The Anomaly Beyond The System

The moment the Director’s voice reached their ears—

Ava’s body shot forward.

Her figure moved at an unnatural speed toward Selene, who remained completely still in her position.

’I knew it! That was just a fluke!’

Confidence surged through Ava once again. The embarrassment and disbelief from the previous match seemed to disappear almost instantly, replaced by the certainty that she could prove herself this time.

Her feet struck the ground as she rushed forward, rapidly closing the distance between them. The moment she reached close enough, her arm shot forward.

Previously, she had wondered whether Selene was somehow hiding her true rank, allowing herself to appear before her as an F rank. But now, it seemed she had been wrong... or at least, that was what she believed.

The dagger in her hand moved straight toward Selene.

But—

Selene’s feet suddenly stomped against the ground, her body instantly moving backwards and creating distance between them before she suddenly shot forward once again.

Ava’s brows rose, surprised by her immediate reaction, but still... it didn’t faze her too much.

The instant Selene’s weapon reached her—

Clank!

Ava immediately blocked the attack, the sharp metallic sound of the blunt daggers colliding echoing through the training hall.

Selene’s expression didn’t change.

She smoothly redirected her movement, and almost immediately, her other dagger shot toward Ava.

Selene mostly focused on evading the incoming attacks, moving her body in ways that made her seem almost impossible to pin down, while Ava relied heavily on blocking and redirecting the attacks with her own daggers.

Their fighting styles were completely different from each other.

But just by looking at the match, it was clear that Ava had the advantage in speed and strength, while Selene, despite being weaker, seemed to have far more experience against such attacks.

As if she had trained against opponents who were far stronger than herself.

"Ss~"

Selene hissed quietly as Ava’s dagger managed to strike against her arm.

Lucian’s expression immediately stilled, and his fingers curled slightly, twitching as if he were seriously trying to suppress himself from doing something—anything.

Meanwhile, a smirk appeared across Ava’s lips.

She had finally landed a hit.

But in the very next instant—

Her expression changed slightly as Selene twisted her body, her leg suddenly shooting towards Ava’s stomach.

She barely had time to react before folding her arms forward, blocking the kick and sliding a step backwards from the force behind it.

Before she could fully recover—

Another dagger shot towards her, and with a quick block, Ava used the impact to create some distance between them.

Her breathing had become slightly heavier, the same as Selene’s, whose chest heaved gently with each breath.

Ava’s expression darkened as she stared at the eerie-looking masked woman, whose head was covered by the hood, while the strange, sleek black mask concealed her entire face.

The masked woman matched every exchange, taking the blows she couldn’t avoid while slipping past the ones she could, leaving Ava confused and even more shocked.

"Why are you hiding your face? Are you too ugly to reveal it...?" she muttered in a low voice through gritted teeth, trying to get inside the masked woman’s head.

But Selene simply tilted her head.

She didn’t respond, as if completely unaffected by her words, though one of her eyelids twitched ever so slightly beneath her mask.

Even she, as a woman, didn’t like hearing someone call her ugly... especially not when her life had just been ruined simply because she happened to be a little more beautiful than other women.

"She’s really good," Leonardo muttered, his expression carrying a faint trace of intrigue.

Compared to his fight against Lucian, however, she still paled by a wide margin, but even so... she had talent.

And more importantly, she clearly possessed some combat experience.

"What did you say...?"

A strange chill suddenly crawled down his spine.

Leonardo’s body stiffened, and the moment he looked at Lucian’s emotionless face staring directly at him, the chill deepened.

Leonardo immediately realised what he had said.

"I mean... she’s really good in combat..." he corrected himself, swallowing slightly.

Lucian’s stare remained fixed on him for a few more seconds before he silently nodded, making Leonardo sigh in relief.

Though, a thought appeared in his head as he looked at the expression on Lucian’s face.

’Crazy bastard.’

Inwardly shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the match once again, and a small frown appeared on his brows.

But still... how was Selene so fast, especially when she had suddenly moved so unnaturally towards Ava?

Either she was using a skill, or... it was her actual speed—though the second one seemed impossible.

Both Ava and Selene shot towards each other again, their figures crossing through the training hall.

The sound of metal clinking resounded occasionally as Ava blocked Selene’s close-range attacks.

The moment the dagger flickered towards her, rather than retreating—

Selene moved forward instead, tilting her body at the perfect moment and allowing the incoming weapon to pass by her.

In the same motion, she slipped towards Ava’s blind spot, intending to strike the blunt end of the blade against her neck.

Ava barely dodged the attack, her pupils contracting as she almost felt the dagger touch her skin, passing only when it was dangerously close to her neck.

Taking a shaky breath, Ava looked at the masked woman.

"It... seems yo—"

Her words stopped as she saw Selene’s figure suddenly blur before her, instantly reaching towards her.

’Again—!’

The thought flashed through Ava’s mind as she saw the same movement, the same terrifying speed as Selene suddenly appeared before her, instantly closing the distance just like before.

Her heart trembled as she shot backwards, almost stumbling from the sudden movement, only to see the masked woman already moving towards her at the same speed.

’This girl talks too much.’

Selene couldn’t help but think for a brief moment.

Just as her figure was about to reach Ava—

The ground beneath Selene suddenly shifted.

A faint crack appeared beneath her feet, spreading across the stone floor for a brief instant.

Earth Affinity, and the skill [Earth Wave] that Ava had gotten from the Association Training after joining the Association.

"...!"

The sudden shift beneath the floor made Selene stumble, disrupting her footing, and at that exact opening—

A fist came straight towards her face.

"Akh—!"

A faint gasp escaped Selene as the fist struck her, forcing her body backwards by several steps.

The impact made her mind go blank for a brief moment.

Her hood was knocked off by the force of the blow, falling backwards as her long black hair was released from beneath it. The strands flowed behind her before gradually settling around her shoulders and back—most of it tied into a loose ponytail, with several strands slipping free.

But despite the force of the attack, the mask covering her face wasn’t pulled off. It remained firmly attached to her face, fixed in place without any visible support.

The absence of the hood only made the mask itself appear even more unnatural.

Its dark, flawless surface reflected almost nothing, leaving behind the eerie image of a faceless woman standing before Ava.

Meanwhile, Ava stood there with a dark expression despite managing to land a hit on her opponent.

She, an E Rank awakened, had been forced to use her affinity against an F Ranker—someone who supposedly couldn’t even use their affinity in a fight.

Selene, feeling her vision blur, shook her head, clearing her thoughts before straightening herself.

Leonardo gulped from the side, feeling the temperature increase beside him, and he didn’t even want to look at the expression of the man standing next to him.

Selene suddenly shot forward again, but the moment her dagger struck towards Ava—

CLANK—!

Ava’s dagger slammed against Selene’s weapon with enough force to knock it away, sending the blade flying from Selene’s hand.

"It seems you aren’t that special after all."

Ava’s voice echoed as she struck the masked woman’s chest, slamming the hilt of her dagger against her.

Selene stifled the pain in her throat, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to remain standing.

Her eyes narrowed, and she immediately swung her other dagger forward, slashing towards Ava while moving her free hand backwards.

The temperature around her decreased slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Ava’s smile widened when she saw the reckless attack, and without hesitation, she easily grabbed her wrist.

"Heh—"

Her lips barely parted before her words halted once again as Selene’s free hand shot forward, carrying a sharp, thin icicle in her hand, pointed directly towards Ava.

Ava’s pupils constricted.

The shard shot towards her—

Before it could reach her, Ava raised her leg and slammed it against Selene’s body, throwing her onto the ground with another pained, stifled yelp.

Ava’s breathing grew uneven as she stared at the sharp ice structure in Selene’s hand. Slowly, her hand rose to her face, her eyes trembling with... fear.

"You crazy woman! Did you want to kill me?!"

Selene slowly rose to her feet, her breathing growing heavier as she felt the mana draining from her body.

But she didn’t reply.

She would’ve actually stopped the icicle just before it reached her face, without causing any serious injury.

She had only wanted to win the match, nothing else.

It wasn’t like she had any grudge against this girl. She hadn’t even known her before today.

Selene slowly lowered the hand holding the icicle, which gradually broke apart before turning into particles.

Ava’s eyes briefly shifted towards the others, and the moment she looked at them—

Her heart dropped faintly.

None of them were looking towards her.

Everyone was staring at Selene with shocked expressions.

Why?

Because she had used her affinity.

Despite being an F Ranker.

And not only had she used it, but she had done so quickly and precisely that it had almost caught Ava off guard.

Ava’s jaw clenched harder as she noticed that even the handsome man with the glasses was staring at the masked woman as if she were the only person inside the entire training hall.

’T-This woman...’

Her gaze returned to the masked woman, who was simply standing there, waiting for Ava to recover from her shock.

Ava’s teeth ground harder, and her face turned ugly as she felt the humiliation building inside her.

"I... I’ll..."

Her lips trembled slightly. Her eyes began to burn with anger.

’I’ll KILL YOU!!!’

Her mind screamed internally, leaving all reason behind.

Her eyes flared with killing intent, and in the next instant—

Her legs shot forward.

An unnatural burst of speed erupted from her body.

Everything seemed to slow down around her, and she had no intention of holding back anymore, not even slightly—even though she hadn’t really been doing that in the first place.

Her grip tightened around the dagger, her gaze locked onto Selene.

She wanted to hit her, tear her apart for causing her such humiliation. She wanted to tear that creepy mask off her face.

She wanted—

Selene’s eyes widened behind her mask, shock flickering within them.

But...

Not because of the attack.

Because—

"Kaaakh—!!!"

Ava’s body suddenly slammed onto the ground with a dull, heavy thud.

Both daggers slipped from her fingers instantly, sliding across the floor.

Her body trembled violently as her expression immediately morphed into... fear.

Pure, instinctive fear.

Everyone stood in silence, and for a moment, none of them understood what had happened, unable to process what they had just witnessed.

But then—

Almost instinctively—

Their heads shifted.

Towards the man slowly walking forward, his footsteps strangely echoing throughout the training hall as he gradually approached the fallen woman.

"What do you think... you were doing just now...?"

Lucian’s cold, indifferent voice resounded through the hall as his crimson eyes glowed menacingly behind his sunglasses.

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