High above, the remaining nine Chief Arbitrators stood frozen, their minds blank. No one had imagined that even with a lineup like this, Leander would dismantle them in mere minutes."Whoosh!"As fear swallowed the valley, Leander's figure flickered and vanished again.The masters of the Arbitration Office, who had strutted in earlier like they owned the sky, now looked rattled to the bone.Leander moved like a phantom of death, and they were the prey.Wherever he reappeared, they scattered in panic, terrified they'd be the next one crushed."Stop him!"Edis finally snapped. He barked something to Inas, and both shot forward at top speed.Dholous followed right after, dragging the Sword of Light with him.These three were the pillars among the Chief Arbitrators, the only ones with the power to interfere.If they didn't intercept him now, all twelve of them would be wiped out."With just you three?"noveldramaA cold laugh rolled across the air.Edis, who'd just launched himself forward, felt his gut twist.Bad sign.The Flame Witch and four other Chief Arbitrators were still frozen when Leander ghosted in and dropped right in front of them."What..."The Flame Witch stood at the front.Her expression locked for a split second before a claw-like hand ripped out of thin air, grabbing straight for her head."You dare!" she roared, flames bursting from her body.A massive flaming palm formed above her, crashing down like a burning avalanche.Leander braced one hand against the flaming palm, stomping a huge crater into its center.Then he pushed off, flipping backward, and shot straight toward the four beside her, a feral grin on his face.These four weren't anywhere near Inas' or Edis' level, and none of them had a terrifying elemental gift like the Flame Witch.The moment Leander appeared, cold dread drowned them.One didn't even get a full cry out when Leander's fingers closed, and the man'shead snapped sideways under the force, life extinguished in an instant.Leander tossed the limp body aside and lunged like a predator toward the remaining three.Among them, the man with the blood-red saber had the best odds.He ripped his blade free and held it before his chest, the crimson glow lighting up the sky.He gathered every bit of will he had, desperate to block the incoming strike. Leander's gaze turned wintry. His fist fired out like a cannon shot.Metal screamed, and sparks burst from the saber.The man's eyes flew wide, shock flooding his face. His breath hitched, blood risingin his throat, and before he could stagger away, a sharp crack followed.Leander's flaming fist blasted through the saber, splintering it, and slammed straight into the man's chest.His gaze froze, terror etched across his face, and his body went limp as the force burst out of his back."H-He's a demon! A demon!"The last two Chief Arbitrators snapped.Their courage shattered, and they turned to flee, screaming in pure panic."Run?"Leander's smile went glacial.He darted forward, gripping each of their necks in one motion.His fingers tightened.Their bodies jerked, then went still, suspended in the air like broken dolls.All color drained from the onlookers' faces.Four more Chief Arbitrators gone in the blink of an eye.In under ten minutes, seven of the twelve had fallen."Damn you!"Edis' and Inas' eyes went blood-red.With rage boiling out of them, they roared and charged straight at Leander.Leander didn't even spare them a glance.He snapped, "Devourer's Ninefold Path—Wind and Thunder!"Just as Edis and the others closed in, he vanished again—no afterimage, no trail.An instant later, screams from Chief Arbitrators tore across the sky.Cries rose, overlapped, cut off.The spectators below only caught flashes—spheres of light, streaks of lightning— sparking under Leander's feet.Wherever he materialized, a Chief Arbitrator dropped.None of them dared to clash with him head-on.His killing aura was suffocating.They scattered in terror, their strength collapsing under fear.He chased them down like a reaper, and each one ended with a single punch.Edis, Dholous, and Inas trieddesperately to intercept this ghost-like slaughter, but Leander's movements were too strange too fast as if he were blinking through space itself. A Chief Arbitrator fell.Then another.Then another.No pause, no mercy-just bodies dropping from the sky."No!"When Leander stomped the last fleeing Chief Arbitrator into the abyss with onebrutal strike, the Flame Witch finally snapped.Her face drained of color. Rage twisted her scream.The fire-wielder threw herself intofull elemental form again, her body swelling into a blazing sphere that punched through the clouds as she hurled herself at Leander's back. "Flame Witch-fall back!"Seeing her completely lose control, even Inas and the others panicked, calling afterher, but they were too late.Leander didn't dodge.Didn't even flinch.He took the fireball head-on and stood there like a stone pillar."Your turn."The Flame Witch's eyes widened. She tried to slip past him as pure flame, butLeander's grin cut her off.Fire surged over his fist, a deeper, fiercer blaze.His flaming punch slammed toward her skull.The sky erupted.The heat roared outward-far hotter than The Blaze she wielded. It swallowed herinstantly.She was fire-yet she had never imagined a flame existed that could burn her.Her scream ripped through the heavens.She endured a few seconds longer than the others under Dragonfire, but it didn't matter.Her seductive silhouette thinned, flickered, and vanished above the valley like smoke blown away by the wind.After cutting down the Flame Witch, Leander finally stopped. The Wind and Thunder Technique beneath his feet faded to nothing.Below, the major figures from theInternational CombatUnits-including Seth and the othersfrom the Shadow Division stood frozen, faces blank, like someonehad carved them out of stone. Twelve Chief Arbitrators plus the three from Reefus' squad earlier-fifteen in total.That was more than half of the Arbitration Office's elite upper ranks.And this superstar formation had been shredded in under twenty minutes.Leander alone had butchered twelve of them, leaving only Inas, Edis, and Dholousstill breathing.If word of this spread, it wouldn't just shake the martial world. It would make the leaders of entire nations lose sleep.High in the sky, a lone figure stood tall, flames still curling around his fist-like a god of slaughter descending into the realm.Halia, who'd always looked down on men, suddenly had a softness blooming in her gaze. Even someone as cold and venomous as she felt a spark of genuine admiration.Who else could do this? One man facing fifteen Chief Arbitrators and killing twelve.Outside of the Iron Sovereign, who else even came close?She had been right earlier.This wasn't a battle. This was a massacre-pure and simple.The flames cloaking Leander's fist slowly quieted. His eyes, dark as midnight, finallysettled on the last three standing.Dholous Igen-the Son of Europa.Edis Utas-former Master of the Fable Court.Inas Cage—the old Taybourne Sect Leader."Now then," Leander said, his voice low, steady, and cold. "You three are up."Halia, who always looked down on men, had softness flooding her eyes. Even that cold-blooded viper felt a flicker of something called admiration for Leander.Who else could wield power like this? One man against fifteen Chief Arbitrators, twelve killed. Aside from the Iron Sovereign, who could do that?She'd been right from the start. This wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided massacre.The fire around Leander's fist ebbed. His eyes, deep as the night sky, finally landedon the last three.Dholous Igen, the Son of Europa.Edis Utas, former Master of the Fable Court.Inas Cage, the Taybourne Sect Leader."Last up, it's your turn-you three."