Stark's body shot forward like a blur, so fast that even Clever, the sharpest observer among them, couldn't follow.
He was a streak, a line of movent, and by the ti Heartless caught on, he was right in front of her.
But Stark hadn't won yet.
Because…
"Heh," Heartless smirked, her dark eyes narrowing as she felt Stark's speed bearing down on her. "You're not the only one who can do this."
In that instant, her aura shifted.
Heartless activated her strongest skill.
DIVINE SCORN!
[Description: if a situation becos too overwhelming, your hatred and dislike will rge together to double one of your stats for the rest of the battle.]
A surge of power exploded around her, a dark energy wrapping over her like armor.
This was no ordinary skill. This was her Immortal-Level skill, a skill fueled by hatred itself, turning her bitterness into raw power.
"SPEED!" she shouted, her voice echoing as she chose the stat she wanted to double.
The dark energy flared around her, doubling her speed.
In the blink of an eye, she matched Stark's swiftness.
Now they were on equal ground.
Stark grinned.
He sent one of his crimson spears flying toward her, aiming right at her chest.
But she deflected it with a flick of her black blade.
"Hahaha," Stark laughed. "Looks like you aren't as stupid as I thought!"
Heartless rolled her eyes, smiling back. "Shhh, boy, you're not my type."
Stark raised an eyebrow. "Thank god. I'd be worried if I was!"
And then—
BOOM!
The clash was like thunder.
Both of them moved at such impossible speeds that all anyone saw was a blur.
They collided again and again, each impact ringing out with a deafening echo.
They were like ghosts, vanishing and reappearing in rapid bursts, each blow shaking the ground.
In the real world, viewers watching the broadcast were left in disbelief.
"Put it in slow mode!" soone shouted.
"Idiot! It's a broadcast; you can't rewind it!"
Each ti Stark swung a fist, Heartless countered with her golden spear or her dark sword, every blow either blocked or redirected.
They were equally matched, each of their movents precise, fluid, deadly.
Heartless lashed out with Halo of Despair, a dark aura enveloping her, lowering Stark's defenses and slowing his reactions.
Stark felt it imdiately, his body growing heavier, his movents just a touch slower.
[Description: Creates an ominous aura around her, lowering the defense and speed of enemies within a 30-ter radius by 20%. The aura slowly drains their energy, weakening their attacks.]
She followed up with Spear of Divine Ruin, thrusting her spear with lightning speed, aiming for Stark's chest.
Stark barely dodged, but the tip grazed him, leaving a burning mark that intensified the pain.
-9,834!
"Hah!" Heartless cackled, eyes glinting. "Feeling the pressure yet?"
But Stark wasn't about to back down.
He lunged forward with his fists, each punch fast as a bullet, yet she deflected every single one, her smile only growing wider.
They clashed again and again, and slowly, Stark realized sothing alarming: Heartless was… better than him.
She was faster with each move, deflecting, parrying, countering in ways that left him struggling to keep up.
Two minutes passed, and he was still getting nowhere.
Then, Stark's eyes narrowed.
He realized what he needed to do.
A grin spread across his face, a dangerous glint lighting up his gaze.
"Alright..." he breathed in and out, making everyone look at him.
Domination Soul!
Without hesitation, Stark summoned his Soul Heart.
A small, crimson heart appeared in his hand, pulsing with a fierce energy that only he could control.
He held it up, and suddenly, everyone watching felt a chill run down their spines.
Instantly, not only the participants, but all those in the real world held their breath as they realized sothing.
How was this guy summoning a soul heart, even though with everything they saw until now, he clearly wasn't a [Soul Wielder]?
There was little to no info about the trial, but if it was the [Domination] trial, then doesn't it an it was another class.
They knew what this ant.
And yet...
"Hm..." Clever scratched his beard, even he was wondering who the hell was that kid.
Follower, standing nearby, looked baffled. "What…? He's using a Soul Heart?"
"What the..." Lilith, who had never seen Stark use his soul heart until now, was also surprised.
To them, all previous skills could be given to the domination class, but this one, no, it couldn't, it had to be the [Soul Wielder] class.
And even in the real world, the panic was spreading, news were reporting like crazy, and chat forums were exploding.
"A SOUL HEART?!"
"But it doesn't make sense, he didn't even use it until now?!"
"Can Soul Wielders fight without them...?"
"No!"
And of course, the most shocked people of all were Stark's family, who's jaws quite literally hit the ground.
"What the..." Aiden, Stark's Father, looked at the TV screen with widened eyes.
The attention of the entire world was now on the boy as the cara focused on his fight.
"Honey, this is... impossible? They said for sure there was no chance he would awaken this class..."
"Mom?!" Lara scread.
"Oh co on, my friends are asking if I can introduce them to my brother..." Nissa sighed.
Everyone, everywhere, was shocked, and now all they could do was see what Stark could do with that smiling crimson heart of his.
=).
Stark's grin widened. "Alright, let's end this," he said, holding the heart up like a weapon.
Heartless blinked, her gaze narrowing in suspicion.
"Let's go!" Stark shouted, swinging his Soul Heart forward, aiming it directly at Heartless.
Heartless raised her spear in defense, but Stark's soul weapon was relentless.
With a twist of his wrist, he sent a wave of energy crashing toward her, catching her off guard.
She tried to counter, but the force of Stark's attack was too strong.
-148,392!
They clashed, once, twice, three tis, moving so fast that their figures blurred even more.
Each strike sent shockwaves through the ground, breaking rocks and cracking the earth beneath them.
Stark pressed forward, driving her back step by step.
She retaliated with her Winged Judgnt, summoning dark feathers from her wings, each feather homing in on Stark.
They exploded around him, bursts of dark energy filling the air.
But Stark powered through, his fists smashing through the feathers, each impact causing a burst of dark energy that he ignored entirely.
His determination was unbreakable.
The fight was brutal, unforgiving.
"Why don't you learn?" the boy mocked, sensing that Heartless was getting more overwheld by the second.
Heartless launched a new barrage, this ti using Blackblade Cleave, her black blade releasing a wave of dark energy that lingered in the air.
Stark dodged most of it, but he was forced to move through part of the wave, feeling his energy sapped, his strength waver for just a mont.
"Hmph," Heartless sneered, her eyes gleaming with victory. "Not so tough now, are you?"
Stark laughed, barely fazed. "You talk too much."
He swung his Soul Heart again, this ti pouring more energy into it, the crimson glow flaring.
Heartless moved to block with her spear, but the impact sent her skidding back, her defenses barely holding.
"You think you're so good, huh?" Stark began to rant midfight, "All of you think you own this fucking place, well, don't worry about that, I'll send you back to Godless, your little master.
Each move was faster, more intense.
Heartless responded in kind, her Duality Strike unleashing a mix of holy and dark energy that exploded around them both.
They moved so fast that no one in the audience could keep track.
But Stark was reaching his limit.
[2:12 minutes of "Double Speed" left.]
His ti was running out. Only a little over two minutes left in Double Speed.
He had to end this now.
Heartless noticed his intensity and smirked. "Running out of ti, are we?" she taunted.
But Stark only smiled back, his gaze fierce. "Guess you'll find out soon enough."
He needed to win within that ti limit, otherwise it was ga over.
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