1701 Release

Having just tanked a Shinsu attack that left his body emitting a substantial amount of steam, Rak exhaled a cloud of vapor in the form of a sigh. His red eyes began releasing an intense light, and, though he wanted nothing more than to just lay down and rest, he managed to stay upright, the muscles in his body straining like coiled springs as he glared at his attacker.

Though he was surprised that there was actually someone foolish enough to tank a Shinsu attack with their unprotected body, Laure wasn't the type to just wait around for his opponent to counter-attack. The moment he noticed Rak's gaze, he quickly jumped to this side, his feet hovering several centimeters from the ground as he began levitating at extreme speeds.

Rak knew he only had one shot to eliminate his enemy as another ball of Shinsu had already started to form in Laure's hand, this one more than a meter in diameter. Fortunately, it required both focus and time to gather Shinsu from the surroundings, so, before the man was able to fire a third volley, Rak released a thunderous roar loud enough to generate a shockwave. Then, demonstrating even more power than he had used against Vahn, a few bands of red electricity flashed across the body of his spear as he tossed it with an oppressive amount of momentum.

Despite taking preemptive measures to evade the attack, Laure instantly realized he would not be able to dodge Rak's desperate blow. Fortunately, he had already gathered an adequate amount of Shinsu, not to form a barrier, but to create a vortex-like wall with the hopes of redirecting the bolt-like spear away from him. He didn't have confidence in a static barrier so this was the best he could with less than a decisecond to respond.

Rewarding Laure's quick-thinking, Rak's spear deviated by a few degrees the moment it came into contact with the vortex. Though the spearhead managed to clip part of his blanket, that was a small price to pay considering it was initially targeting his abdomen. His blanket had the ability to repair itself, so, while it broke his heart to have his beloved wrapping damaged, Laure focused on the task at hand: defeating the person who had damaged his most precious treasure...

Before Laure could fire a fourth barrage, a stillness descended upon the battlefield as an explosion suddenly occurred along the periphery. Even Endorsi, who had been locked in a stalemate against the mask-wearing woman was caught by surprise, creating a gap for her opponent to land a hard strike against her diaphragm.

While cursing, "You exhibitionist bitch..." under her breath, Endorsi fell to her knees as the masked woman subsequently ignored her. She was far more focused on the events transpiring atop the throne, as, immediately following the sound of the explosion, Anak could be seen kicking Rak to the side before receiving a heavy blow from the six-meter tall demonic man on Rachel's team...

---

Due to her focus on Baam, Anak was momentarily caught off guard by the surprisingly swift attack, her instincts barely affording her the opportunity to lift the Green April as the cleaver came to bear upon her. The impact was so heavy that she felt like all her bones were creaking, and, though the platform containing the throne was more durable than the rest of the arena, two craters instantly appeared beneath the soles of her feet as she sunk several centimeters into the ground.

With blood visibly staining her teeth, Anak cursed, "You...damn...bastard...!" before summoning up a tremendous amount of strength within her tiny body. It wasn't enough to send the man flying, but it at least forced him back a few steps. During that brief interval, she attempted to forcibly seize the Black March from Baam's hands, determined to retrieve it at all costs.

Baam suddenly felt like a mouse trapped by a cat, but, rather than back down, he managed to point the Black March towards Anak by pure instinct. In response, the blade began to hum even louder as the color shifted from a deep onyx hue to progressively more vibrant gold. Though he hadn't asked it to, the Black March had taken the initiative to self-ignite, adamantly refusing to fall into the hands of another woman so soon after finding an attractive host.

Noticing the ignition even before Baam, Anak responded by attempting to ignite the Green April, but, as if to demonstrate that things could always get worse, her efforts were interrupted by a heavy leather briefcase striking the side of her head. Khun had originally intended to intervene in the fight between Endorsi and the masked-woman, trusting Rak to do everything in his power to protect the throne. The sudden eruption of Anak from her waiting room had taken him by surprise, but, using the opportunity created by the demonic man, he unhesitantly tossed his Manbarondenna with the intent to interrupt whatever the lizard was trying to do.

After her loss to Gandr, Anak wasn't in the best mental state so everything happening only caused her greater confusion and frustration. She especially hated getting hit in the face, so, the moment she recovered from the surprise hit, her pupils began glistening with a murderous light. Her original intent was only to seize the Black March, but, now that multiple people were standing in her way, a wrathful aura began to emanate from her body as she pointed the Green April towards the sky...

Sensing the danger radiating from Anak, Baam could feel his heart racing as the Black March grew ever brighter in his hands. His first instinct was to try and stop the fight but he didn't think the girl would listen to anyone in her current state. Thus, with his hands tightening on the Black March's handle, he muttered, "Please don't hurt her too much..." as he pointed the needle's tip directly at the incensed young lizard.

In response to Baam's utterance, a petite woman with long blonde hair, pointed ears, and golden eyes appeared behind him, gently embracing him as she whispered, "Don't worry, I'm just going to teach my sister a lesson..."

Immediately following her words, the tip of the Black March extended at a speed comparable to lightning piercing Anak through the chest and sending a tremendous amount of lightning into her body. At the same time, similar bands of lightning radiated from Baam's body, enveloping him in much the same way as the woman. This surprised even the Black March herself as, despite this only being the second time she had ignited on his behalf, it felt like her power had increased more than three times the original amount...

Surprised by the fact he had pierced Anak through the chest, Baam instinctually released the Black March from his grip, surprising the sentient needle and causing her to shout, "You idiot...!" before disappearing into motes of light. The aura that had previously been protecting him then ran out of control, quite literally shocking Baam as he released an ear-piercing scream and collapsed atop the throne.

As if to answer Baam's cry, Rachel, who had been skulking behind her personal bodyguard during the earlier stages of the fight, removed her hood and shouted, "Baam!" in a concerned tone. This caused the boy's eyes to immediately snap open, and, though he was in extreme pain due to the energy wracking his body, he still managed to zero in on the woman who had called out to him, his seizures stopping for a brief moment as he uttered, "R-Rachel..."

Just as it seemed like Baam was about to say more, the masked woman who had been locked in battle against Endorsi appeared, not near the throne, but behind Rachel. This caused Baam's eyes to widen even more, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes as he saw the woman he dedicated his everything to batted aside like a ragdoll. He could see blood pooling from her temple, and, though it was a significantly weaker blow than she had used against any others, the masked woman went out of her way to try and follow up with a second attack...

Though it felt like time had slowed to a crawl, Baam knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time to save Rachel. His was simply too slow, and, even if he could reach her side, he didn't possess enough power to defeat someone like the masked woman. He relied on the help of others and the power of items just to make it this far. Now, because of his weakness, he could do little more than cry out as the person he cared about most was harmed right in front of him...

Feeling an overwhelming amount of despair and helplessness descend upon him, Baam felt like his mind had completely shut down. In the deepest recesses of his subconscious, however, a powerful pulsation, similar to a single heartbeat, could be heard. This was immediately followed by a second powerful pulse, this one even stronger than before...

Unaware of his own actions, Baam managed to leap from the throne with enough force to shatter it into several pieces. His hair seemed to take on a luminous golden glow, and, though it wasn't nearly as flashy as the ignition of the Black March, wispy golden lightning crackled across his body with an intensity that caused the crown around his head to simply dissolve into nothingness.

In what seemed like a single instant to most, Baam appeared in between the masked woman and Rachel, his hand grasping the staff. Not only was its momentum completely arrested, but the area grasped almost immediately turned to particulates of light. Immediately after that, he backhanded the masked woman with enough force to completely shatter her mask, a golden band of lightning arcing from his fist to her right eye in the moments prior to her being sent crashing into the wall more than 250m away...

---

Upon witnessing Anak erupting from her waiting room, a sigh of profound exasperation escaped from Lero-Ro's mouth. He had expected something like this to happen the moment he noticed the weapon in Baam's possession was the Black March; he just didn't expect it to happen in the middle of the fourth round. He expected her to try and target Baam in the Residental Area, murdering him in the middle of the night or in-between Tests.

Had this been a normal test, Lero-Ro could have immediately failed Anak, stripping away her status as a Regular and forcing her to retire to the Middle Tower. There, she would be hunted down and killed by members of the Royal Enforcement Division, as, despite calling herself Anak Jahad, she was not a legitimate Princess. The real Anak had died long ago, the Green April disappearing before her death and remaining undiscovered until earlier this morning.

It wasn't difficult to imagine the circumstances behind the appearance of a second 'Anak Jahad', so it was only a matter of time before the Jahad Empire tried to bury her existence. This had absolutely nothing to do with Lero-Ro, however, as his loyalty lay with his position as a Test Admin. He was not a lapdog of the Jahad Empire, and, so long as he was a Test Admin, he was committed to following the rules established by the Guardians. With that in mind, he pulled up his terminal and was about to teleport into the arena, his finger pausing less than a centimeter from the button as he stared in awe at the scene playing out below...

---

Though he wasn't aware of what he had done, Baam's subconscious seemed to understand that he had completed his objective. The golden aura shrouding his body began to fade away, replaced by a startling amount of blood erupting from various parts of his body. Most of his muscles had been torn by pushing his body far beyond its limits, and, though his bones hadn't broken, quite a few of them had fractured from the strain. Most notably, however, was the injuries he had sustained to his bodily organs, his heart straining madly as blood began to slowly fill his lungs and skull.

With blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, Baam ended up collapsing atop Rachel's body. This created a rather gruesome sight, causing the blonde-haired woman to turn whiter than a ghost, but, rather than push him away, she actually embraced Bam's body, gently caressing his hair as she uttered, "Go to sleep...this is all just a bad dream..." before staring blankly at the ceiling...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Anak has gone berserk o_o...','The power of an Irregular protagonist...','It's all just a bad dream ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)...')

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