Knight rolled his shoulders slowly afterward while fractured darkness drifted around his body in thin streams, the shattered remains of distorted space still collapsing behind him from the previous exchange with Aurora.
Around us the battlefield continued trembling faintly from the aftermath of the spar while broken forests floated through fading lightning storms above the ocean below.
Ragnar immediately pointed toward him dramatically.
"Don’t embarrass us."
Knight looked offended.
"You say that like I’ve ever embarrassed myself before."
He replied before turning his full attention toward me.
The grin on his face widened slightly.
"You know," he said casually while stepping farther into the center of the arena, "I’m actually feeling pretty confident right now."
"That’s good."
The others floated farther back afterward while Vivi expanded the boundary formations slightly to stabilize the surrounding space again. Even the atmosphere changed subtly once I stepped forward into the arena properly, silver-violet essence drifting faintly around my body while the surrounding laws bent inward instinctively beneath my presence.
Knight noticed immediately.
His expression sharpened slightly.
"Yeah," he muttered softly, "that Saint aura of yours still feels unfair."
I stopped several dozen meters away from him while the ocean winds moved steadily across the battlefield between us.
Then I raised one hand lightly.
"Ready?"
Knight exhaled slowly.
Darkness spread beneath his feet instantly.
"Always."
The next moment, he vanished.
Space fractured apart across the battlefield simultaneously while dozens of distorted shadow tears appeared around me at once. I could feel his movement through every layer of space twisting nearby, darkness and spatial laws overlapping continuously as he attempted to break perception through sheer unpredictability.
He was fast. Very fast.
But now, I could see far more clearly than before.
My perception spread naturally across the battlefield while the flow of his laws revealed themselves instinctively beneath my gaze. I could see the distortions forming before completion, the folding of space, the paths connecting shadows together.
Then I moved.
Knight emerged behind me with darkness-coated claws tearing toward my neck and missed completely.
I had already stepped sideways before the attack fully manifested.
His eyes widened slightly.
Then space exploded.
Multiple shadow fractures erupted around us simultaneously while darkness surged outward through the battlefield like flowing waves, twisting gravity directions and spatial orientation together.
I stepped forward calmly through it.
The distortions bent around my body naturally. Knight reappeared above me next, one arm raised while condensed spatial pressure collapsed downward hard enough to split the arena skies apart.
I answered by raising my hand upward casually. Silver-violet essence gathered instantly.
Then the pressure vanished.
Knight’s spatial collapse destabilized the instant it touched my aura before dispersing violently through the surroundings.
"...Okay that’s ridiculous," he muttered mid-motion.
Then he accelerated again.
Darkness swallowed half the battlefield completely while dozens of Knight projections emerged simultaneously from fractured shadows, each one carrying condensed spatial blades that tore through the air from every direction.
The others watching from outside the arena leaned forward slightly now.
Because for a moment even they lost sight of the real one.
But I could still see him. The instant the true Knight shifted space behind me again, I turned.
Our attacks collided.
Darkness and silver-violet essence exploded outward while fractured space cracked across the battlefield beneath the impact. Knight twisted immediately during the clash, using the rebounding spatial force itself to redirect behind me again while shadows wrapped around his arm like spiraling blades.
His control over space had evolved tremendously after Saint ascension.
Unfortunately, so had mine.
I stepped backward into empty air.
And vanished.
Knight’s attack tore through nothing. For the first time since the fight started, surprise appeared fully across his face.
Then I emerged directly beside him.
His instincts reacted instantly as darkness erupted outward to create distance, but I was already moving.
The world around us slowed slightly. I could see the exact moment his laws shifted, the precise angle space folded around his body, the direction his momentum intended to escape toward.
My hand moved forward calmly.
Knight twisted sideways while trying to shift through space then froze slightly.
My domain had already spread around him.
Right to Anchor.
The spatial pathway he attempted to escape through stabilized forcibly mid-transition. His movement stalled for a fraction of a second.
That was all I needed. I stepped in fully afterward.
One hand caught his wrist. The other pressed lightly against his shoulder.
Knight’s eyes widened.
"Oh no."
Then force erupted. I twisted sideways while pulling his arm downward and redirecting his own spatial acceleration against him. The movement flowed smoothly through the air while darkness shattered apart around us from the sudden reversal, Knight’s body rotating violently through empty space as the redirected momentum launched him directly toward the arena edge.
He reacted instantly. Space tore apart behind him while shadows surged outward trying to stabilize his movement.
But I was already there again.
Chrono-Severance Step.
For a brief instant my body appeared ahead of his trajectory before he could fully process the transition.
Then I kicked forward. The impact wasn’t heavy.
It didn’t need to be.
The timing itself was perfect.
Knight’s half-stabilized spatial field collapsed from the interruption while his body shot backward across the sky uncontrollably before crossing completely beyond the glowing boundary line surrounding the battlefield.
Knight floated outside the arena staring blankly at the boundary behind him.
Then finally sighed deeply. Ragnar immediately burst out laughing loud enough to shake the ocean again.
Aurora smirked faintly while even Ash looked mildly entertained for once.
"Allright, so the fun is over and I am still the strongest among all of you," I said while looking around at them.
Knight clicked his tongue while the others chuckled lightly around us.
I waved my hand and the massive boundary surrounding the battlefield dissolved into silver-violet particles while the distorted space and remaining essence storms gradually settled.
Then I looked toward Ash.
"Now let’s finish the party and tomorrow we will start preparing to move for the Null Realm." I paused slightly. "Ash, I am still waiting for your research on what we can expect there."
Ash nodded calmly.
"I will have everything ready by tomorrow."
I clapped once.
"Alright," I said with a smile. "Back to the party."