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Medusa Gorgon.
She's also a main character in the anime.
She's known for her beautiful hair and mesmerizing eyes.
She was given a detailed character design, so many viewers expected her to be very important.
But those hopes were cruelly broken.
Early in the anime, Medusa is killed by the Dark Hand and turned into a monster.
Many people thought she'd be like a big sister to the heroes, but she died only a few episodes in, shocking viewers.
At the final stage, she's killed by the Dark Hand and becomes a monster.
Her gorgeous hair becomes snakes, her bewitching eyes become magic eyes, and she attacks the very students she once protected.
She turns many of them into stone, bringing despair to the academy.
She loses everything she cared about—a truly grim story.
Then, in an awful twist, she regains her senses at the end.
Realizing what she's done, she falls into despair and ends her own life.
It's a tragic, pitiless end.
In this world, Medusa stands on the same stage in the finals, facing the Dark Hand.
But Arc is here, an outsider.
Her fate now depends on him.
◇ ◇ ◇
I get to Medusa's place and see some skull-masked guy.
Who is that?
Huh!?
No way he's the real finalist, right?
He can't be.
This must be some crazy interruption.
He's obviously a trespasser.
Which means he's an enemy.
"Icicle!"
I raise a pillar of ice at Skull Guy's feet.
"Tch."
He dodges.
He glares at me.
"…"
Stop looking at me like that.
You might get yourself killed.
Well, he's a terrorist.
I won't feel bad about killing him.
Mwahahaha!
A real fight to the death sounds fun!
Time to take you down!
◇ ◇ ◇
Mukuro, Number VIII.
The "VIII" shows he's eighth strongest in the Numbers.
He has one mission: kill the two finalists.
That's all.
He has no will of his own.
He only follows orders.
Mukuro readies his black spear.
"—Chototsu."
He launches himself at Arc's heart.
He's unbelievably fast—so fast the sound comes late.
The black spear aims to end Arc.
But—
"Freeze."
Mukuro's movements stop.
"You're just a bunch of bones. Time to be a corpse again."
In the next moment, there's a crack, and Mukuro shatters.
It's over before it really starts.
◇ ◇ ◇
Shortly before this happened—
In an underground area, Camilla has Surt and Lost bound by chains.
Neither of them can break free.
"Lady Embra, please take the Crystal Aether."
"You're betraying us!?"
Surt glares at Camilla.
"Betraying? The only one I trust is Lord Arc."
Meaning she never trusted them at all.
"…!?"
"… …"
Surt seethes with anger, while Lost is more thoughtful.
Lost believes Arc's actions always have some purpose.
But there's not enough info to know what that is yet.
"How much do you think Arc knows?" Embra asks Camilla.
"No idea."
Camilla doesn't really know what Arc knows, and even if she did, she wouldn't say.
He rarely tells her anything in the first place.
Of course, he never told her anything about Embra either.
But Camilla has a decent guess about who Embra is.
After the incident in the last exercise, Camilla had her spies look into Embra.
"How's the 'witch' doing?"
For the first time, Embra's calm grin weakens.
"…You found out that much?"
"You attracted too much attention."
"I don't want attention, but it can't be helped right now."
"You must have reasons for acting so fast."
"Yes. Which is why I want the Crystal Aether as soon as possible. May I?"
Considering the Crystal Aether and the Dark Hand's activities, it's not hard to guess what's coming.
Camilla wants to prevent the likely damage.
Embra wants the Crystal Aether.
Right now, their goals match.
"Of course."
Arc told Camilla, "If you see Embra, just give her the Crystal Aether."
"In that case, I'll take it."
She takes the Crystal Aether in front of Surt and Lost, without hesitation.