Emily ignored the notifications and slowly lifted her gaze toward the sky.
The pillar that had been suppressing Alice was gone now.
It had disappeared only a few moments ago, most likely recalled because the other teams intended to use it against the attack of the Hanging Briar Dragon.
The battlefield had quieted, but only on the surface.
The air still carried the scent of burnt mana and blood. Cracks covered the ground beneath them, and pieces of destroyed terrain were scattered all around.
Emily’s eyes shifted toward the distance.
There, high above the battlefield, Elyndra floated while supporting the remaining members of the Florathi Team through her spatial powers. Her breathing was rough, and her expression looked strained to the limit. Veins bulged around her temples as she maintained the unstable space beneath her teammates’ feet.
The members of Florathi were injured.
Some were bleeding. Some could barely stand.
The worst among them was Zahard.
His armor had almost completely shattered, exposing deep wounds across his body. One of his arms hung unnaturally, and blood continuously dripped from the corner of his mouth. While blocking against the Hanging Briar Dragon, he had clearly taken the brunt of the damage.
Still, his eyes remained sharp.
Zahard’s gaze quickly scanned Emily’s side.
Emily herself looked exhausted. Her mana must be near-empty after maintaining the fusion and continuously using her skills. Alice was not in much better condition. The Saintess flew silently with unstable breathing. Eleanor and Sera were both exhausted as well, while Averon was no match of Zahard.
The summoned creatures around Emily also showed signs of fatigue.
Only Avery remained mostly combat-capable.
And the Hanging Briar Dragon.
Zahard’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the massive creature behind Emily. He could already guess the truth. A fusion like this could not last forever. It was temporary. Eventually, the fused summon would split back into the original summons.
’If it separates soon enough, we’ll only have Avery to deal with.’
The Florathi Team had already lost the competition. There was no changing that now.
They had not attacked the Mini Bosses, and failed to attack the Boss Monster. Everything had been gambled on the final ambush. Zahard had believed they could overwhelm Emily’s team in a single strike and turn the situation around instantly.
Instead, Emily had revealed a hidden skill that completely shattered their plan.
The Hanging Briar Dragon alone had flipped the battlefield upside down.
Still, this fight could continue.
If they managed to defeat Emily’s exhausted team here, the result could at least end in a draw.
Zahard silently checked the condition of his own people again.
It was terrible.
Elyndra was nearly out of mana. X-019 had suffered internal injuries. The others were barely standing. And there was no way to know when the Hanging Briar Dragon would separate.
Zahard remained silent for several long seconds before finally letting out a tired breath.
’This is our loss.’
"We will surrender," he said quietly.
"Who said you can surrender?" Emily suddenly spoke.
The moment her voice sounded, Zahard felt chills crawl down his spine.
Emily slowly raised her hand and pointed toward him.
Behind her, the Hanging Briar Dragon released a deafening roar that shook the sky itself.
Dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead.
Lightning crackled through the heavens as a gigantic bolt began forming above Zahard’s team. The pressure alone made Elyndra’s spatial platform tremble violently.
Several members of Florathi went pale.
Emily’s eyes remained fixed on Zahard.
There was cold, simmering anger inside them.
"You attacked Alice and nearly killed her. Why should I let you walk away?" Emily asked.
The lightning above intensified.
Zahard’s muscles tightened instinctively.
Then a hand gently covered Emily’s raised arm.
"This is enough."
Eleanor’s calm voice cut through the battlefield.
Emily turned toward her immediately.
For a brief moment, defiance flashed across her face. She wanted to argue. She wanted to ignore Eleanor’s words entirely. After everything that had happened, Zahard deserved worse than defeat.
But Eleanor’s gaze remained calm and firm.
There was no anger in it. No hesitation either.
Emily bit her lips slightly before finally looking away.
The Hanging Briar Dragon seemed to understand immediately. The mana gathering inside its jaws faded as the creature lowered its head with a low growl. The storm clouds above slowly dispersed.
Eleanor then looked toward Zahard.
Zahard understood the message immediately.
Without wasting another second, he activated his exit authority from the Great Dungeon. A spatial portal quickly opened behind his team.
The Florathi Team immediately retreated through it.
Moments later, they appeared outside the Great Dungeon.
A massive crowd had already gathered around the perimeter.
The moment Zahard’s team appeared, loud boos erupted from every direction.
Some people shouted insults openly.
Others mocked them for losing against lower-ranked awakeners.
The Florathi Team remained silent.
None of them reacted.
At this point, the humiliation barely mattered compared to everything else they had suffered inside.
Then suddenly, a serene energy enveloped their bodies.
Warm light spread across their wounds. Broken bones began healing. Torn flesh regenerated at visible speed.
Zahard lifted his head.
Standing nearby was the Third Priest.
As always, the man carried a calm and gentle smile on his face.
"You all did well. Do not dwell too much on this loss. The circumstances you faced were unexpected. Rather than blaming yourselves, use this experience to understand that there will always be individuals capable of displaying unpredictable strength. This will become a valuable lesson for all of you," the Third Priest said softly.
The members of Florathi quietly nodded.
Not far away stood Isaac.
The Lord of Humanity City watched them with a faint smile on his face. But his eyes were cold.
Cold enough that Zahard instinctively looked away.
Before he could think further, the Third Priest spoke again.
"Lord Isaac, I must take my subordinates away and heal them properly. The battles must have left deep wounds"
"That is fine. If you need something, please do not hesitate to ask me."
The Third Priest nodded, and moved away.
The Florathi Team silently followed behind him.
They were led toward the private rooms provided by Isaac earlier for the participating teams. The atmosphere remained heavy the entire way there.
Once everyone entered the meeting room, the Third Priest calmly looked toward Elyndra.
"Set up a spatial barrier."
Elyndra’s expression stiffened slightly, but she nodded and obeyed immediately.
Layers of distorted space spread throughout the room, isolating it completely from outside observation.
The moment the barrier stabilized, the atmosphere changed.
The gentle smile on the Third Priest’s face remained.
But the warmth disappeared.
"Zahard."
Before Zahard could even react—
His body slammed violently into the wall.
The impact shook the entire room.
Blood exploded from Zahard’s mouth as several teeth scattered across the floor along with pieces of flesh. Even Elyndra coughed blood as the sudden shockwave nearly destabilized her spatial barrier, causing severe backlash.
Everyone froze.
The Third Priest slowly walked toward Zahard.
Then he grabbed Zahard by the hair and lifted his head.
The next punch landed directly on Zahard’s face.
His nose shattered instantly. Part of his skull caved inward from the impact.
For any normal human, it would have been fatal immediately. But Zahard was an Apex-rank species user with monstrous Constitution.
He survived.
Which only meant he had to endure the pain.
Another punch descended.
Shockwaves burst through the room as Zahard’s face became deformed beyond recognition. Blood continuously poured from his mouth while broken breathing escaped his throat.
Elyndra winced and looked away, unable to bear watching. The others lowered their heads silently.
"Do you know why I am angry?" the Third Priest asked calmly.
Zahard tried to speak, but his broken jaw and crushed mouth only produced wet choking sounds.
The Third Priest healed him.
Bones reformed. Flesh regenerated. Teeth returned.
Within seconds, Zahard’s face returned to normal. But his body trembled violently.
"Because we failed your objective—"
Another fist smashed directly into his face before he could finish.
"I do not care if you lost the competition!" the Third Priest roared.
His calm mask finally cracked apart.
"I do not care if you lost against Adept-rank awakeners! But how do you fail the demand of the World Tree?!"
Another punch landed.
Zahard crashed against the floor while blood sprayed across the room.
"You had the perfect opportunity. You could have killed Eleanor. Why did you waste that chance attacking the Saintess instead?" the Third Priest asked.
Zahard’s final attacks during the Second Area Boss Battle had not been necessary.
The Third Priest had never ordered Alice’s death. The real target had always been Eleanor.
Zahard tried to answer, but his shattered face made speech impossible.
X-019 finally gathered the courage to speak.
"Th-Third Priest... attacking Eleanor directly wasn’t possible because of the Elemental Spirit. We believed taking down Alice first would weaken their team enough to create an opening afterward," he said carefully.
X-019 was afraid of turning the Third Priest’s wrath towards himself. but he didn’t want to see Zahard suffer more. That’s why he gathered his courage to speak up.
X-019 closed his eyes, believing the pain was coming and the Third Priest would hit him.
But surprisingly, he didn’t.
The Third Priest slowly exhaled before turning toward the entire team.
"I will give you one final chance. Kill Eleanor when the opportunity appears. It will happen within the next hour," he said quietly.
He healed Zahard once more before letting go of his hair. Zahard collapsed onto the ground while gasping heavily.
The Third Priest looked down at him calmly.
"Do not forge, your son remains alive only because of the World Tree. You owe your service to the Great One for everything He has done for you," he said softly.