Seris’s silver sword was coming down.
The bright light of Heavenfall Execution covered the entire arena, and even many of the spectators were already sure about the result of this battle.
From everyone’s point of view, Lian had definitely lost and Seris was the winner of this duel...
But Lian was no longer looking at the sword, he was thinking about something much more important.
The problem was not his muscles, the problem was not his speed, it was not even his mana, the problem was his soul, his whole body was screaming at him to move.
But something invisible was keeping him in place.
[ Sovereign’s Judgment ]
A soul attack skill, an absolute command, a direct suppression of the will.
Lian had felt that he had lost control of his body, but in reality it was his soul and mind that were no longer listening to him.
And in those few short moments, the blue panel appeared in front of his eyes.
[ Stats Points: 28 ]
There was no doubt, there was no need to think, all twenty-eight points went directly into Spirit.
[ Spirit: 180 → 208 ]
At that moment, something inside him broke, of course it was not a bone, but an invisible chain that had trapped him.
He felt as if a huge wall inside his mind had collapsed, the spiritual pressure that had seemed impossible to endure just a moment ago suddenly cracked.
Like breaking the lock of a prison, like the chains of a prisoner being shattered.
And he managed to free himself from that skill, he managed to take back control of his body.
Heavenfall Execution came down.
The silver light split the ground like a heavenly lightning bolt, but at the very last moment, Lian’s body moved.
Not completely, not enough, but it moved, the sword passed beside his body, its edge cut through his left shoulder and his side.
Blood burst out and his body was dragged several meters across the ground.
The terrified voices of the spectators echoed through the stadium, many believed it was over.
And everyone looked at the girl in disbelief, did she really want to kill her opponent? Why? Did they have some kind of hatred between them?
Everyone was sure this was the end of the battle, but when the dust slowly cleared, they saw Lian still standing.
And on his face... there was a smile, drops of blood were falling onto the ground.
The wound was deep, the pain was intense, but at that very moment something activated.
[ Blood Rush ]
His blood started boiling inside his veins, his heart began beating harder, and every wound on his body made him stronger instead of weaker.
Faster, more dangerous and more deadly.
"You’re still alive?" Seris had to take one step back, even she did not seem to expect that her opponent had survived.
"Did you really try to kill me?" Lian looked at her with a blank expression, he had never expected this girl to attack him with the intention of killing him.
"Of course not, I was sure you could free yourself."
"You were sure? I kind of doubt that."
Seris paused for a moment and did not answer immediately, as if she was looking for an excuse, then she added.
"I got a little too excited and completely forgot that this was a friendly match."
"....."
Lian said nothing, he only became sure that his guess was correct, this girl was truly crazy! A crazy person who forgot everything once she became absorbed in a battle!
He sighed and they started attacking again.
Until this moment, Seris had the advantage.
But something had changed.
Every minute that passed, Lian became stronger.
On the other hand, for the first time, Seris had started using a real amount of energy, her breathing was still steady, but it was no longer perfect.
Her movements were still precise, but they were no longer perfect.
More than twenty minutes had passed while both of them fought with everything they had, Seris had even used some of her strongest skills many times.
Her energy was slowly running out.
Lian could see these small changes, and the hunter inside him had awakened, because of [ Blood Rush ] he had no lack of stamina or energy.
His only problem was that his mana reserves were slowly running out.
The clashes between his fists covered in ice and lightning against the sword continued.
The battlefield had become a hell of energy, but Lian’s mind was still analyzing.
"Her speed is still amazing."
Clash.
"But she’s a little slower than before."
Another clash.
"Her reaction time has dropped."
Seris’s sword passed beside his face and he dodged.
"No..."
He blocked the next strike.
"After all, she’s not unbeatable, and that’s her weakness."
Lian realized something, Seris was not perfect, she had only spent her whole life trying to get as close to perfection as possible.
But she was still human, and humans get tired.
The smile on Lian’s face became deeper.
"I got you." This girl’s defense had reached its lowest point because her energy was running out.
But he himself was becoming stronger and stronger with every passing moment, and now the time had finally come.
At that moment, he raised his hand, the mana around him went completely wild.
The ground beneath his feet cracked, and for the second time...
[ Cataclysm Pulse ]
This time, the goal was not to destroy the battlefield, the goal was to break Seris’s rhythm.
The massive explosion shook the entire battlefield, the shockwave spread outward like an invisible storm.
The ground collapsed, rocks shattered, the protective walls trembled.
And Seris was pushed back, not because of the power, and at that moment she lost her balance.
Only for a fraction of a second, but that was enough for Lian.
The panel appeared again.
[ Do you want to upgrade Blood Rush? ]
[ 15 Fragments Required ]
Without any hesitation, he pressed Yes.
[ Confirm ]
Mana exploded throughout his entire body.
[ Warrior’s Madness ]
[ Rank: Great ]
[ Description: The more damage you take, the more your strength, speed, reaction, resistance and recovery increase.
Thirty percent of the pain is suppressed and directly converted into energy, Resistance consumption is reduced, wound recovery is increased.
The effects of the skill grow exponentially, as long as mana remains, there will almost be no drop in performance.
The more wounds and damage you receive, the greater your madness becomes, the crazier you become, the stronger your punches become, until you become like a monster that cares about nothing except fighting.
Warning! It may affect decision-making!
Consumes 1 mana every minute. ]
Lian’s eyes widened and joy filled them, the upgrade was much better than he had expected.
Now both of them were in danger, Seris was exhausted, Lian was badly wounded, but unlike her... Lian’s strength was still increasing.
The next clash became even stronger.
And the next.
And the next.
Every strike shook the battlefield, every collision released another wave of energy.
But Seris realized that she had lost the initiative, she realized that she was being pushed back, and she realized that she was losing.
The final exchange began.
[ Thunder Calamity ]
[ Glacial Reaper Claw ]
At the same time, on the other side...
[ King’s Breaker ]
[ King’s Edge ]
[ Heavenfall Execution ]
The two monsters attacked for the last time, both of them knew they could not continue any longer, and this battle had to end now.
The final clash... light swallowed the entire battlefield.
The sword and the claw met at the center of the arena, and the explosion shook the entire stadium once again.
Then... silence finally covered everything.
Only dust, only smoke, and only destruction could be seen, the battle between the two eighteen-year-old Awakened looked like the end of the world.
If someone did not know they were both eighteen years old, they would never be able to guess it.
Everyone was standing, no one was breathing, no one was speaking, everyone was only waiting for the result.
The dust slowly cleared away, and finally the battlefield became visible.
Seris was kneeling on one knee, her silver sword was still in her hand, but she could no longer stand up.
Several meters away from her... Lian was still standing.
Blood was flowing from his body.
Half of his body had been destroyed, although it was slowly recovering and healing.
His hands were trembling, his mana was almost gone.
But... he was still standing.
The referee could only stare for a few seconds, as if he himself could not believe it, then he said with a trembling voice.
"Winner... Lian Vorhelm."