Chapter 828
"Now?"
"Yes, now."
"Why?"
"There's no why. Gon, do you trust me?"
Gon hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I do."
"Then let's go."
"...Okay."
The two of them left without saying goodbye to anyone.
Ron watched their backs until they fully disappeared, only then turning his gaze away.
The third and fourth battlefields—every fight had concluded. With the exception of Chris's side, all the victories had gone to the squads from the first wave.
But the final match, the last Grand Martial Trial, was different. It was the most unusual of them all. This time, four teams would enter simultaneously. That meant, if the opposing side wanted to, three squads could join forces and gang up on Alex's team. And the likelihood of that happening was not small.
Alex had anticipated this possibility. He glanced at Ron.
"Ron?"
"Fight. Just fight with everything you've got. The winners won't be them."
Alex nodded. "Understood."
The battle officially began.
Three focused gazes immediately landed on Ron. But Ron knew that even if the enemy had three teams, they wouldn't commit all their members to attack Alex's squad—because they had other plans, and there was no way they would abandon them.
Sure enough, the three squads quickly split into two groups. Ten people remained behind, while the rest moved toward Alex's team.
The ten in the rear took something out.
A head.
Rosgell's head.
Along with it, numerous stone slabs were laid on the ground. Rosgell's head was placed atop them. These were no ordinary stones—their surfaces were carved with densely packed Divine Characters. This was a Nen-scripted formation.
The ten Nen users dropped to their knees, placing both hands on the stone surface. They forcefully poured their aura into the formation. The energy traveled through the slabs, into Rosgell's head.
Gradually, a transformation began to take place in Rosgell's remains.
Ron glanced over, but quickly turned his attention back to the two attackers headed his way. Both were captains—combatants on the same level as Chris. The remaining team's captain had engaged Alex directly.
"So you're the outsider Chris mentioned?"
"Congratulations—you've made the wrong choice."
"We aren't Chris. We won't underestimate you. Today you'll pay the price for your meddling. "
Ron said nothing. Internally, he assessed them.
"Not much different from Chris in strength… but Alex's side might be in trouble."
"And Rosgell's head can't be left unattended too long."
"Then it's best to end this quickly."
Ron made his decision.
As the two enemies drew close—
"Observation Platform."
A massive circular field appeared, enveloping the battlefield. Ron, the two captains, and several others were inside its boundary.
Wither appeared.
Natsu appeared.
Uchiha Sasuke appeared.
And beside Ron, another figure took shape—Akame.
One of the opposing captains, a middle-aged man, wielded a massive spiked mace. His body swelled in size, growing enormous, like a giant. He swung his weapon at Ron.
Ron dodged.
The "Audience" mechanic, which granted immunity from damage, couldn't be exposed so casually. It had to be saved for something more valuable.
Boom!
The mace smashed into the ground, cracking the surface and leaving a deep crater.
Wither moved to the man's rear. He swung reflexively, but Wither nimbly stepped atop the mace's edge. Then she stomped down hard.
A heavy force drove the man's arm downward.
Wither seized the opportunity, twisted her body, and struck him across the face with a powerful kick.
Wham!
His huge body staggered and crashed sideways—half of him embedded in the earth.
But Wither didn't stop.
Wham!
Wham!
Wham!
She launched a flurry of attacks.
The captain struggled to defend himself.
That was when Wither —now fully going for the kill—unleashed an ability.
"First Bomb."
A soundless detonation burst against the captain's lower right abdomen. Flesh vanished on contact—skin, muscle, and a portion of the hipbone instantly erased. Blood spilled from the gaping wound, dark and heavy, soaking his uniform in seconds.
The captain staggered back, face contorted in pain, one hand gripping his side as he steadied himself.
"…Very well."
"You've forced me to respond."
His aura surged violently.
"Azure Dragon Transformation!"
In an instant, the captain's body changed. It didn't just expand—it transformed entirely. From a human, he became a massive draconic beast.
The wound left by Wither, once brutal and gory, now looked like nothing more than a toothpick-sized puncture against the sheer scale of his new form—barely noticeable on his thick, scaled hide.
He soared into the air, his body glowing green, stretching hundreds of meters in length— far stronger than the serpent Oster had transformed and used before.
The colossal dragon hovered above Wither, then opened its jaws.
Flames roared down from the sky.
Meanwhile, the younger captain radiated intense cold. Frost spread from his feet, freezing the ground solid. While the dragon-form captain was kept busy by Wither, the younger one turned his full focus toward Ron.
"Die!"
Massive amounts of aura gathered in his hands. The chilling energy around him condensed into something tangible.
It became a massive beast 10s of meters long and made of ice and snow, roaring like a wild animal. Its form bore some resemblance to Netero's Hundred-Type Guanyin.
The ice beast lunged at Ron.
Ron dodged.
But he wasn't fast enough.
The creature quickly closed the distance.
Boom!
The impact thundered across the field. The entire area was encased in snow and ice, waves of force rippling outward.
"Is this the one who killed Chris?"
"This is all he's got?"
"Pathetic."
But the younger captain hadn't noticed—while his attention was focused entirely on Ron, a figure had silently appeared behind him.
Natsu and Uchiha Sasuke launched coordinated attacks. Their strikes were deflected, but that had only been the distraction.
Rosgell—now humanoid—was already within arm's reach.
A hand extended and wrapped around the younger captain.
"Oil Mist."
A noxious cloud of corrosive vapor surged outward.
Caught off guard, the captain's movements faltered. He struggled, but couldn't break free.
Another figure appeared before him.
"Demon Blade Murasame—One-Cut Kill."
A blade pierced straight through his body.
The younger captain collapsed, dead.
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