Chapter 14: Last Match
As soon as I entered the mist, everything around me completely dispersed. The screams of fear of other participants were no longer there, only silence that started to make me wary.
When I looked at my hand, it blurred. A sign that the illusion was starting, which was something I was prepared to face from the moment I stepped in.
The scenery around me started to change- it was the place that I grew up with as a child, with my parents.
["Venus.."]
I turned to the voice, but there wasn't anyone.
"Hello?"
Again, it called me. But when I looked in that direction. There was no one. It didn't bother me that I couldn't see anyone, but it was from a voice that I was very familiar with. I already knew who was going to try to mess with me.
"Who's there?"
Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of me, her body pressing against mine and her arms wrapped around me.
So they're trying to mess with me using my mother.
{"How are you, my baby? I've missed you so much. Do you know how long I've waited to see you like this?"} She says, her sweet, alluring voice echoing around me.
My father was also there. He was sitting on a chair with a smile plastered to his face. A smile that I hadn't seen after my mother died.
I grinned.
As expected, I had no emotions to spare, even after seeing the most important person I have like this. No joy or sadness dwelled inside of me.
I was just a living empty shell. Who am I to expect to feel emotions right now?
I hugged her tighter, "Me too, Mom. After you left, did you know how much father had suffered? Do you know that my father had abandoned me because of you? He blamed me for something I didn't do. Do I really deserve to be blamed? If only you were real right now, maybe I can get answers."
Even if the image wasn't actual, I kind of anticipated an answer. But instead, it just smiled at me and slowly became one with the mist.
*DEREK's POV*
"Argh, Crescent Moon is taking your recruitment too far. I mean, talk about terrifying. Even I would have nightmares after all these ends." Seff laughed.
We were stationed on a cliff, a place where we could watch them enter one by one. It was also the closest to the White Mist Blues, so we had the perfect view of the area.
Like Seff stated, the woes and cries of the competitors continued to worsen each minute that passed by. Some of them yelled in pain, some cried in despair but what i didn't expect to see was a person walking straight through the mist without stopping.
As if she was immune to the illusions.
"Ah, never fails to impress me." Seff grinned. "What do you think? I'm betting that she'll get in your pack. Well, though I wouldn't want that, it's better than being dead. Right?"
I gazed at her.
She got out of the mist and just idly sat by a nearby tree. She looked like she was unbothered by anything even after going through one of the hardest environments that a living person would walk to. That's strange. This was the first time I saw something walkout so calm like this.
"Look at her. She isn't even bothered at anything. She's too cold-blooded."
"You're wrong." I frowned. "Even the most cold-blooded people possess terrifying nightmares. Even we can't break her record right now. Even if we do, we won't look this calm like she is."
"So?" He sighs. "Is that something to worry about? She's unique because she's different like that. Though she has quite a temper..."
No.
There's something unimaginably suspicious that I couldn't fathom about her. Seff would say she was a person who showed little emotion. But for me, she looked clueless for a lot of time. She didn't have much awareness- like a child that stood frozen in time.
I sighed. Why am I even overthinking about this?
I ignored my thoughts and continued to evaluate the other participants that got out. Expectedly, it was fewer than tens.
A day has passed since then. Only six remained in total.
Soon, it didn't take long before Level 3 finally began to start in progress, since the policy that we implemented included only 50% from the level 2 passers will be chosen as an official member to our pack. Only three people will then be officially welcomed as victors of the tournament.
A panel was arranged to evaluate the fight, and of course, I was there to see it personally.
The first duel is Noah against Roan. Since it was a random pick system, Roan stood lower chances to win, seeing that Noah was known for his bulk build. He was taller, faster, and aggressive than he was. The match ended swiftly after that.
"Looks like you just owned a troublemaker in your pack, my friend." Seff nudges me.
"Arrogance can be cured, not skills."
The next match was Liam against, Marlou. At that point. I thought Liam wouldn't stand a chance since Marlou looked bigger and older than Liam. But that wasn't the case. Liam turned the tables when in reality, he was targeting his enemy's weak points, so eventually, he could burst his kills once Marlou was weakened. After that, he won.
"He's good at using his brains, but sometimes he should still know strengthening his body is preferable for werewolves."
"I agree. You'll have to work on building his body after this. He lacks body mass." Seff nods to himself.
Lastly, the match that we've all been waiting for. Venus stood against Jonathan with an amused expression. Everyone was betting that Jonathan would win. Although Venus had good marks for the last two levels, there's still a boundary between luck and strength in a 1v1 match.
Still, I'd bet Venus would win.
As soon as the bell rang, Jonathan was eager to rush the battle and tried to lunge at her. He shifted into his wolf and consistently tried to corner her. Everyone was ushering Venus to shift, but she unwielded to the threats.
She finally lands the first blow to the back of his nape.
"That's my girl!" Seff clapped in enthusiasm. He looked at me when he noticed my frustrated gaze, "What? what are you looking at?"
"Stop playing. Didn't your pack tell you to settle down? how long do you plan on collecting women?" I sighed.
"Who says I'm collecting woman? Venus and I are fated to each other."
"What? What do you mean by fated?" My eyebrow knitted.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐