The entire Wyndham team had seen what was happening.
Gavalich, Henry, Isla, and Lennox all reacted immediately.
They were the ones with offensive abilities that could potentially interfere and save Zephyr.
Without hesitation, they started moving.
However, the distance between them and Zephyr was simply too great.
Too much had happened in too little time.
Caelan had already caught Zephyr.
He had already pinned him to the ground.
And now, the spinning disk blade was descending toward Zephyr's neck.
No one knew if the attack would be enough to kill him.
No one knew if the spinning blade was sharp enough to slice clean through his neck.
But nobody wanted to find out.
Meanwhile, Zephyr, who was pinned beneath Caelan, suddenly realized something.
When faced with death so directly, with the attack right in front of him, his mind had become a mess.
Panic had completely taken over.
In that state, he had forgotten something important.
He could simply surrender.
He could quit the tournament and save himself.
Yet the thought hadn't crossed his mind until now.
His body refused to move.
His thoughts were in chaos.
All he could do was stare at the descending blade.
Meanwhile, the others continued rushing forward.
Then something unexpected happened.
A figure suddenly ran past them.
The sight was so sudden that it caught everyone off guard.
For a brief moment, it almost looked as if the person was moving in the opposite direction because of how fast they passed by.
The figure shot forward like a rocket.
In an instant, they left everyone behind.
The distance that seemed impossible to cross was covered almost immediately.
Before anyone could properly react, the figure had already arrived at the spot where Zephyr was pinned down.
Bang!
Clang!
The metallic impact echoed across the street.
Caelan was blasted away from Zephyr's back.
His body tumbled across the ground, bouncing several times before sliding farther down the street.
Not too far away, he finally came to a stop.
He landed face down on the ground.
For a moment, he looked like someone who had completely passed out.
Meanwhile, Zephyr had heard the impact clearly.
Yet he never felt the expected attack.
The spinning blade never reached his neck.
Confused, he quickly turned around to see who had saved him.
"Alex!" he called out.
Although his voice was still deep from his werewolf transformation, traces of Zephyr's normal voice could now be heard beneath it.
Still in his werewolf form, he stared at Alex.
The others had also finally gotten a clear look at the person standing there.
The moment they recognized him, they froze.
Shock spread across their faces.
None of them had expected this.
Meanwhile, Clifford stood nearby with a small smirk on his lips.
"I knew he wouldn't be eliminated that easily," Clifford muttered to himself.
The others were still trying to process Alex's appearance.
However, that wasn't the only shocking thing.
There was also what he had just done.
Alex had struck Caelan.
After that single strike, Caelan had been sent flying and was now lying motionless on the ground.
No one could tell for certain what condition he was in.
The helmet now completely covered his face and head.
It hadn't been there before.
Yet somehow, it had appeared during the exchange.
That made it impossible to read his expression or determine what state he was in.
"How..." Zephyr said.
His voice sounded much closer to normal now than it had moments ago.
Something was happening to Zephyr's body.
The fur covering parts of him began to recede.
The wolf-like snout on his face slowly pulled back, revealing a more human appearance underneath.
However, the transformation stopped there.
The rest of his body remained unchanged.
His claws were still there.
His altered physique remained the same.
Then the severed extra limb began to move.
Flesh stretched.
Muscle formed.
Bone followed.
The missing section slowly regenerated until a new long arm had completely grown back.
Despite all of that, Zephyr barely paid attention.
His eyes remained fixed on Alex.
"How are you still in this tournament?" he asked.
Alex looked at him for a moment.
It was the kind of look someone gave when trying to decide whether the question deserved an answer.
"I guess that's a thank you from you, isn't it?" Alex replied.
"No..."
Another voice interrupted.
Isla had walked over.
His eyes remained locked on Alex.
"No... how are you here? How are you still alive and... and..."
The words seemed to get stuck in his throat.
"Healthy?" Alex finished for him.
His tone was calm.
Almost too calm.
He looked completely unbothered by the attention.
"Whatever. You shouldn't be here," Isla said.
For a brief moment, Alex's eyes shifted away from him.
His gaze swept across the others.
It landed on Gavalich, who was still in his werebear form.
Then it moved to Henry.
After that, it shifted to Lennox.
Not far away, Jimmy was still lying on the ground.
Unconscious.
Motionless.
Clifford was already making his way toward him.
Alex's gaze lingered there briefly before returning to Zephyr.
The moment his eyes settled back on the group, it became obvious.
They were all waiting.
Every single one of them wanted an answer.
--3
"Grrr-uh!"
Just before Alex could say anything, a pained grunt suddenly echoed through the area.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
Alex reacted immediately.
He looked over and saw that the Synapse Circle member was already getting back up.
"What the heck!" Caelan grunted audibly.
His thoughts were a complete mess.
'What the fuck just hit me? Did I just pass out?' Caelan wondered.
As his eyes opened, several screens were being displayed inside his helmet.
The system interface flickered repeatedly as if it was struggling to stabilize itself.
'Is the suit system damaged now? How is that even possible?'
A warning screen immediately appeared.
[Warning, your suit has been partially damaged. Nano bots are already being deployed to restore the suit.]
[You were unconscious for one minute and twenty-two seconds.]
[I woke you up with a small taser.]
'Suit damaged? Knocked out?'
Caelan's instincts flared instantly.
He quickly pushed himself upright.
The moment he sat up, he noticed something strange.
The Wyndhams were all looking at him.
However, none of them were attacking.
Instead, they had deliberately kept their distance.
As though they were waiting.
Or watching.
Caelan frowned beneath his helmet.
Then he looked down at himself.
The moment he did, his eyes narrowed.
A large section of armor on his abdomen was gone.
The metal plating that should have been protecting the area had been completely torn away.
Through the opening, part of the black leather suit worn beneath the armor was clearly visible.
For a few seconds, Caelan simply stared at the damage.
The sight made it painfully obvious that whatever had hit him had actually broken through his suit.
--4
'Who among them could have done this?' Caelan wondered.
He slowly lifted his head and looked back toward the Wyndhams.
The moment his gaze fell on them, several of them instinctively took a step backward.
The fear was still there.
After all, this was still Caelan.
The same person who had been overpowering them moments ago.
However, one person didn't move.
Alex remained standing where he was.
Caelan noticed him immediately.
Partly because Alex was the only one who hadn't stepped back.
Partly because he recognized him.
He had seen Alex before at the entrance of the Ruined City.
What he hadn't expected was for Alex to be a member of the Wyndhams.
Caelan stared at him for a few moments.
Then he spoke.
"What kind of attack was that? How did it break my suit? And how was I unable to sense the approach?"
"You really expect me to answer that?" Alex asked.
"Actually... I wasn't talking to you," Caelan replied.
Alex blinked.
For a moment, he was genuinely confused.
If Caelan wasn't talking to him, then who exactly was he talking to?
Before he could think further, a series of system notifications appeared inside Caelan's helmet.
[Your opponent has made use of two techniques to damage your suit.]
[1. Buster Technique: This technique boosted your opponent's speed as well as his momentum. He moved so fast that the suit's radar system could not adjust to the speed in time.]
Caelan's eyes narrowed as he continued reading.
A second notification appeared.
[2. Vibrating Punch: This technique allows your opponent to deliver a vibrating punch. Upon contact, the strike causes the molecules of the target surface to vibrate briefly. This temporarily weakens the solid structure of the surface.]
Another line followed immediately.
[By combining these two techniques, your opponent was able to damage your suit.]
For a few seconds, Caelan remained silent as he read the information.
His eyes slowly shifted back toward Alex.
This time, there was a different look behind them.
'Heck... what kind of technique is that? I've never heard of something like that before,' Caelan thought the moment the information was presented to him.
The explanation had caught him off guard.
A technique that could temporarily weaken a solid surface through vibration?
That wasn't something he had encountered before.
'Are there any countermeasures against these two techniques?' he asked the system.
The response came immediately.
[The sensors have been adjusted. The thrusters will be able to move you out of the way if the Buster Technique is used again.]
Caelan nodded slightly as he read the message.
Then another notification appeared.
[However, there is no available countermeasure for the Vibrating Punch.]
His eyes narrowed.
A final line followed.
[Recommended solution: Avoid being hit.]
Caelan stared at the message for a moment.
'That's understandable. These techniques probably weren't accounted for when the suit was designed,' he thought.
Even so, he wasn't particularly worried.
'But with what I have, I can still do something about it,' Caelan said to himself.
At that moment, he slowly rose to his feet.
His gaze moved across Alex and the rest of the group.
There was no trace of panic on his face.
No hesitation either.
Only confidence.
"You're certainly an interesting one," Caelan said while looking directly at Alex.
"But your presence won't change anything."
As he spoke, the damaged section of his suit continued repairing itself.
Countless nano particles moved across the damaged area.
The missing section of armor was rebuilt layer by layer.
The process was smooth and incredibly precise.
Within moments, the damage was completely gone.
The repaired section looked identical to the rest of the suit.
There wasn't even a visible seam left behind.
A new notification appeared.
[Your suit has been repaired. All functions are available.]
A smile formed on Caelan's face when he saw the message.
His confidence immediately returned to its previous level.
Then he looked directly at Alex.
"You are about to pay for damaging my suit," he said.