The Colosseum trembled.

The air itself seemed to distort, rippling unnaturally as if reality was struggling to hold itself together.

A deafening crack reverberated through the arena, and right above the massive, blood-carved magic circle, the space cracked.

An unknown pressure descended upon the audience as something—or someone—within it shifted.

Entities—if they could even be called that—began to emerge.

They were a blur of shifting existence, their forms glitching in and out, flickering like corrupted images forced into reality.

Limbs twisted at impossible angles before realigning and faces distorted into unreadable smears; their very presence was a contradiction to logic.

A suffocating pressure filling the Colosseum increased as these creatures stepped forward, their forms pulsing with instability.

The weakest among them still radiated power beyond anything the students had ever faced.

They were all in the star connection realm—an entire realm above the strongest student in the stadium.

The audience gasped.

“W-What the hell are those things?!”

“They’re… not normal. They’re not even real! They’re… glitching?”

“I-I can’t breathe…! The pressure alone is suffocating!”

Some students stumbled back instinctively, their bodies reacting before their minds could process the fear.

Professors clenched their fists, magic gathering at their fingertips, but hesitation held them still.

Even they, the ones who were powerful enough to deal with those beings, felt danger emanating from those entities. Those creatures seemed to defy logic.

CRACK!

It was then that a loud sound of something shattering was heard, and the crack, from which those entities were appearing, extended—or broke into pieces.

Then, it appeared—the strongest entity.

It was unlike the others—larger, more stable, yet still warped beyond reason.

A towering figure of twisted existence, its entire being seemed to pulse between dimensions. The pressure seeping out of this entity was unlike others.

People couldn’t even estimate how strong it was.

Just being there made it impossible for the audience to move. Their breaths were stuck in their throats, no voice coming out of them.

The creature, on the other hand, turned its attention to Alex, a sharp light flashing past its eyes.

‘What?’ Alex, feeling its gaze, froze in his spot.

For the second time in his life, Alex felt helpless. He couldn’t even move under that being’s gaze. It was as if he was locked in the spot.

[Alex! That being is not someone you can face—]

Sophie’s voice echoed in his head, but Alex didn’t need her to tell him that.

‘I know!’ He said, his body trembling involuntarily.

‘Tell me you know what the fuck this glitching mess is!’ He wished that at least this time, Sophie knew who or what that was.

[Yes! I know! But you need to run away for now—]

“Alex!”

It was then that a voice was heard, cutting Sophie’s words, and Alex, following that voice, found Zahara rushing toward him with a worried look on her face.

Mira, Gurrak, and Aelora were right behind her.

“Wait—!” With panic in his voice, he shook his head, trying to stop them, but it was already too late…

Boom!

A sonic boom was heard as the entity’s eyes turned toward them, the pressure from Alex being removed, pressing down on them, and unlike Alex, they couldn’t resist it.

“GAHH—!” Gurrak, sensing something amiss, quickly covered Aelora, but it didn’t change anything; both of them were smashed into the ground, their bodies creating a crater on the ground.

“FUCK! STOP!!”

Alex rushed toward them as he saw Zahara and Mira falling to the ground just like the others.

He used gravity, time, and space elements to zoom toward them at breakneck speed. He was so fast that people couldn’t even see him.

His form flickered into his astral eternal devourer form, his speed increasing by folds.

[Alex—] Sophie tried to stop Alex again, thinking about his well-being, but Alex growled.

‘Stop! You know I won’t run away! Not with them like that—’

But before he could complete his words…

Fwoosh!

The man who had been hovering silently above the battlefield made his move.

He appeared before the strongest entity, completely unfazed by the distortion surrounding it. His aura stopped the being’s pressure, and in his hand was a silver plate, shimmering with strange engravings that seemed to reject the very nature of the creature before him.

“This one is beyond your level,” the man said in a calm yet authoritative voice. “I’ll take care of it.”

Without another word, he lifted the silver plate.

A pulse of radiant energy erupted from it, clashing against the glitched entity with a force that shook the entire stadium.

As soon as that energy covered the creature, it understood it was being moved somewhere else.

In a second, it let out a distorted, ear-piercing screech before it, and the man vanished instantly—erased from sight as if they had never existed.

Silence fell over the Colosseum.

But Alex didn’t stop; he quickly reached his group, checking up on Zahara and Mira.

“Are you alright?!” He asked, concern clear on his face, but his expression morphed into rage as soon as he saw the blood leaking out of their eyes and noses.

It was because of that entity!

It was because of the pressure put on them that they had turned into this.

“Alex…” Zahara, through her half-open eyes, looked at him. “Keep your calm. We are fine.”

Hearing those words, Alex looked at Mira, Gurrak, and Aelora.

All three of them were already unconscious. The pressure was too much for them, it seemed. The relief was that they were all alive.

He took a deep breath, calming his nerves.

Being reckless won’t get him anywhere. Alex knew that, so he didn’t make any rash moves.

He slowly turned to look at the surroundings.

Students were rushing here and there, trying to run away from the glitched beings while those creatures chased them without a rush, as if enjoying the chase.

Then suddenly, the man’s voice echoed back from the void he disappeared into.

“Alex Drakathor.”

Alex’s head snapped up, his body tense as he awaited the next words.

“You will lead them. Handle the rest.”

A single command. A single responsibility.

The weight of it settled on Alex’s shoulders in an instant. He turned his gaze back to the remaining entities—still unstable, still terrifying, but now without their strongest.

They were still beyond the level of any student here, but he had no choice.

He exhaled slowly, his eyes gleaming with unwavering determination. Signaling the medics to take Zahara, Mira, Gurrak, and Aelora away, he turned to the audience.

“Everyone who can fight—prepare yourselves!” His voice rang through the arena, cutting through the lingering fear like a blade. “We hold our ground here! If you run, you die. If you hesitate, you die. But if we fight together, we stand a chance!”

The audience, still shaken, watched in stunned silence. But Alex’s passive ability, ‘commanding presence’ which provided morality and a power boost to those on his side, worked wonders.

“Damn it, he’s right! If we don’t fight, we’re finished!”

“Stand up! If Alex is leading, we have a chance!”

“I-I’m not dying without a fight!”

The students who had once cowered began gathering their strength.

The warriors, the mages, the fighters—one by one, they stepped forward, forming a defensive line behind Alex.

Even the professors, who had remained silent, exchanged glances before stepping up.

If a student was willing to lead, they had no right to stand by idly.

The glitched entities shifted in their places, their distorted bodies pulsing as they began their advance.

They didn’t seem to want to play anymore.

They had realized that they needed to start eliminating any variable possible.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep