Popularity is everything; I play a super genius

That guy was just mocking and belittling me!

Hiber should have felt offended.

Strangely, she didn't feel any displeasure.

Combining what Saki just said—

"Then, from now on, at least in front of me, you don't have to be a monster anymore."

Instead, a subtle emotion welled up in Hilbel's heart, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

But the next moment, she realized that now was not the time to care about these things.

The battle continues!

The girl shook her head, trying to dispel those trivial thoughts.

Faced with Saki's "weakest response," Hilbel became extremely focused and concentrated on responding.

……

Be careful.

Saki spoke softly, waving her fingertips.

In an instant, the beam of light silently sliced ​​through the air and struck down toward Hybel.

Hibel's long dress fluttered without wind as she immediately activated [Closed Loop], attempting to trap the beam of light, just as she had trapped Sakiji before.

However, to her surprise, the closed loop failed.

The tri-colored beam of light blurred before her eyes for a moment, as if it had slipped out of her perception of time, precisely avoiding the detection range of the [closed loop].

That's right, here, Qi Ji used the "Blurring of Reality and Illusion" technique on his "Piercing Rainbow".

It worked!

It's not that Qi Ji doesn't want to use [Nothingness], but rather that at this stage, he is unable to maintain the circuit while simultaneously activating his core concept.

This was no easy task, as he had only just awakened his echo.

then--

The next instant, the rainbow slashed down, leaving a terrifying, horrifying, straight, and smooth crack on the arena.

Hibel's armor collapsed in an instant.

The girl looked down and discovered that her spirit body had been pierced by a strange beam of light.

Her spirit began to irreversibly transform into transparency.

"I...lost?"

Yes, without a doubt, they lost.

The moment he realized this, Hibel was stunned.

She never thought she would lose.

From childhood to adulthood, she was always seen as a monster.

Her response was so strong that she couldn't even control this "power" until she found a way to seal it.

As a result, everyone was afraid of her, and no one dared to approach her.

Even she herself accepted the fact that she was a monster.

However, the boy standing in front of him, the boy who had defeated him, said that he was the monster.

As the spirit was about to dissipate, Hibel Okisaki showed a somewhat relieved smile.

Then, her figure transformed into streaks of light and vanished from the arena.

The light barrier around the arena vanished in the next instant.

Fireworks burst on the big screen, displaying the winner and loser.

Without a doubt, Saki won!

No, it was Saki and the others who won!

It's not about the outcome of this one game, but the overall situation—they've taken it all!

In the wheel race, the entire Hibel team was defeated!

As for Saki's side, including Saki himself, there are still three people left.

Victory!

A complete and utter victory!

The five members of Qiji hadn't even used their full strength yet, while the two "leading generals" watched from the sidelines.

And so, with three against five, Kalentia's Hibel and his team were already at their breaking point!

……

Outside the stadium.

The battle between Saki and Sybel took several unexpected turns, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats and so tense that they forgot to breathe at times.

Now, the dust has settled!

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

This victory was so brilliant, far exceeding everyone's expectations!

They never expected that Princess Kalentia, who possessed the [Timeline] and was known as a "monster," would be so vastly different from Saki!

Qi Ji let her have her way, allowing her to attack as she pleased, and she was completely helpless against Qi Ji!

When Saki made her move, she was overwhelmed by even the weakest echo!

That's it?

Is this what you call a "monster"?

As Saki said, in front of Saki, Shibel could only be considered a "rabbit" at best!

It turns out that the statement wasn't arrogant or presumptuous, but simply a statement of fact.

Qi Ji's strength doesn't allow him to keep a low profile!

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but raise their arms and cheer, celebrating as if releasing their pent-up emotions.

But as the celebrations were in full swing, an untimely and discouraging voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:

"No... what are we so happy about? We still lost!"

Hibel and his team have already entered the third stage, so the outcome of this battle will have no impact on them whatsoever!

"And our team from the City of Fire has completely lost its qualification to enter the final battle..."

Everyone knows this.

But now that their City of Sin has finally crushed Kalentia, shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy it?

However, the feeling of enjoyment was fleeting.

These words brought everyone back to reality, and the crowd that had just been cheering immediately became dejected again.

"Damn it! Karentia is so despicable! They can't beat us in terms of strength, so they resort to such underhanded tactics!"

Unexpectedly, one day they actually dared to talk about "hard power"—

It was Saki who gave them this confidence!

It was Saki who gave them this confidence!

"Exactly! Even if those cheaters like Karentia win, they won't get my approval!"

"But...they came to participate in the competition not to gain your approval, but to steal our seats..."

"Damn! Ten seats, and in the end, they were all taken!"

"The finals, a civil war among ten Karentia... Disgusting! I'm not watching anymore, I'm going home!"

Among the crowd, some viewers who no longer wanted to eat Shi began to disperse in twos and threes.

……

On the field.

Saki won the match, and Hōki was the first to excitedly rush onto the ring.

"Saki-kun! You're my god!!!"

As he shouted, he also grabbed the wheelchair from the side of the ring and pushed it in front of Saki.

Huo Mu reached out and vigorously rubbed the seat, then made a "please" gesture:

"Welcome back, Saki-kun!"

Qi Ji's lips twitched.

This scene suddenly reminded him of the time when Huo Mu, that brat, had organized the whole class to bow to him.

This guy is really good at making things awkward...

Saki wanted to roll her eyes, but when she thought about how she no longer had the mask to cover her eyes, she could only hold back.

Seeing that he hadn't moved, Huo Mu added:

"Saki-kun, aren't you going back to your place?"

I'll give you my head!

Saki was reluctant, feeling that Hōki's awkwardness was affecting his image in front of the viewers.

However, due to the price of [Prayer II], Saki still has no choice but to sit in a wheelchair.

Qi Ji sat down with a thud and waved his hand, signaling Huo Mu to quickly push him off the stage.

Huo Mu immediately agreed: "I really can't do anything with you, sit down!"

"???"

Saki decided that from now on, Ruri would be the one to push the wheelchair.

Huo Mu, that kid, has started to play tricks on me now that we've gotten to know each other.

……

After the two stepped off the stage, the three women came to greet them.

At that moment, Ruri and Setsuna's movements were strikingly similar.

Their gazes lingered on Qi Ji's face for a moment before quickly shifting away.

It was as if they hadn't fully gotten used to this handsome face without the mask.

Bai Lili, on the other hand, puffed out her cheeks and stared intently at Qi Ji, as if she were struggling with something.

On the contrary, it made Saki almost feel embarrassed.

There was an awkward moment before Qi Ji spoke first, smiling and saying, "What, don't you recognize me?"

"Saki-kun, could you please put your mask back on?"

Liuli spoke as if joking, yet also as if she were serious.

Without a doubt, Ruri prefers Sakizaki when he wears a mask.

Because if Saki doesn't wear a mask, she'll be constantly entangled with all sorts of superficial women!

Of course, Saki could not agree. It had taken him nine years to remove his mask, and now Ruri wanted him to put it back on?

What are you, Liuli, thinking?

"The mask is broken."

At this moment, the pure white mask lies quietly in the system space, transforming into "emptiness".

Of course, the ability of mind-element mimicry and the blurring of reality and illusion have already been engraved into the core of Qiji's echo.

Even without wearing a mask, it doesn't affect its use.

……