Chapter 14

  Outside the Arena

  Dark clouds choked the sky, and the wind howled with savage force, as if warning of an imminent catastrophe. The barrier surrounding the arena glowed intensely, layers of radiant energy pulsing across its surface like a living wall.

  Standing outside the barrier was an elderly man known as Surichi, his eyes blazing with razor-sharp focus. Beside him stood a young sorcerer, Laura, her hair whipping violently in the wind as she stared at the barrier with undisguised frustration.

  Laura broke the silence, her voice tight with urgency and fear.

  “Master, the students are trapped inside!”

  Surichi studied the barrier with a piercing gaze. The deep lines carved into his face told stories of countless battles long past. When he spoke, his voice was calm—yet carried an unshakable authority.

  “We must protect them.”

  Laura answered at once, her eyes never leaving the shimmering wall of energy.

  “But how? We have to break the barrier first!”

  Surichi remained silent for a moment. He slowly closed his eyes, as if peering beyond what could be seen, then asked quietly,

  “Where is Sbyam Brius?”

  Laura clenched her fists, anxiety tightening her chest.

  “He’s on his way.”

  Surichi opened his glowing eyes again, resolve hardening within them.

  “Good. But through my technique, I’ve seen it… Veb is critically wounded.”

  Laura froze.

  Her eyes widened in shock, and the word tore from her throat.

  “What?!”

  Surichi looked at her steadily, his calm presence acting like an anchor against the surge of emotion threatening to overwhelm her.

  “The moment the barrier falls, you must heal him. Immediately.”

  Laura swallowed hard, staring at the radiant barrier as if it were daring her to fail. After a brief hesitation, she nodded, her voice trembling—but firm.

  “Alright… I’ll do it.”

  ---

  Inside the Arena

  The ground was smeared with blood and dust, the air heavy with ragged breaths. Amid the chaos, Beth staggered forward—his steps steady despite the deep wounds carving into his body. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet his eyes burned with a feral, criminal hunger.

  Standing before him was Suero, ready for battle, blue sparks dancing wildly around his clenched fist. Behind Suero, Moryo watched in silence, his presence cold and unreadable.

  Beth let out a crooked grin. Determination and madness twisted together across his face as he roared,

  “Come on, boy! Let’s fight!”

  Suero said nothing.

  Fire—pure challenge and rage—blazed in his eyes. His entire focus locked onto Beth, his heartbeat pounding with lethal excitement.

  Beth lunged.

  Each step shook the earth like a series of small earthquakes, his deranged smile stretching wider with every inch he closed.

  Suero tightened his fist. The blue sparks flared brighter, answering his resolve.

  At last, Beth reached him. Black sparks ignited around Beth’s hand like a living flame as he struck without hesitation.

  Suero met him head-on, unleashing a punch of unbelievable force.

  The air between them exploded with a deafening boom, their clashing energies erupting in a blinding flash.

  —but then—

  Beth moved as if his body had lost all weight.

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  He twisted through the air with unnatural grace, flipping backward in a stunning arc and slipping past Suero’s blow as if it were nothing.

  Suero’s eyes widened in shock as he tracked Beth landing lightly on the ground.

  Before Suero could react, Beth vanished in a blur.

  A heartbeat later, he reappeared behind him.

  The impact thundered across the arena as Beth’s fist slammed into Suero’s back, sending his body flying like a discarded rag doll. Suero crashed into the ground with brutal force, carving a deep crater into the earth.

  Residual energy pulsed through the ground. The air grew thick with tension.

  Silence fell—so complete it felt as though nature itself had stopped breathing.

  Beth grinned broadly, watching Suero lie motionless like a broken toy. His eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty delight, every swift movement radiating absolute confidence.

  In the distance, Moryo’s eyes narrowed.

  Without a word, he stepped forward. His movements were nearly soundless as he closed the distance and launched a sudden, lethal strike toward Beth’s back.

  But Beth reacted instantly.

  With a sharp, predatory motion, he spun around and caught Moryo’s fist mid-air.

  Moryo locked eyes with him, fury and focus burning together—but Beth answered with a mocking, self-assured smile.

  Moryo raised his other fist to strike again.

  Beth disappeared.

  Only a fading afterimage remained.

  Then he reappeared behind Moryo, black sparks raging around his hand as he unleashed a deadly wave of dark energy.

  Moryo turned slowly—deliberate, composed—as if time itself had lost its meaning.

  The black surge hurtled toward him—

  —and froze mid-air.

  As though seized by an invisible force.

  Moryo’s eyes ignited with a radiant green glow. His voice emerged as a deep, commanding whisper.

  “Realm Activation: Time Domain.”

  In an instant, a transparent barrier flooded the arena, emitting an eerie, otherworldly light.

  The air stopped moving.

  Leaves hung suspended in mid-fall.

  Even the raging wind fell silent in a terrifying stillness.

  It was as if the entire world had been trapped inside a surreal dream.

  Beth—who had been mid-attack only moments before—was now frozen in the air, his body locked in place like a statue carved from ice.

  Moryo advanced toward him, each step heavy with intent. His glowing green eyes pulsed with ancient weight, carrying the burden of centuries.

  He stopped before Beth, staring into the twisted expression frozen on his face—a mix of rage and arrogance, now utterly helpless.

  Moryo’s voice was cold and unwavering.

  “You’ve reached your end.”

  But before he could finish the fight—

  Something went wrong.

  A dark vortex began to form in Beth’s outstretched hand. Weak at first—then rapidly growing in size and density. Black sparks spiraled violently around it, blazing with sinister energy.

  Moryo froze.

  His eyes narrowed in shock as he muttered,

  “What… is that?”

  The vortex expanded violently, devouring the fabric of the Time Domain itself.

  Cracks spread across the shimmering dome like spiderwebs. The vibrant green glow faded into a lifeless gray—

  —and then the barrier shattered.

  Reality struck back with brutal force.

  The wind roared once more, unrestrained.

  Beth stepped forward—finally free from the frozen demion.

  A smug smile spread across his face, and his black eyes gleamed with dark light as he scoffed,

  “Did you really think your little time tricks could stop me?”

  Moryo’s gaze hardened, yet his composure remained unshaken despite the chaos spiraling around them.

  Beth clenched his fists. A living black aura surged around his body as he declared with open defiance,

  “I am the master of black magic, you idiot! I can create endless rifts and voids—your time techniques mean nothing to me!”

  Moryo showed no visible reaction. His reply was calm, sharp, and effortless.

  “Is that so?”

  Beth launched himself forward, fists blazing with absolute darkness. The ground beneath him cracked and split under the force of his charge. But Moryo, still perfectly composed, raised one hand. Green sparks flared within his palm.

  With flawless precision, Moryo slipped past Beth’s attack and drove a radiant green punch into him.

  The impact echoed across the battlefield, hurling Beth into the air before he slammed violently into the ground, tearing a deep trench through the earth.

  Beth groaned as he staggered back to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Instead of anger, he burst into manic laughter.

  “You’re strong, Moryo… but I’ve beaten opponents far stronger than you!”

  Moryo lifted an eyebrow, his voice cold and indifferent.

  “You talk too much.”

  Their energies collided in the air—black and green crashing violently against each other as their gazes locked once more.

  Above the Battlefield

  High above the arena, the barrier surrounding the battlefield began to fracture. Shards of light pierced through the barren terrain as the sky trembled with unstable energy. As the cracks widened, a floating figure emerged.

  Sbyam Brius.

  His mere presence radiated absolute dominance.

  Sharp eyes surveyed the battlefield below, a faint smile resting on his lips—calm, confident, unquestioned.

  Below him, Moryo was still locked in combat with Beth. He looked up—and for the first time, a flicker of astonishment crossed his usually composed face.

  Beth, on the other hand, took an instinctive step back. His voice dropped to a whisper.

  “So… he’s finally here.”

  Sbyam hovered in the sky, observing with detached indifference. His gaze drifted between Moryo and Beth before he spoke, casual and dismissive.

  “It’s time to deal with this idiot.”

  In the blink of an eye, Sbyam vanished.

  He reappeared on the ground beside Moryo—his speed beyond comprehension.

  Moryo stiffened, surprise slipping into his voice.

  “Master Sbyam?”

  Sbyam ignored him completely. Instead, he turned his attention toward the distant treeline, as if seeing far beyond it. A faint smile curved his lips.

  “Trying to run?” he murmured. “How foolish.”

  He raised one hand. His fingers glowed with a deep violet aura, releasing an overwhelming wave of pressure into the air—so oppressive that even seasoned warriors across the battlefield felt their bodies tense in discomfort.

  With a simple flick of his finger toward the horizon, Sbyam whispered,

  "SPACE-TIME TEARING"

  A distorted rift detonated into existence, pulsing with violent energy. The ground beneath it trembled as it expanded, wrapped in a blazing purple glow. Shockwaves rippled outward, uprooting trees and hurling debris in every direction.

  From within the rift, a catastrophic surge of energy erupted.

  It erased everything in its path.

  The forest was torn apart in an instant, devastation spreading far beyond the battlefield’s limits.

  Elsewhere on the arena

  Baysal stood face to face with Darwin, her fiery glare locked onto him with unrestrained fury. Darwin looked shaken, sweat pouring down his face as his eyes darted nervously toward the sky.

  “Was that…” he muttered, his voice trembling. “Sbyam Brius?”

  Baysal shattered his thoughts with a burning shout.

  “How could you kill Veb?!”

  Before Darwin could answer, a faint violet glow lit up the ground behind him.

  Baysal’s eyes widened in horror as she saw Sbyam’s colossal energy beam racing toward their position at terrifying speed.

  “RUUUUN!” she screamed.

  Nearby, Jan grabbed Alia’s hand—she was frozen in shock—and dragged her away from the incoming wave of destruction.

  Darwin turned.

  Pure terror locked his expression as the violet energy closed in, merciless and unstoppable.

  In the next instant, it swallowed him whole.

  His body dissolved into nothingness, erased completely, as the beam continued onward—leaving a trail of annihilation carved through the battlefield.

  Aftermath of Destruction

  What had once been a thriving battlefield was now a wasteland.

  The ground lay scorched and lifeless. At the center of it all burned a massive crater—an unmistakable testament to Sbyam’s overwhelming power.

  Moryo stood motionless.

  The sheer scale of the devastation had shattered his usual composure. His eyes moved slowly across the ruins, struggling to comprehend the massacre before him.

  A short distance away, Beth wiped the sweat from his brow. His confidence remained—for now—but his eyes betrayed a creeping fear gnawing at his core.

  He whispered to himself,

  “This power… he truly deserves the title of the strongest sorcerer.”

  Unbothered by the chaos he had unleashed, Sbyam turned his attention to Beth. His smile returned—colder, sharper than before.

  “I suppose it’s time to deal with you now,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt.

  Beth froze, as if the words themselves had crushed him beneath an unbearable weight.

  Despite the fear clawing at his chest, he forced a mocking smile—though it wavered under the strain.

  “You’ll die,” he spat. “Just like your friend!”

  Sbyam let out a low laugh—humorless, empty of amusement.

  “Die?” he replied calmly. “By your hand?”

  Sbyam raised his voice, desperation slipping through.

  “Nah, you won’t—”

  “Pathetic.”

  The word cut through Beth’s arrogance like a blade.

  Beth faltered, his body trembling as he took an instinctive step back.

  Sbyam’s eyes burned with merciless resolve as he declared coldly,

  “You are weak.”

  The finality in his tone sent a chill down Beth’s spine.

  Their gazes met once more. The tension between them was so dense it felt tangible—sharp enough to be sliced apart.

  For the first time in his life, Beth felt absolute helplessness.

  He stood before an unstoppable force.

  And Sbyam remained unmoving—the embodiment of absolute supremacy—

  ready to finish what he had started.

  End of Chapter.