The platform beneath the Starforge Arena had not yet cooled from its earlier battles when the Crimson Ember team stepped forward.
The light around them bent as if afraid to touch their forms. Their presence alone pressed on the chest like invisible heat. They did not radiate rage or arrogance. What surrounded them was certainty—certainty that they would win, certainty that this stage belonged to them.
Across the battlefield, the Heavenly Blade team stood in silence.
Zeref's chest rose and fell slowly. Every muscle in his body screamed with fatigue. Yuexin's grip on her spear trembled faintly despite her iron will. Ren's shoulders were heavy with strain, his breathing measured but tight. Mei Lian's lotus staff flickered weakly as the last traces of earlier healing energy faded.
And Darius…
Darius stood with his head lowered, eyes closed, both hands wrapped around the hilt of his reforged starblade.
No anger.
No pride.
Only resolve.
The wind between the two teams carried the echo of the crowd's whispers—expectation, doubt, hunger for destruction.
Elder Shufen's voice thundered once more.
"Punishment Match begins—now!"
Crimson moved first.
Not in a charge.
In a glide.
Their formation spread into a seamless arc—like embers drifting from a single flame. A wave of red-gold energy rolled outward, not explosive but crushing, forcing the air itself to bow. The ground beneath Heavenly Blade fractured as the heat pressed down.
"Defensive rotation!" Zeref shouted.
Mei Lian slammed her staff into the platform. A lotus barrier unfolded around the team just as the wave struck. The impact blasted outward in a storm of sparks. The barrier cracked—but held.
Yuexin burst out of the shield first, spear spinning into a whirling crescent of silver thrusts. Ren followed at her blind side, sabers moving like mirrored shadows. Zeref's aura flared black-silver as he advanced straight through the pressure toward Crimson's center.
And for the first time—
Darius did not break formation.
He moved with them.
Crimson's frontline met them with terrifying precision. Their dual-blade fighter locked with Ren in a collision of red and blue streaks. Their gauntlet wielder intercepted Yuexin, each impact of metal against metal shaking the platform. Their flame-archer lifted his bow—but Zeref was already there, Eclipsera flashing upward and tearing the shot in half before it fully formed.
In the rear, Crimson's support caster raised both hands.
A spiral of molten runes ignited in the air.
Mei Lian sensed it instantly. "Wide-area incineration spell—ten breaths to collapse!"
Zeref didn't hesitate. "Darius—break their channel. Together!"
Darius's heart slammed.
Together.
He nodded once and launched.
Not alone.
Zeref moved beside him.
Crimson's greatshield defender stepped forward to intercept—but Yuexin cut in from the flank, spear anchoring into the ground and ripping the defender off balance. Ren followed through with a lightning-fast cross slash that forced the enemy back just long enough.
Zeref and Darius surged through the opening side by side.
For the first time, Darius did not fight to outshine.
He fought to support.
His blade crashed against Crimson's caster barrier, forcing it to strain. Zeref's dark-silver energy flowed into the same fracture point. Darius shifted his stance instinctively to match Zeref's angle.
Their powers overlapped.
The barrier shattered.
The incineration spell collapsed mid-formation, erupting harmlessly into the air like a dying star.
A roar erupted from the stands.
Crimson's eyes sharpened.
Now they moved in earnest.
Their captain stepped forward.
Heat condensed around his body without flame. With a single step, he crossed twenty meters and struck Zeref head-on. Their blades collided in a soundless explosion that split the platform in two.
Zeref skidded backward, blood tracing from the corner of his mouth.
Before the captain could follow—
Darius was there.
His blade caught the second strike.
And held.
The impact drove him to one knee—but he did not fall.
"Move, Zeref!" he shouted.
Zeref reacted instantly, circling and slashing from the side. The Crimson captain twisted, deflecting both, but Ren and Yuexin crashed into the opening together in perfect sequence. Mei Lian's healing aura surged behind them, reinforcing their bodies as they pushed past their limits.
For the first time since the championship began—
Heavenly Blade was not reacting.
They were dictating.
Crimson's formations adjusted sharply. Their gauntlet fighter slammed Ren back with a devastating blow that cracked his defensive aura. Yuexin took a burning slash across her shoulder while blocking the flame-archer's rain of fire. Zeref intercepted strike after strike from Crimson's captain, muscles trembling under the monstrous pressure.
Darius saw it.
And he did not hesitate.
He stepped into Zeref's line of fire and took the full force of the next blow to his back.
Bone screamed.
Blood burst.
But Zeref remained standing.
Darius staggered—then locked his stance.
His voice broke through the battlefield.
"I won't let you fall again!"
The words rang across the arena.
Not as defiance.
As a vow.
Mei Lian unleashed everything she had left. Her lotus spirit bloomed to full, bathing the field in pale-gold radiance that flooded back into their battered bodies. Yuexin's wounds closed enough to move freely again. Ren roared as his sabers reignited in full twin arcs.
Zeref felt the shift.
This wasn't just teamwork anymore.
This was unity.
He lifted both blades.
"Final formation—Heavenly Convergence!"
They moved as if the command had lived in them forever.
Ren broke high. Yuexin cut low. Darius drove straight through the center. Mei Lian anchored the rear with sustained reinforcement. Zeref vanished into shadow and reappeared above Crimson's captain, blades crossing in a descending arc of black-silver light.
Crimson resisted with everything.
Firestorms. Shockwaves. Burning runes. Crushing blows.
The entire arena shook.
But Heavenly Blade did not scatter.
They held.
They pressed.
They advanced.
And at the very core of the storm—
Darius stood firm.
No reckless charge.
No selfish strike.
Only the shield that must not break.
Zeref landed through the final opening Darius created.
Eclipsera cut downward.
The light fractured.
The Crimson captain crashed into the shattered platform and did not rise.
Silence fell.
Then Elder Shufen's voice echoed across the heavens.
"Victory—Heavenly Blade Academy!"
For a heartbeat, the world did not move.
Then the arena exploded.
Cheers.
Gasps.
Disbelief.
The scoreboard surged with living light and rearranged itself:
1. Crimson Ember Institute
2. Skyforge Academy
3. Moonshadow Temple
4. Iron Phoenix Fortress
5. Crloudsong Sect
6. Heavenly Blade Academy
7. Jade Serpent Pavilion
The numbers burned bright.
Sixth place.
From the bottom.
Zeref dropped to one knee, breath ragged.
Yuexin covered her mouth with trembling fingers.
Ren laughed breathlessly through bloodied lips.
Mei Lian collapsed entirely, exhausted but smiling through tears.
And Darius…
Darius stood in the center of the broken platform.
Shaking.
Not from pain.
From release.
Zeref walked to him.
This time, Darius bowed.
Deep.
Fully.
"I'm sorry I ever fought against you," he said quietly. "From now on… I fight only for us."
Zeref placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Welcome to the team."
That night, the atmosphere at the dinner hall was completely different.
No whispers.
No mockery.
Only warmth.
Only voices calling their names with respect.
The elders raised cups in their honor. Other disciples approached with hesitant admiration. Even rival teams offered silent nods of acknowledgment.
Heavenly Blade sat together at a long table under glowing spirit lanterns.
And for the first time—
Darius sat naturally among them.
He laughed at Ren's terrible jokes.
He listened quietly as Yuexin spoke.
He thanked Mei Lian with genuine humility.
And when Zeref raised his cup—
All five lifted theirs together.
Not as fragments.
But as one.
Above them, the stars of the championship burned brighter than ever.
And the path ahead, once broken and dim,
Now shone with fire.
---
To be continued...