Rhys's aura detonated outward like a shockwave.

BOOOOM!!

Dust blasted across the arena.

Balron stopped mid-step, eyes widening in PURE JOY.

"YES!! THAT'S IT!!!"

Rhys's entire body glowed with unstable, flickering mana—

fire crackling across his arms,

water swirling around his legs,

light and darkness fighting across his shoulders,

and raw wind slicing the air.

Even his sword trembled violently, humming with mixed elemental energy.

Puddle screamed,

"MASTER IS HAVING A MULTI-ELEMENT MELTDOWN!!"

Sophia cupped her mouth.

"That's— that's not a normal aura!!"

Lyra's expression tightened.

"…He's not in control. Not at all."

Caria's quill shook.

"I've never seen someone cast six elements at once—!!"

Rhys steadied his stance.

Barely.

His breath came out in shaky bursts, each exhale releasing sparks of mana.

Balron slammed his axe against his shoulder armor.

"COME THEN, BOY!! SHOW ME EVERYTHING!!"

Rhys moved.

FAST.

Faster than before.

Faster than he had EVER moved.

His body blurred as he vanished forward—

FWOOM!!

He reappeared right in front of Balron.

Balron grinned and swung down—

"GOOD!! TRY NOT TO DIE—!!"

But Rhys shouted:

"LIMIT BREAK—ELEMENTAL OVERDRIVE!!"

His sword exploded with multi-colored mana—

and he SLASHED.

WHOOOOOOOM!!!

A massive streak of fire carved the air.

Balron blocked it with Bloodmaw—

KRAAAASH!!

The force pushed him back several meters.

Balron LAUGHED, delighted,

"MORE!!"

Rhys didn't stop.

His mana surged again—

"LIGHTNING STEP!!"

He flashed behind Balron.

SWIFT CUT—OVERDRIVE!!

A slash of pure lightning carved Balron's back armor.

"GRAH—!! GOOD!! AGAIN!!"

Balron twisted and swung Bloodmaw at blinding speed.

Rhys crossed his arms—

Mana surged—

"MANA SHIELD—FULL BURST!!"

BOOOOOOM!!

The impact smashed Rhys across the floor, sliding him dozens of meters.

But the shield held.

Barely.

Rhys coughed blood.

His arms shook violently.

His mana kept building, more and more unstable, like an overloaded engine.

"If… I stop now… I'll lose…"

He forced his legs to straighten.

He raised his sword again.

Balron roared proudly,

"YES!! STAND AND FIGHT!!"

Rhys charged again—

faster than lightning, aura crackling wildly.

Balron met him head-on, swinging Bloodmaw sideways.

Rhys yelled:

"WATER BLADE—OVERDRIVE!!"

His slash unleashed a giant spinning blade of water.

Balron laughed and split it with his axe.

"GOOD—BUT NOT ENOUGH!!"

He lifted Bloodmaw overhead.

Rhys felt the ground tremble.

Balron roared:

"EARTH REND—BREAKING STRIKE!!"

This was stronger.

Way stronger.

If that hit—

Rhys WOULD die.

Rhys planted his feet, aura swirling out of control—

"THEN I'LL MATCH IT—!!"

His sword glowed with ALL six elements at once.

Fire.

Water.

Light.

Dark.

Wind.

Earth.

All mixed in chaotic, unstable mana.

And Rhys roared back:

"LIMIT BREAK—ASCENDED STRIKE!!"

The two attacks CLASHED.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The explosion rocked the entire arena.

Shockwaves tore through the air.

Dust blasted into a swirling storm.

The stands shook violently.

Spectators shielded their eyes.

Sophia: "RHYS!!!"

Puddle: "MASTER IS IN THE AIR—AND NOT IN A COOL WAY!!"

Lyra: "Brace yourselves—!!"

The smoke cleared—

And both Rhys and Balron were thrown back, sliding across opposite ends of the arena.

Rhys forced himself onto one knee.

Balron rose slowly, laughing, wiping blood from his lip.

"YES… YES! THIS IS IT!! RHYS—!!"

He pointed Bloodmaw at him, eyes shining with battle-madness.

"NOW WE FINISH THIS!!"

Rhys staggered to his feet, sword shaking in his hand, aura flickering like a dying star.

"…Yeah… Let's end it…"

Both fighters readied their final attacks.

Their auras whipped violently around them.

Their weapons glowed like suns preparing to collide.

This was the last exchange.

The one that would decide everything.

Balron vs Rhys—Final Clash.

"COME, BOY!!"

"LET'S GO—!!"

Balron charged first.

Rhys charged second.

The arena floor shattered beneath them both.

They met in the center like colliding meteors.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The shockwave blasted outward, tearing up the stone tiles, sending cracks racing like lightning across the entire arena.

Balron swung Bloodmaw with EVERYTHING he had—

"FINAL SKILL—

MOUNTAIN BREAKER!!!"

Rhys roared back, his voice nearly lost under the roar of surging mana—

"LIMIT BREAK—FINAL MOVE—

ELEMENTAL CATASTROPHE!!"

Their weapons collided.

Not once.

Not twice.

But in a blinding flurry:

CLASH!

CLASH!!

CLASH!!!

CLASHCLASHCLASHCLASH!!!

Each impact released a new explosion of mixed mana.

Fire and earth collided—

Light and darkness split the air—

Wind and debris spiraled around them—

Water splashed across shattered stone—

It was chaos.

Beautiful, terrifying chaos.

Balron grinned through the destruction.

"YES—YES—YES!!!"

Rhys gritted his teeth.

His whole body felt like it was tearing apart.

His mana was about to explode.

But he refused to fall.

Not here.

Not now.

Balron raised Bloodmaw high—

Rhys mirrored him with his sword—

Both roared:

"HAAAAAAA!!!"

They swung down.

At the exact same moment.

Everything disappeared in an instant of blinding white.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!

The entire arena shook like an earthquake.

A vertical shockwave shot upward, splitting the clouds.

The stands nearly toppled.

Spectators held onto railings, screaming.

Lyra dug her sword into the floor to avoid being blown away.

Sophia hugged Puddle for dear life.

Caria's notebook flew off and vanished into the storm.

When the dust finally began to settle…

When the debris stopped falling…

When the blinding light faded…

Two figures slowly came into view—

One still standing.

One collapsed to one knee.

The crowd held their breath.

The dust cleared completely—

Balron stood at the edge of the arena, his axe embedded behind him, legs shaking.

Rhys stood in the center, barely upright, his sword cracked and smoking.

Then—

Balron laughed.

A weak, breathless, but proud laugh.

"Bwah… ha… ha… HA!!"

He pointed at Rhys, swaying like he might fall over at any moment.

"You… boy… you actually pushed me… THAT far…"

Rhys coughed, nearly doubled over.

"I think… I pushed myself farther…"

Balron grinned.

"Good."

Then he chuckled again…

And collapsed on his back with a heavy thud.

THOOOM!!

Bloodmaw faded into mana particles beside him, disappearing harmlessly.

The arena fell silent.

The dust drifted down.

And the system screen appeared in front of Rhys, glowing brightly:

[VICTORY!]

[You have defeated your opponent: Balron the Mountainbreaker!!!]

[Rewards have been granted!]

Rhys blinked, barely conscious.

"I… won…?"

Puddle burst into tears.

"MASTER DID IT!! MASTER DIDN'T EXPLODE!!"

Sophia cheered.

Lyra allowed herself a small smile.

Caria collapsed to her knees in relief.

Balron raised a thumbs-up from where he lay.

"Good fight… kid…"

Rhys fell backward onto the ground, staring at the sky.

"Never again… doing that… again…"

His aura finally faded, his body limp but alive.

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