Inhuman Warlock

The matchup was decided through the numbers, and some of the matchups came as real surprises, especially the last pair.

Ron was paired with the Rank Sixteenth team, which made it almost inevitable that he was going to qualify. Since only three teams could enter the next stage of selection, one spot appeared to be reserved by Ron's team.

Raayi's team was paired with the fourth-ranked team, which made her battle slightly harder than the other two teams. Despite that, it was also all but confirmed that she was going ahead if even one of her two team Members could win their battle.

That left only one team's spot in the finals, and that's where things became slightly complicated since the Third Seed Matchup came as a complete surprise to everyone.

Flame Lord Mander was paired with one of the dark horses of the tournament. His team was paired with the team of Lucifer!

In essence, it also confirmed that Mander was going ahead since even if Lucifer could win his battles, he couldn't go ahead unless one of his team members could win their battles as well, which was better said than done.

His team was filled with the lowest ranking members of the entire tournament, just like Ron. On the other hand, the team members of Mander were all top ranked. The chances of Lucifer going ahead were almost close to none now since this was one of the events where one win wasn't enough, and even he realized it.

The difference between his teammate and Mander's teammates was just too big.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the case for him. Even Ron was at a small risk. Even though his battle was against the lowest ranked team, that team also had members who initially had higher rankings than his team members. So he was in the same boat as Lucifer. The only difference was that his teammates at least had a chance to defeat the opponents.

"Lucifer, I think I should apologize in advance since it appears that we'll be the reason our team will be out."

Observing the uncertain expressions of Lucifer, Malin understood what he was thinking. He probably regretted his decision to go with them, but they couldn't do anything about that choice now. All she could do was apologize to him.

Because of him, she had an epic rise in her rank, which brought her to a respectable rank in the upper tier even though she didn't do much. On the contrary, they were going to be the ones to pull down Lucifer.

Even Lucifer hadn't expected an elimination match like this, so he was also taken aback.

"Don't worry about it. It's still not our loss for sure. I can give our team a win. You just need to win one of your two battles, and we can be through..."

"Win battles against them? We were ranked last on our abilities while they ranked near the peak. Winning against them is..."

"It doesn't matter what you were ranked. Look at your current rank instead. You aren't last ranked now. Instead, you're ranked near the top as well, aren't you?"

"But that's because of yo-"

"No, it's not because of me. As I said before, initial ranks are useless. Just because you were ranked last doesn't mean you were weak, and you can see that if you look back at your journey throughout. I didn't carry you over my shoulder. I only gave you a little push, and you did the rest on your own."

Demotivating his teammate when he needed them the most wasn't a good form of plan, and Lucifer understood that. When demotivated, even the top ranked could perform poorly, but when motivated, even a weak candidate could cause the biggest upset of the tournament like Maya caused before.

He lightly patted the shoulders of the young ladies standing beside him. "You two got it. We won't win two matches in it. We will win all three."

"Of course. I didn't come so far to lose." Unlike Malin, Lucifer's other teammate, Maya, was already filled with determination to win.

If she won, she could enter the prestigious top ten in this event. However, if she lost, she was going to be out. This wasn't even a choice for her.

"But if we are going to win, we would need a plan, and I think I got one," she stated.

"What plan?"

"A plan that takes into consideration their strength and their weaknesses so that we know who we should fight and how we should fight. Because of our current ranking, it'll be his team who will send candidates first, declaring their order of battle. We would declare our order second, and that would be our biggest advantage."

"Just give me a second. I need to take all factors into consideration before coming up with a plan."

Maya brought a small device out of her pocket, unfolding it to become a much bigger device, the size of a notebook. Using her fingers, she started writing everything she knew about her own team members and the opponent team members.

Throughout the tournament, she had been observing every action of every team, understanding their fighting tactics, strength, and weaknesses. She was the tactician in her world, and now it was finally her time to shine.

Lucifer didn't interfere and let her do as she pleased. Since they were to go last, they had plenty of time.

​ On the other hand, Raayi's team was to fight first, going against the fifth ranked team.

She didn't even care about the order. Her team was genuinely stronger, and there was nothing that she believed could stop her, and it went exactly as she planned.

It was absolute destruction. Her team was ruthless, not even giving the opponent a chance to counter. Both of Raayi's teammates won their battles in less than a minute, dominating the entire field.

By winning the first two matches, it was already evident that her team was going forward, but they also wanted the bonus points and to win the third match, which no one doubted they could do. It was Raayi's turn herself now.

Five seconds... It took her five seconds on the stage before the match was already over. To most, it looked as if the match was over before it could even begin as Raayi walked off the stage, leaving a frozen statue behind.

Her strength was absolute, and so was her cold. However, no one was surprised at what they saw. It was completely within expectations, even for Lucifer. She was dangerous.