Leon could sense it clearly now—arriving right next to his position with incredible speed, forcing him to shift his focus from the creature.

This was no simple defensive maneuver.

Him. Of course it's him.

Leon immediately redirected his punch toward the new threat, recognizing the presence instantly through his enhanced senses.

And this time, he didn't hold back his Holy energy enhancement at all. He boosted his base physical strength by over ten percent more, channeling Holy energy directly for the first time, beyond just unlocking his sealed physique.

Let's see you block this.

There he was—the same terrifying man from before, the Vice Chief who'd threatened Leon's life repeatedly.

In front of Leon's incoming fist was a swirling red defensive shield constructed from hundreds of small hexagonal shapes, all interlocking and reinforcing each other.

So you decided to interfere personally. I was expecting this.

Leon had genuinely expected this bastard who wanted him dead to interfere somehow, and when he'd noticed the man descending to the ground floor at the arena's edge half a minute earlier, he'd been even more certain.

Here we go.

His Holy-energy-enhanced punch connected directly with the hexagonal shield.

BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

The biggest shockwave that had ever occurred in the arena's history erupted from the impact point.

RUMBLE! SHAKE! CRACK!

The dying creature next to them—whose misdirected fire beam was now heading dangerously toward the crowd—went flying like a broken ragdoll from just the ambient shockwave alone, its bloody body tumbling through the air.

SCREECH! CRASH!

Along with the woman who'd been fighting Leon before, still on her knees some distance away with blood pouring from her mouth and multiple broken bones—she was also caught in the devastating shockwave and thrown backward.

CRASH!

Their eyes met and locked as Leon's fist connected with the shield, and visible cracks began forming across its surface.

The man's eyes widened noticeably—though only slightly—at seeing his defensive technique actually damaged.

He's surprised. Good.

However, the cracks quickly started being repaired as massive amounts of red energy began flowing from the man into the shield, reinforcing its structure.

Regenerating defense. Interesting.

But Leon was far from finished.

Who was this bastard to decide whether I live or die? I can escape to my time dimension anytime now if needed.

He wasn't worried anymore. And more importantly, this display was nowhere near his full strength in this Holy energy form—he was barely utilizing the complete power available to him.

Let's increase the pressure.

Leon gave himself a twenty percent strength boost this time, channeling significantly more Holy energy into raw physical enhancement.

His holy aura rippled outward like a sonic tide, the very air crackling with sanctified pressure that made dust rise from the arena floor.

Then he punched again with devastating force.

His knuckles throbbed from the collision, Holy energy still sizzling across his skin like divine lightning.

BOOOOOOOM!

The shockwave alone from this second strike was hurting many weaker spectators in the arena, causing them to clutch their ears and chests in pain.

Inside the combat zone, the woman and the dying creature were being thrown around like leaves in a storm.

This time, the hexagonal shield broke completely and shattered under Leon's punch.

CRACK! SHATTER!

His fist connected directly with the man's red crossed arms, which he'd raised at the last instant to block after his shield failed.

The impact resulted in the Vice Chief being pushed backward several steps, with visible burn marks appearing on his forearms where Leon's Holy energy had made contact.

SKID! SKID! SKID!

The man's eyes widened fully this time, genuinely shocked at feeling the true strength behind that attack.

My shield... completely destroyed. And his power increased so suddenly to such an extreme degree. What is this energy?

The Vice Chief said something loudly to Leon in his language, his tone carrying what sounded like a challenge or warning.

"Vel'kresh mandor sikara TOR KALA VEL!"

But to Leon, it just seemed like the man was issuing a challenge. Since he'd already interfered with the match and was clearly willing to fight, Leon had made his decision.

I'm going to try to kill you if possible. You decided my fate before—now I'll decide yours.

The girl—he still wasn't certain what he would have done with her ultimately, since she'd had multiple chances to kill him but deliberately hadn't, using the flat of her blade. It seemed she didn't want lethal involvement.

Maybe she deserves mercy.

But the creature? It had made him feel far too much pain and suffering. He had absolutely no mercy for it whatsoever.

It dies. No question.

The Vice Chief's words were completely deaf to Leon's ears. He wasn't listening or caring.

Meanwhile, Crimson was desperately trying to get closer to them, shouting something frantically. But she wasn't able to approach because the continuous shockwaves kept forcing her back.

"VEL KRESH! MANDOR!"

Leon checked the man's status information for the first time, no longer worried about being detected since they were already fighting.

[Level 69 - Sage Rank]

His level is only eight above the woman's, but his strength is vastly incomparable. Which means he's extremely close to breaking through to Archon rank.

That explained the massive power gap.

The Vice Chief repeated the same words as before, and Leon could see a solid red armor beginning to materialize around the man's entire body.

But it didn't look like traditional armor—it appeared as if it was part of his actual skin, layering over him in countless very small hexagonal segments that covered every inch.

SHIMMER! FORM! SOLIDIFY!

The energy contained within those segments seemed absolutely massive and condensed.

Impressive technique. But I'm not worried.

Leon wanted to genuinely test his full strength if possible. And if the opportunity presented itself, he was absolutely going to kill this motherfucker who had caused him so much torment and fear.

Yes, I discovered my Holy power's ability to unlock my sealed strength. But that doesn't justify or forgive what you put me through.

Similar to the Vice Chief's armor technique, Leon attempted to form a protective layer around himself as well.

It didn't look nearly as refined as the man's long practiced technique.

It was crude, yes. But pulsing with unfiltered power. Divine energy forged not by technique, but raw will.

He already have a defensive skill similar to this concept in my Ice affinity, which helped him succeed on the first attempt. Though it needs refinement.

And not only that defensive measure—he also boosted his base strength directly with Holy energy enhancement to fifty percent above his sealed baseline.

WHOOOOSH! SHIMMER! GLOW!

The entire arena felt the massive jump in his power level, along with the Vice Chief, whose expression shifted dramatically and was definitely not looking confident anymore.

Even the highest step of arena above vibrated faintly, and a faint ringing echoed in the ears of the every spectators—like being too close to a bell tower mid-strike.

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