After the damage done to the arena was reversed with the help of a Time Element expert from the IMF, the next fight was held, between two Advanced Mages. However, despite the two being the same rank on the surface, the battle was so one-sided that it concluded in less than ten seconds. The winner was a boy wearing long blue robes and glasses. He seemed like the… smart, cold type.

"That… was quick,

" Feng Mian blinked in surprise as we watched the screen showcasing the battle.

Yu An Yan frowned.

"What even happened…? I just saw the other guy charging at him, and in a flurry of attacks, he lay unconscious on the floor.

"

"He's… dangerous,

" I muttered quietly.

The girls' eyes widened.

"Even Big Brother Xuan Kai acknowledges his strength?

" Qing Yue asked in shock.

"… Be careful, An Yan. You'll be the one to face him.

"

She nodded firmly.

"Just so I have an idea… if you were to face that guy, would you be able to beat him?

"

"Naturally,

" I scoffed.

"However… I am not 100% certain. For example, if he still has any hidden trump cards up his sleeve. From what I can tell from this fight, he was just extremely fast and precise with his attacks - that I can handle easily. However, he may be holding something back. He most likely is, actually. So, the true chances of me beating him would be about 90%.

"

"I see… so even you have a chance of losing to him, huh?

"

"Of course, if I use my trump cards as well, that's a different story,

" I smirked.

"Your trump cards? That we don't know about?

"

"If I revealed my trump cards to you, it wouldn't really be much of a trump card.

"

"15 minutes grace period. Next up is Miss Xiang Peng,

" a voice on the other side of the door to our room said, interrupting our conversation.

"Got it,

" Xiang Peng replied back lazily, then turned back to us.

"Who's my opponent~

"

"Let's see…

" Feng Mian murmured, and after a few maneuvers, brought up a person's profile.

"Her. She'll be your opponent.

"

Name: Two-Face

Gender: Female

Race: Demihuman (Snake)

Role: Fighter

Rank: Ancestral Mage

Elemental Affinities: Poison, Curse, Shadow, Blessing, Psychic, Light, Time

Beside was a portrait of a beautiful snake-woman, smiling happily.

"Oh…? This is interesting,

" I murmured, my lips curving up into a grin.

"Her elemental affinities… they are so conflicting,

" Qing Yue pointed out.

"Poison to Blessing, Curse to Psychic, and Shadow to Light. It's like there are two different people inside of her.

"

"Perhaps that's why her 'name' is 'Two-Face'. That's definitely not her real name, but…

" Feng Mian trailed off.

"She's an Ancestral Mage, be careful,

" Yu An Yan warned.

"I'll be fine,

" Xiang Peng waved her concerns off.

"Worst comes to worst, I have something that can take out even a Golden Monarch. They did say Artifacts were allowed, right? Heh.

"

"… I won't even ask,

" I sighed. It was probably something she got from within Fragment.

"But I hope you still fight with all you have. I know you can go back to Fragment anyway even if you fail this competition, but…

"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this dangerous opponent for you. That's what you want, right? Heh, using me like a tool,

" she sniffed her nose in a fake crying gesture.

"If you already know, why ask?

"

"WHAT?! So you really WERE planning on using me like a tool!

" she exclaimed, bawling her eyes out. I sighed and face palmed.

Several minutes later, she was called by the IMF staff to go and head to battle.

"Good luck, Xiang Peng~

" Qing Yue cheered as the other girls nodded in agreement.

"Yeah - just be ready to give me that headpat plus hug, y'know?

" she winked and disappeared.

*****

(Xiang Peng's Perspective)

I walked onto the stage first and looked around. I was used to being watched by people all my life in military training, but this was the first time I was getting watched by hundreds of people to fight.

My opponent, a mysterious snake demihuman who went by the alias of 'Two-Face', hurried onto the stage, panting heavily.

"Hah… hah… sorry… I was so nervous I needed to use the bathroom, so I was a bit late… I-I didn't mean to keep you waiting!

"

I blinked.

"Uh… yeah. No problem.

"

Her polite attitude reminded me of Lan Xiao Su, but perhaps she was even more nervous, which I didn't think was possible.

"I-I'm going to say this right now… sorry if I hurt you.

"

"H-Huh?

"

This girl sure was weird… apologizing before the fight even began?

"You see… I have two split personalities - hence my name, Two-Face… this side of me is my primary one, but when I end up in battle, my other side comes out…

"

Two-Face gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

"She's… evil. She does a lot of bad things, and I- and I can't do anything to control her…

"

O-Okay, is this a psychological attack or something? Like, is she trying to invoke pity in me, so I go easy on her during the actual fight? Hah! Joke's on her, because…

… Yeah, no. It's totally working! If this was her strategy, then I already lost at the starting line! Hello? She's too pitiful and adorable to be killed!

… Just kidding. She'll die.

With a perfectly neutral face, I responded.

"Ok. And?

"

"E-Erm… just saying… I hope you win.

"

"And… battle, begin!

" the announcer exclaimed, marking the beginning of the battle.

I immediately pulled out my auto rifle and began unleashing the hell out of it, hoping to catch my opponent off guard. She thought I would be using magic to start off, giving her a little bit of time to prepare, but bullets flew faster than words.

However, right before my bullets were about to hit Two-Face in the temple, they all stopped.

More accurately, everything stopped.

As color faded away from the world, only black and white remained.

I could still think consciously, but other than that, I could not budge an inch - I was utterly frozen in my position.

Time… it stopped?!

Slowly, in front of me, my opponent looked up. However, her eyes were no longer the bright yellow ones, filled with excitement. No… they were now an ominous bright purple, the only sign of color and life within this frozen, obsolete world.

It was her… she froze time… but I didn't even hear her chant! Did she already master the method to chant inside your head? No, but… I heard doing that for Time Magic, especially mass-scale ones like this, was incredibly difficult… even Holy Emperors with Time Element affinities sometimes struggle. So then… how?

Two-Face slowly walked towards me, a devious grin on her face. The nervous and worried her was nowhere to be seen.

When she arrived in front of me, she stopped, then leaned in and whispered into my ear.

"Don't worry… I won't kill you just yet.

"

Then, she brought her knee up to my stomach, but I did not feel any pain or shock, possibly because time was stopped. Then, looking into my eyes with those seductive purple eyes that seemed to draw in and devour all, she snapped her fingers.

"Ngh-!

"

The moment she did, I was sent flying upwards, gasping in pain. The world around me regained color as time started to move again. But Two-Face wasn't quite done with me just yet. With a demonic and fearless grin on her face, she pointed up with her hand and created a field of poison above me, once again without chanting.

The impact from her knee kept me continue flying up, straight into the bubble of poison. In order to prevent that from happening, there was only one thing I could do.

"Level Two Gravity Magic - Binding Order!

"

I cast this spell on myself, forcing me to drop straight back to the ground. At the last second, I canceled the affect, leaving me relatively unharmed.

"Oh, not bad…

" Two-Face murmured, looking at me in interest.

I wiped the blood from my lips.

"Heh… I'm not that easy to beat.

"

"Is that so?

"

She suddenly disappeared in a flash of blackness. Realizing what was coming next, I quickly cast Flight and took off into the air. Two-Eyes did not possess a Sky Element affinity - I could take advantage of that and just stay in the air.

Indeed, just as expected, shortly after I left the ground, Two-Eyes instantly appeared behind me, poison dagger ready. She cut nothing but thin air, of course, but had I been a millisecond slower, I would've been dead.

She looked up at me, but I gave her no mercy.

"Level Two Gravity Magic - Binding Order!

"

"K-Kuh…

" she was struck by my spell, pushed onto the ground from the weight of the attack. She had no way of escaping.

"Level Three Sky Magic - Prison of Lightning!

"

Dark clouds appeared over Two-Face, still trapped by my Gravity's binding. Lightning beams struck down all around her continuously, forming an unbreakable cage.

Then, slowly, one massive lightning bolt appeared directly above her, at the center of all the other ones.

"Ah, well. That was easier than expected,

" I chuckled as I prepared to watch her turn to ashes.