"Ultimate Pull."

An overwhelming force yanked Vaelor forward.

’Shit!’

The chaotic battle had almost made him forget that Zephyrion had acquired other house rune arts. He gritted his teeth, eyes sharpening on Zephyrion.

’Focus. Focus.’

Torso slightly twisted. Arm drawn back, stance lowered. A straight punch aimed at his midsection.

A sharp hum echoed. Metal rapidly formed around Vaelor’s stomach, reinforcing it instantly. Then Zephyrion suddenly spun. A sweeping kick whipped toward his head.

"What!?"

Bam!

It crashed into the side of his head, snapping it violently sideways. Concentric circles rippled from the point of impact. Spittle mixed with blood and shattered teeth flew from his mouth as he shot sideways across the arena.

Vaelor’s head spun wildly. His vision blurred as he struggled to regain composure.

’Shit, shit, shit. Get a grip!’

By the time he did, he was already near the edge of the arena. He twisted sharply and drove his weight down. Landing roughly, he skidded backward before finally coming to a stop near the edge.

Violent roars tore through the coliseum.

Vaelor spat, gritting his teeth at the bloody phlegm and broken tooth lodged in his mouth.

He stared ahead, where Zephyrion calmly approached. Vaelor clenched his fists.

’He tricked me... again.’

Did that mean Zephyrion’s deductive abilities and cunning surpassed even his?

’Impossible.’

He possessed a prodigious mind. A mind no one across the South could compare to.

’I just haven’t read him yet,’ Vaelor thought inwardly. ’A few more exchanges, and i will.’

Suddenly, the Lightning Prince stopped, staring at him with detached indifference. Vaelor hated those eyes.

"I can see it already," Zephyrion said. "The disbelief. You spent your entire life hiding away just to beat me... and this is the result?"

Vaelor’s eyes blazed. But he clenched his fists and took a deep breath, forcing the anger back down.

’He’s just trying to bait me into using my art.’

It was obvious. Still, now that he understood Zephyrion’s goal, he couldn’t surprise him again with its sudden use.

’I’ll defeat him without it.’

Vaelor entered a stance, his expression utterly composed. He was getting beaten, but his mind was his greatest weapon. He would be damned if he allowed Zephyrion to trick him.

"Hm." Zephyrion gave a faint nod. "So that’s your strategy? Thinking."

Then he vanished.

Vaelor’s eyes sharpened as Zephyrion flashed before him like a phantom. Fist lowered, stance compressed, legs coiled.

’An uppercut.’

Zephyrion lunged.

CRACK!

His forehead slammed into Vaelor’s, sending his mind reeling.

’Again...’

He had read him wrong.

Vaelor staggered backward before forcefully halting his momentum. His blurry vision cleared just in time for Zephyrion’s fist to fill it.

This one... it was obvious. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

A straight punch.

He began tilting his head aside when another fist suddenly surged upward from below.

Bam!

It crashed into his chin in a brutal uppercut.

His vision blackened for a moment before clearing again. All he saw were faintly glowing purple irises. Then a punch crashed into his stomach.

Air mixed with blood exploded from his mouth as he tore backward.

"Ultimate Pull."

An unseen force yanked him back again.

’A low punch.’

A kick crashed into him.

’A headbutt.’

A sweeping kick knocked him off his feet.

’...An uppercut?’

CRACK!

Another headbutt exploded across his face. Every prediction was wrong. Every single one. Blow after blow battered his body relentlessly. Face. Stomach. Chest. He couldn’t keep up.

’Hold on... hold on.’

He repeated the words in his mind like a mantra despite the overwhelming pain. He just hadn’t read him yet.

Anyone could be read. Zephyrion wasn’t special. He wasn’t better.

All he had to do was read him.

Bam!

A devastating blow sent Vaelor rolling toward the edge of the arena. By then, his face was swollen and battered, blood oozing from split flesh and bruises across his body.

The crowd had stopped cheering, leaving a deafening silence across the arena.

Above, City Lord Ociden sat with a grievously twisted expression, looking like he was forcing out the most stubborn shit of his life. Beside him, City Lord Selmira wore nearly the exact same expression.

This... this wasn’t how this battle was supposed to unfold. Such speed... such a one-sided beatdown against another Mark Six, and in the finals no less. Had they truly underestimated the Lightning Prince this badly?

City Lord Ociden’s leg bounced harder beneath his seat, eyes locked onto the arena.

Meanwhile, Garrick wore an excited grin like he was witnessing the greatest thing in existence. He looked seconds away from bursting into laughter.

...

"Urgh..." Vaelor’s arms trembled as he forced himself up. Through his blurred vision, he caught sight of Zephyrion slowly approaching him.

’Just a bit more... just a bit more and you’ll read him.’ Vaelor repeated inwardly.

Zephyrion stopped a step away from him, tilting his head.

"Let me guess," he said. "You think your father hid you away because he believed you were some secret weapon. That one day you’d appear and shock the entire South."

The words froze Vaelor in place, and he answered before even thinking.

"...That’s exactly what happened."

"You’re wrong." Zephyrion leaned closer, his voice lowering near Vaelor’s ear. "The only reason he hid you away... is because he was afraid of this. Afraid you’d fail. Afraid you’d lose. And honestly... he judged you correctly. Because you’re abo—"

BOOM!

A violent wave erupted from Vaelor, sweeping across the arena and whipping Zephyrion’s hair. Steam curled from Vaelor’s body like writhing smoke as his frame rapidly expanded in height and bulk.

Gasps instantly rippled through the crowd. Many shot from their seats. Finally... he was finally using the Ocren rune art!

"You fucking bastard..." Vaelor growled like a beast as he took a heavy step forward. The arena trembled beneath him, a suffocating pressure settling across it.

"You really think you’re better than me, don’t you...?" His face twisted violently. "Fine then. I’ll beat it into your skull."

Vaelor shot forward, erasing the distance. Multiple brutal punches exploded toward Zephyrion at once.