Toku stood there, trembling with his spear slick with sweat and his breath jagged, but had a small bit of hope in his eyes after witnessing such a scene.

Across from him, Brevis grinned lazily and sat on a stone slab like he'd already won. His voice was like poisoned honey.

"You're shaking like a damn leaf. Some warrior you turned out to be."

He snapped his fingers.

A tiny flame lit itself in the air and drifted toward Toku like a taunt.

Toku's clothes ignited.

He flailed and dropped to his knees, patting at the fire as it burned through his hope.

Brevis walked over slowly, crouched beside him, and placed a smug hand on his shoulder.
"Sit still," he said, "and let the real ones finish this fight. Just be a good little peasant."

Toku couldn't even look at him in the eyes anymore.

Across the arena, Cris, seeing Valentine's power first-hand, loaded an arrow and fired into the dirt at his feet.

Vines erupted like snakes, twisting into a dense wall--a cage of nature meant to contain the BlackFire beast.

At the same moment, Latro reappeared from the haze of chaos. The humiliation from their last loss to Rikushi still fresh in his mind, he locked eyes with Brevis.

"This ends now. We kill him."

Together, they moved toward Rikushi's charging zone.

But Toku heard them.

He snapped up, instinct overriding fear.

He hurled his spear--

--and missed wildly.

Latro paused, turning his head slowly.

He walked to Toku, dragged his spear with a scraping sound, and stopped just in front of him.
With an icy grin, he stabbed his spear between Toku's legs, a clear threat. "Try that again, and I'll gut you."

But something in Toku changed.

He grabbed onto Latro, refusing to let go, his grip tight despite his fear. "You're not touching him!"

Latro raised his blade.

Then--BOOM.

A deafening thunderclap shook the entire arena.

Latro turned, eyes wide. "Rikushi..."

But he didn't feel the blade already passing through him.

Rikushi stood behind both him and Brevis, his eyes glowing white-hot.

Latro looked down, seeing the glowing slice across his chest.

Brevis's grin died the moment his legs gave out.

The two collapsed, lifeless.

The field went silent.

Then chaos resumed.

From all sides came Bidus, Vim, and Magnus, rushing to intercept Rikushi.

From above, Sana conjured binding chains of Arcane Law, locking Rikushi in midair.

But Rikushi--calm, pale, and absolute--whispered a command.

A magic circle ignited beneath his feet, summoning white flames that consumed the chains entirely.

The sky darkened.

He reached behind his back and drew forth a sword--not just a weapon, but a curse in steel.
It was wrapped in chains, its hilt sealed with glyphs and locks.

As he began to unsheathe it, black fire licked the edges of the blade.

His voice echoed across the field:

"Oh flame of the void, Oh arcane beyond the stars--guide my blade. Let this final strike slice through flesh, through fate, through reality itself."

​

He fully unsheathed the blade.

The arena trembled, whilst being secluded within a dense and dark black aura, emitting from the sword.

"Arcanic-Breaking Slash"

With one swift, world-rending swing--Rikushi cut forward.

A gash of pure energy--a glowing rend in existence--tore through the battlefield, crossing through:

Julie

Cris

Virgo

Magnus

Ori

Bidus

Each of them stopped mid-move.

Then they fell--slain by the swing that defied dimensions.

Rikushi fell to one knee, his breath shallow.

His skin grew pale, his body shaking--his mana, depleted.

Then came Sana.

She clenched her hands, conjuring a final wave of chain magic, embedding spikes into his exhausted body.

One. Two. Ten. Fifty. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions of spikes.

Each spike stabbed through him like nails through a cross, piercing muscle, breaking bone, and destroying the will to live.

He could no longer move.

Rikushi, the man who cut through six world leaders in one stroke, had been slain.

"NO!"

Valentine's voice boomed as his BlackFire aura surged to monstrous levels.

He burst through the vine cage, launching himself toward Sana, wrath incarnate.

But--

He didn't see the shadow behind him.

Vim struck silently.

A clean, perfect blow through Valentine's back.

The fire stuttered.

His eyes dimmed.

His body fell.

Lifeless and crippled.

The crowd screamed.

And...

Two of the greatest had fallen.

But...

LuLu... was about to wake up.