Since today marked the final day of the exam, the grounds had erupted into chaos. Candidates clashed fiercely, each locked in their own desperate battles. No one dared interfere in another's fight—doing so risked being caught off-guard, a fatal mistake at this critical stage.
I knew the others could handle themselves. They didn't need my protection, nor my interference. That was why I severed our connection through the bug. It was a cold decision, but a necessary one.
Perhaps it was the influence of the Water Path, its newly adapted nature subtly reshaping my thoughts. For a fleeting moment, after synchronizing with it, the usual storm within me stilled. I felt no anger toward myself. No regret. Just... clarity.
Everything felt strangely pleasant.
Out of nowhere, a massive tree root burst from the ground beneath me, lunging like a spear. But instead of bracing for impact, I found myself sliding sideways—like a drunken figure skater gliding on melting ice.
"How do I—?" I tried to make sense of it, but the words cut off as I stumbled forward, barely avoiding a full faceplant into the dirt.
Yelena, knowing that I couldn't grasp hold of my newly adapted abilities yet, wasn't going to give me a chance to get used to it.
She took this opportunity to bring out multiple giant roots from the ground, which chased after me as I balanced on my footing.
"Is he high?" Ryuk commented as he watched me slam my head into one root after another while wildly weaving through the thicket like a malfunctioning puppet.
"Okay, legs!" I yelled, skidding to a stop just inches from a section of ground Yelena had already transformed into a thick wooden wall. I barely managed to wrestle back control of my limbs.
"Aha! Good old legs!" I cheered, lifting my right knee in triumph and bouncing in place like an idiot.
Then I looked up.
A massive root slammed straight into my chest, launching me backward into the wall with a crunch that echoed through the field.
CRACK
…Yeah, he's definitely high. Moriarty muttered to Ryuk, arms crossed. And this is the same guy who lectures me about not doing anything reckless during a fight.
"What... what was he even trying to accomplish?" Yelena asked, breathless with confusion. It was a hollow victory—not at all how she imagined it ending. "Are you alright?"
"Never been more alright, actually!" I called out, popping up on the opposite side of the impact zone like nothing had happened. "Can you believe I still can't turn into water? But I can slip away from almost anything now. Honestly, I should learn skating if I can. There's no off switch for this like there is for my Meta ability."
The Wisdom Path had spatial abilities… or did he use his Meta ability? How could he move so fast without activating it? Yelena tried to make sense of what just happened, but she couldn't quite figure it out. She'd heard the sound of the collision, loud and clear—yet I stood there perfectly fine, as if something had absorbed or rebounded the impact entirely.
The Water Path might've scrambled my brain for a moment, but I could still control my body to some extent. Right at the moment of impact, I managed to coat my entire body in the same slick layer of water I used on my saber. It let me slide down the wall and slip out to the other side completely unharmed.
It was a neat defensive trick—but not without its drawbacks.
The same water coating that helped me escape made my saber practically useless. Whenever I tried to slash or pierce something, the blade would just glide off as if dulled by its own element. I'd need to work around that—to create an offensive technique—or else we'd be locked in a frustrating stalemate.
But I would've been lucky if she gave me even a second to think about my next move. I was tempted to activate Timeless—just for a moment—but then again, where was the satisfaction in winning a battle like that?
Tom would've used his aura to smash through those defenses without a second thought. I didn't have that luxury. Instead, I considered firing a blast of high-pressure water like a cannon to punch through. But there was a problem—I still couldn't aim properly. And knowing Yelena, she wouldn't take long to come up with something to counter my slippery defences.
Some of these plants might carry neurotoxins. If I could freeze and shatter them before they touched me, I could avoid getting hit by any of that. It wasn't elegant, but it was the best option I had—and I needed to move before Yelena made the next call.
All of a sudden, the ground beneath me trembled as cracks split across the surface. Before I could slip away, thick, gnarled roots surged upward and coiled around each other, trapping me inside a wooden cage.
"What the hell…" I muttered, stunned, forcing myself to snap out of it.
That's when I felt it—the ground beneath my feet began to corrode, slowly dissolving away. My instincts screamed at me to move, and I didn't hesitate. I activated my ability in an instant, just as the earth split open beneath me—revealing the gaping, tooth-lined maw of what looked like a giant, mutated lizard rising from the depths.
In an instant, the giant lizard swallowed me whole—or at least, that's what Yelena thought she saw.
"Wait, you weren't supposed to eat him! Spit him out, Ella!" Yelena shouted in a panic, scolding the massive creature as it lumbered out from the cage of twisted roots she had formed around me.
"That's a cute name for such a terrifying pet," I remarked, my voice calm and amused.
Her gaze snapped upward.
I hovered above them in a seated position, arms folded, suspended midair by my telekinesis. A faint green glint shimmered in my eyes, the only sign of the trick I'd just pulled.
From the looks of it, I still couldn't control the vessel completely due to the ongoing adaptation—but this would have to be enough for now.
Life Path walkers of the Issac family were considered Half-Immortals, renowned for their absurd regeneration and the terrifying ability to be reborn—as long as even a single trace of their cells existed anywhere in existence. It was one of the Paths that even the Wisdom Path couldn't adapt to… unless granted permission by the Concept of Life itself.
There was another catch: their users were bound by a sacred vow—never to kill, under any circumstance. Breaking that vow meant losing the guidance of the entity they followed.
Which meant, the only viable way to defeat Yelena, even temporarily, was to either trap her or damage her soul.
And since I had no means of attacking her soul—at least, not yet—trapping her was my only option.
Can't you just keep cutting her head off and hope she eventually loses her sanity—or is that too extreme? Moriarty suggested, completely deadpan.
Ryuk nearly doubled over with laughter.
"Ahem." He coughed into his wing, trying to compose himself. "As entertaining as that sounds, you do realize this is still an exam, right? Doing something like that might... complicate things." He gestured vaguely, barely concealing the excitement in his eyes.
"...As unpleasant as your ideas are... I must admit, I'm tempted to try them," I murmured, my voice low as I stared downward, lost in thought.
Unlike our father—who pounced on any problem just because it seemed complex—I only ever chose the questions that gave me that rare, intoxicating sense of purpose. The ones that gnawed at the edge of your mind until you had to solve them.
"And now that I look at it..." I smiled slowly. "The question might be right in front of me."