The attack came in fast. Bertha lifted her shield to block, but the attack was too powerful and from too many angles. It slammed into her hard. She was thrown back, coughing blood as she crashed into the group, skidding across the floor until she hit a pillar and stopped.

The fight was basically over, but Elton had made no mention of how it would officially end. She had only said that none of them would die, meaning the fight could continue until one person submitted, was knocked out, or was pushed close to death, any one of those conditions.

Athena hoped Bertha would stay down and not continue fighting.

But Bertha, burning with a warrior's spirit, groaned and pushed herself off the ground despite the heavy damage. She coughed up even more blood, gripping her mace and shield tighter as she locked eyes with Athena.

"You've got some real spunk," Bertha said, a smile forming on her bloodstained face, her eyes burning even brighter. "But that doesn't mean I'll lose."

She launched forward with even more vigor, as if the pain itself was fueling her.

But Athena wasn't someone Bertha could easily overcome.

Athena's eyes glowed brighter. Multiple spatial cracks shot forward, the force moving like a wave toward Bertha.

Bertha leaped into the air and folded herself behind her shield.

The attack slammed into it with tremendous force.

She was thrown back, crashing into the ground and rolling before skidding to her knees. Even then, she immediately attacked again.

Her mace head detached, the chain snapping outward. It curved through the air as its size expanded rapidly, growing to the size of a small house, before crashing down like a meteor.

Athena had very little time to react.

She raised her hands.

Space tore apart as two Chaos Eyes formed instantly. The massive force collided with the mace head, powerful enough to crack it slightly. The head was knocked away and slammed into the ground far in the distance.

The crack healed.

It sealed almost instantly.

Bertha retracted her mace and charged forward at full speed. She leaped into the air and swung downward again.

But Athena had had enough.

She didn't want this fight to drag on any longer. The longer it continued, the higher the risk of causing irreversible damage to Bertha.

So she went all out.

Athena's eyes and the two Chaos Eyes blazed.

The force erupted like a cannon blast, smashing into the mace, pushing it aside, and then slamming directly into Bertha.

Bertha tried to block with her shield.

It didn't matter.

The force was overwhelming.

It tore into her, ripping through her clothes as blood splattered in every direction. Her body was sent crashing down from above, slamming into the ground hard.

She didn't move.

She was still breathing, but barely.

Her body refused to respond, even if she wanted it to.

The fight was over.

No announcement was needed.

Everyone knew Athena had won.

Athena lowered her hands as the Chaos Eyes vanished. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, the glow had faded. She walked back toward Aren, who was standing off to the side.

There was no excitement in her expression.

She had simply won.

She stopped beside him.

"Good work," Aren said.

She nodded quietly.

The next fight was set to begin immediately. One of the maids beside Elton stepped forward, lifted Bertha carefully, and carried her away to be healed.

At the same time, the second match was already being prepared.

Ragnar versus Raze

Both men stepped into the center.

Raze looked like a small pebble standing before someone as massive as Ragnar. And when Aren glanced at the matchup, he already knew the outcome.

Raze would surely take this one.

The two men stared each other down for a few seconds.

Raze had a relaxed smile on his face, while Ragnar wore a confident smirk.

Ragnar spoke first.

"You should back down now, kid. Don't let yourself get hurt," he said, his voice smug and proud.

"I'll take my chances," Raze replied simply.

Ragnar's smirk didn't fade. He summoned his hammer and settled into a stance.

Raze reached behind his back and clenched his sword's hilt, but didn't draw it.

Ragnar raised a brow when he noticed.

"Won't you draw your weapon?" he asked.

Raze smiled.

"I want to see if you're fast enough," he said. "Fast enough to actually fight me."

Ragnar frowned slightly.

"A cocky brat, I see. I'll show you what it means to respect your elders."

He roared and stomped his foot into the ground before launching forward. A massive crater formed where he had stood just a moment earlier.

Ragnar swung at full speed.

His hammer broke the sound barrier, displaying the terrifying strength behind his arm.

Yet even as the hammer came closer, mere inches from Raze's head, Raze still didn't move.

Then, at the very last moment.

Clang!

A loud metallic sound echoed through the throne room, causing the entire space to tremble.

When everyone focused again, they saw that in that split second, Raze had blocked Ragnar's attack.

And he was smiling.

Ragnar's expression twisted instantly into pure fury.

"You little brat!" he roared.

Both of them pushed themselves back from the clash, landing a few meters apart and readying themselves to go at it again.

Raze slid his sword back onto his back, a mocking smile directed at Ragnar.

That only infuriated Ragnar even more.

Among the few people who had clearly seen what happened at the moment of impact, Aren was one of them. But what he noticed was different from everyone else.

The way Raze had pulled his blade and blocked the attack wasn't refined technique or finesse. It was pure strength, paired with the right movement and speed.

There was no elegance to it.

And yet, it didn't look like Raze didn't know how to fight.

Rather, it felt like his body was stiff, as if he wasn't fully accustomed to his own strength or even his own body yet.

That raised a small speculation in Aren's mind.

Why would someone who had already gone through two trials, and was clearly this strong, move like that?

But as the fight was about to continue, he pushed the thought aside.

For now, he just wanted to watch how this played out.

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