The Colosseum simmered with anticipation, every breath hanging on the tension of the final duel.
When Reiyell returned, the first-year students above erupted into cheers. Voices rose like a crashing tide—shouts of her name, hands clapping together until the air itself seemed to vibrate with their enthusiasm. Reiyell, however, only responded with her usual poise: a soft, composed smile. A princess acknowledging her people, not basking in their praise but dignifiedly allowing it.
But all knew—the real climax was about to begin.
"It's your turn now, Wads!!" Klyden shouted, his voice cracking from raw excitement.
"Destroy 'emmm!" Liora added, grinning so wide her cheeks nearly split, bouncing on her feet with energy.
Wads, in contrast, exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple as if their noise was a greater opponent than anything waiting below. His rectangular glasses caught a faint gleam of sunlight as he adjusted them with a tap.
From the commentator's booth, Kaizer's voice thundered across the Colosseum, smooth yet playful:
"And now, ladies and gentlemen! The last match! The final clash of this year's spectacle! Wyxro Waxzi versus Evelina Petrovna! I hope you all still have your throats intact because you're going to scream after this one!"
The crowd went wild.
Before Wads could take his first step down the arena steps, a low voice reached him—soft, deliberate, almost commanding.
"Don't you dare lose if it isn't against me, Waxzi," Reiyell muttered, her eyes lowered onto him, but her lips carrying the faintest tug of a smile.
Wads froze for a heartbeat, then glanced back at her. His own lips curled into a rare, almost imperceptible smile.
"Yes, Your Highness," he replied, voice calm but edged with something deeper. He dipped his chin slightly, an acknowledgment reserved for her alone, before finally turning his back and descending toward the battlefield.
---
On the opposite side, Evelina Petrovna stood ready.
Her raven-black bob cut framed her pale, sharp face, violet eyes glowing like molten amethysts under the colosseum's light. From her form radiated the disciplined aura of someone who had drilled her craft endlessly.
Her power: Umbral Crown—shadows manifested into weapons, wings, and armor, each one hardened by relentless training. She wasn't Wads' equal in raw deity scale, but her mastery was sharp enough to be feared.
The gap between them, however, could already be felt—like a quiet gulf no bridge could span.
Kaizer's voice cut through the tension, half-joking, half-serious:
"And here we have Evelina—our mistress of shadows! Rumor says she can turn even nightmares jealous. But will those nightmares help her against someone who doesn't seem to care enough to look at her?"
Laughter rippled through sections of the crowd. Evelina's violet eyes narrowed.
---
The signal came.
Evelina advanced first, shadowy blades spiraling into existence around her, slicing through the air like predators circling prey. But Wads… didn't even raise his head.
He stood bored, hands loose in his pockets, his gaze fixed somewhere to the ground as though the texture of the sand was more worthy of study than his opponent.
Gasps spread among the audience. Evelina's teeth grit. To be ignored—mocked like this—lit fire in her chest. Her lips peeled into a sharp grin that barely masked her offense.
She released a torrent of shadows, forming a massive blade that tore across the arena, cutting a trench of darkness through the sand as it raced toward Wads. The impact landed with a thunderous crash, an explosion of smoke and debris shooting into the air.
"WOOHHHH!!" the crowd erupted, unsure whether to scream victory or disbelief.
Evelina exhaled shakily, forcing a confident grin. Had she ended it? Had she carved Wyxro Waxzi nto the dust?
But then—
The smoke cleared.
Wads hadn't moved. Not an inch. Not a scuff on his uniform.
His head tilted up at last, his expression unbothered, eyes catching the light. A sigh left his lips as though the attack was little more than a nuisance. With one hand, he brushed sand casually from his shoulder, then finally lifted his gaze to meet Evelina's.
The weight of his stare alone was crushing. Evelina's throat tightened, her body freezing under that cold, disinterested look.
Reiyell's eyes narrowed slightly, one finger brushing thoughtfully across her lips.
"He improved," she murmured, gaze locked on Wads.
"WOOOHHH THAT'S OUR WADS!" Klyden howled, his roar joined by the explosive cheers of their entire year.
"Show-off," Liora scoffed with a laugh, though her grin betrayed her amusement.
Keiya's eyes, however, sharpened with calculation.
"His deity power… it's growing rapidly," she muttered under her breath. Her lips curved into a sly half-smile. "I almost feel bad for that girl. Almost."
The first-years roared with laughter at her comment, their voices echoing in the Colosseum like a wave of mockery. Evelina's face burned. The sting of inferiority sank into her bones.
"You—" she forced out, her lips twitching into a false smile, though her furrowed brows betrayed her fury. "Your looks could kill."
Wads gave no answer. His silence was heavier than any insult.
And then, at last, he moved.
He raised one hand. The air shimmered, space itself bending unnaturally.
Gravity Lattice.
The atmosphere thickened like wet iron, pressing down on Evelina. Her body trembled under the sheer weight, her every motion strained. Around the arena, spectators stiffened as the gravitational distortion licked at their senses, just enough to taste the terror of what Evelina endured. Even Alaric—watching from the upper seats—stiffened, a bead of sweat rolling at the corner of his temple.
Kaizer's voice boomed, hyping the moment despite his own unease:
"Ohhhhhh! Did you all feel that? No, that's not just nerves, folks! That's just Wyxro Waxzi bending the world itself to his will!"
The ground itself warped, sand pulling unnaturally as if obeying Wads' command. A lattice of invisible force spread outward, locking Evelina in place. Her shadow-weapons faltered, collapsing under the weight.
And then, with a flick of his hand, Wads crafted his offense—shards of compressed gravitational force spun into a lattice of shimmering arcs, beautiful yet lethal, descending upon Evelina like divine judgment.
She felt it—the difference. The hopeless gap. No matter her training, no matter her mastery, this man stood leagues above her, a mountain with no visible summit. Her knees buckled.
The attack crashed, detonating in a burst of force. Evelina's body slammed into the sand, a spray of dust spiraling upward.
Adjusting his glasses, Wads exhaled lazily, his stud earring catching the sun. His voice, quiet yet sharp enough to slice the silence, slipped out as he glanced at her fallen figure:
"…So now, you're dead."
He turned his back.
The arena erupted. Cheers exploded like thunder, first-years screaming his name until Kaizer himself had to raise his voice above them.
"Ladies and gentlemen! If cool could kill, we'd all be corpses! That was Wyxro— chilling, terrifying, and effortlessly dominant!"
But then—
Wads froze. His eyes narrowed as he felt it.
An aura. Different. Familiar. Wrong.
"Oho! It's not over, folks!" Kaizer's voice rang out, though his brows furrowed despite his grin. "Evelina is standing up again!"
Gasps cascaded across the arena. Evelina rose shakily, her figure trembling… but her aura no longer shone pure black. Crimson veins of energy pulsed through it, like veins of blood corrupting her shadows.
Reiyell's eyes sharpened.
"Corrupted…" she whispered under her breath.
Evelina's posture bent unnaturally, her head lowered. She looked like she might collapse at any second—but then, in an instant, she was gone.
Wads blinked. A blur.
She reappeared at his flank.
Her punch slammed into his chest, and though Wads crossed his forearms in time, the sheer force cracked bone in his hand. The impact launched him across the arena, his back slamming into the stone wall with a sickening crunch.
The audience gasped, whispers slicing through the silence:
"Was she always this strong?"
"No way! That's not her deity power!"
"She's hiding something—"
"Or… something's hiding in her?"
"DAMN SHE'S FAST!" Klyden's voice cracked like lightning.
Kaizer tried to keep the energy light, though unease coiled in his voice:
"Oho! Evelina showing us a surprise card, folks! Hidden power or something more? You decide!"
Liora's eyes narrowed, whispering to herself:
"…This scent."
Keiya's gaze snapped toward her for a fleeting second, then back to the arena.
Wads pushed himself from the cracked wall, his gaze sharpening for the first time all match. He knew this feeling. This aura. He had faced it before. The memory of that surge of overwhelming, unnatural strength clawed back into his chest.
He straightened, dust falling from his uniform. This was no longer a game.
The real battle had begun.
The colosseum fell into a charged hush as the dust of the last match settled. For a moment, only the crackle of the magical wards could be heard, the sound like distant thunder behind the roar of silence. Then, at the center of the arena of sand, two figures stood poised to begin.
Wads. Evelina.
It wasn't just a fight anymore—it was a clash of wills.
Evelina's aura was the first to rupture. It bled into the air like a violent storm, heat radiating with such ferocity that the sand beneath her boots rippled as if resisting her presence. Her deity mark glowed faintly at her collar, pulsing like a second heartbeat. Her breath was ragged, her body trembling not with weakness but with the sheer overflow of raw, unrestrained power.
Across from her, Wads stood as he always did—shoulders relaxed, face unreadable, a calm stillness that clashed violently with the tempest before him. But for those strong enough to notice, there was a tension in his stance. A heaviness. He was being pressed.
The crowd of students felt it, even if they couldn't name it: this was one hell of a fight.
And then Evelina moved.
She was a blur—faster than most eyes could track. Her fist cut through the air, forcing the sand to explode outward as though the ground itself recoiled. Wads slid back a fraction, his wrist turning just in time to deflect, the contact sending a shockwave across the arena.
She pressed forward, relentless. Her kicks and punches rained like a downpour of steel, her movements too fast, too violent, her aura burning around her like wildfire.
For the first time, Wads' pupils dilated. He activated Ren.
The world slowed. Evelina's fists now dragged across his vision like blades through water, each one mapped into countless possibilities. He could see the branching paths—her foot landing there, her elbow driving here, the slip of her stance two seconds ahead. His mind computed every angle, every outcome.
And yet—even with hypercognition, her speed pressed him. Her raw physical power still hammered against his guard, rattling his arms, forcing him to compensate.
He layered Observation atop Ren. His breathing steadied. He caught micro-expressions—tiny twitches in Evelina's jaw, a subtle tightening of her shoulders, the faint swirl of dust before her foot pivoted. Nothing escaped him now.
He kept up. Barely.
And yet to the spectators, his expression never changed. Cold. Unmoved. But those with strength—Klyden, Keiya, Reiyell—they could tell. Beneath that mask, he was being pushed further than most had ever seen.
The sand shifted violently with every step they took, gusts of force blasting across the colosseum. Evelina's power was climbing, spiraling out of control, her aura no longer just radiant but violently unstable, like it could tear her body apart at any second.
And then it happened.
Wads tilted his head slightly, and for the first time that day, a smirk cut across his lips. Not mockery—something darker. A bad habit of his.
"Now…" Evelina rasped, her voice low, hoarse, trembling with exertion, "…you're looking at me."
His answer was wordless. He adjusted his wrist, the motion fluid, deliberate. And then the real exchange began.
Magic and physical force collided in tandem—Evelina's fists blazing with violent deity fire, Wads countering with threads of invisible probability. Blades of sand tore upward under the pressure of their strikes. Their silhouettes blurred into streaks of movement, each clash louder, harsher, shaking the wards themselves.
And then Wads opened his left eye fully.
Silver threads laced through his iris, thin and fragile, winding like strands of fate itself. Clock-hands spun faintly in the reflection of his gaze.
Seer.
The atmosphere shifted. His presence sharpened into something terrifyingly inevitable. He wasn't just predicting Evelina's attacks anymore—he was deciding which of her futures would unfold.
Her fist lashed out. He twisted slightly, and somehow, impossibly, her strike slipped past him as though it had chosen to miss. She leapt, legs scything downward, but her angle betrayed her—timed perfectly for his counter. His palm slid upward and caught her wrist, twisting with such certainty it felt preordained.
The crowd gasped.
"He is enjoying himself." Klyden muttered, arms crossed, his blue eyes tracking every fraction of movement. His voice carried a thread of concern beneath the faintest curl of a smile.
"Hah. Clearly." Liora scoffed, though even her gaze sharpened, unease flickering across her features.
The arena was trembling with their exchange now. Wads' probability threads clashed with Evelina's unrelenting power. Sand spun into storms around them, whipped by the sheer force of their movements.
But Evelina stumbled.
Her own power cracked her from the inside. Her aura faltered, her knees buckled—just for a moment, but it was enough.
Wads saw it.
His Seer spun the possibilities. He chose. He stepped forward, body twisting, his strike lined with inevitability. This was the finishing blow.
And then—
BOOM.
A hooded figure crashed into the arena, the impact blasting sand in every direction. The wards didn't even flicker—the figure had bypassed them entirely.
Wads' eye widened. He hadn't seen this future.
The intruder's blade came down, cloaked in shadows, and Wads only barely twisted aside, his body thrown back by the force. The crowd erupted in shocked cries, lips parted, eyes wide.
How had someone entered? The barriers were absolute.
And then, before Wads could react, the hooded figure raised a hand. A spell—fast, efficient, brutal. Wads' body locked. His muscles seized. His chest constricted as paralysis ripped through him.
The man smiled beneath the hood, teeth glinting in the dim light. He lifted his blade, shadow swirling around it, poised to strike Wads down.
But before the blow could land—
CRASH.
Another figure dropped into the sand, intercepting with a flaming arc that split the shadows apart. Wads was thrown back by the sheer force, his boots carving tracks through the sand.
Kaizer.
His crimson hair burned like fire beneath the light, his black eyes narrowed with a rare seriousness. Yet his lips still curled into a smile, the kind of smile that unnerved even as it comforted. His aura flared outward—not wild like Keiya's flames, but steady, refined, devastatingly beautiful. A fire that could scorch yet cradle all at once.
"Should we end the match here, ladies and gents?" Kaizer's tone was playful, but his power said otherwise. The sand around his feet shimmered, glassing under the heat radiating from him.
The hooded man only smiled arrogantly in return. A flick of his wrist unleashed a spell—basic, deceptively so. But the pressure of it made the strongest students tense.
Kaizer didn't even blink. He swiped casually through the air, flames blooming in his hand. The spell disintegrated, dissolved into nothing. With a flick of his fingers, fire erupted outward in a whip, lashing toward the figure.
The intruder caught it. Or rather—his shadow did. The flames slammed into darkness, swallowed whole.
Wads' eye caught it. The manipulation. The shadows weren't just cloaking him—they were shielding him.
Kaizer only smiled wider, tilting his head.
The hooded man chuckled. His voice was calm. Confident. "Hm. Guess we'll end it here."
Before anyone could move, Evelina's unconscious body was slung over his shoulder. He bowed mockingly, the shadows coiling tighter around him.
But as he turned, Wads' Seer caught a glimpse—the faint ink carved into the man's neck. A tattoo, jagged in the shape of a spider.
And in that instant, a memory burned. Another figure. Another fight. Another tattoo. A lizard.
An organization? A chain? What was their goal?
Before he could decide, the man vanished. The sand that had swirled around his feet fell still. The arena was silent but for the whispers.
The colosseum, moments ago thunderous, now fell into fractured murmurs. Fear. Curiosity. Disbelief.
Kaizer turned, his black eyes sharp. For a heartbeat, he looked at Wads the way Keiya sometimes looked at Klyden—like he was less than an insect, cold and merciless.
But then warmth returned. His grin broke across his face. He clapped Wads on the shoulder, firm and energetic.
"Good thing I arrived on time!" Kaizer laughed, the sound carrying strangely against the tension in the arena.
With a flick of his red gem, his voice rang across the wards, amplified for all.
"Due to… unexpected inconveniences," he said, with a smile as though he were announcing a party, "this match concludes. All students are to return to the Academy immediately for further instructions."
And just like that, the fire dimmed, leaving behind only smoke, whispers, and questions.