***** [Billion’s PoV]
The atmosphere inside the mansion had become far livelier than usual by the time the afternoon sun settled high above Abor. Golden light poured through the massive open windows overlooking the ocean while the distant sea reflected countless shimmering waves beneath the clear sky.
Large tables filled with food stretched across the hall while drinks floated lazily through the air using small essence formations Ragnar had apparently created solely because he was "too evolved to carry cups manually now."
Silver stared at the floating drinks with visible concern.
"You know," he muttered while carefully taking one from the air, "normal people use hands."
Ragnar looked offended immediately.
"Why would I insult Saint rank like that?"
"You became more annoying after ascending."
"That’s called growth."
Nearby, Vivi floated comfortably above one of the couches while stealing food from other people’s plates whenever they stopped paying attention long enough, something Aurora had already noticed but seemingly decided not to comment on anymore.
North sat beside me quietly while listening to the ongoing chaos with faint amusement visible in her eyes, and even Ash looked more awake than usual despite remaining half-focused on a scroll like someone being forced into social interaction against his will.
The topic naturally shifted toward Saint rank eventually.
Steve leaned forward afterward while looking between all of us carefully.
"So," he asked, "how different does it actually feel?"
For a brief moment the noise around the room softened slightly.
Aurora answered first.
"The easiest explanation," she said calmly while golden lightning flickered softly across her fingertips, "is that the soul becomes the center of existence instead of the body."
Steve frowned immediately.
"That explanation somehow created more questions."
Knight nodded seriously.
"That means she explained it correctly."
Lyrate rolled her eyes.
"Before Saint rank," she added while green essence drifted lazily around her fingers, "power feels external. You gather it, circulate it, shape it." She paused briefly. "After Saint rank... it feels natural. Like laws and essence recognize you."
Ragnar grinned widely afterward.
"And you feel awesome."
"That," Knight admitted, "is actually the best explanation so far."
I chuckled softly while listening to them before finally speaking myself.
"The biggest difference," I said while looking toward Steve, "is that reality reacts to you now."
Then Ragnar suddenly stood up heavily from his seat while cracking his neck loudly.
"Enough talking," he announced while pointing around the room dramatically. "We finally all became Saints. Which means there’s only one important thing left to settle."
Ash sighed immediately.
"Oh no."
Ragnar ignored him completely.
"We decide who’s strongest."
Knight straightened instantly.
"I support this idea wholeheartedly."
"Of course you do," I replied flatly.
Ragnar then looked directly toward me.
"The winner gets to fight you."
That immediately changed the atmosphere. I smiled slightly before standing up from my seat.
"Fine."
Excitement spread instantly across the room afterward while essence pressure subtly rose around everyone at once.
Not long later all of us stood high above the ocean outside the mansion beneath the clear daytime sky while sunlight reflected brilliantly across the endless sea below.
I raised one hand slowly.
Silver-violet lines spread outward through the sky before forming a gigantic circular boundary suspended above the ocean itself. The circle expanded farther and farther until its scale resembled two entire cities merged together while glowing runic edges stabilized the surrounding space.
"Simple rules," I said calmly while looking at all of them. "Anyone pushed outside loses."
Ragnar cracked his knuckles loudly.
"Perfect."
The next instant, chaos erupted.
Silver moved first.
The skies screamed apart beneath violent wind currents while compressed soundwaves exploded outward invisibly across the battlefield. Entire layers of air distorted from vibration alone as Silver shot upward through the atmosphere like a silver comet, sharp currents spiraling around his body continuously.
Ragnar answered immediately by punching forward.
The force released from the movement alone shattered the surrounding clouds apart while invisible pressure waves crashed through the battlefield hard enough to distort Silver’s wind streams themselves.
Knight vanished next.
Darkness spread suddenly across huge sections of the arena while fractured pockets of warped space appeared everywhere simultaneously, twisting movement directions unpredictably as Knight stepped through shadows like cracks in reality itself.
Then Lyrate changed the battlefield entirely.
Gigantic trees erupted across the sky itself.
Roots spread through empty air while glowing forests materialized within seconds, silver-green leaves drifting everywhere while massive branches twisted across the battlefield like living beasts swallowing the arena whole.
Ash sighed softly. Then raised one hand. Large white sealing formations unfolded across the battlefield instantly. Sections of the arena slowed unnaturally while essence circulation weakened wherever the seals appeared, entire movement paths becoming unstable beneath Ash’s authority.
Aurora answered with overwhelming violence. Golden lightning exploded across the skies.
Massive storms formed overhead while oceans of electricity descended continuously through the battlefield, vaporizing sections of Lyrate’s forests while thunder rolled across the atmosphere hard enough to shake the ocean beneath.
North floated beside me while watching the destruction with bright eyes.
"They’re absolutely going to destroy your island."
"They won’t. I am ready to spank anyone who dares."
Within seconds the entire arena became completely insane.
Silver descended from above surrounded by rotating wind blades while sonic pulses detonated through the battlefield continuously, forcing Ragnar backward before the giant man suddenly grabbed one of the compressed soundwaves itself through force manipulation and hurled it back hard enough to collapse part of Silver’s wind formation.
Knight emerged directly behind Aurora through a tear in space only for lightning to erupt instantly from her body, forcing darkness backward while fractured space spread around both of them.
Meanwhile Lyrate’s forests continued expanding everywhere.
Gigantic wooden dragons burst upward from the roots while glowing vines wrapped around Ragnar’s arms briefly before he simply flexed violently and shattered entire kilometers of forests apart through raw force alone.
Ash remained the quietest. And somehow the most irritating.
Every few seconds another sealing formation appeared somewhere critical across the battlefield, disrupting movement, weakening attacks, or locking sections of space temporarily.
Silver noticed first.
"You sneaky bastard."
Ash looked genuinely relaxed.
"Thank you."
A second later Knight vanished.
Then Ash disappeared entirely through collapsing darkness before reappearing outside the arena boundary.
"...I hate you," Ash muttered calmly.
"Skill issue," Knight replied immediately.
Silver was eliminated soon after.
Aurora collapsed an entire storm sphere around him before Ragnar crashed through it like a meteor, launching Silver outside the boundary despite the silver-haired man’s attempt to redirect himself using wind currents.
"TEAMWORK!" Ragnar roared proudly.
Aurora stared at him blankly.
"I did most of that."
"Yes," Ragnar replied confidently, "but I looked cooler."
Lyrate nearly removed both of them moments later.
Massive crimson sword slashes erupted upward while entire forests wrapped around Aurora’s lightning storms themselves, absorbing electricity directly into gigantic wooden constructs spreading across the battlefield.
Then Knight ruined everything again. Darkness spread beneath Ragnar and Aurora simultaneously.
Both reacted instantly but were late. The space beneath them inverted violently.
Aurora transformed into lightning and escaped upward at the last instant while Ragnar barely grabbed the arena edge itself through force manipulation.
Unfortunately, that still counted as leaving the boundary.
Ragnar vanished downward roaring curses loud enough to shake the sea.
Lyrate fell next after Aurora finally overwhelmed the forests through sheer destructive output, though even while leaving the battlefield she looked more annoyed than defeated.
"Burning forests is cheating."
"That," Aurora replied calmly, "is literally how fire works."
Which finally left only two.
Aurora and Knight.
Lightning and darkness.
Storms and fractured space.
The battlefield had already become almost unrecognizable beneath accumulated destruction while shattered forests drifted through lightning-filled skies above violently churning oceans.
Aurora attacked first. Entire skies collapsed into golden lightning. Knight answered by tearing space itself apart directly through the center of the storm.
For several seconds both disappeared entirely within exploding darkness and lightning before suddenly Aurora shot backward outside the boundary.
Knight emerged moments later from fractured shadows while breathing slightly heavier than before.
Then he looked toward me and grinned.
"Well," he said proudly, "looks like I win."