The arena was nothing more than a wasteland of ruin.
The nuclear-grade barrier had collapsed.
The ground lay torn apart—compressed, twisted, stretched—
as if multiple laws of physics had collided in the same space… and lost.
Diopha stood upright.
Heavy breathing.
Body intact.
Yet something had changed.
His once-black hair was now streaked with white.
His eyes, still faintly crimson, seemed to look beyond the arena itself.
Opposite him, Isaac Ifrey staggered.
He wasn't injured.
No blood.
No visible fractures.
And yet—
His body lagged behind his own existence.
His words no longer answered his will instantly.
His thoughts were losing their sharpness.
He had pushed himself.
Again.
And again.
Until mana was no longer enough.
So he had paid another way.
The Invisible Price
Isaac dropped to one knee.
"…Tch."
His heart skipped a beat.
Then another.
He clutched his chest, teeth clenched.
Diopha understood immediately.
Isaac's hax had never been free.
He had always known that.
But the wider the gap in power,
the more reality resisted,
the more Isaac had to compensate.
Mana.
Then vitality.
And finally…
Something far rarer.
"You're forcing it again," Diopha said calmly.
"You know what it costs."
Isaac let out a weak chuckle.
"When you impose commands on the world…"
"…the world always sends the bill."
He forced himself back to his feet.
Pure pride.
"Damage return…"
Nothing happened.
His words no longer carried authority.
His thoughts, however, burned.
A thin line of blood slid slowly from his nose.
The crowd didn't understand.
But the higher-ranked figures did.
Isaac Ifrey was shortening his own lifespan.
Diopha Advances
Diopha took a step.
Then another.
Each movement made the air tremble.
What he was using didn't come from mana.
The system adjusted silently—sealing cracks, stabilizing his body.
But the source…
The true source…
Was elsewhere.
Mini Zenkai still floated in the sky, indifferent, observing.
No intervention.
No words.
Just presence.
Diopha slowly raised his fist.
"You're strong, Isaac," he said.
"But you're trying to carry a power your body rejects."
Isaac tried to smile.
"And you?"
"You really think you control what you're using?"
Diopha didn't answer.
He struck.
The Critical Moment
The impact wasn't explosive.
It was final.
The air collapsed.
Space itself contracted.
Instinctively, Isaac tried to cancel it—to divert it, to reflect it.
But his hax… hesitated.
A quarter of a second.
That was enough.
Isaac was hurled backward, crashing heavily onto the reconstructed floor of the arena.
This time, he didn't get up.
His heart was still beating.
But too slowly.
Too irregularly.
Healers rushed in.
Sensors went haywire.
"Life expectancy dropping rapidly!"
"Stop the match!"
But before the referee could even speak—
The Annihilator Intervenes
An overwhelming pressure swept across the arena.
Not an attack.
Not domination.
A total cancellation of continuity.
The President stood.
One simple motion.
And everything stopped.
Energies froze.
Abilities ceased.
The fight… ended.
"Enough."
A single word.
Isaac tried to speak.
No sound came out.
Not because he was blocked—
but because he was utterly exhausted.
The President looked down at him.
"You have exceeded your vital threshold."
"Continuing would have caused irreversible loss."
Then he turned to Diopha.
"The outcome is clear."
A crushing silence fell over the arena.
"Victory: Diopha Hitari."
"By critical incapacitation of the opponent."
After the Shock
The crowd remained silent.
Milim slowly lowered her phone.
"…He won."
Douriel nodded.
"And Isaac knows it."
Isaac was taken away.
Before losing consciousness, he weakly turned his head toward Diopha.
No anger.
Just acknowledgment.
"Next time…"
"…I'll be ready to pay the real price."
Diopha replied simply:
"Then do it knowingly."
Isaac's eyes closed.
Closure
The President watched Diopha for a long moment.
"This boy…"
"…does not obey the rules we understand."
Then he sat back down.
"Prepare the files."
"The world is about to change."
Diopha stared at his hands.
Still intact.
But now—
Nothing could pretend to understand them.
End of Chapter 12
When power demands a price, who do you think will be the first to truly break—
the one who commands reality… or the one reality can't define?