Klaus sat upright to hear what Icon had to say. It is not every day a sentient intelligence says things like that.

[There are only 8 warriors left in the Blood Competition — that includes you. So I was able to narrow down the threat level to two people, since Raxxion was the third-strongest in this competition, and you had already crushed him.

Of course, since Varkos and his goons decided to make things hard for you, I had to do a deep dive on everyone.

At the moment, only two of them pose a threat to you. One is a Medium-level Real Immortal, while the second is a High-Level Real Immortal.

Personally, they both are dangerous, but you should be wary of the Medium-level Real Immortal. She is dangerous, very dangerous.

If you and she fight, it will be a disaster of unprecedented proportions. You would have to show more than you intended to show.

It was because of the danger she posed that made me pay more attention to her. Her name is Niva, a warrior from the Glacielle Race — a variant of the Ice Humans.

To everyone, she was once a member of the Ice Mountain Academy, one of the best warrior academies in this Star system.

She killed a guard and three fellow warriors, which led to her being branded a criminal and placed on the Most Notorious Criminal list of the Dervas star system.

Over the last 4 years, she had killed 40 people, 5 of whom were hunters, with one even being a True Immortal. Naturally, she is a criminal by all standards. So nobody suspected her.

However, what many didn't know was that Niva is no criminal. In fact, she hates criminals more than anything. Her hatred for criminals runs very deep.

That was because a friend of hers from a rival warrior academy was killed by Varkos, and I believe she is here for revenge.

Of course, I went further and started tracking the people she had killed, only to find out that almost all of them had relocated to a new Star system and hid themselves well. She seems to have faked their death just so she could become the criminal everybody wanted to see.]

'So what you are saying is, my next opponent cannot be killed because she is not a criminal.'

[Yes, master. She is just here to get revenge, and the best way to do that is to get close to the one she wanted the revenge on. This also means she must win the Blood Tournament for that to happen.]

'Too bad for her. I also want to win. But even if I become sentimental and let her win, I cannot in good conscience let her kill me.'

Klaus smiled in his head.

'It is like the matrix all over again.'

The situation is impossible.

It is either he dies and lets Niva win, or he kills her and proceeds to the final. He cannot concede his next battle since, at the end of the day, only one of them is expected to remain alive.

Conceding means you want your opponent to kill you without a battle, since only one person can leave at the end of the day.

So either they fight, and one of them wins, or they both run and abandon the tournament altogether.

Obviously, none of them would want to abandon their mission.

Niva came for Varkos's head while Klaus is here for the Thunder Jade Essence Ore that will be auctioned 3 hours after the final battle. It is too important for him, just as killing Varkos was important to Niva.

So it is an impasse, one that cannot be solved easily.

Klaus pulled a device from his space ring and accessed the information that Icon had sent him.

'Oh, so she even disguised herself, huh. Not bad for a pretend criminal,' Klaus smiled and continued reading about her.

She is the daughter of a Planet King in a remote part of the Dervas Star System. She has three siblings and a pet snow parrot called Tyll.

Thanks to her genius, the higher-ups at the Ice Mountain Academy took her in, and in return, they sent 5 Immortal Kings to protect her father's planet.

They are grooming her to represent the academy in the upcoming Galaxy Warrior Competition.

Her talent was just too good to be ignored, so the academy had been pouring everything into grooming her into a True Immortal within the next 100 years.

However, when her best friend from a rival academy died, she dropped everything just to seek revenge. Now, she is a wanted criminal.

Her formal academy friends will kill her on sight, and she most definitely cannot show her face in any world ruled by the righteous faction.

Her own parents issued a kill order on her. Although they love her, to protect the billions of people in her race, they had to turn their backs on her.

'What should we do, Icon. She most certainly isn't going to bulge if I suggest she run away and leave the competition for me. So we will fight, and one of us will have to die.

However, knowing why she is here and what she had to sacrifice to get here, I can't in good conscience kill her. I just can't do that.

So what should I do?'

[Very simple, really. All the master had to do was take on her mission and fake her death...It wouldn't be the first time.]

---

[Skylarion City - Planet Yahmir]

Planet Yahmir isn't all about crime and mischief. It has real innocent people who go about their daily lives like normal people. They have their own culture and celebrate festivals.

In fact, there is a whole city dedicated to only celebrations. They have a rich and meaningful culture that sets them apart from other cities.

Almost every day, something big is happening in this city that draws millions of people. Skylarion City is owned by a Crime Boss who likes to have fun. It is a rather large city.

In fact, despite its enormous size, the city is a mobile city. It floats on the sea, moving all over Planet Yahmir.

Wherever it goes, fun follows. So most people who just want to have some fun always frequent there.

One of said people is Maud, who decided to explore the planet while Klaus was away participating in the Blood Tournament.

Today, a major fashion festival is underway in the city. Every corner is filled with people clad in their best clothes. From combat armors to casual wear to even bedroom wear. Everyone was showing off their sense of fashion.

Maud, who was practically clothed in all parts of her body, blended in perfectly with the crowd. Nobody knew what her expression was beneath the veil, but one thing is certain: she was right where she wanted to be.

She was having fun, so much so that even the thought of Klaus didn't cross her mind... well, that was until Klaus's voice entered her mind.

"Hello there, Maud... miss me?"

She didn't respond. However, that didn't stop Klaus from saying what he wanted to.

"Sorry for interrupting your fun, but fun time is over. Time to get to work."

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