The circle flared.

[Combat Start.]

Cairon moved first. No hesitation, no flourish, just steel blurring through the air in a horizontal cut that screamed with abyssal resonance.

The pressure alone shoved dust from the tiles, the sound ringing like a bell across the plaza.

Lucen slipped back, a flicker of sparks trailing his boots. [Riftstep.] Space cracked open behind him, and he blurred backward, the edge missing his chest by inches.

Cairon followed, relentless, his aura boiling outward in black-red waves. His blade didn't swing wildly, it flowed, a constant stream of controlled destruction.

He pressed forward, each strike a question, each step a trap.

Lucen smirked, palm crackling. "Fast, aren't you?"

[Shockweave Bolt.]

The jagged arcs spat outward, three forks snapping across the dueling circle. Cairon's blade swept once, clean, erasing the lightning like chalk dust. He kept coming.

'Cute trick.' Lucen's grin widened.

He dropped his hand low, mana compressing sharp between his fingers. [Piercing Flare.]

The lance of light ripped forward, screaming bright.

Cairon twisted at the last instant, the beam slicing past his shoulder and cutting a shallow trench into the glyph circle. His free hand snapped out, abyssal glyphs spinning in his palm.

Lucen blinked. 'Wait, he's a glyph-user too?'

Chains of void coiled from Cairon's hand, slamming toward him. [Nullbind Grasp.]

Lucen laughed, sparks skittering across his teeth as he clamped both palms together. [Ignition Burst.]

The explosion erupted outward, flame swallowing the chains before they could bind him. The blast lit the plaza in orange, heat rippling the barrier walls.

Cairon strode through it without pause, blade raised.

Selindra's voice cut sharp in Lucen's comm. "He's suppressing. That's not full output."

Lucen smirked, sliding sideways across scorched stone. 'Oh, he's saving something for later. Adorable.'

He raised his palm skyward. [Crater Bloom.]

The ground cracked in a ring, force erupting vertical in a shockwave. Cairon braced, boots gouging twin lines in the stone, his aura flaring harder to push against the shock.

Lucen stepped forward, hair whipping in the backlash. His grin went sharper. "Let's see how you like the real stuff."

He snapped his wrist. [Abyssflare Lance.]

The spear of annihilation screamed into being, black fire and collapsing mana spiraling into a single point of piercing death. The plaza barrier warped, bending light as the weapon hummed in his hand.

The crowd gasped, whispers breaking into raw shouts.

Cairon's eyes narrowed. "So you reveal it."

Lucen hurled the lance.

The world bent as it flew, warping stone and air, a tearing sound ripping across the plaza. Cairon's blade snapped up, he met it. The impact detonated in black fire, the explosion blasting stone shards across the glyph circle, shoving both combatants backward.

[EXP +1,500.]

Lucen skidded, boots grinding sparks. He laughed, shoulders shaking. "You blocked it. I'm impressed. Didn't think you had it in you."

Cairon leveled his blade. Abyssal light crawled faster along its veins now, humming like a living thing. "That was restraint, Ivara. I won't show restraint again."

The air trembled. His aura spiked, heavy as a falling tower, pressing down so hard hunters outside the barrier stumbled.

Lucen rolled his neck, unfazed. Sparks hissed between his fingers again. 'Finally.'

[Corruption Load: 95% — Stable.]

[Warning: Resonance Threshold Approaching.]

Selindra's voice cut through, harsh: "Lucen, don't push it! That threshold—"

Lucen grinned wide, cutting her off. "Relax. I'm just getting started."

Cairon blurred forward. The circle lit with abyssal glyphs, steel sweeping like judgment.

Lucen answered with laughter, mana roaring through his veins.

The clash ripped the plaza in half.

Cairon's aura raged outward, abyssal pressure thick enough to bow the glyphs of the dueling circle. The crowd beyond the barrier pressed back, eyes wide, silence spreading in waves.

Lucen's grin sharpened. Sparks hissed across his skin, blood thrumming like fire.

'This is going to hurt. Good thing I'm not picky about pain.'

[Corruption Load: 97%.]

[Warning: Critical.]

[Abyssal Resonance Triggered.]

The system window split jagged, text fracturing as black fire bled into the glyphs around him.

[Temporary Override — Level Synchronization.]

[Effective Level: 112.]

Mana screamed through his veins, raw, molten, bending his body into something heavier, sharper, wrong. The crowd gasped as his aura detonated, black fire spilling from his frame like a second shadow.

Cairon's eyes narrowed. "So you really are touched. Filth."

Lucen laughed, low, unsteady, delighted. "Touched? Nah. Married to it."

He moved. [Riftstep.] The world cracked, and he was on Cairon in an instant.

Their clash split the air. Lucen's fist, wreathed in abyssal current, met Cairon's blade. The explosion shoved both men apart, glyph lines shrieking under the strain.

Lucen didn't wait. He snapped both hands forward, glyphs spiraling wild in his palms. [Cataclysm Vector — Abyssborne Variant.]

The plaza drowned in red-black light. Vectors twisted through air like knives, collapsing reality into a single axis of annihilation. The crowd screamed as the barrier warped, bending inward under the pressure.

Cairon roared, slamming his blade into the collapsing axis. His aura burned crimson, pushing back, fissures spreading across the stone beneath him.

[EXP +7,500.]

Lucen grinned through gritted teeth, every muscle tearing as the Vector raged out of control. "Having fun yet?"

Cairon shoved forward, carving a hole through the annihilation, blade screaming with abyssal resonance. He lunged, point aimed for Lucen's chest.

Lucen's eyes gleamed. 'Fine. All in.'

[Nullbind Grasp.] Abyssal tendrils burst from his arm, coiling around Cairon's blade mid-thrust. For an instant, the suppression locked, mana choking in sparks.

Lucen drove his free hand forward, abyss fire coiling into a spear. [Abyssflare Lance.]

It pierced through.

The impact detonated in silence, light bending, space tearing before the sound caught up in a concussive boom. Cairon staggered, his armor shredded, blood dripping bright against stone.

The crowd erupted in gasps, half in awe, half in horror.

[EXP +12,000.]

[Level Up.]

[Level 51.]

Lucen swayed, corruption roaring up his veins. The system flickered, warnings drowning his vision.

[Corruption Load: 99%.]

[Stability: Failing.]

Selindra's voice shrieked in his comm: "Lucen, stop! You'll burn out!"

Lucen laughed, manic, sparks trailing from his teeth. "Stopping's boring."

He staggered forward, Lance fading, body smoking from inside. Cairon dropped to one knee, blade grounded in the stone, chest heaving, eyes blazing with disbelief.

The system flared once more—

[Override Concluded.]

[Effective Level Reverted: 51.]

The black fire ripped out of him all at once. Lucen collapsed to one knee, coughing blood, body spasming from the overload. His grin didn't fade.

Cairon tried to rise, but his blade clattered against the stone. He swayed once, then fell face-first, unconscious.

Silence held.

Then the crowd roared, chaos breaking loose. Hunters shouted, civilians screamed, some cheering, some demanding answers. The plaza shook with the noise.

Lucen spat blood onto the stone, wiped his mouth with the back of his glove, and looked up at the barrier, grin lopsided, ragged.

"Guess that's one for the home team."

The system flicked faint in his vision, one last quiet note:

[Victory Confirmed.]

[Public Duel: Resolved.]

[Reputation: Unstable.]

The noise blurred.

Shouts, boots scraping stone, a dozen voices colliding into static. Hunters crowding the edge of the ward, civilians surging forward only to be shoved back again. The plaza smelled of scorched air, ash, and the metallic tang of blood.

Lucen didn't bother trying to stand. His knees ground against cracked stone, lungs scraping as if they were full of broken glass. His grin was still there, faint, blood running at the corner of his mouth.

The system flared and stuttered like it was choking on its own code.

[Victory Confirmed.]

[EXP Calculating…]

[+12,000 EXP — Abyssflare Impact.]

[+7,500 EXP — Cataclysm Vector Suppression.]

[+5,200 EXP — Duel Outcome Bonus.]

[+9,800 EXP — Unique Skill Utilization Multiplier.]

The chain kept rolling, window after window blinking through his vision until the light turned almost blinding.

[Level Up.]

[Level Up.]

[Level Up.]

[Level Up.]

[Level Up.]

The cascade stopped at:

[Level: 55]

[EXP: 12%]

[Corruption Load: 96% — Crashing.]

[Status: Critical.]

Lucen wheezed a laugh, head lolling back against his shoulder. "…Fifty-five? That's disgusting."

The override was gone, but the raw, terrifying flood of abyssal mana had left scars. His body shook, twitching at the edges as though half his nerves had forgotten their jobs. His arms felt carved hollow, his chest a furnace running on ash.

'…Yeah. That sucked. Worth it.'

A shadow loomed, blocking the glare of barrier lights. Varik crouched in front of him, eyes unreadable, hand closing around Lucen's shoulder. His grip was steady, iron without effort.

"You shouldn't have done that."

Lucen coughed, spat red onto the stone, and smirked up at him. "What, win? You're welcome."

Varik didn't blink. "You burned too far."

Selindra stormed into the circle before anyone else dared. Her eyes swept Lucen from head to toe, sharp, furious, lips pressed thin like a blade about to break. "Idiot. You think using corruption in front of half the city was clever?"

Lucen's laugh broke halfway into another cough. He dragged a hand across his mouth, staining his glove red. "Clever? No. Entertaining? Definitely."

Selindra's hand clenched at her side. "You could've—"

Elira's voice cut her off. Smooth. Cold. Carrying just enough mana to flatten every other sound in the plaza.

"Enough."

The entire crowd stilled.

She stepped forward into the circle, her heels clicking against cracked stone, coat trailing behind her like a second shadow. Her gaze cut from Lucen to Cairon's unconscious form sprawled in blood, then back again.

Her tone was calm, too calm. "Contain him."

Hunters hesitated, unsure whether she meant Lucen or Cairon.

Varik's grip tightened on Lucen's shoulder before anyone could move. His voice dropped, low, final. "Try it, and I'll cut you in half."

The silence after that was sharp enough to bleed.

Lucen, still coughing blood, still shaking, still smiling faintly, leaned his head back and whispered to himself—

'Prime Authority or not… I'm not sure who scares me more right now.'

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