After Tyler killed himself, the entire space seemed to go silent for a moment.
Ascil stood there, feeling the strange energy dissipate in the air.
Then, from the sky, a sound echoed down — the sound of the system.
[Announcement]: Winner confirmed. Player Ascil is allowed to advance to the next round.
[Reward]: Blessing Points +1 | Status: Miracle - temporary.
Ascil let out a long breath, loosening his grip on the hilt of Muramasa. The sword gradually faded, returning to its dormant state in its own space.
In the middle of the arena, a circular portal of light slowly appeared, emitting waves of floating blue energy.
Ascil looked at it for a while, his eyes complicated. Even though he had won, he did not feel joy.
The emotions in his heart were like calm water, only the echoes of the battle just now and the strange feeling of interfering with the fate of another life remained.
He walked slowly towards the gate, the small clacking sound of his shoes echoed throughout the silent arena.
And when he placed his hand on the stream of light, once again, Ascil's body was sucked into the portal, disappearing from that ancient Roman arena.
Scene change — a few hours ago, in another arena.
The sky here was covered with dark clouds, the dim light was only enough to illuminate the sharp cliffs surrounding it.
The wind howled coldly, the sound of metal hitting rock echoed everywhere like a silent challenge.
In the middle of the arena, two figures faced each other:
Akira — a white-haired girl, slender but exuding a chillingly cold aura.
The tight black combat outfit accentuated her supple but strong body.
Her eyes were like two sharp knives, silently observing the opponent, her hand holding a long, slender sword that emitted a cold light.
Asta — a giant warrior, shirtless, his body as solid as a bronze statue.
His hand swung a greatsword that was 10 meters long, thick, heavy and rough, the sword body was engraved with ancient patterns that emitted a gloomy aura.
Asta smirked, his eyes as if he saw a small prey:
Asta:
"A weak girl like this dares to fight me?!"
"I will crush you with just one slash of my sword!"
Akira didn't say a word, just tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword and charged forward like a bolt of lightning.
A cold, straight sword strike like a bolt of lightning, aimed straight at Asta's heart — the opening strike was as cold and precise as her killing instinct.
(Akira silently calculated in her mind)
"This guy has a big body, definitely slow. Finish him off quickly."
Asta saw Akira charging forward, the corners of his mouth curled into an arrogant smile.
He didn't dodge, nor did he bother to defend — as if he wanted her to stab him straight in.
Just as the tip of the sword was about to touch his flesh — Boom!
Asta's giant body suddenly spun around at an unimaginable speed, the strong wind from the sweeping muscles made the entire ground tremble.
A terrifying horizontal sword swing, as if wanting to tear the entire arena in half, charged straight towards Akira!
Akira immediately jumped up, dodging the attack by reflex.
But — it was too late.
Asta was already right in front of her with a speed that was unimaginable for such a massive figure.
"Damn it!" Akira gritted her teeth, eyes widening as she saw the greatsword drawing an arc of death right under her feet.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion rang out as the blade swept across the ground — the power of that slash was enough to cut the surface of a planet in half!
But fortunately, the arena here was an impregnable place, created by the gods with substances that transcended the laws of physics — indestructible, no matter how great the power.
Akira was sent flying by the shockwave, rolling several times on the cold stone floor.
Pain shot up her spine, but she quickly got up, her hand gripping the sword tightly, her eyes shining.
Asta slammed his greatsword down on the arena floor, making a dull "rumble".
He sighed as if he was deeply disappointed, then glanced at Akira with contempt:
"Sigh... I thought there would be an interesting opponent here."
"Who would have thought I'd have to fight a little girl who hasn't even dried her milk yet."
His voice was deep, mixed with obvious mockery and contempt.
The faint laughter echoed throughout the empty arena, as if rubbing salt into Akira's pride.
Akira gripped the hilt of her sword so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
A spark of anger flashed in her eyes — but it wasn't a stupid outburst of anger.
Akira shouted angrily, her scream piercing the heavy air of the arena:
"Burn — Salamander Roughing Fire!!"
Immediately, a stream of crimson flames erupted from beneath her feet, like a volcano erupting.
The flames wrapped around Akira's body, transforming into a blazing battle armor.
The armor had a sharp design, with rough armor panels like dragon scales,
on the shoulders stood out two dragon-shaped heat-dissipating fins that were emitting hot smoke.
The eyes of the armor emitted a crimson light — she looked like an embodiment of war from the future.
Akira roared amid the wind and the roar of the flames:
"By the power of the Phoenix Esbadia, I command you — Burn the living thing before me!"
As soon as the command ended, the Salamander Roughing Fire armor responded.
From the two heatsinks on her back, superheated plasma cannons opened,
aiming straight at Asta.
BOOM!!
Sparks of crimson fire — plasma columns with temperatures approaching infinity,
shot out like thousands of spears of light, piercing the atmosphere.
Any matter in the universe, be it steel, diamond, or condensed energy,
if it touched it, would melt like ice under the sun.
The entire arena shook.
The light from the blast was so strong that it dyed the space red.
The pressure and temperature around Akira warped space, as if reality itself was screaming at that power.
Asta frowned, his face no longer full of mockery.
He quickly raised his greatsword to block in front of him — but every inch of metal on the sword was red-hot, rotting, and then shattering into ashes under the terrible heat.
Amidst the burning plasma, a giant black shadow still stood firm.
Asta... still hadn't fallen.
He grinned, his eyes blazing with mad excitement:
"That's right... This is what fighting is all about!"
Amidst the raging flames,
Asta let out a deep roar, his entire body's muscles bulging, each vein shining like red-hot metal.
"I'll crush you, brat!!"
BOOM!
He swung his greatsword down like thunder again — but this time, the speed was much faster than before.
The air split into layers of pressure waves.
If a slash hit, Akira would definitely be crushed into ashes.
But she was no longer the Akira of a few minutes ago.
With the Roughing Fire armor operating at full capacity, her reflexes and physical strength had far surpassed the limits of humans.
The moment the giant blade tore through the wind,
Akira leaned to dodge like a leaf in a storm.
The blade passed just a few centimeters away from her.
Using that momentum, she spun behind Asta — a smooth movement like a combat dancer,
throwing both feet into his solid bare back.
"Bang!!"
A powerful kick from the power-enhanced armor,
putting a whole mass of superheated energy into the kick.
Asta, who was as huge as a fortress,
was sent flying like a live bullet,
hitting the arena wall with a terrifying explosion.
The stone wall cracked, dust flying into the sky.
Akira lowered himself, his fighting stance still ready, his eyes cold as ice:
"Don't look down on women, you blockhead."
Asta slowly stood up from the rubble.
His huge body was unscathed.
He patted the dust off his shoulders, his cold eyes glancing at Akira who was preparing for defense.
"You want to show off your face just because you're scratching an itch, brat?"
"I'll grind your bones into powder!"
After an angry roar,
Asta charged forward — like a living cannonball.
Each of his slashes tore through space,
each swing of his greatsword seemed to bend the surrounding air.
Akira mustered all her strength to dodge,
but with each successive blow,
Asta's speed became faster and faster —
So fast that the naked eye could barely keep up.
With each dodge, the distance between the blade and her body shortened.
Just a little more... just one small mistake...
She would be cut in half.
Akira gritted her teeth, cold sweat running down her temples.
She felt the terrible pressure from Asta crushing the atmosphere,
pushing her body to its limits.
The Roughing Fire armor began to give off warnings:
"Warning: Thermal core is increasing beyond the allowable level. Evasion efficiency is decreasing."
As the arena shook violently under Asta's every step,
Akira made a decision:
"Can't dodge forever... I have to bet everything on this one strike!"
The Roughing Fire armor responded immediately,
a mechanical voice rang out in her head:
"Confirm: Activate self-destruct mode."
"All core energy will be concentrated into a single shot. Continue?"
Akira gritted her teeth,
looking straight at the giant swinging the greatsword charging towards her like a nightmare.
"Continue!" — she shouted.
In an instant, the entire armor shrank —
the fire wings, the arm guards, the leg guards — all were absorbed into the core.
A purple light flared up brightly,
then shrank into a small fist-sized sphere that hovered right in front of the gun barrel integrated in Akira's hand.
That sphere of light contained all the heat, kinetic energy, plasma energy —
a miniature star that was screaming with death.
Akira aimed straight at Asta — who was now only a few dozen meters away from her.
"BOOM!!"
"- DESTROY EVERYTHING - DRAGON FIRE OF THE PHOENIX -"
The purple beam exploded,
tearing through space like a divine lightning bolt,
rushing straight towards Asta with a terrifying screech.
The air melted, the ground was burned to ashes right in the path of the beam of light.
Asta only had time to raise his greatsword to block.
But before that destructive power that exceeded the limits of physics —
both he and the giant sword were swallowed up.
The entire arena was lit up as if in the middle of a reverse eclipse.
In the clearing dust, where Akira was sure he had won,
Asta — the giant with the greatsword —
calmly walked out of the ruins,
without a scratch, without a single blemish.
His eyes shone with a chilling calmness.
He smirked, his voice echoing throughout the arena:
"Do you know what luck really is?
Do you think it's just a small emotion, a game of fate when things go well for humans?
But for us, those with the Vortex bloodline,
'Luck' is not an emotion — it's a power."
Asta paused, raising the giant sword to his shoulder as if there was no pressure, then continued:
"We —
can manipulate luck as we wish.
Any of your sure-kill attacks, any of your sure-hit shots...
All of them... will turn to zero."
Akira's eyes widened, his fists clenched.
In that moment, she remembered —
the flash of light as strong as the Big Bang, the heat that destroyed everything, the shot that shattered all boundaries —
all of it...
was... bent and nullified by his 'luck'.
Asta walked slowly, the greatsword hanging on his shoulder like a scythe of the god of death.
He looked at Akira — a small figure in the midst of the devastated battlefield,
his voice was deep and cold, chilling:
"Goodbye... little girl."
Without a moment of hesitation —
He swung his greatsword.
A slash tore through space.
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Akira...didn't have time to dodge.
A sound of wind tearing apart rang out —
A streak of blood painted across the air like ink on a white background.
Her body…
was split in two.
She fell.
Her eyes were still open —
still holding a trace of surprise, a trace of regret, and a trace of pride.
She had fought to the very end — without regret.
Asta looked down, his eyes without a trace of pity.
He quietly turned away.
No triumph, no declaration of victory.
Just a step away from the arena —
as if the recent death was not worth remembering.