"Then, the battle... begins!"
As the masked referee's words fell, the Ratman on the arena was still somewhat uneasy, its entire body taut like a fully drawn bowstring.
But the next second, it was as if someone had flipped a switch, and it instantly changed states.
Its racing heartbeat abruptly steadied, its panic completely faded away, leaving only calm and vigilance. Like a short blade sheathed in its scabbard, it was unassuming, yet already poised to strike.
Clearly, Angel had replaced the original Ratman and entered control.
He raised his head toward the opposite side, just in time to see the Void Spirit Predator's right arm transform into a colossal shadow-blade scythe taller than its own body. Then its body slowly faded, as though an eraser were wiping it out of the air.
The instant the Void Spirit Predator turned invisible, Angel tried to forcibly sense its trail through "Peril Omen."
But there was no feedback at all.
Just as Rabbit Girl had described before, once a Void Spirit Predator entered its hidden phase, everything about it passively vanished—including malice and killing intent...
"While invisible, they can even briefly evade fate's gaze."
—Those had been Rabbit Girl's exact words.
Though the time they could evade fate's gaze was not long, it was enough to show just how powerful the Void Spirit Predator's invisibility talent was. It truly deserved to be called an invisible natural disaster.
Only at the instant they revealed themselves would they expose a faint killing intent.
The opportunity to clash existed only in that fleeting moment.
Since he could not sense the Void Spirit Predator, Angel did not force the issue. Instead, he raised his vigilance to the utmost.
That active vigilance seemed to grant some kind of boost to the passive effect of Peril Omen.
Although