Chapter 98: The most unexpected betrayal
Silence filled the Hall of Mercenaries’ conference chamber. The massive crystal monitor displayed the battlefield in real time, showing five corpses scattered across the open grassland. Two figures stood side by side among the dead.
Candidate Number One.
Candidate Number Seven.
Leo and Lia.
For the first time since the examination began, several elders wore surprised expressions. The instructor turned toward Hilda.
"Hilda..." His usually emotionless face showed a rare trace of disbelief. "...Are you serious about this?"
Hilda sat back, perfectly at ease. She swirled the crimson wine in her glass before taking a small sip.
"What are you talking about?" she smiled without even looking at him. "Didn’t you hear Elder Marcus earlier? He accused me of breaking tradition. So... I’m simply following tradition."
The instructor frowned and took a step forward. "You know that’s not what I mean. This won’t end well."
Hilda offered a sinister smile. "Don’t worry. Everything is already accounted for and all necessary preparations are in place." She rested her chin against one hand, a faint smile gracing her lips. "Besides... I already promised my dear nephew Dennis... that I’d give him a spectacle worth watching."
Bang!
The instructor slammed his palm against the conference table. The sharp sound echoed throughout the room.
"Hilda!" His voice rose for the first time in years. "The final examination isn’t some performance for you and your nephew! It’s the Hall’s most important selection. One wrong decision... and years of hard work will be wasted."
The room fell quiet. Hilda met his gaze with calm amusement, letting out a soft chuckle as she placed her wine glass on the table.
"Dennis has never asked me for anything. Not once." She intertwined her fingers. "The only request he has ever made... was to see Leo suffer. To watch him spend the rest of his life in misery." Her smile turned cold. She leaned back in her chair. "So naturally... I intend to grant my nephew’s wish."
The instructor’s expression darkened. "...You’re insane."
Ignoring him, Hilda glanced toward the head of the table. "Besides... The Grand Elder has already approved everything."
The instructor shifted his gaze. "Grand Elder..."
The old man sat with his eyes half-closed. His weathered face betrayed no emotion. After a long pause, he spoke.
"The boy... has become overconfident. He believes everything is under his control. He needs to understand... that he has never possessed any freedom. Nor any control."
The Grand Elder opened his eyes, and a terrifying pressure washed over the room.
"He has broken the Hall’s rules many times. He has repeatedly challenged the hall’s authority. He even dared to challenge decisions that weren’t his to question." His tone held absolute indifference. "If such thoughts continue to grow... they will one day become rebellion. That... cannot be tolerated."
He folded his hands before him. "So... He must learn. He must understand the price... of believing he has a choice."
Silence reclaimed the room. No elder dared to speak. The Grand Elder turned his attention to the technician seated at the communication console.
"Send the command."
The technician stood at once. "Yes, Grand Elder."
His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard. A confirmation light flashed.
Deep within the examination grounds, Leo and Lia felt their wristwatches vibrate.
Beep.
A familiar mechanical voice echoed from both devices in unison.
"Attention. Candidate Number One. Candidate Number Seven."
Leo’s expression stiffened. Lia lowered her daggers.
The machine continued without emotion. "Congratulations. You have qualified for the final test."
A brief pause followed.
"Final Test. Candidate Number One... and Candidate Number Seven... must now engage in a battle to the death."
Time itself seemed to freeze. Lia’s face lost its color. Leo’s pupils contracted. Neither spoke a word.
The voice continued without mercy. "You have ten minutes. Only one candidate may survive. Failure to eliminate the opposing candidate before the time limit expires..."
Another pause hung in the air before the final sentence.
"...will result in the elimination of both candidates."
The flat tone offered no room for misunderstanding. "Elimination... means death."
The countdown on both wristwatches lit up the screens.
09:59
09:58
09:57
Leo and Lia stood frozen. Neither spoke. Neither moved. Only the countdown continued to tick relentlessly on their wrists. The mechanical voice faded, yet those final words kept echoing inside their minds.
"Candidate Number One... Candidate Number Seven... must now engage in a battle to the death."
A slight tremor ran through Lia’s body. Dennis’s sinister smile surfaced in her mind, and his earlier whisper replayed with terrifying clarity.
"I’ve prepared a very special surprise for your big brother today. I wonder... if he’ll survive it."
At the time, she hadn’t fully understood. She assumed Dennis had arranged an ambush, thinking the four rival candidates were his surprise. Now, the truth washed over her, draining the remaining warmth from her face. This had been his plan all along. Everything else had merely been a warm-up.
The Hall had never intended for both of them to leave this forest alive.
Lia bowed her head. Eight years of suffering. Eight years of training. Eight years of surviving countless life-and-death trials together. All of it had been leading to this moment.
Raising her eyes, her gaze settled on Leo. He stood in front of her, just like always, protecting her with his broad back. A faint, gentle smile broke across her face, carrying the weight of countless memories.
The little boy who had reached out his hand to a frightened little girl on their first day... The brother who secretly shared his food with her. The brother who took punishments in her place. The brother who stayed awake all night whenever she was sick. The brother who had always protected her.
Without realizing it, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Leo snapped back to reality first. Veins bulged across his forehead as his face twisted with a rage Lia had never seen before.
"FUCK!!" His furious roar echoed across the empty grassland. "What the hell is this command?!"
He glared toward the sky as though trying to stare through the clouds themselves. "You bunch of fucking psychopaths! If this is some kind of joke... THEN STOP IT!!"
His voice turned hoarse. "You fucking psychopaths! COME OUT!! I SAID COME OUT!!"
Only silence answered him. The countdown ticked away.
09:08
09:07
09:06
Leo’s breathing grew heavy. His eyes darted across the surrounding forest. His grip tightened around his blade until his knuckles turned white.
He took a step forward. Without looking back, he spoke.
"Lia."
His voice had regained its calmness, sounding frighteningly cold.
"Stay behind me. I’ll deal with whoever comes. I don’t care if it’s instructors... or elders... I’ll kill every single one of them."
Lia bit her lip as more tears slipped down her face. She knew better than anyone. No matter how strong Leo was, there was no escaping the Hall of Mercenaries. Not today. Not against all of them.
She looked at his back one last time—the same back that had shielded her for eight years. A gentle smile touched her lips.
"...Big Brother."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
Before Leo could react, she sprinted forward.
Leo’s eyes widened. "Lia?"
She threw both arms around him, wrapping him in the tightest embrace she had ever given him. Leo froze completely, his body going rigid.
"...Lia?"
He instinctively lowered his head. His pupils shrank to pinpoints. His mind went completely blank.
The blade he had been gripping all this time had pierced straight through Lia’s chest. The tip protruded from her back, and a crimson stain began to spread across her black uniform.
Time seemed to stop. The wind disappeared. The birds fell silent. Even the countdown felt as though it no longer existed.
Leo stared blankly at the sword embedded in his sister’s chest. His lips trembled.
"N..." His voice broke. "...No..."
Blood trickled from the corner of Lia’s lips. Yet, she was still smiling.