[BL] Challenge: 100 Baby in Fantasy World-Chapter 247: The Last Duel (2)

The referee rushed in to save the lion boy, while several staff members fought to subdue the tigers, now numbering ten.

"Vania, can you close the black hole?" the referee called out after pulling her opponent to safety.

Vania didn’t answer. She had no energy left to speak.

While the staff struggled to suppress the tigers, Vania felt a faint twitch from the black hole. It was starting to collapse.

Fighting through dizziness and nausea, her body trembling as if something was trying to pull her in, Vania held her ground.

And then whoooosh!

The black hole finally vanished.

Vania’s body collapsed to the ground.

With what little consciousness she had left, she whispered toward the referee, "I... won, right?"

The referee blinked, stunned for a moment, before announcing, "Vania wins!"

It was the most shocking victory of the day. Not just the outcome— the entire duel, even what happened afterward, left everyone holding their breath in disbelief.

The Class S students could only watch in silence as Vania’s unconscious body was carried away.

Her determination was nothing short of unshakable.

...

After Vania’s astonishing duel came another match, Mona’s turn.

Mona had only used her Talent once before. For the rest of her matches, she relied solely on her trait.

"In this final duel, do you think Mona will use her Talent?" As usual, Miki was the first to bring it up among the Class S students.

"She has to," Madha replied. "Her opponent’s a beastfolk with an enhanced sense of smell. Just going invisible won’t be enough to beat that."

"Honestly, her Talent’s really useful— if she’d just use it," Andine added.

"Unfortunately, she refuses to," Gara murmured.

He recalled what Vania had said earlier. Like Madha, he was certain Mona would use her Talent this time, which meant Vania’s plan with her beastfolk friend might actually work.

Truthfully, whatever happened to Mona wasn’t really Gara’s concern. The two of them weren’t close.

But when he looked at her, something stirred inside him. He saw Ava, his daughter.

He remembered the argument at the clinic with Narin... the way people rejected her simply because she was a devil.

He didn’t want his daughter to face the same thing one day.

With that thought, Gara stepped forward, approaching Mona just as she was about to enter the arena.

"Mona," he called out, gently tapping her shoulder.

She turned around, but he couldn’t see her eyes beneath her bangs.

Leaning in, Gara whispered, "Rift Jump isn’t just for moving between positions. You can use it to hide yourself."

Mona froze at his words.

"Instead of using it to relocate, use your Talent as a hiding space," Gara added quietly.

She didn’t reply. With her eyes hidden, Gara couldn’t read what she was thinking but at least he’d told her what he knew.

He walked back to where the other Class S students were waiting.

Madha raised an eyebrow. "Did you tell her what we figured out about her Talent?"

Gara nodded.

After hearing Vania’s plan, Gara had shared it with Madha and Fian.

They’d discussed it and, using Gara’s Dimensional Home as reference, concluded that Mona’s Rift Jump might actually contain a small pocket of space.

"But I’m not sure our analysis is correct," Gara admitted, uncertain.

"We’ll find out soon enough."

Their eyes shifted to the arena, where Mona now stood across from her opponent, a beastfolk girl with a calm but confident stance.

This last match wasn’t as hyped as Vania’s duel, yet plenty of students had stayed behind to watch.

Suddenly, the crowd gasped.

Inside the arena, only the beastfolk girl remained. Mona had vanished.

But unlike her usual Rift Jumps, where she would reappear moments later, this time... she didn’t come back.

"Where is she? It’s been minutes why hasn’t she shown up yet?" Miki’s question echoed the same confusion everyone else was feeling.

Even Mona’s opponent began to lose her patience. She shouted, taunted, and called out Mona’s name. But there was no response, no sign of movement anywhere.

A staff member approached the referee. Seeing that, Mona’s opponent crossed her arms and waited, clearly expecting to be declared the winner.

But after a brief exchange with the staff, the referee made no announcement.

"What’s going on? That damn ghost must’ve run away with her Talent! I should be the—"

Before she could finish, a dagger appeared at her throat.

The beastfolk girl flinched, eyes wide as a thin line of blood trickled down her neck from the shallow cut.

"You can’t move anymore," the referee declared, assessing the situation. "Mona wins!"

Mona stepped back, emerging from the shadows as the arena’s barrier vanished. Her opponent continued to protest, but the referee spoke calmly,

"Mona never left the arena. She remained inside, using her Talent. She didn’t break any rules."

The Class S students couldn’t help but stare.

Mona —the girl who usually avoided everyone, who barely spoke to them— was now walking straight toward their group. More precisely, toward Gara.

"Thank you for the advice," she said softly, her tone flat but her head bowed.

Though her words sounded plain, to the others, it was the most genuine "thank you" they’d ever heard from Mona.

"Gara, you even helped Mona! You also know about space-type ability. You really are amazing," Andine said, her voice full of excitement.

Gara scratched the back of his neck, looking awkward. He hadn’t expected his suggestion to actually work.

"No, it wasn’t just me. I discussed it with Madha and Fian," he said, didn’t want to get all of the attention.

But Mona wasn’t done. "I want to learn more from you," she said. "Will you teach me, Gara?"

Gara and the other Class S’ students stared back in surprise. Honestly, Gara didn’t feel he was that skillful, but they could probably share knowledge about space-type abilities, which would benefit them both.

"Of course," Gara replied with a small smile.

In his mind, he wasn’t just helping Mona. He was imagining guiding his daughter, Ava.

...