Chapter 301: The Woman Who Once Loved a Hero Returns!

As the teams finally formed, the two sides stood apart from each other, with the Infernal Choir and the traitors gathered together on one side while everyone else assembled on the opposite side of the arena.

A feminine voice suddenly came from the Infernal Choir’s side.

"Lord Peiro."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone’s attention shifted toward the source of the voice.

It belonged to the leader of the Infernal Choir group, a woman who had reached the High B-rank.

Although her voice had been difficult to distinguish earlier, there was no mistaking it now.

It was unmistakably feminine, and she had directly addressed the blue spirit standing nearby.

’Peiro?’

Luke’s gaze shifted toward the blue spirit, who was now looking down at the leader of the Infernal Choir with a seemingly indifferent expression.

"What?"

At Peiro’s response, the woman slowly reached up and removed the upper portion of her robe, which had been concealing her face.

The fabric slid away.

And the moment her face was completely revealed, the atmosphere around them seemed to change.

Everyone’s expression turned to astonishment.

"So beautiful."

The words escaped from almost everyone’s mouth, including several of the Sunborn warriors. Even the representatives of Empyrean Academy stared at her in surprise, while the Elves were no different.

As for Luke—

’What the hell?’

He couldn’t help staring at her.

’How can anyone be this beautiful?’

Rather than being attracted to her beauty, Luke was simply stunned by it. He had seen beautiful women, but even among them, this woman stood out immediately.

Her hair was emerald green, but the lower portions gradually shifted into a deep purple, resembling poisonous venom.

Her eyes were equally unusual.

They were narrow and pointed like those of a serpent, with green pupils surrounded by bright purple irises that seemed to shimmer like distant starlight.

Her facial features were almost flawless, from the delicate shape of her face to her perfectly defined jawline and the red lips that completed her appearance.

Luke continued staring for a little too long, unconsciously comparing her beauty with that of every woman he had encountered.

After considering it carefully, he could only reach one conclusion.

She was definitely below the Saintess of Light in beauty.

However, she was still a level above Theia.

Unfortunately, Luke had forgotten one very important fact while making that comparison.

He wasn’t alone.

A chilling voice suddenly came from beside him, carrying enough jealousy to make it sound as though the person speaking was already imagining what his blood would taste like.

"She is beautiful?"

There was a brief pause.

"Right, darling?"

Luke froze.

Only then did he remember that Selene was standing beside him.

Because of the sudden reveal, he had completely forgotten about his surroundings and had stared at Brynessa for far too long.

So he slowly turned toward Selene.

She was smiling.

Her fangs, however, were already showing.

’She really wants to drink my blood.’

With this, omnious thought, Luke immediately put on a dignified expression.

"How could that be?"

He reached out, gently cupped Selene’s face, and looked directly into her eyes before speaking in a sincere and affectionate tone.

"For me, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world."

Selene’s smile remained.

In fact, it became slightly more satisfied.

She raised her hand and lightly, almost playfully, patted his cheek.

"Good. At least your eyes aren’t rotten like everyone else’s."

Luke quietly sighed in relief.

’That was close.’

Around them, however, the expressions of several representatives twitched.

They could clearly tell that Selene was mocking them.

Meanwhile, Alia, who would normally have been jealous upon seeing Luke and Selene behaving so affectionately, didn’t pay much attention to the couple this time.

Her focus remained entirely on Brynessa.

There was something familiar about that face.

Alia narrowed her eyes slightly as she searched through her memories, trying to determine where she had seen those features before.

Then, a memory suddenly surfaced.

"Her Highness... Brynessa?"

And those words left her mouth next moment.

So everyone who had been staring at Brynessa earlier, froze.

Their eyes widened.

Even Selene, Isaria, and Estelle showed surprise.

Only Luke remained completely clueless.

’What happened?’

He looked around, wondering why everyone had suddenly reacted so strongly.

Brynessa, who had been the one to call out to Peiro earlier, also raised an eyebrow in surprise when she heard her name.

However, the surprise lasted only briefly.

Her expression soon returned to normal, and she continued speaking to the blue spirit as though nothing had happened.

"Lord Peiro, I would like to use the last Champion Privilege to start the final round."

Her voice remained calm.

Then she announced the name of the privilege she intended to activate.

"WAR OF THE CHOSEN."

The moment those words echoed through the arena, the expressions of everyone on the opposing side changed.

Their eyes narrowed.

This was extremely disadvantageous for them.

Brynessa was a High B-rank, while the warriors on their side were only Early B-ranks.

Their original plan had been straightforward.

They would use their numerical advantage and overall quality to win the first two rounds. Even if they lost the third round, they would still secure victory overall.

But now everything had changed.

’Damn it.’

Estelle clenched her fist.

She could clearly see what Brynessa was trying to accomplish.

The woman wasn’t treating this as some ordinary competition anymore.

She was determined to kill them.

And that was exactly what made the situation so dangerous.

Meanwhile, Luke was still trying to understand what was going on, so he quietly asked Selene about Brynessa.

Selene had finally recovered from the shock of recognizing her and began explaining the story behind the Snake Princess.

She told Luke about how Brynessa had once fallen in love with a hero.

But that hero had rejected her.

Worse, he had mocked her for her feelings and eventually gone so far as to spread her private images, humiliating her in front of others.

Unable to endure what had happened to her, Brynessa had eventually taken her own life.

Luke listened silently as Selene explained the story.

"But now she is here."

Selene’s words eventually came to an end.

Luke’s expression changed slightly as he connected the story to something he had heard before in Stormveil County.

He remembered the conversation surrounding the real Snake Dance.

"So she’s that person?"

The words escaped his mouth after he finished thinking about her story.

He had once felt pity for the Snake Princess when he heard what had happened to her.

But seeing the same person alive and standing in front of him now, only to discover that she had become one of the villains opposing them, gave the story an entirely different feeling.

’What happened to her after that?’

The question immediately entered Luke’s mind.

One possibility came to him.

Perhaps she had made a deal with a demon, offering her soul in exchange for strength so that she could eventually take revenge on the hero who had destroyed her life.

’Maybe I’m thinking too much.’

Luke shook his head.

There was no point in making assumptions without knowing what had actually happened.

He turned his attention back toward Brynessa and Peiro.

"Hmm."

Peiro rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before finally nodding.

"Okay. Since he has given you his emblem, you are fully eligible to activate his privilege."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was suddenly teleported away.

The surroundings blurred for an instant before both sides reappeared in the spectator seats.

The two groups were seated on opposite sides, separated by the arena below them.

The arena itself stretched for roughly one hundred kilometers in diameter, yet the distance didn’t make it difficult for anyone to watch the battle.

Somehow, their vision had been enhanced by the Heaven’s Crucible.

Whenever they looked toward the opposite side, the figures sitting there appeared clearly, despite the enormous distance between them.

The same applied to the arena.

They could focus their vision on any particular section and zoom in, allowing them to observe the battle without missing the details.

"Nice feature."

Luke looked around with genuine appreciation.

The Heaven’s Crucible had clearly been designed with spectators in mind.

"You seem fine."

Selene’s voice came from beside him.

There was clear surprise in her tone.

After all, almost everyone else was worried about the upcoming fight, particularly because Brynessa was a High B-rank.

Luke, however, appeared completely relaxed.

He wasn’t nervous.

He simply sat there with the same relaxed smile on his face.

’Did he already give up?’

Selene studied his expression.

Then another thought occurred to her.

’Does he not know that after crossing early B-rank, beings can use Essentification?’

If Luke heard that thought, he would probably finally understand the strange transformation he had witnessed earlier in Marrec’s hands and legs.

Selene, however, didn’t know that.

’Maybe it’s better that he doesn’t know.’

She looked at him again before silently making up her mind.

’I will protect him.’

The thought strengthened her resolve.

"Huh?"

Luke noticed her expression and turned toward her.

She was looking at him with an unusually protective expression.

"What happened?"

He reached out and gently caressed her cheek.

Selene shook her head with a small smile.

"Nothing."

Before Luke could say anything else, movement appeared in the center of the arena.

Peiro materialized there, his figure clearly visible to everyone because of the enhanced vision provided by the Heaven’s Crucible.

He looked around at both sides before finally speaking in a loud voice that carried across the entire arena.

"Since the third round has been brought forward using Champion Privilege, the privilege side will not receive the buff options."

The Infernal Choir’s expressions remained unchanged.

They had clearly expected this.

Luke and the others, however, reacted differently.

Their expressions brightened slightly.

This restriction was actually beneficial to them.

If Brynessa wasn’t allowed to choose one of the available buffs, then at least one advantage had been removed from her side.

But Peiro wasn’t finished.

"Also, the Perfect State option, which restores all lost energy, health, and missing body parts after the battle, will be removed from this War of the Chosen round from both sides."

"What?!"

The moment those words ended, the expressions of everyone who had been feeling relieved immediately changed.

The situation had become far more dangerous.

Without the Perfect State restoration, every injury sustained during the battle would matter.

Every loss of energy would matter.

And if someone received an injury severe enough, they could no longer rely on the Heaven’s Crucible to restore them afterward.

That meant they would have to fight much more strategically and carefully.

More importantly, if they couldn’t surrender in time, they could actually die.

The representatives of Empyrean Academy, however, reacted differently.

Their expressions brightened.

Several of them looked toward Brynessa, who remained completely unbothered by the announcement.

"With this, we can tire her out."

Marius spoke with an excited expression.

The others nodded.

That was their plan.

They didn’t necessarily need to defeat Brynessa immediately.

If they could force her to fight repeatedly and gradually drain her energy, they might eventually create an opportunity to defeat her.

As the discussion continued among the representatives, Peiro finally raised his voice once again.

The arena gradually fell silent.

"The War of the Chosen has started."

His gaze moved toward both sides.

"Send your first warrior!"