Born in Blood

Time felt slow. 

Liam's healing was fast enough to repair his skin tissue before it reached his bones.

It felt horrible…

Liam loved it.

In fact, he had to hold back a smile from forming on his face.

More and more of his flesh was being grinded to paste.

But Liam healed it before it dug into his bones.

This physical strength was not normal at all.

Rin's strike was stronger than Spirit of Nature's!

It was a clear reminder that size and muscle mass did not dictate strength and power.

One thing was very clear.

Out of everyone here, Rin had the strongest physical strength. 

Even till now, the ball's speed didn't slow down at all. 

SHHHHHHHH!

However…the force became bearable. 

And Liam redirected the ball towards Hand of Light.

Kuan was taken aback.

The redirection was still too fast.

Plus, it came at a low angle, denying him any opportunity to pass the ball to his teammates. 

Kuan let out a curse. 

Waves of light gathered around his powerful fists, which he clasped together to smash the ball to the other side.

BOOM!

WHISH!

The ball… hit the net.

CHING!

Silence.

"Hand of Light," the Mayor said from above, "disqualified." 

Turning towards Liam, Kuan's face turned very, very ugly with rage.

However, his face slowly softened. 

Liam's hands looked like… well, they didn't look like hands. 

More like leftover flesh dropped in a piranha infested pond.

Liam had a pitiful expression on his face.

But not because of his pain.

'Gauntlets broke,' Liam thought. 'It took me time to make these…'

'Oh well. There's a lot more where that came from.' 

Liam looked at Kuan with an unapologetic expression. 

Kuan had only himself to blame. 

It was his fault.

Not Liam's.

Taking a short breath to calm himself, Kuan clicked his tongue and turned to leave. 

"Are you leaving already, Mister Kuan?" the Mayor asked with a little concern in his voice. "Please forgive any shortcomings I've had as a host." 

Cornelius was probably worried if Kuan was offended or not.

"You haven't had any," Kuan said dismissively, then paused. "Except for one."

Kuan turned around and pointed at Liam. 

"Inviting him."

A second later, Kuan left through the gate that connected the upper floor to those below, his footsteps fading to silence.

An awkward silence followed.

Liam didn't respond to what Kuan said.

And nobody replied on Liam's behalf.

'Does he know?' Liam thought to himself, hiding a smile. 'I think he does.' 

Know what, exactly?

…That Liam did what he did on purpose!

He sent the ball as low and uncomfortable as possible for Hand of Light, knowing there was a high chance he could get disqualified for it. 

Of course, Liam could easily throw the ball backwards for Alucard to take care of.

Or send it to Eyes of Knowledge, since the genius could easily think of a way to get out of the predicament. 

However, that could backfire. 

Kuan was an easy target.

Liam saw an opportunity to get someone out of the picture.

And he took it.

'Better him than me,' Liam thought. 'He sucks anyway. Usan would have laughed.' 

A moment later, everyone's attention fell on Rin.

Liam included.

Seeing their gazes, Rin gave a toothy grin, which flashed her sharp canines.

Her hands had turned vicious, white-scaled draconic claws that caught everyone's attention.

From their time at the academy, Liam knew that this was the dragon Rin had spoken about.

The one that let her live, despite the fact that she was a sacrificial offering to it by her people.

She had merged with it somehow!

Did the Queen have a hand in that?

There was no way a dragon would just let someone merge with it. 

'Could she turn it off and on?' Liam thought. 'It's similar to my Ashura Form.' 

'For the General to pass the ball to her meant that he knew of her physical strength.'

'He isn't just a power-hungry creep with a massive ego.'

'He's a power-hungry creep with a massive ego and cunningness to balance out his arrogance.' 

It was no wonder he was called the General.

He could command people effortlessly. 

Meanwhile, Queen Thyress gave Rin a rare smile. 

If Liam's eyes didn't fail him, he even saw a bit of pride on the Queen's face.

The Sage shook his head with a little fear in her eyes. "I swear… they get more terrifying as the generations pass." 

Spirit of Nature had a concerned look on her face. 

"What freakish strength," Naomi said under her breath. "She is a monster." 

Obviously, everyone's powers were made average.

However, that was the terrifying part.

If this was just Rank 5 power… what about Rank 6 and beyond? 

"New positions, please!" the Mayor said. "Five versus six." 

"The Pashah's team will serve."

"I will make adjustments to the playground for the team with less players."

"If you lose one more player, the teams will have to be adjusted." 

The Mayor threw the ball towards Alucard, who caught it with both hands.

Then, the Bloodsuckers' side of the court slowly shrunk.

Now, the players could accommodate Kuan's absence. 

Eyes of Knowledge looked disappointed, but Liam couldn't tell with who.

A second later, Reiner looked at Liam. "You want to swap places with Spirit of Nature?" he asked. 

There was a reason Reiner asked Liam and not the other powerhouses.

He seemed to have a decent level of skill with how the game worked. Just a tinge better than the rest.

Liam paused, then smiled. 

"Sure." 

Spirit of Nature gave Reiner a sour look, but didn't really protest. 

"Good luck, Reap," she said to Liam as they switched places. "I'll set it up for you. Don't fail." 

As usual, the Adjudicator said nothing. 

Alucard gave him a firm nod, then gave him the ball.

"Fhoooooo…"

Liam heaved a deep exhale and closed his eyes. 

Just for dramatic effect, of course. 

Transfiguration was slowly transforming his hands.

Little skin-colored tentacles, barely visible to the naked eye, were forming on the surface of his palms.

Then, those little tentacles grew hands!

It was a hand-ception! 

Liam hid a smirk.