Max's na lit up on one side, while another na on the opposite side began to scroll rapidly, flickering through countless possibilities. This ti, however, the randomization took noticeably longer, stretching on for a full and suspenseful minute, and the prolonged delay only served to heighten the tension within the packed colosseum, where thousands of eyes remained fixed on the glowing nas in the sky.
When the scrolling finally stopped and the matchup was revealed as Max versus Raymond, a wave of shock rippled through the entire Divine Colosseum.
Raymond was far from an ordinary contender, because his na alone carried weight and history within these walls. He had once won all ten of his battles before encountering the Grim Gladiator, and yet instead of fighting, he had chosen to accept defeat the mont he saw him.
That single decision had turned Raymond into a strange kind of legend, a man whose strength was unquestionable, yet whose actions sparked endless debate and speculation.
Since that day, Raymond had beco a celebrity within the Divine Colosseum, not just because of his flawless record, but because of the mystery surrounding his refusal to fight the Grim Gladiator.
Many could not understand how soone strong enough to win ten consecutive battles would surrender without even testing his strength, and that unanswered question had divided opinions sharply.
So respected him for recognizing an insurmountable gap and preserving his life, while others openly mocked him as a coward or a fraud, claiming that he lacked the courage to stand before the Grim Gladiator even once.
Now, as his na appeared opposite Max's, all those old argunts resurfaced at once, and the crowd realized that this battle was anything but ordinary.
"Max and Raymond, co to the arena," the announcer called out, and his voice carried across the Divine Colosseum with a weight that imdiately drew every eye toward the arena floor.
As Max began walking forward, the sa man from the previous day spoke up from behind him, "Be careful out there."
It was the man who had answered Max's questions earlier and shared a brief conversation with him afterward, and hearing that warning caused Max to narrow his eyes slightly as he stepped fully into the arena, his expression calm but his focus sharpening.
Soon, Max and Raymond stood face to face in the center of the arena, the atmosphere between them noticeably different from Max's previous battles.
Raymond appeared gentle on the surface, his features relaxed and a calm smile always hanging on his lips, giving him the look of soone who did not carry hostility even in battle. That very calmness, however, made him feel more dangerous, because it hinted at deep confidence rather than arrogance.
"Will you make the first move, or should I do the honor?" Raymond asked with that sa composed smile, his voice light as if he were speaking to a friend rather than an opponent.
"Please, do the honor," Max replied with a smile of his own, his posture relaxed yet alert.
"Very well," Raymond said softly, and in the next instant his body turned into a streak of golden light that shot straight toward Max, his sword flashing as it aid to cut cleanly toward Max's neck.
Max reacted imdiately, raising his hand to grab the incoming blade, but Raymond clearly anticipated this, because his form dissolved once more into a golden beam and reappeared to Max's left, his sword slashing toward him again with incredible speed.
Max moved as if he had eyes on the back of his head, his hand snapping toward the sword once more to seize it, and the mont his fingers closed around the blade, a sharp bang echoed through the arena as a small shockwave burst outward from the point of contact.
At that very mont, Raymond's figure split apart, forming a second identical body beside the first, and the clone lunged forward with its own sword, thrusting straight toward Max's neck without hesitation.
Faced with the sudden two pronged attack, Max calmly drew upon a fraction of power from the first of his Seven Divine Veins, the Vein of Origin, and lightly pressed down on the sword he was already holding.
The result was imdiate and terrifying, because the blade shattered into countless pieces with a booming sound, and the released force did not stop there. A violent shockwave erupted outward, sending both the original Raymond and his clone flying away through the air, their bodies hurled back as the arena trembled under the aftermath of that single controlled release of power.
As the shockwave faded, the clone Raymond dispersed into countless golden motes of light that scattered and vanished into the air, while the original Raymond reacted instantly by drawing out another sword and driving it into the arena floor, using it as an anchor to halt his backward montum.
When he finally steadied himself, the calm smile that had rested on his face earlier was gone, replaced by a solemn and focused expression, because that brief burst of energy from Max had sent both him and his clone flying without resistance.
In that instant, Raymond truly grasped how terrifying Max's power was, because he could not imagine what kind of strength could produce such a result with what seed like such casual control.
"Is that it?" Max asked with a relaxed smile, as if nothing significant had just happened.
Raymond also smiled, though there was now a strange certainty behind it. "Yes, that is enough. I have already won."
"What do you an?" Max asked, his smile fading slightly as a faint sense of unease crept into his mind.
"Just wait for a mont," Raymond replied calmly, his smile deepening as he watched Max closely.
Max frowned, trying to understand what Raymond was implying, and at that very mont, a sudden wave of weakness surged through his body without any warning.
It was abrupt and unnatural, and along with that weakness, Max could feel his vitality slowly draining away, as though sothing invisible was gnawing at his life force from within. His eyes narrowed as realization struck him, because there was only one explanation for such a sensation.
"A poison," Max realized silently, and in that instant he understood everything. The mont he had caught Raymond's sword earlier had been the mont the poison entered his body, which ant that Raymond's true intention had never been to test strength but to kill him from the very beginning.
"What is wrong?" Raymond sneered when he saw the weakness spread across Max's face, his eyes filled with mockery. "You look a little different now."
Max looked up at him and sneered in return, his gaze sharp and cold. "There is a death wish, and then there is building a ladder straight to death. It seems you chose both."
Golden light erupted from Max's body as he activated his Heavenly Luminance Royal Bloodline, bathing him in a radiant glow that carried an overwhelming sense of purity and authority.
The effect was imdiate, because the poison inside his body was completely erased within seconds, wiped out so thoroughly that it was as if it had never existed at all. The weakness vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared, and Max stood there once more, his presence stable and dominant.
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