Inside the temple, Max found himself back in his pillar.
"Alright, now the battle from Group B will comnce," the blob of sli announced as Alia and Bruce appeared on the stage, surrounded by the pillars.
Max glanced at them, intrigued by their match. From what he had heard, Alia was known to be the strongest of the geniuses from the five guilds, excluding the Black Lotus guild, as not much was known about them.
Although he hadn't seen her fight, her reputation spoke for itself.
On the other hand, he didn't know anything about Bruce. Max was a complete stranger to him in terms of any knowledge. He had only t him briefly when Anton had wanted him to familiarize himself with the team entering the Temple of Divine.
On the stage, Alia glanced at Bruce, her expression calm. "Do your best."
Bruce took a deep breath and pulled out a spear. It was a long spear, red in color, with a pitch-black spearhead at the tip.
Pointing the spear at Alia, he said, "I will use my three strongest attacks against you, and if you are still not down after that, then I will accept my defeat." His voice was calm. It wasn't arrogance that led him to say those words, but rather an understanding that he didn't have a chance against her.
The Phoenix Order guild, Knights of Valor, and Lionheart Guild were on good terms with each other, especially Phoenix Order and Lionheart Guild. Because of this, the three guilds would often collaborate on dungeon raids and other activities.
During one of those missions, Bruce and Alia had been part of the sa team. It was during that ti that Bruce had seen her true strength for the first ti. That mont made him realize that he would, and could, never surpass Alia.
"Do your best," Alia repeated, also drawing a sword. She rested both hands on the hilt and waited for Bruce to make his move.
Bruce nodded firmly, gripping his spear with unwavering determination. Almost imdiately, a Level 3 Fla Aura erupted from his body, radiating waves of fiery energy that danced and flickered wildly in the air.
The fiery aura began to condense, flowing steadily toward the tip of his spear, coiling and intensifying like a predator preparing to strike. At first, the flas were faint, flickering with a soft orange glow. But as Bruce channeled more of his power, the intensity surged.
The flas at the tip of the spear grew fiercer, burning with a searing heat that turned from orange to a deep, nacing crimson. The sheer energy radiating from the weapon began to scorch his arms, leaving faint burn marks on his skin—a testant to the untad ferocity of his attack.
Finally, when the fiery aura reached its peak, the spearhead underwent a breathtaking transformation. The flas twisted and spiraled, forming a blazing tornado of fire, its sharp edges spinning outward with deadly precision.
The tornado of flas wasn't just destructive; it was alive, roaring with an otherworldly heat. Its aura was so intense that the stage beneath Bruce's feet began to warp and lt, pools of molten rock forming where the heat touched.
"Spear of Annihilation!" Bruce shouted, thrusting his spear at Alia.
"Spear of Annihilation? Really?" Max sighed, hearing him call out such a cliché na, considering he also had a move called "Blade of Annihilation."
There was so distance between Bruce and Alia, but the mont Bruce thrust his spear at her, it was as though he teleported right in front of her, leaving behind a trail of orange light.
The tornado of flas, swirling violently at the tip of his spear, hurtled toward Alia, its heat and destructive power palpable even from afar. Yet, to everyone's shock, Alia stood still. Not a single muscle moved as the devastating attack closed in on her.
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The top geniuses gasped as they witnessed this.
"What is she doing?" Jack the Mad Sword found himself perplexed by her actions—or rather, her lack of action.
"Maybe we'll see sothing special from these 'trashes of the East,'" Arthur Gale sneered, eager to witness the East making a fool of itself.
Only Crown Prince Aelric's expression seed solemn as he glanced at Alia with utmost seriousness.
Max also found himself questioning her actions. His eyes narrowed, his expression a mix of concern and intrigue.
'That attack is no joke,' he thought, his brows furrowing. 'A Level 3 Fla Aura condensed into a spear—it could incinerate anything in its path. Does she think she's untouchable?'
The fiery tornado closed the final gap between them, just a hand's distance away from her body. And then, sothing impossible happened.
The tornado froze.
Not literally—it didn't lose its heat—but it was as though an invisible wall had materialized between Alia and the attack. The flas churned and scread against the barrier, unable to move even an inch closer.
"No!" Bruce roared, veins bulging on his arms as he gripped the spear with all his might. He poured every ounce of strength he had into the attack, his aura blazing brighter. The arena groaned under the strain—the stone beneath their feet lted in so places and fractured in others, chunks of rock splintering away under the imnse heat and pressure.
But no matter how much force Bruce exerted, no matter how intense the flas or the montum of his thrust, the spear refused to advance. It was as though the attack had reached an unbreakable barrier.
"Move!" Bruce shouted, frustration turning his voice raw as he dug his heels into the lting stage. His flas flared with even greater ferocity, licking at the edges of his spear and scorching the air. Yet the distance between the tornado and Alia's calm, impassive face remained untouched.
Looking at Alia's calm and composed face as if it were nothing for her to block his attack like this, Bruce felt frustrated. "Damn it!" He withdrew his spear as the flas of the tornado at the tip of the spear dissipated completely.
He retreated slightly, raising his hand forward as flas began to condense atop his palm. Slowly, they transford into a sphere and began taking the shape of a lotus.
As Bruce prepared to launch his next attack, Max remained frozen in place, his mind replaying the mont when Alia had effortlessly stopped the devastating spear strike. His wide eyes betrayed the turmoil within.
'That feeling...' Max thought, his brows furrowing as the sensation resurfaced in his mory. It was faint yet undeniable—sothing he had encountered before.
And then, the realization struck him like a thunderbolt.
'The sensation Alia emitted when she blocked Bruce's attack—it's the sa feeling I got near the hidden chambers in the dungeons,' Max reflected, his thoughts spiraling deeper.
His breathing steadied as he pieced it together, the fragnted mories aligning with precision.
'I could sense the hidden chambers because of my Three Dinsional Body skill,' Max reasoned, recalling how that skill allowed him to perceive the subtle distortions of space and reality. 'But this ti, I didn't even activate the skill, and yet, I felt it... from her.'
Max's gaze fixed on Alia as he pondered the connection between the two cases.
'The hidden chambers in the dungeons were spaces detached from reality—a void, a realm outside the norm. What if...?' Max's heart pounded as the pieces clicked into place. 'What if Alia used sothing similar? To block Bruce's attack, she must have manipulated space—or even the void itself. That's why the attack never touched her. It didn't fail; it couldn't reach her.'
His thoughts surged with clarity, yet his chest tightened. This understanding didn't settle his mind; it provoked a storm within.
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