Overheat.
Overflare.
On one side, the temperature kept rising.
On the other side, the air itself became lighter.
Two Dragonkind stood face to face as the entire arena watched in anticipation. The excitement was through the roof. Everyone knew they were witnessing a battle between two of the strongest fighters in the tournament.
Drakar had become more thoughtful about his actions. His mind was no longer clouded completely by anger. Across from him, Solreth stood calmly, almost as if he was inviting Drakar to attack first.
Drakar accepted that invitation.
He flew forward and swung his axe, constantly changing directions. He attacked from the left, then the right, then from above. He tried to keep Solreth guessing.
But Solreth remained calm.
Using both the blade and the shaft of his scythe, he repeatedly parried Drakar's attacks. His movements were minimal. He only moved when necessary, conserving every bit of energy.
"Burning Axe." Flames engulfed Drakar's weapon as he attacked again.
Solreth calmly stepped aside, avoiding the flames while continuing to defend himself. Drakar immediately pushed forward, trying to find even the smallest opening.
"Sunflare Pulse."
A blinding burst of light exploded outward from Solreth.
The attack blasted Drakar away.
But before he could hit the ground, flames erupted from his wings.
"Inferno Wings."
His speed increased dramatically.
Like a blazing comet, he shot back toward Solreth.
"Burning Axe!"
Again and again, Drakar attacked from different directions. His speed kept increasing as he relentlessly pressured Solreth.
For the first time, it became clear that Solreth was being pushed.
He continued dodging and parrying, but Drakar was forcing him onto the defensive.
Then, as Drakar closed in once more, "Radiant Tyranny."
Light erupted from Solreth's entire body.
The blast tore through the battlefield, throwing Drakar away while chunks of the ground exploded apart. Dust filled the arena.
Yet Drakar did not stop.
The flames on his axe and wings burned even brighter than before.
Across from him, Solreth raised his scythe.
"Aurora Edge."
Condensed light extended the blade of his weapon, greatly increasing its reach.
This time Solreth charged forward.
Drakar did the same.
Clash after clash after clash.
Axe against scythe.
Fire against light.
The battlefield trembled from their exchanges.
Soon both Dragonkind took to the sky.
Their duel continued high above the arena.
"Fireball Barrage."
Drakar launched multiple fireballs, hoping to create an opening.
Solreth sliced through them effortlessly.
Then he counterattacked.
"Luminous Pierce."
Light condensed into a devastating thrust.
Drakar barely managed to dodge.
But Solreth had already prepared another attack.
"Radiant Reap."
A crescent-shaped wave of condensed light swept forward.
Direct hit.
The attack struck Drakar in the stomach and sent him crashing back to the ground.
Holding his stomach, Drakar struggled to stand.
Meanwhile, Solreth landed calmly nearby.
"What happened?" Solreth asked. "Weren't you going to prove me wrong or something? Or are you just all talk?"
Drakar looked up.
"I won't give up until you're on the ground."
Solreth stared at him.
"Such hostility. Toward your own kind. You seem to have lived among humans for a long time."
Drakar's eyes narrowed.
"Humans have nothing to do with this."
His voice grew colder.
"And you are the last person I want to hear talking about treating your own kind. You may be a hero to the world, but to me you're nothing more than an ignorant, egoistic guy."
His grip tightened around his axe.
"I swear that I will defeat you. You should have eliminated me when you had the chance."
Solreth remained silent.
He genuinely seemed confused.
It was as if he didn't understand what Drakar was talking about.
Meanwhile, the audience was going wild. Everyone could feel the tension rising. The fact that the two Dragonkind were speaking to each other in the middle of such an intense fight only made the atmosphere heavier.
Drakar charged again.
"Magma Breaker!"
His axe slammed downward.
The ground erupted with magma.
Solreth barely avoided the attack.
"Magma Breaker!"
Again. And again.
Each strike was stronger than the last.
Solreth seemed distracted now. Yet his years of experience continued carrying him through the battle.
"Lightspeed Harvest."
Multiple attacks came from different directions at incredible speed.
Drakar escaped the first few strikes.
But eventually one landed.
Blood spilled from his shoulder.
The wound was deep.
Still, he refused to stop.
"Flamewheel."
Spinning rapidly, Drakar created a vortex of fire around himself.
Even Solreth became wary of this attack.
To counter it, "Prismatic Shift."
Light bent around Solreth's body, making him difficult to track.
Drakar continued attacking, believing he was hitting his target.
But every strike missed.
He realized the trick quickly.
Instead of relying on his eyes, he began swinging more unpredictably.
Solreth noticed what Drakar was trying to do.
"Daybreak Rupture."
Pillars of light erupted from the ground.
Drakar's balance was disrupted.
His vision became unstable.
And the moment he could see again... Solreth was already in front of him.
"Radiant Reap."
The scythe cut diagonally across Drakar's torso.
Drakar staggered.
He was barely standing.
Blood covered much of his body.
Yet when he looked into Solreth's eyes, his determination remained unchanged.
"I will end this right now."
Solreth said nothing.
Light simply flared around him.
"Hell Splitter."
Dragonfire concentrated into Drakar's axe.
The weapon became red-hot.
At the same time, Solreth prepared his own attack.
"Nova Burst."
The two attacks collided.
A deafening explosion followed.
Blinding light swallowed everything.
For nearly half a minute nobody could see.
Nobody could hear.
Only ringing silence remained.
When the light finally faded, the outcome became visible.
Solreth stood upright.
A deep cut stretched across his ribs.
Blood flowed from the wound.
On the other side, Drakar was covered in blood from head to toe.
He was on one knee.
Panting heavily.
Yet he was still trying to stand.
Looking at him, Solreth spoke with what almost sounded like pity.
"Give up already."
His voice was calm.
"Don't push yourself more than you need to. This tournament isn't worth going through such efforts."
He paused.
"And if this is about proving you're stronger than me, then don't worry. We can fight another time."
Drakar remained silent.
Slowly, he stood up.
His flames flickered weakly.
Then he spoke.
"If not now... then it will be never."
His voice trembled but remained firm.
"I won't be able to face myself if I don't show how wrong you are."
He tightened his grip on his axe.
"Which is exactly why I need to give my all to defeat you right now."
He shook his head.
"Tournament? Proving I'm stronger than you? Don't joke around."
His eyes locked onto Solreth.
"You probably don't remember me at all. But I remember you very well."
Drakar coughed blood.
"If I don't prove you wrong here... I won't be able to show my face to my brother..."
He finished speaking and forced himself to remain standing.
His flames slowly began burning stronger again.
For a brief moment, Solreth's expression changed.
It became unreadable.
He raised his scythe horizontally.
The crowd became even louder.
Everyone expected the final clash.
Drakar prepared himself.
Then suddenly... Solreth dropped his scythe.
The weapon hit the ground.
And Solreth spoke loudly.
"I give up."
Silence.
Complete shock filled the arena.
Even Drakar couldn't process what he had just heard.
The referee stood frozen.
Then Solreth repeated himself.
"I give up."
Without another word, he turned around and began walking toward the exit.
Drakar finally snapped out of his shock.
"Stop kidding me!"
He marched toward Solreth.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Fury filled his voice.
He grabbed Solreth and turned him around.
"Answer me."
His hands trembled.
"I refuse to accept this. Fight me right now."
Solreth remained silent.
Drakar didn't know what to do.
He couldn't let this happen.
Before he could act further, Adrian rushed onto the battlefield and restrained him.
"Drakar."
Adrian held him firmly.
"I know you're furious."
"But he has surrendered. There is nothing you can do."
Drakar struggled.
"If you do something now, you won't be able to continue in the tournament."
Adrian looked directly at him.
"I know you don't want to hear this. But right now, you can't do anything."
Slowly, Drakar stopped resisting.
Then Solreth finally spoke.
"I fought your brother. And I defeated him."
Drakar's anger immediately returned.
Fortunately, Adrian was still holding him back.
Solreth continued.
"When I fought him, it was just another easy fight for me." He paused. "But fighting you today was different."
There was silence for few second.
"I know you. And I know your brother. And I know what happened."
Drakar's expression changed.
Regret appeared on his face.
Solreth continued.
"But I have a feeling your brother doesn't know anything."
Drakar lowered his eyes.
"I guess we're both going to the medic room."
Solreth turned away.
"Bring your brother. I need to tell you something."
He began walking again.
Drakar had countless things he wanted to say.
Yet for some reason, none of those words came out.
Soon both of them were taken to the medical room.
Before nearly fainting from exhaustion, Drakar told Adrian to bring Raedon.
Back in the arena, Ifa finally spoke.
His voice was much softer than usual.
"That ending was rather unexpected." He shook his head. "I simply have no words. After such a wonderful fight, this ending doesn't make any sense to me."
Shai waited for a moment before speaking. "Cheer up, everyone."
She smiled. "I'm sure Solreth had a reason for making that decision. Maybe the wound was deeper than it looked. We may never know."
She looked toward the battlefield. "But what I do know is that both fighters fought incredibly well."
She raised her voice.
"Come on, everyone. Let's cheer for the winner."
The crowd responded immediately.
Cheers echoed throughout the arena.
Ifa nodded. "That's right."
He took a deep breath. "And with that, we have a major upset in this tournament."
His voice rose once again. "The Rising Heroes have defeated Eternal Wings and advanced to the next round!"
As the tournament continued, another story was about to begin.
Inside the medical room sat Drakar and Solreth.
Soon they were joined by members of both teams.
The Rising Heroes.
The Eternal Wings.
Adrian entered alongside Raedon.
Raedon tried to hide the worry on his face.
Behind him stood the members of Platinum Edge.
The atmosphere became heavy.
Hearts pounded.
Everyone could feel it.
Something important was about to be revealed inside that room.