550: Second Stage of the Tournament.

Second Stage of the Tournament.

BlackNight's eyes looked almost like rubies. The pupils cast an enigmatic glow. A crimson heat traversed through his body, causing the veins to protrude. The crimson heat looked like a snake, coiling inside the body, moving closer to the eyes.2

Then, as the crimson heat reached the eyes, the pupils whirled around like a portal made of blood. As the heart pounded, the Heat Destruction left through the eyes, scorching the earth and air.

The Heat Destruction was like Heat Vision but far more destructive. Thus, its name had the word Destruction.

Red currents of electricity whirled around the Heat Beam. It continued spearing through the air, forcing everyone to stand aside.

Isaac disappeared into a cloud of star particles. Luckily, the Marksman of Space finished its cooldown. He appeared on top of a smoking chimney, watching the scene unfold. The Heat Destruction speared through half of the City, most likely killing several people in the process.

Lifting his chin, gazing at the ticking clock, a severe frown appeared on Isaac's forehead. The TICK-tock was the sound of nightmares. It was as if the clock counted time till his death.

…

While the Tournament of Champions was running, mayhem was happening in the God Realm.

Inside a golden office, with everything made of gold and silver.

Odin, The Supreme God, impatiently tapped his finger against the cover of the book that lay on the desk. The atmosphere was tense. As the tap, tap sound grew louder, the door creaked open, revealing Loki in his greenish outfit with a two-horned helmet.

''Father.'' Loki playfully skipped to the desk, leaning on it while showing a childish grin, ''You called for me?''

''Thor is missing,'' Odin said seriously. His eyes were unfocused and cold.

Loki's playful grin disappeared. Waving his left hand, he said, ''He must be somewhere in Human Realm. You know how much he likes those human females.''

Giving a playful wink, he expected to see the tense atmosphere dispersing. But that wasn't the case.

Odin looked coldly at him, brows arched up, ''This is not a joking matter!'' His voice boomed in God Realm, scaring the denizen.

Loki shrugged his shoulders and got seated in the comfy seat. Crossing his legs, he asked, ''So, any idea where he is?''

Odin's battle-hardened gaze turned to the clean window towards the bluish sky, ''I sent him to Saturn.''

''Saturn?'' Loki frowned, asking, ''Why there?''

''Demons appeared there…'' Odin leaned his cheek against his fist, ''I told him to go eliminate them.''

''I see.'' Loki thought it was something far more dangerous. Showing a grin, he said, ''Then, what is the problem? He must be still busy killing those insects.''

''It was a few weeks ago,'' Odin said with a cold voice.

Loki's face froze. To kill low-leveled Demons wouldn't take them even an hour. However, if one of the Demon Generals or even Demon Lords appeared, everything would be different.

''Do you want for me to go investigate?''

''And lose both my sons, hmph.'' Odin shook his head, ''We need to expect the worst. If something happened, Thor would have sent a raven as the messenger. However, I have heard nothing from him.''

''Then, what should we do? This isn't a small matter.''

Odin tore his gaze away from the bluish sky and painfully said, ''We need to think about the future. There is nothing we can do for Thor.''

Loki's face showed clear shock. It was clear as day that Thor was the favorite son. This affected him greatly because he wasn't favored, and if he were in Thor's stead, they wouldn't think twice before abandoning him.

He didn't know whether he should feel happiness or sadness.

…

TICK-tock.

The time continued flowing smoother, and the cracks thickened in the clock. Only ten minutes remained till it reached zero.

The Realm of Marksmen darkened by the black sheet that covered the sky. Distant flashes of light didn't help as the fights turned scarcer. More and more Marksmen managed to get their first kill and immediately hopped back to their hiding spots.

A sole white-haired youth ran across the streets, checking the cramped-up alleys, but found nothing. Searched every building, found no one. With sweat mixing with his brows, Isaac started growing more anxious.

Crkkk…

Coming to a halt, Isaac looked around the dark alleys, streets, and buildings. He felt like screaming, but that would be no use. There wasn't a soul in sight, as if he had walked in a deserted city.

TICK-tock…

CRACK!

The loudest crack to the date resounded in the City. The glass cracked from the middle, splitting the clock in half!

TICK-tock…

Slowly, the clock ticked closer to zero. Barely a minute was left.

''Sigh…'' Isaac shook his head and sat on the trash-filled streets, exhausted. It was impossible to find Marksmen who didn't want to be found. They all were World-Class Snipers, perfect at what they were doing.

After the scene with BlackNight, he had to run away. The Heat Destruction caused far too much commotion, making him hesitate whether he should duel it out. In the end, he decided not to, and it might have been the wrong decision.

TICK-tock…

Crack…

After another crack appeared, the clock was only ten seconds from hitting zero.

''Zero kills get you eliminated…'' Murmuring, Isaac pulled out Silvercloud. The beautiful lining and carving made its preciousness clear. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful guns available. Everyone with a keen eye for details would love to have them in their possession.

'I wonder if losing here means death… what if there is a one-week cooldown from gaming? That would suck.'

CRACK!

The last crack resounded in the air. The clock finally reached zero. Immediately, the Marksmen's screams of joy reverberated from a distance.

''Must be fun.'' Sighing, Isaac pushed the gun's barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

[You Killed Yourself!]

[Kill: 1]

[Congratulations!]

[You Passed First Stage!]

[Second Stage - Team-Up!]

[The Second Stage of Tournament of Champions Shall Begin!]

[Good Luck, Wraith!]

To successfully clear the first stage needed a kill. Therefore, Isaac's last desperate attempt was to kill himself. He'd noticed that the rules in White Online events were loose. There were always loopholes, fitting the ones with brains.

pqdm.com