He raised his hand, and blood erupted around him, enveloping his body. The crimson liquid hardened into a menacing black-red armor, crackling with veins of crimson lightning. His scythe reformed in his hand, now infused with the same volatile energy, its blade glowing faintly as blood and lightning coursed through it.
"You're not the only one with a trump card," Asher said, his voice echoing ominously as the air around him grew heavy.
Tiara narrowed her eyes, but before she could respond, Asher vanished from her sight. He reappeared above her, his scythe swinging down with ferocious speed. She raised her radiant blade to block, and the clash sent shockwaves rippling through the arena. Sparks of red and gold danced in the air as the two energies collided, their clash momentarily lighting up the entire battlefield.
Tiara gritted her teeth as she was forced back. Her wings flared, propelling her into the sky. From above, she rained down beams of light, each one capable of reducing the ground to ash. Asher responded by summoning a crimson dome around himself, the blood absorbing and redirecting the beams into erratic streams of energy that scorched the surroundings.
"Let's see how you handle this!" Tiara shouted as she gathered energy, forming a massive lance of pure light. With a mighty throw, she sent it hurtling toward Asher, its speed and power shaking the arena.
Asher didn't flinch. He raised his scythe, channeling his blood manipulation into its blade. With a roar, he swung it upward, splitting the lance in two. The remnants exploded behind him, the shockwave ruffling his armor but leaving him unharmed.
"You're good," Asher said, his tone almost casual. "But you're relying too much on overwhelming force, where is your precision now?"
He extended his hand, and the blood on the battlefield gathered into a series of intricate, floating weapons—spears, daggers, and chains—all crackling with crimson lightning. With a flick of his wrist, they shot toward Tiara, each one targeting her from a different angle.
Tiara spun her radiant blade, deflecting the weapons with graceful precision. But as she blocked one, another pierced her wing, dissipating part of her energy. She grunted, realizing that the weapons weren't just physical—they drained her power upon contact.
"You're a tough opponent," she admitted, breathing heavily. "But I'm not done yet."
"Good," Asher replied, his armor glowing brighter. "Because neither am I."
The two warriors charged at each other once again, their powers clashing in a dance of light and blood, each move more intense than the last. The arena trembled under their battle, the crowd watching in stunned silence as the fight continued to escalate beyond anything they had ever seen.
Asher pointed his scythe toward Tiara, summoning a massive crimson orb crackling with red lightning. The energy within the orb pulsated, radiating an ominous and destructive power. Tiara, undeterred, gathered her strength and unleashed her own radiant nova, a dazzling sphere of blue-white energy that shone like a miniature star.
The two devastating attacks surged toward each other, colliding in the center of the arena with a deafening roar. The clash of red and white energy lit up the sky, the sheer force shaking the ground beneath them. For a moment, it seemed evenly matched, as the two energies pushed against each other in a deadly stalemate.
But slowly, the crimson nova began to overwhelm the radiant one. Its intense energy seeped through, consuming the white-blue light and pushing forward relentlessly. Tiara's radiant sphere started to crack under the pressure, and within seconds, the red nova shattered through, surging toward her.
The crimson energy struck Tiara, engulfing her in a blinding wave of red lightning and blood-like energy. The force knocked her backward, her radiant armor fracturing and dissipating as the attack left her trembling and weakened. She collapsed to her knees, her body covered in residual red sparks.
The arena fell silent for a moment before the referee's voice echoed.
"Asher Magnus wins!" the announcer declared, the words cutting through the tense atmosphere.
Asher stood tall, his crimson aura slowly fading as he lowered his scythe. He glanced at Tiara, who was struggling to steady her breath, her pride visibly wounded but her spirit unbroken as she continued to glare at him.
Medics rushed in, their healing light enveloping Tiara as the crowd erupted into cheers and murmurs. Asher turned away, walking toward the edge of the arena without a word, his victory cementing his dominance once again in the Academy.
"Well, that's earned you another six days of rest," Freya said, joining him with a smirk. Google search Novel~Fire. (n)et
Asher shrugged nonchalantly. "I can guarantee that Elven girl is going to claim me as her target again," he replied, his tone casual, as though the fight hadn't taken anything out of him.
Freya rolled her eyes. "Her name is Tiara, by the way," she corrected.
"Whatever her name is," Asher said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "she's just another challenger who couldn't back up her confidence."
Freya sighed, shaking her head as she walked alongside him. "You could at least pretend to remember the names of the people you fight."
"Why bother?" Asher quipped, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "I'm starting to think half of them just want the spotlight of fighting me."
Freya chuckled, leaning slightly closer to him. "And the other half?"
"They probably want to kill me," Asher said flatly, though his smirk deepened, showing he wasn't particularly worried about either group.
Freya gave him a playful nudge. "Well, if you keep acting , I might just join the second group someday."
"Yeah, but I know you'd never win," Asher teased, earning himself a glare and a muttered insult from Freya as they made their way out of the arena.
As Asher and Freya exited the arena, a wave of eyes lingered on his back, each gaze carrying its own intent—curiosity, admiration, or envy. Among them, a group of students stood huddled, their attention fixated on him.
"Are you going to challenge him next?" asked one student, a reptilian being with scales glistening under the academy's lights. He had the appearance of a walking lizard, complete with clawed hands and a tail swaying behind him.