"For the final battle of the test, the Number 1 ultimate genius since the beginning of the Fallen Arisen Hall training, and also a genius belonging to the Lost Ignating Embers Family, the top 3 most powerful families of the entire Fallen Families..."
"Ignatius Blade!" The voice of the instructor grew louder as the beam of light instantly pierced through the darkness and shone brightly on Ignatius' figure.
A small, confident smile lay on Ignatius' face, his body seemingly at ease as he waved at the cheering students and bowed to the Elders in respect.
In response, the elders gave him a nod.
"And for his opponent... He is not a Fallen, but a human who arrived in the Arisen Hall just a month before this test, at only the Initial Stage of the Plane of Origin."
"Yet, in just 28 days, he was able to climb to the Peak of the Plane of Origin, passing the preliminary and semi-final tests to arrive at this phase of the test."
"One whose appearance is based on the recommendation and trust of the Half-Fallen One herself..."
"Ryuk!" The light shone brightly onto Ryuk's figure as he slowly rose to his feet.
The world, for a few seconds, seemed to grow silent for Ryuk as he slowly raised his head to the Elder's booth.
Their gazes were either indifferent or steely, and the only one who wore a small smile was the Half-Fallen One herself.
Whether it was a smile of encouragement or amusement, Ryuk had no idea.
She was as unreadable as ever.
Ignatius stepped forward confidently to the battle stage, as Ryuk also got down from the stands.
His hand was grabbed at the last second, and as he turned, his gaze met Quinn's, whose face held a serious yet worried expression.
Their eyes briefly met before the golden-haired boy struggled to form a smile.
"You got this, Ryuk. I trust you."
A surprised expression appeared on Ryuk's face for a while.
Wasn't Quinn the one who always said there was no way for a top-ten Ultima genius to be defeated?
But in a way, wasn't he right?
Right now, all the top-ten Ultima geniuses had won their fights, except for Caldior Wail.
And the only reason for that was because she was matched with another top-ten genius.
If she had been matched with anyone else, she would have no doubt won..
That meant Quinn had really been right. The power of the top-ten Ultima geniuses was unmatched.
Yet, right now, as Ryuk walked forward to face perhaps one of the most powerful geniuses of them all, Quinn told him he would win?
It was so unlike him. Perhaps, he was just trying to cheer Ryuk up.
Somehow, Ryuk was right about that.
Quinn had initially wanted to tell Ryuk not to push himself too hard, but with the threat of death looming over Ryuk's head, it was a stupid statement.
So, in the end, Quinn could only reveal the faint belief he had always held in his heart.
That maybe he was wrong. That maybe fate truly wasn't set in stone.
He had come to watch this battle, hoping to have his ideology of fate shattered.
His ideology that some people were just not the ones for it.
But throughout this battle, Quinn had been nothing but disappointed.
All the geniuses had been defeated one by one by the Ultima geniuses, and in the end, the bitter truth became evident.
The only last choice was Ryuk, and Quinn tried as much as possible to hold onto that hope which he knew well was impossible.
'Could I really be right?'
'Could it be that fate has truly been set in stone and none of us can change it?'
"Don't worry, Quinn..." Ryuk's voice woke him up as he turned to look at Ryuk, who had a confident grin on his handsome face.
"I'll hand Ignatius' ass to him. You just watch," he said, and Quinn managed a chuckle from the joke before finally releasing Ryuk's hand, watching as he slowly climbed onto the stage.
In the Elder booth's area...
"Sorry to disturb your Fallen's peace, but I have to say, there is quite something that toggles at my heart, and I would argue it toggles at the heart of every Elder sitting here..." A voice suddenly rang out from behind, belonging to none other than a Fallen Elder, whose eyes seemed to burn with silver flames.
His hair was short, silver in color, and he wore a silver shirt and trousers, looking casual, yet seemingly in his prime middle-aged years.
He was the Elder of the Ignatius family, and right now, various questions were tugging at his heart.
'Why would the Half-Fallen One recommend a human to the stage prepared solely for their geniuses?'
'Just what was the origin or background of the human that gave him such importance?'
The questions were all that were gaining not only in Elder Burn's heart but in the hearts of the other Elders.
Slowly, the Half-Fallen One turned her head as she looked at the Elder, smiled, and turned her head away.
"I know well the questions in all of your hearts, and my answer is simple..."
"You all just watch."
Silence encased the entire hall as everyone turned their attention to the stage.
The instructor soon called out a loud "Begin!" order, but neither Ignatius nor Ryuk made any move.
The silence was palpable, and soon words broke through the entire stage, ringing in the ears of everyone present.
"We meet once again, human, just like we both have hoped—or at least I have hoped..." Ignatius began as Ryuk sighed before a small smile broke on his face.
"I too expected us to meet in the test, Ignatius."
"But to stand before you in battle? That I would say Is out of the blue..." Ryuk replied, genuine honesty lacing his voice.
Ignatius slowly raised both hands, and as he did, flickering silver flames began burning in them.
"So, what will you say it is, human? Luck or unfortunate fate?" he asked, as he slowly began stepping forward toward Ryuk.
Two balls of silver flames quickly formed around his arms, floating upwards as they hung all around Ignatius, burning gently.
And with every step their number increased until they were completely all-around Ignatius, their numbers reaching close to a hundred.
The hearts of the spectators tightened in their chests at the sight of the ghostly silver flame balls.