★77
THIRD POV
Eighth Day.
The next day, the atmosphere on the island was electric. The massive coliseum rumbled with excitement as people filled every seat, while those unable to attend gathered around projection screens scattered across the island to watch from afar.
As the crowd settled, Atlas stepped into the centre of the arena, his presence instantly silencing the audience.
"Greetings, everyone."
His tone carried both pride and anticipation.
"Today marks the day the tournament reaches its climax. The day we've all been waiting for."
A cheer erupted from the stands, but he raised a hand again, and the crowd quickly quieted.
"As mentioned, participants who've made it to the quarterfinals will be rewarded simply for reaching this stage. It wasn't easy—and the battles ahead won't be any easier. We'll begin the quarterfinals with the following matches."
He paused, letting the words echo across the arena.
Match 106: Raiden versus Natsu.
Match 107: Majo versus Seiji.
Match 108: Masashi versus Tokito.
Match 109: Scarlet King versus Yasu.
The lists appeared on each floating screen, names scrolling in luminous text that caught every eye in the coliseum.
Murmurs and gasps rippled through the audience—each name alone sparked speculation, fear, or admiration, hinting at the power and reputation of those about to clash.
Atlas stepped back slightly, a faint smile curving his lips as he observed the crowd's excitement surge. He let the anticipation build, letting the whispers and cheers settle into a tense, expectant silence.
"On this very day, we'll witness who among them possesses the strength, the skill, and the spirit to ascend to the semifinals. Without further delay, let the tournament flow!"
A deafening roar erupted, shaking the coliseum to its foundations as the first two combatants prepared to step into the arena.
Atlas made his way out of the arena amidst the cacophony of cheers, every spectator's attention fixed on the battlefield.
Eto appeared beside him, calm and composed, prepared to oversee the matches as the coliseum trembled with raw excitement.
"Well, you've heard the man. MATCH 108 participants approach the stage, please."
As flames erupted at the centre of the arena, Natsu stepped forward, his crimson eyes blazing with unwavering determination. Heat rippled off his body, dancing across the ground in jagged waves, and the scent of fire filled the air, burning the tension.
At that exact moment, a bolt of lightning split the sky above, striking the ground with a deafening crack. The impact sent a shockwave through the arena, and from the electric blaze, Raiden materialized, his aura crackling and sparking, radiating raw lightning.
"Falshy."
Eto murmured, his tone calm but edged with anticipation.
MATCH 106
The day had come. The two rivals stood at the centre of the arena, their eyes locked, a storm of fire and lightning coiling between them.
Every spectator held their breath, sensing the imminent clash. Without wasting a single moment, Eto triggered the match, the arena trembling under the weight of their latent energy.
"Begin."
Raiden stood tall and calm, sparks dancing all over his body. His hair loosened, rising gently. Natsu stood like a predator, his bare fist smouldering. The hair around his body turned orange.
No words were exchanged. The crowd fell silent. Then, the earth cracked beneath them, and they moved simultaneously.
Raiden launched forward in a white blue blur of lightning. His arm split the air with a jab toward Natsu's chest. Natsu twisted, blocking with an arm wreathed in flame. Their fist collided, erupting into a shockwave of fire and thunder, flattening stone tiles beneath their feet.
The crowd burst into cheers. Asteri's face lit up. For him, the real tournament has just begun.
The two bounced apart, sliding backwards. Raiden vanished, reappearing above, spinning in mid-air, cloaked in electricity, and hurled a barrage of lightning bolts. Natsu rolled to the side, trailing fire, before answering with a wave of flame that twisted into a serpentine spiral, chasing Raiden's pre-lightning movement like a hunting beast.
Mid run, he flipped, releasing an enormous lightning bolt, obliterating the serpent in one blow. Natsu's eyes twitched, and the next second, he's onto him.
They danced across the arena speed for speed, blast for blast. They were in a stalemate. Every attack had intent, and every dodge has it purpose. But it was clear they were still holding back.
Natsu grinned mid-dash.
"Not bad."
He said.
"But it's time we turned up the heat."
His pupils glowed red. The fire coating his arms deepened into a molten crimson. His muscles expanded slightly as flames wrapped around his chest and shoulders, forming a loose of heat.
His suit had evaporated long ago. All that was left were his pants created by Elaine to withstand extremely high temperatures.
(How is Natsu, a human, able to withstand such a temperature? Well, the fact that he's an Element Ascendant means he's no longer a human since he can use the higher version of his element. Not to mention the energy mutation that corrupted his being.)
Natus exhaled, and the breath melted the ground in front of him. Raiden narrowed his eyes. The temperature spike was immediate. The air shimmered like it was bending away from Natsu's very presence. The red flames wasn't just hotter. It was explosive and angry.
"Looks like we have another one."
Hinata declared.
"Two."
Asteri replied.
"Raiden's lightning might not be able to handle all of Natsu's flames. Unless he uses real lightning, whose temperature is approximately 30,000°C. It's still not enough to match Natsu, who's riding on 35,000°C currently."
He explained.
"Can you please be silent?"
Towa asked, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on the arena.
Asteri glanced back, taking in the scene. Everyone—including children—had their gaze locked on the centre of the battlefield. The intensity, the anticipation, the raw focus—it was all palpable.
He couldn't help but smile at how utterly captivated they were, the collective energy of their attention almost tangible in the air.
Natsu surged forward, striking with red flame-enhanced blows that exploded on contact. One hit cracked Raiden's barrier, another forced him to dodge wide. Flame bursts detonated across the arena, throwing shards of molten rocks
Raiden skidded backwards, sparks trailing behind him. He winced, glancing at the scorch marks along his side.
"He's faster than artificial lightning. It's time."
Eto observed, his voice calm and predictable. As if perfectly attuned, his student mirrored him...
"It's time."
Raiden drew a deep breath, lifting a hand toward the darkened sky. The clouds throbbed in response as he call forth something natural.
A jagged bolt ripped from the heavens, striking him squarely. Instead of inflicting harm, Raiden ignited, his form blazing. White-blue currents coiled around him, his hair floating weightlessly, eyes burning with a piercing whitish-blue light.
"Pseudo Blaze."
The moment he moved, he ceased to appear as a man, becoming instead a storm incarnate.
Chaos erupted around the arena as their battle intensified: augmented flames collided with raw, primal lightning, each strike reshaping the battlefield in a blinding display of fury and unrelenting power.
Raiden's attacks shredded stone and steel with precision. Natsu's blasts scorched with wild, thermal heat. Every strike between them shook the transparent barrier, and before we knew it, people evacuated the front seats in fear of their clash.
Lightning danced along Natsu's body, but it didn't stop him. Fire scorched Raiden's limbs, but he wasn't going to give up,not now.
The crowd couldn't keep up. Their forms were blurs streaks of red and blue clashing in midair, striking with both fists and elemental fury.
But despite Raiden's acceleration, despite the arcs of pure voltage he wielded, Natsu was adapting. He was getting faster and more dangerous. Every hit landed harded and his flame burned hotter. The red flames can no longer be called "red"; it was turning blue.
Raiden's breathing grew heavy. He could feel it drain. Pseudo Blaze, while powerful, demanded a lot of stamina and magicule. If this were an ordinary match, he'd perished long ago, but with the Great Monarch Asteri present, he couldn't stop here.
Then, without warning, Natsu crouched low, his muscles coiling.
In an instant, his body erupted in a cataclysmic burst, flames and sparks scattering like shrapnel from a nuclear explosion. The sheer force sent shockwaves rippling across the arena, tearing at the ground and whipping the air into violent currents.
His aura flared impossibly bright, a blinding blue-white inferno that left streaks of light in the eyes of all who watched, signalling the arrival of his unstoppable assault.
His pupils turned a piercing blue-white, his hair flared with streaks of burning light, each strand a ribbon of raw energy.
Blue-white fire engulfed his entire body, flowing with the elegance of silk yet roaring like a furnace. The red and blue flames he had wielded before were gone, replaced by this purer, deadlier inferno—nearly untouchable, exuding a divine intensity.
"I'll give it a name—Divine Pyra!"
The words tore from his lips, his voice no longer human but distorted, heavy, and resonant like that of a god carrying a power that pressed against the hearts of all who heard it.
'The surface of the sun is approximately 5,500°C. He's currently at 45,000 °C. That is approximately 8 suns? And it's still increasing, approaching a hundred thousand range.'
'To think this is just a mere encounter with saturated star energy. I wonder what'll happen if Asteri decides to experiment on them.'
Elaine and Atlas wonder. The impact of star energy was unmatched that it turns mortals to demi-god.
"Raiden is going to lose at this rate."
Asteri drew his conclusions, tweaking the temperature that the barrier and arena can withstand.
'If a fraction of this barrier cracks, the spectators, the coliseum, the island and the sea will evaporate instantly. I can't afford that risk.'
"I'd say he's holding back. Preparing and waiting for something."
Hinata replied. Asteri couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. She had her reasons, he has his own. The results shall present itself sooner than later.
E very step he took scorched the arena floor, melting stone into glass that cooled instantly, leaving crystalline-like shards.
The officials scrambled, retreating to the sidelines as the heat and pressure became unbearable, leaving only the two combatants at the centre.
Raiden's suit(PB) began to show strain, unable to contain the force of Natsu's Divine Pyra. With a deliberate motion, Natsu raised his arms, twin blades of blue-white fire materialising at his wrists, burning hotter than any natural flame.
"Let's finish this!"
Raiden did not respond. The oppressive weight of Natsu's aura pressed down like a living thing. Even with Pseudo Blaze active, the raw power of Divine Pyra began to erode his lightning cloak, forcing him to move defensively.
But before he could react fully, Natsu was already upon him, the tips of his blazing blades slicing through the air with godlike precision.
Slash, kick, flame wave,yet Raiden blocked, dodged, and countered, but each motion drained him. Sparks from his attacks dimmed and the lightning coat enveloping his body sizzled, burning away under the intensity of Natsu's assault.
One arm disintegrated after accidentally grazing Natsu's blazing form. Raiden is giving his all to prevent instantaneous evaporation.
Then Natsu struck a precise, merciless blow. A blade of blue-white flame sliced into Raiden's ribs. He staggered, crimson spilling freely from the wound, a fatal mark against his defences. The air hissed as his blood evaporated, his wounds, exposed, burnt.
'If I had been slower in redirecting my defences—'
Raiden thought, pain and focus mingling.
'…I would have been reduced to ash already. His blades aren't even his deadliest weapon—his body it'
Hovering above, Natsu became a living tempest. He crossed his arms, twin blades clutched in his claw-like fingers, as blue flames coalesced into a colossal phoenix that erupted behind him with a deafening roar.
"It's over, Raiden. I win!"
He said.
"Fire of God, Pyrael!"
Without a moment's hesitation, he spread his arms wide, and in that instant, destruction itself seemed to take form.
The phoenix descended in a storm of divine fire. Raiden's eyes snapped open. For a single heartbeat, time seemed to fracture, slowing the battlefield. In that instant, he saw the opening, fleeting but undeniable.
'I'll try my best to release just a fraction, or he'll be obliterated.'
Pain flickered across Raiden's face, a sharp line of discomfort, yet beneath it, an eerie calm was present. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Around them, the world seemed to pause—the crowd hushed, even Natsu's flames seemed to flicker as if uncertain.
Then, without warning, without any dramatic charge, Raiden moved. A subtle flick of his wrist, almost casual, and the arena was swallowed in blinding white light.
His lips barely parted, a whisper cutting through the silence.
"True Blaze."
A searing flash engulfed the coliseum. It began and ended instantly, leaving no room for deep analysis.
When it finally dimmed, Natsu lay sprawled on the scorched arena floor, utterly still, his eyes staring blankly ahead, Divine Pyra burned out.
(They say lightning strikes before thunder, we'll...)
Everyone—literally everyone—stood frozen, mouths agape. Stars, clones, spectators alike, all had witnessed the impossible.
"Heheh, I wonder if Tokito can handle this."
Eto murmured, a smirk on his face, hand pressed to his forehead, eyes tracing the aftermath of raw, unrestrained power.
'I saw it. It was a brief moment but I saw it.'
HINATA'S POV
The moment Raiden whispered, "True Blaze," a thin, impossibly fast streak of white lightning lanced through the air, cutting the arena with surgical precision. The colossal phoenix of flames before Natsu was severed in half before it could react.
Natsu himself didn't even register the strike. Mid-air, his body froze, eyes wide with shock. He crashed to the scorched arena floor—not stunned but with a tiny, fatal breach in his skull. He was gone, killed in an instant by a single, flawless motion.
Raiden remained motionless, smoke curling from his body. One arm glowed white-hot, hair blown back as if struck by divine force. He spoke nothing; but raised his solo arm triumphantly, his victory required no words. True Blaze vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving the crowd in stunned silence, unable to grasp the speed and lethality of what had just occurred. One move, one whisper—and the match was over.
'They're getting stronger. And we're just in the quarterfinals.'
I turned toward Ati-chan, whose expression mirrored mine, astonishment, disbelief, and a faint thrill at the raw power now on full display.
THIRD POV
"R—Raiden wins!"
Shinn stammered as he declared the winner.
Gasps, cheers, and confusion can be sensed among the spectators, but unfortunately, they won't be provided with an answer. Healing clouds condensed above Natus, resurrection and healing him. Natsu lay flat for a moment, panting heavily before getting up.
Then he grinned.
"You bastard. You saved that the whole time, didn't you?"
Raiden looked over, chest rising slowly. His body is receiving treatment also.
"Had to. The real fights are still ahead."
As medics came towards the loser. Naturally, he'd reject them, but Elaine was present, so he obliged. Raiden gave him a thumbs-up, and Natsu nodded, a smile on his face.
Their rivalry, once born from competition and ego, had become something else. Respect. Brotherhood by battle. But above all, it settled.
"That white lightning. It's—Among them all, Raiden is still different. I don't need to waste time comparing the temperature range. I'm surprised, but Atlas and Eto know best. I'll stay quiet to avoid any spoilers.'
Asteri thought, his fingers intertwined. Shinn approached the regenerated arena.
"Congratulations, Hinata. You've just entered the semifinals."
"Thank you, Elafria."
"Just you wait, Tokito will advance too."
"Well, that was something else. 107, come forward, please."
Shinn instructed.
To be continued...