Elioenai and Drew were staring at Thomas while he was walking towards them from the counter.

They were both shocked when Thomas went to the counter. They have guessed what Thomas wanted to do. He wanted to fight in the ring. But the problem was his ability was not for head-on battle.

But upon seeing his confident expression, they cast aside all their confusions. They remembered that they were not alone in their battles. Help is just one prayer away.

Meanwhile, Thomas no longer cared about them and spectated the battle of the defender in ring number nine.

The defender in ring number nine was a youth at the age of eighteen. He was using a longsword.

Each of his strikes is direct and fierce. There was no hesitation and was ready to kill at any moment.

*syiinnhggg*

After a few strikes, the youth slashed the neck of the challenger, which created a bloody fountain.

"The defender wins," the announcer announced with a boisterous voice.

"That was already your seventh win, do you wish to continue?" The announcer asked.

Blood dripped but he acted like it was nothing. He closed his eyes and gently nodded while he disregards the blood on the floor as well as the corpse.

It was unknown whether he was recovering his strength or he was simply doing it to look cool. But on closer look, it does not seem to be either of the two. Or rather, for some reason, Thomas could feel that it wasn\'t.

After a while, the next challenger was called and another round began.

Through Thomas\' observation, he did not see the youth use any kind of ability. And, he was wondering if he had an ability or not. There is a possibility that his opponents were just too weak to force him to use his ability.

The outcome was the same, the youth still won and slashed the neck of his opponent. Then, after a while, it was Thomas\' turn.

"For your tenth battle, do you wish to continue?" The announcer asked the youth.

The youth looked at the announcer and hesitated for a while. But, in the end, he nodded and said, "yes."

"The next challenger is a student from one of the camps of the base. He wanted to grant the defender\'s death wish," the announcer gave a brief introduction to Thomas.

Meanwhile, Thomas was already walking towards the ring.

His heart was thumping as this was his first time taking up the role of a head-on attacker. Most of the time, he was a support, either for travel or for escape.

He took a deep breath as he steeled his heart and prayed silently, "Lord, help me win this battle."

The seed of faithfulness\' faith energy was converted into divine energy and courses towards Allen through the divine mark.

Then, Allen, who was at his shrine, heard the prayer and received all the corresponding information.

He was stunned by Thomas\' courage. Thus, he put on a smile and decided to watch the \'live show.\'

Meanwhile, Thomas continued to stride towards the ring. And with his every step, the thumping of his heart intensifies.

*clomp* *clomp* *clomp*

Step by step he walked closer to the ring and when he was about to reach, he stopped and took a deep breath as he uttered another prayer silently one more time.

"Lord, this is it. Help me."

The youth looked at Thomas. He was speechless as Thomas\' entrance seemed to be dramatic for some reason.

He assumed that this must be Thomas\' first time fighting in a life and death arena.

The youth smirked as he did not plan to spare him just because it was his first time. He silently prepared himself and waited for Thomas to enter the ring.

Then, just as Thomas stepped into the ring, the youth swung his sword towards him.

"Whoooo!"

"Get \'em, boy!"

The crowd cheered as they wanted to see the youth win because they betted a large sum of money on him.

Thomas was caught off guard but his instinct let him dodge the sword that was aimed at his neck as he disappeared into his own shadow, which muted the cheers of the crowd.

The youth was stunned as he, too, did not expect it. He looked down on his enemy.

He looked around for Thomas traces but he couldn\'t find his enemy.

But in the next moment, his shadow wriggled and Thomas came out with his dagger aimed at the youth\'s ankle which nearly made the hearts of the crowd fall to the ground.

The heart of the crowd skipped a beat as they feared that Thomas might win.

But the next moment, their noises resumed because the youth did not win nine times for no reason.

He was adept in fighting and managed to dodge the dagger at hair\'s breadth but this time he was now knew Thomas\' ability.

The youth assumed that Thomas could hide in the shadows and he wondered just how powerful will Thomas be at night since the darkness of the night is due to the shadow of the earth. But that question has to wait.

The youth glared at Thomas and said, "you nearly got me. But, I pity you. You can no longer do it. I already knew your ability."

Thomas did not falter. He used his ability again, but this time, he was not planning to enter the shadows. Instead, he wanted to force him into the shadows.

The youth\'s shadow wriggled and tried to \'devour\' its source, which stunned the youth. But in the next moment, it was Thomas\' turn to be stunned. The youth\'s shadow one out of reach.

Thomas could not sense nor control the shadow.

The surroundings of the youth seemed to be augmented and Thomas was not able to use his ability. All the shadows near him got out of his reach.

The youth took this time and swung his sword at Thomas\' neck.

The crowd went wild as they saw Thomas\' eyes widen. They were excited to see his blood drip and his corpse fell.

*slash*

*whoooosh*

Thomas\' blood spewed like a fountain, or so as everyone expected. But contrary to it, the youth felt an unknown energy blocked his sword.

The youth, along with the crowd, was stunned. The energy was unknown to them.

It was the divine energy from the divine mark. The divine mark would not let anything happen to its host unless Allen commanded.

Then, in the next moment, Thomas was dazed as he too received the same information as the Plague Priest received.. Allen rewarded him for his courage.