Overheat.
Overflare.
On one side, the temperature kept rising.
On the other side, the air itself beca lighter.
Two Dragonkind stood face to face as the entire arena watched in anticipation. The excitent was through the roof. Everyone knew they were witnessing a battle between two of the strongest fighters in the tournant.
Drakar had beco more thoughtful about his actions. His mind was no longer clouded completely by anger. Across from him, Solreth stood calmly, almost as if he was inviting Drakar to attack first.
Drakar accepted that invitation.
He flew forward and swung his axe, constantly changing directions. He attacked from the left, then the right, then from above. He tried to keep Solreth guessing.
But Solreth remained calm.
Using both the blade and the shaft of his scythe, he repeatedly parried Drakar's attacks. His movents were minimal. He only moved when necessary, conserving every bit of energy.
"Burning Axe." Flas engulfed Drakar's weapon as he attacked again.
Solreth calmly stepped aside, avoiding the flas while continuing to defend himself. Drakar imdiately pushed forward, trying to find even the smallest opening.
"Sunflare Pulse."
A blinding burst of light exploded outward from Solreth.
The attack blasted Drakar away.
But before he could hit the ground, flas erupted from his wings.
"Inferno Wings."
His speed increased dramatically.
Like a blazing cot, he shot back toward Solreth.
"Burning Axe!"
Again and again, Drakar attacked from different directions. His speed kept increasing as he relentlessly pressured Solreth.
For the first ti, it beca clear that Solreth was being pushed.
He continued dodging and parrying, but Drakar was forcing him onto the defensive.
Then, as Drakar closed in once more, "Radiant Tyranny."
Light erupted from Solreth's entire body.
The blast tore through the battlefield, throwing Drakar away while chunks of the ground exploded apart. Dust filled the arena.
Yet Drakar did not stop.
The flas on his axe and wings burned even brighter than before.
Across from him, Solreth raised his scythe.
"Aurora Edge."
Condensed light extended the blade of his weapon, greatly increasing its reach.
This ti Solreth charged forward.
Drakar did the sa.
Clash after clash after clash.
Axe against scythe.
Fire against light.
The battlefield trembled from their exchanges.
Soon both Dragonkind took to the sky.
Their duel continued high above the arena.
"Fireball Barrage."
Drakar launched multiple fireballs, hoping to create an opening.
Solreth sliced through them effortlessly.
Then he counterattacked.
"Luminous Pierce."
Light condensed into a devastating thrust.
Drakar barely managed to dodge.
But Solreth had already prepared another attack.
"Radiant Reap."
A crescent-shaped wave of condensed light swept forward.
Direct hit.
The attack struck Drakar in the stomach and sent him crashing back to the ground.
Holding his stomach, Drakar struggled to stand.
anwhile, Solreth landed calmly nearby.
"What happened?" Solreth asked. "Weren't you going to prove wrong or sothing? Or are you just all talk?"
Drakar looked up.
"I won't give up until you're on the ground."
Solreth stared at him.
"Such hostility. Toward your own kind. You seem to have lived among humans for a long ti."
Drakar's eyes narrowed.
"Humans have nothing to do with this."
His voice grew colder.
"And you are the last person I want to hear talking about treating your own kind. You may be a hero to the world, but to you're nothing more than an ignorant, egoistic guy."
His grip tightened around his axe.
"I swear that I will defeat you. You should have eliminated when you had the chance."
Solreth remained silent.
He genuinely seed confused.
It was as if he didn't understand what Drakar was talking about.
anwhile, the audience was going wild. Everyone could feel the tension rising. The fact that the two Dragonkind were speaking to each other in the middle of such an intense fight only made the atmosphere heavier.
Drakar charged again.
"Magma Breaker!"
His axe slamd downward.
The ground erupted with magma.
Solreth barely avoided the attack.
"Magma Breaker!"
Again. And again.
Each strike was stronger than the last.
Solreth seed distracted now. Yet his years of experience continued carrying him through the battle.
"Lightspeed Harvest."
Multiple attacks ca from different directions at incredible speed.
Drakar escaped the first few strikes.
But eventually one landed.
Blood spilled from his shoulder.
The wound was deep.
Still, he refused to stop.
"Flawheel."
Spinning rapidly, Drakar created a vortex of fire around himself.
Even Solreth beca wary of this attack.
To counter it, "Prismatic Shift."
Light bent around Solreth's body, making him difficult to track.
Drakar continued attacking, believing he was hitting his target.
But every strike missed.
He realized the trick quickly.
Instead of relying on his eyes, he began swinging more unpredictably.
Solreth noticed what Drakar was trying to do.
"Daybreak Rupture."
Pillars of light erupted from the ground.
Drakar's balance was disrupted.
His vision beca unstable.
And the mont he could see again... Solreth was already in front of him.
"Radiant Reap."
The scythe cut diagonally across Drakar's torso.
Drakar staggered.
He was barely standing.
Blood covered much of his body.
Yet when he looked into Solreth's eyes, his determination remained unchanged.
"I will end this right now."
Solreth said nothing.
Light simply flared around him.
"Hell Splitter."
Dragonfire concentrated into Drakar's axe.
The weapon beca red-hot.
At the sa ti, Solreth prepared his own attack.
"Nova Burst."
The two attacks collided.
A deafening explosion followed.
Blinding light swallowed everything.
For nearly half a minute nobody could see.
Nobody could hear.
Only ringing silence remained.
When the light finally faded, the outco beca visible.
Solreth stood upright.
A deep cut stretched across his ribs.
Blood flowed from the wound.
On the other side, Drakar was covered in blood from head to toe.
He was on one knee.
Panting heavily.
Yet he was still trying to stand.
Looking at him, Solreth spoke with what almost sounded like pity.
"Give up already."
His voice was calm.
"Don't push yourself more than you need to. This tournant isn't worth going through such efforts."
He paused.
"And if this is about proving you're stronger than , then don't worry. We can fight another ti."
Drakar remained silent.
Slowly, he stood up.
His flas flickered weakly.
Then he spoke.
"If not now... then it will be never."
His voice trembled but remained firm.
"I won't be able to face myself if I don't show how wrong you are."
He tightened his grip on his axe.
"Which is exactly why I need to give my all to defeat you right now."
He shook his head.
"Tournant? Proving I'm stronger than you? Don't joke around."
His eyes locked onto Solreth.
"You probably don't rember at all. But I rember you very well."
Drakar coughed blood.
"If I don't prove you wrong here... I won't be able to show my face to my brother..."
He finished speaking and forced himself to remain standing.
His flas slowly began burning stronger again.
For a brief mont, Solreth's expression changed.
It beca unreadable.
He raised his scythe horizontally.
The crowd beca even louder.
Everyone expected the final clash.
Drakar prepared himself.
Then suddenly... Solreth dropped his scythe.
The weapon hit the ground.
And Solreth spoke loudly.
"I give up."
Silence.
Complete shock filled the arena.
Even Drakar couldn't process what he had just heard.
The referee stood frozen.
Then Solreth repeated himself.
"I give up."
Without another word, he turned around and began walking toward the exit.
Drakar finally snapped out of his shock.
"Stop kidding !"
He marched toward Solreth.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Fury filled his voice.
He grabbed Solreth and turned him around.
"Answer ."
His hands trembled.
"I refuse to accept this. Fight right now."
Solreth remained silent.
Drakar didn't know what to do.
He couldn't let this happen.
Before he could act further, Adrian rushed onto the battlefield and restrained him.
"Drakar."
Adrian held him firmly.
"I know you're furious."
"But he has surrendered. There is nothing you can do."
Drakar struggled.
"If you do sothing now, you won't be able to continue in the tournant."
Adrian looked directly at him.
"I know you don't want to hear this. But right now, you can't do anything."
Slowly, Drakar stopped resisting.
Then Solreth finally spoke.
"I fought your brother. And I defeated him."
Drakar's anger imdiately returned.
Fortunately, Adrian was still holding him back.
Solreth continued.
"When I fought him, it was just another easy fight for ." He paused. "But fighting you today was different."
There was silence for few second.
"I know you. And I know your brother. And I know what happened."
Drakar's expression changed.
Regret appeared on his face.
Solreth continued.
"But I have a feeling your brother doesn't know anything."
Drakar lowered his eyes.
"I guess we're both going to the dic room."
Solreth turned away.
"Bring your brother. I need to tell you sothing."
He began walking again.
Drakar had countless things he wanted to say.
Yet for so reason, none of those words ca out.
Soon both of them were taken to the dical room.
Before nearly fainting from exhaustion, Drakar told Adrian to bring Raedon.
Back in the arena, Ifa finally spoke.
His voice was much softer than usual.
"That ending was rather unexpected." He shook his head. "I simply have no words. After such a wonderful fight, this ending doesn't make any sense to ."
Shai waited for a mont before speaking. "Cheer up, everyone."
She smiled. "I'm sure Solreth had a reason for making that decision. Maybe the wound was deeper than it looked. We may never know."
She looked toward the battlefield. "But what I do know is that both fighters fought incredibly well."
She raised her voice.
"Co on, everyone. Let's cheer for the winner."
The crowd responded imdiately.
Cheers echoed throughout the arena.
Ifa nodded. "That's right."
He took a deep breath. "And with that, we have a major upset in this tournant."
His voice rose once again. "The Rising Heroes have defeated Eternal Wings and advanced to the next round!"
As the tournant continued, another story was about to begin.
Inside the dical room sat Drakar and Solreth.
Soon they were joined by mbers of both teams.
The Rising Heroes.
The Eternal Wings.
Adrian entered alongside Raedon.
Raedon tried to hide the worry on his face.
Behind him stood the mbers of Platinum Edge.
The atmosphere beca heavy.
Hearts pounded.
Everyone could feel it.
Sothing important was about to be revealed inside that room.
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