The champion stood motionless.
Dark violet energy poured from the seams of his ancient armor.
The temperature inside the arena dropped.
Not from ice.
From pressure.
An overwhelming presence descended upon the battlefield.
Kael instinctively took a step back.
His breathing became heavier.
His Knight Aura trembled.
The system flashed.
Warning
Unknown Energy Detected.
Analysis...
...
Unable to Identify.
The champion slowly lifted his sword.
This time...
The blade itself became wrapped in darkness.
Not evil.
Not corruption.
Pure condensed aura.
Commander Darius' lessons echoed in Kael's mind.
"One day you'll meet someone whose Aura alone can crush weaker knights."
"When that day comes..."
"You'll understand what a true swordsman is."
"So..."
Kael whispered.
"This is beyond ordinary Knight Aura."
The champion disappeared.
Too Fast
Kael couldn't see him.
He couldn't hear him.
He only reacted.
BOOM!
The Champion's blade slammed into Kael's sword.
The impact shattered the stone beneath his feet.
Cracks spread across the arena.
Kael was thrown backward.
He rolled.
Recovered.
The champion was already there.
Another strike.
Kael barely blocked.
Another.
Another.
Another.
Each swing became faster than the last.
Walter would later describe it as...
"If I blinked..."
"I would've missed the whole fight."
Adapt
"I can't overpower him."
"Then I have to outfight him."
Kael changed his stance.
He lowered his center of gravity.
Relaxed his shoulders.
Stopped chasing the Champion's blade.
Instead...
He watched his feet.
His hips.
His shoulders.
The body moved before the sword.
The Champion attacked again.
Kael stepped inside the strike.
His body twisted.
The massive blade passed inches from his face.
Kael answered with three lightning-fast thrusts.
Neck.
Chest.
Side.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Cracks spread across the Champion's armor.
The ancient warrior smiled.
For the first time.
Blood and Steel
The Champion punched Kael across the jaw.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Before the drops touched the ground...
Kael raised his hand.
The blood froze in midair.
Not with ice.
With Blood Magic.
Dozens of crimson needles formed instantly.
He thrust his hand forward.
The needles shot toward the Champion.
The ancient warrior crossed his sword.
Several shattered.
Others pierced joints in the armor.
The champion staggered.
Only half a step.
But half a step was enough.
Kael burst forward.
Light Magic exploded beneath his feet.
Golden light launched him across the arena.
His speed doubled.
His sword blurred.
One slash.
Two.
Five.
Twelve.
Each strike landed on a different weak point.
Like rain.
Like lightning.
Like the king cutting through an army.
The Champion blocked most.
But not all.
Stone armor began breaking away.
Ice Battlefield
The champion stomped.
The floor exploded.
Stone fragments flew like arrows.
Kael slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Ice Domain!"
A wave of frost raced outward.
The battlefield transformed.
Ice covered the arena floor.
Frozen pillars erupted from beneath the Champion.
Chains of ice wrapped around one leg.
For the first time...
The champion stopped moving.
Kael saw it.
His opening.
He sprinted.
Light Aura behind him.
Ice beneath him.
Blood reinforcing his muscles.
Knight Aura surrounding his blade.
Everything he possessed...
Focused into one attack.
He leaped.
The sword came down.
CRAAASH!!
The Champion caught the blade...
With one hand.
Kael's eyes widened.
Then...
The champion squeezed.
SNAP!
Kael's sword shattered.
Half the blade spun across the arena.
Silence.
The Champion looked directly into Kael's eyes.
Then spoke.
"Your sword..."
"...has reached its limit."
He raised his own blade.
"But..."
"...have you?"
The pressure doubled.
Kael dropped to one knee.
His muscles screamed.
His vision blurred.
His Knight Aura began breaking apart.
"I..."
His hands trembled.
"...can't..."
He remembered his first life.
A hospital bed.
Dreams he never accomplished.
A life that ended before it truly began.
Then...
His second life.
Leaving the Empire at seven.
Years of training.
Meeting Walter.
Darius.
Leon.
Grom.
The Black Dragons.
The villagers who had believed in him.
Commander Aldric has been waiting twenty years for the Empire.
"If I fall here..."
"None of that changes."
"No..."
Kael whispered.
"I still..."
"...have people waiting for me."
Something inside him broke.
Not his body.
A limit.
A dark violet aura slowly emerged from beneath the shattered silver aura.
It wrapped around Kael's body.
Around his arms.
Around his feet.
Around his broken sword.
The air became still.
The champion's eyes widened.
The system exploded with notifications.
Achievement
You have surpassed your physical limit.
Aura Evolution
Knight Aura has evolved.
New Skill Awakened
Night Aura
Rank: Rare
Description:
An advanced Aura is awakened by warriors whose resolve remains unbroken even after their body reaches its limit.
Effects:
Greatly increases speed. Enhances perception. Reinforces weapons with condensed Aura. Consumes tremendous stamina.
Mastery:
0%
Kael slowly stood.
His breathing steadied.
The broken half of his sword became coated in a dark violet aura.
The Aura extended beyond the broken steel...
Forming a complete blade of pure energy.
Walter would've screamed if he had seen it.
The champion smiled.
Not as an enemy.
As a teacher.
"...Excellent."
He lowered into a fighting stance.
For the first time...
Both warriors stood as equals.
The arena shook beneath them.
Neither moved.
Each waited for the other.
Then—
They vanished.
Two streaks—
One silver-black.
One ancient violet.
Their swords collided in a deafening explosion that split the arena floor from end to end.
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