wasn't just to win; it was to break Riki completely. To traumatize him so deeply that he would never even think of challenging him again.

Riki was lying on his back, still shivering in fear as Ryuji approached him slowly, each step deliberate and heavy with intent. When Ryuji finally reached him, Riki looked up and saw him.

The real him. he stood there, silent and unmoving, his gaze cold with murderous intent. Riki couldn't look away, paralyzed by terror.

"P-please… S-stop…" he whimpered, his voice barely audible.

But Ryuji didn't let him go.

"I-I Yield!" Riki cried out, louder now, desperation thick in his voice. "P-please… I yield!"

Still, Ryuji said nothing; he simply stood there towering over him, his eyes locked onto Riki's with a menacing stillness that was far louder than words.

"I-I yield! I yield! Please!" Riki screamed, his voice cracking as panic overwhelmed him.

The crowd sat in stunned silence, their earlier excitement long gone, replaced with horror. As if they were about to witness a public execution.

Professor Tomo was unable to watch any longer, ready to intervene, only to be stopped by the firm grip of the headmaster's hand, which grabbed his shoulder.

"H-headmaster! The student yielded, the fight's over! Any more of this is unnecessary!" the professor yelled out, his voice sharp with urgency.

"Wait," the headmaster replied, his expression grave. "Trust me, I guarantee he shan't harm him,"

But behind those words was a deeper intention. He was judging Ryuji's worth. Was he truly worthy to be part of this school? Or, as Tomo had warned, was he a disaster waiting to happen?

Yuki watched as his friend mentally tortured his opponent. He understood Ryuji's intentions, but he did not condone his actions. Knowing the fight was over, he stood up and began to make his way to the northern entrance of the arena.

Ryuji still refused to let his opponent go. Fear has reached its limits. Tears poured out of Riki's eyes as he begged for his life.

"P-Please! Please! Spare me! I yield!" Riki cried.

Finally, Ryuji released his shadow puppets. They dissipated into nothing, but he remained standing above Riki, staring deep into his eyes with murderous intent.

Riki was freed, but fear had taken control of him. he did not dare move an inch, did not dare gather any power; he could only lie on the ground, his eyes and cheeks wet with tears, eyes locked on Ryuji, his body trembling, waiting for death.

Ryuji broke his stare and shifted his gaze towards the gong. The staff member in charge of it finally realized what had happened, and the gong sounded once again.

Professor Tomo stood up, "T-The winner of the first semi-finals… Ryuji Sato!" he announced, his voice echoing with hesitation.

Ryuji did not say a word to Riki. He only looked at him once more, knowing he had broken him with his deceptive tactics, before turning and walking back towards the entrance.

The red-haired noble remained on the ground, even with the source of his fear gone. He couldn't move until staff members came to help him up.

The crowds didn't cheer. They, too, were gripped by the same fear, except for one. Sawano Torafuku sat in the stands, watching the fight unfold. Her eyes gleamed with excitement, and her smile stretched from ear to ear. She had never seen anything quite like Ryuji's power, and her anticipation grew large; She couldn't wait for the chance to fight him.

Ryuji continued on his way through the inner hallways of the arena, and there he ended up meeting Yuki.

"Was all that really necessary?" Yuki said, with disappointment in his voice and a slight frown on his face.

Ryuji looked at his new friend with a hint of sadness, fully aware that he had taken things too far.

"It was… He was very intent on killing me. This way, it's unlikely that Riki would stand up against me again," Ryuji replied, guilt flickering in his eyes.

"I cannot condone such actions!" Yuki said, anger rising in his voice.

"You're an honorable Warrior! This is not the way!" he continued, his expression shadowed with sadness.

Ryuji was taken aback. It was the first time Yuki had ever raised his voice at him, but it didn't feel like scolding; it felt more like a concern. Like a friend desperate to stop him from walking down a darker path.

"I… understand, we can talk about this later. For now, you need to focus." Ryuji's tone softened. "You're next, and you're fighting Lady Torafuku. Good luck."

With that. He continued walking towards the stands. Yuki watched him go; concern etched across his face. But he quickly turned his attention to the entrance. It was time for his rematch against his old friend.

Ryuji made his way through the crowd towards his seat, the students around him staring intensely and whispering.

"He's psychotic."

"What the hell was that?!"

"Scary~"

The student's whispers followed him like a shadow.

When he finally reached his seat, he noticed the surrounding chairs were empty. The students who had once sat nearby had all shifted away, putting distance between themselves and him. A familiar, aching sense of isolation crept in, one he hadn't felt in a while.

Memories flooded back: the dark, silent forests of Eterna… his lonely inn room on the outskirts of forgotten villages… the cold indifference of the adventurers' guild. The despair of having no one to rely on. No one to trust. No one to even sit beside him.

It all hit him like a wave.

Ryuji blinked, pulling himself back to the present. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he sank into his seat, burdened by the weight of his choices.

"Next up! The second and final battle of the Semi-finals! Yuki Hayami! Sawano Torafuku! Prepare yourselves and proceed to your positions!" The professor's voice echoed.

The two childhood friends made their way to the arena, once again standing opposite each other. This was the match the crowd had been waiting for: the children of the heroes, facing off in battle. Anticipation buzzed through the arena.

But before the professor could even announce the beginning of the fight, Sawano suddenly rushed towards Yuki.

Yuki remained unfazed. He knew her well; she wasn't the type to use dirty tactics.

She stopped just inches from him, her eyes glowing with excitement, her smile stretched as wide as it could go.

"Yuki! Yuki! Did you see?!" she exclaimed, loudly with excitement.

Yuki blinked, taken aback and confused.

"S-see what, Sawano?" he asked.

"Him!" she said, turned to the side, and pointed towards the stands.

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by the sudden situation.

"His power is so~ weird!" she said with a grin, bursting with laughter.

Yuki stood in a slight haze, trying to regain focus. "Y-you mean Ryuji? Yes, his power is… very unique. B-but you do realize we are in the middle of a tournament, right?"

"Oh, right! That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about!" she said, her eyes scheming, hoping to strike a bargain.

Yuki tensed, sensing her tone shift.

"Please, Yuki!" she said, lowering her head and clasping her hands together as if to ask kindly, "Surrender!"

Shock and confusion flashed across Yuki's face, quickly followed by irritation.

"Huh?!" he blurted out. "What do you mean, surrender?!"

Sawano crossed her arms casually, tilting her head with a playful smirk.

"Well, we've fought like a million times already! I really wanna fight him," she said, nodding toward the stands.

"I don't want to waste my energy on you! I wanna fight him at full strength!" she added, eyes glowing with anticipation.

"So, what do you say?" she asked, her smile widening, fully expecting him to agree.

"Hell NO!" he roared, his voice tearing across the arena.

Even Ryuji flinched, stunned to hear him raise his voice from his usually composed friend.

"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this match?!" Yuki shouted. "You avoided me all this time! You refused to spar with me at school! And now you want me to just hand you the win?!"

He was still shouting, his frustration echoing loud and clear.

"How selfish can you be?!"

"B-but you've never won… n-not even once, so what's the point?" Sawano stutters with a naive look of confusion on her face.

"I-I've been training, you know!" he yelled, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Ugh, fine! But I'm finishing this quickly," she said, her playful smile vanishing.

Her expression hardened, excitement replaced by something fiercer, her eyes narrowing like a young tigress locking onto her prey.

Yuki instinctively shifted back a step, fully aware of her strength. But he caught himself and held his ground.

Sawano flicked her gaze up to the stands, locking eyes with Ryuji, who sat with his arms crossed, silently observing.

She made her way towards him.

"Hey! You! Weird puppets guy!" she shouted.

"W-weird… puppets guy?" Ryuji replied, his poker face broken by her ridiculous statement, with a few silent chuckles that could be heard in the crowd.

"My name is Ryuji Sato…" he said, his cheeks turning red.

"Anyways!" she said, ignoring his introduction.

"You look strong! Your powers are peculiar! I like you! You're now my new prey!" she exclaimed loudly. "Don't worry, I'll defeat Yuki quickly, so you and I can go at it!"

"Once he's defeated, jump down here and fight me! And let us enjoy ourselves!" she said.

Ryuji regained his composure and calm. He locked his eyes with hers and realized how serious this girl was.

"Yuki!" Ryuji Shouted.

Yuki looked toward Ryuji.

"Do your best!" He shouted while maintaining his gaze with hers.

Yuki's heart swelled at the encouraging words from his new friend. He smiled, eyes shining, and said softly, "Of course… I wouldn't have it any other way."

Ryuji looked at him and smiled back, knowing their friendship was still standing strong despite his actions.

Sawano returned to the center, and the two young warriors took their fighting stances.

"A-Are both contestants ready? Then… begin!" Professor Tomo's voice echoed as the crowd erupted in cheers.

Sawano Charged towards Yuki. Though she knew she was at a severe disadvantage facing him unarmed, she still leapt without hesitation.

Yuki, seeing the young tigress charging at him, drew his sword and charged towards her. He felt no fear of the approaching predator; he only desired to face his opponent head-on.

Yuki struck first, lunging with his rapier in a swift thrust. But Sawano's reflexes were sharp. She raised her arm to deflect the approaching rapier, her nails extended, sharpened into steel-like claws. With a sudden sweep, she smacked his rapier aside, parrying the strike with inhuman strength.