A heavy silence covered the entire stadium.
Dozens of thousands of people were sitting in their seats, but no one spoke, even the sound of the wind could be heard more clearly than the whispers of the crowd at that moment.
Because this was no longer just a battle, this was not only a fight between two members of the Vorhelm family, this was a battle between two different futures.
On one side, the most likely heir of the family, and on the other side, the boy who had been driven out of the family years ago and had now returned like a storm.
When both of them stood in the center of the arena, their eyes locked for a few seconds, many years had passed.
Years in which each of them had walked a different path, years in which they had not seen each other.
Even though they were brothers, they had practically grown up in two different worlds, one had become isolated from childhood because he had no mother and did not have many friends or supporters inside the family.
And the other, because he was the first son, had shined like a star throughout the entire family, everyone liked him and he was always respected and admired.
One was practically cast out of the family after the Awakening process, and the other became the center and core of the family after the Awakening process.
Cassius was the first one to break the silence.
"So, we finally reached this point." His voice was calm, it had neither hostility nor friendliness.
"Looks like it." Lian shrugged.
"To be honest, I never thought you would come back, actually, that you would be able to come back."
"A lot of people thought that, and all of them were wrong." A very faint smile appeared on Lian’s lips.
"Looks like that’s true, no one expected you to suddenly become an Awakened." This time it was Cassius who smiled for a moment, but it disappeared just as quickly.
"How about you surrender? This way the battle will end without you getting hurt." Then he added.
"I would rather lose with honor if I have to lose... and what makes you think you can win?"
"Still as stubborn as ever." Cassius laughed and then became silent.
Both of them knew this conversation could not continue anymore, because what stood between them was years of distance, rivalry, and fate.
At the elders’ platform, one of the old men stood up and his voice echoed through the entire stadium.
"Because of the difference in level, battle restrictions have been applied."
"Cassius Vorhelm’s level has been lowered to Level 15."
"His physical strength, speed, stamina, and mana reserve have been returned to what they were at that level."
The spectators nodded, all of these restrictions had also been used in the previous rounds, and this was fair.
Otherwise, no one from the younger generation here would be able to fight against a Level 41 Awakened.
But the next sentence made everyone frown again.
"However, his combat skills, experience, battle understanding, and the abilities gained from his Evolutions will remain."
Several people looked at each other.
"That’s not a restriction at all, that’s a complete advantage." One of them muttered.
Another one sighed.
"Exactly."
In the arena, Cassius drew his sword, the sound of metal echoed across the entire field.
At that same moment, the referee raised his hand.
"Begin!"
And Cassius disappeared.
He really disappeared.
For many spectators, his body turned into nothing more than a streak of light.
[Heaven Severing Flash]
A skill whose name was famous throughout the entire country.
When they saw him use it, the spectators realized that this boy wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible.
A white flash appeared in the arena, and then the sword appeared directly in front of Lian’s throat.
Just one moment.
Just one moment away from the end of the battle.
But that single moment was enough for the surface of Lian’s skin to suddenly turn into a metallic shine.
[Diamond Skin]
A loud impact echoed through the arena, the entire field shook.
Cassius’ sword struck Lian’s neck, but it could not cut through.
Instead, the shockwave from the impact pushed Lian several steps backward.
The stadium exploded.
"He moved back!"
"Lian was pushed back!"
"For the first time!"
Since the beginning of the tournament, no one had been able to force him to step back, even though they had expected that attack to end the battle, the fact that he had been pushed back was already an achievement.
But Cassius had done it.
And he still did not stop.
His body suddenly disappeared again.
[Void Step]
His image appeared and disappeared all over the arena.
Left... right... above... behind.
He was practically attacking from impossible positions every moment.
His sword filled the arena like a deadly storm, attacks came one after another and did not even give his enemy a chance to breathe.
Lian was forced to defend completely, the sounds of constant clashes echoed one after another, dozens of attacks every second, dozens of deadly angles every second.
Lian had reached a position where he could not simply move forward and throw a punch.
Cassius was truly dangerous and powerful, and it could be said that this was finally the first battle in this tournament that had become a real challenge for Lian.
"Now I understand why they call him the future heir." Aurelia quietly whispered from the guests’ platform.
Even Seris did not take her eyes off the arena, her eyes were shining with excitement, this was one of the coolest battles she had ever seen.
She was feeling jealous of the two of them... she wished she could also have a battle like this.
"I can’t keep going like this." In the arena, Lian took a deep breath and muttered to himself, he needed to leave his defensive position.
Suddenly, purple lightning appeared around his body.
[Thunder Calamity]
The sound of thunder echoed across the entire arena.
Lightning flowed over his skin, but he knew this was not enough, he had to become fast enough to match his opponent.
[Fallen Wolf Speed]
And finally he was able to keep up with Void Step.
The images of both fighters became blurred across the arena.
The spectators could only see lightning explosions and flashes from the sword.
But even so... Cassius still had a slight advantage.
"He’s much better than I thought, how is he this powerful?" He thought to himself.
His younger brother had become much stronger during this time.
Even with all of his experience, he had barely managed to keep his small advantage.
Then, after realizing he had no other choice, he revealed one of his trump cards.
His eyes shined for a moment, the mana around him changed, and the atmosphere of the arena suddenly became heavy.
[Imperial Sword Domain]
An invisible area formed around him, every movement of his sword became faster, every attack angle became more deadly, and every escape path became strangely limited.
Lian immediately felt the change, it was as if the entire arena was helping Cassius.
The sword appeared from every direction, every attack was more accurate than the one before.
A small frown appeared on his face, he still had not removed his enemy’s advantage, and now that advantage had suddenly become even greater?
"Damn it."
At that same moment, a deadly cold spread across the arena.
His hands changed, dark blue ice grew over his skin, and a huge deadly claw was formed.
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
Purple lightning flowed across the surface of the ice, two completely different powers stood side by side.
The spectators were so excited by this battle that they could not even breathe.
Cassius attacked.
Lian attacked as well.
The next collision was like the explosion of a bomb.
White light covered the entire arena, the ground split apart, stones were crushed, and part of the arena’s barriers cracked.
The shockwave from the collision even reached the front rows of the spectators.
When the dust disappeared, both of them were still standing.
But now there were several meters between them.
The arena no longer looked like a friendly competition, it looked like a real battlefield... deep cracks could be seen everywhere.
Part of the arena floor had been destroyed, and even some of the protective walls had been damaged.
The stadium fell into complete silence.
No one had expected this.
For the first time, Lian had failed to defeat his opponent within a few seconds, he could no longer almost send his opponent to the afterlife with just one punch.
And Cassius had realized that something was still wrong.
Because despite all this pressure... Lian was still calm.
Still far too calm.
His eyes narrowed.
He clearly understood that this calmness was not normal.
And that could only mean one thing.
Lian still had not used his full power.
’How is this possible? How can he keep up with me? Damn it.’ He grumbled.
At first he thought he could end this battle quickly.
But he had been wrong...
At this rate, he might even be forced to use his other trump cards.
At that very moment, Lian slowly raised his hand.
The mana around him began to tremble.
The atmosphere of the arena changed.
Cassius frowned even more deeply, a frown that showed he had sensed danger.
From the spectators’ platform, Damian stared at the arena without moving his eyes.
The battle was going very differently from what he had expected.
"Battle is finally getting serious..." He quietly muttered.