Inside the battlegrounds, the air was thick with tension.
Cael dodged another of Elara’s strikes, his body moving with effortless grace.
The golden fla brushed past his shoulder, close enough to warm his skin but not close enough to burn.
His purple eyes remained calm, focused, watching. He was not just fighting. He was copying Elara’s unique elental skills.
Another unique elent skill was added to his collection.
-Rumble.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Cael and Elara backed away from each other, their eyes turning toward the distance.
The barrier was closing in again. The shimring wall of energy crept closer, swallowing trees and rocks, reducing the battleground with each pulse.
The third shrink had begun.
Then Cael turned his head back to Elara and smiled.
"Let’s finish this."
His voice was light, almost casual. As if he had been waiting for this mont.
Elara prepared herself. Her grip tightened on her spear. Her golden flas flickered brighter, responding to her rising heartbeat.
Until now, Cael had not attacked her. He had only dodged, defended, and played.
Like a cat toying with a mouse.
Elara’s eyes fixed on Cael as he vanished from his spot.
All she saw was a white blur.
’So fast!’
Elara’s body moved on instinct. Elara rotated her spear around her, spinning it in a wide arc.
Golden flas erupted from the spear, creating a wall of heat and light around her. A barrier ant to burn anything that ca close.
But it was futile.
-Whoosh.
The golden fla barrier was cut open by a white light effortlessly.
The white sword light energy passed through Elara’s defense like it was made of paper, not fire.
The white light humd as it sliced through the air, missing Elara’s body by inches.
Elara instantly knew. That white sword light was lethal. One clean hit, and she would be teleported out of the battle royale.
Her team would lose a mber. Her father would watch her fail on live screens.
Sweat ran down her face as shivers ran through her body. Her heart pounded against her ribs. Her breath ca in short, sharp gasps.
In just one exchange, Cael had put Elara in a passive state. Sothing she had not been able to do to him in hundreds of exchanges.
He moved. She defended. He struck. She survived.
The difference in their skills was not small. It was a canyon.
As the battle progressed, a scratch appeared on Elara’s face. She had not even felt the blade touch her.
But the sting was there now, sharp and real.
Cael backed away and smiled at Elara.
"Let’s stop it here. What do you think?"
His breathing was steady. His expression was calm. He was not tired. He was not even winded.
Elara gave a bitter smile. The taste of defeat was sour on her tongue.
"No. I lost."
Then Cael tossed the badge toward Elara.
"Here. Take it."
The badge spun through the air, glinting in the filtered sunlight. Elara caught it with her free hand.
Then she realized sothing.
Cael had used only one hand during the entire fight.
His other hand was folded behind his back. The sa hand that had been holding her teammate’s badge throughout the duel.
He had fought her one-handed. Thinking this, she felt annoyed. More than annoyed. Insulted.
Then a golden fla appeared on her face, right where the scratch was.
Under Cael’s curious gaze, the scratch on her face vanished. Not even a trace of it remained. The skin was smooth, as if the wound had never existed.
Of course, Cael silently copied the healing skill. When would he miss an opportunity like this? Especially when he was the one who created the wound.
Yes. Cael had intentionally scratched Elara’s face.
He needed her to use her healing skill. He needed to see it in action. He needed to copy it.
And she had obliged without even knowing.
Now that he had finished what he needed to do, Cael turned and left.
His silver hair swayed behind him as he walked. His hands slipped back into his pockets. He did not look back.
Watching his retreating back, Elara and her teammates sighed in relief.
The tension in their shoulders released. The breath they had been holding finally escaped.
If Cael had wanted to eliminate their team, he could have done so. He had the ability. And they were sure of it.
But he had not. He had only wanted to fight. He had only wanted to test himself against her.
Fortunately, it seed Cael was done with them.
Then Elara turned back to her team and said,
"Let’s go. We’ll move away from here."
Her teammates had no objections. They nodded quickly, their eyes still darting toward the treeline where Cael had disappeared.
Who knew if he would co back?
...
anwhile, in the stadium.
"S-Silver Moon Prince."
Junior’s steps paused as he heard Caelir Vayne’s nickna.
A breeze passed him as his blonde hair fluttered.
Junior wanted to turn around and see the person who had created the nickna. Who had started the chant? Who had given Cael a title that would soon spread across the stadium like wildfire.
But just as he wanted to turn, an imnse pressure descended on him.
Junior’s facial expression twisted as his knees almost buckled. The weight was invisible but crushing, like the sky itself had decided to rest on his shoulders.
The noise of the stadium abruptly stopped.
Even though Junior could not turn his head, he could still see before him using his mana vision.
The world appeared in fragnts, shapes, and colors woven from residual energy.
What he saw shocked him.
The people froze in their places like statues. A drink spilled from a cup hung motionless, droplets frozen like tiny crystals.
It was as if ti itself had stopped.
Just as he grew terrified and began pondering what could cause such a thing, his heart skipped a beat. His knees finally gave way, and he fell to the ground.
The reason was the heavenly book inside him. It had awakened.
Not only that, but Junior could also sense excitent radiating from the heavenly book.
Pure, childlike excitent. Like a little kid who had finally seen their parent after a very long ti.
Junior was horrified. The heavenly book had never acted this way.
So why now? Why here? Why in response to this pressure?
Junior’s vision started to dull. Colors faded. Shapes blurred. He was losing consciousness.
He tried to fight it. He tried to stay awake. But the pressure was too much. The heavenly book’s excitent was too overwhelming.
As the last of his consciousness slipped away, Junior’s eyes darted toward the clouds above.
But all he saw was... a red sky.
Reviews
All reviews (0)