"Here." Cole, the pyromancer, handed the Oblivion Edge to Nyx, and she began to approach Hendrix.
"This won't end too well," Rab couldn't help but comment as he saw the madness in Nyx's eyes—eyes that belonged to someone capable of murder.
"Yes, she won't go easy on him," Wendy murmured with a complicated expression on her face. Though she hadn't witnessed Hendrix's encounter with the others, she could tell it must've hurt them deeply for them to go as far as torturing Hendrix. It was one of the reasons she didn't stop them.
"I want to see your face," Nyx stated as she brought her hands to remove the mask on Hendrix's face. Despite being caught in a time loop, Hendrix tried to move his head away, but it was futile. The pain was too intense for him to control his body, and Nyx effortlessly took the mask off. Immediately, he felt as if he couldn't breathe.
The mask was the reason he had survived this long after having his mana lungs crippled by Aina. Now that it was removed, Hendrix felt his lungs being strangled by cruel hands. He gasped and immediately turned pale.
Watching his complexion, a sadistic smile crept onto Nyx's face as the dagger in her grasp flashed forward, burying itself deep in Hendrix's eye.
Then, a whole new level of pain assaulted him!
Each strike required one to channel mana points into the dagger. As a high-level Awakened of Level 20, Nyx naturally had large reserves of mana. She didn't hesitate in channeling it into her dagger again and struck Hendrix's left eye.
"Aghhhhhh! Bastards, I'll kill you all!" Hendrix roared.
"So cruel!" the spectators couldn't help but gasp when they witnessed Nyx's actions. They couldn't believe that a young girl of her age could be this ruthless.
Some even covered the eyes of minors nearby, not wanting them to witness this gruesome sight.
Another man from the Armstrong Duchy spat out in a voice filled with hatred, "I swear, the Cromwells...all of them are madmen! They inherited it from that psycho!"
"Yeah, I heard that a few years ago, he literally burned bandits alive. Although he's much tamer these days, I can still see the madness in his eyes."
A series of whispers began to spread throughout the arena as the once exciting tournament turned into a public torture show.
"Nathan, your grandkids are going a bit too far, don't you think?" the Duke's slightly angry voice reverberated through the area.
Nathan didn't respond for a while, his gaze fixed on the massive screens. Like Nyx, there was madness in his eyes. If one were to see him now, they'd know where Nyx had inherited those murderous eyes from. After a moment, he turned towards the Duke and chuckled. "I don't see anything wrong with what they're doing," he said, smiling. "The last time I checked, the tournament isn't over yet."
"Y-you!" The shadow on the Duke's face grew several shades darker as the handles of his seat caved in. Nathan's words were true—the tournament wasn't over yet, so Nathan couldn't interfere even if he wanted to.
Perhaps the only ones enjoying this show were the Armstrong siblings...they were laughing so hard that even the citizens close to them couldn't help but look at them in confusion, wondering why they were deriving pleasure from their youngest sibling's pain.
Back inside the mysterious realm, Nox stepped forward and placed a hand on Nyx's shoulder. "It's enough," he said.
She huffed for a couple of minutes, fury still visible in her eyes. But after glancing at her handiwork, a satisfied gleam appeared in her eyes, and she stepped back.
"It hurts, right?" Nox whispered. Hendrix glared at him, wanting to say something but couldn't due to the searing pain ravaging his insides. Though he didn't speak, his eyes alone seemed to scream murder.
"Well, we'll continue this session in the outside world, where you'll die for real. For now, die!" Nox declared as his dagger flashed in the air and severed Hendrix's neck. A fountain of blood shot out, creating a bloody arc in midair. However, before it could hit the ground, Hendrix's head and body turned into white particles.
Nox watched the remnants of the beautiful white particles drift away, a smile on his handsome face. Moments of silence followed. The heavy downpour of rain had subsided; what was left was a soft, misty drizzle that gently coated the surroundings.
"Did we really win?" Rab's voice, filled with incredulity, shattered the silence. He couldn't believe his eyes...he couldn't believe the unbeatable Hendrix was actually defeated just like that. He pinched himself, but the pain was very real, which meant he hadn't been daydreaming.
"Hahaha, we won, alright! You don't have to pinch yourself. I'd be annoyed if all this were a dream, trust me," Nox said as he patted Rab on the shoulder.
"Yeah, that would be messed up." Wendy thought about it as well and nodded.
"Hahaha, I finally avenged Grandma Percy along with everyone who got hurt that day!" Cole flicked a tear from his face as he muttered under his breath for a moment, "I thought we wouldn't pull it off...all that training was worth it!"
"I knew we would win." As usual, Nyx maintained her composure and didn't shed tears of joy like Rab and Cole, though the corners of her lips twitched a couple of times. And when no one was looking, a beautiful smile spread across her face.
Nox suddenly heard a series of angry voices screaming in his mind. A wary smile appeared on his face; he knew Thirteen and Fluffington were itching to fight after becoming elemental beasts. Clearing his throat, he telepathically communicated with them.
'I'm sorry, guys, but I needed to do this one on my own to prove a point...but next time, I promise we'll fight together.'
It took a lot of convincing, but Nox was finally able to calm his pets. And as he did, their bodies slowly started to turn into white particles.
...it was time for them to return to the outside world.