Chapter 110: Awakened Tournament Crisis (16)

The stadium was still roaring long after Eden’s victory over Lucy.

Even after the announcer officially declared him the winner, even after Eden helped Lucy out of the arena and the medical staff rushed her away for treatment, the audience couldn’t seem to settle down. Their voices filled the enormous stadium, thousands of people arguing over the battle they’d just witnessed, replaying their favorite moments on their devices, and debating whether Eden’s final technique had been necessary.

The fight had been brutal.

Lucy had pushed Eden further than anyone else in the tournament, forcing him to reveal both Corrupted Surge and his newly acquired S-Rank skill, Malicious Spirit. For many spectators, the latter had been the most frightening part. The moment Eden unleashed that invisible pressure, the entire arena had shaken as though a natural disaster had struck beneath their feet.

And yet, despite everything, Eden had walked away in a state that required little healing, despite the numerous blows and explosions he had endured.

But the tournament wasn’t over.

Not yet.

The announcer eventually called for an extended break before the final semifinal match. Elio, who had suffered devastating injuries during his battle against Jax, still required additional treatment. His jaw had been shattered, and the sheer number of attacks he’d endured had left his body in terrible condition.

Even for an Awakened of his caliber, recovering from such injuries requires top notch healers and time.

Fortunately, the medical facilities prepared for the tournament were equipped to handle injuries that would have killed ordinary people several times over. Healers, specialized potions, and advanced recovery equipment worked together to restore the young man’s body.

The break was necessary.

It also gave everyone a chance to breathe.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

Inside one of the restricted observation rooms overlooking the stadium, Neville suddenly stopped speaking.

His green eyes narrowed.

At first, the sensation was faint enough to be mistaken for an ordinary fluctuation in the surrounding Essence. With thousands of Awakened gathered in one place, unusual readings weren’t particularly surprising.

But this was different.

The feeling grew stronger with every passing second, like a tide rising beneath the surface of the world.

Abyss Creature Essence.

And an enormous amount of it.

Neville straightened, his relaxed posture vanishing. He focused his senses outward, attempting to determine the source.

Then his expression darkened.

"Levi."

The white-haired man standing near the window turned toward him.

"What is it?"

"Do you feel that?"

Levi’s expression changed almost immediately. His blue eyes sharpened as he extended his perception beyond the stadium.

A moment later, he felt it too.

His brows furrowed.

"Yes. That’s not normal."

"Not even close."

The Essence was coming from outside the stadium, but it wasn’t concentrated in a single location. Neville could feel at least two separate sources, both radiating a disturbing amount of Abyss Creature Essence.

Neither was close enough to explain the other’s presence.

For several seconds, the two S-Ranks remained silent, considering their options.

Then Neville spoke.

"Could be another ploy from Crimson-Crow."

Levi crossed his arms.

"You think they’d try something while the tournament is still underway?"

"I think they’ve already demonstrated that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want." Neville’s gaze hardened. "And if those readings are genuine, we can’t afford to assume this is a coincidence."

The Crimson-Crow Guild had already made itself a nuisance through its underhanded operations. Their involvement in the recent incidents surrounding the tournament had only strengthened the Association’s suspicions.

Now, with two separate concentrations of Abyss Creature Essence appearing near the stadium, Neville wasn’t willing to take any chances.

He turned toward the door.

"Call the strike team. We’re splitting up."

Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Into two groups?"

"Three."

Neville began issuing orders before Levi could respond.

"I’ll lead one group to investigate the first location. You take the second. We’ll divide the available personnel as evenly as possible, prioritizing combat capability and support skills."

"And the stadium?"

"We leave a small defensive unit behind. If this is a diversion, I don’t want the actual attack happening here while everyone capable of fighting is somewhere else."

It was the most reasonable decision available.

With so many civilians packed inside the stadium, even a relatively small incident could turn into a catastrophe. And while the Association had taken extensive precautions, Neville knew better than to place blind faith in security measures.

He needed someone capable of holding the line until reinforcements arrived.

Fortunately, one candidate came to mind.

"Kael."

The gray-haired Awakened, who had been standing near the room’s entrance, immediately straightened.

Kael had recently managed to climb all the way to Peak A-Rank. His combat abilities had improved considerably, and his Essence reserves were now enough to put him among the strongest non-S-Rank Awakened in the country.

Unfortunately, his personality hadn’t improved nearly as much.

Kael placed a hand against his chest, his expression growing solemn.

"At last. The moment has arrived for me to demonstrate my—"

"You’re leading the group staying here," Neville interrupted.

Kael froze.

"...The group staying here?"

"Yes."

There was a brief silence.

Then Kael’s expression brightened.

"Understood! I shall protect this stadium from the shadows, safeguarding the innocent while the true heroes venture into danger! A thankless duty, perhaps, but one that I shall carry out with—"

"Kael."

The gray-haired man stopped.

Neville’s expression was serious enough to extinguish even Kael’s ridiculous enthusiasm.

"If anything happens, no matter how big or small, how strong or weak, your first responsibility is to evacuate every civilian inside the stadium."

Kael blinked.

Neville continued, each word deliberate.

"I don’t care if you encounter a single Abyss Creature or an entire army. I don’t care if the threat appears manageable or completely overwhelming. You prioritize the civilians. Get them out of danger, then deal with whatever remains."

For once, Kael didn’t make a joke.

He studied Neville’s face before slowly nodding.

"Understood."

"Good."

Neville turned toward the others.

"Move out. Stay in contact for as long as possible, and report anything unusual immediately. If either group encounters a threat beyond its capabilities, don’t hesitate to retreat."

Levi gave a brief nod.

"Let’s hope we’re chasing shadows."

Neville glanced toward the distant stadium, where the audience was still celebrating the previous match.

"Let’s hope that’s all they are."

Unfortunately for the silver wing strike team, the shadows were very real.

And they were waiting.

The two strike teams reached their respective destinations within minutes of one another.

Neville’s group arrived at an abandoned industrial district several hundred of meters from the stadium. The area had been cleared for redevelopment months ago, leaving behind empty warehouses, cracked roads, and skeletal buildings that cast long shadows beneath the evening sky.

There was nothing unusual at first glance.

No visible monsters. No open Gate. No obvious signs of a dungeon.

And yet, the Essence readings were unmistakable.

Neville raised one hand, signaling his team to stop.

"Stay alert. Something isn’t right."

One of the men behind him spoke.

"The readings are getting stronger, sir. Whatever we’re looking for should be directly ahead."

Neville looked toward the narrow street between two abandoned buildings.

Then the ground beneath their feet turned black.

It happened without warning.

An enormous shadow erupted from the pavement, spreading outward in every direction. It swallowed the surrounding buildings, the road, the nearby streetlights, and the entire strike team in a single, silent surge.

Neville barely had time to react.

"Everyone—!"

The world disappeared.

For one disorienting instant, he felt as though he were falling through an endless abyss. His senses were smothered by darkness, and even his Essence seemed to struggle against the oppressive force surrounding him.

Then the sensation abruptly ended.

His boots struck solid ground.

Neville immediately released a pulse of Essence, illuminating his surroundings.

Stone walls stretched upward on either side of him. Massive pillars supported a ceiling that disappeared into darkness, while faint crimson runes glowed along the floor. Somewhere far away, a creature roared, its voice echoing through what sounded like an enormous underground structure.

His team appeared around him, several members staggering as they regained their balance.

One of them looked around in disbelief.

"Where the hell are we?"

Neville didn’t answer immediately.

He was too busy examining the black residue fading from the floor.

He knew that sensation.

He had encountered it before.

His expression became cold.

"...Shadow Seal."

An S-Rank skill.

More specifically, Null’s S-Rank Shadow Seal.

The ability to manipulate enormous shadows and use them as a means of transportation, concealment, and entrapment. Depending on how it was deployed, it could swallow entire groups and transport them somewhere entirely different from their original location.

Neville clenched his fist.

"So we walked straight into a trap."

The implications were immediately clear.

The Essence readings hadn’t been a random disturbance. They had been bait, designed to lure the Association’s strongest available fighters away from the stadium.

And whoever had arranged this had known exactly how Neville would respond.

He glanced at his team.

"Everyone, listen carefully. We don’t know the layout of this dungeon, and we don’t know what the enemy has prepared for us. But we do know one thing."

His gaze shifted toward the distant darkness.

"We’re getting back to the stadium as quickly as possible."

An operative frowned.

"Sir, should we wait for confirmation from Levi’s team?"

"No. If they’ve been caught in the same trap, they’ll reach the same conclusion."

Neville’s expression hardened.

"We don’t have time to waste."

He began walking forward.

"Clear the dungeon. Kill anything that stands in our way. We return to the stadium, even if we have to tear this entire place apart."

The strike team followed without hesitation.

They had been lured into a trap.

Now they needed to escape before the trap could accomplish its real purpose.

Several kilometers away, Levi’s team had reached the exact same conclusion.

Their destination had been a deserted stretch of land beyond the city’s outer roads, where the Essence readings had grown so intense that even the team’s detection equipment had begun producing inconsistent results.

And just like Neville’s group, they had been swallowed by an enormous shadow.

When Levi regained his footing, he found himself standing inside a cavernous structure filled with black stone and twisted architectural formations. Violet light pulsed through cracks in the walls, illuminating an endless corridor that descended into the earth.

One of his subordinates cursed under his breath.

"An S-Rank dungeon..."

Levi’s expression was grim.

"No. Worse."

He knelt briefly, touching the fading shadow beneath his feet.

There was no mistaking it.

"Null’s Shadow Seal."

The man beside him looked up sharply.

"The Crimson-Crow Vice-Guildmaster?"

"The very same."

Levi rose to his feet, his jaw tightening.

"They separated us deliberately. Two different locations, two separate dungeons. They’re trying to keep the Association’s strongest fighters away from the stadium."

Levi’s eyes narrowed.

He exhaled slowly.

"Listen carefully. We aren’t here to explore, and we aren’t here to collect amy of the dungeons rewards. Our objective is to get back to the stadium."

He pointed toward the corridor.

"We clear the fastest route available, eliminate anything that blocks us, and keep moving. Don’t chase unnecessary fights, don’t split up, and don’t waste Essence on enemies we can bypass."

The team immediately fell into formation.

Levi took one last look at the shadows behind them.

"Null..."

His voice was quiet, but the coldness within it was unmistakable.

"You’d better hope nothing happens to those civilians while we’re gone."

Then he turned and led his team into the dungeon.

Almost as though they had coordinated it beforehand, both Neville and Levi had reached the same decision.

They would speedrun their respective dungeons.

And they would return to the stadium before the trap could close around everyone left behind.