Lian stood calmly, the purple lightning of Thunder Calamity was still dancing across his body.
The icy claw of Glacial Reaper Claw was extending from his right hand.
On the opposite side, Cassius was still frowning, he was no longer smiling, he no longer looked calm, he had understood.
This battle was not going to be like what he had expected, and that made him angry, he wanted a complete victory.
But at this rate? Something like that was not even close to possible, and he doubted that he could even win unless he made his advantage absolute by using his other trump cards.
A few seconds of silence filled the space between them, Lian did not attack because he was preparing for a devastating attack and needed his mana to recover again.
Cassius was also thinking... thinking about whether he should use that trump card or not... using it would be a great humiliation for himself.
Should he accept humiliation or defeat?
Then he let out a quiet sigh, lowered his sword a little and said.
"I didn’t want to use this."
At that moment... the expressions of several Vorhelm elders suddenly changed, even some of the foreign guests changed their expressions.
"Is he really going to use it?" Damian quietly muttered.
From what was leaking out of Cassius’ body, he could guess what he was about to use, and that was the very reason why he believed Lian could not win.
Celestia, who had been sitting there cold and emotionless until now, finally showed a faint smile after a long time during this tournament, she knew this power.
Everyone knew it.
But no one expected Cassius to use it in a battle like this, in a battle where his opponent had not even passed the First Evolution.
In the center of the arena... the mana around Cassius’ body started to change.
At first it was only a small vibration, then the blue color of his mana slowly disappeared, and was replaced by white and golden light.
A pure and majestic light, a strange pressure suddenly spread across the entire stadium, even the people sitting in the far seats could feel it.
Several people from the younger generation suddenly turned pale and could feel their souls beginning to tremble.
"Ascended Mana..." one of the guests whispered.
"Is he really going to use something like this against someone who has not even reached the First Evolution?" another one said in disbelief.
"How cowardly! Only a loser would do something like this!"
The light around Cassius became brighter every moment.
Until even the air around him started to shake.
"So he really used it... Ascended Mana..." Damian sighed, his guess had been correct.
In the world of the Awakened... after the Second Evolution, people could raise their mana to a higher stage.
Its nature was still mana, but its quality was completely different, like the difference between raw iron and steel, like the difference between a small flame and the sun.
The same fuel for skills, but many times stronger, a fuel that would automatically increase the power of skills several times when used.
And now... Cassius had used it.
He raised his sword, and the pressure of his presence became even heavier than before.
Lian did not take his eyes off the white light.
"So you finally got serious."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He had expected that his brother would use Ascended Mana, and there was no worry on his face... he had prepared for a situation like this.
But he was not completely sure either, because he really did not know how powerful Ascended Mana could be... he only knew that this energy was powerful enough to even allow someone to fly.
Cassius did not reply.
The next moment... he disappeared.
The eyes of many spectators widened, because this time even [Void Step] could not be seen.
Even Lian, who had matched his opponent’s speed just a few minutes ago... could not see anything now.
There was only an explosion of light.
And then... the sword.
CLANG!
Lian raised his arm to block the attack no matter which direction it came from, only his instincts and senses allowed him to react now.
The clash happened.
But this time... the sound of the collision was different.
A thin line appeared on his arm.
A drop of blood ran down his skin.
Lian had been injured... while Diamond Skin had protected him from wounds like this the entire time... this time it had failed.
Even he looked at his arm for a few moments.
His face no longer had complete calmness, because he had finally realized that his defense was no longer enough.
On the other side of the arena... Cassius disappeared again.
But this time it was impossible to follow his movement.
The sword appeared from the right.
Lian dodged.
Then from behind.
From above.
From below.
The attacks came down one after another.
Many of them hit him and created many wounds all over his body... but they still had not managed to cut deeply... at least for now.
[Imperial Sword Domain]
The air around the arena began to change.
The pressure of the sword was everywhere, it was as if the whole arena had become Cassius’ personal domain.
Every step Lian took became harder.
Every movement became more restricted.
Several minutes passed and Lian was completely forced into a defensive position.
He could not find any chance to attack.
If he lowered his guard even for one moment, it would practically mean his defeat.
The spectators were stunned.
This was the Cassius everyone knew... the true monster of the younger generation.
But among the crowd... one person showed no reaction.
Seris.
She was only staring at the arena, and Aurelia, who was sitting beside her, noticed a small change.
Seris had leaned forward a little.
Her silver eyes were completely locked onto the arena.
"So you finally found an opponent worth watching?" Aurelia smiled, she thought this girl had become interested in Cassius.
Seris stayed silent for a few seconds, then quietly said.
"No."
Aurelia raised an eyebrow.
If not, then what exactly are you watching?
"I’m just waiting for Lian’s answer."
Seris did not take her eyes off the arena.
Aurelia froze.
This girl still thought that boy would win?
In the arena... Lian took a slow breath.
He had completely understood now.
If he only fought with raw power... there was a chance he would lose.
But the problem was... raw power had never been his greatest strength.
His greatest strength was that he always analyzed.
He started analyzing every movement, every step, every attack angle, every small change in Cassius’ breathing, like a hunter studying the monster in front of him.
This was the only way he could plan a counterattack.
He would only have one chance to attack, and he wanted to use all of his power in that attack.
If that attack failed... he would lose the entire battle.
Slowly... the patterns became clear.
Lian narrowed his eyes.
At that moment... a smile appeared on his face.
Finally, the opportunity had arrived!
Cassius realized it.
Every cell in his body suddenly warned him of danger!
But it was already too late.
Lian raised his left hand.
Then... he poured eighty percent of his remaining mana into that attack.
[Cataclysm Pulse]
BOOOOOOM!!
The ground of the arena exploded.
Hundreds of new cracks appeared across its surface.
A huge shockwave spread in every direction.
The protective walls shook.
But more importantly... Cassius’ Sword Domain cracked for one moment.
That single moment was enough.
[Thunder Calamity]
[Glacial Reaper Claw]
Both skills were activated at the same time.
He poured the remaining twenty percent of his mana into them.
If this failed, everything would be over for him!
"I have no choice!"
When Cassius saw what his opponent was about to do, he did not retreat.
Instead, he used the opportunity to end the battle and attacked.
Lian attacked as well.
The sword and the fist covered in lightning and ice collided with each other, and the sound of a huge explosion shook the entire area.
The shockwave swept across the arena.
Dust covered everything.
For several seconds... no one saw anything.
No one said anything.
Then... the dust disappeared.
Everyone stared.
Cassius was kneeling on one knee.
His breathing had become heavy.
His sword had fallen several meters away.
Ascended Mana had completely disappeared.
In front of him... Lian was still standing.
His clothes were torn.
His body was covered with wounds.
Blood could be seen all over his body.
But he was still standing.
A strange silence filled the arena.
Cassius looked at him for a few moments.
Then... he sighed.
"Looks like I lost... Mother won’t be happy when she hears this."
"It’s not your fault, just tell your mother that Lian is simply too good and too strong."
Lian stayed silent for a few seconds, then spoke calmly and completely naturally.
Cassius stayed silent for a moment.
He had not expected this level of arrogance...
But then he laughed.
The referee took a deep breath.
Then he raised his hand.
"The winner... Lian Vorhelm!"
The entire stadium exploded.
The sound of cheers filled every corner.
But in the middle of all that noise... one person looked as if she was only watching an ordinary scene...
Naturally, it was Seris.
Aurelia looked at the girl in disbelief.
How had she predicted the result so accurately?
Was this also a warrior’s instinct?
But while everyone was cheering, Celestia and her faction looked furious and ugly.
They had been completely defeated.
Even though Cassius was not her son, she still preferred him to win instead of Lian.
She did not want that bastard to win and gain the right to enter the Heavenly Treasury.
But no matter what she did, she had failed to stop him.
"Only three participants remain."
"Lian Vorhelm."
"Seris Pendragon."
"Nova Drakeheart."
"The next battle will be between Seris Pendragon and Nova Drakeheart."
"And the winner... will face Lian Vorhelm in the finals."
Although in everyone’s eyes there was no need for another battle...
Everyone was already certain who would meet in the final.