The sweet-faced young man stood annoyed amidst the bustling crowd, with the Twilight Knight perched irritably on one shoulder matching his mood.

    Where had Kyre gone? He internally questioned while his icy blue eyes swept across the crowd looking for his self-assumed, indifferent-faced friend.

    It was Kyre who had dragged him here, only to leave him stranded amongst a throng of strangers. Normally, Teshia would have left without a second thought, but the situation was unusual because on his other shoulder, a small lava dragon clung firmly.

    Kyre, knowing too well that the sweet-faced young man would leave immediately if left alone, had imposed his own dragon to keep him company, or more precisely, to watch over him.

    Initially, Teshia eyed the lava dragon, contemplating whether to throw it down and escape. However, he could only think as the dragon was far smarter than expected. Before he could act, the dragon cleverly clawed into his shoulder, injecting a trace of magical power into the wound, ensuring it could track him by following the trail of its own energy. Such an action almost sparked a dragon duel in the middle of the city, for when Fok saw its beloved master injured, it nearly attacked the lava dragon immediately. Thankfully, Teshia managed to intervene in time.

    Seeing how adeptly it performed, Teshia raised an eyebrow, pondering how often its owner must use the dragon this way.

    Given all this, he decided he might as well wait for the red-haired warrior once, considering Fera's efforts.

    "Teshia... I'm here," the icy blue eyes flicked towards the mischievous friend approaching nonchalantly with snacks, despite being the one who had made him wait.

    "Where have you been?" Teshia coldly inquired. Normally, he wouldn't bother asking, but a certain premonition warned him that the actions of the person before him were likely to usher in chaos.

    "Here, I went to buy some snacks," the other replied with a smile, raising the evidence in his hand, causing Teshia to squint skeptically. Unfortunately for Kyre, Teshia’s chilly demeanor wasn’t intimidating enough, or perhaps he should try a more menacing approach.

    "Well done, Fera..." Upon retrieving his lava dragon, the cheerful warrior gently patted its head, evidently pleased with a smile since it had managed to keep his new friend in place.

    "We should go, it's about to start," Kyre said with utmost urgency, but his words only made Teshia more suspicious. What's about to start?

    "In ten minutes," Kyre muttered to himself, pulling Teshia along. There he goes dragging him around again. Is this normal for human men, or is it just him who likes to drag another man around like this? And why is he so freakishly strong?

    "What’s going on, Kyre?" the young man finally asked his friend who was eagerly pulling him along. How could he not ask when this one hadn’t told him anything at all?

    "It’s about to begin..." Kyre hinted, continuing his sentence with a tone full of excitement and anticipation.

    "The prize contests."

    Kyre's prize contest is an event where all brave souls wishing to test their mettle can enter the arena and fight in pairs. Contestants can use any form of weapon and power, with the simple rule of fighting until one concedes or can no longer continue. Amidst the many spectators watching match after match, the young man with blue hair, standing bored, was one of them. His beautiful blue eyes almost closed, wishing he could just fall asleep. But then…

    "Teshia versus Carter Fayrene, the swordsman of Geseia!" The announcer's call made his blue eyes widen. The young man quickly turned to look accusingly at the person beside him. It was clear whose doing it was to have his name included in the contest.

    "It was you, wasn't it?" His voice was icy, and the person next to him just nodded with a smug smile.

    "I forfeit," he stated flatly, not needing a second thought. Entering that arena was absurd to Teshia; none of those opponents were worth his effort.

    "Teshia, please come forward. Otherwise, we will come down and bring you up ourselves," the announcer's voice made the person next to him grin widely, while the called young man started to feel annoyed. At this point, everyone around began looking around to locate the owner of the name, presuming if the sweet-faced young man did not enter the arena soon, everyone there would likely come and drag him into it. The resulting scene would undoubtedly be chaotic.

    "They won’t let you forfeit," the sea-green eyes sparkled with delight. He knew that in this contest, no one could forfeit. Anyone thinking of forfeiting would be pressured by the judges and the audience to enter the arena or be dragged into it. Simply put… once you've signed up, you have to fight. And knowing this, Kyre had confidently signed his friend up without hesitation, eager to see his new friend's skills.

    Teshia shot a reproachful look at his friend before jumping irritably into the arena. His beautiful blue eyes focused on his opponent, a giant man who stood grinning, oblivious to his fate.

    The man in front of him was extremely unlucky to have encountered him... especially now... when he was looking for an outlet. So… being that outlet would surely be no issue!!

    "Three, two, one, begin" The judge's voice signaled the start, but the calm blue eyes of Teshia just stared at his opponent, too still... still to the point that the other didn't know what he might do next.

    "Aren't you going to use a sword, kid?" the giant man asked, seeing that the delicate-looking young man facing him had no weapon in hand, wondering if the other was provoking or underestimating him.

    "No need," the chilly voice replied instantly. Weapons…? If he wanted to dispose of the man in front of him, he wouldn't need one at all.

    Whoosh... The young man vanished silently; his movements so swift that not even a shadow could be caught. His speed was beyond what any mortal could achieve. Fast... incredibly fast!!

    "Especially for you," a voice cold enough to send shivers down the spine suddenly sounded... from behind!!

    The spectators all gaped at the movement too quick for the eye to follow. The man daring to challenge him began to show signs of stress, doubting now whether he could triumph over the young man before him.

    As soon as he regained his senses, the sword in his hand swung behind him, but it caught nothing but air as the slender, almost feminine figure of the young man had disappeared from sight.

    "Heh heh heh," a chilling laugh echoed from a delicate, feminine-like mouth, making the crowd turn to the other side of the arena where Teshia had reappeared in the blink of an eye. If he hadn’t made a sound just then, no one would have known that he had moved there already. The young man before them was a demon... a clear demon.

    His icy blue eyes reflected a heart that had long been closed off. A sinister smile spread across his face as if to emphasize... to emphasize that the person before him was heartless, emotionless, and unfeeling!!

    "Let's end this!!" His slender body lunged at his opponent with immense speed as soon as the command was given. His index finger, instead of a sharp weapon, penetrated the flesh of the man before him. No one saw and no one felt where the young man's body was until they saw Teshia standing behind Carter, his finger already smeared with bright red blood.

    Teshia looked at the blood dripping from his finger onto the ground with the same vacant eyes, his lips curling into a sinister smile before he turned and walked off the arena, ignoring everyone. As he had said, the contest was absurd from the start; no one there was worthy of his effort.

    But suddenly, the giant figure of Carter, who had been standing still, collapsed onto the ground. Ten wounds appeared all over his body, bleeding profusely, smearing him in blood as medical personnel hurriedly ran up in a panic.

    "The winner is Teshia," the judge announced loudly, but when they turned back, they no longer found the young man with blue hair. He had disappeared before the judge could even finish declaring his name, leaving behind only the terrifying spectacle of what the young man had demonstrated. It was as if that young man was a bloodthirsty demon with no heart…