The tension in the Grand Coliseum was suffocating. The crowd, which had been cheering moments ago, had gone eerily silent. A different kind of energy filled the battlefield—one of fear and uncertainty.

Rion and his team stood ready, but something was deeply wrong.

Opposite them stood Team Dragon—one of the tournament’s most powerful contenders. Yet Rion barely registered the other members. His focus was locked on their leader.

Silf.

The long-lost sister he had believed dead.

Her silver hair fluttered in the cold wind, but her eyes—once warm and kind—were empty. Dark energy pulsed around her, crackling with the force of an unnatural power. It twisted and coiled around her body like living shadows, suffocating the air around her.

This wasn’t the Silf he had known.

A terrible realization struck him like a dagger to the chest.

“She’s been… infused,” Celestia whispered, horrified.

Dragon-emotion infusion. A forbidden technique used by the Shrine of Lightning—a group known for their ruthless experiments on dragon-blooded warriors. It overloaded the mind, consuming the user’s emotions, leaving behind nothing but raw power and control.

Rion’s fists clenched.

Was this fate’s cruelty? To find his sister again… only to be forced to fight her?

The announcer’s voice shattered the silence.

“First Match: 1v1! Rion versus Silf!”

The words slammed into him.

A fight to the death? Against his own sister?

His legs felt like stone. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

But he had no choice.

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With heavy steps, he walked forward.

Silf did not react. She simply stood still, her gaze locked onto him—empty, unfeeling.

And then…

The battle began.

RION VS. SILF – THE CLASH OF FLAMES AND LIGHTNING

Rion’s body exploded with motion.

In a heartbeat, he unleashed his Infernal Incite Arts, his body surrounded by swirling black and red flames—heat waves distorting the air around him.

He rushed forward, fists igniting like twin meteors.

“If you can hear me, Silf—wake up!” Rion roared, throwing a devastating flame-coated punch at her.

And then…

His flames vanished.

Rion’s eyes widened in shock. The infernal energy he had gathered—gone, erased as if it had never existed.

Silf hadn’t moved.

She had simply willed his power away.

“What…?” Rion gasped.

A sudden wave of suffocating pressure crushed him, forcing him to his knees. It was then he realized—Silf’s ability wasn’t just powerful… it was absolute.

She could cancel incite arts entirely.

Rion was powerless.

The battlefield blurred. His vision spun. His heart pounded.

Panic surged through his body.

The helplessness, the fear—it wrapped around his throat like a noose. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move.

Memories of the past flooded in.

The nights spent searching for her.

The pain of believing she was gone.

The hope that one day he’d find her.

And now?

She stood before him, but not as his sister.

As his executioner.

Silf moved in an instant.

Before Rion could react, her hand struck his chest with the force of a thunderstorm. His entire body convulsed as arcs of black lightning tore through him. Pain erupted from every nerve.

The last thing he saw was her cold, emotionless stare.

Then—darkness.

“Winner: Silf!”

The Grand Coliseum was silent.

Rion had lost.

DESPAIR AND DETERMINATION

Rion woke to the dim glow of lanterns. His body ached, his breathing was ragged, and his mind felt shattered.

He was in the infirmary.

Weak. Defeated.

His fists clenched against the sheets.

“I lost…”

The words felt like poison on his tongue.

His sister had crushed him like he was nothing.

No—not just him. The next battle had been even worse.

Celestia and Rose had fought bravely, but Team Dragon’s overwhelming strength had crushed them, too.

They lost the match.

The reality hit like a hammer.

They were out of the tournament.

Unless…

Rion’s eyes snapped open.

The elimination rounds.

It was their last chance.

And this time—he would not fail.