A short while later...
Levi and the rest of his teammates had grouped up in the Blood Hunters’ main training room... Lord Idriss and Madam Naima were there too.
They had just checked on their evolutions, power-ups, mutations, and such... their faces had satisfied smiles throughout the demonstrations.
Even when they noticed that Levi remained unevolved, they didn’t seem too displeased... Shia had shown them the clip of him razing down an entire forest using a single spiritual attack, which made them both stunned and excited.
They expected his spiritual prowess to be on a different spectrum, but they still underestimated how deadly it was.
Now... even though Levi remained a Junior rank, none of them said anything about it, letting him grow at his own pace.
Just when Lord Idriss was going to split the team into two squads for some sparring, Levi and the rest received a dimensional message.
-The Game Hall will open in ten seconds... be ready to accept the invitation.-
-Missing the invitation window will be considered a forfeit if no valid reason is provided.-
"Look alive, we are about to meet our opponents," Levi called while gesturing for everyone to group up with him.
Seeing this, Lord Idriss gave him a slight head nod and remained silent, respecting his captain’s authority.
"As mentioned earlier... don’t let them get into your skins." Levi warned sternly, "Let me do the talking."
Jasmine and the others nodded in understanding... their expression a mix of excitement and anxiety as they stared at the newly emerged dimensional portal... it had Game Hall written on its swirling center.
Levi, already experienced, stepped forward into the portal, his composure unchanged... Arthur and the rest followed him closely, and in no time, no one was around, and the dimensional portal collapsed.
"What do you think?" Madam Naima asked.
"About what?"
"You know... the Raid."
"I believe they will make us proud." Lord Idriss smiled.
"You sound pretty confident." Madam Naima knit her eyebrows, "I know their showcased strength is as good as a decent Warden Daywalker, but the Drowned Court has three Tier 4 mercenaries in their team, in addition to the leader."
The CRS Platform didn’t care if members of the team were all staying in the nest or not... All it cared about was that the members wouldn’t have teammates who were registered under multiple teams at once.
Such a system had given birth to Mercenary Rifters ... Mercenaries from all three factions, who post their services to teams that need an extra member for a price.
Once they fulfill their duties, they could either quit the team, get paid, and move on to another team... or keep their services in one place for a percentage of the Yearly Stability Reward from the nest owner.
In this manner, they could retain their freedom and earn a passive income every year without needing to actually stay in the nest or any fixed place.
The same was being done by the Raiders and Saviors factions since everyone part of a single faction was considered as ’Allies’... If they were Mercenary Raiders, they would get a piece of the treasury.
This meant, if Levi wanted, he could actually hire a mercenary Raider from a totally different dimensional sector in his team if the mercenary fulfilled the game’s conditions and Levi could afford his services.
After all, there was never a law that enforced the Raiders to be from the same home planet or anything... a team was a team.
"I know it ain’t going to be easy, but you have seen Levi’s and Jasmine’s full strength... those two," Lord Idriss smirked, "Those two cannot be measured through conventional methods... Tier 3 or Tier 4, experienced mercenaries or not, I have utmost faith in them."
***
Meanwhile, after Levi and the others stepped into the portal, they found themselves inside a massive, ancient artistic hall... the walls were turned into canvas with prehistoric art of many scenes in the first Death Games upheld in the CRS Platform.
The floor had smooth, reflective amber tiles, while the roof was a glass dome with a giant chandelier hanging a couple of meters in the center with golden chains.
The Chandelier was crafted from gleaming gold, featuring layered tiers of sparkling crystals... Its graceful arms twist elegantly, each holding a warm light that bathes the surroundings in a soft, amber radiance.
A lavish table of polished wood was placed underneath it... the table was supported by intricately carved legs adorned with delicate patterns, matching the six chairs on each side of it.
Yet, Levi and the others weren’t given the time to appreciate such a grandiose hall... their vision was pulled to six nightcrawlers stepping out of a dimensional portal on the other side of the table.
Three nightcrawlers were of similar species, while the other three were of different species... However, all six were Aquatic nightcrawlers.
The moment both teams made eye contact, the atmosphere turned tense instantly.
"They are indeed children... I will be damned." Syc’closs showed a cold smile as he walked to the table.
He was a lanky, seahorse-like humanoid nightcrawler with skin the color of drowned coral... rough and barnacle-crusted like an old ship hull. His limbs were long and webbed like a deep-sea frogfish. He had faint strands of wet kelp-like hair drifting from his scalp.
As for his eyes? They gleamed faintly like those of a lanternfish in the abyss... horrifying and soulless.
The other two Tier 3 nightcrawlers shared a similar appearance to him, though one was female and had her kelp-like hair much more glamorous.
"Told you, there is nothing to worry about," Orr’Vekth said, unbothered that Levi and the others could hear them.
He was a humanoid crab with arms as red pincers... both looked brand new, their luster glistening under the soft light.
Based on what Levi gathered from their supervisors, Orr’Vekth was one of the mercenaries who had been hired by Syc’closs for more than three years now... he was also a key figure in their first successful defense.
The other two were hired later on, and he didn’t have much information about them... Though from their aquatic appearance, it was clear that all of them commanded Water Aspect primarily.
"Take a seat."
Levi ignored them and sat at the table first, followed by the rest of his teammates. Once seated, Arthur and Shia kept gazing coldly at the fishermen’s nightcrawlers, their words ringing in their minds.
"Whatchu looking at?"
Kraev’Morr narrowed his eyes murderously, leaning slightly closer... but the moment his face was about to cross the center of the table, an invisible wall manifested briefly.
"Easy there... You will get your chance to torture them like the first vermin daring to raid us."
Syc’closs eased up the savage-looking Kraev’Morr, who resembled a humanoid Hammer-shark... his skin was gray and rough, filled with scars all over.
When he spoke earlier, his mouth exposed a set of shark-like teeth spread out, each tooth resembling a sharpened sword.
With the six of them sitting together like this, they truly resembled the cursed crew members of Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
"Look at their confused expressions... Druv’Shaar, be a good lad and show them a preview of their fate." Syc’closs requested, his voice gentle, but his expression wasn’t.
Druv’Shaar smiled sinisterly and manifested a dimensional screen in front of Levi and the others.
Blblblblb...
At once, Arthur and the others’ expressions betrayed their composure as they watched four humans, wearing Heliodor’s emblem, being drowned at the bottom of the sea.
Their bodies were chained up to the seabed by thick black coral, leaving them to resemble cocoon prey with their heads exposed.
Shia covered her mouth, feeling sick to the stomach at the sight of Syc’closs and his team drowning them, and then putting their heads in oxygen bubbles the moment they noticed their looming death.
They kept doing this over and over again under the millions of watchers in the sky... their eyes showing mixed emotions: some weren’t uncomfortable by the sight, but the majority didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, they were cheering for the Raiders while making bets on how long they would survive before committing suicide by forfeiting the game.
In both the CRS Platform and Nocturnal Ring, the Rifters could forfeit anytime they wanted... however, if they didn’t possess a resignation token, their lives would be snuffed off instantly by the system.
They weren’t called Death Games for the giggles. This was a genuine, systematic, merciless Warzone... not a video game.
All was allowed in the Death Games as long as the rules weren’t broken... even if it led to such dehumanizing scenes.
"Why..."
Arthur murmured under his breath, his fists tightening until they turned white under the table... This wasn’t the first time they viewed this video, as it was the first thing that came up in the dimensional network when they searched for the Drowned Court team.
But, to see the proprietors play it again shamelessly in front of them had set up a different kind of rage than watching it on their own.
"Why?" Syc’closs smiled kindly, "Why not? They have challenged us to death... isn’t it our right to deal with them as we would like?"
His response was sick... but he did have a point.
Raiders had the right to challenge both Saviors and Conquerors Factions to Death Games for their treasuries... because of this, neither side showed an ounce of mercy when dealing with them, treating them as vermin of the platform.
Although Levi and the others were fighting for the sake of their planet and to reclaim their territories due to their Saviors’ slowly giving up on them, the nightcrawlers didn’t care... as long as they were part of the Raiders faction, this was the normal treatment.
Using torture on any given chance to make sure that anyone considering becoming a Raider would think twice.
"Clearly... such deterrence didn’t work so well against the lot of you." Syc’closs smiled, resting his chin on his wrist, "I can’t wait to find out what game we will be playing... It’s been a while since we had some fun."
"You got that right."
"I was just considering ditching your team for another active one... I was getting too bored."
"Kraev’Morr, you always say this, but you never leave... haha, when will you admit that you like hanging out with us?"
Seeing the Drowned Court team laughing and teasing each other like their team didn’t exist... like the next game was nothing but a fun activity for them... Levi couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
"What are you laughing at?" Kraev’Morr’s expression instantly turned murderous again, his aggression button easily accessible.
"Aren’t we supposed to laugh when clowns are trying to entertain us?" Levi said, smiling serenely.