The monarchs and leaders of each country arrived in the Colosseum as quickly as possible. They took their seats and waited while engaging in debate. To them, the threat of the Higher Races was on par with the City-Eater. In the past, the so-called lesser races were far stronger than the current ones and the population numbers were probably triple the amount they were now. In addition, King Dietrich united the entire continent and became a force that could rival the Higher Races whose total numbers were less than 100,000. That isn’t to say that they were equal to them, it’s just that if they went to war both sides would suffer incredible losses, which was a great deterrent.

“Do you think Ira would be able to handle it?” Cyprian Aurell asked aloud. When he was informed of what happened, he immediately rushed over to the Colosseum.

“If what he showed so far is the full extent of his ability then probably not.” An Old man with a wise countenance said.

“I have faith in the Keeper.” Sylun interjected. The Dark Elves with her agreed with declarations of faith and praise for Ira.

“...Yes, well I’ve heard of his prowess for quite some time. I have to admit it’s incredible, he’s grown to this point in a little less than a year.” King Windsor added. Ira’s status was currently too much for him to ignore. The Dark Elves, Valkyries, and even the Higher Races wanted him. Any thoughts of directly investigating Ira's relation to it began to fade. It would be best to do something covertly, if Ira left the Grentian Kingdom it would be a great loss.

“What?” The Elven Clan Leader questioned in disbelief, like many others in the room.

“It’s true...When he was discovered by Avery Thynne he had a grade B combat rating.” An advisor from the King’s Side chirped.

“...The Keeper is truly amazing.” Saren spoke.

…

Ira looked at the grey clouds above him while his nose twitched. “Smells like rain.” He muttered.

“Be cautious of her Ira, it won't be an easy fight.” Avery said.

“Yeah, yeah. At least I get a chance to show you some of my abilities.” Ira said with a casual shrug.

They walked to the Colosseum’s entrance before a familiar masked woman came walking toward them.

“Rhys.” Ira greeted.

Rhys ignored him and quickly took out her notepad, [Is it true?]

“Yup.” Ira nodded.

Rhys paused for a few moments as she tried to figure out what to write next. One of the reasons she hated being mute was due to the fact that she couldn’t say what she pleased. Writing responses caused her to feel as if she was moving in a linear manner and even emotions couldn’t be properly communicated.

Rhys thought of all the things she could say, but in the end she wrote, [Good luck.]

“Thanks.” Ira responded.

Rhys remained standing in his way so they remained where they were.

“Uh…” Ira poked her mask. “Can I get by?” He asked with a laugh.

Rhys squeezed the edges of her notepad before she stepped to the side.

"Thanks." Ira smiled as he continued heading toward the Colosseum.

Avery stopped in front of Rhys and spoke, “If anything goes wrong be prepared to act.” She said plainly.

Rhys gave an empty nod while Avery continued walking. Rhys looked at the sky again while feeling the spot on her mask Ira poked. After several seconds of quiet contemplation, she moved toward the Colosseum.

…

Ira made his way into the Colosseum which looked vastly different without thousands of people sitting in the stands. Avery took a seat in the stands instead of with the leaders of other countries. If something were to happen she would be able to react quicker from the stands rather than a private booth.

Ira removed his jacket and boots before storing them away. It was likely that they would be ruined if he were to fight with Thessia and he preferred to avoid such an outcome.

“You came quicker than I anticipated.” Lyra voice was transmitted throughout the Colosseum. With Gicae’s abilities it was easy to enhance the sound of her voice.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry to get home.” Ira said as he rotated his shoulders.

Thessia jumped out of the booth and landed in the arena causing sand to fly into the air.

“We’ll form a protective barrier to prevent any backlash.” Lyra said from the booth.

Right after she finished speaking, droplets of water began to coalesce into a thin film covering the entire arena. After the water barrier was set, several orbs of psychic energy spread over it and formed a translucent net that reinforced the water barrier.

“It’s done.” Lyra stated.

Ira nodded before he looked at Thessia who left several openings in her stance. She looked at the sword on Ira’s waist and shook her head.

“Is that a normal sword?” She asked.

Ira looked at his sword and chuckled, “Not really...Between me and you, it’s made from my brother’s dead body.”

Thessia raised an eyebrow before she spoke, “Our group has reached a point where most weapons are useless. With the exception of the Valkyries as they can wield just about anything. It looks like you have yet to reach that point.”

“Yeah...Please keep that line of thought, I might be able to get a few lucky hits before you realize what I can do.” Ira said.

Without another word, a layer of metal traveled over his skin and covered his entire body. The only feature of his that was visible was his bright yellow eyes. Crooked metal teeth decorated the outside of his face and resembled a warped smile. He placed a hand on the handle of his sword as the grains of sand around him began to float.

Thessia looked surprised at Ira’s transformation as it was her first time seeing anyone like him. Crystalline scales materialized from Thessia’s skin while her eyes became more reptilian. The temperature inside the barrier even began to increase.

“...What are you?” Thessia couldn’t help but ask.

Ira gave a distorted and garbled laugh before he suddenly drew his sword. An immense amount of kinetic energy surged and crashed into Thessia, sending her stumbling back a few feet. When the sand cleared, there were a few large scratches on Thessia’s scales.

“That’s a shame.” Ira's twisted voice rang out. Using too many Kinetic attacks would drain him too quickly, so he stored his sword away when he saw they had little to no effect on Thessia.

Ira lowered his posture before he lunged across the arena, in less than a few seconds he was in front of Thessia. He threw a punch but Thessia raised her hand to catch it. When the two met, a loud shockwave caused the water barrier to lightly ripple. Thessia held a firm grip on his hand and prevented him from pulling it back so he swung with his freehand and she caught it, causing another loud shockwave.

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“You’re strong.” Thessia praised before she took a deep breath. When she exhaled a ferocious stream of flame burst out of her mouth. Ira raised both his feet and kicked Thessia in the chest while altering gravity, increasing the force tremendously. Thessia released Ira and went gliding backward while remaining grounded, causing her to leave a trail in the sand.

Ira was lucky to avoid the flames, the fire breath of an Ancient Dragon could liquefy most metals in a few seconds. Since Thessia was a descendant of the First-Flame, her breath was far more destructive.

Thessia seemed to be angry as she literally began to breathe fire. Her claws began to sharpen and her scales grew thicker. She raised her foot and stomped which sent a tremor through the entire arena. She pounced toward Ira and waved her claws, but he teleported behind her and kicked her even harder than before, sending her plummeting into the ground. He didn’t waste his chance as he placed a knee on her back and increased the gravity around him to its limits before he began to relentlessly punch her in the back.

Every time his fists made contact deafening shocks traveled throughout the arena. He was using all of his strength in addition to the increased gravity.

Thessia struggled to stand under the assault and began to roar, she opened her mouth and spat out a massive fireball that engulfed both of them. Ira flew backward into the arena wall while Thessia stood up. Scales dropped from her body and fell to the ground with a sound similar to broken glass which increased her rage. The temperature in the arena increased greatly to the point where the water barrier boiled.

Ira pulled himself out of the wall and began to channel the lunar force of the Red Moon causing his eyes to turn a vibrant red. Claws formed on the tips of his finger, but they weren’t as prominent as Thessia’s.

A pair of large horns sprouted from Thessia’s head as she took heavy steps forward. Ira teleported once again, but her senses were that of a dragon were on par with his own when he reappeared, her hand had already wrapped around his throat and lifted him into the air. Ira raised his hand and thrust it straight toward her chest, piercing in between the broken scales. Thessia tightened the grip on his neck while roaring in pain.

A flame appeared in the back of Thessia’s throat and when she attempted to spit out, Ira’s used his hand to cover her mouth. Pressure began to fill up as the trapped flame had nowhere to go, but luckily for Thessia, Ira’s hand gave way first. Black mist covered his body as he was blanketed in a pillar of flame. Thessia finished her Dragon’s Breath before she raised her hand and clawed at Ira’s chest, sending him crashing into the ground.

Thick grey smoke emerged from Ira’s body, but eventually, the smoke cleared and revealed his figure completely. He was missing an arm and in addition, half of the metal covering his body had melted exposing incinerated flesh, including half of his face.

…

“That should be enough, I’ll heal go him.” Ustia said as she nodded. In her opinion, Ira’s performance up until that point made her understand why the Thynne Family paid some much attention to him.

“Wait.” Gicae said ominously.

Lyra also showed a strange look as she didn’t look to Ira but rather to Avery who didn’t rush to Ira’s side just yet. She then returned her gaze to Ira who began to slightly move.

“Something’s not right.” Kevser said. “If he’s still conscious then he should be in complete agony.”

A faint black mist began to gather around Ira’s body as he crawled to his feet.

Ustia, Myr, and Lua stared at him with a hint of fear in their eyes. The Black Mist was a feature related to the Black Forest they had seen. Its effects were incomprehensible and were even more terrifying than the Storm Wall. It’s just that the Black Forest was very small in scale compared to the huge storm border circling the world.

…

Rather than suspecting Ira was dead, the booth holding the leaders of each nation was quiet due to his strength. It was nothing like what he showed in his previous fight while in the Colosseum.

Cyprian was the most shocked as he thought that he was near Ira’s level in terms of ability. Those aligned to the House of Swords were inwardly grateful toward Ira. If he had shown his current abilities in the fight with Cyprian, their prestige would’ve dropped significantly. If Cyprian could survive a few hits from Ira when he wasn’t holding back, then it would be considered a miracle, but that was currently impossible for him.

“He’s incredibly strong, but that Dragon didn’t seem to suffer much.” High Chancellor Orlov said grimly.

Every time Ira was brought up, he seemed to become more and more of a danger to everyone else. There were three ideal outcomes for Ira, one was maintaining an aloof stance similar to the Valkyries. The other was enticing him with benefits so that he leaves the Grenitian Kingdom. The last was Ira accidentally dying in his fight with Ancient Dragon. All three weren’t very likely to happen and the only hope of Ira leaving the Grenitian Kingdom lied with the Elves.

“I have faith in the Keeper...Even if he loses it won’t be an easy win for the other side.” Sylun said, her glowing red eyes flashed with admiration. Actually, on the Dark Elves side, there were many pairs of glowing red eyes which looked completely ominous.

Oswald was also present, watching the events proceed with a strange look in his eyes. Lowell’s plans for the Grenitian Kingdom were still going to be carried out, it’s just that he was in charge of overseeing them. He inwardly labeled Ira as someone to avoid provoking, but based on his behavior during the Summit, he had no direct interest in the political landscape.

“Is it over?” King Windsor asked with a satisfied tone. “I know he can regenerate from burn wounds but isn’t his current state a little too much.”

“As long as I can feel the influence of the Red Moon it isn’t finished,” Sylun said. She watched black mist gather around Ira and nodded, “See.”

…

Ira planted his arm on the ground as he struggled to his feet. Black Mist spilled out of his body as his limbs grew back and his wounds healed. A fresh layer of metal covered his body once again as he finally stood up. He laughed a few times before he focused on Thessia who gave a threatening growl as soon as their eyes met.

Ira slowly began to walk toward Thessia before his pace gradually sped up. He quickly broke out into a full sprint that was so powerful the walls of the arena began to crack. With each step, Ira would teleport several times in an erratic pattern. Overdrawing his void related abilities would cause some recoil to his body, but he would be able to recover.

Thessia didn’t stay still and began to prepare to intercept him. Her internal body temperature had risen so high that the sand under her feet began to crystallize while bright flames danced around her body.

Ira appeared in front of her in no time at all and threw the first blow. As Thessia raised her arms to block she was dumbfounded by the sheer amount of force that traveled through her body. Before she could move, Ira appeared and hit her again, while still being visible in front of her. It was an impossible sight to witness and hard to comprehend for most. Ira was teleporting between two places so rapidly that it appeared to be two of him. Only Thessia’s eyes could catch the slight flicker between each afterimage.

As Thessia fell forward, Ira locked his fingers together and drew his arm back with the intention of impaling her with it. It looked as if he was moving slowly due to the air around his arm rippling violently. Thessia’s right arm began to swell as the flame around her converged toward them. At the exact moment, the flames closed in, Ira’s arm shot toward her chest.

The area inside the barrier exploded with massive amounts of energy and the water barrier shattered before the psychic barrier cracked. A small quake ran through the Colosseum and the traveled throughout the Free City. The deafening sound of an explosion erupted from the Colosseum interrupting the activities going in the Free City as all eyes converged toward the source.

The air cleared once again and it showed the clear winner. Ira was being pressed down by a huge dragon’s claw while unconscious. The metal covering his body had crumbled away revealing a bloodied body.

Thessia, on the other hand, was kneeling, her right arm had turned into a massive dragon’s claw that caused her body to be dwarfed in comparison. Her humanoid form had temporarily come undone during the fight and a portion of her full prowess was released. A deep gash had appeared in the center of her chest, slightly exposing her beating heart while spilling blood into the sand. If she was a few seconds behind in her transformation Ira would’ve pierced her heart. Although it wouldn’t have been fatal due to her regeneration, it would’ve damaged her immensely.

The Colosseum had visible damage in its foundations and would have to undergo multiple repairs before it could be used again. It wasn’t built to withstand fights like the one between Ira and Thessia, but no one would dare complain to them.

A doorway appeared in the center of the arena and Lyra’s group walked out.

“He’s far stronger than I originally thought...” Lyra said as she looked at Ira’s body. The abilities he showed were out of her expectations. In fact, no one like Ira had ever existed before.

“My body instinctively reverted to this form due to the danger,” Thessia said as her giant arm shrunk back to its original size. The wound on her chest began to mend itself incredibly fast. She wobbled a few times before she stood up before coughing up blood in large amounts. Ira's initial hit altered her blood flow and caused some of her organ to slightly rupture.

Rain began to fall on the arena, but it was ignored by everyone.

“Let’s take him back to the Island...I can check his mind to see if I can figure out what he is.” Gicae suggested.

“You think he would be alright with that?” Ustia asked.

“He agreed to help us, right?” Myr responded from her side.

“I agree with Gicae. It would help to see what he is and maybe learn more about him.” Thessia nodded.

“I thought his presence interfered with your ability?” Lyra looked at Gicae curiously.

“My clairvoyance requires stability and even the slightest disruption can cause an injury. Going into his mind should require less effort than seeing the future.” Gicae answered.

Lyra sighed before she nodded. “Lift him up.”

Gicae waved his hand and covered Ira with psychic energy, lifting him off the ground.

All of a sudden, Avery crashed into the arena. She drew her saber while her cloak changed into a sleek black armor.

“I won’t let you take him.” Her eyes showed nothing but complete hostility as she looked at them.

The rain seemed to become heavier in that moment.