The arena floor was a shattered mess of broken stone, dust, and scorch marks. Yet neither fighter slowed.
Nova and Arden crashed into each other again, claws and fists colliding hard enough to make the entire battlefield ring like a struck bell. Their movements were so fast only the aftershocks were visible — bursts of displaced air, cracks spreading under their feet, and flashes of lightning and red sparks.
Arden snarled, swiping at Nova's face with both claws. Nova blocked each strike with sharp, efficient movements, armor sparking with every impact.
Arden ducked under a counterpunch and rammed his shoulder into Nova's chest, pushing him several meters back—
Nova planted both feet firmly into the ground, his armor grinding against broken stone as he pushed back with equal force. His counterpunch drove straight into Arden's ribs, the impact echoing across the coliseum like a thunderclap.
The force forced both fighters apart, creating a brief lull—a blink, nothing more—but it was enough for a shift in the battle's rhythm.
Arden's lips curved into a sharp, confident smirk. Nova felt it immediately—a spike of mana from behind, a sudden pressure rippling through the air. He turned just as Arden thrust his hands skyward.
"Thunder Magic: THUNDER LANCES!"
Lightning burst open above the battlefield, forming dozens of crackling spears of pure mana, each humming with lethal voltage. They aimed themselves at Nova like a sky full of golden needles. There was no time to breathe, no space to think—only execution.
SHZZZT—!!
Arden released them all at once.
Nova moved on instinct. He twisted aside as one lance sliced past his cheek. Another scraped his shoulder, sparks dancing across his armor. Three thunder lances stabbed into the ground behind him, exploding violently and sending shards of stone across the arena.
He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Tch—annoying."
More lances surged toward him, filling the air with streaks of golden death. Nova lifted his hand, his grimoire's pages flashing open beside him.
"Reality Script—Light Magic: Light Lances."
In the space of a breath, spears of radiant light materialized around him—sleek, white, and impossibly bright. They hovered in a perfect formation, humming softly.
And the moment they appeared— the entire arena froze.
No one moved. No one breathed.
"That's—!"
"That's LIGHT MAGIC!"
"The same magic the First Wizard King used!!"
"No way… someone outside the royal line—!?"
The nobles surged to their feet, their composure cracking.
"So the rumors were true…"
"He really possesses light magic."
"That's not illusion or trickery… that's real light mana."
Up in the royal viewing room, King Augustus leaned forward sharply, all previous swagger replaced by focused intensity. His eyes narrowed as he studied the glowing lances.
"So it is true," he muttered. "Hearing about it is one thing… but seeing it with my own eyes is another."
Beside him, Princess Sarphina stared at the floating spears with a rare, keen intensity. The calm neutrality she usually wore had sharpened into full concentration, her eyes tracking every movement of the light spells.
After several seconds of silent study, she finally spoke—her tone soft yet certain.
"It's genuine light magic," she said. "No tricks. No illusions. Pure light mana."
---
The thunder lances fell.
Nova's light lances fired.
White beams screamed through the air, intercepting every incoming bolt of lightning.
BOOM—!! BOOM—!! BOOM—!!
Explosions burst across the field as lightning and light collided violently in midair.
The shock from their clash blew dust and debris in all directions, blinding half the audience.
Arden growled, baring his fangs as the last thunder lance shattered under a beam of light.
Nova lowered his hand, expression calm behind the armor. He rolled his neck once, the faint crack of bones oddly loud in the ruined arena.
"Alright," he murmured, his voice steady beneath the helm. "It's time to end this."
Across the battlefield Arden's eyelid twitched, the first visible crack in his beastman composure. Lightning flared violently along his arms, his muscles flexing beneath white fur as he snarled, "End this? Don't get ahead of yourself!"
The words were still leaving his mouth when he vanished in a deafening shockwave. He reappeared directly in front of Nova, claws raised with murderous intent—only for Nova to take a single step forward. It looked effortless, almost lazy, but the moment his foot touched the ground red lightning pulsed outward in a heavy ripple that distorted the air itself.
Arden hesitated—not long, barely half a heartbeat—but enough. Nova's armored fist slammed upward, connecting squarely with Arden's jaw in a brutal, clean impact that twisted the beastman's entire upper body and sent visible shocklines rippling through his enhanced muscles.
Arden flew backward, skidding across the cracked stone floor, but he dug his claws into the ground and forced himself upright with a ragged, furious roar. "YOU—!!"
He launched himself forward again, faster, lightning whipping across his body in violent arcs. Nova didn't even wait for him to close the distance. A burst of red lightning split the air and Nova appeared in front of him before Arden's punch had formed.
Arden's eyes barely widened before Nova's knee drove brutally into his stomach. The breath exploded out of him, saliva scattering as his body folded. His lightning flickered wildly, losing coherence for the first time.
Nova didn't allow him even a heartbeat to recover. His elbow smashed into the side of Arden's neck, sending the beastman stumbling left. A palm strike slammed into his ribs and forced him right.
A spinning kick cracked across the back of his shoulder and drove him down to one knee. The flurry came so fast that the crowd had no time to blink before the results were already hammered into Arden's body.
Voices from the audience broke through the stunned silence.
"When… when did he get even faster?"
"I can't see anything anymore! Who's hitting who!?"
"Is Arden… actually losing!?"
Arden struggled to draw breath, chest heaving, his enhanced muscles trembling under the accumulation of damage. He forced his head up slowly, molten gold eyes burning with stubborn rage.
"You… bastard—!!" His roar was raw, desperate, and undercut by disbelief. He forced his lightning to ignite again, wrapping around his body in a violent attempt to reboot his strength and sharpen his instincts. His mana spiked sharply—
—but Nova was already gone.
Red lightning lines snapped through the air and Nova appeared inches from Arden's face, close enough for his voice to echo quietly from behind the armor.
"Too slow."
His fist slammed into Arden's gut with devastating precision, lifting the beastman off the ground. Before Arden could even fall, Nova was already repositioning. A barrage followed—clean, controlled, merciless strikes that battered Arden from every side.
Punches hammered into his ribs. Elbows crashed into his shoulders. Kicks drove into his legs, his abdomen, his spine. Every impact echoed like a sequence of explosions across the arena, forming a rhythm of pure dominance.
THUD. WHAM. CRACK. BOOM.
Arden was thrown in every direction—forward, sideways, downward—as if caught in a storm of red lightning and metal. The final strike was a brutal downward blow to the back of his neck that sent him crashing into the stone floor with bone-shaking force. The ground cratered beneath him, debris bursting outward.
A heavy silence fell over the arena.
Only the faint crackle of red lightning around Nova's armor broke the stillness.
Spectators stared in speechless disbelief. Nobles leaned forward, wide-eyed. Up in the stands Asta practically screamed, voice cracking, "WHAT THE—!? WHAT KIND OF SPEED WAS THAT!?"
Beside him Yuno didn't speak, but his grip on the railing tightened, knuckles turning white.
Yami narrowed his eyes," His physical strength is almost equal to us captians. What a frightening guy."
Down in the crater Arden groaned weakly, his arms trembling as he tried to push himself upright. His claws scraped uselessly against the broken stone. The lightning in his fur dimmed, sputtering out like dying embers.
Nova stepped forward, each footstep calm and certain, and placed one armored boot firmly on Arden's back, pinning him down with effortless superiority.
"You fought well," Nova said quietly, his voice level and steady. "But this is the end."
Arden's arms buckled. His claws twitched helplessly. His breath broke in his throat.
Finally, barely audible—
"…I… concede."
The moment the word left his lips, the arena erupted. Cheers, shouts, gasps—all crashing together like thunder. Arden didn't hear any of it. But Nova did, as he stepped away and let the beastman collapse fully, red lightning slowly dissipating from his armor.
The announcer stood frozen for several seconds before he snapped back to life, voice shaking as he shouted into the spell-amplified array:
"V-VICTORY—!! NOVA ASHBOURNE WINS THE FIRST DUEL!!!"
The crowd roared in a frenzy as Nova stood tall in the center of the battlefield, his black-and-crimson armor gleaming like a war god standing over a fallen legend.
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CHAPTER:- [140 - AFTERMATH] IS AVAILABLE ON MY P@TREON