"The food was delicious."

I whispered...

As Ice Lord and I walked outside the luxurious establishment.

The cool air drifting through the elite district’s streets was refreshing...

While the atmosphere of elegant shops and quiet stone pathways continued to reflect that strange feeling of refinement.

Ice Lord laughed lightly.

"The agreement tasted even better."

Then he raised his hand...

And a white teleportation circle quietly formed before us.

We stepped inside...

And in the next moment...

Returned once again to the arena.

Our steps were filled with discussion about the matches...

I had asked him to explain what happened during the remaining battles of the first day...

But he laughed and demanded the same from me.

"You were outside the arena as well."

Ice Lord said with his usual smile.

"And I was the one relying on you."

I answered sarcastically.

He laughed again...

Then we sat down in the spectator stands.

Below us...

The announcer was beginning another round of meaningless commentary.

"You are about to witness a match unlike anything history has ever seen!"

"Prepare yourselves for the fiercest battle!"

"The greatest Lords of the new generation!"

And all the usual promotional nonsense...

Meanwhile...

The celebrations inside the arena continued as well.

Dancers...

Lights...

And loud music that made parts of the crowd clap enthusiastically.

Several minutes passed quickly...

Then...

The first Lord of the third match entered.

He was an independent Lord...

Wearing a long red traveler’s cloak...

And a black headband.

His short white hair was carefully arranged...

And his blue eyes carried a relaxed, confident smile.

"The independent Lord... Seven Steps Lord!"

The announcer’s voice echoed loudly.

Cheers and whistles erupted.

On the opposite side...

The opponent slowly entered.

A teenage girl...

With long blonde hair...

Extremely long...

So long that it dragged behind her across the ground like a living golden cloak.

"The beautiful lady... Lady of the Most Beautiful Hair!"

The announcer whispered with fake excitement.

I narrowed my eyes while focusing on them.

The Unique Predictor quietly activated...

But this time I was observing fighting styles more than accumulation.

The match bell rang instantly.

But...

Neither moved.

The young man’s smile remained broad.

Then he spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear:

"My beautiful lady... please withdraw."

He placed a hand dramatically over his chest.

"I lack the ability to fight beautiful women."

The audience exploded with laughter.

The girl smiled...

Turned her face away with fake shyness...

Then looked back at him with obvious mockery.

"Shut up and attack."

Then she lifted a strand of her hair with one finger and added:

"If you’re truly honorable... then you should withdraw instead of talking."

The laughter erupted again.

But Seven Steps Lord...

Did not lose his smile.

Instead, he calmly moved both hands behind his back.

And from nowhere...

Pulled out two short daggers.

As though drawing them from invisible sheaths.

"You’re one of those types of women I dislike."

he said lightly.

"The kind who don’t respect a man’s masculinity."

Then...

He dashed forward.

BOOOOM!

His speed was impressive...

But stranger still...

His steps were terrifyingly balanced.

Every step...

Looked as though it had been calculated beforehand.

And within moments...

He had already reached the girl.

He raised his daggers—

SWOOOOSH!

"So that’s how it is."

I whispered inwardly.

"So that’s why her hair is so long. I thought it existed to rescue and seduce some prince, hahaha."

Before the strike landed...

Several golden strands suddenly moved.

They rose like serpents...

Then blocked Seven Steps Lord’s attack.

BOOOOM!

And in the next instant...

The strands lunged violently toward him.

But...

Oddly enough...

He didn’t dodge.

Instead, he received the attack directly.

He only stepped back half a step...

Then attacked again.

The strands blocked him once more.

But he continued.

One strike...

Then another...

Then a swift spinning motion with both daggers.

The clash was fast and fierce from both sides.

But little by little...

The battle began shifting direction.

The golden strands...

Started growing longer and multiplying.

Until the hair spread across almost the entire arena.

Meanwhile, Seven Steps Lord’s movement remained unchanged...

His speed did not increase...

Nor did he retreat in panic.

After a while...

The pressure on his side became obvious.

The golden hair...

Had become like a flowing river.

Pressing down violently...

Like countless sharp cutting threads.

The Lord retreated...

Continuing to take one hit after another.

SWOOOSH!

A cut appeared across his back.

SWOOOSH!

The edge of his cloak was torn.

SWOOOSH!

A small slice opened across his cheek.

Yet...

His smile never disappeared.

Instead...

It widened further.

Then...

The movement of the golden hair slowed.

The Lady of the Most Beautiful Hair stepped backward several times...

Then looked down at her hair.

Shock was obvious on her face.

Many of the golden strands...

Had already been severed.

Worse still...

Some of their ends had become pale, as though they had lost part of their brilliance.

The girl slowly raised her head...

Then turned toward the Lord.

Her eyes burned with fury.

"You..."

she whispered softly.

Suddenly...

The golden hair thickened terrifyingly.

The strands multiplied more and more...

Until it looked as though an entire forest of living golden threads stood behind her.

Then...

Everything surged forward at once.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive attack...

Like a golden tidal wave trying to swallow the entire arena.

But...

Only a faint smile...

Appeared on Seven Steps Lord’s face.

And in the next instant—

"He disappeared?"

I whispered in surprise.

Ten meters away...

The Lord stood once again.

With the same smile.

The same relaxed posture.

As though the attack had never approached him at all.

"There it is."

Ice Lord whispered beside me.

I immediately turned toward him.

"You know that trick?"

I asked intently.

He didn’t look at me...

But his voice remained calm.

"No."

Then he added:

"But I’ve heard of it."

He paused briefly.

"A technique that prevents injury."

"A perfect escape... one that has never been broken."

I narrowed my eyes toward the arena.

Ice Lord’s words rang like undeniable truth...

Without even the slightest exaggeration.

Below us...

The golden strands became even more violent.

They surged toward Seven Steps Lord again.

But...

Every time they neared him...

He vanished.

Then reappeared elsewhere.

Once twenty meters away.

Another time near the arena’s edge.

Then directly behind the girl herself.

It resembled absolute evasion.

The hair was fast...

Expansive...

Covered an enormous area...

And yet...

Couldn’t catch him.

The skirmish continued.

And the Lord kept escaping.

His steps remained measured...

Calm...

As though this entire battle was merely a pleasant stroll.

Meanwhile...

The girl’s anger continued to rise.

The golden hair slammed against the ground violently.

And cracks across the arena widened.

But suddenly...

Everything stopped.

The golden strands halted all at once.

Silence filled the arena briefly.

Then...

The lady stepped backward several times.

And slowly...

Her hair began shrinking.

The long strands...

Gradually contracted...

Until her hair returned to its normal size.

Seven Steps Lord approached her.

His steps remained measured and confident...

And his smile never faded.

Then he sighed...

And spoke with clear annoyance:

"It happened again."

He scoffed lightly.

"Why can’t I ever find a worthy opponent?"

The audience instantly erupted.

Part of them shouted angrily at his provocation.

The others burst into laughter.

As for me...

I continued staring at him silently.

"No..."

I whispered inwardly.

"This man... isn’t merely fast."

"His absolute evasion may be strange enough already... but..."

I whispered while watching the arena carefully.

"What?"

Ice Lord asked.

I didn’t take my eyes off the girl.

She stood there silently...

Her breathing unstable.

Her arms trembling lightly.

Most strangely...

That golden hair...

Which had filled half the arena moments ago...

Looked as though it had lost part of its vitality.

"That girl..."

I whispered.

"What suddenly happened to her?"

Ice Lord smiled lightly.

"So that’s what you mean."

he said before sighing.

"They say the beginning of the Seven Steps... means the opponent’s time of defeat has arrived."

I narrowed my eyes.

Inside the arena...

Seven Steps Lord stepped closer.

His smile remained relaxed...

But something about it...

Felt disturbingly unpleasant.

"Some say what affects the opponent is poison."

Ice Lord continued.

"And others believe it drains accumulation."

He paused briefly...

Then added calmly:

"No one knows."

I looked toward the girl again.

Only now...

Did I notice it clearly.

Every movement she made...

Seemed heavier.

And every attempt to move her hair...

Received a slower response.

"That lady may answer this mystery later."

Ice Lord said.

Then smiled faintly.

"As for the ones before her... none survived long enough to tell anyone."

At that moment...

Seven Steps Lord moved.

He did not charge.

Instead, he calmly walked toward his opponent.

One step...

Then another.

And with every step...

I felt as though something invisible...

Pressed down upon the arena.

The girl retreated angrily.

She raised one hand.

Suddenly...

Dozens of golden strands shot toward him again.

But...

They were slower.

Weaker.

The Lord smiled.

Then...

Vanished.

He appeared directly behind her.

The girl’s eyes widened.

She turned around instantly...

But the dagger had already arrived.

SWOOOOSH...

One dagger slashed across her shoulder.

She instantly leaped backward.

Blood scattered across the ground.

The crowd erupted in cries.

But...

What made me narrow my eyes...

Wasn’t the injury.

It was...

The girl staggering.

Just a shallow wound...

And yet...

She nearly collapsed.

"So that’s how it works."

I whispered inwardly.

"He doesn’t kill his opponents directly..."

I looked toward his calm smile.

Then continued:

"He makes their bodies collapse slowly."

Suddenly...

Seven Steps Lord struck the girl again.

Another shallow wound...

Only grazing the side of her arm.

Yet...

The girl staggered violently this time.

Two steps backward...

Then her knee nearly touched the ground.

My eyes remained fixed on her.

Something about this...

Wasn’t normal.

A Fourth-Rank opponent...

Collapsing this quickly from superficial wounds?

Suddenly...

The Lord charged once more.

His speed wasn’t monstrous...

But his timing...

Was perfect.

The girl raised both hands rapidly.

Without saying a single word...

Her golden strands exploded in every direction...

Like a deadly net.

But—

"Foolish."

Seven Steps Lord whispered.

Then vanished.

The girl’s eyes widened.

He appeared directly behind her.

And in the next moment—

SWOOOOOSH...

The dagger flashed.

A devastating slash...

Cut halfway through her neck.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

The audience froze for a moment.

The girl’s body remained standing...

For a single short second.

Then...

Collapsed.

It struck the ground without movement.

Her long golden hair...

Spread across the arena like lifeless threads.

One moment...

Then...

She died.

Silence filled the arena.

Even the crowd...

Who had been screaming moments ago...

Stopped.

Meanwhile...

Seven Steps Lord stood calmly.

He lightly shook both daggers...

Scattering droplets of blood away.

Then smiled.

"What a shame."

he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"She really was beautiful."

A chill crawled across my spine.

Not because of the killing.

But because of the method.

From the very beginning...

He was never truly fighting her.

He was merely...

Waiting for the moment her body completely collapsed.