Chapter 23

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Back inside the battle arena where Celica and Heart fought against Platinum and Mika, the bodiless voice herself let out a sigh of relief.

"System": "Oof... that... was another nasty shake."

After a moment of pause, a certain green-haired man walks over to the middle of the arena as he casually remarks.

After a moment of pause, a certain green-haired man walks over to the middle of the arena as he casually remarks

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Hazama: "Well? Are you at your wit's end, yet?"

"System": "Oh, I jumped off my wit's end a few hours ago. How was I supposed to see any of this coming? This was 'not' in the job description."

Hazama: "Yes, yes, I feel your pain. But the sad truth of this world is that you can't always get what you want. Particularly in this job."

"System": "Says the one making everything worse."

Hazama: "Come now. Can't a guy express a little concern for a dear friend?"

"System": "Tch. 'Friend'... I don't even want to think about that... especially with 'him'. And I don't recall us being friends to begin with."

Hazama: "Hey now, I'm just trying to be nice. Take some of that massive mental burden off of you. After all, if you collapse under its weight, everything else might collapse with you."

"System": "Might, he says... you really don't know what you're dealing with, do you? That power is 'not' to be taken lightly, you know."

Hazama: "I'm well aware of that. Which is why I'm trying to prevent-"

He's suddenly cut off when the voice loudly winces in pain as the entire battle arena wobbles for a few seconds.

"System": "Ugh... Grgh...!!"

Hazama: "Dear me. It seems like we don't have much room to play around here."

"System": "I can only contain 'you-know-what' for so long... are you sure they'll make it?"

Hazama: "I believe so. But if they don't, we'll be in big trouble. And it can't just be anybody. It has to be someone who can withstand the power of a god. Otherwise, this is all going straight into the trash. While it may look like a silly little game, it's our best way to filter out the candidates."

With a short sigh, the green-haired man addresses to the voice.

Hazama: "By the way, it seems a few of our contestants are from worlds we haven't seen the likes of before."

"System": "So, can I... leave the rest of this to you, then?"

Hazama: "But of course. Honestly, it doesn't look like you have much choice. I'll take care of everything for you."

"System": "Very well. But just to reiterate... I will hold off 'you-know-what' as much as I can, so long as 'he' will continue to suffer, you got that?"

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