As the fireball shot away from David, the audience held their breath.
Their gazes fell on Theo, who was completely boxed in.
But Theo didn’t move.
Not even a step.
Instead, he raised his umbrella.
Water surged forward instantly, forming a broad, spiked shield above him.
The fireball soared through the sky.
It climbed—
Then dropped straight down.
BOOM!
The fireball slamd into the water shield.
The surrounding earth walls shattered instantly, debris blasting outward in every direction.
A shockwave rippled across the arena.
Smoke, dust, and steam clouded the skies.
Silence fell throughout the entire arena.
For a mont... no one could see anything.
Then—
A faint silhouette appeared inside the smoke.
Theo walked forward calmly and completely unscathed.
The water shield was slowly sucked back around his umbrella, returning to its swirling motion.
’That one was quite strong,’ he thought, nodding slowly. ’But... nothing compared to things I’ve faced in the past.’
David’s eyes widened.
His arm was still extended, frozen in place.
"...No way," he muttered.
His gaze flickered over Theo again.
But there wasn’t any damage at all.
’’...I did everything perfectly,’’ he said under his breath. ’’Why is this happening?’’
Theo didn’t answer.
Without another word, he lunged forward.
The cracked ring lit up again, activating the earthen barrier one last ti.
But it didn’t matter.
The tip of his umbrella pierced into it.
Water surged forward in an instant, shattering the barrier completely.
Theo stepped in.
He pulled his umbrella back—
And swung his right fist forward.
CRACK!
David’s head snapped back as the punch connected cleanly with his nose.
He stumbled back, reaching up.
’’Fuck!’’ he cursed, forgetting all about his spells.
As he pressed his hand against his nose, blood started dripping through.
Theo didn’t move anymore.
He just stared at him.
David stood there, breathing heavily, his body trembling slightly.
For a mont—
No one said anything.
Then the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena.
"The match is—"
"No!" David shouted as loudly as he could, pointing at Theo. "This isn’t fair!"
The voice cut off imdiately.
Murmurs rapidly spread through the crowd.
So mocking David, while others were curious what he ant.
Even Theo couldn’t help but tilt his head.
"How so?"
"You never told you have a water affinity," he responded angrily. "I couldn’t prepare for it because of that!"
Theo fell silent.
He just stared at David for a mont.
Then—
He let out a chuckle.
Shaking his head, his chuckle slowly grew into full-on laughter.
"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard," he said, wiping away a tear.
"Stop laughing!" David shouted, his voice high.
"Prepared?" Theo repeated to himself. "You want to prepare yourself for a fight?"
He paused, locking eyes with David.
’’...What, did you expect to hand you a list of everything I can do beforehand?’’
David’s expression stiffened.
At the sa ti, Theo’s smile faded slightly.
’’You really have no idea, do you,’’ he said quietly. ’’I guess that’s to be expected from so sheltered kid like you.’’
Everyone fell silent for a mont.
Even David couldn’t respond.
He just stood there, breathing heavily.
Then—
The announcer’s voice echoed again.
"The match is over."
He paused for a second.
"Winner... Theo Lane."
The crowd only remained silent for a few seconds.
Then, they erupted.
Cheering, laughter, and whistles echoed wildly through the arena.
’’All that equipnt, for what?’’
’’That wasn’t even a close fight!"’
’’I’m surprised they didn’t stop it sooner.’’
David just stood there.
Blood dripping from his nose, staining the ground beneath him.
His sword slipped from his hands as they fell to his side.
Clang!
But he didn’t even look at it.
His gaze remained on Theo, though his eyes slowly grew empty.
Theo simply turned around.
He quietly put the umbrella on his back and walked out of the arena.
Up in the stands, Owen laughed loudly.
’’Nice,’’ he said, between laughter. ’’He really did a number on him again.’’
Iris didn’t say anything.
Her eyes were still locked on where Theo had just been.
She wasn’t the only one.
People all over the normal stands and VIP section stared at him.
Whether they were scouts, other competitors, or even influential people—everyone took note of his na.
At the sa ti, the atmosphere at one particular table had completely shifted.
Victor’s expression had darkened.
He glanced around the arena, eting Leoric’s gaze within seconds.
The man was already looking straight at him, completely still, as if he had been waiting for it.
Victor’s jaw tightened as their eyes locked.
His fingers dug into the tal armrests, the steel bending under his grip.
"I should’ve crushed those fuckers a long ti ago," he muttered through gritted teeth, "before they ever had the guts to try sothing like this."
He understood the situation perfectly.
There would be no changing the outco here.
Not with the military here and this many people watching him.
The redness in his face slowly dissipated, his expression turning cold instead.
He glanced down at the arena, locking onto David.
"Pathetic."
Without another word, he looked away again.
He raised a hand.
’’Get him off the field.’’
One of the n behind him moved imdiately.
Down in the arena, a pair of staff mbers already rushed forward.
They hesitated for a mont before approaching David.
Yet... he only glanced up.
David looked at the audience, his eyes wide as they cheered for his loss.
Finally, he lowered his head again.
As Theo stepped out of the arena, the arena’s noises faded behind him.
He let out a quiet breath and closed his eyes for a mont.
’Good,’ he thought. ’It was as easy as expected.’
Everything had gone according to plan so far.
Now, there was only one part left to do.
’I need him to actually sign the contract stating my father’s freedom.’
But there was no way Victor could deny that.
Not with all these people here.
Theo wanted to smile, but found he couldn’t.
The uneasy feeling in his chest hadn’t disappeared yet.
On the contrary, it had only increased.
’Can I really fight out the rest of the competition peacefully?’
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