Chapter 925 (1/2)

Mrs. Hamilton raised an eyebrow. ”It certainly took you a while to head down here. But I suppose I should have expected that you would drag your feet… Did you get lost?”

”I was watching, just... from a ways away.” Stan frowned down at the relatively empty VIP box. Alana and Hank were still sprawled in their positions, but the rest of their group had gone. Hopefully, the Cortez siblings would recover quickly enough to watch the next rung, but they hadn’t yet returned. ”But you can't be angry at me, no one else is here either...”

Hank cracked a nut loudly between his fingers. Alana just shook her head in disgust as she continued to brood and stare at Randidly.

”The rest are mostly doing their own personal preparation,” Mrs. Hamilton said, studying Stan closely. ”They will be here when we need them. But we did want to make sure you had the chance to watch Randidly fight-”

”Yes, I saw him massacring the Squads,” Stan said darkly. His face was thin and pale, and the dark stubble on his chin and neck revealed that he hadn't shaved in several days. At the best of times, his brand of self-care was… sporadic. But Randidly’s presence brought out all of his fears and insecurities.

You were too rough with this one, Mrs. Hamilton thought while hiding her sigh. He cannot rid himself of the flinch you implanted in him.

After scratching at his neck in irritation, Stan gestured out to the arena. ”This is his element. He's... feeding on us is in a weird way. Challenging him here was foolish. Rather than this direct confrontation, we could have just-”

”Too late now,” Alana pointed out.

“Bah.” Stan threw up his hands in disgust. Then he folded his arms and muttered, “You want a miracle out of me.”

Mrs. Hamilton shook her head slowly. “Nothing so precious as a miracle. Just an opinion. As leader of Donnyton’s forces, you have a responsibility. One to face all the battles that come our way, regardless of how afraid you are. Right now, we are fighting a battle against Randidly Ghosthound. And it is not going well.”

Flinching, Stan took a step back. His bloodless lips pressed tightly together as he struggled to control the sea of emotions that was surging in his chest. Emotions he helplessly absorbed from those in the surrounding area. Right now, more than anyone else could ever possibly understand, Stan was feeling the weight of Donnyton’s struggle with the challenge.

Their loss of hope was much more dangerous than just a single man bleakly watching the Ghosthound rampage. He was living Donnyton’s reaction to the challenge, played out in miniature.

To see him so full of doubt was obviously a sign of how badly things were proceeding, but Mrs. Hamilton would have been shocked if it was otherwise. That was just how thorough a thrashing Randidly was giving to the Squads.

But aside from his mastery of strategy, that familiarity with Donnyton’s emotions was exactly why they needed Stan. To goad Donnyton forward, Randidly was striking at the hearts of the people of Donnyton. Stan was a direct line to that battle.

If he could be brought around to their side…

Then it would become about momentum. And I have no intention to allow Randidly to pass the 8th rung.

For the moment, Mrs. Hamilton was satisfied when Stan’s expression shifted to studious blankness. Rather than facing the emotions, it was fine that he relied on his inherent Skills to numb himself. Ever since Randidly had… changed something inside of Stan, shown Stan some truth about himself, the man had become increasingly reliant on numbness to get by in his daily life.

It was a dangerous reliance. But right now, Mrs. Hamilton couldn’t deny that this cold version of Stan was better than one rocked by bitterness and fear.

Yet in the face of his continued success as a commander, Mrs. Hamilton had no reason to remove him from his position. She regretted her passive watchfulness now, but there was nothing that could be done at the moment. Stan was necessary. Which meant she would ignore his dangerous proclivities.

When Stan finally spoke, his voice was rough. “Fine. I will stay here and watch. But I cannot promise you the Ghosthound’s head. Just a possibility of catching one of his hairs.”

Alana chuckled darkly. “I mean right now, even that would be an improvement…”

Stan clicked his tongue. “Perhaps. But I suspect that Eli will not allow this rung to pass without striking an important blow against the Ghosthound.”

“Eli is strong, sure,” Mrs. Hamilton said calmly. “And when you are unaware of his Skill, you can quickly fall into his trap. That’s how he was able to seize the spot of Donnyton’s First Squad for a week. But Randidly is smart; once you know Eli’s trick… well, it can be seen from the fact his Squad has fallen to Tenth.”

“If it’s just one battle… and if the Ghosthound loses his cool… It is possible for him to be tripped up by Eli Iron.” Stan announced to the room.

Both women raised their eyebrows at that. Almost guilty, Stan shrugged. “Ah, well… I had predicted that our conversation would go about as it did, so I took some action beforehand. I ordered Eli to do something very foolish.”

Mrs. Hamilton’s gaze sharpened. But Stan remained determined in the face of her ire. His back was straight and she could tell that he reduced his reliance on his numbing Skills. But that just made Mrs. Hamilton’s mood turn even sourer.

This fool… if he wasn’t about to take an extremely dangerous chance, he wouldn’t be nervous enough to keep himself sober. What the hell have you done, Stan…?

Mrs. Hamilton’s regret was gathering together and forming a lead weight that pressed against her diaphragm.

Stan gritted his teeth. “If we didn’t start to change the pace now… it would be too late by the time you all got out onto the stage. In this challenge, we need to make sure the illusion that Randidly Ghosthound is invulnerable is shattered.”

****

Randidly looked across curiously toward a tall old man that was striding across the arena toward him. It seemed that the next group, Squads Twenty through Ten, had already arranged themselves in formation. The next rung of the Hound’s Ladder would be starting in a few minutes.

Randidly gave Helen a sidelong glance. Sensing his intention, Helen shook her head sharply; she wasn’t familiar with who this was.

So Randidly simply accepted this and passively watched as the man approached. His grey hair was combed back from his head and tied up into a man-bun, making the man resemble a retired samurai. Of all his hair, only the man’s sideburns were still thick and black. He had a plain face that would be more at home in an accountant’s office than on a battlefield.

But Randidly could tell from the man’s gait that he was a warrior, through and through. And the man’s posture spoke of calm confidence as he walked toward this most recent battle against the man who founded Donnyton.

When he arrived before Randidly, he extended a calloused hand. “Hello, Mr. Ghosthound. I’m Eli Iron, captain of the 10th Squad. I fought in the first challenge as well, although I was just a regular member back then so you probably don’t remember me…”