Divinity

--- [Lucas’s perspective]

Why can’t I move?!

This has to be his specialty…

But…

Why didn’t he use it sooner?

Shit!

He’s getting closer…

What the hell am I gonna do?

“Sorry bud, but you lost. It’s already over, so I’ll explain my ability to you. I don’t mind.” – Noah

No…

It’s not over…

Not yet!

I try my best to regain control of my body, but I simply can’t…

“You see, my specialty is incredibly powerful. It allows me to completely paralyze someone for one minute straight. Not even the strongest person in the world could break free. You’re completely under my control.” – Noah

What the hell?

With an ability like that, how is he only D-rank?

Wait…

He might be lying.

No…

He is lying!

There’s no way anyone could have an ability as powerful as that, especially not at our level.

There must be some way to break free…

But how?

“I know you can’t exactly speak right now, but I know exactly what you’re thinking. No. I’m not bluffing. It really is that powerful.” – Noah

I don’t believe him…

There’s has to be a way out…

“There is a catch however…” – Noah

Well duh, but whatever it is he’s about to explain, I doubt it’ll be of much help.

He obviously won’t explain how to break free, so I can’t stop trying myself.

“There are certain conditions for it to activate. Four of them in fact. The first one is that our hands need to stay in contact for three consecutive seconds or longer. That’s why I went for a hand shake before the fight began. You didn’t take it, so I had to improvise. I made it look like I grabbed your hand to get a powerful punch in, but that was merely a distraction.” – Noah

Conditions…?

Oh no…

If it has steep conditions to activate, it might really be as powerful as he claims it is…

If that’s the case, then…!

“The second condition is that I have to ask you question, and you have to answer. You might have noticed that I was pretty talkative throughout the fight, and kept asking questions. This is why.” – Noah

Not even talking is safe…?

“The third is the inverse of the second. You have to ask me a question, and I have to answer. This is usually the most tricky one. Luckily for me, you asked me if I could use SDM or not right at the end. Had you not done that, you probably would have beaten me.” – Noah

“…” – Lucas

“Oh, right! I mentioned a fourth condition too. The fourth one is pretty simple. All of those other conditions has to have been met within 10 minutes of each other. If we shook hands last week, that wouldn’t count.” – Noah

He gets even closer, and crouches down next to me.

“Now then, lets end the fight before time’s up.” – Noah

While I lay there defenselessly, he uses his finger nails to make a very shallow cut to my throat.

It’s not deadly, but it sends a message.

He stands back up, and looks at Leanne.

“That’s enough, right? He can’t move, and if I wanted to, that cut would have been lethal.” – Noah

“Sure, that’s enough. You win.” – Leanne

“Nice.” – Noah

The healers come down and fix us up.

--- [Alex’s perspective]

That guy’s ability is insane…

Completely paralyzing someone for a whole minute is crazy, regardless of how difficult it is to clear the conditions.

But I wonder…

If it had been me, would my specialty have countered it?

Could I have negated by activating mine?

I’m not sure…

“Let’s jump right into the next match! As usual the D-rank fighter will be chosen first.” – Leanne

She spins the wheel…

Before she even gets to call out their name, they’re already celebrating getting picked.

“Hell yeah! Finally it’s my turn! Just watching is so boring, bring it on!” – Volkan

“… As you might have noticed, the hunter representing the D-rankers, is Volkan Ignis.” – Leanne

That’s the guy who called us weak earlier…

“And as for the candidates, the next one up is Isabella Gladius!” – Leanne

“Oh… Oh no…” – Isabella

Volkan and Isabella are like complete opposites…

Isabella is very meek, and constantly afraid.

Volkan on the other hand seems to hold boundless confidence, and is itching to fight.

I’d like to see her win, but honestly, I don’t think she will…

If even Shin and Lucas lost, there’s no way someone like her can win…

Volkan jumps right into the arena, and without any hesitation, shows off his specialty.

Massive flames engulf his fists, and he slams them together.

“Get down here, girl! Let’s fight!” – Volkan

--- [Isabella’s perspective]

Should I run?

Or maybe just surrender?

I don’t want to fight him…

Gah!

I can’t!

She will be furious!

I need to stay strong…

I can do this!

I hop down into the arena.

Before Leanne even gets to say the match has begun, he already starts running towards me.

In the blink of an eye, Leanne appears before him.

“The match hasn’t begun yet.” – Leanne

“Who cares! You would have said it in a few seconds anyways!” – Volkan

He tries to get past her, but she firmly grips his burning fist.

The difference between them is too great; a D-rank hunter’s fire couldn’t even dream of hurting a B-ranker like her…

“I said stop. This is your last chance.” – Leanne

He understands the severity, and backs off…

“Fine…” – Volkan

He gets back to his side of the arena, and Leanne gets back to her seat.

Usually, she would have told us to begin by now, but she’s stalling…

I get the feeling she’s doing it just to spite him…

Another couple of seconds pass before she finally speaks up.

“Alright, let the fifth match begin.” – Leanne