两男一女的双龙挺进

"Why isn\'t he doing anything?" someone spoke out loud, seeing this bizarre scene. It was common knowledge that when death came, one should run—so why was the opposite happening?

"It\'s not like he doesn\'t want to move," one man said, a grim shadow crossing his features. He was from the same town as Leon and his team. The man added in a heavy tone, "It\'s more like he can\'t move."

"Damn, isn\'t Leon Level 21?" another shouted with wide eyes. "What sort of skill did he use? No, what level is Hendrix?!"

A wave of unease spread through the audience—no, among the other towns that were up against the Armstrong Duchy. Their faces darkened as they imagined the grim fate that awaited their youngsters in the hands of this monster.

At the judging tables, Zarek leaned forward. "This kid... he is a monster," the mysterious silver-haired man whispered to himself in a low voice but loud enough for Bridget, who was beside him, to hear.

This man hadn\'t shown much interest until now. Even the curiosity he displayed during Nox\'s overwhelming performance seemed mild compared to this. Like the others, Bridget didn\'t know much about him. She had only seen him a couple of times around Lucas Silver.

Because of his mysterious demeanor, she—like the other powerhouses—had tried to dig into his past, but it was a clean slate, as if he hadn\'t existed before. In the end, she had ceased further investigation.

Though she hadn\'t fought him before, she could sense that he was concealing his aura. Despite this, Bridget strongly doubted whether she could beat him in battle.

"Good thing he\'s coming to my academy," Bridget smiled, her eyes shining like those of a greedy dragon obsessed with hoarding treasures.

A trace of anxiety flashed across Lord Landon\'s eyes as he witnessed the scene. Initially, he had thought that Nox and Hendrix were just overhyped, especially after witnessing how his son, Jared, had completely dominated the other team. His suspicions seemed further confirmed then.

However, after watching Nox single-handedly eliminate three teams at once, he grew sweaty and restless. Perhaps Nox had merely been lucky, he thought.

But after witnessing Hendrix survive the collective attack of Leon\'s team and stun everyone, every lingering doubt vanished from his mind.

Cold shivers ran down Landon\'s spine as he thought, "Damn... the hype was real…"

How was Jared supposed to fare against these monsters? The thought loomed over his head like a dark storm cloud.

---

Back inside the mysterious realm.

"W-what did you do to me?" Leon stammered. He willed every muscle in his body to move, but they refused to budge. It was as if he was paralyzed while standing. From the corner of his eye, he could see even his teammates in the same situation, all of them struggling to move—but it was a futile attempt.

"Nothing much," Hendrix stated coolly. "You\'re all just under one of the weakest skills in my arsenal."

Gasp! Gasp!

His weakest skill?! Leon\'s eyes went bloodshot, and the same reaction showed on his teammates\' faces. Even the audience outside looked stunned, shock written across their faces.

"Hahahaha!" Duke Felix\'s laughter rang out, like a haunting reminder of the grim fate awaiting those trapped inside with Hendrix. Their youngsters were locked in there with a monster... an abomination!

"This pressure! It\'s the first time I\'m witnessing something like this from a kid!" Klein was literally trembling in his booth. He couldn\'t believe what he was witnessing. "All the hype... it\'s worth it!"

"Before you threw your first punch, you had already lost," Hendrix stated as he placed his hand on Leon\'s head. A strange purple glow erupted from his fingertips, and the next moment—

Under the stunned gazes of everyone, Leon\'s head exploded, sending fragments raining across the area.

Then, Hendrix moved to the next person.

"Monsters, stay away from me!" the person shouted, mustering all the strength in his jaw. If it were possible, they would have piled their bodies together to block Hendrix. There was something chilling about witnessing a comrade die gruesomely, knowing you were next in line.

Hendrix took slow, deliberate steps, as if savoring every moment of his victim\'s fear. Beneath his mask, a smirk crept across his face as he said, "Scream more, please."

"H-he\'s sadistic! A psychopath!"

"No wonder his siblings didn\'t lend a hand," one man pointed out, realization dawning in his eyes. "They knew he was more than enough to handle the threat alone."

"I don\'t care about the tournament. All I want is for my son to get out of there!"

"Silly, they won\'t really die," a chilling voice interrupted.

"B-but the trauma... I know it isn\'t real, but the trauma will definitely affect them."

"Well, it\'s not our decision... we can only watch."

---

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

One after another, Hendrix placed his hand on the heads of the others, and the same gruesome fate that befell Leon repeated itself. At this point, most of the audience turned away, unable to watch. Though the scene wasn\'t real, it was too visceral. The calm, composed gestures meant one thing—

Hendrix was capable of replicating this in real life. People sighed in relief, thankful for the existence of the mysterious realm. Without it, the massacre would have unfolded here and now, in front of everyone.

---

One by one, Leon and his teammates materialized on the fighting platform. Their faces were pale, as if drained of blood, and their eyes were wide, as if they\'d seen a ghost. The crowd didn\'t boo; they just watched silently as Leon and his teammates made their way off the stage.

Even though they were powerful Awakened, at the end of the day, they were still children who had yet to experience real life-and-death situations.

Back inside the mysterious realm, Hendrix soon sensed series of familiar presence behind him.