Tension spread throughout the arena as every spectator looked down at the two fighters. Elara and Xyne stood opposite each other, both smiling as though they were waiting for the other to make the first mistake.
Xyne slowly raised her right hand. Dark Demonic Energy gathered around it, dense and restless.
She stared at Elara.
"You can't use Dark Demonic Energy, can you?" Xyne asked. "That makes me more special than you."
She thrust her hand forward.
A concentrated blast of Dark Demonic Energy erupted from her palm and tore across the arena. The attack distorted the air around it as it rushed toward Elara.
Elara tightened her grip around the Crimson Blade.
"Crimson Blade," she whispered. "Five percent unsheathed skill—Burn."
The blade began to glow red.
Red Demonic Energy spread from the weapon and flowed across Elara's body. It moved through her limbs and gathered around her core, forming a controlled layer of destructive heat around her entire manifestation.
The Dark Demonic Energy reached her.
Then it began to burn away.
The black attack weakened the instant it touched Elara's red energy. Its outer layer vanished first, followed by the rest of the blast until nothing remained.
The arena became silent.
The spectators had expected the attack to overwhelm Elara. Instead, it had been erased before it could reach her.
Elara immediately dashed forward.
She crossed the distance between them in an instant, holding the Crimson Blade at her side as she aimed a horizontal strike toward Xyne's abdomen. The motion was precise, and the edge of the blade was positioned to cut through Xyne's body in a single movement.
Xyne reacted before the sword could reach her.
She raised one leg and drove her foot into Elara's jaw.
The kick forced Elara backward. She landed several steps away, steadied herself, and wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
Then she looked at Xyne.
"Why aren't you fighting seriously?"
Xyne lowered her leg and smiled.
"And why aren't you doing the same?"
Elara's expression changed.
She lowered her body into a stance, keeping the Crimson Blade close to her side. The playful smile disappeared from her face, replaced by a cold and focused glare.
"Crimson Blade," she whispered. "Ten percent unsheathed skill—Shockwave."
The pressure around her changed.
Before Xyne could fully react, Elara disappeared.
She moved at an unimaginable speed and appeared beside Xyne. Elara's sword hand was extended toward Xyne's abdomen, but the blade itself did not strike her.
At the last moment, Elara left a narrow gap between her hand and Xyne's body.
The hilt of the Crimson Blade slammed into Xyne's abdomen instead.
Xyne's body folded slightly from the impact.
Elara spoke in a low voice.
"Destroy."
A massive shockwave expanded from the hilt.
It spread around the planet as an extremely thin circular pressure wave, passing through the arena and racing far beyond it. For a moment, the force seemed to cover the entire world.
Then the shockwave reversed direction.
Every part of it gathered back toward the point of impact, compressing into the hilt of the Crimson Blade before being driven directly into Xyne's abdomen.
The concentrated force tore through Xyne's body.
A massive opening formed in her abdomen, and the impact launched her across the arena. She struck the far wall with enough force to break through it. The structure collapsed around her as she fell through the dust and landed beyond the damaged section.
Elara returned to a standing position and lowered her blade.
For several seconds, Xyne did not move.
Then Elara looked toward the broken wall.
"Who is special now?"
Xyne's eyes opened.
They were completely black.
She pushed herself upright. The large opening in her abdomen was still visible, but the edges had begun to close. Her body started rebuilding itself as Dark Demonic Energy and Red Demonic Energy moved through the damaged area.
The nails on her hands lengthened into sharp claws. Her body became denser and more heavily built, while the energy around her thickened and spread across her form.
Xyne stood fully upright.
"This is my Fourth Stage," she said. "My beast form combined with my energy."
Elara looked at her without concern.
"You need to train more. You're still weak."
Xyne's hands tightened.
Elara then turned toward the Ruler.
"You can give her the position. She survived my attack, so she has earned the right to be a Harbinger."
Xyne lowered her head slightly.
"I'm not weak."
The energy surrounding her intensified.
Then she raised her face.
"Fifth Stage."
Darkness spread across her entire body. Her form became difficult to see within the black energy, and even her eyes disappeared into it.
Elara smiled.
She suddenly released the Crimson Blade from her hand and shouted toward the spectators.
"Rin! Bring it!"
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
A moment later, Rin entered the arena carrying a pair of Cursed Blades. She walked toward Elara and handed them to her before returning to the side of the battlefield.
Elara examined the blades, then placed them horizontally across her back. One hilt pointed toward the left and the other toward the right, secured by a holder positioned behind her.
Ryvex immediately stood among the spectators.
"No!" he shouted. "That can't be possible!"
He turned toward the Ruler.
"Please cancel this fight! She's cheating!"
Elara glanced over her shoulder.
"Are you scared?" she asked. "Don't be."
She reached toward the Cursed Blades.
Xyne's attention fixed on the weapons.
Those are the Cursed Blades, she thought. How is Elara able to wield them?
The Ruler's expression hardened.
"Elara," he said, "you have no right to use those blades in this match. They are not the weapon you entered with. Either forfeit the fight, or put the original Blade back in your hand."
Elara looked at him with a smile.
"And what if I refuse?"
Nova floated above the arena floor and looked down at Elara.
"That would be cheating, Elara."
Elara stared at Nova for a moment.
Then she released the Cursed Blades. They fell to the ground with a heavy impact.
"Fine," she said. "I forfeit."
She turned and began walking toward the Crimson Blade.
Xyne's darkened form trembled with anger.
"I'm not finished with you!"
She thrust both hands forward.
A second blast of Dark Demonic Energy erupted from her body. It was far larger than the first attack, spreading across the arena like a wall of darkness as it raced toward Elara's back.
Elara turned slightly.
Before she could react, Nova moved.
Nova dashed to Elara's side and drew her prototype sword. She stepped directly into the path of the incoming attack and swung once.
The blade split the Dark Demonic Energy into two massive streams. The divided attack passed inches away from Elara on both sides before crashing into the arena wall behind her.
The wall shook under the impact.
Nova turned toward Xyne.
"Be careful. She forfeited, so you lost the match."
Xyne launched herself into the air.
She rose high above the arena and moved directly toward Nova.
Nova's energy shifted as she began transforming back into her physical form. She tightened her grip on the prototype sword and leaped upward to meet Xyne.
The two fighters collided in midair.
Their weapons and bodies struck with enough force to create a sharp burst of pressure around them. They pushed against each other for a moment before separating and descending toward opposite sides of the arena.
Nova landed and faced Xyne.
"Don't make me fight you, Xyne."
Xyne faced her from across the battlefield.
"You think you can defeat me just because you're an Origin…"
She paused, then her voice became sharper.
"Your Angel Origin died, and he couldn't even kill one Harbinger. He was weak, wasn't he?"
Nova raised one hand.
A tiny blue light appeared above her palm.
The light was so small that the spectators initially struggled to understand why the Ruler's expression had changed.
Nova looked at Xyne.
"You know, this is the same amount of energy that destroyed multiple universes."
The small blue light remained perfectly still above her hand.
"Do you think you can survive it? If you can, then I'll consider you strong instead of weak."
The Ruler rose from his seat.
"What the hell are you trying to do?"
Nova slowly moved her hand toward Xyne.
"SuperNova," she said. "Five percent."
The blue light surged forward.
Xyne immediately gathered every fragment of Dark Demonic Energy she could control. The darkness around her expanded until it covered the battlefield, colliding with the immense Spiritual Energy contained within Nova's attack.
The collision pushed higher and higher into the sky.
It rose beyond the arena, past the planet's atmosphere, and continued toward the surrounding galaxy. The pressure caused the spectators to stumble, while the structures around the domain shook beneath the force.
Then the collision erupted.
A shockwave swept through the arena. Dust and broken sand filled the air, covering the spectators and hiding the battlefield from view.
No one spoke.
Slowly, the dust began to clear.
The spectators looked down.
Xyne was still standing.
Her Fifth Stage had disappeared. The darkness covering her body was gone, and the heavy transformation had receded. She stood in her normal form, visibly exhausted but still conscious.
Nova looked at her.
"Good work," she said. "You're much stronger than you were the first day we met."
Nova allowed her physical form to fade and returned to her spiritual form. She then moved toward the arena exit and looked around.
Elara must have already left,she thought.
Behind her, Xyne remained standing in the ruined arena, silent beneath the fading dust.
To be continued…