CLEAVER OF SIN

Chapter 870: Decision

AlyxAtlas and Thomasinho floated downward with a sigh as they shook their heads at Amara’s loss."Well, the stars might as well be a lie if she could win against the One-shot Queen," AlyxAtlas spoke calmly.

"At least she gave it her all despite knowing the result. I can only applaud such a strong will," Thomasinho stated.

Although he said that, he knew that if this had been a true life-or-death battle, Theodore Elox and Amara Charlton’s decisions would have been foolish. If anyone encountered someone stronger than themselves on any battlefield, the only sensible answer and option was to turn around and run away without the slightest hesitation.

AlyxAtlas turned toward the audience as she began to speak. "The past eight matches have been incredible. We got to witness every student’s ability displayed to the very best they could. We watched them withstand overwhelming pressure, adapt on the fly, and continuously push beyond their limits," her tone remained calm and composed.

"But now, we’ve progressed to the later stages, where only the eight strongest students across all the Empires remain. And with them fighting one another for the title of champion, I don’t need to remind anyone just how much adrenaline and excitement this is going to bring," Thomasinho stated.

The crowd was already in a frenzy. This was the main event of the Inter-Empire Competition. Top genius versus top genius. They couldn’t help but anticipate who the random algorithm would choose next. Teo Swig versus Finch? Acker versus Arianna? Asher versus Isaac? Anticipation itself seemed to ignite the atmosphere as every expectation and every emotion reached its peak and boiling point.

"Since we’ve reached the top eight, we shall proceed to the next match," AlyxAtlas stated, a faint smirk forming in her eyes.

Eyes snapped toward the enormous television, but before any names could begin rolling across the screen and pause on their selection, Thomasinho spoke.

"Now, during the last few battles, the organisers behind the Inter-Empire Competition decided to make a few changes in order to shake things up," he said calmly, as though he thoroughly enjoyed the development he was about to introduce.

Hearing the word "change," the anticipation in the air seemed to freeze as the spectators didn’t know what to make of what they had just heard. Asher, Arianna, and the other students’ expressions also shifted as they wondered what could possibly have been added at this stage of the competition. Some of them couldn’t help but wonder if the commentators were about to introduce some sort of debuff to limit their abilities or power purely for entertainment. After all, that had always been the primary purpose of the Inter-Empire Competition, to entertain.

"There is no need to panic. The new change is pretty simple and straightforward," AlyxAtlas began. "From this moment onward, the battlefield will remain empty. No names will be selected by the randomisation algorithm, as any student is free to step onto the battlefield. Upon entering, they can either directly challenge another student or simply wait for any student to step forward and challenge them instead," AlyxAtlas explained smoothly.

"But after each victory, the winner may simply choose to remain on the battlefield if they wish. For example, if Student A and Student B fight and Student A wins, Student A can decide to stay on the battlefield and immediately begin another match against Student C, then Student D after that, continuing until they choose to stop and retreat to their floating throne to recover before another battle. And while Student A recovers, another student can take their place," Thomasinho stated with a smile.

"Of course, a student can still fight a single battle and immediately return to their seat if they believe they don’t possess enough Astra energy or stamina, or if they’re simply in too poor a condition to face another opponent. After all, if the student on the battlefield chooses to continue fighting, no healer will approach them to restore their injuries or stamina. Every wound, every ounce of fatigue, and every bit of exhaustion will simply carry over into the next battle," AlyxAtlas continued, as though she and Thomasinho shared a single mind.

"The red-card and green-flag process has also been eliminated, as the challenged student will now have the right to choose whichever terrain they desire. And in the event that a student steps onto the battlefield without directly challenging anyone, hoping that another student will challenge them instead, but no one does, then the randomisation algorithm will make a selection after two minutes have passed," Thomasinho stated slowly, his words carrying a sense of undeniable finality.

AlyxAtlas’ and Thomasinho’s words sent a wave of silence sweeping across the entire planet. There were no chants, no roaring crowds, no screams, no deafening voices, nothing.

People couldn’t believe what they had just heard. They understood the new rule perfectly, yet they simply couldn’t believe it. To them, it almost seemed redundant, as no student in their right mind would willingly choose to fight two opponents in a row. Who would challenge someone like Isaac in their first battle only to immediately face Acker or Asher the very next moment without even a brief opportunity to rest or recover Astra energy or even heal their injuries? It was an obvious disadvantage, one that very few people would willingly accept.

After all, an unknown reward awaited the champion, and no one was willing to gamble recklessly with such an opportunity.

"Now then, any student willing to open this new stage of the competition may step forward," AlyxAtlas announced, her black eyes shifting toward the remaining students as she gestured toward the now-empty battlefield.

No one moved. They all remained seated upon their floating thrones as though each of them wanted someone else to make the first move.

Asher, who sat with a bowl of popcorn he had taken out earlier during Arianna’s battle against Amara, quietly fell into thought as he began considering several possibilities.

During the Qualifiers Round, Asher had once contemplated eliminating every student he encountered, aside from those from Star Academy, so that the top fifty would consist almost entirely of his own academy’s students. However, he had eventually abandoned the idea simply because he was too lazy to go through with it.

During the Thinning Round, he had entertained something similar to that same thought once again, but Arianna Haellight had beaten him to it while he was amusing himself against the two Crown-class birds.

And now, an unprecedented opportunity had presented itself before Asher.

He had told Teo during the previous round that he wanted to fight every top genius each Empire had brought to the Inter-Empire Competition. But if the randomisation algorithm remained responsible for selecting opponents, then there was a certainty that he might never get the chance to fight Isaac or Acker.

Now, however, with this sudden rule change, he could simply step onto the battlefield and fight every remaining student, all seven of them, without taking a single break or pausing to rest, heal or recover Astra energy.

Stamina? Asher had already developed a technique that granted him virtually endless stamina through Lightning Rejuvenation, a method he had perfected over the past seven months.

Astra energy reserves? Not even Arianna Haellight, who had been born with her Astra veins already activated, could rival the sheer volume of Astra energy flowing within Asher’s Astra veins.

Injuries? Crimson Pact remained available, as Virelass possessed more than enough blood to heal virtually any injury imaginable, even if his heart itself were pierced.

All in all, every base was covered.

At that very moment, Asher made his decision.

He would challenge all seven remaining students by himself.