Raymond walked calmly back onto the stage.
His boots echoed against the battered platform while the sll of burnt vines and smoke still lingered massively in the air from Lyra and Page’s battle.
"Winner..."
He paused briefly while glancing at Lyra.
"Lyra Ashburn."
The announcent imdiately caused cheers to erupt again.
The few Ashburn nobles present stood proudly while clapping and even the Laverdale nobles applauded as well.
Although Page lost...
The level of alchemy control and combat she displayed during the fight was enough to make many nobles look at her more differently now.
Several Elders nodded lightly in approval.
A thirteen-year-old Binder Rank capable of that level of alchemy execution and combat instinct was not sothing ordinary.
anwhile...
Several nurses quickly rushed onto the stage.
Lyra was still laughing while waving toward Vera’s group despite the fact blood lightly dripped from parts of her body.
Her clothes were burned badly in so places, the Black Rose poison also continued numbing parts of her arms slowly.
Yet...
She still looked excited.
"You crazy idiot!"
Nina shouted while laughing nervously.
"You’re literally burning!"
Lyra only grinned wider and raised a thumbs-up.
Page, on the other hand, sighed while allowing the nurses to support her body properly.
"You fought like a lunatic..."
She muttered while staring at Lyra.
Lyra laughed again proudly.
The stage was quickly repaired afterward using earth-elent alchemy scrolls.
Cracks sealed themselves, destroyed sections of the platform rose back into place, scattered blood and debris were cleaned rapidly by servants and support Alchemists.
After a few minutes...
Freya stepped back onto the stage once more.
"Well then..."
She smiled brightly while looking around the hall.
"Any challengers next?"
The crowd instantly beca noisy again.
Conversations overlapped everywhere, most people were still discussing Lyra and Page’s fight.
At Henry’s group side...
"That fight was insane."
Spence leaned forward excitedly. His eyes still glowed from watching the battle.
"Should I challenge soone too?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"It’s better you don’t."
Bess replied calmly without even looking at him.
"Who exactly are you planning to challenge that won’t beat your ass?"
Cedric laughed lightly while smacking Spence’s back.
"You’re kind of right..."
Spence sighed dramatically before laughing helplessly.
"But honestly..."
He rested his chin atop the back of his hands.
"If I had to challenge soone..."
His eyes slowly shifted.
"I’d choose Zara."
Several nearby candidates quietly nodded in agreent.
Truthfully...
Although most candidates had no intention of challenging the higher ranks...
The urge still remained in many hearts, especially among the ranked candidates.
Several who believed they deserved higher placents.
But...
The problem was reality.
Everyone already understood their limits now.
After surviving these many trials... Most candidates developed decent instincts and those instincts clearly told them one thing.
Facing any one from the Top Ten recklessly would most likely end in defeat.
So why challenge a losing battle?
Still...
There was one particular ranked candidate many secretly considered targeting.
Zara.
Or rather...
Ezra.
Unlike the others within the Top Ten...
Very little was actually known about him.
Outside of Veda’s group, Bale’s group, and a few mbers of Vera’s side, most candidates barely understood how strong he truly was.
Little rumors about his strength and strange actions had already spread quietly amongst the candidates over ti.
At one point...
Ezra, or rather Zara, even beca one of the biggest gossip topics within the Trial of Steel because of his sudden and unclear relationship with Vera.
Many candidates could still rember the strange monts between them.
The way Vera occasionally approached him herself, even the way she occasionally looked at him longer than she looked at others.
All those small things piled together and naturally sparked curiosity, but at the end of the day...
Nobody truly knew much about Zara-Ezra himself.
That was the main issue.
Unlike the others in the rankings whose strengths were obvious...
Ezra remained vague and unclear.
Dangerous in a way people couldn’t properly explain and because of that mystery...
Several candidates below his rank secretly considered challenging him.
After all...
Compared to monsters like Vera, Veda, Gareth, Priscilla, or Felix...
Ezra looked far less threatening.
At least on the surface.
But...
"Who even is this Zara that ranked seventh?"
Henry folded his arms while leaning against his seat. His expression still looked sour after dropping out of the Top Ten.
"Have you forgotten he’s part of Sir Veda’s group?"
Bess replied calmly while pointing toward Ezra’s direction.
"That weak-looking boy who defeated that strong orphan girl during the seventh trial."
She continued while narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
"And the sa boy who climbed to the top floor first during the sixth trial."
Bess listed the monts carefully.
Those scenes had stayed in her mory longer than she expected, especially because Ezra never acted loudly afterward.
He never bragged, never explained himself, never showed himself like how Nate did.
That silence itself made him stranger.
Henry stared toward Ezra again, his brows slowly tightened.
"That’s him..."
He exhaled softly.
"Hmmm..."
Now that he looked properly...
He could vaguely rember Ezra’s face from earlier trials, especially how calm he looked when he faced that strangely strong orphan girl during the seventh trial.
"Do you want to challenge him, Sir Henry?"
Spence leaned back lazily against his chair while asking.
Henry remained silent for a few seconds.
Then...
"I honestly want to."
His eyes stayed fixed on Ezra.
"But..."
His expression slowly relaxed again.
"My instincts are screaming at not to."
That uncertain feeling...
That strange discomfort...Was exactly the sa reason many candidates avoided challenging Ezra despite his rank.
After surviving these many trials...
Everyone learned to trust their instincts more.
And Ezra gave off the type of feeling people couldn’t properly understand.
A weak-looking boy...
Yet sohow nobody truly believed he was weak anymore.
Because of that...
No one wanted to recklessly provoke him without understanding what he was actually capable of.
Several minutes passed after Freya requested more challengers.
Still...
Nobody stepped forward.
"No one?"
Freya asked again.
A slight displeasure appeared on her face.
The tenth trial was supposed to be exciting with a lot of challenges flying in but the candidates had beco far more cautious after surviving the previous trials.
At Veda’s side...
Veda finally resolved himself, his fingers tightened slowly.
He was just about to stand...
"I will."
Ezra suddenly raised his hand calmly.
Imdiately...
Several heads turned toward him at once. The reaction was instant.
"What is he planning now?"
Linda whispered toward Tracy while staring at Ezra with confusion.
"Don’t tell ..."
Tracy gasped dramatically.
"He wants to challenge Vera?"
"He’s not."
Nickolas imdiately cut in confidently.
"Knowing him a little..."
Nickolas folded his arms seriously.
"It’s obvious he isn’t interested in becoming Heir."
"Then who do you think he wants to challenge?"
Both Tracy and Linda leaned closer curiously.
Nickolas opened his mouth confidently, then paused.
"...I don’t know."
He raised both hands helplessly.
His flat answer instantly made the two girls stare at him blankly.
"Tch."
Linda punched his shoulder lightly.
"Acting like you understood everything."
She sat back down while muttering complaints under her breath.
Nickolas panicked imdiately.
"I-I was just trying to analyze the situati..."
"Quiet."
Tracy hissed coldly.
Nickolas instantly shrank into his seat like a scolded puppy.
anwhile...
More and more eyes landed on Ezra now.
"Oh..."
Freya smiled lightly.
"Zara Ashenlocke from the Baron House of Sterling."
Her gaze sharpened slightly with curiosity.
"Who do you wish to challenge?"
Back at the side where all the candidates sat...
Bobby, Veda, and Bale all stared at Ezra with confusion, even Keith who was half asleep finally woke up looking interested for once.
"Oh..."
Keith narrowed his sleepy eyes slightly.
"The mysterious man is finally stepping onto the stage."
For the first ti in a while...
His lazy expression looked sowhat awake.
At Vera’s side...
"What is Ezra planning?"
Gena asked nervously while clutching her clothes slightly.
anwhile, Vera simply stared quietly at Ezra. Her chin rested lazily against her palm.
An amused look flickered within her unreadable eyes.
She looked like soone watching a movie she already partially understood.
At Priscilla’s side...
"Do you think he’s about to challenge one of us?"
Priscilla folded her arms beneath her chest and crossed one leg over the other while staring at Ezra seriously.
Unlike the others who looked shocked...
Her eyes remained calm and observant, almost like she was trying to asure sothing deeper from him.
"Well..."
Nate slowly smirked beside her with excitent gradually built within his expression.
"If he really does challenge one of us..."
He cracked his knuckles lightly.
"I honestly hope it’s ."
The subtle noise amongst the candidates continued spreading throughout the hall.
Whispers, speculations and confused murmurs.
Everyone kept trying to understand why Zara-Ezra suddenly decided to step forward now.
Then...
Ezra stood up fully.
His chair shifted slightly backward from the movent, he took one calm step forward.
His face remained as dull and unreadable as always.
"Felix Ashenlocke."
His flat voice echoed clearly throughout the hall.
"You’re the one I challenge."
Silence.
A complete silence.
"Huh?"
Felix, who had been sitting stiffly while avoiding Astraea’s occasional gaze, suddenly froze completely.
The veins near his forehead tightened instantly.
Several candidates widened their eyes, even parts of the audience seated on the second floor beca visibly stunned.
A Lowline...Challenging a Mainline directly? And not just any Mainline...
Felix.
A mber of Astraea’s bloodline.
So nobles imdiately frowned, others looked conflicted, several ordinary spectators instinctively glanced toward Astraea first instead of Felix himself.
anwhile...
The Elders and several young nobles suddenly beca interested.
Very... interested.
At Astraea’s side, her gaze slowly locked onto Ezra.
Quiet and sharp with intent.
"Who is he?"
Her calm voice sounded light, but the pressure behind it made the guards behind her straighten instinctively.
The question was directed toward them.
Rowan imdiately bowed slightly before disappearing from her position to gather information about Ezra as quickly as possible.
Ezra could now feel countless gazes pressing onto him from every direction.
So carried worry, so carried curiosity, so looked down on him while others tried scanning him carefully, as though attempting to see through his calm expression, but Ezra himself remained completely unaffected.
Both boys slowly walked toward the stage.
The sound of their footsteps echoed clearly through the hall.
Felix stared directly at Ezra with killing intent filling his eyes, but the mont Ezra calmly looked back at him...
Felix imdiately changed expressions.
A forced smile appeared on his face.
"So..."
He rubbed his forehead slowly while laughing lightly.
"You finally grew so balls to challenge ."
His voice sounded mocking, but beneath it...
His anger was obvious.
Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly toward Felix, ignoring him completely.
As though Felix never even spoke.
That reaction alone worsened Felix’s anger instantly.
"Ignoring now, huh?"
Felix shook his head slowly while rubbing his forehead again.
anwhile, Raymond stepped between both boys and briefly explained the rules of the challenge match.
But Felix barely listened anymore.
Inside his head...
His frustration kept piling harder and harder.
This guy...Vera...Veda...
Every single one of these bastards keeps pissing off one after another.
?
Felix?
Getting challenged by so Lowline maggot?
His fists slowly tightened, then his eyes landed on Ezra again.
That dull expression, that calm face.
It genuinely looked like Ezra didn’t even consider him a threat.
That irritated Felix more than insults themselves.
He’s one of the bastards who called a mummy’s boy and that lazy idiot Keith too.
Felix exhaled heavily before pushing back the bangs hanging over his forehead.
"I’m going to cripple you badly."
Cognis imdiately surged violently around his body.
Thin white streams flowed through his veins while pressure spread outward from him.
"So, everyone rembers exactly who I am."
Raymond swiftly stepped backward.
"Fight!"
His voice echoed loudly throughout the hall.
At that exact mont...
Ezra briefly glanced toward Vera, then toward the second-floor audience.
Then...
Back toward Felix.
And Felix...Was already directly in front of him.
His movent speed exploded instantly.
A dagger thrust violently toward Ezra’s eye while a smug smile stretched across his face.
The blade reflected the hall lights sharply as it pierced through the air with killing intent behind it.
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