Chapter 54 - Prelude to the Workshop Battle (2)

Hearing Novick confirm that they have killed Horyang, Viole was enraged. He rushed towards him and set a punch his way, but Novick was easily able to block.

However, that was only a faint as Viole formed three Baangs in an instant and shot them towards him, sending Novick flying back a few meters.

At that moment, Ran appeared above Viole and shot a blast of lightning, but that attack was blocked by a barrier created from a red Lighthouse. The barrier reflected the attack back, but Ran dodge it and landed next to Novick.

"Damn, a Wave Controller?" Ran cursed out.

"A Light Bearer and a Wave Controller. That's a great combination." Novick commented while biting his finger. A Light Bearer plus a Wave Controller was considered the strongest combination for a two-man team. A skilled Light Bearer can increase both the attacking power and defensive capabilities of the Wave Controller.

"There are very few E-Rank Regulars that could control three Baangs. This guy might be as strong as Quaetro." Novick stated.

"Annoying, a guy with the strength of that crazy guy, but that's something that we should be able to handle." Ran replied with confidence. "Let's break the Lighthouse first."

"Ok!" Novick agreed with him and equipped two of his spinning blades. He threw them at Viole and the Lighthouse, but they were nothing but a distraction. Ran appeared above him and had already formed a spear made of lightning.

"Time to lose the annoying boxes!" Ran stated right before sending his attack. However, Viole formed two more Baangs of Shinsoo, making them a total of five. He blocked the lightning spear, the two spinning blades, and shot Ran and Novick at the same time.

"Five Baangs at once? Is he on the same level as the masked Regular?" Novick asked in surprise. The masked Regular was a monster above all other E-Rank Regulars, but now a second monster had appeared.

"I don't know, but he is definitely weaker than him. The masked Regular would have killed us by now." Ran replied as he stood up. Lumen had taken all of his attacks straight on as if they were nothing. This guy was actually defending from his attacks, so Ran was sure that he is weaker.

"But he is still a monster. Only a handful of E-Rank Regular could control more than three Baangs, and they are mostly on the same team. Where did this guy come from?" Ran mused, and Novick nodded in agreement.

"Ran, how much more gas do you have?" Novick asked him, knowing that Ran uses a lot of energy with his attacks.

"Still fine. I trained myself for the past three years to reach the masked Regular's level. I'm not losing again. One shot is all I need." Ran replied confidently.

"Good. I will block his movements, you throw the spears." Red Shinsoo formed around Novick's fists as he dashed towards Viole. Like Ran, he had also gone through hellish training. He didn't want to be left behind by what he considered his rival.

Seeing Novick rushing towards him, Viole shot him with two of his Baangs. However, Novick took them head-on and continued moving towards him. As a branch member of the Ha Family, his body strength and Shinsoo resistance were very high.

Novick reached Viole, and with his Shinsoo covered fist, sent an uppercut-like strike towards him. His strike caused a red shield in the form of a circle to appear and push Viole into the air. "Crimson Soul Fist - Crimson Bell Shock Seal."

At that moment, Ran had already formed his Redan and ate it. He created four lightning Baangs of Shinsoo and merged them into one, creating a gigantic sword of lightning. The attack possesses extreme piercing abilities and is composed of such an incredible amount of Shinsoo that it can bypass defenses that are usually immune to electrical attacks. With all his might, Ran threw the sword of lightning towards Viole, who was in midair. "Grand Espada de la Luz!"

Viole felt threatened by Ran's attack. Even with his incredible Shinsoo resistance, he didn't dare take it on. Three Lighthouses that formed a triangle appeared in front of him, and using them as an augmenter for his Shinsoo control, he created a barrier and applied Reverse-Flow control onto the sword of lightning.

Despite all of that, the attack managed to pierce through the barrier and hit him. However, it was already weakened so much by then that Viole bȧrėly felt it with his high Shinsoo resistance.

Both Novick and Ran were astonished at that feat. Before they could realize what's happened, Viole had already dropped on the ground. Five Baangs of Shinsoo were sent in their direction, and the two were blasted into the wall.

"Damn, I lost again!" Ran cursed out as he laid amidst the rubble. He had vowed not to lose to anyone after his crushing defeat to the masked Regular, but he had lost once again.

"Why did you kill him?" Viole asked them while slowly making his way towards the two.

"Mr. Horyang had a place to return to. He had people waiting for him. Now he can't meet them again because of you! Why did you kill him? Why?" Viole yelled at them in anger. Horyang was his friend, and now he had died. He wanted to kill them, but he also wanted to know why did they kill Horyang.

"I'm sorry to say this now... We did fight against him, but we didn't kill him." Novick replied while laying amidst the rubble like Ran.

"It wasn't us, it was him." Novick pointed to where Ran had buried Casano. "The other Devil's Right Arm, whose behind the fallen wall. He killed that guy. You'll see if you can get under the rubble."

"He's lying!" Xia Xia screamed, and Viole turned towards her. "I saw it! Those two killed that man! He's lying to buy more time for them to recover! Don't trust them! So before they attack, you should kill them."

At that moment, Agnis had just arrived and entered the Hand of Arlene. Seeing his two teammates laying in the rubble, he screamed at them. "Novick! Ran!"

Viole was stunned, seeing Agnis. For the past six years and more, he had dearly wished to see his friends. However, he never dared to, as FUG had said they would kill them should he make contact with them.

FUG had told him that they have sent a man to monitor his teammates. They have shown him footage of that man fighting against Rankers, and Viole didn't think that even he would be able to defeat him. The masked man was a monster that could kill his teammates in a instant.

Agnis was rushing towards his fallen teammates when Xia Xia stepped up. "Wait!"

She held a small device in the form of a stick with a buŧŧon on top of it. "Don't take another step, or everyone will die here! I've installed a bomb in the Hand of Arlene. If I press the buŧŧon, the hand will blow up, and we will all die. So don't move unless you want to die."

"Wait!" Viole called out to her. "What are you..." Before he could finish, he received a message on her Lighthouse. [If you don't stay still, everyone here will die. Slayer Candidate Jyu Viole Grace^^]

Viole instantly realized that Xia Xia is a part of FUG. Only members of that organization were aware of him being a Slayer Candidate. FUG had made sure to keep all information about him a secret.

"Casano, come out!" Xia Xia called out, and Viole saw someone coming out of the rubble that Novick had pointed to. The brown-haired Devils Right Arm slowly stood up while carrying Horyang on his shoulder.

Viole then received another message from Xia Xia. [If you follow us, I will let that man live. If you don't, you will lose two of your precious friends. What will you do?]

"Damn it! Who are you guys? Why are you doing this? Who is your target?" Agnis questioned her, trying to buy some time while he figures out a way to escape with his teammates.

"We are ordinary Regulars who live in the tent village, but not this man." Xia Xia replied and pointed towards Viole. "His name is Jyu Viole Grace, and he is going to be the newest FUG Slayer in the near future!"

They were all astonished hearing that. FUG had a Slayer Candidate that's still a Regular? This news would shock the entire Tower, if the residents learn of it.

"A while ago, an anonymous man came to me and said that man who will become our God will visit this place, and if I helped him, I will receive wealth and honor."

"So I asked what should I do, and he said that the God wanted to eliminate the Regular who would become his enemies in the future. He wanted me to kill the outstanding E-Rank Regulars."

"Yes, he came here to kill you himself, Khun Aguero Agnis!" Xia Xia declared while pointing at Agnis.

"That's why we sent a spy to your team, and we succeeded in bringing you here! This trap was to catch you from the beginning, !" Xia Xia proudly stated.

Agnis was staring at her in disbelief, unable to comprehend how FUG had sneaked in a spy in his team.

"That's right, Khun's son." Viole played along with her plan since he couldn't risk it.

"I tried to kill you, that's why I laid this plan and waited for you. But my mind has changed as I've watched you despair. I'll be the embodiment of your fear. I think It'll also be nice to see you run away in fear. I will be merciful this time and let you go for my amusement." Viole tried his best to give Agnis a chance to run away.

"Run away, Khun Aguero Agnis and never dare to meet me again." Viole turned around, prepared to leave this place.

"Hey, Slayer Candidate!" Agnis called out to him. "I don't know where you are from, but you should practice more to be an evil king. Your evil act is like right out of a lame novel. You really sound like you're reading a line."

"What was that? It's so awkward and lame... You are trying to let me go on purpose, aren't you? Why? Just be straight forward about it." Agnis confidently told him while trying to buy time for his teammates to recover.

Viole didn't turn back and replied to him. "I said it all."

At that moment, Ran shot a bolt of small lightning that hit the device in Xia Xia's hand.

"You should be more careful," Novick stated as he was just about to grab the device.

Sadly, his plan failed due to Viole. With the ȧssistance of the three Lighthouses, he used Reverse-Flow control and froze him in place, and Xia Xia was able to get back the device.

"Let's go. I will go with you." Viole calmly told her. "But if you play around with my friend's life again like this... I'll kill you all."

Unfortunately, Xia Xia interpreted his words the way she wanted to.

"My lord, Jye Viole Grace, said that he wanted to be nice and let you go, but you've ruined it with your own hands! He is furious now and he shall give you death! Apologize with your death, stupid fellows." Xia Xia said with a maniacal smile and pressed the buŧŧon on the device while turning towards Viole. "I felt it, you are my God from now on."

"Damn it, what is this crazy girl doing?!?" Ran and Novick screamed out.

"A new Slayer is being born! Rejoice this moment with pain in this fiery hell!" Xia Xia stated as a massive explosion enveloped the Hand of Arelene.

"No, Mr. Khun! Run away, Mr. Khun!! It's a trap!" Agnis was bȧrėly able to hear Viole scream at the end which momentarily froze him. There was only one person that called him Mr. Khun and that was Bam, but the boy had died on the 2nd Floor. What is happening?

At that moment, a special stone golem that was designed to withstand this explosion covered up Xia Xia, Viole, Ran, and Novick. The golem ascended into the air and left the Hand of Arlene.

"Phew, it seems that we are alive," Novick commented and turned towards Ran. "Hey, are you alive?"

"Yeah," Ran responded from the ground, unable to stand up. He was exhausted after eating the Redan and using the Grand Espada de la Luz.

"And Khun? Was he left in the rubble?" Wondered Novick.

"Oh, my! I wasn't expecting you to tag along." Xia Xia exclaimed with Casano standing next to her.

"You?! Why are you doing all of this?" Novick asked her.

"It's to show off. It's not easy to become a symbol of terror and worship. I'm making the story of the birth of the new Slayer. How will the people react when they learn that he destroyed Arlene's Hand to kill a son of a Great Family? I think most will think it's how a Slayer Candidate should be, rather than blame him." Xia Xia proudly declared.

"Actually, this is just the beginning. Now we will make the best team and join the Workshop Battle to eliminate all the E-Rank Regulars. We'll build his legend! Everyone will know he's the strongest!" Xia Xia explained their plans.

FUG had given Viole an ultimatum. If he fails to win the Workshop Battle, they promised him that the masked Regular on Androssi's team will eliminate all of his friends.

"Pff. That's not even funny." Ran told her while laying on the ground. "Should you participate in the Workshop Battle, all of you will die."

"I will tell you the same thing I told Agnis. This Workshop Battle already has a winner set in stone. Plus, that guy hates FUG, so he will make sure to annihilate you all." Ran was aware that despite his training, he was still weaker than Lumen.

"Androssi and the rest might be monsters, but he is the true…" Xia Xia was getting panicked hearing him. She couldn't allow Ran to reveal that the masked man was not on FUG's side.

"Casano, kill them!" Xia Xia ordered him, and he dashed in their direction.

Before Casano was able to reach them, Viole appeared in front of them and blocked him by creating a spherical dome of red Shinsoo.

'Woah, that's my Crimson Soul Fist – Seal. How did he manage to learn it?' Novick wondered.

[Stop it! I don't want to fight with Mr. Khun's teammates.] Viole told Novick and Ran through his Lighthouse, as he had left his Pocket in the Hand of Arlene.

[Ms. Xia Xia, I will join the Workshop Battle with you, but they are coming with us.] Viole told her.

"Um... But... The problem is..." Xia Xia was then interrupted by Viole.

[That's an order!] Viole commanded.

"Hmpf... Fine, I've got no choice." Xia Xia said and turned towards Ran and Novick. "Hey, you two. It's annoying, but I will put you on my team."

The two of them were about to disagree, but they received a message from Viole.

[Follow us. Or would you rather die here?] Afterward, he sent another message to Ran that was only visible to him.

[I'm not your enemy, trust me. Mr. Khun must be alive!]

Meanwhile, four of Viole's previous teammates had arrived at the now destroyed Hand of Arlene. They had followed the signal to Viole's Pocket and were searching for him and Horyang there.

"Viole!! Horyang!!" As much as they shouted, no one was responding back to them.

"Wagnan!" A beautiful black-haired woman with pink eyes called out. She was Yeon Yihwa a member of the Yeon Family.

"What's wrong flame thrower?" A blonde man asked her.

"Viole's pocket is right underneath this rock. What should we do?" Yihwa asked him.

"Obviously we break this rock to bits!" Wangnan replied and a small Weapon Inventory appeared in front of him. The Inventory contained only one type of weapon that greatly resembled a Pokeball.

"Wait! It's dangerous." Before Yihwa could even warn him, Wagnan had thrown the ball. It hit the rock and caused a small explosion. As the dust settled, they were able to see a blue-haired man covered by a white and blue cloth laying there. They brought him out the rubble but weren't able to locate Viole or Horyang.

They continued searching for a bit more but had no success. Dejectedly, they returned back to their residence on the 28th Floor with the injured man.

The next time Agnis opened his eyes, he heard two people arguing next to him.

"What's this? Why did you set fire on the acupuncture? You will kill him." Wangnan screamed at Yihwa.

"What should I do? Should I take it off?" Yihwa asked him in panic.

"How can you take it off? It's too hot! Bring water! Water, now!" Wagnan yelled.

"My fire won't go off with just water!" Yihwa argued back.

"What?! Why is it so useless, but strong?!" Wagnan shouted.

"Of course! I'm from the Yeon Family!" Yihwa stated.

"That wasn't a compliment." Before they could realize, Agnis had already extinguished the flame and grabbed the needle. With a swift motion, he placed it on Wangnan's neck, prepared to kill him.

"Who are you? Why are you taking care of me?" Agnis questioned with a threatening voice.

"That's something we want to ask you," Wagnan replied while trembling under the pressure of Agnis's gaze.

Twenty minutes later, Agnis was sitting in front of six Regulars.

"So, you are the teammates of Jye Viole Grace?" He questioned them in disbelief. All six of them were so weak, he could easily kill them right now. He couldn't understand how they were teammates of a supposed Slayer Candidate.

"Yes, but… maybe not anymore." A small girl with brown hair replied.

"We followed Viole and went to Arlene's Hand. When we arrived there, the statue was already destroyed and you were there with Viole's Pocket. We couldn't find any traces of Viole or Horyang. What happened in there?" Wangnan questioned Agnis.

"I don't know yet..." Agnis replied.

"What?!" The six of them exclaimed.

"And where is Viole's Pocket?" Agnis asked them.

"Well, it's here." Wangnan pulled it out and threw it at him. Agnis activated it and saw that it's an A-Rank Pocket, and he knew only one Regular that had such a high rank one. He stood up and started walking out.

"Hey, where are you going?" Wagnan questioned him.

"I'm going to get back my team." Agnis calmly replied and continued walking. Before he exited, a tall white-haired man, known as Hon Akraptor, intercepted him. "We are going with you."

"I'm sorry but I think we should know about it as well. It's about my teammates' lives too." Akraptor stated.

Agnis studied him for a moment, before asking them. "Are you qualified to go to the 29th Floor?"

"Yes!" They responded in unison.

"Then follow me," Agnis replied.

Later they arrived on the 29th Floor at Agnis's personal bunker.

Agnis was leading the way, with Akraptor following behind him.

"Actually, I finished my research on you when you were blacked out, Khun Aguero Agnis. You are famous amongst the E-Rank Regulars. You must be an enemy of Viole, the Slayer Candidate, considering your background." Akraptor told him.

"Don't worry about your teammates, I saw them escape alive." Agnis calmly replied.

"Really?" Akraptor asked in surprise.

"Yes, what I have to worry about is here," Agnis stated as he entered the bunker.

"Gyetang! Michael! Dan!" He shouted his teammates' names, but no one responded back to him.

Meanwhile, Wangnan opened a door and saw a terrifying scene there. "Hey, come here! There's someone over here!" He screamed out.

Agnis rushed there only to see one of his teammates, laying dead on a bed, with another teammate laying on the ground while bleeding from his legs. On the wall above, FUG was written from their blood.

Agnis stared at the scene frozen in shock, while the rest of the people with him carried away the man that was bleeding from his legs. Apparently, he was still breathing, so they brought him to a hospital.

Later that day, Agnis was on the roof of the hospital that they brought the injured man. He was staring at Viole's Pocket, wondering if his speculation was correct.

"Jye Viole Grace is the 25th Bam." Agnis heard someone say that. He turned to the side to see a red-haired woman with a patch over her right eye looking at him with a smile.

"Hwa Ryun? How are you here? I remember you failed on the 2nd Floor. How can you be here?" Agnis asked in wonder.

"I can go anywhere because I'm a Guide. It was for my job that I took the Test as a Regular. I'm helping FUG at the moment." Hwa Ryun calmly replied to him.

"FUG? Is all this orchestrated by you?" Agnis questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, what you are thinking is true. FUG wanted the Irregular, 25th Bam, to make their wish come true, so they set it up as if he died on the 2nd Floor and change him as Jye Viole Grace, the Slayer Candidate. And the Guide who told him to go that way is me." Hwa Ryun explained to him. Hearing her, Agnis rushed out and sent a punch her way. However, his attack was blocked a staff that appeared in front of her.

"Where did you take Bam?" He asked her with a cold tone.

"I don't know." Hwa Ryun replied.

"What?!" Agnis exclaimed, not believing her.

"This is done by a few Elders of FUG and some Slayers. They are interested in the politics and powers inside FUG. They want to have Viole under their control. That's why they want to put Viole on a team they made." Hwa Ryun told him.

"What? So... That means you also got stabbed in the back?" Agnis questioned her.

"Correct. After the incident at the Hand of Alrene, FUG suggested to chose the winning team between their team and his original team. The victor at the Workshop Battle will be the final team for Viole. However, it's impossible for either team to win the Workshop Battle."

"What do you mean?" Agnis asked.

"There is a group of monsters that would be participating in this Workshop Battle. In fact, you should know most of them. Those guys are stronger than most D-Rank or even C-Rank Regulars. It's impossible for someone to beat them." Hwa Ryun stated confidently.

"The Witch of Zahard's team? I know they are strong, but are they that strong?" Agnis asked in astonishment.

"They are stronger than what you can imagine. There is someone on that team that could annihilate all the E-Rank Regular before they could even realize it. He used to be quite famous, but people believe that his light had ended." Hwa Ryun vaguely told him.

"Lights End?" Agnis realized what she is hinting at. "He's alive?"

"Correct. With a bit of help from him and his team, we could turn this Workshop Battle into one grand event, as long as we get in touch with them." Hwa Ryun said with a mischievous smile.

"However, we have to keep your survival a secret for a bit. You shouldn't contact them directly, as it's possible it could be traced back to you." Hwa Ryun explained.

"Then how do we get in touch with them?" Agnis asked her.

"Well, we can use something that FUG had created against them." Hwa Ryun pulled a device that resembled a smartphone.

"With Emily?" Agnis knew of the intelligent AI, but he didn't think they could use that.

"Correct. As long as you know what to write, you could share information with others very easily." Hwa Ryun told him with a smile.

*Edited by O'Brien*