Chapter 257: Rigged Pairs Chapter 257: Rigged Pairs While the pairs were being decided and the arena continued to roar, some people found themselves sweating profusely. Among them stood a golden-haired figure wrapped tightly in heavy bandages. Beneath the layers of cloth, criss-cross scars were faintly visible, running from his neck all the way down to his toes. The most prominent scar, however, cut diagonally across his face, ugly and unmistakable. He was Nord Birel. But unlike the arrogant, superior expression he once wore so proudly, his face now screamed fear. Especially after seeing the faces of the top 10 displayed on the massive board. Out of all of them, he personally knew the pink-haired girl. He began to tremble from head to toe as his eyes locked onto her standing at the 4th position. "F-ff-cuk... S-she is 4th...?" he muttered, terror seeping into every syllable. Never in his life had he imagined stumbling upon a 4th-ranked student—much less stumbling so badly. "How the fuck was I supposed to know that!" he snapped to himself, finally understanding why Lily hadn’t issuing him a challenge. Back then, he hadn’t seen Leo or Leon in the territory either. If he had, he might have already started planning his escape from the academy. Brok wasn’t faring much better. His mouth hung wide open—if jaws could drop, his would’ve shattered the floor. "Boss is bigshot among bigshots..." No wonder he didn’t see his matches last days. As for Instructor Shub, he was nowhere to be seen. He had already been handed over to the punishers after a severely beaten student was discovered tied up in his chambers. Ford himself had taken charge of the punishment, his temper flaring violently upon seeing a fresher abused so brutally. As compensation, the boy was given a new phone, 100,000 AC, and a complete exemption from the competition. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 Apparently, the authorities had already been monitoring the situation due to the student’s absence from the competition. Even so, they weren’t spared—each responsible official received a severe scolding and was slapped with heavy fines for negligence. Meanwhile, Aina, Mira, and Sylva remained utterly silent. After the revelation that Leo had originally been ranked 1st all along—and then witnessing it with their own eyes—they had gone completely quiet. Literally. As for Miho, she still couldn’t comprehend what could’ve caused such a drastic shift. As the names continued flipping, the final pairs were revealed. 1. Leo - Tavian Gridfall 2. Lyra Noctis - Aaron Stone 3. Lily - Dhalia Renner 4. Ronan Virex - Marco 5. Leon - Uraan Hurricane The moment the pairs appeared, the crowd erupted, and the Host’s voice followed suit. "What a lucky matchup! For us, of course!" he shouted excitedly. "Not only will we witness our secretive star in action, but he’ll be facing the undefeatable life-talent dark horse who shocked the entire empire in his very first matches! People!! We are not going to get bored at all!" Back in the room housing the top 10 students, several of them shook their heads. This matchmaking was obviously rigged. There was no way Leo and Leon would be placed so far apart that they’d only clash at the very end of the event. As for the others, they glanced at their assigned opponents with smirks—some eager to dominate, others already plotting their approach. Who would succeed, however, was something only time would decide. Soon, Leo and Tavian were called forward. The remaining students were escorted to special chambers, designed to give them a clear view of the battle. As the rings opened, the Host’s voice thundered across the arena. "There we have it! Our dark horse!" he announced as Tavian stepped out, his expression once again sharp and stoic. In his grasp was his Gridfall Array Staff—black metal, Peak-Yellow-Tier, with a distinct ’C’ shape at the top, its orange crystal faintly glowing. "And finally!" the Host continued dramatically, "we have amidst us—our star! The original 1st-ranked student from the trial! And mind you—not just for Aurelius Beast Academy! His trial score stands as the highest among all academy students! Let’s give it up for him—LEO!!!" This time, the crowd wasn’t stingy. Thunderous cheers washed over the arena, and Leo felt a quiet satisfaction bloom within him. But the Host wasn’t done. "Let me tell you a fact, my friends! Our star has already made waves even before the official term began! He played a key role in exposing and arresting a corrupted instructor who tormented freshers and abused his authority! That’s right—the famous video of an instructor assaulting a student was posted by none other than our star, Leo!" This time, the cheers felt genuine—especially from the freshers. Among them, two figures stood out. Both had grey hair. One was a slightly older boy, the other a cheerful girl with striking features. "So it was him... I owe him a thanks..." the boy murmured. He was the same student who had been beaten by Shub in the territory for refusing to reveal his sister’s whereabouts. The girl beside him jabbed him sharply in the ribs. "You are a fool!" she scolded, hands planted firmly on her waist. "Getting beaten for nothing. They only needed my location—you’d have been free! Why did you let yourself get beaten like an idiot?" The boy shook his head slowly, as if she simply didn’t understand. "Veronica, how can a big brother let his little sister fall into trouble because of his own stupidity?" "Hmph!" she huffed. "We’re twins! And I’m obviously bigger than you!" Back in the arena, Leo and Tavian locked gazes. Before either could move, the Host decided to drop a bomb. "But there’s a rumour about our star!" he exclaimed. "Not only did he confront sophomores over minor disrespect, but people say his beasts don’t even listen to him? Wow! Let’s see if that’s really the case!" Leo grimaced. How the hell does this host have all the tea? Tavian, however, curved his lips slightly. "That host really is trying to boost my confidence, huh?" he muttered inwardly. "Let’s see how well I fare against this monster." Their earlier confrontation had merely been a test—to see how Leo reacted to false accusations since such a thing will become more and more common in the future. And it was clear now: Leo didn’t give a fuck about such baseless things. As for Leo’s strength, Tavian was already aware. The trial results, the mountains of beast corpses Leo had sent back on day 1 alone—it all spoke for itself. Tavian raised his staff as a huge array started to cover the whole of the ring, the orange crystal giving off a bright light. --- A/N: Sorry for the late Chapters. Today was quite hectic.