"All your friends are gone. It's just you three left."
Kael's voice echoed through the battlefield, his smirk wide as he stood there with Liz. Around them, the players who had been knocked out had already disappeared, their points absorbed by Caius and the others.
Caius chuckled. "Those weaklings were just pawns. Their job was to show us what you two can do. Now that we know…" His golden eyes flickered. "This will be easy."
The battlefield rumbled underneath them, cracks webbing across the ground like splintered glass.
Kael scoffed. "Ah-ha! I knew your plan this whole time! And guess what? The tournament's almost over, and Liz and I have more points than you three. Plus…" He gestured behind him, a wave of shadowy figures emerging—a full army of undead warriors, their glowing eyes fixed on Caius, Vander, and Rowan.
"I already outnumber you with my soldiers," Kael finished, smug.
The three didn't look concerned.
Instead, they grinned.
Kael's smirk faltered. "Oh, I don't like that look on them, Sunshine," he muttered.
Then a flash of golden lightning tore across the air before Liz could reply.
CRACK!
The lightning tore through the undead in a single streaking arc, bouncing between their armor plates and rusted weapons like a chain reaction. The metal of their armor blazed red-hot, sparking with divine force, then broke into dust one after another.
In an instant, the entire horde was obliterated.
Kael stared at the empty space where his army once stood.
Caius grinned, raising his sparking spear. "And now we outnumber you."
From thin air, the three pulled out their weapons—Caius's golden spear, Vander's trident, and Rowan's twin-bladed axe. Each one pulsed with raw divine power.
Kael's eyes darted between them. "Hey, you can't use fancy weapons!"
"There's no rule saying we can't use our personal weapons," Vander smirked.
Kael huffed. "Well, joke's on you! I can just summon more soldiers—"
BOOM.
The gravity shifted.
Kael's knees buckled. His body slammed against the ground, crushed by an unseen force.
It was like having a mountain dropped on his back. His muscles screamed in protest. His breath caught in his throat.
His body refused to move. Orion had done something similar during training. But this?
He gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his neck. "Damn it—"
His eyes turned to Liz, who seemed absolutely unconcerned.
"Hey… Sunshine…" Kael gasped, barely able to lift his head. "How are you… not feeling this pressure?"
Liz smirked, arms crossed. "This is nothing. You're just weak."
Kael gritted his teeth.
His vision blurred from the strain. His bones creaked under the weight. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire.
But he wasn't going to break.
Not here.
Not now.
"This…" He growled, forcing one knee up. The pressure crushed him down again. His entire body trembled.
But he pushed harder.
"This is NOTHING!"
CRACK.
The ground beneath him split apart from the sheer force of his defiance.
Before he could stand completely—
Caius struck.
His spear swung downward, a whip of pure light coiling from its tip.
Kael barely had time to raise his short sword, but the moment their weapons connected—
Pain.
Searing, raw lightning ripped through his blade, surged through his arms, and set his body on fire from the inside out.
His nerves ignited.
His muscles locked up.
His vision went white-hot from the pain.
His bones trembled beneath the pure force of divine electricity, like if thousands of needles penetrating every inch of his flesh.
He barely managed to push Liz away before the next wave of pain hit him.
His scream tore through the battlefield.
It wasn't just pain.
It was destruction.
The world blurred. The audience watching fell silent.
Liz's breath hitched. "Caius, stop! Something's wrong!"
But they didn't listen.
Smoke rose from Kael's burned flesh. Blood started to poured out of his mouth, his nose, his eyes.
His vision spun as he struggled to stay conscious.
"Liz… is it supposed to… hurt this much?" His voice shook. "I— I can't feel my arm… I can't… move…"
"No," Liz whispered, panic creeping into her voice. "No, it's not supposed to! This place is enchanted! We're not supposed to be able to kill each other!"
Before Liz could say another word—
Vander lunged.
His trident speared through the air, striking Kael in the gut.
The impact sent Kael rocketing skyward, air ripped from his lungs.
He barely had time to react before—
Rowan appeared above him.
Axe raised.
Ready to cleave him in half.
Kael's instincts screamed.
Shadows erupted from his body.
They wrapped around him like armor, just in time.
Rowan's axe slammed against the shadow armor, but the force sent Kael plummeting toward the ground.
But at the last moment, Kael's shadows lashed out—
Grabbing Rowan's legs.
Rowan's eyes widened in shock as Kael spun in midair—using Rowan's own momentum against him.
Kael's shadows coiled around his arms, locking onto Rowan's body.
Then—
He twisted.
Spinning faster.
Rowan was whipped through the air like a ragdoll.
Kael drove his leg into Rowan's stomach with brutal force.
BOOM.
The impact sent Rowan CRASHING into the ground, cratering it beneath him.
The crowd gasped.
Rowan's body twitched—then went still.
Kael landed in a three-point stance, breathing heavily. His vision swam. His limbs throbbed with agony. But—
He smirked.
"One down."
A crack splintered across the sky.
Caius's eyes narrowed.
Vander charged forward, his trident raised—
"STOP, VANDER!" Caius's voice boomed.
Vander hesitated.
That second of hesitation was all Liz needed.
She appeared behind Vander, bow raised—
And slammed it against his head.
CRACK.
Vander crumpled.
Kael let out a raspy chuckle. "Ha. You used my secret technique."
"Shut up," Liz snapped. "Can you stand?"
"Yeah, yeah—"
Pain.
White-hot pain.
Something cold and sharp pierced through his back.
Liz screamed.
Caius's eyes widened in shock.
Kael's body locked up.
He looked down.
A dagger.
Dripping with his blood.
His vision started to fade, his breath stitching in his throat. He slowly turned his head.
Behind him appeared a man wearing a black cloak with frayed edges and a featureless mask.
Nothing. No eyes. No mouth. No face.
Just emptiness.
"Thank you for the blood, Son of Hades," the masked man whispered.
Then, he ripped the dagger free.
Kael collapsed forward, his body hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
His shadows flickered.
Then—
They vanished.
His fingers twitched.
His breath came in short, weak bursts.
His vision darkened.
His last thought before everything faded—
I can't die here…
Not yet…
And then, there was nothing.