Grey had never been beneath that palm to begin with. Just when it hit, he vanished.

Amunet probably thought it was impossible because of the quagmire, but the reality was that he could have forced the issue with his extra shadow clone. Normal retrace didn’t work, but if he sent his second shadow to a location, he could appear there instantly. He had also been able to flash around in the skies as well, so really, if he timed a jump correctly, he could still use his Shadow Forces just fine.

It was just that he had allowed Amunet to believe that his Shadow Forces didn’t work. She had already observed their abilities and how they worked and thought she understood it all.

She did not.

She had been fighting for her life the entire time, but he hadn’t shed a single drop of blood.

Her battle style was annoying and difficult to deal with, but her stats were too low and her Abilities weren’t leveled up enough. The phasing trick she used was too limited, and her actual skill with the rapier outside of being able to purposely dodge blocks and attacks was poor in Grey’s opinion.

It was nothing that could match up to Last Paladin.

The most shocking attack she had used was definitely the last one. Those arms had threatened him, but it was clear that she wasn’t very good at controlling them either.

They seemed to have a life of their own.

The main issue was that she could definitely only summon them in a dire situation, but whatever dire situation she needed them in, her stamina would be so drained that they were bound to buck against her anyway.

But something told Grey that that would happen even if she summoned them at full stamina.

Amunet only stiffened for a moment before her body just relaxed. She lowered her head and didn’t say anything.

The shadowed 14 could finally see the full situation as the shadows and black fog dissipated. One of them took a step forward, but they were immediately held back by another.

They stood in a line, clenching their fists, but none of them made a step forward.

The battle had looked close, but at every turn, Grey was suppressing her. They weren’t fools. If Grey could make such short work of their First Ranker, they didn’t stand a chance.

Just for thinking of acting, Amunet might kill them first before Grey killed her.

"What?" Grey asked coldly. "You don’t have anything to say?"

Amunet didn’t respond.

Grey’s temper flared. He kicked her in the back, his spear flashing and cutting across her shoulder at the same time. The momentum spun her around until the back of her head slammed into the ground.

BANG.

Grey’s spear just barely missed her cheek, but it hit the ground with such force it felt like the earth was shaking.

"WHY?"

Grey bent forward, his roar so loud it shattered her eardrums. What control she had left of her shadows dissipated. Her face was revealed, worn and tired. The dark gold radiance of her hair seemed a lot less luminescent now.

But Grey didn’t even see any of it. He was staring right into her eyes, his frustration spilling out of his own.

Amunet bit her lip and then she looked away from Grey’s eyes. There was a guilt spilling out of her gaze that was impossible to manage. She couldn’t even look him in the eyes, a deep shame welling up inside of her.

"FUCK."

BOOM.

The common grade spear in Grey’s hand shattered beneath his grip. He threw out the piece that was left so hard it caught fire in the air.

He stood to his full height and looked down, his chest heaving. He had so much rage in him he didn’t even know how to direct it. He wasn’t even sure if killing her would fix anything.

It would just be the same thing. Another person being a scummy piece of shit in this bullshit game show. It would probably be cut up and spliced into some funny tidbit, or some trumped-up compilation that made him look like an unhinged madman.

But it was just thing after thing in this place.

He looked at Amunet again, his hand raising up. His veins pulsed with power, crackling lines of magnetic force filled the air as his hand heated up until it practically outshone the star in the skies.

—

Lv6 Helion Body > Lv8 Helion Body

—

Lv6 Solarbrand > Lv8 Solarbrand

— 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Lv8 Helion Body > Lv10 Helion Body

—

Lv8 Solarbrand > Lv10 Solarbrand

—

Amunet gritted her teeth and forced herself to look Grey in the eye. Then she closed them, taking a deep breath.

She could feel the heat radiating across her skin, the sizzling crimson leaching away what moisture she had left. The crust of the saltiness of her sweat formed a layer that felt like it just might turn to ash any moment now.

BOOM.

Grey stomped away. With a swipe at his face, his Helm Frame formed as though he didn’t want a single soul to see his expression at all.

Not a single person dared to stop him nor ask where all his pent-up fury came from. Maybe even Grey couldn’t explain it in so many words, not that he cared to in the first place. There was simply nothing he wanted out of these people. All they did was piss him off.

Mauve and the others looked toward one another and then hesitated.

After a long while, it was only Mauve and Brad who moved to go after him.

"Stella?" Brad turned back.

Stella shook her head, clenching her fists and looking down at the ground.

Brad hesitated, but when he looked back, Mauve had already disappeared after Grey.

Gritting his teeth, Brad looked back and forth between them for a while before he lowered his head too.

"I’m going, Stella."

With that, he pivoted and rushed after Mauve and Grey, leaving Stella on her own.