Thomas looked at Darian with a cold, serious gaze, then announced the result. "New Arcadia Empire wins."

The spectators from the Celestial Order Empire stayed quiet, while the high-ranking military officers that had come with the young fighters sighed and went to help the injured guy whose sword had been broken right at the start.

Everyone understood now—if Darian had wanted to, he could've wiped out the whole Celestial Order group instantly. Those kids got off kind of lucky; none of them had been completely humiliated in front of everyone. To the audience, they just looked like brave warriors who gave it their all against an absurdly strong opponent.

The second fight of the day had ended the same way—another crushing win by just one guy. And this time, no one in the arena dared to question Darian's overwhelming strength. Anyone who tried to say something like that military officer before would just be laughed at.

In the VIP room, Irana, Barod, and Udynes seemed pleased with the duel. That young guy Haruto was skilled and honest. As for Darian, none of the three looked surprised at all.

The six emperors noticed that. They were all quiet, stunned by the confirmation of what those three young outsiders had said before. Could it really be true? That young man from Earth… had he actually defeated and crushed all the geniuses from other planets during that special mission?

The emperor of New Arcadia, of course, looked like he was glowing with pride, while the other five showed visible concern.

Darian returned to the waiting room inside the arena. He walked right past everyone watching him, didn't look at a single person, sat in a corner with his eyes closed, and stayed silent, just waiting for the day to end so he could leave.

Nayara sighed, unsure what to say about Darian's chaotic aura. But when she met Niara's gaze, she just gave a small nod. He wasn't alone—she was staying by his side, ready to support him however needed.

Thomas went ahead and did the next draw. The second match of the day would be: Group 1 from Polar Circle Empire vs. Group 1 from Aeternum Atlantis Empire.

Nayara and the others from New Arcadia let out heavy sighs. They'd been hoping to get lucky... but now, there'd be no need for a draw for the last match of the day—it was obvious her group would have to face the powerful Solar Federation Empire.

Back on the martial stage, the Aeternum Atlantis group entered first.

They all had green hair and red eyes. Darian and the twins had inherited those same traits from their father, who came from a family in that empire.

Any family that had lived in Aeternum Atlantis for a few generations just... had kids born with those features. It lasted for several generations, even after they left the empire. No one ever figured out exactly why, but that continent—raised to the surface by the will of the heavens—definitely seemed to have something magical about it.

In the other two continents that had emerged—now part of Aurora Coalition and Polar Circle Empires—there were also humans with those features, but they were rare, just a small part of the population. Totally different from Aeternum Atlantis.

The Polar Circle group entered next, and the crowd shifted their attention to them. After all, they were the ones responsible for the miracle of taking down Solar Federation's second group.

Most eyes were locked on their leader—besides being beautiful, she'd really stood out in the last match.

After the fight began, it didn't last long. The Polar Circle group won easily, and nothing too surprising happened.

Then came the announcement of the final battle of the day.

'Dan, Dan... you've gotta watch this. These are your real opponents.' Niara warned him mentally, making Darian open his eyes and look at the big screen.

Nayara's group entered the stage first, all focused and serious. They didn't have much confidence that they could win, but they were dead set on giving it everything they had. There'd be no shame in losing to the top empire.

Then, their opponents stepped in…

Leading the five, a tall guy, super well-dressed with a handsome face, walked in calmly. He had a slight smile on his face, but… the moment Darian saw him, his eyes narrowed.

The leader of the group had green hair and red eyes. That made it clear he wasn't fully rooted in the Solar Federation Empire.

At the same time, Darian felt something weird. He couldn't explain it... but a deep, explosive rage burst in his chest. Like pouring oil on fire. All the anger he'd been holding in just exploded.

There was no logical reason for it. But the look on that guy's face—his expression—it filled Darian with disgust and hate. It was like a dagger had stabbed right into his heart.

'What's his name?' Darian asked Niara, who was keeping track of everything for him.

'Hmm... I think it was Vanh. No last name.'

The moment he heard that, Darian narrowed his eyes even more. He didn't give a last name? That guy, who reeked of arrogance? That made it even more suspicious.

"Begin!" Thomas announced.

Right away, Nayara and her group snapped into a four-point formation, with her in the center holding the Solar Bow. Without hesitation, she got into position to shoot, and everyone in the arena swallowed nervously.

But... none of the enemies moved or showed even a hint of fear.

"Hehehe, trying to scare us?" Vanh's voice rang out, full of mockery.

Nayara scoffed and didn't answer.

It was already obvious to everyone, ever since the last match, that she could only fire the bow at full power once. Against weaker opponents, attacking right away had been a good strategy. But against the top empire's group?

She and everyone else had no idea what their supreme artifact was—or the real strength of those five. If she burned through all her energy at the start and they survived, how would they fight afterward?

That threat was basically empty.

Even so, she activated her ring's power, and her eyes lit up. Her blessing kicked in.

"GO!"

With her shout, the Fighter dashed to the right, while the mage waved his staff and fired a golden spear through the air to the left. The tank stepped in front of Nayara, and the support stood behind her, ready to act.

*Peng! Peng! Peng!*

Nayara didn't go all-out with the bow's full power, but she channeled her blessing to shoot fast, precise, and strong arrows. Even without the artifact's full strength, each shot still carried a bit of that power. Every arrow had enough punch to shatter armor and break through defenses. No one would be dumb enough to take those hits head-on.

It was a well-coordinated offense. Two flanked from the sides while she applied pressure from the front. That would force the enemy to back off—or get seriously hurt.

But...

None of the four moved. Only one handsome guy stepped forward, with a slightly twisted smile.

"Hahaha…"

Vanh laughed out loud, pure mockery in his expression. At the same time, he raised his hand—and his whole body was suddenly wrapped in a thick emerald aura coming from his ring. Then...

The yellow energy turned... black.

It was like he was engulfed in intense, terrifying black flames. But they weren't hot flames. Actually, everyone in the stadium felt the temperature drop—hard.

Right in front of everyone's eyes... something else strange happened. The space around Vanh seemed to warp.

Black flames and spatial power? A blessing couldn't do two completely opposite things like that. And... no one had sensed any artifact being activated. What the hell was that power?

The younger people looked shocked and totally confused. But... a few military officers and older figures had wide eyes, clearly remembering something terrifying.

On the martial stage, Nayara's arrows were suddenly pulled toward Vanh in midair, like the very fabric of space had sucked them in.

And the moment they touched those black flames surrounding him... they just turned to ash. The full offensive power of Nayara's blessing, combined with her bow—didn't even make a dent.

"Fall back!" Nayara shouted quickly. The Fighter, who had been charging in, instantly stopped.

"Hahaha..." Vanh heard her and laughed again, but this time, his tone was cold and sinister.

The sound of a blade leaving its sheath echoed.

*Woosh!*

Suddenly, Vanh vanished right before everyone's eyes.

*Slash!*

He reappeared in the blink of an eye, cutting clean through the golden spear the mage had fired.

And just as quickly... he vanished again.

"Ah!"

Out of nowhere, everyone heard the Fighter scream in agony. There was a blade sticking straight out of his chest.

Behind him, Vanh was holding the sword. Then he ripped it out with brutal force—blood sprayed across the arena, and the crowd jumped in shock.

Watching all of this, Darian kept his eyes narrowed.

'This... this isn't just the power of a blessing!'

He shouted mentally, feeling the fluctuations of that fight clearly through his rings.

'It's like... he's warping reality with his spiritual root... twice. Once with the blessing... and the other…!'

Darian's eyes flew open.

Green hair, red eyes. Almost the same age as him... and maybe... with two spiritual roots?

Images from Mallory's past came flooding back into his mind. Her final words, after killing and robbing his father, echoed loud and clear:

"Now, my son will be born with an ancestral spiritual root…"

Darian clenched his teeth. Hard.

It had to be him...

His aunt's son.

The one who was blessed at the cost of his father's and mother's pain and suffering.

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