The moment Gena hit the ground...

The cheering that had risen from Nina and a few of the girls died instantly, like something had cut it off.

Silence spread across the arena, thick and uncomfortable, pressing down on everyone present.

"She went down so fast..."

Someone whispered from the seated candidates, their voice low, almost unsure if they should even speak.

"That guy’s control over his weapon and Cognis is impressive," Nickolas said, his hand resting under his chin as his eyes followed the boy’s stance carefully.

"It’s sad..." Linda added quietly, her gaze fixed on Gena’s body lying on the ground. "She’s facing someone with more Cognis than her. The difference is too clear."

While they spoke, the guard had already started walking toward the platform, his boots making steady sounds against the floor.

The boy with the hammer stood where he was, adjusting the glove on his right hand, then the scarf tied around his waist. His expression remained blank as he stared down at Gena, as if waiting for confirmation that the fight was already over.

"Hey, Ezra."

Veda’s voice came in a low whisper, meant for only one person to hear.

"You have my attention," Ezra replied without turning, his eyes still locked on Gena.

Veda looked at him for a moment before speaking again, his tone more serious now.

"I know you and Gena... there’s something going on between you two, so I’m asking..."

He paused.

"Is it really over like this?"

Ezra didn’t answer immediately while his gaze still didn’t shift either.

For a brief moment...

He just watched.

"No," he said flatly. "She hasn’t lost yet."

At that exact moment... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The guard bent slightly, reaching out as if to check her condition...

Gena’s fingers twitched, then they suddenly tightened.

"Argh..."

A weak sound escaped her lips. Her arm pressed against the ground with her body trembling as she began to push herself up slowly but unsteady.

My friend... gave her life so I could live.

Her thoughts were broken.

Ezra... took me in... taught me... Even if it was for his own reasons... I still learned a lot from him...

Her knees shook as she forced herself upright, her legs wobbled under her weight, barely holding her and blood ran down her face, dripping from her chin to the ground in uneven drops.

The cheek that took the hammer strike had swollen badly, the skin stretched and bruised. She spat to the side... A tooth fell out.

"You... stood up..."

The boy muttered, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief.

The guard watched her for a few seconds, then stepped back down.

The fight would continue.

"What do you think you’re doing, girl?!"

The boy shouted, his voice sharper now as he saw her stagger backward slightly.

Gena didn’t reply.

She breathed in, then out uneven. Her head lowered facing the ground while her mind drifted again.

***

"Gena."

Ezra called her name while sitting down with his legs folded, his posture relaxed as if the harsh training he had just put her through meant nothing to him.

Gena lay flat on the ground.

Her chest rose and fell unevenly, her breathing rough and shallow as sweat soaked through her clothes. Her arms felt heavy, her fingers barely able to move, and even lifting her head felt like dragging something tied down by weight.

She forced herself anyway.

Her neck trembled as she turned slightly, her eyes struggling to focus on him.

"Do you know what you need... when fighting an opponent stronger than you?" he asked.

His voice was calm.

Gena frowned weakly.

Her mind tried to work, but everything felt slow, like her thoughts were sinking into mud. She searched for an answer, something that would make sense, something that would sound right.

But nothing clear came.

"A... good gun?"

She said it hesitantly, her voice dry and unsure as she looked at him, waiting to see if she got it right.

Ezra stared at her expressionless.

"Is that the best you could think of?"

He stood up slowly, dusted his clothes with a few light taps, as if the entire training session had not affected him in the slightest.

Gena’s brows twitched slightly.

She didn’t know if she was wrong... or just not good enough to answer properly.

"Think about it," he said.

His back was already turned to her.

"The answer will help you find your true strength."

And just like that he started walking away with no explanation or correction or hint.

He didn’t even wait to see her reaction.

"Huh...?"

Gena stared at his back.

Her eyes followed him as he walked farther and farther, his figure becoming smaller, then slightly blurred by her tired vision.

"...Why does he always say things like it’s some kind of riddle..."

She puffed her cheeks weakly, a small trace of frustration showing through her exhaustion.

She tried to push herself up.

Her hands pressed against the ground, arms shaking violently.

Her body didn’t move.

Not even a little.

She dropped back flat.

"Argh..."

A weak sound escaped her as she stared up at the sky, her body completely refusing to listen to her.

"...I’ll be here for a while..."

She muttered, frowning slightly, though even that expression didn’t last long as her eyes slowly lost focus again.

***

Gena let out a faint laugh which wasn’t loud nor wasn’t joyful.

It sounded tired... and a little broken.

"The answer... is so obvious, Gena..."

She muttered to herself in third person, her lips trembling slightly as she spoke, as if she was trying to convince herself more than anything else, then she slowly raised her head.

Her eyes locked onto the boy.

"Is this a funny situation?" the boy asked, his gaze sharpening as he stared at her more seriously now.

"I commend your will to stand and keep fighting, but... as you can clearly see..."

He loosened his grip and let the hammer drop slightly, the weight settling against the ground before he raised both his hands in a small, open gesture.

"I’m stronger than you."

His voice was calm and firm.

"And if you continue this fight... you will get yourself killed."

He paused for a second.

"And I don’t want that. Not especially with the rules we’re under."

His brows lowered slightly, genuine concern appearing on his face.

"So please... forfeit." Then his voice rose. "You don’t have anything to lose!"

"OF COURSE, I DO!"

Gena’s voice exploded outward.

Her arms swung slightly as she shouted, her entire body shaking, her eyes bloodshot and filled with something deeper than anger.

"My best friend gave her life so I could survive!"

Her voice cracked, but she didn’t stop.

"I’ve been saved again and again... and I was even taught how to grow from my pathetic self..."

Her breathing grew heavier.

"...to leave behind the cowardness I hate so much!"

Her words came out fast, almost tripping over each other as everything she had been holding in poured out at once.

"I know a boy... who stood alone against a whole group and still defeated them without even breaking a sweat!"

Her fist tightened, her nails digging into her palm.

"I know a girl... who fought monsters that were at the level of Binder rank alchemists... even stronger than that... and she still stood on top!"

Her voice dropped slightly.

"They’re amazing... really amazing people..."

Her teeth clenched.

"...yet..." Her shoulders trembled. "I can’t even compare to them..."

Her head lowered for a split second...

Then snapped back up.

"But I want to!"

Her voice rose again, louder, sharper.

"I want to be like them! I want to be someone who doesn’t run from death! I want to be someone others can trust... someone who can stand as their support!"

Her mind flashed...

Mina, the gun, the sound of gun fire, the fall of Mina’s body.

Her body trembled harder.

"I WANT TO DO MY BEST!!!"

Her scream echoed through the arena.

Tears streamed down her face without control, but her gaze remained locked onto the boy, steady and burning with intent.

The air in the arena tightened, even the spectators felt it.

The boy stared at her.

At her face.

Swollen, bloodied, barely holding together.

She can barely stand... So how is she still awake after taking that hit?

He exhaled slowly, then his grip on the hammer tightened.

"I’m sorry," he said.

Cognis surged through his body, the air around him shifting slightly.

"I underestimated you."

His stance lowered.

"This time... I’ll face you properly."

Gena stared back at him, her eyes flickered once, then steadied.

She raised her arms slowly and took her stance.

Her breathing became controlled.

The pain in her body screamed louder than before, spreading through her limbs and chest, but she forced it down, pushing Cognis through her body to keep herself from collapsing.

"Don’t die," the boy said, his tone deeper now.

"I won’t," Gena replied.

He moved first with swift speed.

The air split as his hammer swung toward her face.

Gena’s eyes followed it fast.

The view of the hammer was already close.

She bent down at the last second.

The hammer passed just above her head.

Before she could recover...

He spun it.

The handle rolled smoothly in his grip like a staff, and the head of the hammer came around toward her stomach in one continuous motion.

She jumped back.

Barely avoiding the strike... But her footing slipped.

She stumbled and dropped to the ground.

The boy didn’t hesitate, the moment she touched down his hand moved to his space bag.

Three daggers flew out, moving fast in the air.

Gena reacted immediately.

She rolled backward, her body flipping into a rough back motion, the daggers stabbing into the exact spot she had just been sitting.

As she completed the motion, her hand moved into her space bag taking out another revolver.

She pulled it out mid-movement.

Her feet hit the ground, she raised the gun and aimed, but...

He was gone.

Her eyes widened, then instantly shifted upward sensing danger.

The boy was already in the air.

His body dropped down toward her, both hands gripping the hammer as he brought it down with force.

Gena stepped back quickly.

Boom!

The hammer struck the ground with a heavy sound, the impact shaking the floor beneath her feet.

Bang! Bang!

She fired instantly.

The boy moved.

The hammer spun again in his hands, light and controlled as if it had no weight at all.

Clang! Clang!

The bullets were deflected.

Before she could adjust again...

He was already in front of her again in close range.

The hammer came swinging again in one smooth, continuous motion.

The fight did not slow down in any way.

Gena stepped back again and again, her feet scraping against the ground as she barely avoided each heavy swing of the boy’s hammer. Every movement was late by just a fraction, every dodge tighter than the last, her body reacting more on instinct than control.

She raised her gun and fired.

Bang! Bang!

But...

Clang! Clang!

The hammer spun in his hands, blocking her shots cleanly, the metal ringing sharply as each bullet was deflected away.

The gap was clear and everyone could see it.

The arena fell into a tense silence, broken only by the sounds of impact, movement, and uneven breathing.

Nina stood up without realizing it.

Her hands pressed tightly together in front of her chest; her eyes locked onto Gena.

Come on... Gena...

She didn’t say it out loud, but the words repeated over and over in her mind.

While Vera remained seated still.

Her legs crossed, her chin resting lightly against her fingers as she watched.

Her eyes were sharp, calm and observing.

Ezra stood the same way.

Silent.

His gaze fixed on Gena unmoving as if waiting.

Gena’s movements began to slow.

Her steps lost their rhythm and her vision blurred.

Blood ran down her face, slipping into her eyes, mixing with sweat, making everything unclear. Her head throbbed with every heartbeat, each pulse sending a dull, heavy pain through her skull.

Her breathing broke.

In and out.

Too fast and uneven.

Her body was now reaching its limit.

The boy saw it and he didn’t hesitate.

Click, click

Her revolver ran empty, before she could react...

He moved, spinning the hammer, the handle struck her right hand.

Smack!

The gun was knocked clean out of her hand, flying away.

Her right arm followed the motion upward leaving her body open.

Completely open.

The boy didn’t waste it.

Boom!

The hammer slammed into her stomach.

The impact drove through her body, her feet lifting slightly before she staggered backward, step after step after step, her body trying to hold itself together.

But...

She didn’t fall.

The boy closed the distance immediately.

No pause, no hesitation.

He stepped in and swung again.

Boom!

The hammer crashed into her other cheek.

Her head snapped to the side, blood sprayed out with her body tilting, but still...

She stayed on her feet.

His attacks continued.

Left...

She managed to raise her arm and blocked.

The impact slammed into her forearm, sending a sharp, burning pain through it, her fingers twitching from the force.

Then right...

Boom!

Another hit.

This time her other arm moved and she blocked again.

All attacks blocked barehanded.

Her body shook from the impact.

The fight changed.

It was no longer skill against skill, it became...

Hit, Block, bleed and endure.

Over and over again.

"This is... cruel..."

Someone from the orphan side whispered, her voice filled with unease as she watched Gena’s body take hit after hit.

"...But why isn’t she going down?"

The question spread quietly with no answer coming.

Why...

Boom!

Why...

Boom!

WHY?!

The boy’s strikes grew heavier and faster with more force behind each swing.

"Why won’t you fall?!"

Boom!

The hammer struck her face again.

Gena staggered backward, her steps uneven, her legs shaking violently beneath her.

Her vision flickered and her body screamed, every part of her telling her to stop, to fall, to give up, but she didn’t.

She barely stood, but didn’t fall.

The boy’s expression began to slowly change with frustration creeping in.

His grip tightened.

Then...

He ran fast closing the distance in a single burst of movement and he jumped high both hands raising the hammer above his head, his body tightening as Cognis surged through him, veins rising visibly under his skin as he gathered strength into the strike.

The air shifted with the pressure increasing.

Everything focused into that one attack.

He swung down... aimed straight at her head to end it for good and Gena still stood there unmoving.