CHAPTER 25-DARKNESS EVOLVED

The entire arena fell silent and cold as Genjo revealed his true self. Cyro and Kyll removed their hoods, their faces expressionless. The leaders were in shock, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion.

Rouke slowly rose to his feet, his voice barely above a whisper, "Sm...three..."

But before he could finish, Genjo let out a menacing laugh, his eyes glinting with malevolence. "No, no, no, Roukey oukeyyy, perhaps you leaders should look around you. Hahaaaaaaa!"

Genjo's maniacal laughter echoed through the arena, as Rouke's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. Behind each and every human in the audience, a Genjo clone emerged, a glinting knife pressed against the neck of each terrified spectator.

Adon's face was ashen with shock, his mind reeling as he struggled to comprehend the sheer scale of Genjo's plan. "He summoned over 3,000 clones in seconds... how did he do this?" Adon's voice was barely audible, his eyes fixed on the sea of Genjo clones.

Rouke's voice rang out, firm and commanding, "Nobody make any moves!" The audience held its collective breath, paralyzed with fear, as the Genjo clones stood poised, their knives glinting menacingly in the light. The air was electric with tension, the silence oppressive, as the leaders and the audience alike waited with bated breath to see what Genjo would do next.

Rouke's eyes narrowed, his mind racing with the implications. "Wait, if they're dressed as the Slayerz 4, that means... they must be dead. This is not good. What do I do?"

Genjo's smile grew wider, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Now, listen. I came here as a demon of negotiations. I watched the last trial with my two champions, and I have a proposal: I want to create a Dark Tournament, where it's my two students versus all the Spirit Trial's students."

The arena fell silent, the leaders and the audience alike stunned by Genjo's revelation. Rouke's face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger. "You can't be serious," he growled, but Genjo just chuckled, his eyes glinting with malevolence.

Hela protested, "Nooo, this is not how we do things, demon! We have an organized exam here."

Genjo sneered, "I mean, this is true, but you have no options. It's either they all fight or all die. I'm staying out of this, and so are you leaders."

Gibby, fueled by rage, lunged toward the arena and sliced one of the Genjo clones' necks off its body. Kyll jumped up and grabbed Gibby by the neck, slicing at him. Gibby countered, but Kyll was too powerful. Kyll sliced off Gibby's leg, then his other leg, kicking him into the wall.

The arena fell silent, the leaders and the audience alike shocked by the brutality of the attack. Hela's eyes widened in horror, "Gibby, noooooo!"

Kyll cackled maniacally, "Hahaaaa, he's supposed to be a protector of this place? Pathetic!"

The audience's fear turned to panic as a man in the audience screamed, "We're all gonna dieeeee!" People started attempting to run, but the Genjo clones were too quick. They began slitting the throats of all the people attempting to move.

Genjo nodded in approval, "Yes, let's watch all of you die slowly."

Adon yelled desperately, "Everyone, stopppppppppppp moving, pleaseeeeee!"

But Genjo just continued to count the dead, "Six dead, fourteen dead, twenty one dead... yesssss, keep going."

Hela's voice rang out, firm and commanding, "Stop moving now, everyone! Or I will order you all dead myself! You're causing the kids around you to die! Look around you, idiots! We do not fear!"

Everyone froze, motionless, and to the surprise of all, there was no bloodshed throughout the stands. Vojim's face twisted in anger as he glared at Genjo, "You are an evil demon who will be banished! I have seen more than enough!"

Vojim raised his hand, preparing to unleash a powerful attack, "SM5 - Bone Grave Demise!"

But Genjo just laughed maniacally as he broke his left hand, a sickening crunch echoing through the arena. "No, no, you will not be interfering! As I said, students vs students!"

Genjo sneered, "Forbidden Move SM5 - Shadow Barrier!"

A massive, dark shield erupted from the ground, surrounding the inner arena and blocking off the audience from the contestants. The shield pulsed with an eerie, malevolent energy, trapping the Anointed inside.

Everyone was shocked, and Rouke looked on, stunned. "What is this? It's like a dome. The clones are gone; I must make a move... SM 2 - Vanishing."

But Ark interrupted, "Don't, Rouke. That barrier is impenetrable, sad to say. Not only that, they can't hear us out here, although we can hear them."

Hela yelled, "Ark, can't you do something to the arena? We have to get in there!"

Ark explained, "I've been attempting to bypass the codes, but I noticed that as I attempted to move a finger, that Cyro kid was staring at me this entire time. Almost as if Genjo ordered him to watch me specifically. Even when Kyll was fighting, Cyro kept his focus on me. They have all this planned out."

Ark continued, "But I will reprogram the healing bots so they can at least heal them at crucial moments. Tega, Gavon, get up immediately and start running to the injured people. Cover up the dead bodies and move the kids to a different area," Rouke instructed.

He then turned to his guards, "I need four of you to go check on the Four. See if they're alive and report back here immediately. Scope the village and see if there is any damage anywhere and check on all the people that we're not here."

"Leaders, we will have to trust our students and believe they can pull this off. Until we can figure out an opening, I believe in them - they've got this. Thank God they were all healed before those four arrived."

The scene switched to inside the Shadow Dome, where the Anointed were trapped.

Khayjin's voice was laced with concern, "How could all that happen in just eight minutes? Now it looks like we're stuck in here with these four."

Sol replied, "Yes, I'm afraid that shield is a forbidden technique, almost similar to what Zeyta did earlier."

Zeyta's eyes narrowed, "You think Disciple Niosh would teach Genjo something like that?"

Nobu chimed in, "I mean, this Niosh guy taught you how to kill hundreds of people."

Zeyta's expression turned disappointed, "That is true..."

Kayge's voice brought the group back to the present, "Well, none of that matters. These will be our opponents as of now."

Genjo's voice boomed "So, now, who will fight my subordinates first? Or you all could go at once, however you choose. Now, here's my rule: you all fight to the death. That's it... hahahaaaaaa!"

Aza's eyes blazed with anger, "This man is evil! I'm gonna take his head off!"

Raiza stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fury. "You killed all those innocent people. You four will die by my hands!"

Kyll laughed, "He has great power, I sense. I'd love to..."

Raiza sped past them, his hand glowing with energy as he aimed a devastating attack at Genjo. But just as he was about to strike, the clone stepped in front of Genjo, absorbing the full force of Raiza's attack.

The clone exploded on impact, instantly dying. Everyone was shocked by the sheer power of Raiza's attack.

Raiza swiftly attempted to strike Genjo again, but Genjo dodged the attack with ease and placed his hand on Raiza's chest.

"Ooooo, yes... you are extremely powerful, the boy with Moses' Anointing. I saw you right before Trial 3 and noticed your extreme power. Here's the thing, though... you have so much anger in your heart and pride that you played right into my hands."

Genjo's eyes gleamed with malevolence as he declared, "Demonic Move S3 - Chained Hearts' Malice..."

Raiza's eyes widened in shock as he felt an eerie sensation wash over him. "What's this?!" he exclaimed, as red chains suddenly erupted from his body, wrapping around him and encasing him in a metallic cocoon.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as Raiza was immobilized. Kyll's face twisted in anger as he yelled at Genjo, "Why?! I wanted to fight him! Why did you seal him?!"

Genjo's laughter echoed through the arena, "He sealed himself! I want this battle to be complete light against complete dark, not in between. This whole tournament is for everyone to realize the power difference between good and evil. That boy might as well be one of us, haha."

With a dismissive kick, Genjo sent the metallic cocoon flying towards the wall where Gibby had met his demise.

Genjo's expression turned cold as he rebuked Kyll, "By the way, never raise your voice or question any move that I make. You know better, boy. Stay in your place."

Cyro intervened, trying to diffuse the tension, "Forgive him, Master Genjo. He's just itching for a fight."

Genjo's gaze lingered on Kyll for a moment before he nodded, "Hmm, so be it. I'll be leaving the arena now to join the leaders, where we will watch the Dark Tournament unfold."

Genjo suddenly appeared beside the leaders, sitting comfortably in the booth with them. Adon immediately launched an attack, but his blow struck only a hologram.

Genjo burst into laughter, revealing, "Since I've been on this journey with Kyll and Cyro, I haven't been in the physical realm for years now. I've been handling things with Natas and other regions. Even our little encounter at Northern Edge, I wasn't there in the physical... haha!"

Rouke's eyes narrowed as he thought to himself, "How powerful has Genjo really become? He's not only able to create thousands of clones but now he can control holograms of himself. This is not good. What are he and Natas up to?"

Genjo's expression turned cruel as he said, "Well, enough conversation. Let's watch your students die today."

He glanced over at Ark, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Ooooo, I see you trying to do some techy stuff over there. Well, I already had Cyro read your eye movements and follow your lip readings. He's well aware of any plans you have."

The leaders were shocked by Genjo's revelation, and he continued, "As I said, this is between our students. If your students can win, then I will avoid any type of conflict for a whole year. Then, I'll kill my two students for failing... hahahaha!"

Ark's eyes narrowed as he thought to himself, "I might be able to track where Genjo truly is by putting a mini-bot on him to scan the hologram..."

The scene switched back inside the dome, where the battle was intensifying.

Nobu: "Brother, no!"

Zesh: "Focus! Nobu, we have an opponent in front of us."

Sol volunteered, "I'll go take him on."

But zesh intervened, "No, I will. I have a plan for him. I can sense his darkness - he's the darkest curse I've ever encountered. But I believe I'm the answer to that. I'll defeat him."

Sol disagreed, "No, we all should work as a team..."

Just then, the Gakan jumped up to crush Kyll, but Kyll turned around, swinging his blade and causing the Gakan to be split into pieces. Everyone was shocked.

Vojim's voice trembled, "Kyll has gotten even stronger... this is terrible."

Sol struggled to cope with the dark energy, "These guys are monsters... their dark energy is overwhelming me already."

Zesh stood firm, "God is with all of us."

With determination, Zesh stepped in front of Kyll, "I'll be your opponent."

Chapter Ends

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