First-Year Semifinal Match:
Snow Lionheart vs. Ghost Umbra.
The silent assassin who had never shown his full strength before—
Against the chosen Hero.
Ghost slowly opened his palm, staring at it. Thick gloves covered his skin.
Beneath them lay scorched, hardened flesh—toughened over years of gripping daggers.
The finest product of the Shadow Court.
The son of its greatest assassin.
"An assassin always fights from the shadows."
An assassin never reveals his trump cards.
That was the creed he had lived by.
And among the roaring crowd, he knew—
Those eyes were on him.
Mist Umbra stood hidden in the shadows, silently watching his son.
Since Ghost's birth, his father's words had been engraved deep within his soul.
Fighting with all your strength in front of the world—
Revealing everything—
Was a grave sin to the Shadow Court.
Yet…
"I want to know…"
Ghost muttered.
He remembered the first time he held a dagger, how he had trained relentlessly, how many had died while he survived.
He knew full well the consequences of what he was about to do.
But he didn't hesitate.
Slowly, he drew his daggers, locking eyes with his opponent.
"I want to know the distance between us… How far ahead he really is."
How blinding was his light?
Had the man standing before him truly surpassed him—after a lifetime spent forging himself in darkness?
Ghost, who had seen more blood than sunlight ...
The man who had always yearned for a glimpse of the light—
Was that light… Snow Lionheart?
"How strong is this man when he gives everything he has?"
Snow Lionheart heard Ghost Umbra's quiet voice.
"I don't know what you're trying to find in this fight,"
Snow said, slowly drawing his sword,
"but I can't guarantee you'll see everything. If you want answers… you'll have to force them out of me."
"You will."
I'll force you to show your full strength in this battle.
Even if it means exposing myself to the world.
Ivar had long since signaled the start of the match.
The crowd roared, shaking the arena.
But Snow and Ghost heard nothing.
Their entire focus was locked on each other.
The nobles, the veteran warriors—all of them understood what was unfolding.
"A battle of the highest caliber…"
The oppressive tension—
The way their senses erased everything but their opponent—
In their eyes, both fighters had already crossed a threshold few could reach.
And then—
The long-awaited beginning finally arrived.
Ghost merged his daggers together, pouring a monstrous amount of shadow aura into them.
All eyes turned toward him as the power built.
Even Frey Starlight, watching from afar, couldn't help but be surprised.
"He's using it right away?"
Before the stunned audience—and especially under Mist Umbra's sharp gaze—
Ghost unleashed his full strength.
"Reaper's Form."
The shadows coiled and twisted around him, forming a cloak of pure darkness.
His daggers vanished—
Replaced by a colossal scythe, blazing with dark aura.
Snow immediately shifted into full focus, surrounding himself with a radiant aura of star .
His opponent's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
Ghost, cloaked in shadows with only his black hair and piercing eyes visible—
Drove his foot into the ground with force.
"Bring it all out!!"
BOOOOOOM!!
Ghost appeared before Snow in an instant—like a phantom tearing through reality.
Even with his heightened senses—
Snow barely managed to catch a glimpse of him.
With a single swing of that scythe, Snow Lionheart was sent flying—crashing violently into the wall, shattering it.
Ghost spun the scythe with terrifying speed, leaving only afterimages in its wake.
The weapon's size continued to grow as he swung, unleashing wave after wave of dark aura and shadow.
Each brutal strike rained down upon Snow's head.
But from within the encroaching darkness, Snow retaliated—
Unleashing a dazzling surge of starlight aura that illuminated the suffocating void.
The Empire's Hero answered Ghost's attacks head-on, locking himself into a fierce power struggle with the silent assassin.
Snow's eyes gleamed fiercely as he conjured dozens of ice spears behind Ghost's back, taking advantage of his opponent's focus being locked on the frontal assault.
It was the same tactic that had helped him gain the upper hand against Daemon Valerion in the past.
Without hesitation, Snow launched the massive spears, expecting Ghost to dodge them.
But Ghost didn't move.
Snow's eyes narrowed in confusion.
Ghost didn't have the kind of body that could withstand such strikes—
So why wasn't he moving?
But the silent assassin had no need to.
The moment the icy aura spears touched Ghost's dark cloak—
They vanished.
As if they had been swallowed by another world entirely.
Shock rippled through Snow—and everyone watching.
"What just happened?"
The question was on everyone's lips.
"Tricks like that won't work on me."
Ghost pressed forward.
He gripped the scythe with one hand—and conjured a second scythe in the other.
The silent assassin doubled his speed, pushing Snow into a corner.
"Bring it all out!!"
Darkness overwhelmed the light.
"Void Step!"
Snow disappeared, attempting to escape the tightening noose Ghost had set around him.
He reappeared on the far side of the arena—
But his face darkened instantly.
Ghost was already there—right behind him.
The assassin clamped both scythes around Snow's neck.
Snow spun violently like a tornado, forcefully knocking the scythes away.
Flames erupted around his sword, combining with his starlight aura as he roared and counterattacked.
The two clashed at close range, savagely battering each other.
Ghost's colossal scythe cut into Snow repeatedly—
While Snow's strikes couldn't reach the assassin at all—
His black cloak absorbed everything thrown at it.
From this close, Snow finally understood.
That wasn't a simple cloak—
It was shadow, wrapped around Ghost's body.
A living shield that absorbed any damage.
Gritting his teeth, Snow poured even more aura into his blade.
He had to break through.
He had to pierce through the darkness that bound him so tightly.
"More!!"
Ghost roared too.
Merging both scythes into a double-bladed weapon, he spun it like a pitch-black fan.
The massive weapon clashed against Snow's sword.
Snow, now fully ignited with aura, unleashed everything he had.
He conjured lightning, struck with fire, and reinforced his body with starlight aura—
Occasionally, he unleashed sonic waves to disorient Ghost's senses.
But it still wasn't enough.
"Is that all you've got???"
BOOOOOOOMMM!!
Snow Lionheart was pushed back, overwhelmed by Ghost's relentless assault.
Ghost expanded his shadow, weaving tendrils of dark aura around Snow, trying to bind him.
All the while, he hammered down blow after blow without pause.
The clash of sword and scythe sent out shockwaves so fierce that the audience had to cover their ears.
They could barely keep up with the battle—it was moving at blinding speed.
Ghost in particular—
Moved at a pace that defied belief.
"Is this really… how an assassin fights?"