The battlefield was silent.
Not with the peaceful stillness of relief, but with the heavy quiet that followed a narrow escape from death. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood, mingling with the faint, acrid scent of scorched fur. The ground beneath the trainees' feet was uneven—scarred from the battle that had consumed the last hour of their lives.
And yet, it wasn't over.
Melo stood atop the platform, his silver mask catching the dim torchlight. His golden eyes, visible through the mask's narrow slits, swept across the coliseum floor.
The corpses of the Shadow Wolves, drained of their essence, lay like hollow shells. The massive Alpha's lifeless body dominated the center of the arena. Its core, shattered by Klaus's sword, still radiated faint tendrils of dissipating dark-colored mana.