Lumi and Edan were already immersed in the suffocating density of the forest. The outside light barely pierced through the canopy, creating shifting shadows that seemed to move with a life of their own. The air was humid, heavy… charged with tension.

As they advanced cautiously, attentive to every sound, every vibration in the environment, something changed.

Wayke’s mist — dense, alive, almost like an extension of his own presence — began to slowly dissipate.

Not naturally.

Both of them stopped for a moment.

They exchanged a glance.

They both knew.

But there was no time for confirmation.

The atmosphere around them shifted instantly.

Silhouettes appeared among the trees.

“Looks like they got us…” - said Lumi, forcing a nervous smile toward Edan.

Despite the smile, her eyes revealed absolute focus. Fear existed… but it didn’t control her.

“We have no choice but to face them all.” - stated Edan, scratching his scalp with one hand.

The gesture seemed casual… but it was only the calm before the storm.

Six enemies.

Positioned above, spread across the trees, forming a perfect circle of death. Each one held a strategic point, ensuring full vision and control of the area.

The ground… no longer mattered.

This was going to be an aerial battle.

And in this kind of fight, every mistake… was fatal.

In the commentators’ booth, the contrast was clear.

Keaton was practically vibrating in place, unable to contain his excitement.

“The match has just started and it’s already this intense! How will Edan and Lumi get out of this situation?”

Mirtr, on the other hand, observed with cold, analytical eyes.

“We have two teams that opted for riskier strategies. The duo of Edan and Lumi is very well known, but we’ve never seen a team opposing them invest this much just to stop them. This is a match that could go either way, but right now, I’d say Edan’s team is in trouble, considering Lumi holds the king status.”

Back in the arena…

Edan and Lumi took their combat stances.

“We can’t stay on the defensive, they’ll gain the advantage that way!” - said Edan.

“I agree! Let’s go!” - added Lumi.

Lumi acted first.

Her eyes glowed with a cold, icy tone.

Mana flowed.

“Ice Walk.”

The air around them crystallized. A layer of ice formed between the trees, connecting trunks, branches, and empty spaces as if they were invisible pathways suspended in the air. Smooth surfaces, perfect for movement… and deadly for anyone unprepared.

Edan didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t even look back.

He trusted her.

In one fluid motion, he launched himself forward — skating across the ice as if it were his natural terrain. His speed increased with every push.

Three enemies ahead.

A smile appeared on his face.

Provocative.

Defiant.

The moment he lifted his foot to gain even more momentum—

A flash.

One of the enemies, positioned further back, launched an electric attack straight at him.

Time slowed in Edan’s mind.

He had two options.

Jump… and be exposed.

Or block… and sacrifice something to defend himself.

But there was a third.

Trust.

Before impact—

A wall of ice rose in front of him.

The clash between electricity and ice exploded into a dense cloud of vapor and mist, completely swallowing his silhouette.

He disappeared.

Inside the mist, Edan moved.

Fire at his feet.

Concentrated heat.

He melted the ice beneath him, creating an opening and dropping into a second, invisible layer — created by Lumi, who anticipated every move.

Now… he was a ghost.

The enemies hesitated.

Defensive stances.

Tense looks.

But it was too late.

Edan had already chosen his target.

“It’s time to heat up the arena!”

He emerged like an explosion.

The upper layer of ice melted instantly from the heat radiating off him.

A spin of fire and blades.

Storblaze.

The attack sliced through the air — and the enemy.

The body was torn apart mid-motion.

Fragments flew, and blood formed a red rain that fell over Edan.

“One down, five to go.”

His voice was calm.

Cold. Calculated.

One of the enemies immediately charged at him, furious, wielding two long swords.

The clash of blades echoed.

Metal against metal.

The swordsman tried to trip him.

Edan responded with brutal agility.

He jumped while maintaining pressure against the enemy’s weapons to avoid being cut.

Still mid-air, he drove a knee straight into the swordsman’s chin.

The impact echoed sharply.

No pause.

Edan spun and threw his daggers at an archer who was preparing to strike him.

And, in the same motion—

A heel strike to the face of the swordsman, who was still recovering.

The archer noticed something coming toward him and reacted quickly.

He fired an arrow to deflect it.

He deflected the dagger.

“You’ll have to try a little harder—… argh”

But he didn’t see the second one right behind it.

The blade pierced his throat.

The archer fell from the tree, heading toward his death.

Edan turned his gaze back to the swordsman on the ground.

“And that makes two, with the third on the way.” - said Edan, with no doubt he would eliminate him.

“Don’t get too confident just because you defeated the weakest members of the team!” - said the swordsman, wiping blood from his mouth as he stood up. “Not to mention your little girlfriend will be in trouble soon!”

“Oh man… I almost feel sorry for you… I wanted to kill all six of you, but it looks like I’ll have to settle for three…” - said Edan, shrugging.

The swordsman charged again.

Desperate.

“You lost your daggers! You’re an easy target now!”

“Bad idea…” - said Edan.

A simple punch straight at the swordsman.

He responded violently — cutting off Edan’s arm in a clean strike.

Blood sprayed.

But Edan… smiled.

“Thanks. You just made everything easier.”

In an unexpected move, he used the enemy as leverage, shifting behind him.

He locked him in a leg hold, trapping both of the enemy’s arms while applying pressure to his head.

Total immobilization.

Edan launched a wire with a sharp tip into a branch above them.

“Remember the trap you set on your side of the arena, the one right below us?”

Edan’s hand plunged into the ice, generating concentrated heat.

“You’re about to see it up close!”

The ice gave way.

The support vanished.

Both began to fall.

Below—

Hundreds of metal spikes created by the enemy team.

At the last moment, the wire tightened.

Edan stopped.

The swordsman didn’t.

His body was violently impaled.

A wet, brutal sound.

“And like I said, the third is on the way!”

Suspended in the air, covered in blood, missing an arm…

Edan smiled.

And the battle… was far from over.

The crowd was electrified after Edan’s impressive play, with cheers and shouts echoing throughout the arena. Keaton, unable to contain his excitement, climbed back onto the desk, nearly losing his balance from the sheer thrill. Mirtr, meanwhile, maintained a composed posture, but couldn’t hide his wide-eyed expression — even he hadn’t expected that moment.

“EDAAAAAAAAN! THIS ISN’T NORMAL! THIS MAN’S SKILL DEFIES ALL LOGIC!” Keaton shouted, practically trembling with excitement.

“Excellent team coordination, followed by a brilliant individual performance from Edan! But let’s not forget — Lumi is still isolated and facing three opponents at once!” Mirtr added in a more analytical tone.

In the arena, Lumi didn’t hesitate. Before the enemies could take advantage of their numerical superiority, she unleashed a rapid barrage of ice needles, slicing through the air with speed and precision.

One of the opponents, equipped with a shield, immediately stepped forward. As he raised it, he generated a dense air barrier that completely blocked the attack, causing the needles to disintegrate before reaching him.

But Lumi had anticipated that.

The moment the needles collided with the barrier, they released a blinding flash of light, exploding outward and temporarily blinding the two most exposed enemies. Only the one protected by the physical shield managed to avoid the effect.

“I bet it’s about to get a little colder in that area…” Lumi said calmly, pointing toward the sky above them.

While two of the enemies struggled to recover their vision, the shield bearer was the first to notice the imminent danger: a massive chunk of ice descending rapidly, gaining speed as it cut through the air.

Without wasting any time, he raised his shield and began stacking layers of compressed air above it, reinforcing his defense in a desperate attempt to withstand the impact.

“I DON’T CARE IF YOU CAN’T SEE! HELP ME NOW! KROX, DON’T THINK — JUST FIRE UPWARD AND DON’T STOP!” he ordered.

Krox immediately obeyed, unleashing a continuous stream of flames. As it passed through the compressed air layers, the fire intensified, becoming more concentrated and destructive, beginning to melt the ice.

Even so, it wasn’t enough to stop it completely.

The impact was brutal. The ice slammed into the shield, shattering several layers of air and forcing the defender to give ground, his feet dragging across the floor under the weight of the blow.

That brief delay was all the third enemy needed.

Regaining his vision, he charged forward in an explosive sprint, becoming almost a blur. Lumi tried to react, raising a wall of ice in front of her — but it was too late.

The enemy leapt, using the freshly formed barrier as a foothold, propelling himself upward with precision. In one fluid motion, he came down with a devastating knee strike directly into Lumi’s abdomen.

The impact landed with a dull thud.

Lumi was sent flying backward, her body spinning through the air before she lost control. Pain shot through her as she clutched her stomach, thrown several meters away.

“Damn… fast enemies really are my weakness…” she muttered through clenched teeth.

Still dazed, she tried to figure out where she was. The surroundings looked familiar — far too familiar.

“Wait… this is where we set—”

She didn’t have time to finish the thought.

As she passed between two trees on her team’s side of the field, she inadvertently triggered one of their own traps. In an instant, a violent explosion tore through the silence, sending dirt, debris, and a shockwave across the entire arena.

The blast was deafening.

For a moment, everything froze. All eyes turned toward the point of the explosion.