The first semi-final concluded as expected, with Lucifer delivering a decisive victory over Jin. Now, the stage was set for the second semi-final, and it was time for my battle against Ren Kagu.
A battle where holding back wasn't an option—Ren was too strong for that.
I climbed the steps to the stage, tuning out the crowd's excited murmurs and the weight of their expectant stares. Their focus didn't faze me. I had only one goal in mind.
As I reached the top, I glanced toward the VVIP box. There, seated among the world's most powerful figures, was Ren's father, his eyes locked onto the arena.
'So, he's watching this,' I thought to myself, my gaze shifting over to the other key figures.
My eyes found Li, and I gave him a slight nod, a silent acknowledgment of the training and guidance he'd provided. Then, my attention moved to Valerie as she stepped onto the stage to officiate the match. Both of them had taught me well, and now it was time to prove their faith in me wasn't misplaced.
I would do their teachings justice.
And I would do that by becoming the Sovereign.
Ren climbed the stage opposite me, his purple eyes gleaming with confidence. He had every right to be confident—after all, he had beaten me before, back in Nimran. But that was then.
The question now was, how much had the gap between us widened?
Valerie's voice rang out across the arena, cutting through my thoughts. "Let the second semi-final of the Sovereign's Tournament between Ren Kagu and Arthur Nightingale begin!"
The crowd's murmur fell into silence, the weight of the match settling on us. I unsheathed my sword, feeling the familiar hum of mana coursing through me, my senses sharpening. This was it—no holding back.
Ren's posture was relaxed, but I could see the subtle shift in his stance as he prepared himself. His purple eyes glinted, not with arrogance, but with the calm assurance of someone who had seen victory before and expected it again.
This time, though, things were going to be different.
Ren's lips twitched into a smirk. "Let's see how much you've improved, Arthur."
With that, he moved.
Ren was, by nature, talentless when it came to wielding weapons—an odd quirk of the Kagu family's lineage. But where he lacked in swordsmanship or spear arts, he was blessed in other ways that more than compensated.
He had mastered a Grade 6 unarmed martial art, had an extraordinary aptitude for fist techniques, and possessed one of the rarest Gifts in existence:
The challenge, though, was that space, time, and gravity magic, for all their incredible potential, had one critical limitation. At lower circles, they lacked the versatility of elements like fire or wind. These forces only truly revealed their terrifying power after the 7-circle stage. Until then, the spells were more specialized, and Ren's current prowess—while formidable—was still limited by this constraint.
Right now, Ren was charging toward me, using gravity magic to increase his speed. He manipulated the gravitational pull around him, counteracting the natural force that would pull him to the earth, making him faster and lighter.
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He was fast—very fast. His fists crackled with mana, gathering energy for a devastating blow. I could see the mana swirling in his arms, preparing to unleash the full force of his momentum against me.
But speed alone wouldn't be enough.
As Ren barreled toward me, I steadied my stance, channeling mana through my body and into my blade. I couldn't afford to meet his attack head-on without a plan. If I did, I'd be crushed under the weight of his magic-enhanced strike.
I tightened my grip on my sword, activating Lucent Harmony to boost my senses. I could see every detail—the slight shift in his muscles, the way the gravity magic twisted around his form, propelling him forward. Timing was everything.
Just as his fist was about to connect, I pivoted on my heel, using a small burst of wind magic to shift my body to the side. His punch sliced through the air where I had just been, and the ground beneath him cracked from the force of his blow.
"Too slow," I muttered as I slashed horizontally with my blade, aiming to catch him off balance.
Ren twisted his body mid-air, using gravity magic to alter his trajectory, narrowly avoiding the edge of my sword. His reflexes were just as sharp as I expected.
He landed lightly on the ground, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed my movements. He wasn't rattled—if anything, he was more focused now.
I couldn't afford to let him build momentum.
Just because
That was how I nearly defeated him the last time—by overwhelming him with sheer speed and unpredictable movements, making the advantage of
The reason I had lost that time wasn't just his skill; it was because my previous God Flash was too simple, too straightforward—a spell that he could anticipate with his Gift. It hadn't been refined into the high-level art it had now become.
Also, I hadn't been in the right mindset back then. The events at the temple had rattled me, and my focus had faltered.
Not this time.
I launched myself forward, fire erupting beneath my feet as I propelled myself toward him, my sword gleaming with lightning aura. Ren's eyes narrowed, his body tensing as he expected me to move into a stance for God Flash.
But he was wrong.
I smirked, directing my attention to the ground right in front of him. His eyes widened as he realized too late what was coming. I released a 5-circle spell, aiming it directly at the arena beneath us.
5-circle spell: Ice Arena.
A wave of frost surged across the battlefield, coating the ground in a thick sheet of ice. The temperature dropped rapidly, and a chill filled the air as the arena transformed into a frozen landscape. Ren clicked his tongue in frustration but didn't retreat. Instead, he launched himself toward me, his fist already glowing with mana.
His body moved with precision, faster than before.
This wasn't just any attack—it was his Grade 6 art: Void Fist, a technique that amplified the force of his punches by using gravity and spatial magic to compress the space around his fist, creating a devastating impact.
The first movement of Void Fist was Gravity Collapse—a punch that, upon contact, would collapse the gravitational force at the point of impact, dealing immense damage not just to the target but to the surrounding area. It could obliterate stone and shatter barriers in a single blow.
His fist came at me, the gravity magic swirling around it like a vortex, compressing the space as he aimed straight for my chest. But I wasn't about to let him hit me that easily. I used the ice beneath us to my advantage, sliding across the arena with enhanced speed, avoiding the punch by mere inches.
The ground where I had just stood exploded in a cloud of dust and ice shards, the force of his punch cracking the frozen arena beneath us. I could feel the pull of gravity warping the space around his attack, but I kept my distance, focusing on keeping the fight on my terms.
He grinned, recognizing that I had avoided his first movement. But Void Fist wasn't just about singular strikes. The second movement was called Gravity Crush, a rapid barrage of punches that compressed the air around each strike, creating shockwaves with every blow.
Ren charged again, his fists a blur as he unleashed Gravity Crush, each punch creating invisible pockets of compressed gravity that tore through the air. I weaved through the barrage, parrying the punches with my sword, each clash sending ripples through the ice beneath us.
He was faster, more aggressive than before. His movements were almost seamless, the gravity magic making every strike feel heavier, more oppressive. But I could see the rhythm of his attacks, the subtle patterns that made them predictable.
This was my chance.
As he threw another punch, I feinted left, then instantly pivoted right, using the slick surface of the ice to my advantage. In a flash, I activated God Flash, my sword gleaming with pure mana as I swung it at his exposed side.
This time, he couldn't read it.