Date: Unspecified
Ti: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City
"You an... leave the battlefield?" Aqualas asked.
"Yes." I nodded.
"Wouldn’t that count as running away?" Aqualas imdiately replied.
I stared at her. Then I stared a little longer.
"Let get this straight. You saw a battle formation specifically designed to weaken anyone trapped inside it, and the thought, ’Maybe we should leave the area designed to weaken us?’ didn’t cross your mind?"
This ti Aqualas didn’t answer and let continue, "Instead, your plan was to stay inside, suffer the effects, and brute-force your way through it?"
The silence continued.
I suddenly understood why the Supre Beings’ campaigns were so terrifying. Not because they were cautious strategists. Because they were apparently led by beings whose first solution to every problem was to punch it repeatedly until reality gave up.
"That’s not how battle formations work," I said, rubbing my temple. "If your enemy prepares the battlefield to benefit themselves, you leave the battlefield. You don’t politely stay inside and fight under their advantages."
Aqualas looked genuinely puzzled, asking, "But if I leave, wouldn’t that an admitting I can’t beat it?"
"No," I replied imdiately. "It ans you’re not an idiot."
Aqualas snorted. However, the one who regretted it the most was Seraphina. Not because she had failed to think of the possibility.
Quite the opposite. The mont I pointed it out, she imdiately understood why Veerott had never left the curse field.
It wasn’t because he lacked the power. It wasn’t because he hadn’t considered it. It was because he didn’t want to leave his friends behind.
Veerott had stayed in the curse field to save them. He refused to abandon them even temporarily. In his mind, it was his responsibility to stand between them and danger. He wanted to be their shield and their rock. He had intended to win the fight for them. Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated his opponent.
A faint look of guilt appeared on Seraphina’s face. Unlike Veerott and Aqualas, she absolutely would have considered fighting from outside the curse field. More importantly, she understood exactly how Veerott thought.
Had she been in a better state, had it not been for the effect of the curse field, she would have imdiately recognized two things.
First, Veerott was staying because of his friends. Second, he was underestimating the danger posed by Southern Hope. By the ti she realized both, the battle was already over.
As a veteran who had survived countless campaigns and battlefields, that failure weighed heavily on her. Of course, she was being unfair to herself.
The thousand curse fields hadn’t only been affecting Veerott. She had been trapped inside them as well.
The fact that she had remained conscious, rational, and capable of analyzing the battle at all while under the influence of so many ruler-class curses was already an impressive feat.
Most people would have lost their minds long before reaching that point. Yet Seraphina wasn’t interested in excuses. Veterans rarely were. All she saw was a mistake she believed she should have caught. And the cost of that mistake was Veerott’s defeat.
"Still, the fight would’ve been fairer if you hadn’t started it while he was already inside the curse field," Seraphina continued to argue, unable to accept the outco.
That was the last straw. My gaze and voice turned cold, reminding her, "Hey, I could’ve killed all three of you. Instead, I gave you a way out. Not only are you not grateful, but now you’re trying to go back on your word?"
Seraphina opened her mouth, but I didn’t give her the chance to interrupt. I began pointing at the giant standing beside her, "If you had a problem with the wager, you should’ve brought it up while we were discussing the terms. Before Veerott accepted. But you didn’t. You only started finding problems after you lost."
My gaze sharpened while Seraphina’s expression stiffened. Because she knew I was right. "You aren’t arguing for fairness. You’re looking for reasons to avoid the outco. Don’t mistake yourself as the smart one in the room."
The accusation struck harder than any attack. For several monts, nobody spoke.
"Fine." I shrugged. The casualness of my tone made everyone uneasy. "Let’s cancel the wager. I’ll kill all three of you and be done with it."
Seraphina’s eyes widened. I smiled as the battlefield fell silent. The killing intent behind those words was unmistakable. If the wager was invalid, then the agreent protecting their lives was invalid as well.
The realization imdiately drained the remaining color from Seraphina’s face. She didn’t argue anymore.
anwhile, Veerott stepped forward with a calm and resolved expression, " I am a man of my word. Let them go, and I will serve you with my all, as I promised."
For the first ti since the duel ended, I found myself respecting the idiot.
At first it was hard for him as he wanted to keep trying even if it killed but now that the winner was clear he no longer fought it. He had lost and accepted his loss. And unlike certain people, he wasn’t looking for excuses.
I nodded. Then, with a wave of my hand, the thousand curse fields began to collapse. One after another, the curse fields dispersed into streams of ethereal light before vanishing entirely. The pressure weighing upon the battlefield disappeared,
At last, Aqualas and Seraphina were free. Turning toward them, I said, "You two are free to go. But if you dare return..."
"Ocean World!"
Before I could finish speaking, Aqualas made her move. The instant the curse fields vanished, boundless rule power and celestial force erupted from her body.
An endless ocean materialized in every direction and swallowed the surrounding world, transforming it. The sky beca water. The horizon beca water. Trapping within it before I could finish my sentence.
The pressure of an entire ocean descended upon . And Aqualas didn’t hesitate. The mont her domain ford, she launched herself forward with murder in her eyes. She wasn’t trying to capture or negotiate. She was trying to kill .
However, before her attack could reach , a massive figure suddenly appeared between us.
"Aqualas, stop!" Veerott’s voice thundered throughout the Ocean World.
Standing between and the furious ocean goddess, the newly defeated warrior spread his arms and blocked her path.
For the first ti since the battle began, Aqualas looked more shocked than angry. Because the person protecting Southern Hope... Was Veerott himself.
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