No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

The selected ten for each side were whisked away by transport runes and deposited deep into the dense forest field with terrain thick with roots, rocks, and magically unstable zones designed to simulate real battlefield unpredictability.

Ten minutes later, the match began.

South Base.

Damien stood at the center of his squad, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded. He'd already committed the terrain map to memory and marked three key ambush points.

His teammates were still discussing formation options when he said, "You guys go and prepare three outward posts. I will stay and guard the flag."

They stared at him for a brief moment, then nodded. With the demon, as they have begun calling him, guarding the flag, everything would be fine.

North Base.

Athena crouched on a high branch, dagger in one hand, scouting orb in the other. Her cloak rippled with minor light distortion, nearly rendering her invisible. She glanced at the squad below her, most of whom were still fortifying their flag zone.

"Not gonna sit around," she muttered. "Might as well end this before the snacks wear off."

Without waiting for backup, she blurred forward, silent, fast, and surgically precise. Bounding from tree to tree like a ghost of war, she was already halfway across the map within three minutes.

Then she saw it.

The enemy flag.

Completely unguarded.

She smirked.

The enemy noobs were probably hiding in ambush, completely not expecting that she had her stealth cloak on.

Stealing the flag right under their noses would be… Easy.

She dropped from the trees like a flash of golden death.

But before she could even get within ten meters of the flag…

Whoosh.

Damien Bloodbane dropped in front of her silently.

Athena's eyes widened as she twisted away and landed a few feet back, blades raised. "How?"

"I knew you'd try it," Damien said simply. "It's exactly what I would've done."

Athena narrowed her eyes. "So you're going to stop me here? With no one watching? How heroic."

"I'm not here to be heroic," Damien said. "I'm here to make sure the game doesn't end in ten minutes. We'll get scolded."

Athena let out a short laugh. "That's it? You blocked me to avoid getting nagged at?"

"I blocked you because you were aiming to win too fast," Damien replied evenly. "Let them have fun first."

"Fun," Athena echoed, twirling a dagger in her hand, eyes alight with challenge. "Alright then, Damien. Let's have some fun."

And in the shadowed clearing between bases, the first clash began—quiet, precise, and deadly beautiful.

All while, across the forest, new waves of students blinked into the arena, unaware that two of their strongest were already dueling in the trees.

Athena lunged forward, her daggers flashing like twin beams of light.

Damien shifted sideways, narrowly avoiding the first swipe, his hand catching her wrist with clinical precision. She twisted free with a dancer's grace, spun low, and swept at his legs. He jumped, landed lightly, and stepped back without saying a word.

"Oh come on," she purred, circling him. "You're not even breaking a sweat, big bro."

Damien blinked. "Stop calling me that."

"But it sounds so right when I say it," Athena said sweetly, eyes gleaming as she ducked under a strike and retaliated with a flurry of feints. "Big bro Damien~. So cold. So serious. So hard to impress."

He blocked a jab and twisted her arm just enough to throw off her stance.

She backflipped away, laughing.

"I'm starting to think you like fighting me more than chasing the flag," she teased, adjusting her grip. "Or maybe you just wanted some alone time with me in the woods?"

Damien exhaled slowly. "I wanted the game to last longer."

"Hmm. That's what they all say."

She darted in again, this time feinting high and kicking low. Damien caught the kick, pivoted, and gently tossed her off balance. She landed on one knee, hair disheveled, eyes bright.

"Ohhh… big bro's got moves."

Damien didn't reply. He simply lowered his stance, death energy whispering faintly along his fingertips. Not enough to harm, just enough to warn.

Athena's smirk widened. "You gonna use that on me? Tsk, how cruel."

He didn't smile, but something flickered behind his eyes.

Then he moved.

Their next exchange was faster and cleaner. Steel against instinct.

A strange energy laced around her arms slowed Damien down, while subtle pulses of withering mana coiled around his hands. Neither aiming to injure, yet both striking with enough force to knock down anyone else in the field.

Athena laughed as she ducked another strike. "Big bro's scary. But kinda hot."

Damien caught her wrist mid-spin, held it for a moment, then let go.

"You're stalling now," he said.

"Maybe," she whispered, stepping back. "Maybe I just want you to chase me a little longer."

And with that, she flipped into the trees, disappearing into the canopy like smoke on wind.

Damien watched her go, expression unreadable.

Then he turned and walked calmly back toward his base—just in case she tried a second sneak attack.

Back in the woods, Athena crouched on a high branch, one hand resting on the bark, the other propping up her chin as she stared in the direction he'd gone. Her golden hair fell loosely around her shoulders, glinting like sunlight through the leaves.

"That dumb bloke," she muttered, voice half-annoyed, half-impressed. "He actually didn't chase after me."

She kicked a loose twig off the branch, watching it tumble to the forest floor.

"I baited him. I flirted. I even let my stance open up on purpose for a 'coincidental' grab." She exhaled like a princess denied her crown. "And what does he do? Block me, throw one line of sass, and walk away like some tragic brooding sculpture."

She leaned back against the tree trunk, balancing easily despite the height.

"Typical Damien Bloodbane. Cold. Mysterious. Unreasonably good at fighting and emotionally unavailable."

Then she smiled, slowly and mischievously.

"That's okay. I like a challenge."

A squirrel popped its head out of a nearby hole, and Athena pointed at it. "You saw that, didn't you? That was chemistry. I flirt, he broods, we clash violently, and boom! Romantic tension! Classic storybook setup!"

The squirrel blinked at her.

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever."

She stood smoothly, stretching her arms with a lazy roll of her shoulders. Then her eyes narrowed, that familiar glint of mischief flaring to life in her gaze.

"Next time he tries to stop me, I'm going to kiss him mid-fight. Let's see him block that."

And with that, she vanished deeper into the forest, a flicker of golden light trailing behind her like the echo of a wicked grin.