ONLINE: Blades of Eternity

As Sylphie stood in the arena, exuding aura beyond reason, the Pacesetters' secondary team—those who were merely understudies to the main group—watched from their reserved section.

And they were shell-shocked.

Guinevere clenched her fists, her usual fiery demeanor replaced with a grim silence.

She wasn't the only one.

Forbes, Eldric, and the others sat rigid in their seats, their eyes glued to the battlefield, feeling the invisible weight pressing upon them.

"This isn't good," Eldric muttered, his expression dark. "I thought she was already going all out, but… this… this feels completely different."

"Sylphie… is actually taking this fight seriously," Forbes added, swallowing hard. "This is—this is bad."

Guinevere, her gaze still fixed on Sylphie, finally exhaled and muttered under her breath.

"This upcoming clash… it's going to be hell."

Meanwhile, back in the VIP section, things were just as tense.

But unlike the understudies, Castaneda and Marel weren't shocked—

They were furious.

With sharp, tactful precision, both men turned their gazes toward Lockwood, the Chancellor of the Dawning of Magic Academy.

"Lockwood," Castaneda spoke first, his voice calm yet edged with accusation, "why is your student carrying two weapons?"

Marel followed up almost immediately.

"The rules stated that only one weapon could be registered for the convention duels."

Their tone was neither too aggressive nor too hostile—

It was precise, strategic.

An attempt to corner Lockwood into explaining himself.

But Lockwood—

He merely laughed.

A deep, rich chuckle that echoed across the VIP section.

Then, with a casual shrug, he leaned back in his seat and smirked.

"And?"

Marel's brows twitched.

"And?" he repeated.

Lockwood's smirk grew wider.

"Did the rules say one must carry only a single weapon?"

Silence.

Castaneda and Marel exchanged a glance, their expressions grim.

"…There wasn't."

Lockwood chuckled again.

"Exactly."

He gestured lazily toward the battlefield.

"Your students can wield swords, spears, scythes, and whatever else they like. If they had the skill to carry multiple weapons, they would have. But they don't.

He leaned forward, his gaze sharp.

"Sylphie does."

Castaneda and Marel fell silent.

They had no words to counter.

Because technically… Lockwood wasn't wrong.

Then—

A mocking voice chimed in, adding salt to their wounds.

"Tch, looks like your students just weren't prepared enough."

Kael Dragonyx, seated just a few rows away, smirked arrogantly.

His deep dark eyes gleamed as he leaned back, watching the battlefield below with clear amusement.

"I'd be embarrassed if I were you two," he said smoothly, "letting the Dawning of Magic Academy have such an obvious advantage and not doing anything about it."

—

Marel's face darkened.

Castaneda exhaled slowly.

They couldn't deny it.

They had overlooked this possibility.

And now—

Their students were paying the price.

The arena was in ruins.

Cracked tiles, shattered debris, and deep fissures ran across the battlefield. The very air trembled from the sheer pressure exuding from the final three combatants—

Kaelen, Kelvin, and Sylphie.

The others—

The strongest fighters from the three greatest academies—

Had been swept away.

Not by attacks.

Not by force.

But by the sheer weight of their auras alone.

A deep silence settled over the coliseum.

The only sounds were the distant echoes of broken rubble shifting under the oppressive storm of mana brewing at the center of the arena.

Then—

A sudden, sharp crackle of golden energy erupted from Sylphie's form.

Her domain—

Heaven's Judgment.

The innumerable golden bows hovering behind her were now fully charged.

Each one gleamed brighter than before, pulsing with divine power so overwhelming that even Kaelen and Kelvin felt their breath hitch.

And the worst part?

They weren't even fired yet.

—

Kelvin exhaled sharply, his grip tightening around his scythe as he thought. 'If I don't do something now, I'm getting wiped out.'

Then—

A split second decision.

He took a deep breath…

Then sliced his own palm open.

SLASSH!!!

Blood splattered onto the ground.

The coliseum gasped.

Kelvin's blood dripped from his palm, falling in slow motion as his dark mana surged violently around him.

Sylphie's golden eyes narrowed, suspicion flashing across her face.

"What… are you doing?" she muttered, tightening her grip on her bow.

But Kelvin ignored her.

He raised his bleeding palm—

And pressed it against his mana domain.

Then—

BOOM!!

A monumental change.

The dark energy surrounding him convulsed—twisted—before suddenly expanding outward.

Like an abyss swallowing the light itself.

Kelvin's mana domain—

Now repelled both Kaelen's explosive aura and Sylphie's mana domains.

The coliseum fell silent again.

And then, in a cool, grim voice, Kelvin finally spoke.

"Unending Darkness: Blood Void."

A chilling wind swept across the battlefield.

Even Kaelen, despite himself, felt a deep unease settle in his chest.

Kelvin had just evolved his mana domain.

And now—

The battle had truly reached its peak as the coliseum trembled.

Not from the cheers of the audience—

Not from the weight of footsteps—

But from the sheer pressure exuding from the last three standing warriors.

Kaelen.

Kelvin.

Sylphie.

Their unleashed might had turned the battlefield into a storm of mana.

—

Sylphie narrowed her golden eyes, gripping her bow tightly.

Even she—a prodigy among prodigies—felt the ominous weight of Kelvin's Blood Void.

Even she sensed the monstrous sword aura radiating from Kaelen.

'This… this is getting dangerous.'

She let out a slow breath before speaking.

"Let's end this in one final move."

Kaelen and Kelvin exchanged glances—

And then nodded.

They both knew.

They couldn't hold out for much longer.

They had already pushed their limits.

Then—

The arena fell silent.

All three of them lowered their weapons.

Then—

They began gathering every ounce of mana left in their bodies.

As for Sylphie, she raised her bow, her golden aura expanding like a divine tempest.

Then, to the absolute shock of everyone watching—

Her innumerable bows from her mana domain merged into one.

A single, colossal bow.

Glowing with a radiance so terrifying that even King Alexandria felt its power from the VIP section as he muttered in slight surprise.

"Interesting..."

As for Kelvin, his Blood Void pulsed.

The orb of chaos inside his chest suddenly floated out which surprised everyone who witnessed it—

And then the orb of chaos merged with his scythe.

The moment it did—

His weapon transformed into something sinister and venomous.

Its dark aura corroded the very air, warping space itself.

'Looks like I can lag behind'

Kaelen took a deep breath as he thought.

Then—

He did the only Divine Sword Move he had fully stabilized.

But that wasn't all.

He merged it with his Formless Swordplay.

Instantly—

His MP plummeted.

The system screamed warnings in his head.

[Warning: Insufficient MP for sustained execution.]

[Warning: Strain reaching critical levels.]

But Kaelen ignored it all.

Instead—

He absorbed every last boon his system provided.

He activated the Sacred Light of the Armor of the Eternal Guardian.

He unleashed the full undisguised aura of the Blade of Eternity.

The Arena Itself Couldn't Withstand It

The moment the three of them reached their peaks—

The barriers around the arena cracked.

Seeing this, Seraphine's eyes quickly widened in alarm.

"Fortify the barriers! NOW!" she shouted.

Instantly—

The officials of the convention who are mages around the coliseum rushed to reinforce the barrier.

But even then—

The barriers shook violently from the sheer pressure of their attacks.

In the VIP Section, Kael Dragonyx leaned forward slightly, watching with an intrigued gaze.

Then—

A slight smirk formed on his lips.

"Interesting," he muttered

Back in the arena, All three of them stood ready.

The final clash was seconds away.

And then—

"Heavens Wrath!!"

"Blood Vengeance!!"

"Divine Swordplay!!"

They unleashed their final attacks.

The moment Heaven's Wrath, Blood Vengeance, and Divine Swordplay collided–

A cataclysmic explosion of mana erupted.

The coliseum quaked.

The fortified barriers cracked despite the officials pouring every ounce of their power to hold it together.

The sky above the coliseum warped from the sheer pressure—

And for a brief moment—

It felt like the entire battlefield was collapsing.

The mages gritted their teeth, struggling to reinforce the barriers.

But it wasn't enough.

The barriers were about to give in.

Then—

Three powerful figures suddenly appeared at the barrier.

Lockwood.

Castenada.

Marel.

With grave expressions, they thrust their hands forward—

And in an instant—

A golden array formed around the barrier, reinforcing it with an overwhelming wave of energy.

The barrier stabilized.

The coliseum was saved.

But—

What about the arena?

The chaos within the arena had become so intense that the spectators could no longer see inside.

A thick storm of dust, flames, and residual mana covered everything.

For long moments—

Everyone waited, breathless.

Waiting for the storm to clear.

Then—

Slowly—

The dust finally began to settle.

What the audience then saw—

Shocked them all.

In the center of the battlefield—

Three figures stood motionless.

Sylphie.

Kaelen.

Kelvin.

Their bodies unmoving.

Their weapons lowered.

And most notably—

Not an ounce of mana could be felt from any of them.

The audience held their breath.

Who won?

Who fell first?

Then—

"Tch."

A sudden sound.

A thud.

Sylphie—

Her golden mana flickering for a brief second before she suddenly collapsed.

The crowd erupted.

Shock.

Disbelief.

Whispers and shouts filled the coliseum.

'We.... did it'

Kaelen and Kelvin, panting heavily, barely processing what just happened, finally allowed themselves to breathe.

They had done it.

They had defeated Sylphie.

But—

Before they could even take in their victory—

A chill ran down their spines as a shadow appeared beside them.

A presence so fast, so silent, that even their exhausted minds barely registered it.

And it was none other than Rafaela.

"Lunar Enchantment: Serenity's Embrace."

"Shit"

The spell was cast in an instant.

Kaelen and Kelvin barely had time to react—

Before everything turned black.

The two collapsed.

Unconscious.

The Audience is Left in Shock

Silence descended upon the coliseum.

The cheering stopped.

The roaring excitement was cut off.

The sight of Kaelen and Kelvin falling unconscious left the crowd in utter confusion and shock.

From the VIP section, Elena's eyes narrowed.

'Something is definitely strange with that girl', she thought.

And she wasn't the only one who thought so.

From his seat—

Forbes clenched his fist.

"This... doesn't feel right. How can she appear unscathed after all that went through the arena"

But the truth was clear.

Rafaela had turned the tides.

And now—

Everything had changed.

The winner of this group battles were as clear as day.