The wall of earth that Selene erupted between them shattered almost immediately, unable to contain the force of Gareth's attack, chunks of stone scattered across the chamber floor.

But the wall had bought Derek precious seconds to create distance. Iris sent more arrows flying. Moon and Selene launched their elemental attacks.

Splash! Whoosh!

The attacks hit, but not as hard as they could have. Moon held back the full power of his evolved Elemental Attack, his fireballs only a quarter of the size they could be. Selene's flames burned with restrained intensity rather than the inferno she was capable of conjuring.

Unconsciously, both of them were pulling their punches. They needed to conserve their energy for what came next.

The condition was clear. Ten survivors needed to become one. And neither of them wanted to be the ones doing the killing. Neither wanted that blood on their hands, even if survival demanded it.

So they fought defensively. Protecting rather than attacking. Creating barriers rather than finishing blows.

But Gareth had no such hesitation.

He tore through Derek's remaining team like a reaper harvesting wheat. Two awakeners in Derek's team fell within seconds of each other. Gareth's spear found the warrior's throat, then reversed to impale the healer through the chest before either could mount a proper defense.

Iris took a glancing blow that opened a gash along her arm, blood streaming down to her elbow. She stumbled backward, nearly dropping her bow.

Elara fired desperately, trying to cover the others, but Gareth was too fast, too experienced. He deflected her arrows with his spear shaft, closing the gap between them with terrifying speed.

"Annoying pest. Die already." Gareth darted towards Elara.

John moved, throwing himself in front of Elara just as Gareth's spear thrust forward. The blade meant for her heart found his instead.

"John! NO!!" Elara shouted with horror.

Thunk.

The spear punched through John's chest brutally.

John gasped, blood bubbling from his lips, his eyes going wide with shock.

"John!" Elara's scream was anguish incarnate.

John collapsed, and Elara caught him, lowering him to the ground with trembling hands. Blood pooled beneath them, spreading across the ancient stone.

Just as Gareth was about to strike Elara, everybody's attacks landed in his direction, forcing him to abort and dodge.

"No, no, please," Elara sobbed, cradling his head. "John, stay with me. Please."

John's hand found hers, gripping weakly. His lips moved, forming words too quiet for anyone but her to hear. Then his hand went slack, his eyes losing focus.

Elara's grief was intolerable, her body shaking with sobs as she held him.

Moon realized in that moment what he hadn't noticed before the way she'd looked at John during their reunion, the subtle touches, the shared glances. They'd developed something during their time in Gareth's care.

He looked at the scene with a mixture of emotions, he respected John's sacrifice for his lover, but at the same time, he believed that he was a fool to throw his life away for someone he met just days ago.

Five remained alive.

Selene, Moon, Elara, Iris, and Derek.

Gareth stood before them, breathing heavily, his bear leather torn and burned from their attacks that he was unable to fully dodge. Blood ran from multiple wounds—slashes from Derek's sword, burns from Moon's fire, arrows embedded in his flesh. He was weak, on the brink of death, his level strength finally failing him.

Derek stepped forward, his sword trembling in his grip, his face a mask of fury and devastation.

"Why?!" he screamed, his voice echoing off the chamber walls. "Why did you do this?! We trusted you!"

Gareth laughed.

It was a weak sound, wet with blood, but genuine. His eyes, cold and empty, swept over the survivors with something like contempt.

"Fools," he rasped, then coughed blood. "You were always... just objects... for the sacrifice..."

He tried to say more, but his legs buckled. He dropped to one knee, then fell forward, his spear clattering from his grasp.

Moon didn't hesitate. A massive fireball, finally unleashed at full power, struck Gareth's prone form. The heat was intense enough to make the others step back, flames washing over the dying man until nothing remained but charred leather and scorched flesh.

[You have killed level 13 Awakener, Gareth.]

[You have gained 120 Lives.]

Looking at the large number of lives flooding into his reserves, Moon wasn't surprised. He'd dealt the most damage to Gareth throughout the fight, even if he hadn't landed the finishing blow until the end.

The chamber fell silent except for Elara's quiet sobbing and the heavy breathing of the survivors.

[Survivors: 5/1] [Time: 6:47]

The timer continued its countdown.

Without hesitation, Moon immediately began to level up his skills. Lives didn't matter in here, so he chose to level up his second skill.

[Four Element Affinity]

[Rank: Rare]

[Level: 1 -> 2]

[Cost: 8 Lives]

[Level 2 Reached!]

[Level 3 Reached!]

…

[Level 6 Reached!]

Within seconds, Moon had leveled the skill to six, the cost escalating exponentially with each level. He'd spent a total of 232 lives out of the roughly 300 he possessed, but the result was immediate and tangible.

[Four Element Affinity]

[Rank: Rare]

[Level: 6] [Evolve]

[Details: You have low affinity to the four elements. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire. +100% Extra Control. +60% Elemental Damage.]

The power surged through him; his attacks had just gotten even stronger than before.

Derek was staring at him, and the expression on his face had shifted from grief to something else.

"That spell just now…The one that killed Gareth. It was much more powerful than the others. You were holding back this entire time, weren't you?"

Moon met his gaze without flinching. "And what if I was?"

Derek's composure was shattered. "You think this is a game?! Marcus is dead! John is dead! Four people died because of your GREED! Because you wanted to save your precious power instead of finishing Gareth when you had the chance!"

Moon's expression hardened, and he laughed bitterly.

"Four people died because of my greed?" Moon's voice was icy.

"You're a fool, Derek. A complete fool. We warned you about Gareth. We told you about the bones, the journal, the danger. And what did you do? You laughed. You mocked us. You chose to trust him over us."

Moon stepped forward, his eyes boring into Derek's. "In fact, YOU are the reason your friends are dead. You led them here. You ignored every warning. Their blood is on your hands, not mine."

Derek's face twisted with rage. "Don't listen to him!"

Derek turned to Iris and Elara, gesturing wildly. "He's dangerous! Look at what he just did—he's been hiding his real power this whole time! He let our friends die when he could have saved them!"

"He's too strong. If we don't stop him now, he'll kill us all to win this trial. We need to work together!"

Moon saw it clearly. Derek didn't actually believe his own words. He'd simply identified Moon as the greatest threat in the room and was trying to eliminate that threat by turning the others against him.

Moon's eyes shifted to Selene, the unspoken question hanging between them.

"Are you going to side with them, too?" he asked quietly, his eyes locking with Selene's.

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