Chapter 66: The Tryouts (9)

The frost continued spreading.

Eden slowly turned around.

His silver eyes followed the trail of freezing Essence upward.

On a floating platform several meters above him stood Sonne.

Her blonde hair moved gently in the freezing wind.

Her amber eyes were fixed on him.

She wasn’t smiling.

There was no hesitation in her expression either.

Only determination.

Eden stared at her for a moment.

"...Sonne?"

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she stepped off the platform.

Her body descended gracefully through the air.

Then she landed directly in front of him.

The moment her feet touched the ground, frost spread across the platform.

Eden took half a step backward.

"What are you doing?"

Sonne still said nothing.

She raised one hand.

Essence erupted around her.

The air froze.

A massive sphere of ice began forming around them.

Eden’s eyes widened.

"Huh—?"

The sphere expanded rapidly.

Walls of translucent ice enclosed the two of them.

The surrounding battlefield disappeared behind a layer of frozen Essence.

The noise of the other contestants vanished.

The floating platforms outside became distant silhouettes.

Eden stared at the barrier.

Then his expression changed.

"...A Domain."

[Frozen Will]

The Domain finished forming.

The atmosphere itself felt different.

Eden could feel Essence everywhere.

Not exactly his own.

The Domain was saturated with Sonne’s power.

It was as though the entire space had become an extension of her body.

Eden’s eyes narrowed.

’As a mere C-Rank..?’

Domain Skills were rare.

Extremely rare.

A Domain allowed an Awakened to create a separate space using their primary skill.

Within that space, their abilities could be manifested on a vastly greater scale without consuming their own Essence in the usual way.

The Domain itself supplied the medium.

And as long as the user remained capable of fighting, the Domain could persist.

Breaking the barrier wasn’t enough.

The barrier wasn’t a simple wall.

It was part of the skill itself.

To escape, one had to severely injure the caster or render them incapable of continuing the fight.

Eden looked around.

Ice stretched endlessly in every direction.

"You developed a Domain Skill as a mere C-Rank?"

Sonne stared at him in silence, her face looked strangely judgemental.

Eden couldn’t help smiling.

"That’s impressive."

Sonne’s expression didn’t change.

"Don’t compliment me."

"Hm?"

"I’m not here for that."

Eden’s smile faded slightly.

"Then what are you here for?"

Sonne stared directly into his eyes.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then she finally answered.

"I hate Awakeneds who abuse their power."

Eden blinked.

"...What?"

"I helped you against that mercenary because Mihui was an innocent bystander."

Her voice remained calm.

"I don’t regret that."

Eden’s eyebrows lowered.

"But I haven’t forgotten what happened before that."

"What happened before?"

"You fooled me."

Eden frowned.

’...I Fooled her?’

He mentally went through his memories.

The mercenary.

The hospital.

Luvian.

The Association.

He couldn’t think of anything.

Sonne continued.

"At the campus."

That narrowed it down.

"You’re the one who hospitalized Luvian, aren’t you?"

Eden remembered the confrontation inside the classroom.

Sonne had intervened back then.

She had believed Luvian was abusing his power.

She thought Eden was the victim.

"And I decided to stand up for you."

Sonne’s fingers curled.

"I thought you were the one being mistreated."

Eden remained silent.

"But then I saw him."

Her voice hardened.

"Luvian."

Sonne’s gaze sharpened.

"Unconscious."

Eden’s expression became blank.

"His body was battered."

The ruined main hall came back to him.

Sonne continued.

"I had suspected Luvian."

She slowly raised her hand.

"But I was wrong."

Ice began forming above her.

One spear.

Then another.

Then a third.

Folloqed by a dozen more.

"And you?"

Her eyes remained locked on Eden.

"You completely fooled me."

Eden stared at her.

Inside his mind, Sylvia spoke.

[Master.]

’What?’

[She is beginning to irritate me.]

Eden’s mouth twitched.

’You’re not alone on that one.’

’Her righteousness is pissing me off.’

Sonne raised her hand higher.

"That day, I thought I was protecting someone weaker."

The ice spears rotated above her.

"But you were stronger."

Eden’s expression hardened.

"You used that strength to brutally beat him."

She pointed toward Eden.

"And then you acted as though you were the victim."

Eden stared at her for another moment.

Then smiled.

A slow, cocky smile.

"Do you really believe that’s how it all went down?"

Sonne didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

Her expression told him everything.

Eden sighed.

"Ah."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"You really do."

Sonne’s eyes narrowed.

"Don’t make light of this."

"Oh, I’m not."

Eden looked at the ice surrounding them.

"I’m just trying to understand how you managed to reach that stupid conclusion."

Sonne’s expression became colder.

"You expect me to believe otherwise?"

Eden shrugged.

"Not really."

Crimson Essence began pouring from his body.

His attributes surged.

[Corrupted Surge]

The moment the skill activated, the air around Eden distorted.

Sonne’s eyes widened slightly.

She had never seen that power before.

It was fundamentally different than the Phase Shift skill he relied on during their earlier encounter.

The difference was so vast that comparing the skill to Phase Shift could be interpreted as insulting.

"Honestly..."

Eden raised his middle finger.

"Go fuck yourself with all that self-righteous bullshit."

Sonne froze.

Eden smiled.

"Seriously."

His silver eyes sharpened.

"It pisses me off."

Sonne didn’t waste another second.

The ice spears launched.

Eden disappeared.

Boom!

A spear slammed into the ground.

Another tore through where his chest had been.

A third exploded against the platform.

Eden moved between them effortlessly.

His boosted Agility made the attacks look almost slow.

Sonne’s eyes tracked him.

"Stop running!"

"Why would I?"

Eden appeared several meters to her left.

"You seem pretty comfortable throwing ice at me."

She raised her hand.

The Domain responded.

Hundreds of spears emerged from the walls.

Eden’s expression changed.

"Oh?

The entire formation launched.

Eden moved.

Left.

Right.

[Burst Step]

He crossed enormous distances between attacks.

The ice spears continued chasing him.

The Domain itself seemed to predict his movements.

Sonne didn’t need to manually create every attack anymore.

The entire space obeyed her.

Eden clicked his tongue.

’This is annoying.’

He had to admit it.

Sonne’s Domain was extremely powerful for a C-Rank.

’But that’s not her actual trump Card...’

’Ice Lord’s Soul.’

’If she activates that skill...’

His expression became more serious.

That would eventually grow to be a problem.

Sonne possessed an SS-Rank skill.

Ice Lord’s Soul.

If she activated it inside her Domain, her power would increase dramatically.

And Eden didn’t want to use everything he had in the first round.

He had already shown Corrupted Surge.

That was enough.

Revealing Dark Matter Manipulation would be unnecessary.

Revealing the full extent of Devour was impossible anyway.

And revealing his Aura Blade would only put him at a disadvantage later on.

’What a pain.’

An enormous wave of ice swept across the Domain.

Eden jumped.

The wave passed beneath him.

He landed on a frozen pillar.

Sonne was already there.

She thrust her hand forward.

Ice exploded.

Eden Burst-Stepped away.

The attack destroyed the pillar.

He landed again.

’Perhaps Paralysis?’

His eyes narrowed.

’That could work.’

His B-Rank Paralysis was higher rank than Sonne’s C-Rank.

If he could land it enough times, it would eventually overwhelm her.

But there was a problem.

She already knew about it.

During the mercenary incident, she had seen him use it.

The moment he activated Paralysis, she would understand.

And if she understood what he was trying to do...

She would probably activate Ice Lord’s Soul.

Eden grimaced.

’I don’t have time to stack it.’

He dodged another attack.

’I need a single opening.’

Another spear.

He slipped past it.

Another.

He jumped.

’Something she won’t expect.’

He kept moving.

His mind raced.

Just as he dodged another attack, An idea appeared.

Eden smiled.

"...Oh."

Sylvia noticed.

[What is it, Master?]

’I’ve got it.’

[What?]

’You’ll see.’

Sonne raised both hands.

The entire Domain trembled.

A massive formation of ice gathered overhead.

Eden looked upward.

’Perfect.’

He deliberately slowed.

Sonne noticed.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You’re tired."

Eden didn’t answer.

The ice formation descended.

Eden dodged the first wave.

The second clipped his shoulder.

He stumbled.

Sonne immediately seized the opportunity.

"Got you!"

A massive spear formed directly beneath Eden.

He looked down quickly, but was too late anyway.

The ice erupted.

Eden was launched through the platform.

He crashed through the frozen surface and slammed into another platform beneath it.

Blood filled his mouth.

He lay there for a moment.

Then smiled.

’Perfect’

Sonne descended toward him.

"You should give up."

Eden slowly pushed himself upright.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He looked up.

"Nah."

Then he disappeared.

Sonne’s eyes widened.

[Burst-Step]

Eden appeared directly in front of her.

Before she could react, he grabbed her.

Her eyes widened.

"What are you—?"

Eden pulled her closer.

Then kissed her.

Sonne’s mind went completely blank.

Her eyes widened.

Her face turned bright red almost instantly.

’W—what?!’

For several seconds, she simply froze.

Not because of his paralysis skill.

Not even because of her exhaustion.

She simply couldn’t process what was happening.

’Why is he—?!’

Her hands remained at her sides.

She couldn’t bring herself to move.

Then she felt something else.

A strange sensation spread through her body.

Her fingers went numb.

Then her arms.

Then her legs.

Her expression changed.

’No—’

Eden pulled away.

Sonne’s body immediately lost its strength.

She dropped to her knees.

"...Wha..."

She couldn’t move.

Her entire body felt paralyzed.

Eden wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"That worked."

Sonne stared at him.

Her face remained completely red.

"You..."

Her voice barely escaped.

Eden crouched slightly.

"I figured you’d recognize Paralysis the second I used it."

Sonne’s eyes widened.

"So..."

"I put it in my blood."

He tapped his mouth.

"Then transferred it directly."

Sonne stared at him in disbelief.

"Y—you bastard.."

Eden smiled.

"Yeah, save it for our next time."

That seemed to get a reaction out of her.

The ice around them began cracking.

Sonne’s control over the Domain was slipping.

Her body was completely immobilized.

Without her ability to fight, the Domain could no longer sustain itself.

The frozen world slowly dissolved.

Ice broke apart into countless tiny particles.

The battlefield returned.

Noise flooded back in.

Outside the Domain, several contestants had been staring at the enormous sphere of ice.

They had heard explosions from inside.

They had seen the Domain shake.

They had expected a long, brutal fight.

Instead...

The Domain vanished.

Eden stood there.

Sonne was on her knees.

Completely defeated.

A few nearby Awakened stared.

"What happened?"

"Wasn’t that a Domain?"

"How did He make it out in one piece?"

"I couldn’t see anything!"

Eden looked down at Sonne.

She was still blushing furiously.

Her amber eyes were filled with disbelief.

Eden sighed.

"By the way..."

"You’re a terrible kisser."

Sonne’s face somehow became even redder.

"You..!"

She tried to raise her hand.

Nothing happened.

Eden turned around.

"Rest."

He walked away, a confident smile on his face as the last minutes of the Timer began to count down.