Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

In the arena, Moon noticed a sudden movement from Basil as soon as he landed; he found him and Barrett holding their weapons.

’You stupid shit, sit down or I’ll kill you myself,’ he warned in his heart, the message reflecting on his face.

Moon sent a death stare, deliberately freezing Basil where he was and forcing him to change his mind.

’At least he’s not clueless,’ Moon praised Basil’s instant understanding.

Even though he was having a staring contest for a brief second with Basil, his attention had never left the arena.

Yet, he didn’t sense any Echo activation, nor did they march to attack him.

Moon looked around at how they were spreading out without attacking.

’So they’re afraid I might step outside the ring?’ he guessed.

Stepping out now would undoubtedly turn this round into a last-man-standing match, and it didn’t matter to them who won as long as it wasn’t Moon.

Having Moon step out now would render all their plans useless.

Moon’s eyes darted around, trying to locate Zera, who was standing at the back in the same armor and helmet: the one with a moving visor and a short, linear blue plume over his head.

Suddenly, Moon took a step back.

Zera flinched, his body instantly leaning forward.

Moon stopped his leg before touching the outside of the ring; Zera’s body relaxed.

Moon locked his eyes with Zera’s lone left eye and giggled.

Unsettling everyone.

One of the armored ascenders asked, "You think this is funny?"

"Hilarious!" Moon said while dusting sand off his hands.

Moon was giving himself a moment to figure out who to target next. He also realized he was becoming more straightforward, more like he had been on the first floor rather than after experiencing the Memory Fragment.

’My skills are regressing, huh...’ he judged himself.

Forced behavior looks great until someone gets punched in the mouth.

He had lived for years fighting with the same pattern, improving it day by day; every time he dodged death, it evolved.

Until one day, he realized there was much more. Better and stronger ways of fighting, patterns that he could never have thought existed, came to him.

One memory fragment was enough to change his life, yet...

’No matter how much I tried to control every move to be like his, one moment of confusion was all it took to ruin it,’ Moon admitted.

Moon looked at where Ed was seated, taking in his expression and the way he looked at him.

’Is that what I really need?’ Moon asked in his heart.

Seeing them try to get closer again, Moon played the same trick of almost stepping out of the ring.

"I just want to clarify something: you’ll all be getting disqualified, so the armor will be mine regardless of whether you stay and fight or step out now," he said playfully to everyone in the ring.

At the back, Zera answered, "Every one of them was rewarded with something to join; your scrap metal isn’t worth looking at," he taunted.

Moon shook his head. "What did I expect from someone wearing a broom over his head?" He shrugged.

But he didn’t want to question everything any longer; for now, he had finally admitted there was indeed an issue. He was afraid of the future; he wasn’t sure he could face it alone.

He had two weak permanent underlings and four temporary ones, but that was nowhere near enough.

He glanced at Samuel, whose words echoed in Moon’s mind.

So did Ed’s.

They wanted to train peers, and they had only made it this far because they had each other.

He raised his head to Zera. "Hey, if you could live well away from that young master of yours, be free and happy without anyone ordering you around, and of course without being forced to fight a losing battle and lose an eye... would you do it?"

For a moment Zera didn’t answer, before suddenly—

"HOW DARE YOU?"

Looking at the sudden burst of anger, Moon nodded. "So that’s how it is."

It wasn’t enough of an answer, but it was what Moon needed.

He didn’t linger any more and no longer tried to pick his next target. It was a battle he found himself in, and thus—

"Warriors don’t get to choose their battlefields." He steeled his heart and sprinted forward.

In his eyes, it was only Zera.

He was also no longer conflicted about his enemies in any way.

As soon as he stepped away from the boundary line—

Shuuuu~

Claw-like Echo cutting-glares split the air, flying at his face.

Moon used his momentum and the soft sand below his feet to his advantage, sliding below the glare.

He stood back up without losing his momentum.

Though that moment was enough to get him surrounded again, he didn’t seem bothered by that fact.

An Echo-fueled punch came at him; Moon once again lowered his stance and redirected his body toward where the attack was coming.

The attacker had a long plume similar to Dave’s, yet it was yellow instead of blue.

Moon, in his low stance, extended his hand to the base of the attacker’s shin; he yanked the plate covering it forward, closer to him.

His action resulted in two things.

First, the attacker’s balance was offset.

Second, Moon gained momentum in that direction.

Thanks to that momentum, Moon slid forward and there—

Smack~

He punched the back of the long yellow plume—

Thud~

Bringing him down to his knees.

Behind him, another attacker was dashing at Moon.

Without wasting a split second, Moon stood and reached out.

With both hands, his fingers gripped the long yellow plume tightly as he yanked it with all he had.

A loud snap resounded.

"Ack!" The owner didn’t make much sound, but his body went limp all of a sudden.

As for the helmet, it didn’t come off.

Moon didn’t give up; he "HOOOOO!" yanked again, forcing it off this time.

It came off with bits of skin and a long trace of blood.

It flew into the face of the incoming attacker, beyond the reach of either of their arms.

THUD~

Both helmets caved in, instantly bringing the attackers down. The Echo glowing over their arms dimmed.

"Welp, this is easier than I thought," Moon said out loud, watching everyone freeze in place, not taking another step forward.

In the audience, Roran was watching, open-mouthed. "Are—" He swallowed. "Are they dead?"

Next to him, Colten was in a slightly better state. He exhaled sharply.

"I think," he said. "The first one, his neck is probably broken... Assistant Uon is nowhere to extract him either." His eyes fell on the other one.

The caved-in helmet and the blood flowing through every opening and joint. "There’s no way for that one to survive," he added.

High above in the audience seats, Samuel and Ed, who were watching, exchanged a glance.

"Does that count as unauthorized use of weapons?" Samuel asked Ed sternly.

Ed went silent for a moment. "Well, they willingly used these sets of armor. His weapon is just a consequence of theirs."

"You’re saying it’s their fault for bringing the armor," Samuel said in his usual dry tone.

Ed’s face fell. "I can’t tell if you’re serious or joking now. What do you want from me?" He looked down at the ring again. "You can’t blame someone for his resourcefulness."

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