After that strike pierced through Shall's body like a raging storm—
He remained kneeling on the shattered arena floor, his breathing painfully uneven as blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the cracked stone beneath him.
But…despite all of that—
He began to laugh.
A faint laugh… tired… yet genuine.
"Hah…"
He raised his head with difficulty while smiling to himself.
"Alright then…"
His fingers trembled around the sword's hilt.
"So be it."
Then he tightened his grip even more.
"I'm a loser anyway…"
He breathed painfully as agony tore through his entire body.
"So…"
He lifted his eyes toward Faiser.
"…I lose nothing if I use that attack."
A brief silence fell over the arena.
"Even if I still haven't mastered it completely…"
Black chi slowly began moving around his feet.
"…what matters now…"
He stood up with extreme difficulty, his knees trembling for a moment beneath his body.
"…is directing it at you."
He finally stood relatively straight despite the blood covering his clothes from Faiser's previous strike, then slowly raised his sword directly toward Faiser.
His eyes were exhausted…
But the fire inside them had not gone out yet.
"Prepare yourself, brother…"
His voice came out heavier than before.
"Because this strike…"
He tightened his grip on the sword further.
"…will be the last one."
Then he smiled faintly with exhaustion.
"And it may actually hurt you…"
He breathed slowly.
"…because I still cannot fully control it."
Then he lowered his head slightly.
"And I'm sorry…"
A brief silence followed.
"…for attacking you this way."
He raised his head again, his eyes filled with seriousness.
"But we are no longer inside a training ground…"
Black chi gradually began rising around him.
"…we are inside a real competition between you and me, Faiser."
On the opposite side—
Faiser sighed calmly, lowering his head for a moment… then lifting it again.
But—
That usual faint smile disappeared from his face.
And those cold… silent… unsettling features returned.
The kind that made even looking at him strangely uncomfortable.
Then he finally spoke in a calm yet harsh tone:
"Shall…"
A very brief silence followed.
"…don't overestimate yourself."
Some of the disciples widened their eyes.
As for Faiser—
He continued without a single expression:
"We are not inside a competition."
Then he looked directly at him.
"Because all I see here…"
A heavy silence spread.
"…is only myself."
Shall froze for a moment, a frown appearing on his face…
But immediately afterward—
He smiled.
The smile of someone who had finally understood something.
"Haha…"
He breathed slowly, then lifted his head toward the sky.
And in the next moment—
His eyes turned completely pure white.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Black chi exploded violently from his body as a crushing pressure spread through the arena, then he screamed at the top of his lungs:
"Second Martial Art…"
Black winds began spiraling around him madly.
"…Raven's Banquet!!"
His white eyes widened completely.
"…Soul Reaping!!!"
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
In a single instant—
Gigantic black wings made entirely of dark chi appeared behind Shall.
Massive wings… terrifying… and majestic enough to make some disciples unconsciously step backward.
And with his completely white eyes, along with the blood spread across his face and clothes…
Shall looked like a fallen angel emerging from the end of the world itself.
Silence filled the arena for a moment—
Then the disciples exploded into whispers.
"What… is that?!"
"Is that really Shall?!"
"My God…!"
"That aura is terrifying!"
"Faiser is finished this time for sure!"
Even the Fifth Elder—
Actually widened his eyes this time.
"A mere third-generation disciple…"
A faint chill ran through him.
"…and he releases an aura like this?"
Then he narrowed his eyes toward Shall.
"This boy…"
"…is a true genius."
He breathed slowly.
"If he continues growing…"
He looked toward the black wings.
"…he will become something unimaginable."
Then he turned toward Faiser.
"As for that purple-haired boy…"
He shook his head slightly.
"…I doubt he can do anything against this strike."
"It's over most likely."
But—
On the opposite side—
Faiser merely smiled faintly.
Inside his mind—
The book spoke in an amused mocking tone:
"Tell me, you bastard…"
It laughed lightly.
"All those arts you trained…"
"Aren't you going to use even one?"
Then it continued mockingly:
"Even an art from the first page would be enough."
"Give that poor boy some respect."
"He's fighting with everything he has…"
Its voice lowered slightly.
"…while you're still playing."
Faiser sighed calmly, lifting his face toward the sky for a moment before placing his hand over his face.
"Honestly…"
He sighed once more.
"…this is troublesome."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"I wanted to remain nothing more than a weak arrogant fool in their eyes…"
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
"…I don't want to reveal any of my cards."
A brief silence followed.
"But…"
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"…because of this special boy."
He lowered his hand from his face.
"…I'll consider it a small gift for him."
On the other side—
Shall stared toward Faiser with his white eyes, his black wings flapping violently while black feathers began covering the entire arena.
Then—
He took his attacking stance and pointed his sword directly toward Faiser.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Black feathers began gathering around the blade madly.
One feather… two… dozens… then hundreds…
Until the sword itself looked as though it had been forged from endless accumulated darkness.
Then every feather transformed into a tiny black blade spinning around the sword tip like a storm of death.
And in the next instant—
Shall rushed toward Faiser at his absolute maximum speed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The ground shattered behind him while blood began flowing from his white eyes because of the immense pressure of the art.
As for Faiser—
He simply stood there.
Calm… motionless…
Watching Shall approach him at terrifying speed.
Then—
His lips finally moved.
"Eyes of Azmiel…"
A heavy silence spread.
"…Second Level."
At that moment—
A dark black aura slowly began flowing from his right eye.
A calm aura…
Yet it made everyone's hearts tighten instantly without understanding why.
Then he finally spoke:
"….Dark Requiem !"
Faiser calmly raised his hand, and insanely condensed dark black chi formed around it from his shoulder all the way to his fist.
Black chi that looked as though it was absorbing the surrounding light itself.
Then—
He raised his hand upward and brought it down in a single strike.
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
A gigantic black slashing attack shot across the arena.
A terrifying strike…
Silent…
Yet it split the arena floor entirely from beginning to end.
Even the air itself divided before it.
And in the next moment—
It collided directly with Shall.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The black wings suddenly stopped.
Then—
A long deep slash appeared across Shall's chest as blood slowly burst from the wound…
While he remained standing for only a single second near Faiser.
Absolute silence filled the arena.
A heavy… horrifying silence…
So terrifying that no one even dared breathe.
Because the sight before them…
Was tragically indescribable.
Black feathers slowly fell.
Blood dripped onto the ground…
And Shall stood there silently…
As though he had been cut away from the world itself.
Then—
His black wings gradually disappeared.
His eyes returned to normal.
And his body slowly leaned backward as consciousness faded.
But—
Before he could fall—
Faiser appeared directly before him and caught him calmly.
Some disciples widened their eyes.
As for Faiser—
He looked at Shall within his arms and spoke in an extremely quiet voice:
"I'm truly sorry, boy…"
A brief silence followed.
"…but this was necessary."
Then he closed his eyes briefly.
"I never asked you to change for my sake."
He sighed faintly.
"The greatest betrayal a human can commit…"
He looked at Shall's peaceful face.
"…is abandoning their true self just to become what others want."
Then he smiled faintly.
"So…"
He slowly laid him on the ground.
"…if you wish to change, choose your own path."
"I merely…"
A brief silence followed.
"…gave you a direction, nothing more."
And despite Shall being unconscious—
Tears slowly began falling from his closed eyes.
As though he had heard those words with his heart…
Not his ears.
Then Faiser calmly stood and turned toward the Fifth Elder.
"So…"
He spoke with complete calmness.
"…aren't you going to announce the result now?"
As for the Fifth Elder—
He remained frozen in shock.
It took him two full seconds just to realize Faiser was speaking to him.
"R…right…"
He swallowed with difficulty.
Inside his mind—
His thoughts screamed only one thing:
"What the hell just happened…?!"
"Who exactly is this boy?!"
Then he finally raised his voice:
"The winner of the second round…"
His voice echoed across the silent arena.
"…is FAAAAAAISER!!!"
Only one second of silence passed.
Then—
The entire arena exploded.
"My God!!"
"What was that black strike?!"
"Did you see the arena?! It split completely apart!"
"That's definitely not Pulse Seed Realm level!"
"Shall was truly a monster…!"
"But Faiser… was something else!"
"Damn it… even I felt fear for a moment!"
As for Shin—
He stared at the arena with his mouth completely open.
"That madman…"
He swallowed hard.
"…is far stronger than I imagined."
As for Shirin—
She placed her hands over her chest, her breathing uneven.
"I was worried about him…"
Then she looked toward Faiser with tense eyes.
"…but now."
Her eyes widened even more.
"I feel like I should fear him instead."
Above the elders' platform—
The Sixth Elder gripped his seat violently until cracks began spreading across it.
"This is impossible…!"
Veins bulged across his face in anger.
"That bastard is definitely hiding his true level!"
Then he shouted furiously inside his mind:
"Maybe he's using a forbidden art!"
"Or something demonic!"
"A Pulse Seed Realm cultivator cannot do this!"
As for the Fourth Elder—
He continued watching Faiser leave the arena with calm steps as though nothing had happened.
Then—
He finally smiled.
"How interesting…"
He slowly closed one eye.
"…truly interesting."
Near Daren and Lin—
Both of them were completely shocked.
As for Lin—
He spoke in a trembling voice:
"That…"
He looked toward Daren.
"…was what we saw real?"
As for Daren—
He remained silent for a long moment.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Hah…"
He looked toward Faiser.
"…he's finally beginning to show his fangs."
In one corner—
Kael stood with crossed arms, staring toward Faiser with cold eyes filled with anger.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"Tsk…"
As for Faiser—
He walked amidst the screams of excitement and shock as though none of it concerned him.
He did not smile.
He did not raise his hand.
He did not even look toward the audience.
He simply continued walking calmly.
As for the book—
It laughed madly inside his mind.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"At least wave at them, hero!"
"You destroy people's dreams and walk away as though you're going to buy bread!"
But Faiser—
Closed his eyes briefly, then spoke with terrifying calmness:
"You need to understand something, Book…"
He slowly opened his eyes while the entire arena still trembled with chants of his name.
"…from this moment onward."
A brief silence filled his mind.
Then the corner of his mouth finally lifted into a very faint smile.
"…my problem will no longer be hiding my strength."
He looked toward the elders' platform…
Then toward Kael…
Then toward the distant sky.
"But…"
His smile gradually disappeared.
"…how I will stop this world from realizing that the catastrophe has already begun."