Leonardo Blaine frowned as the blazing rays of sunlight poured down on him.

When he lifted his head, the sky above was brilliantly clear—completely unlike the gloomy look on his face. It had been raining nonstop, yet as if by magic, only the central region had cleared.

I want to rest.

If only the human heart could become as light as clouds drifting away. But his mood refused to improve.

Yesterday he had attended the funeral held in Riverside Town.

Perhaps because it was a wake attended by the entire town, people had lined up all the way to the mouth of the alley. Even though he could only watch from the corner like a shadow, the mere fact that he shared the same space made him feel as though he was there with them.

Despite his eccentric nature, Grimbleton seemed to have shown many acts of kindness while he was alive.

The residents had turned every bench and street corner he used to frequent into little gardens of flowers. If you lingered among them, you could occasionally hear stories about the things he had said or done.

Among those stories, there was no sign of foul play or murder.

When Leonardo asked the person beside him about the cause of death, the answer was natural causes. According to Terzio—whose relationship with him had grown somewhat strained lately—there had been no sign that any outsiders had visited afterward either.

Unable to follow the procession carrying the coffin, Leonardo walked toward the front of the shop with a bouquet of white flowers in his hands.

After placing them down, he turned away almost immediately.

The rain had begun to fall heavily again—and because a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ woman dressed in mourning clothes stood blankly in front of the shop.

Her face could not be seen properly beneath the black umbrella and the veil attached to her hat.

But he knew she was crying quietly beneath the cover of the rain.

“Move along.”

Standing there idly while shielding his eyes from the sun with his palm, Leonardo occasionally bumped shoulders with passersby.

Lost in his thoughts as he wandered through memories, he turned his head to the side—and soon found himself facing an annoyed expression.

He had been about to respond with the same sharp irritation born from fatigue.

But then he noticed the flow of people parting to either side around him, like water splitting along a stone in the stream.

“....”

With an awkward expression, he gave a small nod and trudged off toward the edge of the walkway.

The people were heading toward the entrance of a stadium standing wide open between towering pillars.

The yellowish-brown outer walls were built of travertine stone, resembling a reconstruction of the gladiatorial arenas that had once flourished in the past.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, the exterior looked somewhat rough and aged.

But the sheer scale of it remained just as magnificent as any other arena.

That place was the Third Main Arena of the preliminary round.

The venue where today’s Division Two test match would be held.

Still... I came all the way here. I should go.

The death of an elder he had briefly grown fond of.

The conflict with a partner he once trusted and relied upon.

And the cruel reality that man had driven into his chest like a dagger.

A relationship that could not be honest.

Resentment from the past and affection in the present.

A heart unwilling to give up either one.

The voice he had heard late that night not long ago flashed through his weary mind like nicotine flooding the body.

Even knowing it was bad for him, he could not bring himself to quit.

Leaving those thoughts behind, Leonardo allowed himself to be swept into the tide of participants.

Sometimes the world moved forward with merciless consistency.

If one indulged too deeply in grief or self-loathing, they would simply sink beneath the surface.

So today as well, he had to struggle desperately toward his goal.

Unlike Division One, the Division Two test took place in a different location, but Leonardo felt little psychological burden.

Perhaps because this was the very place where he had once wandered about anxiously while trying to register for the League.

In fact, it was better this way.

The number of reporters who had once hounded him relentlessly had dropped dramatically. Today he had covered his face more carefully, and so far no one seemed to recognize him.

Passing through the tunnel beneath the lower seating area along with the crowd, the bustling interior of the arena soon came into view.

However, it was not nearly as chaotic as the Fifth Main Arena in the Agrizendro territory, where the opening ceremony had taken place.

The spectator seats were completely empty.

Aside from a few officials walking around occasionally, everyone else appeared to be gathered here as participants.

Maybe the crowd had been so massive before because the schedule overlapped with the opening ceremony.

Realizing that the boiling heat and the thunderous cheers that had seemed capable of shaking the sky were absent this time, Leonardo felt considerably more at ease.

“Participants, please line up in four rows in the order you arrived!”

Right ahead, rows of tall white tents had been erected in a long line.

Perhaps they also served as a barrier for security, because the condition of the ground inside could not be seen at all.

Are they going to make us move through a portal again? That’ll be annoying.

With idle thoughts swirling in his mind, he drifted toward the line—but then moved toward a corner of the arena instead.

There was still some time left, so he figured it would be fine.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cigarette case and slipped one between his lips.

Nearby, smokers were already scattered about at short intervals, preparing themselves mentally one last time.

Since smoking was prohibited inside, it seemed the League officials were tacitly encouraging people to finish here before entering.

Leonardo lit the cigarette, blending into the haze of pungent smoke.

Sss—

As the flame caught, murmuring voices brushed past his ears.

“Why are there so many people today?”

“They said there was a balance adjustment after the Division One matches ended. Apparently all the dangerous groups from Arena Five got scattered across other arenas. I just hope none of them ended up here.”

“Oh, the one where half the arena got blown up?”

Leonardo’s golden eyebrows twitched.

It wasn’t half.

Sitting on the ledge beneath a pillar with the filter between his lips, he naturally listened in on the surrounding conversation.

Partly to gauge the atmosphere of the arena—and partly to hear whatever news circulated through the smokers’ informal network.

“I heard there were especially a lot of weirdos in Arena Five.”

“What was the Division One event there?”

“Tower capture, I think? I don’t know the details, but apparently the match times varied wildly between groups. An old coworker of mine was there in Arena Five, and he told me some guy started running his mouth from the beginning and formed an alliance right away. The match ended in about an hour. Everyone who teamed up with him passed, and the guy who told me about it got eliminated.”

“That’s allowed? Was he an official or something?”

“Guess the rules were weird. But that’s not even the craziest part. There were even bigger lunatics. One group straight-up destroyed the tower, and somewhere else there was only one person who passed.”

“One person? Why?”

“What do you think? He eliminated everyone and climbed up alone. Bastards like that are the worst. What’s the harm in sharing the prize money a little?”

One person?

Leonardo’s eyes rolled slightly at the resentful voice.

“Apparently someone almost died in that group too. I’m telling you, there are some brutal people out there.”

“From the test stage already? Surprised they didn’t get disqualified.”

It seemed there were tyrants like Appendix in other groups as well.

Unfortunately, in F Group it had been useless because the destined winner Lion had been there.

Honestly, after barely surviving the threat of elimination once already, Leonardo would rather avoid troublesome opponents until reaching the main tournament, where one-on-one battles began.

He had been confident when he first started—but now that his goal was the championship, he found himself looking for the easier path.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to have more allies? Stop the ones trying to dominate everything and cooperate when needed. Should we try talking to someone over there? Ask them to form an alliance with us.”

Two participants glanced toward Leonardo, who was sitting nearby, as they looked around.

Not wanting to receive any awkward signals, Leonardo quietly pulled his hat lower over his face.

Ero’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Until the main tournament, the more allies you have, the better!”

But he had no intention of increasing his baggage to five or six people.

They did not look particularly strong anyway. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

However—

“He looks weaker than you.”

Fuck.

Hearing his own thoughts spoken aloud by someone else less than a second later made him realize how arrogant that judgment had been.

His condition was already poor, and now—just like before the Division One match began—he was once again being judged as weak based on appearances.

All they could see was a cloaked figure. What did they think they knew?

Leonardo barely managed to restrain himself from snapping the cigarette in half.

He stood up abruptly.

“If we form a team now and it turns into an individual match later, it’ll just complicate things. If we end up facing each other as enemies later, that’s even more annoying.”

“That’s true, but... hey, hey, he’s looking over here. You were talking too loud.”

“So what? Once we go inside, we’re all enemies anyway. Want to show him what you’ve got first?”

One of them shadowboxed in the air while pretending to whisper loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Leonardo stared straight at him for a moment.

Then he shook his head and turned away.

Hadn’t he suffered enough last time after becoming the center of a commotion?

He had no desire to become another hot topic after arriving at a new arena.

He rotated his wrist lazily and took another drag of his cigarette as he walked behind the pillar.

Just then—

Thud—

“Anyone like that, I can—ghk!”

The man who had been running his mouth moments ago suddenly screamed.

Leonardo froze and turned back.

“W-what the hell?!”

The man who had been boasting about his strength was sprawled on the ground.

His companion staggered back two steps.

...?

Something strange was tangled around the fallen man’s arms and legs.

It looked like the figure of a person dressed in luxurious silk clothing.

But upon closer inspection, it was not a person.

It was a rag doll—roughly the size of a grown man.

Its head had been painted bright red, and the mouth stretched wide as though torn to the ears.

At first glance it looked exactly like some kind of cursed doll.

The problem was—

Leonardo found the hideous thing strangely familiar.