A Story of Evil

There was a good reason as to why Sol wanted to test everyone out. That is because, he wanted to use them as his reference for him to have a better grasp at dueling. This is a realization he had while practicing his micro casting of gravity and space. Something which he thought could be better grasped through the said method. After all, Sol was only focusing on his own skills. So much so that he has never taken into account the methods used by others in order to utilize their own set of skills.

That's why, right at the start of Hendrickson's fight, Sol's [Spatial Awareness] was already activated. Allowing him to see the fight from a better perspective and, from all possible angles.

Through this, Sol could observe the fight more intently. He wanted to see how everyone would fight and, how they would use their powers based on the situation. Although this may be different from his, there would nevertheless be similarities. Things such as choosing when to unleash a skill. The flexibility of the usage. Timing. Movements. Decision making and combinations with one's body while also using the skills. All of these are things which Sol wanted to take into account.

Plus, there was another factor that Sol took into account. Something which he would only reveal to everyone after the fights have finished. After all, Hendrickson's fight has already begun.

There was a large gap in raw strength. In terms of this alone, the Goblin King has the steel user beat. In fact, it wasn't even a close match. The Goblin King's weakened form was still able to overpower Hendrickson physically.

"Hey, how are you still strong big guy. This doesn't feel fair at all." The steel user said – forcing his own claymore's weight against his opponent. But Drazon had him utterly beat and, that's why Hendrickson proceeded to using his physical enhancement. Drawing more strength as the chainsaw on his claymore spun, creating continuous friction which Drazon wasn't used to.

"It'd take more than that to beat me!" The steel user declared as, with one final push, he was able to break through his opponent's weapon. Making Drazon back away while summoning the blades from the ground.

However, Hendrickson didn't care much about these. In fact, he simply activated his [Iron Clad] as he ran, not away but towards Drazon.

"Holy shit, does he have a death wish?" Nathan said, nervous about the decision as well as the action taken by Rick.

"No. He's actually got this." Sol calmly declared.

"How does he have this exactly?" Cinder asked, just as perplexed as Nathan was but, all that Sol said was:

"Just watch."

They did as Sol told. And not longer than five seconds did it take in order for them to see what their leader meant. The blades created by Drazon; none of it was hitting Hendrickson. There was a multitude of it, enough for a person not to think up the same strategy that Rick was using. But that was exactly what differentiated him from them.

Rick had a skill that allowed him to control metals near him. A skill which complimented his gigantic claymore, allowing him to swing it as if it was only the weight of a feather. This is also the same skill he uses on his body whenever he activates [Iron Clad]. Allowing him to make his movements even quicker. With all of it responding to his thoughts, removing the lag in between his body's reaction.

This same skill was used on the blades that were shooting up the ground. As soon as Hendrickson felt them, he would push the said blades just a bit to the side. Enough for these to not make contact with him. And even if they did, the blades simply grazed Hendrickson.

This made the match one sided. That is, it was in favor of Hendrickson who didn't stop attacking no matter what. Destroying Drazon's balance between attack and defense. Until, in this battle of attrition the steel user was finally able to come out on top. Dealing the killing blow as he swung against Drazon's sword once again.

With the continuous swings made by Hendrickson, the strength of Drazon greatly diminished. To the point that the tables have finally turned. Drastically. With the goblin king seeming like a regular citizen in terms of it.

"You're weak!" Hendrickson announced, getting one final scream from his opponent as his claymore finally cut through the monster's flesh. Unable to be stopped as it clawed and tore through Drazon. Finishing the fight in 25 minutes.

"My king did you see that!" He announced, walking back to the group.

"Yes I did. Now step back, it's time for the next fighter." Sol said in reply. 

"Wait Sol. About that."

"What is it again Jade?"

"I'm wondering about the time. Won't we have a lack of sleep or rather, won't we be late in tomorrow's awarding if we go with this pacing." It wasn't like Jade himself didn't want to fight. It was just that, again, he was placing King Nova into consideration.

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention that to you didn't I?" Was Sol's short response.

"Mention what?" Was Jade's curious reply.

"Within Pandora's Box, you can actually adjust the passing of time. Normally this would bring some bad side effects to your bodies but, I only slowed it down a bit."

"Wait. You mean this place can actually break the rules of time?" Nathan added in amazement.

"Partially. You can only slow down the time in this room. You can't speed it up nor can you stop time entirely."

"What the hell. This is definitely a cheat." Nathan added.

But as soon as he said this, Sol told the negative implications that came whenever the feature was overused. Namely, the body suffers a type of deterioration that cannot be healed. That's why they were only using a small amount of this power. Making each hour extend to an hour and a half and nothing more.

"You don't have to worry about time pressure, nor do I want you to worry about it. I want you to fight to your heart's content. That's what I need from all of you." Sol finished, pumping everyone up as another worry was taken out of their heads.

"You really had all of this perfectly planned out huh." Jade said, with an amused smile drawn on his face.

"What do you mean? This is as normal as every plan I make." Sol said in reply as the next battles went on.

With time not being a problem anymore, everyone was able to fight to their heart's content. And because of this, they even made it a competition. With the one to finish quickest being the champion. Of course everyone gladly took up this invitation while also excluding Jade whom they knew would finish the fight instantly using [Overheat].

Jade didn't permit such a thing to hinder his participation in the competition however. That's why he decided not to use the skill which Sol really appreciated. After all, he needed melee combat data more than anything else. And he also knew that, among his allies, it was Jade who had the most control over his powers.

With this the fights went on one by one. Each had a signature move to finish the fight. Each had a way to measure out their enemy at the start. Each had a form of defense and evasion. And, every one of them knew how to properly utilize their skills.

All the fights were incredible. Nobody could deny this. In fact, every bout was so much so that, you'd think the bystanders weren't breathing anymore while they spectated. But they were.

As soon as all the fights finished, Sol released the official rankings. One created by Pandora's Box itself which was free from any bias. All being displayed on a status window in front of them. The time of completion was already systematic meaning, the windows showed it in ascending order. With the fastest being the first to show up.

[15:18 – Alice Pendragon]

"Yes! Eat my dust!" The girl said, a result that wasn't surprising because they all saw how relaxed Alice's movements were. And how easily she finished the fight.

[18:26 – Jade Flare]

"A three minute difference huh. I better get in shape." Was all that Jade could say. Already thinking up of a training for himself using only his Halberd.

[22:00 – Cain Bloodbourne]

"Guess it's better than being last." Cain was the one who was the most surprising of them all.

Of course he continued using different weaponry. But this didn't mean there wasn't any skill involved in it. Because there was. A high level at that which Hendrickson finally understood as Cain finally earned his respect. Not that it was of any value to the boy.

[24:58 – Cinder Hemworth]

"Wait...I beat Hendrickson?" Cinder's tone was shocked. She did give it her all but, she didn't think she could beat the others at the ranking. Let alone be on a spot safe from the last two.

[25:00 – Hendrickson Steelheart]

"AHHHHH Why am I on this spoooot!" The steel user complained. But the stats which came with his name didn't lie. Giving him no excuse for losing in the competition.

[26:43 – Nathan Challone]

"Last place huh. Well, at least I still reached the time limit." Was all that Nathan could say.

With this their training ended and Sol finally deactivated Pandora's box. Clapping for everyone for a job well done. But that was not the end of it because, it was finally time for him to reveal the main reason why he made them go through the fight.

"Yeah why did you suddenly ask us to fight Drazon out of the blue."

"That's because I needed to test your individual strengths before going through with my plan."

"Your plan?"

"Yes. Everyone..."

"...I want you to live inside the Void."