That had led to this situation now, which was still being watched with vacant expressions from almost everyone on the two pavilions, as if their mind had gone blank because of seeing such an implausible sight. Their minds just couldn't process that what they were seeing was real, so they had no option but to shut down.

His statement kept reverberating in their minds, and his image, with his hands on his hips as if he was admonis.h.i.+ng a pet dog that had knocked over a cup, was branded into the minds of many.

A furor burst out at almost the exact moment the King turned to walk away after mockingly staring down the monstrosity, which, of course, was just puzzled as even it had never expected that it would enter such a state.

The din was so loud that the Head actually had to stand up and shout, "Shut up! Let this event end, and then I will explain what happened! For now, sit your a.s.ses down and watch!"

His voice seemed to carry with it the spirit of thunder and lightning, as it struck all those who had begun to speak as if it contained solid power.

They instantly obliged, and laid their eyes on the scene again, where one more person was still in shock.

Ace.

Ace felt like turning around and running away for the first time in his life. If this was a dream, no, a nightmare, he wanted it to end.

He even pinched himself, but that only left behind a red mark on his skin that was almost the same shade as his face, which was flushed.

G.o.dly.

That was the one word that floated through his mind.

A G.o.d among Fighters.

Yet, he squashed it instantly as a G.o.d demanded reverence, and he was not ready to revere anyone.

This was a random Fighter who had been flying under the radar for so long. How could he contain so much power? And if he did, why would he hide himself for that long? It didn't make sense, as showing this much potential would directly bring him under the wing of the Chief.

'Tall' had just turned around and had resumed his walk toward Ace, with that same lopsided, confident smile on his face.

That smile…reminded him of something.

Ace couldn't place it, but the more he watched, the more he became sure that he had seen all of this before.

That walk where each step was as if he was taking control of the earth, and bending it to his will.

That expression which was filled with arrogance born from intelligence, and not foolishness.

And that eloquence…which would leave almost anyone tongue-tied.

He had to cease his thoughts, though, as 'Tall' reached him and said, "Oh, yes, where were we? You were going to give a long speech about how you're superior, blah, blah, right? Go on. Oh, but before that, let me just…"

A flash of light.

Followed by a different man standing in front of him.

If this really was a nightmare…it was the most horrific one in his life, as the King of Lanthanor was standing in front of Ace.

Sputtering, he took a few steps back, unable to believe his eyes.

How…the f*ck was this possible?!

He had defeated him personally, and he had seen him flee! Yet, now, he was standing here unharmed?!

Ace's back hit a tree, which made him have no choice but to stop backing up.

This also brought him to his senses, pus.h.i.+ng away the extreme shock and astonishment he was feeling that the man who had sworn that it was not over…had proven himself right.

That was when he connected the dots.

Faking his departure and mixing in with the partic.i.p.ants.

Sweet-talking the factions and getting them eliminated.

Sneaking into the final days like a snake slithering silently through the bushes, before striking and ending its prey in one go.

And here…he was the prey.

Brilliant.

It was just brilliant.

If that first step hadn't happened, they all would have been wary about the King, and would have hunted him down throughout all the early days. No matter how powerful he was, he wouldn't have been able to evade so many Fighters.

If the second step hadn't been orchestrated, Ace would have had tens of Fighters to call on and defeat the King.

And if the third step also succeeded…the King would have delivered on his promise.

To win the Legacy Battle and show everyone their place.

This single thought made the rage return to Ace.

Only, it couldn't help but be stifled as he eyed the Champion-level monstrosity that was still struggling in the ground, unable to escape.

What should he do? Give up?

And then what?

His father would be watching, and he would be disgraced.

And when their father was disgraced…

With a shudder, Ace caught that fury and embraced it.

Only strong emotions could make him leave behind logic in order to find the courage to face this man.

He now knew that he was no match for him, but he knew that he still needed to fight.

So, gritting his teeth, he raised his fists.

If someone had told him a month back that he would be shaking in his boots while facing a mere 'ant' from the Central Continent, he would have scoffed.

However, now…it was reality, and no matter how much he didn't want to believe it, he had to own up to it.

Only, seeing his actions, the King…laughed.

"Bravo! So you do have some guts?"

Hearing this, Ace couldn't take it any more. Yes, he knew that there might not be victory, but there was no way that he would allow himself to be insulted in this way.

"YAAAAAAAHHHH!"

With a warcry, he jumped 10 feet into the air while his hands took on a silvery coating.

This silvery coating soon coalesced into two swords, which he pointed in the King's direction before diving down.

The Heroes above watched with bated breath, too, antic.i.p.ating a fight to conclude this event.

However…the moment Ace was about to reach within a few feet from the King, the King hopped into the air and shot a roundhouse kick with such a speed that he turned into a blur.

Seeing this, the Chief stood up and exclaimed, "Extreme speed! This fool of a kid!"

No one understood what he meant, but the spectators watched on, viewing the 'top seed' kicked away into 3 trees before finally coming to rest.

"It's cute that you thought that you would stand up against me, and I might have obliged you if I didn't have more pressing matters. So, go have a rest. And you…come out."

If Ace had been awake to hear this, he would definitely have spurted blood on seeing his bravery mocked in this way.

Thankfully, he was already deep in the land of dreams, where even nightmares of him being chased around by monstrosities were better than the reality which he had just escaped from.

For a moment, those in the pavilions were puzzled on hearing this, but they soon saw a man emerge from the ground a few meters away from the King, inside the forest.

This startled most, and only those who hadn't been completely focusing on the encounter had noticed this person creep up on the scene.

He was st.u.r.dy, with short hair and features similar to the now-unconscious Ace and his brother, who was desperately fleeing at the moment.

"Xander, right? I thought you didn't care about your brothers?", asked the King, to which the man replied, "I don't. But blood is blood. I couldn't leave them alone knowing that they were being targeted by someone. I always was the one who fought off those they couldn't defeat."

Xander began walking toward the King as he said this, and behind his back…two wings grew out, which looked like they were made of flesh and bone, but were actually comprised of elementary particles.

"My 'Angel' Inheritance stands undefeated so far."

With a small smile of confidence, Xander walked in front of the King and rose into the air with a flap of his wings.

However…those wings faltered and he almost lost balance as he saw an incongruous sight appear in front of him.

Taking out 5 trinkets from his pockets, the King connected them all and activated them.

When he was done, in his hands…was a hammer that was 7 feet(2.13 m) long from top to bottom. It had a long handle, but its body was bigger than a fully-grown man, and it looked like it was not possible for it to be wielded by any human.

Yet, the King easily hefted it onto his shoulder and said something that made the same fury that had flashed across Ace's face appear in his brother, too.

"Angels are just c.o.c.kier, larger flies. So, I just need a larger hammer to swat you down."

…

Meanwhile, Elanev was waiting for a Fighter in front of him to activate the teleportation trinket and leave.

He had been defeated in one punch, and he had been given the option that he could either die, or depart.

Of course, he only had a single question.

"Why?"

As his face wasn't visible, the Fighter could only hear Elanev's cold tone.

"Because in this Legacy Battle, only one Fighter will survive in the end."

BOOOOOMMMM!

Feeling the ground reverberate under him as a sound suddenly startled both of them, Elanev smiled and said to himself, "The swatting has started. I should hurry up. I hope you're not too tired by the time our fight begins, my dear younger brother."