Yuki laid on a gurney, medics surrounding her and injecting her with medication through IVs. She was conscious, still, but in excruciating pain.

  "Agh...damn...it..." Yuki said in a painful gasp.

  One of the medics approached her, checking her vitals.

  "Try not to talk, miss. Just lie still and let us do our work..."

  Meanwhile, Nika and the others were standing in shocked silence at the brutal conclusion of the match.

  Rachel was the first to break their silence.

  "Is that girl...a psychopath...?”

  Nika shrugged, still trying to process what happened.

  "I...think so. That was a brutal match. Her craze over skin tone is unhealthy…”

  "Well no kiddin'..." Rachel responded. "She was willing to permanently harm Yuki just for being pale. How sick is that? Who in their right mind would go that far over...skin?”

  "I mean," Alice joined. "I get where Guanqiu's coming from, to be honest.”

  "Wait, what?!" Rachel exclaimed, turning to Alice in disbelief.

  "Think about it, skin tone does play a significant role in today's day and age. And unfortunately, being born dark in color comes with certain disadvantages in some places." Alice sighed. "I would know that since I'm dark myself.”

  "So am I, but still..." Nika interjected. "You can't seriously say that justifies anything that girl did…”

  Alice shook her head. "Well, of course it doesn't justify her actions. What I'm saying is, I empathize with her feelings, that's all.”

  Nika raised an eyebrow. "You're not saying you wish you were pale too, are you?”

  "Well...yeah." Alice admitted, a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Being naturally dark can make life a bit more challenging. I've had people judge me and make assumptions about me just because of my skin tone. I've longed for lighter skin on multiple occasions because I thought life would be easier if I wasn't associated with the stereotypes black people face on a daily basis.”

  Nika fell quiet, as did Rachel. ESPECIALLY Rachel. She never heard Alice speak so openly about her insecurities.

  "But...that's just wishful thinking." Alice continued. "I can't change my skin color, no matter how much I may want to. All I can do is live life the only way I know how. Besides, there are some good things about being dark.”

  "Like what, exactly?" Rachel asked curiously.

  "Well...it has a natural sun protection factor, so I don't have to worry about getting burnt as much as someone with lighter skin.”

  "That's...true." Nika nodded. "Dark skin is much less susceptible to sunburns than any other skin tones, so there's that at least…”

  "And I've heard that dark skin ages better than lighter skin and is less prone to certain medical problems related to skin." Added Alice.

  "Yeah, that's right." Agreed Nika. "Dark skin can help protect against some skin cancers and other stuff. So, it does have some advantages compared to lighter skin... However, it's not the sun we have to worry about much. It's society.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Alice nodded grimly. "You're right. It's the way society sees dark skin that's the real issue. It's the stereotypes, the assumptions, the biases...it's so tiring. So yeah, that's why can see where Guanqiu's upset lies.”

  "I can understand her frustration.”

  Nika responded. “But I can't understand or agree with her actions, especially the brutal way she treated Yuki during their match.”

  Speaking of Guanqiu, Marco set up the next match.

  "We're almost at the final round, everyone! Our penultimate match will be Guanqiu again, versus our favorite sniper girl, Zoe!!”

  The crowd roared as usual, excited for the next fight.

  Zoe entered the arena, stretching her limbs and taking a few practice shots.

  Standing across from her was Guanqiu, her eyes still held the same intensity and determination from her previous match. She didn't show any signs of exhaustion as she adjusted her qipao without taking her eyes off of Zoe.

  Marco called out "Begin!" as the match started. Without wasting a moment, Zoe unleashed a series of quick shots at Guanqiu.

  Despite the sudden hail of bullets, Guanqiu moved like a wraith, evading the onslaught with surprising ease. With quick footwork, she moved side to side, gracefully avoiding being struck as she zigzagged closer to Zoe.

  Zoe tried to keep her distance, but she was having difficulty landing a hit on the swift Guanqiu. She fired even more shots, trying to land at least one bullet in this onslaught.

  But Guanqiu, as if she were dancing, continued her fluid evasion, even performing leaps and spins, making herself even harder to hit.

  Zoe couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the nimble girl evade her shots effortlessly. Her frustration grew with each failed attempt.

  "How the hell are you doing this?!" She cried out in disbelief. "You can't dodge that fast! It's impossible!”

  But Guanqiu, not taking her eyes off of Zoe, replied in a calm, almost amused tone, "You underestimate my capabilities, sniper.”

  Zoe gritted her teeth in frustration, increasing the intensity of her shots. She was determined to land at least a single hit and end this madness.

  Despite the increased barrage, Guanqiu continued her graceful evasion, leaping and spinning out of the way, never missing a beat. It was as if she could predict Zoe's every move.

  "This is insane!" Zoe muttered, her annoyance turning into frustration. Her bullets should've connected by now. "How do I pin this girl down?”

  As Zoe kept firing, she didn't notice that while dodging, Guanqiu was closing the distance between them.

  The gap between Zoe and Guanqiu was getting shorter and shorter, and the sniper was too preoccupied unleashing a barrage of shots to notice.

  "Just...get...hit...damnit!" Zoe's breathing was growing heavy as her eyes focused heavily on landing a shot.

  Zoe was too busy with her shots to notice that Guanqiu had closed the distance and was now dangerously close to her. Before she could react, Guanqiu made a paper kunai knife and stabbed Zoe through her stomach with it, the tip poking out of her back.

  Zoe's eyes widened in pain, her gun fell to the ground as she grabbed the protruding kunai. She looked up at Guanqiu, struggling to speak. "You...y-you…”

  "Found an opening." Guanqiu finished Zoe's sentence, her expression still cold and calm as ever. "My speed and agility made it too easy to close the distance and strike you.”

  Zoe winced in pain, gripping the kunai in her stomach. "I...I underestimated you..." she managed to say between gasps of pain.

  "You did." Guanqiu bluntly replied as she twisted the kunai, causing more pain to course through Zoe's body.

  Zoe let out a cry of pain, her body shook from the agony. "Why...why are you...wait, are you still salty over that skin color thing...?" she managed to ask through the pain.

  Guanqiu's eyes narrowed, her voice tinged with anger. "Yes. I am still salty about it. My obsession hasn't changed."

  Guanqiu pulled her kunai out, letting Zoe bleed out as the latter fell backwards onto the cold arena floor.

  Nika, Alice, Rachel, and the rest of the spectators were shocked by the sudden and brutal conclusion of yet another match.

  Marco cleared his throat. "Well then...Zoe is unable to battle...so the winner is...GUANQIU!”

  The crowd roared and cheered for the victorious girl once again.

  "WOW! ANOTHER WIN IN THE BAG BY GUANQIU!"

  "SHE'S ABSOLUTELY INSANE!”

  Nika, Rachel, and the rest were shocked.

  "Is...is this girl serious?!" Nika exclaimed.

  "Her obsession is getting way out of hand..." Rachel shook her head in disbelief.

  "She's way beyond just being obsessed now..." added Nika. "She's willing to seriously injure others just to make some kind of point…”

  Rachel nodded in agreement. "I seriously hope someone manages to get through to her..."

  Marco called out again: "I hope you all will be ready for the final match coming up, with the fighters being... NIKA AND GUANQIU!!”

  As soon as Nika heard this, her heart dropped. She dreaded the idea of being Guanqiu’s next opponent seeing how wild she's been going as of late.

  Guanqiu made eye contact with Nika from across the arena, a very slight yet sinister smirk spreading across her face. She was looking forward to the grand finale.