CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 267- TARGET

"What just happened?" Ruby frowned, trailing after Ariana. Both of them had noticed Adrian’s strange behavior.

She stayed back at a safe distance, ready to jump in if needed—but in the end, her help was never unneeded. The trio walked back to the stands together.

"Adrian... he was making you an offer, wasn’t he? What did he say?" Ariana asked. She had caught a glimpse of their exchange—something about pills. That was enough for her to piece together the situation.

Adrian let out a heavy sigh. "He offered to tell me everything about the ambush. Their plans... and who they’re aiming for."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "And what did he want in return?"

Adrian gave a half-hearted shrug. "Just... a minute alone with me in solitary—"

"You didn’t accept it, right?" Ruby cut him off sharply.

"He’s not that reckless, Ruby." Ariana answered before Adrian could.

"..."

Adrian blinked. He hadn’t expected Ariana to dismiss the deal so quickly, to call it foolish without even a second thought.

’If I tell them I almost swallowed the red pill... I’ll get scolded for sure.’

[And rightfully so.]

The System silently passed the comment.

Adrian frowned. ’You never tell me anything about my origin... so what choice do I have but to deal with shady people?’

Silence. No response. It felt like the System was simply displeased with him.

Adrian sighed—when suddenly,

"Huh?"

"What the—?"

"What happened to the screen?"

"What is this disturbance?"

The trio’s heads snapped toward the massive floating screen. In an instant, the mood in the stands soured.

Every single screen had gone blank.

Moments later, the announcer’s voice boomed across the arena, shaky but composed.

"Please calm down. Our experts are looking into the problem. For the safety of the students, a few referees will now be entering the arena."

Adrian clenched his fists. "It’s starting already...?"

Barely half an hour had passed since the contest began, and yet it was clear—the enemy had moved.

Ariana’s sharp eyes scanned the stands, searching for the wolves in sheep’s clothing who might bare their fangs at any moment.

"The referees are strong. At the very least, they can push the students to safety," Ruby muttered, watching the referees file in from every corner of the arena.

But Adrian’s gut twisted. Something’s wrong...

The Acolytes would never allow interference—not when they were preparing to corner Elana.

"Then... that means, the dome—"

But it was already too late.

HISSSSSS!

The instant the referees neared the dome, a second pyramid-shaped barrier snapped into existence. Their bodies were vaporized in a flash.

"WHAAA!"

"T-They... shit! What is happening?!"

"Are we under attack?!"

Screams tore through the stands as several referees melted into nothing more than bloody puddles, the scent of iron thick in the air.

And then—

"I suggest all of you remain calm."

The voice wasn’t the commentator’s. It rang cold and steady across the venue.

"The arena is under our control from this moment on. The entire venue is surrounded by another barrier. Anyone who tries to escape will meet the same fate as those instructors."

The words fell like a death sentence. There was no denying it now—they were all hostages.

Panic rippled through the crowd. Anxiety clung to the air, heavy and suffocating, as people turned in every direction searching for a way out that no longer existed.

Soldiers moved swiftly, surrounding nobles and other important figures.

Several officials left their seats at once, desperately trying to track down the source of the voice.

Ariana’s gaze snapped to Adrian. "Is he the same barrier specialist who trapped the instructors back at the academy?"

Adrian’s jaw tightened. He nodded. "I’m almost certain. Bishop is the only one capable of weaving a barrier this wide... this precise... and this lethal."

He paused, his voice dropping. "If that’s true—then he mustn’t be here in person."

*TING*

Ruby’s senses alerted her as she instinctively pushed Adrian away.

"Ah!" Adrian nearly fell on the ground when he heard it,

*SQUELCH*

He hurriedly turned his head and his eyes widened in shock.

"Ruby!" Ariana cried as a blade pierced through her stomach.

A man, grinning ear to ear, materialized before them, "Hunting the rank fourth? Now that’s a good hunt."

Ruby grinned, "You think so?"

The man’s eyes widened as he saw her hands moving but they were too fast for him to trace.

"KHUK!" Something pierced his skull from both sides, causing his eyes to roll back.

Ruby sighed as she held the man by his collar before he could have fallen.

She first removed his hand from the sword handle and then pushed him away.

Adrian appeared before her before saying, "I will heal you right away,"

Ruby’s face was turning pale but the smile never disappeared, "I know you will."

Just then, Ariana called out, "Adrian!"

Without turning to look at her, Adrian pulled her armament from the Time Chamber and threw it at her.

Ariana lunged toward the incoming ambushers, catching the armament mid-flight before she swung the staff and smashed the metal orb on the Acolyte in the front.

The Acolyte couldn’t protect himself using the barrier as the mace struck him onto his skull and an ugly cracking sound reverberated.

*Thud*

Ariana grinned as she pulled the mace back to the staff and looked at the other goons.

"Now this contest is finally getting interesting."

Meanwhile, Adrian slowly pulled the sword out of her stomach and before she could have bled, he shot a bullet at her of the Light attribute.

A warm sensation filled her as the gaping wound slowly got healed.

Ruby rested her hand on Adrian’s shoulder for support as she said, "The others have started to show up."

Adrian had also noticed. The impostors had begun to attack the innocent people.

The Tower members and soldiers were fighting them but it appears one-fifth of the audience was from the other side.

’This is turning messy real quick...’ Adrian finished patching her up before asking Elana,

"What is the situation, Elana?" He had built an artifact for her which was similar to a short distance walkie.

Not so long after, he heard her response,

[I have come across a few Acolytes but they weren’t that strong. We have managed to eliminate them. I have united with Aries and Altia is with me.]

Adrian frowned...this was strange.

But then he told her, "Don’t try to come out of the arena, it is surrounded by a barrier. Just stay hidden after you have gathered the team."

[Understood, sir.]

"What happened?" Ruby asked, seeing his brows drawn closer.

"Something is wrong...Elana isn’t the target, I feel. Altia and Aries is with her...then who are they going to-" his eyes suddenly widened as he whipped his head toward a specific direction.

In the Runebound stands...there should be a certain girl seated.

But she wasn’t.

"Sylvie...they took her."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.