"Oh? So… how…. about this? The one who… sleeps first… would lose…"
They had to stay awake no matter what.
Falling unconsciousness in their state would kill them.
"Hey, princess, why aren't you… saying anything?"
Neo burned his energy to talk.
He kept asking her questions, taunting her, making sure she would respond and not fall asleep.
There was no deep reason behind his actions.
After surviving for days together, he didn't want her to die.
He was close to his limit.
Death was just around the corner.
Suddenly, he heard a chime.
[Essence Breath Spell acquired.]
[Grade 5 Immortal has been mastered.]
[Initiating upgrade…]
He clutched his heart and bled from his orifices.
He lacked Divine Energy for the rank up.
His body began to eat itself to compensate for it.
He felt like he was being stabbed with thousands of needle.
Neo tried his best to stop his rank up.
Suddenly, the pain stopped.
[Insufficient energy.]
[Temporarily stopping the upgrade.]
Neo sighed in relief.
The pain washed away all sleepiness.
It, however, weakened him.
He was at death's doorstep.
The Quest confirmed it.
The tournament finished.
An unfamiliar presence appeared inside the cave while he was high from dopamine.
"Hahaha, you are laughing in that state?"
The man, half-horse and half-human, picked him up carefully.
"I guess you need to be that crazy to challenge the Great God Clans."
He returned Obitus to the barely conscious Neo and smiled.
"Congratulations, kid.
"You are the victor of the 526th ranking tournament. Rejoice, today, you've made history."
Beneath Mountain Columbus
Elizabeth moved through the maze.
Her heels clacked against the broken tiles.
The walls on the sides were painted with murals.
They spoke of the future, of an age where the gods disappeared, and a world heading to its doom.
She reached giant door.
They creaked when she pushed them.
Waves of thick Divine Energy hit her when she stepped into the room.
A trident, made of blue ethereal metal, floated in the centre, chained.
It leaked Divine Energy strong enough to obliterate weaker demigods as soon as they got close.
Elizabeth held the trident.
Otherworldly power flowed into her body through the trident.
The Divine Energy inside the room went berserk.
Cracks appeared on the floor and the pillars supporting the roof shook.
The Divine Energy calmed with Elizabeth's one command.
After claiming the trident, she looked at the final murals at the roof.
They showed the tale of four horsemen…
Death, the first horseman, rode the red horse.
Conquest, the second horseman, rode the white horse.
Famine, the third horseman, rode the purple horse.
War, the fourth horseman, rode the golden horse.
Elizabeth's eyes were fixed at the first horseman.
The Sarnie Maze hidden beneath the Mount Columbus was created by Elizabeth's ancestor during the Age of Gods.
It was a warning for the future.
Elizabeth tightened her grip around the trident and slashed upwards.
The ceiling was destroyed along with the murals.
The smell of alcohol and antiseptics stung Neo's nose.
The noise alarmed Henry who sat beside him.
"Don't try to move, dipshit."
Henry grabbed Neo's forehead and forced him to stop moving.
He only let go when Neo nodded.
Henry returned to his seat after clicking his tongue.
"Five broken bones, twenty lacerations, swelling at multiple locations, anaemic, starved, and mild traumatic brain injury.
"It's a miracle you survived a week in that condition.
"Fucking asshole, what's the point of winning the tournament if you are the one who was beaten the most?"
"What— Cough! Cough! What about Morrigan?"
Henry's face hardened when he heard Neo's question.
"Is that the first thing you ask after waking up?"
"How are you, brother?"
"Ahahaha, aren't you happy I won."
Henry glared at him silently.
"I'm fine. Don't worry—"
"Stop speaking if you don't want me to bash your face in."
Henry clicked his tongue.
His hands moved towards the pocket, but he remembered his location, and stopped.
"Sigh, fuck! I can't even smoke here. Fuck!"
He picked two stacks of documents from the table and threw them at Neo's infirmary bed.
"That is your speech for tomorrow's opening ceremony.
"The first one is given by the academy. Don't use it. It's full of bullcrap.
"Read the other one I wrote."
Coincidentally, Henry's speech was one only page long, while the academy issued speech was of five pages.
Neo didn't have to be a genius to know Henry speech's contents.
"But what about Morrigan—"
"Don't say her fucking name in front of me.
"I don't care why your stupid ass helped the bitch who tried to kill you.
"Just be happy I'm not murdering you for being a dumbass."
Henry's anger answered Neo.
He wouldn't have been so restless if Morrigan died.
Her death would've affected the future negatively.
"Fuck, I can't stand seeing you . Why is it taking so long to heal you?"
Henry was pissed off as he wasn't allowed to use his healers to heal Neo.
Apparently, Neo, having Dark-type affinities, couldn't be healed with Holy Affinity.
It would destroy his body.
They had to use elixirs and medicines to save Neo.
The fact that he cauterized the wound on his forearm and let the injury on his stomach fester for a week made it harder to heal him.
If Henry hadn't been annoyed after seeing his brother nearly dying on the broadcast, the incompetence of Demigod Academy did the job.
"I'm okay," Neo spoke. "Calm down."
"You should be thankful you are okay, bitch. Or else, I would've resurrected you and killed you with my own hands."
It was a good thing the broadcast showed only battles.
Had Henry seen Neo suffering for a week, he might've just broken into the tournament area and wreaked havoc.
Smiling, Neo shifted his gaze to the doors.
He could see two people peeking into the room.