Semi Final's

"Aiden is weird."

Gold said as he went on to explain.

"Throughout the fight, I was watching him, and it's hard to tell whether he's using his contract or not."

Meanwhile at a random corner of the stadium sat a woman with blond hair and blue eyes, for those who knew they could tell immediately that it was Lotus.

She seemed to be using her powers of illusion to hide amongst the crowd.

"His attacks seem to have a piercing effect on hell energy," she muttered, holding onto her chin as she continued.

"But he seems more aggressive than usual, he should have been poisoned by now," she thought as a smile graced her lips.

*******

Aiden wanted to go back to the waiting room, but he was stopped and ushered by the security men to another passageway.

"You can choose any green room to stay for the night," the security said as they walked away.

Aiden looked around the dimly illuminated corridor, there were barely any visible lights and the shadows created an ominous ambiance around him.

Doors, positioned in mutual confrontation, exude an air of silent opposition. The vacant rooms were bathed in an ethereal green light, presenting a surreal visual contrast against the foreboding red lights that signified the occupation of the room.

The hushed murmurs of uncertainty accompany each measured step, while an atmosphere of subtle tension pervades the air.

"It's like another world down here," Aiden muttered unsurly, he figured that this was where the winners resided.

Not thinking too much about it Aiden leisurely strolled into a random green room. Without much effort, he managed to open the door

In the room, one could find a bed, a door that led to a small bathroom, and a television that currently displayed the match.

At this time the next participants were being called in.

[The last fight was epic folks let's get the next round going, the first random participant is Mai Turner her story is pretty boring, until the first selection where she managed to become a Contractor she was an accountant.]

As Jim addressed the audience, a crimson-haired woman entered the stadium. Her hair exhibited a striking, unnatural blood-red hue that bordered on surreal yet undeniably captivating. Simultaneously, her eyes mirrored this distinct shade, fortunately in a lighter tone that remained within the bounds of acceptability.

The people in the stadium weren't shocked by her appearance, in fact, this could be said to be quite normal for some Contractors.

After introducing the red-haired woman Jim went on to call out for the next participant.

[Next, we have Whisper, with a first name that sounds so suspicious one would think that her last name would make up for it, but she doesn't even have a last name, anyway, we don't have any information on her as well.]

Hearing that the two participants were girls the crowd cheered in excitement while waiting eagerly for the second participant to show up.

But something odd was happening, after a few seconds Whisper still wasn't out, the second turned into minutes and Jim suddenly said, "We have a problem guys, Whisper seemed to have gotten cold feet, she's nowhere to be found."

Hearing this Aiden straightened himself, he knew she'd leave at the first opportunity but the abruptness of her move caught him off guard.

He was shocked at how she managed to pull off such a stunt fleeing right under the noses of The Silence's watchful eyes.

"Hehe, Hehe, Hahaha," Aiden initial reaction went from a subdued chuckle to full-blown laughter, but keen observers would notice a subtle undertone of sorrow in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Three Face could be seen with a few security men, in the well-lit waiting room of the stadium, she emitted a surprising presence as her fist cracked in anger.

"Search everywhere," her annoyed voice sounded out, making everyone spring into action.

The participants kept their distance making sure not to attract Three Face's attention, nobody wanted to become the scapegoat.

Suddenly a security personnel, visibly unsettled, stammered, "Miss Three Face, upon reviewing the footage, it appears she vanished. Y-you need to see this."

Saying this he handed a tablet to her, in the video the time stamp coincided with the beginning of Aiden's match, yet instead of spectating the match like the rest of the candidates, she just got up and left.

Though the camera could still see her the moment she turned a corner she was out of view.

Fortunately, a camera at the next turning point captured the scene, but even upon switching to that feed Three Face couldn't see Whisper, it was as if she had simply vanished.

This incident steered up memories of the forest incident where Whisper completely disappeared behind a tree.

"How could I miscalculate like this," Three Face thought angrily, Lotus had specifically told her to watch over them yet she allowed this lapse.

Suddenly she discovered something and a sudden alarming thought struck her, "get me to Aiden," she exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Aiden who was relaxing suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, "bang," a loud sound filled the room as Aiden watched the door get blasted open with so much force that the lock broke, somebody had kicked the door open.

Reacting quickly Aiden stood up from his bed, but a figure rushed towards him and a kick landed on his chest before he could react.

"Bang!"

He hit the wall as he fell back to his bed, the force of the attack had broken most of his ribs and the assailant was hovering over him.

It was Three Face and her breath was a little rushed, one could tell she was pissed, "are you playing with me?" She asked abruptly.

Aiden who fully understood what Three Face meant chuckled slightly.

"ANSWER ME!"

Three Face yelled but Aiden still didn't answer, In fact, he looked oddly calm about the entire situation.

Leaning in slightly Three Face asked, "Your little friend is gonna die without another dose, would you like that to happen?"

But even upon hearing that Aiden still didn't say anything.

His reaction frustrated Three Face, and it also confirmed one of her greatest worries.

Without hesitation, she brought out a futuristic-looking syringe from her inner pocket, and quickly she stabbed it into his thigh, "tisss," the syringe made a strange noise as gas leaked out.

Aiden was gripped by a chilling sensation in his thigh, swiftly followed by a pain that coursed through his entire body.

"Ahhh!" He convulsed, throwing Three Face off him.

Observing Aiden's distress, Three Face, as she distanced herself, remarked, "You might possess the antidote for the initial poison, but I wager you lack one for this. Due to your obstinacy, you'll need a dose every three days."

As Three Face departed, Aiden continued to convulse, only ceasing after a few minutes, leaving a whitish foam at the corners of his mouth.

Fortunately, his body stabilized within a few minutes. Aiden, still reeling, questioned Landon, "I thought you said I was immune to poison?"

Landon abruptly responded, "Yes, you are." He said as he went on to clarify.

"The reason you're semi-immortal is due to soul energy. Currently, your body hosts soul energy without fully merging with it. Your body and soul energy are separate entities. The issue arises because your body, while compatible, is too fragile to handle how soul energy consumes foreign energies like poison." He said with a pause waiting a bit before darting in.

"Sometimes, the strain of your rapid regeneration exceeds your body's capacity. In theory, your regeneration should be much quicker. Don't worry; as your strength grows, your soul energy will liquefy, turning your blood azure. At that point, you'll be truly semi-immortal. This principle also applies to Whisper. Only when her blood turns black will she truly attain semi-immortality."

Aiden was a little concerned about his body but Landon kept on assuring him that he was fine.

On another note Aiden didn't hate how the whole thing played out, the way he convulsed would make his whole act seem more believable.

"I'm still one step ahead," Aiden muttered, from now on he would be more humble, until he was strong enough he would play by the rules, "just wait until I get stronger," Aiden thought as he gritted his teeth.

*****

(Back in the waiting room)

"That fool, he's just a rookie yet he's so smug," Three Face said as she kicked a random manikin.

"Bang!"

It shattered as it hit the wall, suddenly a blond-haired woman walked into the room, but Three Face didn't seem to notice her.

"You should calm down," the woman said startling Three Face, there was only one person who could startle her like this.

"Miss Lotus, you're here," she said in shock as she turned around.

But upon turning around she couldn't find anyone, instead, a voice could be heard behind her, "You seem stressed out, does this have to do with that kid?" Lotus asked.

"No everything's fine, I'm monitoring Aiden closely," Three Face said.

But as she thought about what happened earlier she hesitated a bit before continuing.

"But the girl that was with him is g-gone," as she said this Whisper lowered her head obviously waiting for a scolding but Lotus's reply surprised her.

"That's not a problem, the girl was interesting, but the ability of rapid regeneration is not new, besides Aiden seems to have the same ability. Now let's talk other matters, I remember telling you not to give the kid any special treatment, how's it going?" Lotus asked.

Upon hearing this, Three Face let out a sigh of relief. Regaining her confidence, she stated.

"Initially, I administered an extremely diluted dose of the poison to both Aiden and the girl, the poison is effective against people up to threats up to level sixteen. However, circumstances led to Aiden receiving the raw dose."

"He didn't die?" Lotus inquired.

"No," Three Face swiftly responded as she continued, "The poison is potent, though. I noticed it during the initial injection. Their lack of reaction, no shaking or movement as expected, didn't concern me initially. However, observing Whisper's departure and Aiden's nonchalance towards it made me realize they had a way to handle the diluted dose."

"So, you gave him the undiluted dose?" Lotus concluded.

"Yes, I did," Three Face affirmed.

Nodding her head Lotus then instructed, "I want this batch of rookies to join the other trainees at the enclave. Separate them and send them in together. Since there will be more people this year, don't do a sweep."

Hearing this Three Face expressed shock as she quickly said, "But if we don't eliminate the more dangerous demons, they're all going to die."

Lotus, seemingly unfazed by this responded, "A lot can be revealed at the border between life and death."

*******

The selections had reached its climax, after four days they were finally at the semifinals, and only six participants remained.

This year selections would be held for six days, on the first day the 101 participants were randomly paired and 50 participants won.

On the second day the 50 participants were randomly paired and 25 won, for Aiden it was an easy fight since his opponents didn't know how to use his contract.

What bugged him about this part of the tournament was the way some of the participants fought with their lives on the line even though they were clearly weaker.

He figured that they might be part of the poisoned ones who would remain like that forever if they didn't join the Silence, but overall there were no deaths.

In the third round the 12 participants who won progressed to the next round while the rest were eliminated, it was also at this round that most of the key figures in this tournament became clear for all to see.

The fourth round was uneventful for Aiden as he was pared against the weakest of the twelve.

And now they were getting ready for the fifth round of the tournament which was also the semi finals.

In the once lively waiting room, only six people remained, these six people were the cream of the crop, and they all had one thing in common.

Throughout the tournament they had never used their contracts, all except for Aiden thought, even though he didn't have a contract he had used his soul armor many times to accomplish an overwhelming victory making him the most formidable candidate in the tournament, but even with the soul armor he hadn't gone all out.

Aiden sat in a far corner in the waiting room alone with his thoughts, yesterday a security man came into his room and gave him another dose of the poison.

To avoid suspicion Aiden took it in front of the man but to his surprise, he didn't convulse this time, instead, he faked his own convulsion.

"Hello Aiden," a voice sounded out, unknowingly a brown-haired man with brown eyes had walked up to him.

"Ehh hello," Aiden replied half-heartedly, this contestant was Ethan Davis, he was nice but was also a good fighter.

He seemed to be trained in some kind of strange martial arts, that paired with his acceptable physical strength allowed him to win against other participants without using his contract.

Sitting next to Aiden, Ethan asked, "You're the strongest participant in the tournament, but apart from you who do you think has a chance of winning the match?"

Before Aiden could answer a female voice suddenly yelled out in annoyance, "Would you shut up, how many times are you gonna ask that question?"

Turning towards the person who yelled you could see a girl with blood-red hair, her eyes were red as well with the only exception being her irises which were an inky black.

This lady was Mai Turner, another formidable opponent, her fighting style was similar to Aiden's in a way.

Both made full use of their advanced strength and speed and also had an amazing sense of their surroundings.

Hearing Mai's remark Ethan laughed, "I don't think my business concerns you," he muttered.

"The vampire's right, your behavior is suspicious, besides who told you Aiden is the strongest?" a deep voice asked.

The person who spoke was a blue eyed youth named Felix, simply put this guy was like a monkey and a ninja combined, he didn't do much in the first round but he was amazing at the other rounds.

"Who're you calling a vampire?" Mai's angry voice sounded out as she stood up, but Felix seemed unbothered, instead, he turned to Aiden and said.

"Don't get cocky kid, non of us have fought before, and even if we do fight, I'll kick your ass, or do you really think you're that strong?"

Hearing this Aiden frowned a bit but said nothing.

Suddenly a blond girl from the side said, "Chaps, let's all maintain our composure and behave like proper adults, shall we? Everyone will have their opportunity to engage in a bit of fisticuffs."

She had an ancient English accent that reminded Aiden of the way Lotus spoke, but hers was a lot easier to notice.

She was Lily Baker, a lady with light green eyes, and although she was like every other participant her strange ability had already given her a nickname among the audience, the Second Witch.

The reason for this was that all her opponents seemed to run away from her, shouting the words I give up for some reason.

This feat reminded the audience of another masked figure of the Silence main team, the Nightmare Witch, she could materialize your worst fears.

"Miss Lily's right," another deep voice sounded out it, it was a man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties.

This man had a big frame much bigger than David whom Aiden fought in the first round of the tournament albert more natural.

He was Kevin Lewis a man with dark hair and eyes, although he seems like a gentle gaint he is an exceptional fighter.

When Kevin fought he could be described as the human version of a bull, one massive hit was all it took for his opponent's bones to break.

These were the most dangerous people in the tournament and even Aiden considered them threatening.

These individuals were prodigies, and among them, Mai stood out.

She was a young girl hailing from humble beginnings, and she acquired her Contract by chance.

Despite her limited experience, Mai showcased remarkable combat prowess.

Her battle IQ and astonishing awareness rivaled even Aiden, who had been forced to spend over fifteen years refining his combat abilities on the borders of life and death.

Suddenly, "Ethan Davis, and Kevin Lewis please step towards the stadium."

A robotic voice sounded out, hearing this Ethan who was about to say something froze.

"Ehh," he muttered as he looked towards Aiden, "why me?" He said, his voice sounding choked.

Looking towards Ethan who seemed as if he was going to cry, Aiden smiled, "you've got this," he said before darting in.

"Besides you're as agile as Felix so there is no need to worry, even if you lose you'll join the Silence anyway."

Hearing this Kevin narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

"I guess we're up," Kevin said as he stood up, he adjusted his armor and walked towards the door with heavy steps, sulking Ethan followed behind him.

"Stupid kid," the red-haired girl said as she folded her arms.

"I think he's plotting something," Felix finally said.

"Well, he seems like a nice lad to me," Lilly butted in.

"I think that's the impression he wants to create," Felix replied grimly, the room was a bit quiet until.

"You guys are being too skeptical," Aiden finally said, pausing a bit before darting in, "he's just a lively guy."

Upon hearing this Felix laughed a bit, he had a deep look of mockery in his eyes as he said.

"Ha we've all been poisoned, and if we don't reach a certain rank in the Silence we're going to remain this way forever, the other losers would probably end up working as spies for the rest of their lives, being calm about it is one thing but who could remain lively after that?" He asked.

"Spys?" Aiden asked feeling confused.

"You didn't know?" Felix asked with surprise.

"You weren't told? Mai darted in, before saying, "The people who get disqualified without the chance of a comeback are given a more toxic poison, straight from Three Face's demon."

"Oh," Aiden muttered feeling shocked.

Nodding her head Mai continued, "Yeah, it's kind of like a parasite, and those injected are sent to join different hunting families around the shelter."

"It typically lies dormant, but annually or within the agreed timeframe, you must devise a means to relay information back to the Silence. Failure to do so triggers the poison, leading to death. Any contemplation of betrayal results in the poison's activation, ensuring a grim fate. Adding to the challenge, it's impossible to discern who has been infected, given the untraceable nature of the poison."

Hearing this Aiden nodded in understanding, as he asked, "So this means that the Silence has a firm grip on all other hunting families right?"

Nodding her head Mai responded, "Except for some top tire families no other hunting family possesses the right to even speak up to the Silence, do you know what an origin family is capable of? Going again the Silence is certain death."

As Aiden absorbed this new information Londan suddenly said, "That sounds like the poison of the thousand-faced centipede."