"Ah!" Lextor gasped as his eyes snapped open.

He stared at an unfamiliar ceiling.

His breathing was rough, his mind racing.

What… just happened?

The last thing he remembered was William's face.

Then William shot him with something—after that, everything went dark.

"You're awake."

A voice came from his left.

Lextor flinched and turned his head quickly, finding a familiar figure sitting beside the bed.

"B-Broth—agh!"

He tried to get up, but a sharp ache spread through his left chest plate.

"Don't get up, or you'll make your internal bleeding worse," Arthur warned, tossing the clipboard onto the other bed and turning fully toward his brother.

The two looked almost identical, except for their hair shade and build. Lextor had grown more muscular in his pursuit of absolute strength.

Arthur leaned forward, fingers interlocked. "Tell me—do you remember what happened during your battle?"

Lextor lowered his gaze. "I… was humiliated. Completely defeated."

Arthur hummed. "Good. At least you know you lost. But that humiliation? You brought that upon yourself."

He stood up slowly and walked to the side of Lextor's bed.

"I never guided you. Never trained you. I left all your choices to you—just like how Father left my future in my hands."

Lextor kept his eyes down. The sad truth was that this was the first real conversation he'd had with Arthur in months—and it wasn't to congratulate him, but to correct him.

Arthur continued, "I believed you would grow into a calm, sharp young man—someone I could proudly call my brother. But today, you shamed me by acting so immature on the battlefield."

Lextor's eyes hardened as he looked up. "I never lost control. I was this close to getting what I wanted."

Arthur's glare sharpened. "Oh, really? Then who was it that tried to kill his opponent in what was supposed to be a simple duel between students?"

Lextor shot back, "There was no other way to stop William!"

Arthur's expression darkened. "Then that's even more disappointing, brother."

Lextor clenched his teeth. "You don't have the right to lecture me when you never taught me anything! All my life, I've tried to get out of your shadow—to prove I'm something more than just 'Arthur's brother'! And just because I lose one battle, you call me worthless?"

Tears welled up in Lextor's eyes as he glared at Arthur.

His chest throbbed painfully, but he didn't care.

He couldn't believe that after all these months… the first thing his brother said to him was that he was disappointed.

Arthur stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking softly, "You want to prove yourself, right? Then do me a favor."

He stepped closer, leaned in, and tapped a finger against Lextor's forehead.

"When you face William next time, use this—not your emotions, not your anger."

Lextor took a slow breath as Arthur continued, "The only thing stopping you from becoming great is your temper. Control it… and the world will see you as more than just 'my brother.'"

Lextor didn't answer, but he understood.

Even with the hurt twisting inside him, he heard the meaning behind Arthur's words clearly.

He would meet William again in this contest.

And when he did… he would make it count.

'Delimore… enjoy this victory while you can.'

….

"Man… this was boring," William muttered as he sat on top of the cabin he'd been assigned.

Emma giggled. "Well, the battle ended before you could see his ultimate move." She poured juice for herself and then for him.

They'd eaten dinner together earlier. The cafeteria was still open, so right after finishing the first test in the ceremonial hall, that was the first place they visited.

William thanked her as he took the glass and looked up at the moon. "He kept annoying me with all those flashy moves. They were lighting up the whole place, and I wasn't sure if the one making the light was the only one who'd get eliminated… or if everyone near him would go too."

Emma smiled. "So you did have the contest on your mind, despite how relaxed you looked."

After defeating Lextor, William had chosen not to fight Emma—there wasn't enough time left anyway. Instead, he'd just slipped out through the broken gate from their earlier exchange.

William shrugged. "The setup of the first round was interesting, so I didn't want to test the rules and get myself kicked out. I'd rather see this through to the end… maybe something interesting will happen."

Emma gave a small, helpless smile. "You're not expecting something like what happened during the tournament to happen again… right?"

During the last tournament, Talobo had ambushed them, forcing many students—Emma included—to face real danger.

William only grinned at her.

That grin alone was enough of an answer.

Emma just shook her head in helplessness.

William chuckled before he wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulder and pulled her closer, "Tell me, were you scared to face me inside the ceremonial hall?"

Emma smirked, "Was it me who ran away from the battle?"

William laughed, "I just saved you some grace. You were last year's tournament favorite. Didn't want you to lose your aura."

Emma shook her head, "I don't want to go that route of who is stronger but we both know that our battle would be anything boring."

William hummed, "That is for sure."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before William asked, "Were you informed about your role as an impostor when you went inside your room?"

Emma shook her head, "It was when I entered the ceremonial hall…I heard a whisper, the rules and what I needed to do."

"Damn…mental message and I failed to catch it?" William was surprised.

Emma spoke, "I believe it was more like a distant whisper by manipulating the sound waves. That's why you couldn't hear it."

William blinked, "Now that I think about you, there was someone among the students who can manipulate soundwaves too, right?"

Emma nodded, "Poor girl got taken down by a council member because she broke the rule."

William hummed, "There are a few more who either got into cross fire or escaped when they had the time…some of the stronger ones than we faced tonight."

Emma nodded, "Yes, there is a chance. Like Venessa Greyhound…she faced the worst kind of enemy today, Kevin, who was a bane for her corroding chains. Truth be told, she appeared to be a strong contender."

William nodded before a grin stretched his lips, "Well, I hope the rest of the tournament we face all kind of challenges."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- William consciously raises flags. Drop a comment.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.