Inside the shattered heart of the forestâcity, three figures stood facing one another.
Evangeline. Aiden and Arthur.
The trees around them were broken and scorched, the ground split and blackened from countless clashes. With every elimination, the world had shrunk further until only this small battlefield remained.
They stared each other down.
Arthur broke the silence first.
"Do you two really still want to fight?" he asked, stretching his shoulders. He rested his sword casually against one of them. "To be honest, guys... Iâm tired as hell."
Evangeline snorted.
"So why donât you just eliminate yourself," she said, "and rest all you want afterwards?"
Arthur shrugged.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that," he admitted. "But as you can see, there are only three of us left. After all the hard work I did eliminating the strongest contenders, it doesnât feel right to just walk away and let you two eat the cake."
He smiled.
"So why not take first place myself?"
Aiden stepped forward.
The wind caught his white hair, making it flare around his face like a halo.
"Then that leaves me with no choice," Aiden said quietly. "Iâll just have to kick your ass."
Inside his mind, a separate thought pulsed.
âBesides, I still have to complete that quest,â Aiden thought. âPhysique of Annihilation... thereâs no way Iâm letting that reward slip.â
He looked at Arthurâs relaxed posture, at the blood drying on his clothes, at the terrifying calm in his eyes.
âBut can I...?â he wondered.
Evangeline rolled her shoulders once.
"Works for me," she said. "The two of you can fight it out, and Iâll take care of whoeverâs left. How does that sound?"
"Iâm fine with that," Aiden replied, confidence returning. "I donât need help to defeat him."
"Yeah, not happening," Arthur cut in.
He shook his head.
"Letâs do it like this instead," Arthur said. "We all use the most powerful move we have left. One each."
He tapped his chest with the tip of his sword.
"The one who remains standing is the winner."
A warning flickered in his mind.
[ You have less than 15% of mana reserves left. ]
âItâll be enough for at least one move,â Arthur thought back. âThatâs all I need.â
Evangeline considered it for a heartbeat.
"Fine," she said.
Aiden hesitated a little longer, then nodded.
"Alright," he said. "Works for me."
The three of them exchanged looks.
No more tricks.
No more halfâmeasures.
They all nodded once.
Then the air changed.
Evangeline raised her left arm.
A braceletâlike artifact appeared around her wrist, metal unfolding from compressed space with a soft click. It clamped into place, dull and unassumingâonly for a second.
Then it awakened.
Golden light burst from the band, racing up her arm. Plates of radiant metal formed out of thin air, layering over her body like flowing liquid that hardened into armor. In the space of a breath, Evangeline was no longer just a girl with a gun.
She was a walking fortress.
Goldâwhite armor covered her from neck to toe, fitted perfectly to her frame, lines elegant rather than bulky. Glowing patterns ran along the plates, pulsing like a heartbeat. A faint, transparent veil extended half a step away from the metal, like a barely visible shell of light.
Power surged through her muscles.
She felt heavyâand yet completely unmovable.
âSo this is it,â Evangeline thought. âThe real Aegis.â
Arthur let out a low whistle.
"Wow," he said. "System, what the hell is that?"
A window materialized in front of his eyes.
_________________________________________
"ARTIFACT ANALYSIS"
Owner: Evangeline Cael Ashford
Active Skill: Aegis Armor
Rank: Mythical
Description:
A legendary armor forged from the concept of absolute defense. The armor has completely manifested around the target.
Effects:
⢠Physical Damage Immunity
⢠Knockback Immunity
⢠Instant Manifestation
Remaining Duration: 02:00
Mana Consumption: Extremely High
Threat Assessment:
Physical attacks ineffective while Aegis Armor remains active.
[ Warning: Current probability of inflicting physical damage upon the target: 0.1% ]
_________________________________________
Evangeline flexed her gauntleted fingers, golden light flaring around the joints.
"Now the playing field seems a bit more even," she said. "You two also have... things to cheat your way out of death."
She smirked.
"And I knew Iâd need this, so I took it from the royal treasury. Mother is probably fuming right now."
She was right.
In the VIP hall, Eliana watched her daughter wrapped in golden armor, fingers pressed against her forehead.
"That girl is in so much trouble if she doesnât win," Eliana muttered. "She stole an SSârank artifact from the royal vault on exam day..."
The nobles around her looked like they werenât sure whether to be horrified or impressed.
Back in the forestâcity, Aiden closed his eyes.
"Guess itâs my turn," he said.
He reached deep inside himself, calling up the skill he rarely touchedâbecause he knew what it did to his body.
A burning sigil lit up on his chest, visible even beneath his clothes, lines of light racing across his skin like cracks in reality.
______________________________________
⌠Worldbreaker âŚ
Rank: SS
Type: Ultimate Enhancement
Description:
A highâgrade enhancement skill that temporarily releases the userâs physical and magical limits, drastically increasing all attributes for a short period. The immense power granted comes at the cost of severe mana consumption and strain on the body.
Effects:
⢠All Stats +1000%
Duration: 5 minutes
[ The userâs limiters have been forcibly removed. ]
______________________________________
Power erupted from Aiden like a detonation.
The ground beneath his feet fractured and sank half an inch. Air warped around him, ripples of pressure spreading out in every direction. His muscles tightened, veins standing out under his skin, white hair whipping wildly despite the absence of wind.
His aura roared upward like a pillar, dense and violent.
For a fleeting moment, Arthur and Evangeline both felt itâthe sensation that something was trying to punch through the sky itself.
Aiden opened his eyes.
They glowed faintly, pupils thin and sharp.
"Worldbreaker," he exhaled. "Letâs see if youâre worth all the hard work Iâve done to obtain you."
Arthur watched the transformation with open interest.
"Looks like itâs my turn now, huh?" he said.
Another window opened before him.
[ Skill: Wrath of the Blood God ]
[ Rank: SS ]
[ Type: Active â Catastrophic Amplification ]
[ Description:
By sacrificing a massive amount of blood (own or gathered), the user may enter a state of apocalyptic rage. For a limited time, physical power, speed, regeneration, and bloodline authority are pushed far beyond normal limits.
In this state, every attack leaves behind lingering blood corruption that weakens enemies and may cause their blood to rebel against them.
Side effects: After use, the user suffers severe backlashâextreme exhaustion, temporary stat reduction, and increased instability of Hunger. Excessive use may damage the userâs sanity. ]
Arthur grinned.
"Letâs try this one," he said. "This time."
He bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood.
Crimson flowed over his tongue, and he swallowed it, calling the skill by name in his heart.
[ Wrath of the Blood God has been activated. ]
Heat slammed into his veins like molten metal.
His heart pounded onceâtwiceâthen began to beat like a war drum, shaking his chest. Blood surged through his body with unnatural force, every vessel burning. His skin took on a faint crimson sheen, veins darkening under the surface.
His pupils thinned, turning a deep, predatory red.
The air around him reeked faintly of iron.
Blood mist seeped from his pores, coiling around him like a cloak, then sinking back into his skin. Each breath he took felt heavy, full of powerâlike he could crush boulders with his bare hands and still have strength to spare.
His aura, once heavy and oppressive, now became sharp and feral.
Every movement radiated barely contained violence.
In the VIP hall, more than one elder flinched when his presence spiked on the detectors.
"What kind of... power is that?" someone whispered.
No one answered.
Back on the battlefield, Arthur rolled his neck, joints popping.
The cuts and bruises on his body wriggled unnaturally, then began to close faster, flesh knitting and sealing as the enhanced regeneration kicked in. The blood on his skin seemed to obey him, sliding down his arm to coat the blade of his sword in a thin, glistening layer.
The black metal drank it in.
A faint, hungry hum vibrated through the weapon.
Evangeline, wrapped in golden armor.
Aiden, blazing with Worldbreakerâs unleashed power.
Arthur, wreathed in the wrath of a Blood God.
The three of them stood in the ruined clearing, each radiating enough pressure to crush ordinary examinees just by existing.
And they were all staring at one another, waiting for the signal neither of them intended to give.
All three of them launched forward at once.
Aidenâs aura roared like a collapsing star, every step cracking the ground. Evangelineâs golden armor shone with blinding light as she leapt back, taking distance instead of closing it. Arthur advanced with measured strides, bloodâred eyes calm in the midst of chaos.
Evangeline moved first.
Her main strength now was simpleâshe did not have to care about physical damage.
In the span of a breath, multiple weapons appeared in her hands and around herâsleek handguns, longâbarreled rifles, compact shotguns, all conjured from storage artifacts hidden under that armor. She dualâwielded pistols while semiâfloating gun arrays locked onto Arthur and Aiden.
Muzzle flashes erupted like a fireworks show.
A storm of bullets and manaâcharged rounds screamed across the clearing, tearing through broken trees and shattered buildings on their way to the two boys. Each round hit like a small spell, puncturing stone and blasting apart anything unprotected.
Aiden met them headâon.
He swung his sword in wide, brutal arcs, Worldbreakerâenhanced strength cutting bullets out of the air in streaks of silver. Blades of compressed wind followed in the wake of his slashes, detonating the projectiles before they could reach him.
Arthur simply walked.
Every bullet that entered the invisible halo around his body slowed as if hitting thick syrup. The closer they tried to get, the slower they became, until each round lost all momentum and dropped harmlessly to the ground in front of him.
Infinity.
Metal clinked at his feet, forming a spreading ring of failed attempts.
Evangelineâs eye twitched behind her visor.
"Tch... you two are so damn annoying," she muttered.
Arthur disappeared from her sight.
The next instant, he was in front of her.
He did not swing his sword.
He simply drove his shoulder and body weight into her with all the terrifying power Wrath of the Blood God granted him.
The impact sounded like a thunderclap.
A massive crater formed where Evangelineâs armored body slammed into the ground, dirt and stone flying in every direction. The shockwave flattened nearby trees and sent cracks racing across the already tortured landscape.
Evangelineâs vision blurred for half a second.
But her body was uninjured.
No pain. No broken bones. No bruises.
Aegis Armor had absorbed everything.
She kicked off the crater floor and flipped backward, golden boots digging into the ground as she created distance again.
"Still zero damage," she muttered. "Good."
Aiden used the opening.
He appeared at Arthurâs side, sword already descending. His strikes came fast and relentless, one after another, each blow strong enough to crush stone. Worldbreaker turned every swing into a lethal meteor.
Arthur met them with empty hands and minimal blade movement.
Infinity slowed the sword in that critical halfâmeter zone, giving his enhanced mind just enough time to slip his weapon or forearm into the right position. Sparks flew as steel met the invisible distortion, then skidded harmlessly away from Arthurâs body.
Aiden clicked his tongue.
âHeâs blocking everything...â Aiden thought. âAt this rate, my time will run out before I land a clean hit. Iâll have to finish this fast.â
Arthur felt the strain, too.
His head throbbed with the constant calculations Infinity demanded. Mana leaked out of him like water through a cracked dam, his bloodline and Wrath fighting for dominance inside his veins.
He exhaled slowly and lowered his sword.
His stance shifted.
From a swordsmanâs guardâto a martial one.
He slid his right foot forward, left foot angled, body slightly turned. His hands came up open, fingers relaxed, posture coiled like a dragon resting on a cliff edge, ready to strike.
From a distance, Evangeline kept firing.
Her bullets turned buildings into rubble, shattered boulders, and pulverized entire clusters of trees. But every shot either bounced off Arthurâs invisible barrier or died against Aidenâs spinning sword.
The pressure in her chest grew.
"Weâre wasting time," she hissed.
On the ground, Aiden narrowed his eyes.
"Donât look down on me," he said.
He shifted his grip.
His sword technique changed.
He stepped in and unleashed a blinding flurryâthrusts, slashes, and diagonal cuts flowing into one another in a seamless storm. Each strike followed an unpredictable trajectory, layered over the last, leaving afterimages like a cage of silver light closing around Arthur.
Worldbreaker amplified everything.
Some strikes were feints, meant only to force Infinity to split its attention. Others were angled to hit in the same microsecond from different directions, pushing the limits of Arthurâs reaction and calculation speed.
His mana reserves were low.
Infinity flickered.
Several of Aidenâs strikes slowedâbut not all.
A few slid through the gaps in Arthurâs timing, grazing his arm, shoulder, and side. Thin lines of blood burst across his skin, staining his clothes crimson.
âGot you,â Aiden thought, eyes sharp.
Arthur grinned.
"Not bad," he said.
Then he inhaled.
Qi and mana swirled together, gathering around his body in spiraling streams. The air above them darkened as if something enormous pressed against the sky from the other side.
"Celestial Dragon Flow," Arthur whispered. "Fifth formâStarfell Descent."
The world answered.
From high above, a titanic blade of condensed qi and bloodâred light formed in the sky, spanning the width of the battlefield. It looked less like a sword and more like a falling star shaped into a weaponâa celestial dragonâs claw dragging fire across the heavens.
Everyone in the forestâcity looked up.
Even the spectators in the VIP hall could feel the shift through the projection screens.
"Thatâs... not an examineeâlevel technique, what kind of monster yuna has trained." someone whispered.
The colossal strike descended.
It wasnât a clean slash.
It was devastation.
The moment it crashed down, sound vanished. For one frozen heartbeat, there was nothing but blinding light and pressure. Then the shockwave hit, a tidal wave of force that leveled what remained of the forestâcity.
Trees vanished.
Buildings disintegrated.
The ground itself split open, forming deep scars that radiated out from the impact zone.
When the light finally faded and the dust began to settle, half the exam field was simply goneâreduced to a shattered plain of smoking debris.
Aidenâs figure flickered near the edge of the crater.
He stared at the ruin with wide eyes.
Even with Worldbreaker roaring through his veins, even with all his stats amplified, he had barely survived by throwing everything into defense at the last second.
Then his body began to turn translucent.
"No way..." Aiden whispered. "I still... lost?"
His form flickered again.
And vanished into motes of light.
Evangelineâs eyes widened inside her helm.
"What a monster," she breathed.
The timer on her armor reached its limit.
Aegis Armor shattered into golden fragments that dissolved into the air, leaving her once again in her exam outfit, hair disheveled, face pale with exhaustion.
All her mana was gone.
When the last piece of armor vanished, Arthur was already standing in front of her.
His expression was cold and blank.
"You really are," Evangeline said quietly, "the most terrifying guy Iâve ever met."
Arthur did not answer.
He raised two fingers and pressed them lightly against a precise point on her neck.
Her consciousness cut out immediately.
Her body dissolved into motes of light and disappeared from the exam.
Wrath of the Blood God unraveled.
Infinity dropped.
Arthurâs last reserves of mana burned out.
His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees, chest heaving as if he had sprinted for hours. Every muscle screamed. His vision swam with black spots, and a dull, pounding ache filled his skull.
He let himself fall backward onto the cracked earth, staring up at the warped sky of the collapsing simulation.
A wide, exhausted smile spread across his face.