Chapter 500: End of Volume: Time To Go to War

The screen split into six panels.

Natalia Kuzmina. Her purple hair catching the light, her telekinesis demonstrated through footage of her freezing an entire battlefield with coordinated ice attacks.

"The Ice Queen," Hyun-Jae announced. "Rank Three overall. Some are calling her the second-most powerful first-year in the program. She’s also Nakano’s stepsister, which has spawned approximately nine thousand conspiracy theories and twice as many fanfics."

Skylar Amane. Her indigo and pink hair, her expression bored, her knives a blur as she dismantled training dummies.

"The Phantom Blade. Master of misdirection. The girl who can make you stab yourself and think it was your own idea."

Celeste Vance. Silver hair like moonlight, ice spreading from her fingertips in complex geometric patterns.

"The Winter Queen. The President’s sister. S-Rank potential. And she chose the Hounds over the Sentinels. That decision alone has political analysts writing dissertations."

Emi Aoyama. Her blue hair, her warm smile, her healing aura surrounding injured teammates.

"The Radiant Heart. They’re calling her the best healer in the program. And rumors suggest she’s been keeping the Stray Dog alive through sheer force of will and determination."

Akari Miyamoto. Tan skin glowing, her chains manifesting, her smile promising danger.

"The Golden Chain. One half of the Miyamoto twins. She’s already fielding offers from Crimson Fang, but sources say she’s not interested in leaving."

"And that’s just the few," Sterling added. "We haven’t even talked about Isabelle Okoye, the Abdicated Queen. Or Pan Soomin, who hosts an S-Rank beast spirit. Or Raphael , whose entrance exam footage is still being used as a case study in uncontrolled power."

The panels collapsed back into a single image. Satori standing at the front of the group, bat on his shoulder, surrounded by his team.

Julian watched the broadcast from his room, his knuckles white around his coffee cup.

Aaron stood in the doorway. "You ready?"

"I’m going to destroy him."

"Yeah. You said that yesterday. And the day before. And every day for the past month."

Julian finally looked away from the screen. "This is different. Today it happens. Today everyone sees that he’s nothing special. Just another street rat who got lucky."

Aaron’s expression suggested doubt, but he kept it to himself.

In the Onyx House kitchen, Emi stood at the stove making pancakes for seventeen people while the broadcast played on the wall screen.

"They just called you the Radiant Heart," Natalia said from the table.

"Is that good?"

"It’s embarrassing."

"Your nickname is the Ice Queen."

"Which is accurate."

Skylar wandered in, still in her pajamas, and stole a pancake directly from the pan. "They’re shipping us. All of us. With him. The internet has made fan art."

"Don’t look at the fan art," Akari warned from where she was painting her nails at the breakfast bar. "It’s very creative. And anatomically questionable."

Cel entered wearing her combat suit, Noah trailing behind like a shadow. "Is he awake?"

"Braxton knocked twenty minutes ago," Natalia said. "He told him to eat, stretch, and try not to die."

"Solid advice."

The broadcast cut to aerial footage of the Crucible Arena, the massive colosseum carved into volcanic rock at the island’s peak. The morning sun painted the stone in shades of amber and gold.

"In approximately two hours," Sterling said, his voice dropping to something almost religious, "the gates open. Five guilds enter. But only one can claim the crown. Only one can prove they deserve the resources, the sponsorships, the future that’s waiting on the other side of this competition."

"And everyone wants to know," Hyun-Jae added, "can the Stray Dog actually pull this off? Can he take a guild of rejects and misfits and turn them into champions? Or will the weight of expectation crush him and his pack before they even get started?"

The screen showed a countdown timer.

INTER-GUILD TOURNAMENT BEGINS IN:

01:47:23

Emi flipped another pancake, her hands steady despite the flutter in her chest.

Outside, the island was waking up. Students in different colored uniforms streaming toward the arena. Silver and blue. Crimson and black. Cobalt and onyx. Viridian green. Ash gray.

All of them converging on the same place.

All of them ready to fight.

All of them thinking about the same name.

On a private yacht anchored off the coast, Veronica Cabana sipped champagne while watching the broadcast on a massive screen.

"Your sister’s fighting today," her manager said.

"I’m aware."

"Against that boy. The one you’ve been asking about."

Veronica’s smile was dangerous. "Satori Nakano. Yes. I’m very interested in meeting him."

"The President has issued a directive. All guild recruiters are to maintain distance until after the tournament concludes."

"How unfortunate." Veronica stood, her crimson dress catching the morning light. "I’ve never been good at following directives."

The broadcast continued its relentless coverage.

Fan interviews outside the arena. Teenage girls holding signs that said "MARRY ME SATORI" and "STRAY DOG IS MY ALPHA." Boys wearing makeshift Onyx House colors, painting their faces gray and black.

Professional analysts breaking down team compositions on whiteboards that looked like they belonged in actual war rooms.

Betting statistics scrolling past in endless streams of numbers and odds.

And through it all, one name repeated like a mantra.

Satori Nakano.

The Zero who became a hero.

The reject who built a kingdom from broken pieces and spite.

The boy who’d looked at the entire academy’s established hierarchy and decided it wasn’t good enough.

"Whatever happens today," Sterling said as the broadcast cut back to the studio, "this tournament will be remembered. Because for the first time in seven years, the outcome isn’t certain. For the first time in seven years, the underdogs have teeth. And for the first time in seven years, someone looked at the Argent Sentinels and said ’no, you don’t get to win just because you’re supposed to.’"

"That someone," Hyun-Jae said, "is about to walk into the Crucible. And I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be standing in his way when he does."

The countdown timer hit ninety minutes.

All across Valoria, people stopped what they were doing.

They gathered around screens.

They placed their bets.

They chose their sides.

And they waited.

I stood in my room, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

The regenerator brace sat beneath my shirt. The burns on my arms had faded to pink scars. My ribs still ached when I breathed too deep. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

But I was standing.

I was ready.

Behind me, the door opened.

Natalia entered first, her combat suit hugging every curve, her hair pulled back in a tactical bun. She crossed the room and kissed me, hard and possessive, her cold hands on my jaw.

"Win," she said against my lips.

Emi appeared next, her blue hair in twin braids, her healing aura already active and pulsing softly. She hugged me from the side, careful of my ribs.

"Come back safe."

Skylar leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed. "Don’t embarrass us out there."

Cel stepped forward, her silver hair catching the light. She didn’t say anything. Just took my hand and squeezed once.

Akari grinned from the hallway. "Try not to die, Daddy. It’d be super boring if you did."

I looked at all five of them.

My queens.

My monsters.

My soul-bonded disasters who’d chosen to follow a scumbag with a System and delusions of grandeur.

"I’m going to win," I said. Not bragging. Not promising. Just stating fact. "I’m going to take that crown, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows exactly who we are."

Maki appeared on my shoulder in cat form, her tails wrapping around my neck.

Downstairs, Braxton’s voice echoed up. "Ride leaves in five minutes! Anyone not on it gets left behind!"

The countdown on my phone read eighty-seven minutes.

I grabbed my bat.

I looked at my team.

And I walked toward the door.

Time to show the whole damn country what a stray dog with nothing to lose could really do.

===

END OF VOLUME 5