“You, my dear friend, are looking for some of the other competitors,” Nicholas said with a smile. He put his hands together and tried to act as hospitable as possible. He’d never been more thankful for his mastery of lying. There was no way for his team to beat a sin at the moment. They were already in shambles after the fight against Rose and Damian. Wrath’s sudden appearance was the last thing they needed, but it was a great excuse to leave without fully fighting.
“Definitely. How about you stay here and we go get them?” Xander said. He kept up the same act as his partner. The two fools turned around with gusto. They were eager to evacuate and let someone else handle the sin. The Heroes of The Voice were griping about never doing so. They should have been more than happy to battle Wrath while The Unnamed Team made their escape. Unfortunately, it was never that easy.
The two felt extreme pain within their heads after a few steps were taken. It felt like their heads were being split open. They fell to their knees and twisted in agony. The pain continued for several moments before subsiding as quickly as it came. It was obvious what hurt them. It wasn’t from Wrath or one of their skills. No, this was the world mandating that The Unnamed Team act as proper heroes. They had to fight the sin.
“SKILL [DUTY BOUND] PROHIBITS THIS ACTION. SUBSEQUENT ATTEMPTS WILL RESULT IN INCREASED PAIN.”
“We participated in the tournament, Genesis. I think it's about time you removed [Duty Bound] from us.” Rex said to the voice in his head. His team was temporarily given the skill [Duty Bound] after swearing over a holy relic to participate in the tournament. It completely slipped their mind at this point, but Genesis had never dismissed the skill. As a result, they still had to comply with the terms it set or face grueling pain.
“NOTICE. FORFEITING A MATCH ALSO GOES AGAINST THE RULES SET BY [DUTY BOUND].”
“There’s literally a third-party interrupting the fight! How is this fair?” Robyn said. She shouted to the sky. The situation made her incredibly frustrated. Why was Genesis always pulling stunts like this? The omnipotent voice seemed to let The Heroes of The Voice act without obstructing them. Why was it only The Unnamed Team that dealt with these sorts of issues? It was a good question. One that even Genesis couldn't answer. In fact, the world’s system fell oddly silent. It took almost a minute to process what Robyn had said. Clearly, there was an error present somewhere. Unlike the previous times, however, it was identified by Genesis and dealt with accordingly.
“AN ERROR HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE ERROR HAS BEEN CORRECTED. WRATH IS NOW CONSIDERED A COMBATANT WITHIN THE TOURNAMENT. ALL COMPETITORS WILL NOW FIGHT AT ONCE. CHANCE OF FUTURE ERRORS HAS BEEN REDUCED.”
The arena doors swung open once the ominous message ended. The Heroes of The Voice walked out. They looked around with confused expressions. It was as if they were unknowingly summoned to their new position within the arena. They noticed Wrath and immediately prepared for battle. Had they encountered this sin before? It was possible that they had and that was why they knew what to do. Intense stares came from each of the members as they eyed their opponent. Wrath, on the other hand, didn’t even notice them.
The other two competitors were not as prepared. Gerhki, the halfling, and Peter Knight also walked out confused. After thoroughly assessing the situation for five seconds, they copied what everyone else was doing and readied themselves. Along with them was Alpha. To be more accurate, this Predator Slime was known as Beta because they were the second iteration of the same familiar. Much like the fight with Rose and Damian, this summoned slime was dressed in Sloth’s equipment and prepared for a brawl.
“Damned voice! You want to kill me?! Fine! I’ll destroy everything in my way!” Wrath said. Their full crimson armor looked like that of a typical knight and made it hard to define their sex. The single slit for their eyes to see was dark from the outside, and the plate covering their face made it hard to discern their voice. This sin was unlike those before it. They had no obvious skill that could have been exploited. There was no mercy demeanor. They seemed hellbent on destroying everything until they were satisfied. This sin was incredibly accurate to its name, Wrath.
The earth beneath the sin cracked and crumbled. Simply being around them was dangerous. The numerous heroes realized this. They knew they needed to end this fight quickly. Everyone repositioned themself as Wrath hyped themself into a frenzy. Each second only made them angrier and utilized the skill [Wrath]. It increased the sin’s power after each consecutive hit. Only a few successful swings would guarantee the death of every other hero that faced them. Of course, that required the sin to actually land a hit. Wrath was soon about to figure out how difficult that would be, especially when facing the team that truly slew every sin before them.
With all preparations in place, Peter Knight started off the battle with a bang…or strum. He pulled his lute from his hip and played an enchanting chord. His voice soothed the weary hearts of those that heard it. This was the power of a real [Bard]. His music was capable of inspiring others and improving their base stats. It also worked as a way to weaken his enemies, but Wrath’s passive skill negated that debuff.
With the song of heroes playing in his head, Gerhki let out a roar of rage. He may not have been a sin, but his anger was comparable to Wrath’s. This was the most basic skill that came with the class [Barbarian]. It enhanced Gerhki’s strength while also granting defenses to most weapon types. He drew his enormous two-handed battleaxe and charged into battle. His feet carried him far faster than he expected thanks to Peter’s music. Gerhki could feel that his next attack would be his strongest. He let out a warcry as he brought the axe down upon Wrath. The sin took the brunt of the impact onto their shoulder and staggered back.
Wrath aimed to counterattack, but several arrows shot into the cracks of their armor. This attack was different somehow. It didn’t hurt any worse than the halfling’s attack, but its effects were immediately noticeable. Wrath felt themself become temporarily paralyzed. That should have been impossible. All sins came with various resistances. On top of that, they were demons. Poisons should have had no effect on them, yet they could only move their eyes which locked onto the pests that shot the annoying arrows.
It was Damian, Xander, and Davis. The three archers were working in tandem to assail the sin with as many shots as they could. At their feet was Brandon. He used his druidic powers to summon various plants with toxic fruits. He poked each arrow through a fruit before removing it and handing it to one of the archers. His task was arduous, so he worked feverishly to provide all the poisoned ammunition he could.
Gerhki couldn’t hold onto the spotlight for long. He may have had new temporary resistances, but he also wasn’t wearing armor. A direct hit from the sin could result in his demise. Thankfully, Rose and James entered the fray to give their companion room to breathe. The duo slashed away at Wrath, who was now solely operating on defense. They weren’t given enough time to think. It seemed like each attack only put them in the crosshairs of the next. Wrath tried to recollect themselves, but not even their raw strength was enough to completely overpower thirteen fighters.
It certainly didn’t help that the three magicians had finished their preparations.
Both frontline combatants fell back at the command of Robyn. She then used her skill to temporarily hold the sin in place. The effect wouldn't last long, but the group’s casters were ready to create a more solid binding. Lizzy and Beta worked together to create an unwavering torrent. The water poured as if the god of seas granted their blessing upon this combined spell. The arena was practically flooded with water. It was hard to see through the relentless liquid, but Wrath noticed the final two figures move.
Nicholas shouted for the others to get back before using [Frost Touch] on the water. Ice spontaneously generated from the water’s trail. Large shards formed from the amount of mana poured into the skill. It consumed all of Nicholas’s energy, forcing him to collapse from exhaustion. Thankfully, that was his only task. Rex sprung into action. He couldn't waste any of the time his friends bought for him. He wielded one of James’s thunderous javelins and took a deep breath.
Then, Rex threw the spear as hard as he could.
The tip of the javelin jolted as it cut through the air. Its charge of thunder magic was eager to be released. Thanks to the skill [Weapon Throw], the spear was able to charge toward its target with extreme accuracy and power. The javelin punched straight through Wrath’s helmet. Lightning zapped through the sin, forcing them to convulse. Angered groans of frustration rang out as Wrath tried to fight. They tried to grasp at any remaining foothold that could guarantee another day of life, but there was nothing.
Not wanting to give up, Wrath stepped forward. It was a horrific image. This demon was waltzing around the arena with a javelin straight through their head. Bolts of electricity ran through the crimson armor at random intervals. Wrath reached out for something. They would be satisfied with killing anything within arm’s reach. All they wanted was to keep the fight going. The ground cracked with each step the sin took, and the heroes were frozen from fear.
“What kind of monster is this?!” They all thought. Even the people that had slain sins were hesitant. None that they had encountered so far were this determined. They all watched as the terrifying image grew closer. They knew the proper actions, but something was keeping them in place. It was as if the devil himself held these heroes as punishment for what they had done.
In the end, rage was all that kept this sin going. They truly were the embodiment of wrath. It was more than any other sin had shown. Wrath’s anger wasn’t their undoing. It was what drove to action beyond the grave. Unfortunately, such an emotion could only last for so long. Their hatred slowly dissipated. The battle was over. The sin had finally been defeated. Once Wrath realized that they surrendered in both the fight…and life itself.
The combined power of all platinum-ranked competitors, the strongest of all combatants, was enough to slay the sin, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
