Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Beautiful Soul
Chapter 37 – Beautiful Soul
"WINNER: SOPHIE CASTRIA."
The crowd exploded—but the thunder of applause was for her, not just the win. She hadn't just survived. She dominated.
Noah was already waiting at the edge of the arena. He handed her a potion, grinning.
"You were a beast out there. That red lightning—seriously, where'd you pull that from?"
Sophie drank the potion in one go, exhaling sharply as her burns began to fade.
"With effort," she said, pride dancing in her voice. "And with talent, of course."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Your talent's practically cheating. If you use it well, no one's gonna be able to stop you." He paused, flashing his signature smirk. "Well, no one except maybe me."
She rolled her eyes. "Delusional."
"Confident," he corrected.
⸻
"NEXT DUEL: ELIJAH VS LEONA."
The arena fell into a hush.
Elijah and Leona stepped into the ring. They didn't speak. They didn't need to.
Everyone already knew.
Leona raised her voice. "I forfeit."
And that was it.
No fight. No fire. No challenge.
The audience grumbled. But what could they say? She was obsessed with him—everyone saw it. Luck of the draw. Nothing illegal.
And if there's one thing the protagonist always has...
It's luck.
"WINNER: ELIJAH."
The cheers were half-hearted. Only his loyal cult of fans roared like lunatics. The rest stayed quiet.
Damon didn't comment. He never did.
Because luck?
Luck's a weapon, too.
⸻
"NEXT DUEL: MALRIK VS APHASIA."
The temperature in the arena dropped as Aphasia entered. The silver-haired, dark-skinned elf stood across from Malrik—calm, expressionless. Her eyes, pale pink, shimmered like glass over deep waters.
Malrik felt it immediately. Pressure. Threat. As if the very nature itself wanted him dead.
But he didn't flinch. "I am Death," he muttered, summoning his aura. "And death fears no one."
"BEGIN!"
Malrik shouted "RISE."
Rotting arms broke through the ground. Dozens, then hundreds of undead clawed their way to the surface. The arena filled with decay, thick and heavy like a rotting swamp.
Aphasia frowned. "Disgusting."
She lifted her hand. Her voice was soft, but it echoed.
"Wind Spirit. Fire Spirit. Earth Spirit—come."
Elements ignited around her like a celestial storm.
"Merge."
Winds howled. Fire raged. The ground split into molten rivers.
"Lava."
The air screamed as the floor transformed into a bubbling inferno. Undead burned before they even fully emerged. Ash choked the sky.
Malrik cursed, flying up on a skeletal beast. But Aphasia didn't blink.
"Bring him down."
The wind spirit unleashed a cyclone. The sky spun. Malrik's mount twisted mid-air, lost control, and plummeted.
SPLASH.
Straight into the lava.
"AAARGHH!"
He screamed as flames swallowed him whole. Then—
Silence.
"WINNER: APHASIA."
She turned and walked away without a glance.
⸻
Final duel of the round.
"BEGIN!"
Noah stood opposite Elizabeth.
He wasn't surprised. Just... intrigued.
They didn't move. Not right away.
"How have you been since our last chat, Saintess?" Noah asked lightly, hands in his pockets.
Elizabeth's face remained blank. Cold.
"I know you saw what I said. I know you've seen what's coming if you keep choosing silence."
The audience blinked in confusion. Their conversation made no sense to anyone but them.
Noah tilted his head. "Ready to carry the weight of doing nothing?"
Elizabeth's fingers twitched. Just barely.
"What's your goal?" she asked finally. "What did he do to you that makes you act like this?"
"You wouldn't get it," Noah said, voice quieter now. "But trust me... I'm doing you a favor."
Her brow furrowed.
"Once we're in the Academy," he added, "the real game starts. I only care about the special ones. The others? They will surely flock around the light."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Will you keep up? Will you still stay silent?"
Silence.
Then, she moved.
Elizabeth raised her hand—slowly, purposefully—and touched the edge of her blindfold.
Noah's smile vanished.
"You should stop talking now," she said, voice sharp as ice.
She pulled off the blindfold.
And everything—stopped.
Her eyes. They weren't just strange—they were impossible. They shimmered with every color at once, an endless spiral of light and madness.
They weren't eyes. They were truth.
Noah stepped back. Involuntarily.
A coldness seeped into his bones. His heart skipped.
For the first time since his rebirth—he felt real fear. Existential fear.
He can sense it.
Even his title "The Reincarnator" couldn't protect him from this.
Elizabeth stared. "...What a beautiful soul."
Her voice was... distant. As if seeing something else entirely.
Noah's breath caught. "What the hell is this?"
Elizabeth's talent in the novel was only described as prophesy type of talent. Someone who can read the future. She is blindfolded because she can't control it yet.
But this ? This is something else entirely.
He forced his system to respond.
'System. Show me Elizabeth's talent.'
[Talent: Hollow Oracle (SSS Rank – Partially sealed)]
'What the fuck...'
He couldn't move.
And she wasn't even attacking yet.
—End of Chapter 37—