A deafening roar echoed through the battlefield as the image of a Sun Lion manifested. The chest of the Mecha—formed into the Lion’s head—ignited, and the eyes of the Lion snapped open. In an instant, golden flames erupted across the Mecha’s entire body, its optical eyes blazing with fire.
Suddenly, the Mecha’s arms moved, slicing through the air and leaving afterimages in their wake. Its hands touched the lion’s head on its chest, and immediately, all the flames burning on the Mecha’s body were siphoned into the Lion’s head. Its eyes transformed into searing flame, and in the blink of an eye, its mouth opened—
—unleashing an enormous beam of flaming Originat.
Originat surged through the Mecha’s body like a divine stream. Its entire frame shimmered with golden light as the beam intensified and finally erupted.
"Lion’s Pride: Unleash of the Lion!"
The moment the beam was released, the crowd was struck silent. For many, their hearing vanished entirely. The world hushed beneath the overwhelming force. All eyes locked onto the beam of light, racing at sonic speed and piercing the very air with violent precision.
Drake’s eyes widened in disbelief—he hadn’t anticipated such a devastating move. Without hesitation, sensing the overwhelming destructive power of the beam, he reacted.
"Devouring Art: Devourer Barrier!"
Drake summoned a twofold Devourer Barrier, layered before him like a wall of abyssal energy. The crowd watched in awe as the blinding beam seemed to vanish—only to realize it had already collided with the Devourer Barrier.
As it clashed, Drake instantly understood the terrifying force behind the beam. This wasn’t just energy—it was infused with fire intent, sharpened into a deadly weapon.
The Devourer Barrier began to crack under the pressure. Though made of pure Originat, it was being overwhelmed. The difference was clear: the beam carried not just energy but intent—an augmented Originat empowered by the essence of flame.
Realizing this, Drake attempted to dodge. But even with his speed, his right arm failed to escape—
Drake stood frozen, stunned that the attack hadn’t just wounded his arm—but completely obliterated it.
Leo had landed a serious blow—Drake had lost an arm.
But even as the pain coursed through him, Drake’s gaze narrowed. There was something else in that beam. Some foreign energy signature that had allowed it to bypass his defense and break through completely.
Leo’s wild laughter echoed from the Mecha. The joy in his voice was undeniable. For the first time, he had drawn true blood from Drake.
Drake stared at the remnants of his right arm, then calmly shook his head.
"And I was the one who said we shouldn’t use our Dragon skills," he thought.
"Draconic Art: Dragon Regeneration."
In a flash—without any visible transition—Drake’s right hand burst back into existence, flesh, bone, and all, restored perfectly in a heartbeat.
The onlookers gasped as waves of shock rolled through the crowd. Such regenerative power... only those in the Origin Saint Realm could reconstruct an entire limb in seconds.
Inside the Mecha, Leo’s disbelieving gasp was audible to all.
"Impossible," he muttered.
Even those hidden in the shadows—those observing from afar—were shaken.
"You really forced me to do this... I didn’t expect your strength to be this great," Drake scoffed.
Truth be told, had it not been for the Mecha—a factor Drake hadn’t anticipated—Leo would have already been defeated.
As the Dragon Regeneration activated, a subtle Draconic Aura seeped from Drake’s body—so faint it passed unnoticed by most of the crowd, but Leo saw it. From his cabin, he could feel the escalating power within Drake.
He knew: if this continued, he wouldn’t last long.
"Commence Mecha-Human Form!" Leo ordered.
"It is detected that the user’s body will not be able to withstand the energy output required for this transformation," the Mecha System’s emotionless voice warned.
"Just go with it!" Leo snapped.
"Commencing Lion Pride Mecha-Human Form."
"Lion Pride Parts: Beginning Disengagement."
The crowd watched in awe as the Lion’s Pride soared into the sky, hovering high above the forest. Then came the transformation—
The lion head separated.
Then, Leo’s figure emerged from within.
Suddenly, several parts of the Mecha shifted—smaller components splitting off. A helmet with the lion motif floated toward Leo, followed by two armored gloves with reinforced guards, a leg-armor set, and finally a chestplate carved with the lion’s head emblem.
One by one, the components surrounded Leo, reassembling themselves around his body,
Immediately after everything was formed, Leo did something even more surprising.
"Sun Lion Art: Sun Lion Transformation!"
His hair elongated, transforming into the flaming mane of a lion. His eyes sharpened, taking on a lion’s primal gaze. Whiskers sprouted from his cheeks, and a lion’s tail extended behind him, ablaze with roaring flame. His very aura burned like that of a Sun Lion incarnate.
Instantly, the machinery floating above him moved—slamming themselves onto his body.
An intense burst of golden flames engulfed Leo, obscuring his figure from view. But the grinding, locking sound of Mecha parts combining echoed out. Drake, through his Abyssal Devouring Eye, could still see the process—though even that was a strain.
The sounds continued until finally, the golden flames vanished—and Leo’s new form was revealed.
He now wore a radiant Golden Mecha helmet, concealing his head while allowing his flaming, elongated hair to stream out. His chest armor was forged directly from the lion’s head—smaller now, but fierce and symbolic. His lion tail was partially encased in Mecha plating, though the tuft remained exposed and ablaze.
At this moment, Leo exuded an overwhelming aura. Originat surged toward him with every breath the Mecha took—it was as though the machinery itself lived and breathed Originat.
His claws were wickedly sharp—weapons in their own right.
As for the rest of the Mecha parts, they had mysteriously disappeared, seemingly stored away. Drake grinned at the sight—not out of mockery, but from sheer excitement. He didn’t know why, but something about this transformation set his blood on fire.
And in that instant, the spark of battle ignited—
—and both figures vanished from sight.
Before most of the onlookers could comprehend what had happened, a violent explosion thundered across the arena. The ground caved in where they clashed, the sheer force shattering the earth and bearing witness to their titanic power.
But they didn’t stop there.
They clashed again. And again. Their combat fused with intent, raw and refined.
"Fire Saint Art: Heavenly Blazing Palm!"
"First Move: Scorching Ember Art!"
"Devouring Art: Devourer Strike!"
Their fists collided, detonating in bursts of explosions and sonic booms. They gave each other no quarter, moving with terrifying speed as their movement skills blurred into flashes. Yet despite the violence, they remained locked in stalemate.
"Second Move: Inferno Burst Palm!"
Leo suddenly changed tactics, catching Drake off-guard. An inferno erupted from his palm, consuming Drake in blazing flames.
"Death Art: Deathbound Recovery!"
But Drake’s aura twisted as death energy surged to his aid. The accumulated death aura from past carnage healed his body, erasing the wounds dealt by the inferno.
Leo’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had been analyzing Drake’s defenses through the Mecha, seeking weaknesses—but had found none.
"User has three minutes remaining before Human-Mecha Form disengagement," the Mecha System’s voice echoed within Leo’s mind, making him frown. Time was running out.
He disengaged, putting distance between them, and stretched out his right hand.
A golden flaming spear manifested—its tip so sharp, it felt like it could pierce the fabric of the world. Leo released a surge of Spear Intent, shaking the air around him.
Drake, seeing this, extended both hands. The Scythe of the Death Reaper appeared. He clashed the twin blades together, forming a massive, singular scythe.
Yet the transformation didn’t stop.
The scythe twisted and reshaped into a pitch-black longsword—a blade forged in the deepest reaches of death itself. It was the representative of death, sent to the world to reap life. Drake’s aura surged as Sword Intent flooded the air.
"Spear Saint Art: Crimson Tyrant Spear!"
"First Move: Blazing Fang Thrust!"
"Sword Art: King of Swords!"
They clashed—spear against sword, intent against intent, power against power. The battleground became an unrecognizable wasteland, stripped bare by their destructive might.
As they fought, their bodies slowly began to levitate, rising bit by bit as Leo’s attacks gained momentum. Drake was slowly being suppressed under the sheer might of Leo’s Saint-level skills.
[Sword King Art has advanced into Sword Ancestral Art. New move acquired: Ancestral Sword.]
"Sword Ancestral Art: Ancestral Sword!"
"Second Move: Ancestor of Sword!"
Drake’s aura shifted violently. His stance changed—his sword hummed with ancestral power. He surged forward, striking Leo with divine precision.
Yet, even then, Leo held his ground, holding off the strikes with burning will.
Ancestral Art and Saint Art—two mighty paths clashing.
Their battle raged on for what seemed like eternity.
"User has one minute left," the Mecha System’s voice echoed again.
A countdown appeared on the screen before Leo. Gritting his teeth, he made a decision.
He opened the screen before him, revealing his face to the world—calm, scarred, resolute. His eyes locked onto Drake’s.
"Why don’t we end this... with one final move?"