612 The Final Trial [Part 6]
Derek had noticed Zion's unusual behavior and suddenly had an idea.
Earlier, Thirteen only patted Sherry's head instead of attacking her, and now, he left Shana alone without injuring her body. He also remembered that the teenage boy didn't hurt Diana during their exchange earlier. This only led to one conclusion.
"He doesn't attack girls!" Derek shouted. "If all the girls attack together, we can win this!"
Stella, Siri, and Mildred all looked at Derek in disdain.
The three of them were girls, and Zion didn't show them any mercy.
'Are we a joke to you?'
Those were their thoughts as they cursed the stupid swordsman internally.
But, the longer the battle transpired, the more Derek realized something else.
'I-Is he training us?!' Derek thought as he observed the teenage boy attack the Wanderers, as if telling them the vulnerability of their fighting style through his relentless attacks.
And just like earlier, Thirteen ignored attacking Shana, Diana, and Sherry, and focused on the rest.
"Erica! Attack Zion directly!" Derek shouted. "He is close to you, right?! Maybe you're the only one who can defeat him!"
Erica, who had also noticed Thirteen's unusual acts of kindness, decided to give it a try.
She descended from the sky, and charged at Thirteen like a flying comet.
"Ziooon!" Erica shouted. "You're dead meaaaaaaaaaaat!"
With a hate-filled roar, Erica punched forward, with her body coated by flames.
Thirteen, who had just kicked a Wanderer to the side, raised his hand and covered it in flames.
Time seemed to have come to a complete stop as Thirteen met Erica's gaze.
A second later, a resounding slap spread in the arena, making Derek, who saw it, cover his mouth as his body shuddered uncontrollably.
Everyone watched with bated breath as she stood a meter away from the boy, who turned around to look at her with an indifferent look on his face.
Taking a deep breath, Sherry raised her hand to reach out to the teenage boy, making almost everyone stop breathing.
They thought that Zion would attack her, just like how he attacked the others earlier.
But the thing that they were expecting to see didn't happen.
Sherry had wrapped her arms around Thirteen's body, hugging him tightly. She then buried her head on his chest, with her body trembling as if she was afraid that she would get hurt.
When the teenage boy suddenly raised his hand, everyone thought that the pitiful girl would be knocked unconscious with a strike on her head.
But similar to what happened earlier, Thirteen simply patted her head, as if he was telling her that everything would be fine.
Suddenly, Sherry's body glowed faintly, catching everyone by surprise.
A moment later, she transformed into particles of light, shooting towards the heavens.
[One Challenger has passed the test!]
Silence descended inside the Coliseum for a few minutes before an uproar spread like wildfire.
They didn't understand what just happened, but Sherry had cleared the trial after hugging Thirteen.
Derek, who was always fast on the uptake, hurriedly walked toward his Master with his arms raised in surrender and a smile plastered on his face.
"Master, I surrender," Derek said as he approached Thirteen.
Similar to what happened earlier, the teenage boy didn't attack the swordsman and allowed him to get closer.
When Derek was only one meter away from Zion, he reached out his hands in order to hug the latter.
However, a second later, a resounding slap reverberated in the surroundings, as Thirteen slapped Derek, making the latter collapse unconscious on the ground.
As if that wasn't enough, Thirteen casually kicked the fallen boy's bum, sending him to the side of the arena, making everyone offer a silent prayer to the swordsman, who was suffering from Thirteen's discrimination.